I played these both last night at my local guitar store. The prices at this point (early 2020) are very different than in your video. The Suhr Standard plus seems to go for right about $3,300 and the Ibanez AZ 2204 (Prestige) is right at $2,000. I will say this; the Suhr was better. They were very similar and the two biggest differences were the necks and the pickups. The Ibanez pickups sounded very nice, but the Suhr (specifically the humbucker) was clearer (particularly in the lower end) and it just "sang" nicer. Neck carve is a very personal thing, so I can't say one is better than the other, but I much preferred the Suhr neck. The Ibanez felt just a touch thicker, but still nice, but it had more pronounced shoulders. It was more "rectangular" feeling. More D shape than C shape, and the carve on the Suhr was just phenomenally good to me. The setup on the Ibanez was lacking, so I cannot fairly compare the playability, but it was pretty good as it was, and would probably be close to on par with the Suhr. If someone handed them both to me and said "pick one, it's free," I would take the Suhr, hands down. But for the real world, where price is a factor for many people, you are talking $3,300 vs. $$2,000, and at a $1,300 difference, there's a lot to be said for that Ibanez. Definitely more guitar-per-dollar. Plus, you could always throw $200-$400 at new pickups and still be WAY under the cost of the Suhr, making the neck carve the only significant difference. The Suhr I played was used (but in incredible condition), so at $2,400 the smaller difference in price makes it an easy choice for me. But they were both great guitars. Consider the comparison like a high-end Corvette vs. a Ferarri. Both incredible, but one just has that extra something. Thanks for the video. Have a good one!
Hey bro, thanks for the great summary of your experience and updated prices. I'm going to "pin" this one in the comments section so hopefully people see it as the first comment when they read through. With the even greater spread in price at this point, the Ibanez definitely is looking more attractive than before. Not sure why the Suhr jumped up 10% in price in just over a year, but I'm guessing the ~17% decrease on the Ibanez side is simply because they introduced so many new models this year. I guess I should be glad I got my Suhr when I did. :)
@@karlsalocksIt has been several years since my comment and time and experience has a way of changing things... Two things I will say are 1) I find that every guitar is an individual and two identical guitars can feel different to someone, so it's always important to try as many as you can get your hands on. Number 2) I have now owned an Ibanez AZ for well over a year and it is phenomenal. The first one I played and commented about was a Japanese-made Prestige. I have Japanese-made guitars and they are all amazing. However, I ran across a used Premium (Indonesian) version of an AZ in my local guitar store and thought it looked nice so I picked it up, plugged it in, and just couldn't put it down. I sat there for almost an hour and now I own it. I own a lot of guitars, (some far more expensive), and it is a "daily driver" and an absolute keeper. I don't have that old Prestige AZ to A/B it with, but this one just had an amazing feel and the pickups are very clear and articulate, and have a distinctly "sophisticated" sound; more alive than I recall the other one having been. The Suhr Modern is the closet Suhr model to these AZs, so I brought my AZ to another store that stocks Suhrs. I played them side by side, and I actually preferred the AZ this time. The Suhr was great, don't get me wrong. You could feel that it was very well made and felt like superb quality. Built like a tank, for sure, and felt a bit more solid than the Ibanez. BUT, while it played about as well, it didn't play better and I liked the Ibanez's sound better. The Suhr pickups in this model may have been different than the last one I played. I am astounded at how good this particular Indonesian example is and it stays near my practice amp at all times. I always like to say, a "good guitar is a good guitar", and a good guitar isn't always expensive. The AZ was used but you could have convinced me it was brand new because it was in such stellar condition. I believe I paid $1,100 for it and I couldn't be happier. Ot's just quite surprising that I was so impressed by the "lesser" version of the guitar. Have a good one!
@@JunkfoodZombieGunsI love your consistent commitment to these type of topics. Back when I was in Vietnam, theres a luxury boutique guitar shop called Whammy Bar (now ToneLab) and they stock Andersons, Suhr and CS Strat & Gibsons. I played all Suhrs and familirized with their build, playability and electronics well. After some consideration I actually gave up a Suhr Classic S for a AZ2204N prestige in white blonde and dude, I cant put that thing down. The build & quality of Suhr is slightly better with more rolled edges, little better designed trem and also the setup. But once I dialed the AZ to my pref, I proudly stand by it in all situations and the new Fortuna pickups sing heavenly!
