High end guitars - in person vs ordering

[kidmendel]

Hello,

I've been considering buying a high end super-strat recently, something like a Suhr or Tom Anderson. This'll be my first guitar at this price point, I've been playing US-made production models up to now (Fender US, Core PRS, etc). I've tried a few in stores and found some I like, but in colors I'm less keen on.

With guitars at this cost, are they consistent? That is, if I find a model I like in a store e.g. Suhr Standard Plus, are the chances high I'd like another one I haven't actually played in person? Or do these vary as much as any other manufacturer from guitar to guitar?

Would appreciate anyone's insight/experience here.

Cheers,
Joe

 

[protest]

Very consistent in terms of quality, but inconsistent in terms of specs. The specs are all chosen for each particular build, and they can vary greatly.

If you find an Anderson you like outside of the aesthetics, you can look the serial number up on their website and it'll give you the full spec sheet. If you play one you don't like that's great too. It will help you know what you want and don't want when placing an order.

 

[Lax]

I bought 5 JP musicman :
-1 used JP6 in a music store
-1 used JP6 in the same music store later and I discovered too late that the previous user overtightened the neck to the body, cracking the paint and other stupid stuff.
-1 used JP7 on ebay from usa to france, some ding and stress crack but I think it was specified and cheap enough to make me buy overseas.
-1 brand new JP12 in a shop, I barely tried it before leaving with it
-1 near mint majesty from facebook marketplace from spain to france without having ever played a majesty (it's a rare sight here and I knew the specs were going to be perfect to me).

In nearly most cases, in case of an issue I was fucked tho I guess I'm a gambler

 

[_MonSTeR_]

Suhr, Anderson and PRS are the types of guitars I would trust to be wholly consistent in terms of quality. Granted I've not played ANY of thsoe brands since the COVID pandemic started, but i've never played a bad one of any of them before hand.

Smaller, one-off "builders" I'd be more wary of personally and have to do more research into the company/guy.

 

[narad]

Hello,

I've been considering buying a high end super-strat recently, something like a Suhr or Tom Anderson. This'll be my first guitar at this price point, I've been playing US-made production models up to now (Fender US, Core PRS, etc). I've tried a few in stores and found some I like, but in colors I'm less keen on.

With guitars at this cost, are they consistent? That is, if I find a model I like in a store e.g. Suhr Standard Plus, are the chances high I'd like another one I haven't actually played in person? Or do these vary as much as any other manufacturer from guitar to guitar?

Would appreciate anyone's insight/experience here.

Cheers,
Joe

It depends on what you mean by "consistent". There's too many variables with customs. If you find a recently made version of exactly the same model, neck carve, bridge, scale, pickups, fret size, woods, then obviously you're pretty close. But there's plenty of opportunity for some important factor to vary. Plenty of ways you can try one out and walk away with an impression that will differ from the one you'd buy. So just be very attentive to basically ever item on the spec sheet whenever you get the chance to try one out.

 

[kidmendel]

@narad @protest Yep, sorry, my bad - I should've clarified. I'm definitely talking about consistent quality here rather than specs. As in: if I played a Suhr Standard Plus with their stock specs - Even Slim C neck, SSH and V60 pickups, etc - in a store, but there's the exact same model/same spces in a color I like more available to order a few hundred miles away, can I safely expect the one I haven't played to be a close experience in terms of playability/feel?

I ask that because in my experience, on cheaper guitars, the variance is big. I know Sterling get a bad rap in this forum, but I've played a couple that blew me away. I've also played some real terrible Sterlings 😅. I'm hoping that with something like Suhr/Anderson, the attention to detail and QC is high enough that you don't need to worry about ordering without getting your hands on them first.
-
The example you gave @protest is a good one, I played a Tom Anderson with their Even-Taper neck at the weekend and realized it's probably a little on the thick side for me which surprised me, but there you have it.

 

[mbardu]

Anderson and Suhr have been 100% consistent for me over a couple dozen guitars.
If I find the specs that work for me, I have 0 hesitation buying without trying.

PRS has been more inconsistent and I would rather try those in person.

 

[jaxadam]

PRS has been more inconsistent and I would rather try those in person.

This.

