High End S-Style Guitar Shootout - Which do you prefer?

[@PeachGuitars]

Hi guys, we had to re upload this one due to a problem with the last. Enjoy watching if you haven't seen it already!

[@PeachGuitars]

Correct!

[@AndresPerez-cs1hd]

I Love the Fender Custom Shop ‘59 and Suhr Classic S Roasted Maple amazing Sound!!!

[@GreccPerspective]

I got two custom shop schecters. Absolute bliss.

[@minisurfbanana]

My goodness...a store u can try out high end guitars at eye level and within reach!!! I need to move nearby!!!! Such a cool store!!!

[@nathanjones2447]

I do hope you guys know you're both in heaven working where you do and doing what you love. There is nothing better than that in this life. Life loves life and love, loves love.

[@TrevBec]

The Xotic and Schecter did it for me! Really enjoyable vid, thanks.

[@infraaa_]

That LSL figured out perpetual motion with that tag…

[@jameskalas16]

Great video as usual guys. I made the trip down to you from Warwickshire today because of this video and ended up leaving with that absolute beast of a ‘59 Strat featured at the start! Absolutely unrivalled service and selection of stock. Massive thank you to Scott and everyone else that helped me in deciding which Strat to chose 👌🏻

[@timwhite5562]

I've been repairing and servicing guitars for a decade and a half. If there is any time that I have to catch myself before I say something that offends a client, it's when they bring in any of these high end boutique Strat and Tele style guitars. I'm a strat player first and foremost, and I love them, but there are many times when I also hate them, or more specifically; the builders. Strat and Teles are without a doubt the most overpriced guitar style there is. No matter how many I play, no matter how well they play or sound,I just cannot fathom the prices that builders change and players readily pay. I stopped buying them a decade ago, when I finally had enough when Fender released the David Gilmore Black Strat. When a company makes a$4000 copy of what's essentially a $300 guitar it seems reason goes out the windows. A strat can be completely hand made; hell they can carve the whole thing shaping a body and neck out of raw hunks of Alder and maple trees with a set of knives and chisels owned by a Roman emperor, but it won't change what they are; a slab alder body with a maple neck bolted to it. I still don't know what the attraction of a hand shaped body is over one milled with a CNC. If anything the ones made with the CNC will be more consistent. There is something to be said about a guitar made from the best selection of woods you can find, but only to a point. While a Les Paul can easily get into absurd price ranges, when you see a highly flamed carved maple top on a one piece mahogany body, a quartersawn mahogany neck set into the body with a long tenon, binding around everything and inlays in the fretboard, at least there's a reason for higher cost. How any builder can ask for $8000 for a Strat with a straight face, I'll never know. Obviously the prices are what they are, and they will continue to be what they are. It's really when I talk to people that are in the guitar business, I'm talking about the guitar not the player; builders, marketing, merchants, etc not batting an eye at the ridiculous amounts of money that is being spent on a smaller builders guitar, that really has no quality that sets it above models and makers that are 1/3- 1/4 the price, it frustrates the hell out of me.

[@timwhite5562]

@David Driver Well, there's no doubt that if a player were to compare a Suhr, Nash, Fender CS Masterbuilt with a Squire or something of that caliber that they will find a difference in difference in quality between them, both in tone, feel, construction and everything else that goes with that. Neither would I say that the differences aren't substantial, because I know that they are. My point was in the far end of the spectrum when you get into the $8000 Strats. The difference between a $350 Squire and a $2600 Suhr are obvious as soon as you try the two. I agree that odds are that if you were to buy a Suhr you'll likely be happy with it until the last day you're able to strum a chord. The Squires, while definitely having improved, none the less can be "grown out of". A new player will be perfectly content, but as a students experience builds, so does their expectations from their instruments. You say they whether or not the difference in price being worth it is a matter of opinion, and that's absolutely true, especially when you're looking at the Squire vs Suhr example. But when you get to comparing the $2600 Suhr and an$6000-8000 boutique instrument, the difference goes from things that you can objectively point to and moves to a philosophical debate. I pointed out earlier in my original post that I've had just about every different guitar on my bench and in my hands at one point it another, and that is the reason I can confidently say that, again objectively, the $3400-5400 INCREASE in price (on top of the $2600 price you've already paid) is most certainly not worth it, at least in and physical sense. I'm perfectly aware of the increase in price when you get to the "collectable" market. People ignore that part all the time in this debate, the best example are the Dumble amps. Skeptics are are completely right when they say that the sound or feel of the Dumble isn't anywhere near justifying $80K for an amp. To that I point to the vintage Mustang vs 2020. In every way the modern Mustang is superior; its many times over as fast, the comparison in handling and performance isn't even close, and a modern 500H.P engine gets something like 3 times the gas mileage. But the person buying the vintage Mustang isn't buying it for that reason. I can understand spending tens of thousands of dollars on a vintage guitar, though not $10,000 on a new Strat. There was a custom shop SRV that looks exactly like the $1600 MIA sig model, but was like $6000. If you can point to any reason that it would be worth even half of that compared to the production model, I would concede to you without objection. Cheers