Awesome guitar Dave, never tried one but always admired them, love Reb Beach’s guitar, the color you picked is perfect, sounds awesome as well!! Great video!!
Hey thanks man! I originally was looking at the Modern too, but I have quite a few "shredder" guitars already so I wanted something a little different. To me this is a great compromise and meets 1/2 way between shred and classic style guitars :)
For their suggested prices, I'd expect a Floyd Original, not yet another clone. I still don't get why so many manufacturers like the narrow necks (1.65"), some of us like a little space between strings.
I've never tried a Gotoh Floyd, but heard good things about them. As for the neck width, this one seems on par with most I own. My hands are a little on the smaller side (at least by Western standards) so I actually enjoy narrower necks. :)
My apologies. I saw you pinned my last comment. When I reread it, I noticed a grammatical error and edited it. Apparently, that caused it to not be pinned anymore (?). You might want to fix that. I didn't realize it would do that's and if you felt my comment was worth pinning and helpful to your viewers, I figured Inwould point that out. Thanks again for a good, honest review. I may be picking up that Suhr for myself. It's the red/orange-ish burst finish. I don't know the name.
Okay, thanks for the heads up. I will make sure it's still pinned. As for the colors, man I don't think you can go wrong with any of the colors, but I really like the one you are talking about too.
That's a good question. I love my PRS guitars too (I have two Custom 24 core guitars). I think the 594 wins slightly from a tonal variety standpoint. It's just a little more versatile... although I realize some people are sticklers when it comes to single coil tones and only want it coming from actual single coils and therefore the Suhr would fit them better. I've always found the PRS split coil tones to be pretty darn good though. From an aesthetic standpoint I say the 594 typically wins (and that says a lot when you consider the looks of the Suhr). I think other key differences are the scale lengths... the PRS is ~24.6" (Les Paul), and the Suhr is 25.5" (Strat), so depending on what you find more comfortable that could be a factor. Set neck PRS versus bolt-on Suhr is another. The PRS has a fixed bridge while the PRS has the Gotoh 510 with vibrato bar, so that's a big difference. The PRS also tends to be more expensive, and that varies based on how nice the top is. I'm probably telling you stuff you already know, but I'm typing this out to help me think through the question :) ...This is a tough one for me... I guess it depends on which of the aforementioned differences are more important to you. I know this is simplified, but I suppose I would go with the PRS if I wanted more of a high-end Gibson vibe and the Suhr if I wanted more of high-end Fender vibe, although both guitars are much more versatile than your typical Gibson or Fender. Let me know what you decide :)
oh yes, finally PDX add another nice guitar to his collection! your new year's resolution is to buy more guitars? don't get me wrong, I don't want you to spend your money for stuff just for a video. If it's PDX approved it's really good.
Thanks Gabriele! I have not decided on my New Year's resolution yet, but I'm thinking about cutting back to one cup of coffee per day... not an exciting resolution, but that's all I can think of :)
If you are referring to the tone at the intro, I was using the middle and neck pickups together, and I have quite a bit of mids mixed in too ...I love lots of mids for leads. :)
I played these both last night at my local guitar store. The prices at this point (early 2020) are very different than in your video. The Suhr Standard plus seems to go for right about $3,300 and the Ibanez AZ 2204 (Prestige) is right at $2,000.
I will say this; the Suhr was better. They were very similar and the two biggest differences were the necks and the pickups. The Ibanez pickups sounded very nice, but the Suhr (specifically the humbucker) was clearer (particularly in the lower end) and it just "sang" nicer.
Neck carve is a very personal thing, so I can't say one is better than the other, but I much preferred the Suhr neck. The Ibanez felt just a touch thicker, but still nice, but it had more pronounced shoulders. It was more "rectangular" feeling. More D shape than C shape, and the carve on the Suhr was just phenomenally good to me. The setup on the Ibanez was lacking, so I cannot fairly compare the playability, but it was pretty good as it was, and would probably be close to on par with the Suhr.