Suhr, Anderson and PRS are the types of guitars I would trust to be wholly consistent in terms of quality. Granted I've not played ANY of thsoe brands since the COVID pandemic started, but i've never played a bad one of any of them before hand.

I played a dud Private Stock in person and I would have been pretty pissed had I ordered it sight unseen.

 

[kidmendel]

Broadly speaking, that makes sense based on the number of guitars the relative companies are putting out, right? PRS are shipping A LOT of guitars week in, week out, whereas Suhr/Anderson have a way smaller output, which in theory allows for a greater attention to detail.

@mbardu :
Anderson and Suhr have been 100% consistent for me over a couple dozen guitars.
If I find the specs that work for me, I have 0 hesitation buying without trying.

This is kinda what I was hoping to hear!

 

[tedtan]

Quality-wise, they should be consistent from one to the next. Specs, wood, weight, etc. can vary, but the quality should be consistent.

 

[arasys]

Schecter USAs are consistently amazing too, never played one that felt and sounded "meh".

 

[kidmendel]

Schecter USAs are consistently amazing too, never played one that felt and sounded "meh".

I played a Nick Johnston USA HSS the same day I played the Tom Anderson and Suhr, and weirdly thought it felt "less high quality" but more fun to play?

They're in the running in my considerations for sure.

 

[Musiscience]

I can definitely get behind the hype for Suhr and TA. Would easily order either sight unseen and know that the guitar received will be fantastic.

 

[groverj3]

I have no experience with TA, but every Suhr I've touched has been perfect.

In general, as long as you order anything through a good dealer you should be fine. I can recommend Matt's Music and Axe Palace outside Boston, and Rainbow Guitars in Tucson, AZ. They each carry different stuff and I haven't been to Rainbow in a while, but when Scott was around there it was a great shop (RIP).

Matt's and Rainbow both carry Suhr, and Matt's is also a TA dealer.

Those and similar dealers will look over things once it arrives and let you know if there are any issues. They will also handle communication with the brand if rebuilds or replacement are warranted. And they won't give YOU a hard time about it.

 

[_MonSTeR_]

PRS has been more inconsistent and I would rather try those in person.

I played a dud Private Stock in person and I would have been pretty pissed had I ordered it sight unseen.

I clearly need to try more PRS guitars. Or... Maybe I don't need to try more PRS guitars !!!

Happy to stand corrected and appreciate the save, as I said, it's been a while since I actually took a look at these brands

 

[CrushingAnvil]

Pretty hard to go wrong with an Anderson. It goes without saying that there is recourse if you have an issue. Suhrs and TAGW instruments are definitely the most consistent. Of all the high-end brands I've not heard that many people having issues, and that figures given how expensive they are.

 

[MetalDestroyer]

Anderson and Suhr have been 100% consistent for me over a couple dozen guitars.
If I find the specs that work for me, I have 0 hesitation buying without trying.

PRS has been more inconsistent and I would rather try those in person.

Same experience. I've actually had 2 of the exact same Suhr model and they were exactly the same, at least as far as I could remember. PRS are very consistent in quality, but vary wildly in feel and I would avoid buying one that isn't a screaming deal without playing it in person first

 

[spudmunkey]

Does PRS still have, like, 6 different neck profiles? Were any of the differences some might have felt been because of one having a Pattern Thin vs Pattern Vintage vs etc? Even the Silver Sky has two different thicknesses depending on if you have a rosewood or maple fretboard.

 

[budda]

Does PRS still have, like, 6 different neck profiles? Were any of the differences some might have felt been because of one having a Pattern Thin vs Pattern Vintage vs etc? Even the Silver Sky has two different thicknesses depending on if you have a rosewood or maple fretboard.

Pattern, pattern thin, pattern vintage, artist models.

I tried two TA’s when I was trying an LP and quickly realized I may not like the neck shape they offer standard.

 

[jaxadam]

I clearly need to try more PRS guitars. Or... Maybe I don't need to try more PRS guitars !!!

Happy to stand corrected and appreciate the save, as I said, it's been a while since I actually took a look at these brands

No correction at all my man just my particular experience. I was just very shocked a Private Stock felt and sounded like it did, especially since I really wanted to buy it! It looked great but it just didn't have "it".

But you should try more PRS guitars!