Suhr Modern: Favorite Tonewood Combination?
- Thread starter se7en
- Start date
I've had two alder bodied moderns that were great.
Very resonant and one of them (my favorite of the two) was a little heavier than most alder I've had.
It also had an all maple neck vs maple/rosewood on the one I was less fond of.
My latest is the bees knees though, a carve top with alder body, maple top, vulcanized neck and pau ferro board. The maple on alder seems to help tame/tighten it up a bit if that makes any sense.
Those are the only ones I've tried aside from a basswood/maple bodied S6. Also killer
Very resonant and one of them (my favorite of the two) was a little heavier than most alder I've had.
It also had an all maple neck vs maple/rosewood on the one I was less fond of.
My latest is the bees knees though, a carve top with alder body, maple top, vulcanized neck and pau ferro board. The maple on alder seems to help tame/tighten it up a bit if that makes any sense.
Those are the only ones I've tried aside from a basswood/maple bodied S6. Also killer
I'm with casey on the alder bodied Moderns. For the most part, they've always been my favorite and I've had up to five Moderns in the past....now down to two, but with a Standard on the way that will also have a alder body. The two Moderns I have now consist of these wood combos: 1. alder body/maple neck, Indian rosewood, 2. mahogany body/curly koa top/all Pau Ferro neck. My alder Modern is very resonant and very "open" sounding, while my my mahogany Modern is a bit more compressed and focus sounding...great for leads (I suppose it's due to the Pau Ferro neck and Aldrich p/u's?) My past Moderns had these wood combos:
mahogany body/flame maple top/mahogany neck, Pau Ferro fretboard - (while it sounded barely "okay", it was actually the worst of the bunch for some reason....it was one of those guitars you get that was just a dud in the "tone" dept, and I'm not really sure what to account it to?)
basswood body/quilt maple top/maple neck, Madagascar fretboard - It was alright, but something was always lacking about it...probably should have got it with Aldrich p/u's instead of the SSH+/SSV combo that I get on all my alder body Moderns.
alder body/maple neck, Indian rosewood fretboard - This was my first Modern and always my favorite, leading up the the alder body Modern that I have now, but I was never happy with the neck. I've always ordered my Moderns with the GG .800-.850 elliptical neck, which I really like....problem is, back when I had this one built, the "true" .800-.850 cut wasn't programmed into the CNC machine at the time....it was cut to a .820-.870 and sanded down from there to a .800-.850 cut. Well, as "my" luck would have it, they went past that point when sanding it, because I could always tell that the neck somewhat thinner and just different (which I never liked) than my other Moderns. Being as though I was never crazy about the finish anyways, I had another one built, which I love and is displayed in my avatar.
Edit- Just thought I'd add this info too: alder body with maple neck Moderns must be one of John's favorites too, as he uses this combo on Pro Series M models, M1-M4 (up until recently, adding the mahogany and basswood with maple tops M models).
mahogany body/flame maple top/mahogany neck, Pau Ferro fretboard - (while it sounded barely "okay", it was actually the worst of the bunch for some reason....it was one of those guitars you get that was just a dud in the "tone" dept, and I'm not really sure what to account it to?)
basswood body/quilt maple top/maple neck, Madagascar fretboard - It was alright, but something was always lacking about it...probably should have got it with Aldrich p/u's instead of the SSH+/SSV combo that I get on all my alder body Moderns.
alder body/maple neck, Indian rosewood fretboard - This was my first Modern and always my favorite, leading up the the alder body Modern that I have now, but I was never happy with the neck. I've always ordered my Moderns with the GG .800-.850 elliptical neck, which I really like....problem is, back when I had this one built, the "true" .800-.850 cut wasn't programmed into the CNC machine at the time....it was cut to a .820-.870 and sanded down from there to a .800-.850 cut. Well, as "my" luck would have it, they went past that point when sanding it, because I could always tell that the neck somewhat thinner and just different (which I never liked) than my other Moderns. Being as though I was never crazy about the finish anyways, I had another one built, which I love and is displayed in my avatar.
Edit- Just thought I'd add this info too: alder body with maple neck Moderns must be one of John's favorites too, as he uses this combo on Pro Series M models, M1-M4 (up until recently, adding the mahogany and basswood with maple tops M models).
se7en
Active member
Tone Zone":rj7x3w7y said:
Thanks for the info. I have been checking out the M series...I was actually leaning towards alder or basswood in a Suhr guitar, as a contrast to the Mahogany sound of my LP's. The M series have the Guthrie neck, which seems like a more chunky neck, which would be a good thing for me...was looking at the S Series as well, but the thin neck on those just ain't gonna cut it.
glip22
Well-known member
se7en":1w6q01ec said:glip22":1w6q01ec said:
Not familiar with the quartersawn necks, although I know Suhr does the roasted maple thing which is great.
But, yeah, definitely leaning towards alder or basswood in a Suhr. Thanks, Gary.
The Quartersawn Plan Maple neck feels the most solid and is the smoothest/fastest neck. The Mahogany is smooth also but not as easy to move around on. The Roasted figured necks have more finish on them. My favorite neck is the C shape. The Evn C Slim is not thin. The Modern neck .780 is very thin. The Guthrie a little thicker. I prefer the Even C Slim by a mile over the Guthrie. Its not thin at all. Not fat but not thin. The GG is chunkier in the middle. The C has a smoother taper. Both of my Suhr Standards have the C slim plain maple.It feels much better in my hands over the others I have played. All subjective of course. Never played the bigger Modern neck. The Even C feels the best to me. Never played the medium although I am sure I would love it also. If you like fat necks you can always get a Classic with Standard options. I have seen them recently. I also prefer the 10-14 radius over the two 16" radius I have had. Preference is all.
bwgintegra
Well-known member
I haved owned four Suhr guitars, my current standard has a basswood body, maple top, and roasted birdseye maple neck and it's the best one yet. It has a very nice balance and with the Aldrich pickups it's snarly pissed off sounding guitar.
Green Pro Am
Member
I have had a few Suhrs.
Classic: Alder, maple neck and board
Standard: Basswood, maple top, maple neck and board
Standard: Basswood, maple top, maple neck and rosewood board
My current Suhr is a set neck Modern with Mahogany body and neck, rosewood board and maple top.
All combos were great. Basswood with the maple top was very versatile. My favorite though is the combo I have on my Modern. There are a lot of other variables, pickups, amp etc. Not to mention musical style/genre. For rock, it is tough to beat the mahogany and maple combo.
Classic: Alder, maple neck and board
Standard: Basswood, maple top, maple neck and board
Standard: Basswood, maple top, maple neck and rosewood board
My current Suhr is a set neck Modern with Mahogany body and neck, rosewood board and maple top.
All combos were great. Basswood with the maple top was very versatile. My favorite though is the combo I have on my Modern. There are a lot of other variables, pickups, amp etc. Not to mention musical style/genre. For rock, it is tough to beat the mahogany and maple combo.