If someone handed them both to me and said "pick one, it's free," I would take the Suhr, hands down. But for the real world, where price is a factor for many people, you are talking $3,300 vs. $$2,000, and at a $1,300 difference, there's a lot to be said for that Ibanez. Definitely more guitar-per-dollar. Plus, you could always throw $200-$400 at new pickups and still be WAY under the cost of the Suhr, making the neck carve the only significant difference. The Suhr I played was used (but in incredible condition), so at $2,400 the smaller difference in price makes it an easy choice for me. But they were both great guitars. Consider the comparison like a high-end Corvette vs. a Ferarri. Both incredible, but one just has that extra something.
Thanks for the video. Have a good one!
Hey bro, thanks for the great summary of your experience and updated prices. I'm going to "pin" this one in the comments section so hopefully people see it as the first comment when they read through. With the even greater spread in price at this point, the Ibanez definitely is looking more attractive than before. Not sure why the Suhr jumped up 10% in price in just over a year, but I'm guessing the ~17% decrease on the Ibanez side is simply because they introduced so many new models this year. I guess I should be glad I got my Suhr when I did. :)
@@karlsalocksIt has been several years since my comment and time and experience has a way of changing things... Two things I will say are 1) I find that every guitar is an individual and two identical guitars can feel different to someone, so it's always important to try as many as you can get your hands on. Number 2) I have now owned an Ibanez AZ for well over a year and it is phenomenal. The first one I played and commented about was a Japanese-made Prestige. I have Japanese-made guitars and they are all amazing. However, I ran across a used Premium (Indonesian) version of an AZ in my local guitar store and thought it looked nice so I picked it up, plugged it in, and just couldn't put it down. I sat there for almost an hour and now I own it. I own a lot of guitars, (some far more expensive), and it is a "daily driver" and an absolute keeper. I don't have that old Prestige AZ to A/B it with, but this one just had an amazing feel and the pickups are very clear and articulate, and have a distinctly "sophisticated" sound; more alive than I recall the other one having been. The Suhr Modern is the closet Suhr model to these AZs, so I brought my AZ to another store that stocks Suhrs. I played them side by side, and I actually preferred the AZ this time. The Suhr was great, don't get me wrong. You could feel that it was very well made and felt like superb quality. Built like a tank, for sure, and felt a bit more solid than the Ibanez. BUT, while it played about as well, it didn't play better and I liked the Ibanez's sound better. The Suhr pickups in this model may have been different than the last one I played.
I am astounded at how good this particular Indonesian example is and it stays near my practice amp at all times. I always like to say, a "good guitar is a good guitar", and a good guitar isn't always expensive. The AZ was used but you could have convinced me it was brand new because it was in such stellar condition. I believe I paid $1,100 for it and I couldn't be happier. Ot's just quite surprising that I was so impressed by the "lesser" version of the guitar. Have a good one!
@@JunkfoodZombieGunsI love your consistent commitment to these type of topics. Back when I was in Vietnam, theres a luxury boutique guitar shop called Whammy Bar (now ToneLab) and they stock Andersons, Suhr and CS Strat & Gibsons. I played all Suhrs and familirized with their build, playability and electronics well. After some consideration I actually gave up a Suhr Classic S for a AZ2204N prestige in white blonde and dude, I cant put that thing down. The build & quality of Suhr is slightly better with more rolled edges, little better designed trem and also the setup. But once I dialed the AZ to my pref, I proudly stand by it in all situations and the new Fortuna pickups sing heavenly!
Well, now in 2024 a Suhr standard plus is around 4.4K and Ibanez AZ prestige is just below 2K.
@@PDXguitarfreak Thanks for the nice video and explanation!
Never played a Suhr but everything I've read is that they're amazing.
Yeah, I'm blown away... then again, for the price, I guess I should expect to be :)
I love the Suhrs. The stainless steel frets on top of the other cool features make it amazing. Congrats on the purchase!
@@MattyBEightyThree Thanks! :)
Awesome guitar Dave, never tried one but always admired them, love Reb Beach’s guitar, the color you picked is perfect, sounds awesome as well!! Great video!!