[@ShinMadero]

I agree that $8000 strats are ridiculous. There are real differences between lower-end and higher-end strats though. The wood quality, pickups, fretwork, construction, and aesthetics definitely get better with more expensive instruments. I will admit that the height of actual build quality/playability/tone differences probably ends at around $2500. Anything more than that, you are paying for aesthetics or something with a limited supply. If people want to pay more for expensive woods or a fancy relic job, that's fine, but they should understand that they aren't getting a better instrument than a stock Suhr or LSL.

[@timwhite5562]

@@ShinMadero exactly. The overarching sentiment is basically that the Strats and Teles that Fender puts out in their entry level Custom Shops could be produced at the regular US production models. While it definitely would be more expensive to build; it will take longer to produce them, they would need to start out with some components (wood as well as hardware) that will be more expensive, not just because each component will be more expensive at the start, but because it would also necessitate rejecting pieces that would be deemed acceptable for current production. You're 100% correct that there is a world of difference between a $500 Strat and a $1500 model. I know that fact can be hard for some to accept, specifically to the players who state that "I've owned MIM, MIA and CS models, and my MIM is just as good as the MIA." My response to that is; 1) I don't think that you actually have owned those or you wouldn't be saying that, and 2) I can completely understand why someone would want to believe their $300 used Strat is just as good as I've 4 times the price, but it's just not true. I tend to hear this more now that I work with amps and pedals more than guitars. I'm in danger at times of losing the ability to see when my eyes roll so much that I run the chance of them not coming back. Especially when I hear the "placebo effect" line. I've been on the other side of the bench for many years now, and I can say without hesitation that I have never, NEVER heard of the anyone actually experiencing a placebo effect. I hear, and personally have experienced, the "honeymoon phase," but never a placebo.

[@jimx1696]

@@timwhite5562 check out the Anderton's channel. Seasoned professionals have no chance distinguishing between a Squir Classiv Vibe for £400 and a CS for £3k in a blindfold challenge. Yes materials are different, and it adds up, better trem + 100, better pickups +100, better fretwork +100, better QA = more rejected parts/items = +30% on everything. And that's all wholesale so add factor 2x for retail at least. So add everything up you end with +660 which pretty much brings the Squir to a US model. Still you can't really fell or hear the difference. But it's there.

[@dannyharvey7398]

I’ve been of the same opinion regarding two bits of wood bolted together. I’d put my 88 American Standard Tele up against any Custom Shop of the same wood combination any day. On the other hand my 2011 American Standard wouldn’t fair as well. Why? Fender realised around the time they moved to Corona that there was nowhere to go with their range in order to make bigger bucks, so they reduced the quality of wood selected for their mass produced line in order to make way for the vintage and custom shop guitars. The vintage range in its various transitions has always been very limited in its offering, particularly when it comes to colour, in order to make it appear that the custom shop offerings are far more desirable and therefore worth the added value. Do I think that custom shop guitars are the same as production guitars? …..No, except perhaps for the vintage reissues……..and that’s the way the big companies want it. In 88 you could buy the top of the line equivalent of a custom shop guitar for the price of what it was, an American Standard. Now the price between American Standard and custom shop is at least double, triple or more. Hand wound, machine wound, CNC, hand shaped - there’s very little if any difference between them. No matter how high the price goes, you’re ultimately buying what was once the American Standard, not some new amazing innovation.

