Scott Henderson Discussion

[Yusstyna]

Hey Scott,

I've been playing Suhr guitars for the past 10 years and I really dig them.

I am wondering how close do they come to a vintage Fender sound in your opinion? I do feel that Suhr guitars have their own sound very punchy, tight and clear while Fender guitars tend to sound a bit woolier and squishier, for lack of better word, which can be a nice "different" type of sound. The sound that Michael Landau gets with his strats comes to mind.

I'm sure you have a lot of experiance in comparing guitars and have probably played some vintage instruments so I'm wondering what's your take on the Fender/Suhr sound?

Thanks in advance for your insight!
W.

[Scott Henderson]

I'm not a worshipper of vintage Fenders like some people. I've taken my favorite Suhr to Guitar Center and compared it to vintage strats. Out of about ten, I found only one that I thought sounded as good as the Suhr. I also brought my ohm meter and measured the pickups on the vintage strats - wildly inconsistent would be an understatement. Also, the bridges on the old strats were fucked up and would need major work to get them to stay in tune. Not to mention the rounder fretboard and tiny frets, which make them twice as hard to play as a Suhr. And no tone control for the treble pickup wasn't the smartest move Fender ever made. Lastly, no noiseless system makes them impossible to use for high gain tones in any major city because of all the RF in the air these days. I'll stick with my Suhr.

I should mention that Suhr puts a variety of bridges on their guitars. If you have them put on any bridge other than the traditional 6-screw Fender bridge, it won't sound at all like a vintage strat.