Suhr goes Asian

[Spudman]

Suhr has developed a line of "more affordable" guitars for serious players and are making them in Asia. You can read all about them here. http://www.rasmusguitars.com/

The suggested retail price is only a few hundred dollars beneath an American made Musicman. FWIW

[tunghaichuan]

Suhr has developed a line of "more affordable" guitars for serious players and are making them in Asia. You can read all about them here. http://www.rasmusguitars.com/

The suggested retail price is only a few hundred dollars beneath an American made Musicman. FWIW

Damn. Even the PRS Asian guitars are in the $500 range. I think I'd rather have a Musicman guitar. :french

[duhvoodooman]

I'm sure they're great guitars or Suhr wouldn't offer them. But $1300+ sure isn't what most players expect to pay for Asian-made guitars that are touted as "more affordable". It'll be interesting to see what the market acceptance is for these, since they'll basically be competing against US-made Fenders, among others.

EDIT: I see Tung and I had much the same reaction! :AOK

[Robert]

Oh man, that is interesting! I never knew.

Would be interesting to be able to compare a "real" Suhr with one of these.

I don't like any of the models I see there though, so I won't be buying one.

I bet the quality will be fantastic though. See below -


So what sets the Rasmus guitars apart from the competition? It wasn't merely enough to work closely with what we consider the best guitar manufacturing operation in Asia. We needed to go the extra mile so that the experience of playing a Rasmus is very close to playing a USA–made Suhr in terms of playability and sound. So with this in mind, we decided to offer genuine USA–made Suhr pickups, Japanese–made Gotoh bridges and the same German-made fret wires that we use on our Suhr instruments. The woods are of the highest quality imported from North America (Alder and Maple) and Indonesia (Rosewood) and meet our strict weight guidelines.

But this wasn't enough. Every Rasmus guitar will be Plek'd and set up by Suhr master builders before being shipped from the Suhr factory. Yes, we will disassemble each guitar, Plek the neck with our top–of–the–line Plek Pro computerized fret–leveling machine and do the set–up and QC check ourselves. You can be assured of superb playability due to the Plek process, excellent sound courtesy of the Suhr USA pickups, and reliable functionality offered by the same Gotoh bridges that we use on our own Suhr guitars.

[MAXIFUNK]

$1300.00 are they for real?
I would rather go with the new Fender American Special or an Ibanez, Micheal Kelly, Hagstrom, etc etc for that kind of money.

[duhvoodooman]

I bet the quality will be fantastic though....
I bet it will be, too. But I suspect they're gonna find that getting people to spend over $1000 on an Asian-made guitar will be a tough sell. Not to belittle Asian guitars in the least--quite the contrary. I think there are so many fine Asian-made instruments available these days that the competition will be brutal. For example, I could buy TWO Reverends for $1300 and still have enough left over for straps, strings and stands.

There's a big difference between what something is worth and what people are actually willing to pay. Though ultimately, those two things are one and the same, from a commercial standpoint....

[Robert]

Maxifunk, I have strong feeling the guitars you mention will not be of equal quality. See the quote - these guitars get some serious quality attention.

[Lev]

Hmm, so most of the parts and woods are shipped from North America to Asia. The guitars get assembled in Asia and then get shipped back to North America where they get disassembled, plek'd and reassembled??? Seems a very convoluted process to me. I also think that the only way people will pay that money is if it says Suhr on the headstock.

[Neal]

:what

[mark wein]

I played a few of the Rasmus guitars at NAMM this weekend. I am a hardcore Suhr fan (I own two) but I was a little disappointed with the Rasmus guitars. Nice, but not what I was expecting. In that price range for that type of instrument the brand new Charvel that one of my students just bought was a much nicer sounding guitar and even played a bit better without the Plek

[Robert]

Wow, Mark! I wouldn't have expected that, but you have played both, so you're the one who know what the heck you are talking about. ;)

[mark wein]

Wow, Mark! I wouldn't have expected that, but you have played both, so you're the one who know what the heck you are talking about. ;)

I was a little disappointed...perhaps my expectations were too high..

[tot_Ou_tard]

Yow, not for me.

But I wouldn't want a 'bucker anywhere near a strat-style guitar.

[hubberjub]

I haven't played one but I heard street price was supposed to be ~$999. That seems to be more in line with the high end Asian guitars. Personally, I'd save up a couple hundred more and buy a used Pro series Suhr.

[MAXIFUNK]

Maxifunk, I have strong feeling the guitars you mention will not be of equal quality. See the quote - these guitars get some serious quality attention.


That may be but is it worth double to $600.00 more I do not see it.
Made In Japan is no different the a top of the line Ibanez which I doubt there quality will be any better.

But we'll see.

[MAXIFUNK]

I was a little disappointed...perhaps my expectations were too high..
Mark, did you try them out at Namm?

[Spudman]

The Asian brand is called Rasmus.

Mark, did you try them out at Namm?



I played a few of the Rasmus guitars at NAMM this weekend. I am a hardcore Suhr fan (I own two) but I was a little disappointed with the Rasmus guitars. Nice, but not what I was expecting. In that price range for that type of instrument the brand new Charvel that one of my students just bought was a much nicer sounding guitar and even played a bit better without the Plek

[wingsdad]

...Made In Japan is no different the a top of the line Ibanez which I doubt there quality will be any better...

Gee....how novel....an American guitar manufacturer turns to Asia to make an 'affordable' series/subsidiary brand. What'll they think of next?

Ho, hum.