[@banjoboys]

Thanks for the great demo its very useful. I'd be happy with any of those guitars. I'm very impressed by the LSL guitar. Definitely please do a T style demo for us

[@jakeah1175]

Love the xotic with the badger. Suhr is so well balanced and love the modern appointments - if the slightly modern bell like sound could be rounded off a little it would be the perfect guitar..

[@zwip778]

jake hurley that’s the stainless steel frets, can’t stand that sound personally

[@gregs8685]

@@zwip778 I hate em too.Frets should be nickel silver. When they get worn level or replace them. Don’t compromise on feel or sound to save a few bucks on maintenance.

[@valebliz]

@@gregs8685 boomers booming real hard, unable to use an eq to save their life.

[@deadinside0586]

This Schecter Wembley, dude... Is keepin me up.

[@mynamesjondowell]

Dude seriously!

[@Iskaral_Pust]

I'm blown away with all of them. I'd put the Xotic as first overall, but they all sound excellent. Might have more than a little to do w/ the duelist, two rock, and two excellent players. Who knew the guy from The Kingsmen was such a competent guitarist?

[@helenboepple8572]

what reverb are you using with the badger.....sounded great

[@Jakal-pw8yq]

I've worked at vintae guitar shops here in the Seattle area off and on for about 30 years and I have to say I think Peach guitars looks like a killer shop! This was a great comparison video my only complaint is that it would have been nice had they put some graphics up to show us exactly which guitar they were playing in case some of us come in late to it or something. Just my two cents it was a great video!

[@richmacgonigle1776]

I'm late to the party. Great overview of these guitars!! Thanks

[@AndyYNWA_1892]

No PRS Silver Sky???

[@pappyodanial]

They said high end

[@AndyYNWA_1892]

William Exactly....

[@seikatsu4life]

@@pappyodanial the silver sky is more "high end" then half the models they featured lol

[@jierdy]

@@seikatsu4life you must be joking

[@kadinstennesmusic6213]

Or Friedman!

[@thesoundpurist]

I have an offer on a xotic for my Suhr custom (strd). Think I’m gonna keep my Suhr, though I don’t bond much with it. I keep hope in case the vintage spirit of the xotic is hooking me.

[@jasonshrestha]

6:49 10:07 16:17 28:02 32:40

[@taxo]

For THE sound you can't go wrong with that Fender, it sounds just beautiful, but I'd give the kudos to Xotic and LSL cause they get in the ballpark VERY nicely, and are super pleasing to hear. The Schecter is weird, but in a good way, it sounds fatter but without sacrificing the top end sizzle and crispiness; like you said in the video is sort of insta-Blackmore. The Vigier sounds very modern but under gain has its own thing going own I really like. The Eggle sounded cool at times but didn't superlove it. Not a fan of the Suhr either, I expected it to kill the competition but was proly the one I liked the least, tho I'm sure for someone it might be pure tone eden. Thanks for the vid!

[@nicholastotoro7721]

It may sound weird, but I understand what you’re saying about the Suhr. It’s too “perfect,” too the point of being too polite. Like it went to finishing school for twelve years and couldn’t relate to anyone LOL!

[@zwip778]

Nicholas Totoro it’s the stainless steel

[@tmunday7270001475143]

You're high!

[@Robert-un3cf]

I'm not getting a lot of the stratty overtones/ harmonic distortionon/whatever on many of these guitars, agreed. Especially the suhr. Sound is lacking something.

[@ew6629]

Xotic guitars for me!

[@TruthTalk1221]

the Schecter Wembley always standing out in these shootouts!

[@michaelc2528]

Man, these guys can play! Does their lessons come with my purchase?!

[@leonbarron368]

Gorgeous the lot of em. Will be over to ye in the new year for a strat!

[@MarkKirbyMusic]

Great video! What reverb was he using with the Suhr amp? That was nice sounding.

[@PeachGuitars]

Thanks Mark. We just added a bit of reverb in post using Logic X' s PlatinumVerb.

