Fender stratocaster standard neck pickup sound is incomparable. It's has that iconic sound for decades.

Your subtle humor is underappreciated. Your vibe when you're painting notes is unparalleled. Class act, Shawn, always great videos.

Finally, a guitarist that doesn’t skip clean tones when reviewing a guitar! Jesus, so f-ing refreshing.

One of the best reviews I have seen on YT. Thank you for including the clean tones.

Great stuff Shawn, really appreciate the open comparison, but also giving us a bit of your personal preferences as well.

I was always a fender guy but once i tried a suhr everything changed. The craftsmanship is amazing. Suhr was created buy a fender master builder. So sold off my custom shop strats and have never looked back.

Great vid - couldn't ask for a better comparison. Appreciate the clean tone and fair dryness.

It's quite good fun how the zebra striped HB on the Fender makes it look like 3 single coils if you shut one eye and screw up the other.Most sound great. Your playing is the star of the show as always

Nice Shawn! It's so key, IMO, to make the point that ultimately it comes down to personal preference. Well done!

YES SHAWN! Been kinda hoping you’d do this sort of comparison ... thanks and interesting outcome.

Great job Shawn, enjoy your playing too, thank you!

great breakdown of both guitars Shawn. Totally agreed with you. you gave each guitars its great points. super video

Hello...this is one of the best, if not THE best equipment review I have ever seen. Your musicianship is exemplary...you are a gifted man, indeed! Bravo!

Great comparison reveiw, straight to the point with all the important things! Very tasteful playing too!!

Great playing... Fender in the neck position, or neck and middle sounded perfect for me...

Great Video. I love my Suhr, they’re just built like beasts, especially if you gig and fly a lot they’re just great.

The "better" instrument is the one that makes you want to pick it up and play it. That's been my rule of thumb and why I've sold on several lovely guitars over the years. I've tried many, many Fenders (never got to a custom shop model) and while I've often liked the tones, they just weren't keepers. The noiseless pickups I found to be too sterile in the Elite series. So I took a punt on a used Suhr Classic Antqiue SSS, bought it over the internet without ever having picked one up. I've never looked back. And now I have a second HSS one.

Love your vids, playing and commentary, stellar!

Love how the Humbucker on the strat partially matches the pickguard. Keeps the iconic look of the sss style unless you pay close attention.

I was looking for just such a review! Excellent mate. Cheers.

Great demo from a great player and class act. Thanks Shawn, you da man!! .

fantastic review, Tubbs ! I have a Fender CS Strat, one of the first out long ago .. but I am just not a 25.5" Scale guy :)

Great demo. I think that Fender is very responsive to players requests and needs. That strat sounds really great.

Very nice demo, and one of the very few that sounded out the difference right away. I say difference because better is personal preference.

Nice playing and feel man, you make them both sound great!

so nice to hear a guitar player that actually plays making this reviews. Great job, and nice playing!.

Hi Mate - Dave from Aussie - you sure a wonderful musician - beautiful playing!! and very helpful comparison - Cheers

I would install a BKP Crawler and Irish Tours in the Fender. I play that set for years on stage, in my Eggle made custom HSS strat. From SRV on the neck to thick rocktones at the bridge, and all in between. Nice review again Shawn!

I know it's silly, but having that Fender logo on that classic headstock shape is what makes me pick the Fender everytime in a race this close

Hi Shawn, Edit: since my last comment, I have built a Strat with an ML ML SSV+ config that took me quite a while to tweak (pu height, screwpoles, etc.) but once it’s been done, it’s the most satisfying, balanced, dynamic HSS I’ve played. Btw: the loaded pickguard is a Suhr, I’ve been assembling the rest of the parts from gathering bits and pieces on the net. The neck is a gorgeous flamed roasted maple that plays like Butah ;-) and the trem has a floating traditional 6 screw bridge with bent steel saddles that keeps in tune spot on ! Cheers

I like the neck pickups equally well for what they are, the bridge humbuckers are tied for me in the bottom of the 9th inning, but oh, my, that position 2 on that Strat - delicious. I found myself bouncing back and forth between about 2:50 and 7:12 in the vid to A-B compare them. Fender wins in a photo finish.

