Hatsubai « Boutique superstrat that's affordable »
Published on 05/18/11 at 19:16Everyone knows that Suhr is one of the greatest guitar builders out there on the market. They now offer certain guitars at a slightly lower price. The reason they can offer these guitars cheaper is because the process is streamlined due to the lack of customization compared to their 100% custom guitars. The S4 has a basswood body with a flamed maple top, a maple neck and maple fretboard, 22 stainless steel frets, dot inlays, a two point tremolo system, HSS configuration, one volume, one tone and a five way switch.
UTILIZATION
These guitars are top notch, without a doubt. The fretwork is some of the best in the entire world thanks to Suhr utilizing their PLEK machine. The stainless steel frets are wonderful to bend on, too. They're slick and feel great. The two point trem on this feels very smooth, and it handles dive bombing without much of an issue. It's not as good as a floyd, but you also don't have the hassle that a floyd tends to have. The guitar feels very much like a proper Fender should feel.
SOUNDS
The S4 differs from the S2 in that this has John Suhr's favorite wood combination -- flamed maple on top of basswood. Basswood usually gets a bad rap from certain foreign companies using lower grades of this wood, but it's really an awesome sounding wood. When you add a flamed maple top to it, it really accentuates the upper end frequencies to help make one hell of a wood combination. Given that basswood tends to sound very middy and lacks some top end, it's a perfect combination of wood. The humbucker in this sounds great, and it's super versatile. You can play anything from country to metal. The neck and middle single coils also deliver a great chime and sound super clear.
OVERALL OPINION
The S4 is for those who want one of the most versatile guitars that Suhr has to offer in the Pro Series line. Basswood and flamed maple just work out to be a perfect tonal match that's almost unbeatable. These guitars really can do everything, and since this guitar doesn't have a floyd, it's generally more accessible to the average user.
UTILIZATION
These guitars are top notch, without a doubt. The fretwork is some of the best in the entire world thanks to Suhr utilizing their PLEK machine. The stainless steel frets are wonderful to bend on, too. They're slick and feel great. The two point trem on this feels very smooth, and it handles dive bombing without much of an issue. It's not as good as a floyd, but you also don't have the hassle that a floyd tends to have. The guitar feels very much like a proper Fender should feel.
SOUNDS
The S4 differs from the S2 in that this has John Suhr's favorite wood combination -- flamed maple on top of basswood. Basswood usually gets a bad rap from certain foreign companies using lower grades of this wood, but it's really an awesome sounding wood. When you add a flamed maple top to it, it really accentuates the upper end frequencies to help make one hell of a wood combination. Given that basswood tends to sound very middy and lacks some top end, it's a perfect combination of wood. The humbucker in this sounds great, and it's super versatile. You can play anything from country to metal. The neck and middle single coils also deliver a great chime and sound super clear.
OVERALL OPINION
The S4 is for those who want one of the most versatile guitars that Suhr has to offer in the Pro Series line. Basswood and flamed maple just work out to be a perfect tonal match that's almost unbeatable. These guitars really can do everything, and since this guitar doesn't have a floyd, it's generally more accessible to the average user.