[@bertagriese8282]

I'm sure LSL will be happy to hear they make "the cheapest guitars" in that range :-D

[@mayconguita]

Like the vigier with overdrive

[@williamduckworth305]

For me the suhr took it, but the blue guitar with the reverse tuning stock won the over drive ...suhr clise second...xotic 3rd....

[@andiWatson]

Fantastic!

[@davidharrismusician]

Xotic and Suhr were unreal to me.

[@babyalex6969]

Will you please let me know if you confirmed that the Vigier is indeed with Dimarzio pickups? Thought the Expert line had switched over to Amber pickups, but could be mistaken. Thank you for the great demo.

[@NO-TALK-GuitarPlugin]

Suhr and Tom Anderson. Or even Xotic with stainless Jescar frets option (thomann offered one but it was sold the first day...!)

[@PeachGuitars]

Stainless Steel 🤦‍♂️

[@jamesemerson4102]

I could spend a year in this store playing guitars and amps....

[@goswo]

James Emerson why leave so soon :-)

[@FingersOnAFretboard]

Xotic California classic XSC-2 !!!

[@markmunday1275]

Peaches and cream guys. Cool playing. Xotic just pinches for me.

[@MarceloRodriguezsocialmedia]

1. Suhr 2. Xotic 3. Schecter 4. Fender

[@KillBill2114]

Xotic vs Suhr - who wins?

[@petedechop]

Are you guys knighted yet? Long overdue if not

[@daveandrew7014]

Surprisingly I like Fender and LSL the best - tone wise. I also like the Schecter though it sounded the least vintage out of all. The Schecter is .86” on the 12th fret which I think will be too thin for me. How do you guys feel about the Schecter thin profile?

[@taxo]

Honestly when I played the Traditional Wembley (which is different from a regular Traditional, neck wise too) the neck felt everything but thin.

[@philippemassa]

La reine du son strat vintage est LSL. De superbes vidéos, des guitaristes très talentueux.

[@jeffmazzei8520]

Would be nice if you play them cleaner , that’s how You really tell , the Suhr is actually for me the best

[@juanmanuelsoteras5532]

Nice strats and a such good players specially the left one. Sorry my englesh im from Argentina.

[@konnektlive]

Nice, I thought all sounded good except the Suhr one that I thought sounded either overly dull or overly harsh and very compressed even in the neck pickup position for some reason. I honestly don't get the hype around their guitars ^^ The Xotic one sounded the best to my ears.

[@obicross]

konnektlive pretty sure its the ml pickups. Not my favorite pickups of theirs. V60lp is more my fav...

[@MontyCantsin5]

I agree, the Suhr's that they've demo'd so far do sound a bit dull compared to the Fender Custom Shop models, etc. However, as khoirus sobri has pointed out, that could be due to the pickups.

[@obicross]

Monty Cantsin ive listened other suhr models. The basic acoustic response is nice, awesome in fact. For example the one with v60lp is really good. I also already played a few. And it is very nice.

[@konnektlive]

Well, I have played plenty Suhr guitars so far in the shops and in the studio. Their built quality is great but even acoustically they sound very flat? and compressed in compare to Nash, Anderson and Fender CS or even Fender Elite. As I said earlier somewhere else, I was really surprised how good Fender Elites are and to my ears the sounded more authentic than any Classic Pro Suhr I have played so far. It's like the Classic Pros sound and feel very stiff and dense for some reason.

[@obicross]

dont forget setup matters quite a lot to the overall sound too. lower action, lighter gauge (or correct gauge for my hand) or flatter truss rod setting in my experience opened up the sound of the instrument. Even changing tuning can completely change the attack and feel. I've played same guitar with different setup, and it feels like two different guitar. again, interesting how different experience can be. a while back, i've tried in a same day, nash, suhr, and anderson at the same time. Anderson is great yes. Suhr is incredible also. all setup correctly, but nash just fall short under those two. Slightly stiffer and lifeless feeling compared to the two. it's like i have to fight the guitar a bit. Not to mention not only the guitar looks old, it really does feels 'old', whether thats good or bad. the finish crack and everything, the neck, feels a bit slow due to how heavy the aging is. If thats what people looking for, great. Its got the tone, but not my first choice in feel (and feel affect tone in my book).