Hey thanks bro. This guitar plays incredibly for a Strat style axe. I'm really interested to try the Modern Plus now :)
Suhr Modern Satin is a great guitar if you want a shredder with Fender Strat tones and darker sounds.
Nice demo! I'm stuck between this one and the modern, but im liking this jack of all trades style of the standard plus
Hey thanks man! I originally was looking at the Modern too, but I have quite a few "shredder" guitars already so I wanted something a little different. To me this is a great compromise and meets 1/2 way between shred and classic style guitars :)
Sweet guitar! I would take either of the ones you're talking about.
EXCELLENT , brother !!! Like 28 !! With respect , Ed !!!
Thank you Ed! Happy new year bro! :)
that thing is SHARP. I will most likely go the AZ route eventually as Ibby is just about my fave brand. sharp guit dude
Hey thanks man. It was a hard decision, but admittedly one of the reasons I went with Suhr is because I have never owned one before :)
@@PDXguitarfreak true and you will never hear a suhr owner say....hmmm why did I buy this thing....
Nice one! You’re building a great collection man, good taste in instruments! Awesome lessons too, very inspiring. Happy holidays!
Thanks Kirk! Happy holidays to you too! Rock on! :)
For their suggested prices, I'd expect a Floyd Original, not yet another clone. I still don't get why so many manufacturers like the narrow necks (1.65"), some of us like a little space between strings.
I've never tried a Gotoh Floyd, but heard good things about them. As for the neck width, this one seems on par with most I own. My hands are a little on the smaller side (at least by Western standards) so I actually enjoy narrower necks. :)
My apologies. I saw you pinned my last comment. When I reread it, I noticed a grammatical error and edited it. Apparently, that caused it to not be pinned anymore (?). You might want to fix that. I didn't realize it would do that's and if you felt my comment was worth pinning and helpful to your viewers, I figured Inwould point that out. Thanks again for a good, honest review. I may be picking up that Suhr for myself. It's the red/orange-ish burst finish. I don't know the name.
Okay, thanks for the heads up. I will make sure it's still pinned. As for the colors, man I don't think you can go wrong with any of the colors, but I really like the one you are talking about too.
sweet! congrats & thanks for sharing
Thanks Mike! :)
Would you take this over a PRS 594 core?
That's a good question. I love my PRS guitars too (I have two Custom 24 core guitars). I think the 594 wins slightly from a tonal variety standpoint. It's just a little more versatile... although I realize some people are sticklers when it comes to single coil tones and only want it coming from actual single coils and therefore the Suhr would fit them better. I've always found the PRS split coil tones to be pretty darn good though. From an aesthetic standpoint I say the 594 typically wins (and that says a lot when you consider the looks of the Suhr). I think other key differences are the scale lengths... the PRS is ~24.6" (Les Paul), and the Suhr is 25.5" (Strat), so depending on what you find more comfortable that could be a factor. Set neck PRS versus bolt-on Suhr is another. The PRS has a fixed bridge while the PRS has the Gotoh 510 with vibrato bar, so that's a big difference. The PRS also tends to be more expensive, and that varies based on how nice the top is. I'm probably telling you stuff you already know, but I'm typing this out to help me think through the question :) ...This is a tough one for me... I guess it depends on which of the aforementioned differences are more important to you. I know this is simplified, but I suppose I would go with the PRS if I wanted more of a high-end Gibson vibe and the Suhr if I wanted more of high-end Fender vibe, although both guitars are much more versatile than your typical Gibson or Fender. Let me know what you decide :)
oh yes, finally PDX add another nice guitar to his collection! your new year's resolution is to buy more guitars? don't get me wrong, I don't want you to spend your money for stuff just for a video. If it's PDX approved it's really good.
Thanks Gabriele! I have not decided on my New Year's resolution yet, but I'm thinking about cutting back to one cup of coffee per day... not an exciting resolution, but that's all I can think of :)
Such a nasally tone. Did you have the tone rolled?
If you are referring to the tone at the intro, I was using the middle and neck pickups together, and I have quite a bit of mids mixed in too ...I love lots of mids for leads. :)
Understand. Beautiful guitar.