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Fordman65 said:
So tell me, WTH does scratchy sound like? Please be specific. Is it like tv static, or how about nails on a chalk board? Maybe it's similar to a DJ 'scratching' on some vinyl? Who's tone do we immediately identify with as being scratchy?

Please enlighten us.
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What I imagine it sounds like might be different than anyone else imagines it sounds like. And often when someone describes a sound by using a word like 'scratchy', its because they don't have a better way to express how it sounds. 'Harsh' or 'raspy' might not be exactly what they mean. You just have to use your imagination. Or at least qualify it to some degree, for example its probably safe to say: scratchy =/= smooth.
 
I wanted to point out that not every builder will appeal to every guitarist and that even if you like a brand, not every model will work for you. I have owned about 15 Suhr guitars over the years and some were duds for me. There was one particular one that just was flat, punky, and dead. It was a one piece light Korina body one that just sucked. The fit and finish was immaculate, but the notes just would just die out too quickly. Ironically, I sold it to Joe Morgan with full disclosure. He ended up selling it two weeks later.... I had a second Korina Standard ordered and that one was the complete opposite. It was awesome in every way. But, job issues happened and I had to sell it to put food on the table. Man, that guitar was a killer. I also recently sold a sonic blue HSS standard that was awesome, but I had to sell it to afford my Koa carvetop. I am glad did because this carvetop is a LP killer. I'll put it up against any killer vintage LP anyday...

My point is that there are a lot of variables that can make any guitar brand and model not do it for you... That's OK. That is why Baskin Robbin's 31 flavors exists...
 
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gibson5413 said:
There are duds in any make and model from time to time. Suhr makes excellent guitars! You never can tell if any piece of wood is going to sound flat or not. I think boutique builders will even admit that. Suhr has excellent customer service and stands behind its product.

This is my opinion but I think a lot of times "duds" are the result of some customer orders putting aesthetics in mind and not what practically works. I see a lot of younger players that spec the guitar with exotic woods for the body, tops and necks that don't always play well together. Sometimes having so many options end up shooting the guitar in the foot. This isn't a builder issue but mistakes that players make specing an amazing looking guitar and not thinking about all of the parts contributing to the sound. This isn't exclusive to Suhr. I love Anderson guitars and have custom-built a handful over the years. Some were better for what I like to play and hear. I have settled on four of my custom builds that will never leave my side. As for finish issues...give the company's customer service a chance to make things right. Suhr has some great service and I know John cares about each and every instrument that leaves his shop.
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Some good points here. The Suhr I tried that I thought sounded best to me was just a simple modern satin I owned that would be worth under $2K used. That was a pretty good guitar actually. The fancier looking ones did tend to be the less good sounding ones from my experience. I remember going to Golden Age in NJ where I tried so many very fancy looking $4K+ Suhr’s (some close to 6k) and each one sounded really sterile/flat, but they did look very nice. Maybe there are great sounding ones out there, but at this point after trying many, this would tell me that that would be an outlier not the norm

I hear a lotta guys not liking recent Gibson’s, but at least with their Custom Shop stuff they typically sound very good to me (never sterile), a bad one is usually still at least pretty good sounding and better tone than the Suhr’s I’ve tried and then there are some great sounding ones here and there. For tone at least much more consistent in quality imo and so far same with the 2 Custom Shop Charvel’s I have and curious to try more now. If we’re talking Gibson USA Line though that’s a whole other story. I just meant their Custom Shop stuff. Maybe I just had bad luck with Suhr, good luck with Gibson Custom’s or just have my preferences, but I am open minded and love my 2 Charvel Custom Shops, which I’d think would be in a more similar category to Suhr’s. I definitely love a good super Strat and Les Pauls too
 
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Fordman65 said:
So tell me, WTH does scratchy sound like? Please be specific. Is it like tv static, or how about nails on a chalk board? Maybe it's similar to a DJ 'scratching' on some vinyl? Who's tone do we immediately identify with as being scratchy?

Please enlighten us.
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I was the one who brought the term up; just 'fessin' up, mate.

I've used it for years, both IRL and online, and until now nobody's questioned what I meant. I can only hope that all those peeps knew where I was coming from.

Anyway, I was describing a Modern Pro Bengal Burst that sounded harsh, thin, cold and scratchy; I sent it back.

To break my descriptions down as I meant them:

Harsh - unpleasant to the ear. Jarring.
Thin - lacking in body, both low mids and lows.
Cold - lacking warmth, probably due to the lack of mid-range action goin' on.
Scratchy - the combination of the above three factors meant that there was an overall "scratchy" sound. You can hear that there's string action happening, much like a lifeless electric being played acoustically across a room, but there's no real substance (body, life, warmth, character).

That's the best I can do OTTOMH. HTH mate, from a Chev guy to a Ford man. :LOL: :cheers2:
 
Rogueleader said:
Pass. Nice guitars, but I've never connected with one. Would rather go for an Anderson. The old Mark Knopfler Pensa era ones are sick as fuck though. Pensa and Suhr used to make guitars together. They split in the early 90s. You can still get Pensa stuff, but it's not cheap.

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Rudy owned the store, I was the builder.
 
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