Suhr in the process of getting bought out.
- Thread starter frankfalbo
- Start date
GilmourD
Burritotoneologist
Re: Suhr in the process of getting bought out.
When the heck was this? Fender labeled guitars were always MIA until the MIM series guitars came around. Squiers in the '80s were always labeled as MIJ. In fact, Fender's habitual labeling gave rise to the CIJ tag (Crafted in Japan) after they changed factories.
treyhaislip
New member
Re: Suhr in the process of getting bought out.
Perhaps he is referring to the "American Special"/"California Series" Strats that rumored to have been assembled in Mexico and finished/setup in America but stamped MIA...?
Perhaps he is referring to the "American Special"/"California Series" Strats that rumored to have been assembled in Mexico and finished/setup in America but stamped MIA...?
GilmourD
Burritotoneologist
Re: Suhr in the process of getting bought out.
The American Special series is made in the US but the hardware is import and other corners are cut (pickups, etc.).
Sent from my XT1096 using Tapatalk
The California series was no secret.
The American Special series is made in the US but the hardware is import and other corners are cut (pickups, etc.).
Sent from my XT1096 using Tapatalk
JohnnyGuitar
New member
Re: Suhr in the process of getting bought out.
I made a quick search on the Avalanche International Corp - how exactly are they connected with the music industry?
I made a quick search on the Avalanche International Corp - how exactly are they connected with the music industry?
treyhaislip
New member
Re: Suhr in the process of getting bought out.
Perhaps that was what he was referring to? I have heard some confusion about those.
But I don't agree with his statement about Fender confusing the Country of Origin. While I prefer the MIA Fenders, I've played some economy guitars from other Countries that were decent enough for the price.
Perhaps that was what he was referring to? I have heard some confusion about those.
But I don't agree with his statement about Fender confusing the Country of Origin. While I prefer the MIA Fenders, I've played some economy guitars from other Countries that were decent enough for the price.
KeeperOS
New member
Re: Suhr in the process of getting bought out.
They're not, that's the whole point a lot of us make, they're not Fender buying Charvel or even Gibson buying Kramer, they're CBS buying Fender and Norlin buying Gibson...
straycat113
New member
Re: Suhr in the process of getting bought out.
I don't see what Avalanche brings to the table as far as building gear because the answer is =Nothing! I have become pretty friendly with John Suhr the last few years just PM'ing and talking shop with him and know how serious he takes his work and this took me totally by surprise. Guys know when they buy an instrument from him they can contact him and he will personally check on how the build is going. I got turned onto Suhr by a friend on the EBMM forum who is a left handed player sold all his guitars and was on his 5th or 6th Suhr build last time I spoke to him. I know one of his builds which was halfway done and he received an email stating the guitar didn't meet expectations and they told him they were going to start from scratch.
I am also kind of shocked that he sold the company for only 11 million and there is a clause stating if someone offers him more money he can't sell it to them. What I don't understand is if he had thoughts of selling why wouldn't of he talked about it as I am certain he could of caused a bit of a bidding war and would more then likely of ended up with more then 11 million from a company that is still trying to gather all the capital to complete the deal. John is as talented as they come as just his two years as a Fender Master Builder will attest from making the only noiseless pups Jeff Beck uses (he only has two sets) to Claptons tweed twin amps which he basically built in his garage and the pups for the 22K Blackie replicas.As most stated here the company buying his knows sh!t about building gear and if Suhr ups and leaves you will see a drastic drop in sales because it is no longer Suhr gear. No one knows what is going to happen or if he will stay on for at least 5 years like Leo did when he sold Fender to CBS. Another big issue in this deal is that he sold his name, so if he decides to start up a new company it would have to be under a name like SMI which could stand for Suhr Musical Instruments. On the Gear Page thread where John did post but stated he really couldn't talk about anything yet but things will proceed as usual. There were a few guys who know the company better than I and John has a partner as well as others getting a cut and the number stated John would pocket was 4 million which in todays world seemed like peanuts! He never struck me as someone who was burnt out and I always had the feeling he would be doing this another two decades as I believe he is only in his 50's.
