Scott Henderson Discussion

[AlexThanos]

Hey Scott, Alex here we met during Tribal Techs last gig in Jakarta . Damn I miss TT!

I got a question regarding the new SH Suhrs. They all already hv the mod that u do w the Maj 3rd bar pull, Drilled plate holes, short arm, no treble bleed, stripped block.

My question is I hv one of your Suhr SH from 2012 and I had to do all those mods myself. I didn't realise til 3 years later that the treble bleed was installed on my Suhr. I used Callaham short arm which works well. I raised the bridge so that it goes Maj 3rd.

1. Did u hv some saddles screws jutting out with the bridge setup and your action of 4/64? My screws seem to pop out more than I'd like.

2. Is my bridge already drilled or would I hv to drill it? (Seeing as the bought a SH Suhr but they installed treble bleed on it)

3. Do I still hv to strip the paint on the block or is it already stripped I can't really tell?

4. I notice u don't ever gig w the orange Suhr anymore where'd that one disappear to? 😄


On a side note, thanks for all the video lessons my playing improved a lot from them. I know u don't criticise on forum cos u do that at work but I just wanna share my progress w u from all the stuff I learned from you. Hope it's not too shitty, if they're ridiculously disgusting do me a favour n tell me so I can find another line of work 😂

Here's a couple links :
https://instagram.com/p/BPIN8fAg4YC/

https://youtu.be/xZaaHhSXSq4


Cheers Scott!

[Scott Henderson]

Hi Alex,

I didn't have a problem with Suhr selling the previous version of my model, because it sounds just as good as my personal guitar. The exception would be the treble bleed, but I realized that most people use a long guitar cable, so the treble bleed is necessary. Without it, you loose a lot of highs when turning down. This time I insisted on no treble bleed, so if the people who buy the new version don't want to loose treble when turning down, they'll have to use a short cable like I do, or have a treble bleed put in.

The only thing Suhr did to the bridge on the previous model is remove the paint from the block - otherwise the guitar would sound like shit. They do it by dropping the block in paint remover for a day, so it still looks similar in color. I sand the paint off with a nylon disk and a drill, so the metal is very shiny and it's easy to see the difference - tone wise it's the same result. The bridge on the new model is highly modified - the six holes are drilled bigger, the floating aspect of the bridge is set up exactly like mine, the neck is angled so that the saddles sit high with no screws sticking out, the arm is thicker and shorter, and the six screws are put in so that only the end screws are touching the plate. None of that has anything to do with the tone of the guitar, but it's a far better bridge than the stock Fender - strings break less, it stays in tune, and the bar doesn't break off.

Just a short rant here - the fact that Fender puts heavy paint on the blocks of their bridges just goes to show what a clueless company they've become. It fucks up the tone of the guitar in a horrible way, making it sound muddy and lifeless. They do it so the block won't rust - great idea! Why not paint the pickup poles too? They could rust and I'm sure painting them won't hurt the tone...

So, back to your letter - sorry but I can't publicly comment on your tunes because that's teaching. Many of my Skype students ask me to do it as part of their lesson.

[AlexThanos]

Hi thx for the reply Scott. I'm still unclear on a couple things though.

So would I still have to drill the 6 holes bigger myself or has Suhr already done that on my old SH Suhr? I set it up exactly like yours just cos I wanna feel how much pressure on the guitar u would be playing with to get that tone so I also set mine up for major 3rd on G string w 4/64 action . Did you have a problem with saddle screws sticking out with that setup and how did you throubleshoot that on the old Suhr?

Oh a quick picking question Scott. Yes I get what u mean picking with Fender rounded tip it does sounds much better and fatter. However I need to also practice speed runs and I noticed I don't get as much speed as using the sharp tip. Is that normal and do you think ill get just as fast playing w the rounded tip or is it better to just stick with the sharp tip when playing fast? I'm comfortable both ways I'm just not as fast on the rounded tip.


Yes Scott I know you don't comment videos in public . You could save the comment for our next Skype lesson . R u ready for that yet? I asked in October and you asked me to ask in November but I heard on Guitarwank you won't be ready till January. Can we start already ? I dont wanna resort to gardening if I start sucking again 😄😄😄

[Scott Henderson]

As far as I know, Suhr didn't drill the six screw holes bigger on my previous model, they only took the paint off the block.

I never had to troubleshoot the saddle problem because Suhr always angled the neck so the saddles would sit high. Apparently this is something they only did for me at that time - the new model has this feature. The only way to fix it on the old model would be to take the guitar to a luthier (an extremely good one), who would have to sand either the neck or neck pocket so that the neck tilts back just the slightest bit so the saddles can be raised.

I've haven't noticed that picking with the fat end of the pick slows me down, but I've never been able to pick fast anyway, and never really cared much. It sounds better, that's all I care about.

I'm open for Skype lessons in February, so see you then!

[AlexThanos]

Hi Scott, yes my tendency for fast runs are more of a legato type phrases but comes a time when I'm given a part to play and the guitarist on the record plays the usual 16/16thtriplet picked runs playing them w those rounded edges feels bit awkward for me cos I wanna hear the notes sustain before picking to another notes maybe that's why it feels slow...oh well just gotta practice it I guess. I'm not a big fan of fast playing as well which makes it even more annoying when I'm given those shredded parts w thin rock tone.

Yippee can't wait for February gonna treat myself a bday gift w a lesson ! See ya Scott 😄