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Is there really that big of a difference from Fender and Suhr?

Audiomo Music

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Today I do a talk about some of the differences I notice from decades of playing Fender guitars and now playing Suhr guitars. I do a brief sound comparison then talk about things that don't show up on a spec sheet.

Check out the Suhr Classic S at Sweetwater - https://sweetwater.sjv.io/6e2QBG
Fender Gt11 Am Pro ii Stratocaster here - https://sweetwater.sjv.io/k05aa3

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20 Comments

@dannyllerenatv8635 1 year ago

What I love about Suhr is that they're not too different in terms of feel and vibe from a Fender Strat. However, it improves the design and quality without completely swaying away from what makes a strat special.

@ewww21 1 year ago

Listening with my eyes, I pick Suhr obviously as a strat guy that is my dream situation.

Listening with my ears tho, the Fender sounds better imo. I know it's preference. But the Fender is less compressed, probably due to the staggered pole pieces like you said but there's more upper mids to my ear.

You can change all that with settings but every little bit that I don't have to change helps.

@michael_caz_nyc 1 year ago

I had a Vintage Fender Stratocaster > purchased a Suhr SSS with Lollar Dirty Blondes, The phenomenal Gotoh 510 Trem-system, Locking Tuners & Stainless Steel Frets > I Sold my Fender (after not playing it for 1 year) > The Suhr was on another stratosphere. The tuning-stability and return-to-pitch, the Stratty Tone . . . Everything. oNe LovE from NYC

@aminahmed2220 1 year ago

Absolutely fantastic have a great weekend Jim also Monday is Thanksgiving in Canada ❤😊

@DOCKent-3339 11 months ago

Very helpful.

@tanshaomala 1 year ago

Hi there, great video. Straight to the point with no unnecessary waffling. Any chance you'd do a full in-depth video on the Suhr? Also, do you happen to know the exact colour finish on it? Cheers.

@skye7690 1 year ago

Great review. I'm looking at the same fender in your review. I think the Suhr guitar is 2x price of the Fender, but i could be wrong.

@ewww21 1 year ago (edited)

Also great playing. As some who plays mainly punk- very inspiring.

If I could be half as good as you, I wouldn't feel bad about aspiring to own a Suhr. One day 😂

@MelodyCarroll-rx8tk 1 year ago (edited)

Just got the american pro ii GT11 in shell pink about a month ago. I got it partially based on your thorough review. I'm patiently waiting for the telecaster version to come out!

@dwise3651 1 year ago

Have the GT-11. Nice guitar. Wish the pickups were flat poles to better balance the 11” radius.
Side fret dots are difficult to see in low stage lighting.
Wish the pots had a bit more resistance.
My only gripes.

@CraigFlowersMusic 1 year ago (edited)

Just a few seconds into the suhr clip, and yep exactly what I figured. I had a suhr almost like that for a while, and I hated the sound. Great feel, stainless frets, masterfully built with not one QC issue anywhere, but there's just no midrange and the top end is glassy instead of sweet, give me my AV2 '61 every day of the week thank you very much. *edit" btw, I had the same AmPro2 strat for a while too (except it had the v-mod2 not the fat 60s which are my fave fender cs pups) and found its pickups great all 'rounders but uninspiring next to the 61 ri. Also, love to see a Z! Hope it's as much of a keeper as mine.

@sublyme2157 1 year ago

There's a used Suhr Classic S on Dave's right now that looks identical to that one :)

@joesmith8398 1 year ago

Nice demo ! What Dr. Z amp are you using, it sounds great ! -Cheers !

@Allann882 1 year ago

Thanks for demoing... You put me on perspective why don't buy Surh strat... I'm very interested in Music man Steve Lukather

@DavidOHara-t4b 1 year ago

Good demo. My conclusion? The suhr appears to be a superlative build , with nicer features than the fender. However, the fender knocks it out of the park when it comes to sound . That's the difference.

@DrTomoculus 1 year ago

It was by the second demo song, neck pickup, that I'd made my choice.

There's something about the Fender, where you can hear how each string is hit. And I found with the Suhr, that there seemed to be no nuance. I don't know how to describe that technically. It was like, every string was the same. It was a solid sound, whereas the Fender sounded more fluid. Sorry I don't do technical!

@bbilman056 1 year ago

I commented on a different video but I'll say it again, if you're into the high end modern-vintage type of stuff, definitely check out Valiant guitars. NO ONE does it like them, and they're just so damn cool. Especially their 'Jupiter' model, which is like a jazzmaster jaguar hybrid thing

@nickh1933 1 year ago

Every Suhr I have played or owned was very stiff to play and had a brittleness (almost like an acoustic guitar) to the strings when strumming them. I found bending strings much harder. The only models that felt slinky had Floyd Roses. I have played and owned about 25 Suhrs combined. Does the GT11 feel stiff due to the roasted maple and no string tree?

@victorbr234 1 year ago

I have an american pro 2 tele and it's one of the best guitars i own. The neck is perfect, pickups sound fantastic, no complaints. The Suhr is nice for more modern players (than me) I think, but still great guitars.

@jberatis 1 year ago

Suhrs are great guitars, equal to Fender CS? I own both they are different in many ways. My only negative is the additional weight with the addition of the Suhr noiseless module in the body. It adds weight to an already heavy guitar. I gig and the Fenders do have the edge there and have more of a traditional Strat sound.