As for Fender guitars I am a die hard and my first electric was a bootleg Tele import back in the early 70's until about 5 years later when I got my first real Fender. After a little over 4 decades of playing I own 31 guitars today which will go to my two sons when I kick the bucket, though my lil guy who is 17 plays and uses what he wants. But out of those 31 guitars 29 are US builds and two are mid 80's MIJ Fenders with one of them being my #1 Tele for 30 years as well as the cheapest guitar in the stable. But that also has to do from when it was purchased ' 85' and the guitar is heavily modded and has stacked humbuckers and medium jumbo fret wire amongst other things. As I stated the Tele is my favorite guitar to play but I had my #1 tricked out since 91 kind of in the vein of a Kotzen or John-5 sig.I always tried to buy US once I was old enough to afford my own gear, but I would have no problem buying a Japanese build. Here is something that most guys probably never even thought of, but in the modern age of Fender - Fender Japan is actually older then Fender US. Fender Japan opened under CBS in 82 to cut back on the Strat and Tele copies they were producing and Japan has been building electric guitars since the 60's. But when Bill Schultz and some investors bought back Fender from CBS in 84-85 no factory was included. The only items included were the name,some machinery, and boxes of parts and the contract with Fender Japan. So until Corona was built and finished more then 80% of every Fender sold in the US for about 15 months was MIJ. I am certain many guys heard the story of a team of US builders sent to Japan to see their quality of work and had tears in their eyes lol. I honestly think that is stretching it a bit, but the Japanese were brilliant at copying every detail of the pre CBS models and did impeccable work. To speed up production Schultz had shipments of US parts sent to Japan, I only own 2 guitars with a 7.25" radius and they are both 80's MIJ Tele's. Some friends have brought up about swapping necks on my 85 62 re-issue to a 9.5" but I played that guitar 15 years straight and a year hasn't gone by where it is not played, so for some reason it has no effect on me whatsoever. I also think it would be blasphemy to swap a neck you put 30 years of playing into.I don't own a MIM Fender but I have played many as I hangout behind the counter of my friends guitar shop at least 3 days a week and get to play a lot of guitars I never would. With every factory having a CNC router you are going to get good playing guitars basically from any country, but the MIM guitars have really come a long way since I first played one.Fender Japan today is basically it's own company and one Corona got on it's feet they put a halt to Fender Japan exporting anymore guitars here as a lot of players preferred the Japanese models which were also much cheaper so they didn't want to be in competition with themselves. They also have to give the Mexico factory some inferior hardware and electronics today or they would be in the same situation. Which is why so many guys just buy a MIM and do a few mods as the guitars are made and play beautifully.
I don't see what Avalanche brings to the table as far as building gear because the answer is =Nothing! I have become pretty friendly with John Suhr the last few years just PM'ing and talking shop with him and know how serious he takes his work and this took me totally by surprise. Guys know when they buy an instrument from him they can contact him and he will personally check on how the build is going. I got turned onto Suhr by a friend on the EBMM forum who is a left handed player sold all his guitars and was on his 5th or 6th Suhr build last time I spoke to him. I know one of his builds which was halfway done and he received an email stating the guitar didn't meet expectations and they told him they were going to start from scratch.
I am also kind of shocked that he sold the company for only 11 million and there is a clause stating if someone offers him more money he can't sell it to them. What I don't understand is if he had thoughts of selling why wouldn't of he talked about it as I am certain he could of caused a bit of a bidding war and would more then likely of ended up with more then 11 million from a company that is still trying to gather all the capital to complete the deal. John is as talented as they come as just his two years as a Fender Master Builder will attest from making the only noiseless pups Jeff Beck uses (he only has two sets) to Claptons tweed twin amps which he basically built in his garage and the pups for the 22K Blackie replicas.As most stated here the company buying his knows sh!t about building gear and if Suhr ups and leaves you will see a drastic drop in sales because it is no longer Suhr gear. No one knows what is going to happen or if he will stay on for at least 5 years like Leo did when he sold Fender to CBS. Another big issue in this deal is that he sold his name, so if he decides to start up a new company it would have to be under a name like SMI which could stand for Suhr Musical Instruments. On the Gear Page thread where John did post but stated he really couldn't talk about anything yet but things will proceed as usual. There were a few guys who know the company better than I and John has a partner as well as others getting a cut and the number stated John would pocket was 4 million which in todays world seemed like peanuts! He never struck me as someone who was burnt out and I always had the feeling he would be doing this another two decades as I believe he is only in his 50's.