At $1300 MSRP and probably $999 or so street (about 25% off), as hubberjub points out, the price isn't outlandish at all for a top-notch Asian-made guitar.

Ibanez Satriani, Metheny, Benson & others of their Japanese sig, limited, custom models are street-priced up to $7 Grand.

But unlike Ibanez, Suhr only hints at these being MIJ, and intuitively, one might assume that to be the case because they mention Gotoh hardware. Gotoh hardware's good stuff, but hardly an exclusive, and used even on lots of American-made/brands.

I could be wrong, but at this MSRP price-point, I'd guess Korea to be more likely. Ibanez Koreans (Cort) and Epiphone's limited, dwindling Koreans list at around this price point. Japanese Epiphones, like the also-dwindling Elitists list for 2-3X these Rasmus. Even pre-assembled to be completed at thier USA factory, these are probably too cheap to be Japanese.

[Brian Krashpad]

Visually, those look totally uninspiring to me, but I've never liked superstrats anyhow, so consider the source.

Not on my list.

[syo]

these are probably too cheap to be Japanese.

Agreed. Especially since the "reassembling" process continues in the US. Also, one tends to say "Japan" if it's actually MIJ and "Asia" if it's made elsewhere on the continent. I would think Korea as well.

I think it's a very tough sell for them.

[guitardan777]

Personally, I'd save up a couple hundred more and buy a used Pro series Suhr.

I'm with you on that, I've seen some real nice used Suhrs in that $$ range.
Or one could order a custom USA Carvin....

It will be interesting to see what dealers will carry these....

[wingsdad]

Agreed. Especially since the "reassembling" process continues in the US. Also, one tends to say "Japan" if it's actually MIJ and "Asia" if it's made elsewhere on the continent. I would think Korea as well.
Precisely, syo. And while I'm speculating Korea because of the avoidance of stating MIJ combined with the MSRP price-point, I'm soft on that notion because of Suhr similarly avoiding specifying Korea, going with the amorphous 'Asia'.

I think it's a very tough sell for them.
Especially if they're made in Indonesia, pehaps by Samick (who bolted from Korea several years ago because of costs there losing them buisness with Gibson/Epiphone, USA Music/Washburn and others)-- and that's just a SWAG based on how they defensively describe the magnitude of this mysterious Asian manufacturer's operation) and they're trying to hang a $1300 MSRP tag on them, about 25-30% too high.

But I gotta give credit to Suhr for seeking a reneue/profit stream to help them offset the insane cost of doing business in California.

[syo]

Precisely, syo. And while I'm speculating Korea because of the avoidance of stating MIJ combined with the MSRP price-point, I'm soft on that notion because of Suhr similarly avoiding specifying Korea, going with the amorphous 'Asia'.


Well Wingsdad, we're both wrong. According to Ed Yoon, Suhr's director of sales and marketing, they are being made in China. Interesting. Very...

[wingsdad]

China? With a $1300 MSRP??? :what

All along, I'd been thinking of the similarity between this gambit and G&L's Tribute Series...not the MIJ's from the late 80's, but the MIK Tributes that first came out around 2004, and more recently (past couple of years, Indonesian. I bought a MIK Tribby ASAT Special for $350, new, in '04, when the all-USA model went for about $1,000 or so. Like these Rasmus Suhrs, Gotoh hardware, made in Asia and then finished in G&L's Fullerton, CA plant, fitted with the same USA G&L pickups that go in the All-Americans, strung with D'addario XL's and passing final setup and QC. Today, the Indonesian Tribbys still MSRP at half or less the MSRP of the American equivalents and street for about 1/3 the price.

P.T. Barnum is alive & well.

[syo]

China? With a $1300 MSRP??? :what

P.T. Barnum is alive & well.

This is from Suhr's official forum:

http://www.online-discussion.com/Suhr/viewtopic.php?t=4867&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=75

Scroll to the bottom to see the entry.

It appears they are being made at one of the factories making my guitars...

[syo]

China? With a $1300 MSRP??? :what

All along, I'd been thinking of the similarity between this gambit and G&L's Tribute Series.

So funny you should say that as I was thinking of exactly the same thing. What I don't understand is why Suhr isn't branding this similarly. I think they would do better to keep the Suhr name with a similar indicator (like "Tribute")of its' origin. I think most would pay more for a foreign made Suhr than a "Rasmus".

[wingsdad]

Spot-on, syo :AOK

The MIK G&L Tributes bore headtock logos with 'Tribute' the dominant graphic, and a small 'by G&L' beneath it, like 'Squier' by Fender. Openly admitting, as it were, they were imports, not to be confused with the 'real deal', trying to establish the Tribute brand. I suppose that's what Suhr is attempting here, to honor the Rasmussen family name. ('Tribute' was/is openly a brand name intending to convey the imports were assiduously recreating the American models, as a 'tribute' to the company's founding fathers.) When they shifted to Indonesia, they re-branded, emphasizing the parent brand, with the familiar large 'G&L' logo dominating, and 'Tribute Series' beneath it. That branding has resulted now in the impression that they are actually a 'special' series of G&L's.

Of course, G&L is actually a BBE company known for its effects pedals. They play that affiliation down to maintain the impression of G&L's George Fullerton/Leo Fender origin.

[hubberjub]

Well Wingsdad, we're both wrong. According to Ed Yoon, Suhr's director of sales and marketing, they are being made in China. Interesting. Very...

There are a few high end Chinese guitars. Eastman comes to mind though now we're comparing mostly hollow body guitars to solids.