Great video bro! Lots of folks wondering about this comparison.

I've had several suhr s styles, defenitlely more bright and actually thinner, The Fender strat is it for me, I sold off my suhrs.

I have an Elite Strat with that EXACT set of Lollars you spoke of. It is amazing!

Shawn. You have a true feel for the guitar. Well done.

Damn Shawn.. I love your playing!!! Thank-you for the review

That Pedal Show sent me here! Fabulous playing... just heart-breakingly good

Really well done. Both guitars sounded great, though I kind of liked the more "barky" tone of the fender. I felt like the Suhr was a little more scooped sounded which I think is part of the rosewood board, but maybe the pickups had something to do with that too. In any case, first though was "how was this mic'd" because it sounds great. Then I read through and saw it was the rev20 into daw.... without looking that up, the rev has a di out? Regardless, that tone was fantastic with both guitars. And I think there is one lick in there which I never heard before which maybe I can get under my fingers. ;) Have a great day! :)

I'll make sure to put this in my "Gratuitous Groin Shots" playlist. :-P Great video! Love the comparison!

I've seen dozens of reviews about the Ultra HSS but as usuall you really get the best tone out if it!

Shawn, I am always blessed by your reviews and your killer playing!!!

Great review. Lovely tones from both guitars. I like that these Suhr pickups are not noiseless, very open sounding. Both are above my budget. I am toying with the idea of the American professional II (closet to my budget). I'm more of an SSS guy as I have other guitars with humbuckers in them.

Hi Shawn, just wanted to say thank you for doing your videos. Super professional, informative and great playing ;-) I'll also add, I watched this video again yesterday and it inspired me to go online and actually buy myself a Shur Classic S Limited. I also have USA Fender Deluxe Strats from 2000 era which I love, but always fancied Shur after playing a friends. So, If 'Mr Shur' is watching, it's because of this video I went and bought one of your guitars. :-)

The Suhr is a beautiful guitar. It does not have a swich to split the bridge pickup, but the pickup is automatacally split in position 2, so that sound is very close to the position 2 on Strat.

The Suhr sounded very bright and thin as opposed to the Fender. However Mr. Shawn is an amazing player ! Be blessed sir !

Thank you man, great video as always.......... ....On guitars i can't afford. I' m just here because you play like a beast all the time.

The Nick Johnston schecter custom shop at the back 😍

They both sound great! But I think that has more to do with the player. I would be happy owning either one (the current Strat I own is a Mexican which is still pretty good). What I like about Suhr is the boutique aspect of a crafted guitar with good fit and finish. But the new Merica Ultra line seem pretty nice, I like that they added some more contour to the contour body. I wish we had a place to play and compare Suhr to Fender here where I live. The best thing about the Ultra it the new Texas Tea color!

Great video. Lovely playing

Great, informative video and wonderful playing.

Great playing Shawn!

A really sensible, well judged and measured assessment. Congrats on a very professional and helpful video.

Thanks for the video Shawn. I have a Suhr Classic Antique and a Kiesel and several Strats and I play the Suhr and Kiesel more than anything. My friends all jokingly tell me I play cheap Fender knock offs because a guy on Facebook once told me a Suhr is just an overpriced cheaply made Fender knock off. But now I have to reconsider Fender and will check out the American Ultra! That being said... I LOVE the Suhr SSV pickup and the bright characteristics of the Suhr. And I agree that those bridge saddles are a pain. I used to use Thomastik-Infeld strings and my Suhr would break the high E often.

Btw, I've subscribed and saving this vid just for the amazing doodling bits for your demo. Good work.

#1 great playing and your made both guitars sound excellent however I did prefer the sound of the Fender as I came thru my bluetooth speakers. I was like wow. Thanks for the video and reminding my I need to practice

Nice comparison!! Thanks for this!

