Yea I was just about to chyme in and say Will's guitars are going to be hard to beat... I've got one and it kills. Will is a great guy to work with and with in reason will do damn near anything you want, latest guitar I saw he did had space invaders inlays and a arcade button kill switch lol, find someone else willing to do that for you hahaha...
I don't know that I'd put all the guitars listed as in the same category as Suhr, IMHO there is no PERFECT builder, everyone is going to have different things you may like/dislike. I have yet to play a Tyler but heard great things about them, I have played an Anderson and it was a really nice axe.
Suhr in my opinion does the best job of knowing how to pick out woods, I don't know the exact process he uses though I did see some where he uses a machine to test out the resonant properties of the wood, looking for specific characteristics. I am not AWARE (doesn't mean others don't do this) of anyone else picking out woods in this manner with his process, it reminds me much of the old violin makers where they would tap the wood after each carve until it got the desired sound, this is really a mastery thing that has kind of been replaced by technology.
Here's the pro's cons of everything off the top of my head.
Stinnett - I'll start off with Wills guitar, it's 100% hand built with no CNC work at all, this is going to have plus and minus depending on what you want, the neck profile I have is one of my favorite out there plays extremely fast and for a hand finished guitar it is probably as close to perfect as you will find. That being said it NOT being CNC does leave room for improvement, there is a difference between a Suhr guitar and a Stinnett guitar in that respect, so if your absolutely after flawless machine precision perfection and it's really going to bother you look else where. However, you truthfully don't have the flexibility of options and hands on care that you will get with Will, you can pick out every part of the guitar including the actual piece of wood you want to use if you ask. Also I had the very first custom guitar he put out with a serial#, 002, the first was a production model guitar. I'm sure his finish has even gotten THAT much better since he did mine. He will do Neck Through, 5 piece, 3 piece necks whatever profile you want, and you can't get that with a Suhr or an Anderson I don't believe. Also he used a Nitro finish on my guitar, I'm not sure if that is available on Suhr guitars or not, and he hand oil finished the neck. These are extremely high end options that take a LOT of time he spent many months on my guitar! And hes the only guy that will ever touch it! My suggestion is to email Will and after you talk I'd bet you will do business with him.
Suhr - Great guitar I only own the pro series because I needed that kind of single coil stratty vibe from an axe, pretty expensive if you custom order $3k+ if not more, but your going to get one of the best guitars money can buy in almost every respect, I'm not wild about their pickups. I've actually changed all but one in my Suhr out for Anderson pickups... and after using these Andersons I'm going to be hard pressed to use anything other than his. Their finish isn't nitro but it's very thin, and the woods, good god the woods just resonate unlike any guitar I've ever owned, it has this incredible airy tonality to it, even when you tap on the neck with your knuckles it's like the body just amplifies the sound tremendously it's really incredibly resonant. I think Suhr's wood/feel are hard to beat, I'd personally like the neck profile a touch wider at the nut, and I also don't like the Gotoh trem saddles they just don't feel nearly as solid as the Mannmade trem on my Stinnett, they feel cast rather than machined I'm currently replacing them as soon as the new ones come in the mail. Bear in mind every aspect of these guitars down to the wiring and the control cavity shielding looks flawless, it's like a robot did it perfectly, I'm still trying to break the guitar in to make it feel normal lol. The pro series are a great value and still made in the custom shop, I don't know that I'd want to drop the $$$ for a custom one NEW though... used i'd consider it.
Anderson - I only played a drop top briefly, I liked a lot about the guitar, including the trem etc., but I did NOT like the finish. It seemed like a very thick poly and the guy had quite a few chips on it, it just was weird the way it was chipped etc., but I just don't like that really thick finish. The pick ups OMG, anderson has the best pickups out there for my ears/money I have WCR's in my stinnett which are INCREDIBLE for vintage tone, very clear and articulate, but the andersons are this amazing mix of vintage warmth with out getting to nasally in the highs, plus I love the big pole pieces great for someone who uses a trem like I do.
Those are the 3 off the list I've had experience with... again I can't recommend Will or his guitars enough, and and Suhr is right there with him great customer service too, I just use them for different applications. I wouldn't trade either of these guitars for anything.
Dallas
