cant decide between a suhr modern or a tom anderson drop top

nighttrain69

nighttrain69

New member
gassing for a new guitar and i cant decide between these 2, going to try the the drop top 2 morro. main thing im looking for is playability, been playing 25+ years and the fingers arent what they use to be :LOL: :LOL: i want the best playing guitar i can get as long as i jive with the neck. i mostly play progressive metal stuff ,any feedback about these 2 is greatly appreciated, any one looking for a caparison horus in oiled walnut freshly back from budd royce, going to have to sell or trade to fuel the gas :D
 
With guitars of this level you're going to get top quality. It pretty much comes down to which features you like. I don't have big hands and i thought the Suhr Modern neck was small but it felt a little roundish to me from what i remember, but easy to play. It was Carl Roa's green one i played. My Drop Top has the standard neck profile and it's a total shredders dream. It's pretty thin and flat and not too round. I have 10's on it and it's effortless to play. I've owned Suhr's before and my Drop Top sounds better than the Suhr's but it's a preference i have.

Overall, and this is a slight bit of a generalization, most Suhr's i have played and owned are a bit snappy, clear, and bright sounding. Anderson's, darker, thicker, more ooommph. Some guys might disagree but my last Suhr was a Pro Series S4 with maple top on Basswood and my Drop Top is the same body combo. The Suhr sounded thinner and bright by comparison. Now, if i sat in my room and played the Suhr for 45 minutes i wouldn't come out and say that it's a bright or thin sounding guitar. But when i pick up the Drop Top right after the Suhr, then it was noticeable. Mayne it's how each company think their pickups should sound? I don't know?

Now, when i bought my last Suhr there was another one there that i thought sounded better than the one i eventually got, but i really wanted a maple neck and fretboard so i didn't buy the one that sounded best. That was a decision i did eventually regret since i sold the Suhr. These were Pro Series and not the Moderns though.

And for me, the Suhr Moderns have Floyd's...... :thumbsdown: I'm just not a Floyd guy.
 
thanks ,i am leaning towards the drop top, the prob i have with the caparison is the neck feels thin to me, and im not a big fan of the rounded necks either i like a flatter profile ,with a thicker modern sound ,im sure both are top notch. ill know more tommorro after i try the anderson, might be ngd :thumbsup:
 
nighttrain69":30i715aa said:
thanks ,i am leaning towards the drop top, the prob i have with the caparison is the neck feels thin to me, and im not a big fan of the rounded necks either i like a flatter profile ,with a thicker modern sound ,im sure both are top notch. ill know more tommorro after i try the anderson, might be ngd :thumbsup:
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Each company has plenty of neck profile options. I played a 62 roundback Drop Top that felt nice.
 
I actually own both a T/A Drop Top and Suhr Modern(s). I love both models very much. Although, I defnitely prefer the Suhr Modern overall as my MAIN guitar. In fact, I got an order in now for my 3rd Suhr Modern to the one T/A Drop Top I own if that tells you anything. I do agree with danyeo about not liking the regular Suhr Modern neck (.780-.830). On all of my Moderns, I have the GG neck (.800-.850) and it fits me perfectly and I highly recommend it to anyone looking to get a Modern instead of their way too-thin regular neck. I like my fingerboard radius at 14". For what you described, I thnink you'd be in great shape with a Modern with a 14"-16" fingerboard radius. I believe T/A Drop Top generally come standard with a 12"-14" compound fingerboard radius, which is nice as well.
 
danyeo":arv3aytr said:
And for me, the Suhr Moderns have Floyd's...... :thumbsdown: I'm just not a Floyd guy.
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I just saw the last part of your comment. Suhr Moderns don't come standard with Floyds. You can get either a Gotoh Floyd or a Gotoh 510 trem. I've got the 510 on ALL of my Moderns. I'm not a Floyd guy either.
 
mrou":2vmzydtm said:
own both, as great as the TA is, the Suhr is even more....


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This coming from an asshole who called John Suhr tone deaf. You're the biggest hypocrite.
 
both great builders, I did not jive with the Modern, did not like the neck, and like many suhrs a bit brite for my taste, love andersons but that's personal preference, you may also want to check out PWE which is one of my favorites, has the precision of the anderson/suhr but with a tyler/grosh vibe, and a bit better price point. Try to play a few first or at least have right or return with one you buy.

Here is PWE website
http://www.pweamplification.com/Standard.htm
 
They are both great builders and the guitars are very comparable to each other. The only problem is for some reason the Anderson's do not hold a good re sale value. Im not telling you to not buy a guitar you love for that reason, but I would never buy an Anderson new. Look on the used market. I ended up buying 4 Suhrs. 1 modern and 3 standards. They just fit me better.
 
I love my Anderson Drop Top. Great guitars! Liked it so much that I ordered a Classic so it wouldn't get lonely. I have no experience with the Suhr guitars but they look great. One consideration to keep in mind is if you want 24 frets you have to go Suhr. Anderson doesn't make a 24 fret guitar.

that being said, I couldn't be happier with the build quality and customer service of Anderson. Tom has personally replied to a handful of e-mails and his right hand man, Roy, has been amazing to work with. Great company that makes sure you are 100% happy with your guitar (even if it is purchased used).
 
gibson5413":3ltbgr2z said:
I love my Anderson Drop Top. Great guitars! Liked it so much that I ordered a Classic so it wouldn't get lonely. I have no experience with the Suhr guitars but they look great. One consideration to keep in mind is if you want 24 frets you have to go Suhr. Anderson doesn't make a 24 fret guitar.

that being said, I couldn't be happier with the build quality and customer service of Anderson. Tom has personally replied to a handful of e-mails and his right hand man, Roy, has been amazing to work with. Great company that makes sure you are 100% happy with your guitar (even if it is purchased used).
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Yep. At this "level" it doesn't matter which you go with, you'll get a top line instrument and some of the best customer service there is. Gotta make your choice based on looks, features and tone as playability will be outstanding with both.
 
parntz145":1cxw61b1 said:
They are both great builders and the guitars are very comparable to each other. The only problem is for some reason the Anderson's do not hold a good re sale value.
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I owned a Drop Top and a Cobra a few years ago that i needed to unload because of a financial situation. I bought the Cobra for $1500 and sold it for $2300. The Drop Top was bought for $1800 and sold it for $2100. This was before everyone went broke though. I bought my Suhr S4 brand new for a good price at $1900, but took a beating on it and sold it on Ebay for $1500. After Ebay and Paypal took their cut i was under $1400 in my pocket. The Pro Series don't hold their value but the Suhr standards and moderns seem to sell at good prices, for sellers that is.

And yes, as much as we pick on pretty tops, they can really boost the value of a guitar.

I'd love to try out your Suhr's if we can ever hang out one of these days. Having a kid just screws everything up. :LOL: :LOL:
 
Any high end guitar you will take a beating in the re-sale department, look at those shitbox 59 reissue LPs......guys have lost thousands flipping those :LOL: :LOL:

PRS SC fiddles can be had for 1/2 the price, Hamers are even worse.

Oh yeah, I vote for the founding father of the superstrat TA :thumbsup:
 
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