Anderson Suhr Conspiracy Theory

[Daenius]

Ever wondered why guitars from these 2 brands look so similar?

That's because it's the same guy running both companies! Tom is our Tom on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, he runs his other company under a different name "John Suhr".

He would have gotten away with this, except he made one grave mistake of holding on to a guitar with the wrong headstock at a TAG booth:


http://i.imgur.com/WAOU5F7.jpg

TA-DA! :D :D

[Pietro]

Awesome way to take a photo, crop it, tell lies about it, and start a conspiracy theory...

As I always say, "Never let the facts stand in the way of a good story!"

Seriously... love that photo in its original glory...

http://www.guitarthai.com/picpost/gtpicpost/A2895653.jpg

[Daenius]

Hahahaha damn you found the original! XD

Yeah I LOVE that picture. I am such a huge fanboy of the 2 brands, and the history between them is perhaps one of the best stories between two of the most respected industry titans in ANY industry.

Few years ago I remember seeing a thread on The Gear Page where John Suhr was trolling people about how he IS Tom Anderson, had a really good laugh at that xD

[Pietro]

...Few years ago I remember seeing a thread on The Gear Page where John Suhr was trolling people about how he IS Tom Anderson, had a really good laugh at that xD

I remember that.

Bought a used Suhr one time, had it for a few months, still think I should have kept it (GASMAN has it now I think). Really and truly as good as any Anderson, and when I needed a few questions answered, Suhr was just as responsive and helpful as Anderson always is, even thought it was a used guitar.

[brokenvail]

Always loved that pic. I currently own a Suhr and had one other before that. It is a killer guitar and I love it. There are some clear differences between the two brands but both make among the best guitars in the world. Ironically I struggled with looking to hear a certain sound from my Short Drop Top Mongrel after I first got it and what ended up getting me what I wanted was two Suhr v60's paired with an H3! lol The guitar originally came with H2+ and two SC1's (that is how I restored it when I sold it) Man that guitar was awesome too!

[Daenius]

Dude yeah I love my Suhr Standard too! The single coil pickups give you that single coil sound that we all grew up and learned to play guitar with. Everyone who's heard that guitar say "it's more Fender than Fender"

When I got my Anderson Classic I was definitely blown away by how different the sound felt compared to my Suhr, despite somewhat similar specs (maple necks, similar neck spec, similar bridge, pickup config, etc). My Anderson did something that was more along the lines of "I bet you had no idea that a Strat style guitar, or any guitar, for that matter, could sound like this!"

Love them both, I find myself going between the 2 guitars a lot and both play incredibly well and both feel just like home. Hard to imagine playing any other guitars now xD

[morty]

This is what i have read on the internett, so its not strange they look familiar!
Tom can confirm that this facts are true!


Tom Anderson started out working for Dave Schecter in 1977 and stayed until the company was sold in 1984. Dave Schecter told Anderson "If you really want to do what you want, you need to start your own company",[1] which led Anderson to start his own company. Their first contract was building pickups for Schecter Japan, and during the first year they were manufactured in Anderson's garage.

After moving to a dedicated building they also started making guitar bodies and necks, which were sold to for instance John Suhr, Roger Sadowsky, and Jim Tyler. Until 1987, the company's focus was producing parts for others, but that year they brought some completed guitars to the NAMM Show and signed with several dealers.[2] In the following years sales grew, and in 1990 they stopped selling parts to focus solely on building completed instruments. To further internalise the production, they started doing their own paintwork in 1992, and by 1993 the only parts they don't manufacture themselves are metal pieces like tuners and bridges.[1]

The company has pioneered custom guitar manufacturing in several ways. In 1988 they were the first company to use a multi-purpose CNC machine, which now is commonly used in the business to maintain consistency in manufacturing.[2] Tom Anderson and Bob Taylor worked together to adapt ultra-violet lighting to use for curing painted instruments, and the process is now used by several high-end acoustic guitar manufacturers.[2] In 2006 their models started featuring a new neck joint called A-Wedgie, a compound wedge that requires little pressure to keep the neck in place and thus only uses two screws while most common joints use four.[2][4] The company has also used the Buzz Feiten tuning system on their guitars for many years, because it "offers a marked improvement in playing in tune", according to Tom Anderson.[2]

Tom Anderson announced in late 2006 that he would downsize the company to a one-man operation because it was wearing him out.[5] A few weeks later another announcement came, reversing the previous one after Anderson and the company received an "outpouring of support for our guitars and the company as a whole."[6]

[tom]

all true except the worn out time lasted more than a few weeks. it was a very hard time for me and for all the crew. in the end they all came beside me and asked how they could help and we are now stronger and having more fun than ever. it's still a hard business, but anything of value usually is.

[gibson5413]

all true except the worn out time lasted more than a few weeks. it was a very hard time for me and for all the crew. in the end they all came beside me and asked how they could help and we are now stronger and having more fun than ever. it's still a hard business, but anything of value usually is.


Love this statement! So glad everything worked out.