As for Fender guitars I am a die hard and my first electric was a bootleg Tele import back in the early 70's until about 5 years later when I got my first real Fender. After a little over 4 decades of playing I own 31 guitars today which will go to my two sons when I kick the bucket, though my lil guy who is 17 plays and uses what he wants. But out of those 31 guitars 29 are US builds and two are mid 80's MIJ Fenders with one of them being my #1 Tele for 30 years as well as the cheapest guitar in the stable. But that also has to do from when it was purchased ' 85' and the guitar is heavily modded and has stacked humbuckers and medium jumbo fret wire amongst other things. As I stated the Tele is my favorite guitar to play but I had my #1 tricked out since 91 kind of in the vein of a Kotzen or John-5 sig.I always tried to buy US once I was old enough to afford my own gear, but I would have no problem buying a Japanese build. Here is something that most guys probably never even thought of, but in the modern age of Fender - Fender Japan is actually older then Fender US. Fender Japan opened under CBS in 82 to cut back on the Strat and Tele copies they were producing and Japan has been building electric guitars since the 60's. But when Bill Schultz and some investors bought back Fender from CBS in 84-85 no factory was included. The only items included were the name,some machinery, and boxes of parts and the contract with Fender Japan. So until Corona was built and finished more then 80% of every Fender sold in the US for about 15 months was MIJ. I am certain many guys heard the story of a team of US builders sent to Japan to see their quality of work and had tears in their eyes lol. I honestly think that is stretching it a bit, but the Japanese were brilliant at copying every detail of the pre CBS models and did impeccable work. To speed up production Schultz had shipments of US parts sent to Japan, I only own 2 guitars with a 7.25" radius and they are both 80's MIJ Tele's. Some friends have brought up about swapping necks on my 85 62 re-issue to a 9.5" but I played that guitar 15 years straight and a year hasn't gone by where it is not played, so for some reason it has no effect on me whatsoever. I also think it would be blasphemy to swap a neck you put 30 years of playing into.I don't own a MIM Fender but I have played many as I hangout behind the counter of my friends guitar shop at least 3 days a week and get to play a lot of guitars I never would. With every factory having a CNC router you are going to get good playing guitars basically from any country, but the MIM guitars have really come a long way since I first played one.Fender Japan today is basically it's own company and one Corona got on it's feet they put a halt to Fender Japan exporting anymore guitars here as a lot of players preferred the Japanese models which were also much cheaper so they didn't want to be in competition with themselves. They also have to give the Mexico factory some inferior hardware and electronics today or they would be in the same situation. Which is why so many guys just buy a MIM and do a few mods as the guitars are made and play beautifully.
treyhaislip
New member
Re: Suhr in the process of getting bought out.
Well, Wayne Charvel sold out to Grover Jackson and Wayne built guitars for several other companies and now builds under his first name, Wayne. Perhaps Suhr will stay on or maybe he will move on with his life for other interests/pursuits. I personally think it would be better if he Stayed with the Company; however, Charvel is still a highly respected company and Wayne Charvel has been away for decades...time will tell.
Well, Wayne Charvel sold out to Grover Jackson and Wayne built guitars for several other companies and now builds under his first name, Wayne. Perhaps Suhr will stay on or maybe he will move on with his life for other interests/pursuits. I personally think it would be better if he Stayed with the Company; however, Charvel is still a highly respected company and Wayne Charvel has been away for decades...time will tell.
