Feeling kinda bad for Suhr...

The thing is, if you knew Suhr (the man and the company) you'd understand how completely un-bothered they are about artist movement and drama.

 

It seems strange to care this much about endorsees knowing full well they are completely bought out in discounts/free gear to play a brand's instruments.

Anything short of a long term commitment (Vai/Satriani/Petrucci) means nothing to me as an individual. Artists are fickle and indeed they should be, their career path isn't a lucrative one so a deal where they get supplied more instruments is obviously a smarter choice. I just won't believe any over produced announcement video where "best ever" claims are being tossed around.

Also I've owned two AZ2402's and while good, they were not in the same league as any single Suhr I've ever owned. It's a godsend that once niche specs are now more common, and at price points that benefit everyone. But I certainly don't feel bad for Suhr, they aren't hurting, and both products/brands are thriving in their own markets.

 

You have to give Ibanez credit for staying relevant. Unlike Gibson and Fender, who I'd guess are the only bigger guitar companies by sales volume, Ibanez doesn't have a guitar that they could churn out for decades unchanged and sell at a premium based on nostalgia alone. They constantly reinvent themselves, take risks and, yes, throw cash at endorsement deals. That's business.

TLDR: just be glad Ibanez isn't trying to be like Fender or Gibson.

 

Fender are fine. They've got Jackson, Charvel, EVH, Gretch, Guild, Squier etc as their subsidiaries so they can cast a wide net. With those subsidiaries catering to different players (Charvel is covering the Suhr inspired market) Fender can easily focus on their core traditional lineup that let's face it, still popular to this day.

 

I dunno seeing the guy lately, I don't think you really want him as a spokesperson for your company anyways ... dude is so bitter and jaded it's ridiculous

Maybe I just went on a run of watching vids of him when he was in a bad mood but he was so negative he didn't make me want to play a guitar, never mind buy one

 

Can you link these? Because the ones i've seen of him ages ago I thought he sounded super positive! lol

 

Huh, interesting. I honestly haven't kept up with his activities since The Aristocrats' 3rd album. Went to see them live on that tour and that show was the nail in the coffin: I'm not so into fusion virtuoso compositions anymore. And then he joined freaking Steven Wilson (ugh).

Not to throw extra shade but Marco Minneman recently said he doesn't get along with Wilson. Perhaps all that working together has turned Govan sour? Lmao

I would also be interested in seeing bitter jaded Govan if you have links.

 

There's a series of him sitting in a gazebo for a G4 bootcamp but watching it back, I'm sure they are just very (very) dry jokes. So I musta been an uncharitable mood when I was watching it. Maybe jealous of his immaculate playing.

 

You're over-valuing a largely unnecessary need to break from the mold, the audience is largely conventional in their desires. The same guy who wants a 3 Pickup Black Beauty/Cherry Red ES335/Daphne Blue Tele/Sunburst Strat isn't going to break from those desires over time, and that's the demographic they cater to.

Gibson and Fender have arguably done far more interesting concepts than Ibanez and other modern companies have. Reactionary and extremely late to the party releases of products with Multiscale/Headless/Poplar Burl/Roasted Maple/Stainless Steel Frets to follow industry trends is just a move towards relevancy. That doesn't discredit what cool releases Ibanez has done, but in the same way you're criticizing the larger brand for releasing redundant after redundant model, the brands on you praise do as well. But the mainstream brands don't have to worry about relevancy, because they were never irrelevant from market share perspective in the first place.

I think you're just ascribing niche forum relevancy more importance than it deserves having

 

GG bitter? Where? I never got that feeling that he was bitter. Which interview/video are you talking about?

Edit: I see you are talking about the G4 series on YT. No he wasn't bitter there. Plus, he was happy someone gave him a beer.

 

I've seen him a handful of times and spoken to him after some shows and he's been a great guy each and every time. He does get upset when people whip out their cell phones and film him while he's on stage. I've been to at least 2 Aristocrats shows with a no phone recording policy and have seen Guthrie shoot a nasty glance or finger wag when people don't respect the rules.

 

Not having read the entire thread, but GG is incredibly British and I'll chalk it down to that English wit, real dry sarcasm haha.

 

This. I see them targetting the same type of customers as PRS with their Core series. Mostly old bums who just happen to have enough money and want a nice guitar... like myself.

 

If you’re playing shows on gear like a Suhr, you should be insuring it. Most of these tours have some kind of business insurance as well. You have to to not be in violation of a lot of laws and putting yourself in a particularly dangerous legal place liability wise. Get insurance. Mine is less than $20 a month and covers all of my kit.

 

Tbh, I'm happy that a lot of these online shredders/influencers are going with more affordable import signature / endorsement guitars from brands like Ibanez / Charvel / Jackson / etc.

Boutique brands like Suhr / Tom Anderson / James Tyler / etc. make fantastic guitars - I've owned multiple of each, and given financial situation, I'd probably want to only own those guitars. But that's not realistic for the majority of the world - some player outside the western world will probably never be able to purchase a $5000 custom Suhr.

And with that said, those boutique brands know their audience. They know damn well that it's not 18 year olds kids that are purchasing their stuff, and they've spent 35-40 year building their brands and reputation, so their guitars are almost selling themselves at this point. They're not gonna go away anytime soon, and those buying $800 MiI Charvel or Ibanez guitars aren't exactly the same people that'd spend all their money at Suhr/TA/etc. shops.