I recently picked up a Suhr Classic S Antique and am loving it. This video helped me in my choice. One of the reasons is the 3-screw bridge humbucker on Fenders vs 2-screw on most other S-style HSS guitars (in case I want to swap the bridge pup). Whatever the noiseless voodoo electronics Suhr has built into the Classic is astounding.

Awesome playing and great Demo

Great playing and an informative video

I actually prefer the sound of the Fender in this vid. They aren't night and day different and it's really hard for Tubbs to make any average to pro level guitar sound bad. lol something about the Fender just grabbed me.

Thanks for the demo Shawn and killer playing!! Wish I had a shop close by to demo the Lollar pickups. The sound samples on Lollar’s website as well as KZfaq demo’s are helpful but it’s hard to pull the trigger on them with out actually playing the pick ups in person. I’m literally on the fence about getting the lollar blondes for N/M and low wind imperials for the bridge. I have the same Fender Ultra HSS that you demoed and I personally love the guitar. I wasn’t thinking about the different tones that pickups like lollar and others could produce when compared to the noiseless pups when I purchased the ultra a year ago. The argument could also be made that 90% of the way a really good player sounds is due to technique and not gear.

good to see you shawn !

great review, really tasty playing too.

I have a Suhr Pro S2 which is one of their 'mass' production models. I also have a 1988 Fender American Standard Strat which I have had since new - I love it, it is my goto in any situation because I know exactly what it will do in the circumstances. The Suhr came into the fold recently. The Suhr has become a favourite instantly, and I think it may be due to what you imply - the Suhr has a neck that feels instantly 'right', not exactly the same as the old Standard Strat, but just 'right'. This to my mind tells me something about the way that Suhr guitars are designed and built. No bells and whistles, just a feeling that all components are specced for an instrument designed with the player in mind. The Strat has a rosewood fingerboard, the Suhr a maple fingerboard - I prefer rosewood by a mile, but that says something about how good this maple neck Suhr was. Of course the compound radius made a big difference on the Suhr compared to my Standard Strat - all those choking probs just disappeared, but the new Fender Ultra range has compound radius too. Nice to see and hear an honest review, many thanks.

I like the way you keep down the Suhr guitar with so much care💚

Nice comparison. I wouldn't complain owning either. I want a Strat so bad! I just wish they could move that darn volume knob out of the way, down about a half an inch just might do it.

Amazing playing and tone!!!! In this case I choose the Strat... Cheers

I have the same pickups in my Classic Antique. SSV + ML Standards. Honestly...best pickups I've ever had in any guitar.

Definitely not as important as tone and feel, but I just find the Fender sexier. On a more important note, I actually liked the tone of the fender. I thought that I would like the tone of the Suhr over the Fender, initially.

This is very interesting for me, because I’m actually considering both guitars. I am erring towards the Fender Ultra Strat, but I have to admit on this showing, the Suhr sounds more Stratty!!!. The Fender Ultra still sounds great to me too. I have a Fender Jeff Beck so I’m familiar with noiseless pickups, which I really like as you can get a good all over strat tone, and with a little boost/gain a gritty, kind of overdriven tone, a bit P90ish, in the neck position. Two great guitars, and of course price is a strong factor... I have to say that much of what I learned on guitar has been on Fender Stratocasters, which are just so good to play and feel completely natural to me, but I have a Suhr Guthrie Govan which plays absolutely beautifully too.

Nice comparison! I owned a Suhr Classic Pro for 3 years, and thought it was great. Then I bought a second hand Fender 60th anniversary strat, just because I liked the 2-tone sunburst look. I tried to convince myself for the next 2 years that I preferred the much more expensive Suhr, but eventually I sold it and kept the Fender. I just preferred the neck shape and the fret size/shape on the Fender, and found myself always reaching for it when it came time to play. Pickups, bridges and tuners are easily changeable on both, but if you don't like the feel of the neck and the frets, then there's not much you can do other than replace the whole neck! I will say though that the satin finish on the back of the neck of the Suhr was the silkiest, smoothest satin finish I've felt on any guitar. I keep having to rub the Fender neck with a scotchbrite to get it to the same smoothness.

