Suhr Guitars works with many great artists who cover a variety of musical styles and genres. We work closely with each to assure that the instruments they rely on for the most demanding professional applications meet their needs and expectations. Over the years, we have developed close working relationships with some of the finest players in the world, and we wanted to pay tribute to three incredible players who genuinely love our guitars and who continue to influence many other players all around the world. These three artists are Reb Beach, Guthrie Govan, and Scott Henderson. Between the three, they cover a huge gamut of musical genres and styles with amazing virtuosity, artistic integrity, and great tone. Their signature sounds start with a custom Suhr guitar built to their exacting specifications and detail. These artists have played 'em all and they rely on Suhr to provide them with instruments that allow them to focus on what they do best: playing the guitar to the best of their ability and creating music.
Reb Beach is an artist who John Suhr has known very well before Reb "hit it big" with the pop-metal band Winger in the late-80's. This long-standing relationship has resulted in a friendship that has lasted well over 20 years. Reb and John go ways back. Featuring a blistering legato technique and aggressive yet polished modern rock sounds, Reb is one of the most admired and respected guitar players in the world of old school hard rock and metal genre. Reb's number one is the Standard model with Koa body, Pau Ferro neck/fingerboard, double-locking tremolo system and the active EMG pickups. From modern crystal clean sounds to saturated distortion tones for heavy riffing to fluid lead playing, the Reb Beach Signature Model covers all of Reb's musical bases with authority and attention to detail. Featuring beautiful rare woods oil-finished in natural and mated with modern electronics and gold hardware, this guitar plays fast and has the sound that gets you heard. If modern rock is your thing, there's no need to look further than the Suhr Reb Beach Signature Model.
Monster British guitar virtuoso Guthrie Govan had been creating quite a buzz in the underground technical guitar circles for many years. Guthrie had been playing various Suhr guitars for 5 years and we decided in 2008 that the time had come for us to sit down with him and develop that one ultimate instrument that would assimilate all the great features and sounds of his favorite Suhr guitars. From modern hard rock shred/fusion to hillbilly country twang, from sophisticated bebop jazz to raw Texas blues, and from pop-funk to earthy classic rock, Guthrie needed one instrument that could cover all of these musical styles and genres while allowing him to continually push musical boundaries to create new sounds that are uniquely his own. Through our shared experience of working closely together on various Suhr guitars, we developed the Guthrie Govan Signature Model that is based on the 24-fret Modern. The result is possibly the most versatile instrument that we have ever created. But the ability to get a lot of different sounds isn't as important as how good those sounds are and how it plays - super fast and slick yet woody and organic, the Guthrie Govan Signature Model, like its namesake artist, features the best of all possible worlds in one stunning instrument.
Guthrie Govan continues to raise the bar for electric guitar virtuosity and we're always interested in Guthrie's comments regarding guitars and gear in general. Knowing that Guthrie grew up learning to play the guitar on set-neck instruments, it was natural for us to work with Guthrie on designing a set-neck version of his very popular Guthrie Govan Signature Model, which has set a new standard for awesome versatility in an elegant high-end instrument. Guthrie had mentioned that it might be nice to have something that was simple-looking and not so beautiful as he was always afraid of scratching or denting his main Signature axe as he traveled all over the world with a very busy concert and clinic schedule. The result is the new Guthrie Govan Signature Set-Neck model which is a superb complement to his existing Signature guitar. It does not replace the first Signature Model; it is another addition to Guthrie's growing collection of superb Suhr instruments that simply allows him to focus on what he does best: play the guitar like no one else on the planet and create new music!
Scott Henderson is a modern guitar legend - pure and simple. Seamlessly fusing disparate musical elements such as jazz, blues and rock, Scott has one of the most distinctive styles and voices in all of modern guitar-based music. Scott and John Suhr have been good friends since the mid-90's when John was the Senior Master Builder at the Fender Custom Shop. Over the years, we have built many guitars built to Scott's specifications to meet his demanding needs that have evolved over time, but Scott can now say that his namesake Signature Model is really the only guitar he needs for all of his creative endeavors. Favoring the classic single-coil tones in a traditional looking bolt-on instrument, Scott has always been a beacon for advanced jazz-fusion improvisation, profound musciality, and a big fat tone that bellows like a loud horn. The Scott Henderson Signature Model has vintage styling but plays like a refined modern instrument with a fast D-shape neck, 16" fingerboard radius and jumbo nickel frets. It features vintage-flavored FL single-coil pickups and the innovative SSC System to get that classic single-coil sound without the annoying 60Hz hum. For those seeking classic sounds but with modern playability, the Scott Henderson Signature Model covers those bases and more.