🔥 John Suhr: “I spent a couple of years at Fender — and learned how I didn’t want to build guitars”

How John Suhr created one of the world’s most respected boutique guitar brands

Few names in the guitar industry command as much respect as John Suhr. His instruments are widely regarded as world-class examples of design, engineering and craftsmanship colliding at the highest possible level — firmly positioned at the ultra-boutique end of guitar manufacturing.

As a result, he has attracted some of the most respected players on the planet as signature artists, including Guthrie Govan, Scott Henderson, Reb Beach and Mateus Asato. He has even crossed into the pop world — earlier this year at Coachella, Lady Gaga was seen playing one of his Classic T models.

But Suhr’s journey didn’t start with guitars at all.

From Manhattan kitchens to guitar royalty

Before becoming a master builder, John Suhr made a living as a cook in Manhattan. Everything changed when he was given the opportunity to handle repairs at the legendary New York guitar store Rudy’s Music.

He eventually began building his own instruments, which led to a position at the Fender Custom Shop in the mid-’90s as a Senior Master Builder. Two years later, he launched his own company — and the rest is history.

“I took everything apart”

Suhr’s fascination with mechanics started early:

“When I was racing, I was the guy who took his engine apart. If my parents had a hi-fi, I took it apart. Nothing was safe. I just love seeing how things work.”

He started playing guitar in 1973 after racing dirt bikes. He loved the sound of Strat guitars but wasn’t happy with how they played:

“The neck felt too narrow, strings would fall off the fingerboard, and the round radius caused notes to choke out.”

He was obsessed with Brian May and the first Queen album, particularly the phase effects, which inspired him to learn how tones were created.

The guitar that changed everything

At 18, he met jazz guitar builder Bob Benedetto and asked to apprentice with him. Benedetto refused, warning him that guitar building was a tough business with little reward — but allowed him to observe a build.

Suhr later built his own guitar body and sent it out for inlays. When it came back, he was devastated:

“It looked like a kid had attacked it with a screwdriver. That was the day I decided nobody would ever touch my instruments again.”

Soon after, Rudy Pensa gave him a chance at Rudy’s Music. He started doing repairs in a boiler room — and quickly expanded across the store.

Amplifiers, Eddie Van Halen and Bob Bradshaw

By then, Suhr was already modifying Marshall amps and building rack systems. He built a rig for Bob Bradshaw and helped develop the Custom Audio OD-100.

Eddie Van Halen used the CA3+ on For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge.

After two years working with Bradshaw and modding gear for Steve Lukather, Reb Beach, Doug Aldrich and Mike Landau, Suhr realized he missed building guitars.

Why he left Fender

When his wife became pregnant, he needed job security and moved to Fender.

“I spent a couple of years there, learning a lot of history — but also learning how I didn’t want to make guitars. My ideas were different. I left Fender and started my company in 1997.”

Philosophy and models

Asked about best-sellers, Suhr says:

“I honestly don’t know. Classic Fender shapes are still popular. The Mateus Asato models sell well. But all my guitars share the same character.”

He doesn’t try to convince customers:

“I let people choose. That’s the beauty of custom builds.”

He also believes you don’t need the same guitar as your hero:

“Speakers matter more than pickups. You don’t need the exact same instrument to get the same response and tone.”

“I approach tone from the wood to the speaker”

Suhr compares tone to cooking:

“I can give you the exact pizza recipe, but you won’t make the same pizza. It takes 10,000 hours.”

He views tone as a full ecosystem — wood, cables, buffers, pedals, effects loops and speakers.

“If you don’t understand the full signal chain, you won’t succeed in any part of it.”

Steve Stevens once told him:

“I order your guitar and record with it immediately, knowing it’ll be perfect out of the box.”

The future of Suhr

His son Kevin now leads pedal and DSP development. Pete Thorn plays Suhr guitars and amps on stage with Steve Vai and Joe Satriani.

The company is developing a flagship 50-watt amp for the next NAMM Show and working with Lady Gaga and Tim Stewart, as well as new electronics for Andy Timmons and Ian Thornley.

“We don’t build as many guitars as Fender”

“What Fender builds in a day, we build in a month. We stay small. I will never grow at the expense of quality. If anything, I want quality to increase.”