I own Suhr Modern, they are great guitars, but between those two that you have showed use here my clear preference is Fender - more "body" in sound, and neck position sounds fatter (which I like, some may not). Considering 1000 USD price difference I would buy Fender.

Both guitars sound great and your playing is awesome. Was the tone and volume set the same on both guitars.

It's really hard to take tone comparisons seriously when YT compresses the crap out of all audio. We're only hearing half the tones of either guitar. I've never played a Suhr but I just bought the Ultra strat SSS in Arctic white with a rosewood board and I really don't have a single complaint, except maybe the blast of car paint fumes when I open the case. It's my first strat (LP guy) and I'm alot more impressed with it than I thought I'd be. Build quality, playability, and tuning stability with a floating trem are all rock solid. I also really like the gen 5 noiseless pickups, clean, clear, and articulate w/o being thin. Thanks for the comparison, now I know what I'm not missing :)

Hey Shawn - They both sound excellent in their own way... Now, how about testing a low priced Fender or Squier against the Suhr?

Great comparison video, the Suhr definitely sounds a little nicer to my ears, although both sound great in your hands. When you were demonstrating the middle pickup on the Fender, you played an amazing lick at 3:04 to 3:07 that really caught my attention! Any chance you could do one of your "playing outside" lessons and break down that lick?! (I'm not even suhr what key it's in!)

once again great video I know its old but I was thinking about getting that Strat I'm reaching the big 60 and honestly its hasn't been a happy thought lol times just flies. Anyway your playing is amazing something I wish I can somewhat mimic. You have that great touch like EVH Billy Gibbons its like you are tap dancing on the strings precise tap dancing everything just rings out so well.

gotta get my hands on that ultra Strat.... and yes your effortless playing makes me realize... yeah Tubbs is goooood.

Suhr guitars are amazing. And Greg Kinnear is a fantastic player!! Two thumbs up!

In addition to what was mentioned here, I would always choose Suhr's stainless steel frets. When I tried a Suhr, years ago, t took me just a few seconds to realize SS frets made it really easy to bend strings and... they last forever.

@Shawn Tubbs I was shopping recently for a strat and watched your video before hitting some stores. It proved to be very helpful. Like you suggested, I tried both and after a few go arounds preferred the Ultra. I discovered the Fender has a tone bypass, which allows it to sound brighter. I bought one with the rosewood fretboard.

Great video. I have a maple fretboard on my strat and a rosewood one on my tele.love both .there's a differenza

Both sounds nice, but I like the Suhr because of the Rosewood board.

Man… great review. I currently have a 2020 American Ultra that I absolutely love. I’m considering a suhr for my next purchase, but I’m kind of on the fence that it’s too close to an ultra to make the decision.

I almost went for the elite hss (last gen before ultra but after deluxe) and played an ebmm cutlass hss and had to go with that. I'd love to see the suhr and cutlass go head to head.

The fender neck pickup tone KILLS

I am yet to hear or play a set of noiseless pickups that do not lose that top end sparkle and i’ve had a few sets over the years. As good as they are getting these days, i always end up going back to traditional single coils - I would love that sculpted heel on my ‘89 strat though (note to self ‘go and do some work before you start thinking about ways to mod your strat again’) Loved that drive sound too - nice n crunchy - what was that ?

Well done, it all comes down to personal preference. I have Tylers and a Fender, they all sound different, but my Tylers feel similar to each other. My go to is my first Tyler classic, and I still stink

If some one came walking up to me with one in each hand and "hey man, pick one its yours" I would go with the Fender.