[@Sebastian.Berensen-Bass]

Hey, Great Work! But next time you should use the same Amp and Pedals for each Amp. By the way... the Xotic did it for me!!

[@ecki3053]

Always LsL !!!😀✌️

[@nikolaubtopou]

Call me snob or whatever you want but nothing beats (in my humble opinion) the look of a real Fender strat...

[@9unslin9er]

Y'all really need to play a G&L Legacy ;-)

[@jessejuno5317]

Custom Shop '59

[@karelstehlik7517]

Patrick James Eggle '96

[@tonyflow1008]

Beautiful stock guys. One day I will finally save enough to grab an xsc 1 from you, until then I will just keep daydreaming on your web site ;)

[@mitcharney1]

Strat style guitars (tones) aren't well discerned if you are always playing beefy overdrive. They should be demonstrated clean.

[@PeachGuitars]

Hey Mitch, this video is pretty old now. Try this updated version and see if it offers a more well rounded overview - kzbin.info/www/bejne/hKe2kJSal7uDjaM

[@seanquail8441]

Vigier for tying something different. If you are looking for strat sound buy a bog standard strat and save a fortune

[@thesoundpurist]

Vigier, sls over the rest. Who’s with me? I already own Suhr s so that maybe why I don’t care much

[@sashohristov2925]

Nothing can beat the strat

[@sugarlife485]

if you like the strat sound

[@mikeaaron2819]

I prefer my Fender Elite Strat which is £1,000 less than these guys. It does it all with in series humbucker-like capabilities. If I had to invest in one of those beauties it would have to be the Vigier just for a different vibe.

[@SevanStick]

Esh and maple does it for me.

[@silviaboz1342]

1.Fender, 2. Suhr, 3. Vigier

[@bennytudor5313]

LSL makes the best strat style guitar hands down

[@saddle8bag]

Alright Jack, quit screwing around a cut an album so I can listen in the car. Use the Schecter please.

[@PeachGuitars]

Funny you should say that, Jack's starting a GoFundMe campaign with a minimum donation of £100. You in?

[@saddle8bag]

@@PeachGuitars Fly him over here and I'll chauffeur him down to Nashville where he can take Brent Mason's job. Where's his link?

[@KunchangLeeMusic]

Suhr 👌🏿

[@Chrismayo1981]

That SCHECTER THOUGH!!

[@rudinigaviola7106]

LsL

[@law6044]

Mario Guitars are also an insane company for an s-style guitar. Options are endless

[@kadinstennesmusic6213]

As well as Friedman

[@bigtsshackfestival9563]

Harry Potter needs to let my boy play. Potter sounds good too. Just don’t start taking over my boy when he’s feeling it dog.

[@gianlucab.9837]

The best guitar is the cheaper option... (if you can't afford a Xotic 😂 )

[@richardmckrell4899]

The owner plays like he's trying to work out a calculus problem, not quite sure.

[@gregs8685]

Fender Custom Shop first, Xotic second.

[@sashaliss2962]

Xotic and LSL sounded great. LSL has more vintage sound,

[@algorithm007ify]

Suhr wins for me.

[@lawlaw1]

look at all those lefties. (sarcasm)

[@supermariozombies4824]

I've done the knock off Strat and Tele thing and learned my lesson. At the end of the day. Your better off with a Fender. Just get a custom shop and be done with it. Nobody wants to give you shit for a used "boutique" Fender.

[@haus05]

fuckin hell 5000 dollar 2 rock amp to boot

[@bertagriese8282]

So I have to ask to unlock each and every guitar that I want to take in hands, even if I don't want to play it? Pfff... You don't seem to trust your customers a lot...

[@PeachGuitars]

Hey Berta, yes, each guitar is secured and you need to ask to hold them, something that we are happy to do for anybody. We carry a huge amount of stock at great value, we can't afford to have it at risk of theft or damage, it's not a trust thing it's a protection thing. You're more than welcome to try anything, but we'll get it down for you!

[@TheJoecoool]

expensive

[@thehotsixer1]

Xotic would be my choice.

[@stavsantis]

Amazing sound guys!! Were you using a compressor on of your cleans in the video tone ??