I have had both, among several other strats, and although Fender did step up with the Ultra, the stainless Plekd frets on the Suhr are absolutely better (no, there’s no discernible tone difference and they’ll last forever). I personally think that once you go 10-14” radius you lose a certain “stratness”... it makes me play differently. My Suhr had the ML pickups (instead on V63) which I regard as one of the best strat pups, clear and sparkly (especially when playing loud and high gain). Ultimately I decided to sell both and get two strats from an independent luthier. All good now! Love the video! 🙌🏼

I have an American Ultra and love it! I don’t know if I got a gem or if they are just that good but I cannot put it down. I always wanted to try a Suhr

the fact is you play really good thats make the guitar sounds good :0

I've been window shopping higher-end strats and I have to ask, how does the S1 switch sound with the HSS ultra? I'd like to get an SSS (at some point), so I'm curious how the HSS sounds with the S1 engaged. Is there any benefit to getting an SSS ultra? I'm having trouble finding any info online.

great vid, thanks. wondering if you've come across any MIJ Fenders and your thoughts. I have a blonde tele and a 96 jag and I really like them. in Ochanomizu in Japan there is a street with music stores on both sides of the street for about two blocks. lotsa fun

I have an American deluxe from 2004 and a 2019 American professional Strat. The deluxe is obviously much older than the ultra model you have here, but honestly it oozes quality. Everything about the build is perfect - even 16 years later it’s still my most comfortable guitar. The noiseless pickups have their own character; still very much a Strat tone but fatter and maybe a tiny bit darker than the traditional fender sound. My American Professional has the V-Mod single coils and a shawbucker at the bridge. It feels a bit more basic than my deluxe; although it is very well built and flawless, somehow it just can’t quite match the softer quality feel of the deluxe. The V-Mod pickups on the Professional are just out of this world. Easily the best single coil sound I’ve ever heard. They’re bright, lively and articulate. Fender carefully blended different alnico magnets to create the sound and really hit the spot. A lot of people probably think that these are just average bland stock pickups but they really are a step up and are great sounding. The shawbucker is medium output but it sounds brilliant overdriven and is a great combination with the middle pickup. You still get some of that classic quack.

Hmmm......Based on this very nicely played (and fair) demo of both guitars......I'd have to take the Strat over the Suhr at first blush. I think the fleshier neck on the Strat helps in giving a more 'rounded' overall timbre on all settings. Also, it just sounded more ample than the upper end, airy output of the Suhr. And, like Tubbs said, if that is the sound you're chasing, the Suhr fills the bill. For me, though, I need more meat on the bone and with the addition of the S1 switch, it’s kinda hard to make a true comparison of these two fine guitars.

Really good comparison of two great guitars. I own a fender ultra strat and to me, it's like a hot rod strat. I am fortunate and have quite a few guitars, many of them strats. When I compare the ultra noiseless pickups to my Eric Johnson signature Virginia stratocaster, the ultra is missing that "snappy" tone that the EJ strat has ( plus the EJ strat is a sassafras body where the ultra is alder). So once again it's preference. I record with my EJ stratocaster because the combination of a sassafras body with 62? Pickups really stands out on a track. But..the Ultra is a blast to play. It just fits good and plays itself.

I owned a Suhr Classic Pro and I have two American Deluxe Strats, all HSS. To me, the Suhr sounded more sterile so I sold it. For my American Deluxe Strats, I took the S1 switching out and put an EVH Wolfgang in the bridge of both. In the one, I have Fender CS Fat 50's and the other Kinman Fat 50 Impersonators. Both guitars are outstanding. The video confirmed my experience, as I liked the tone of the Fender. The Suhr is a very well made guitar.

Nice comparison. Seemed to me that I preferred your playing on the Fender - you sounded fuller, more confident and authoritative as a player. I felt the Suhr tone sounded thinner by comparison in your hands.

Nice video. Interesting though that you played the Suhr very differently than the Ultra. For instance, when you started off with the neck pickup on the Suhr you really dug in and played jazzier on the Ultra. Just seeing you do bigger bends and shaking the Suhr more makes me think you are way more comfortable with it. It is a more open sound though like you say. Again, thanks for the upload!