A Suhr Review

I've just received a beautiful - even if not spanking new - 2003 Suhr Classic S in transparent white (think Mary Kay minus the gold appointments).
25.5" scale, alder body, maple neck and fretboard, stainless steel 6105s, V60LP pickups, gotoh 1088 bridge, Buzz Feiten, etc, etc.

I remembered, from having played one that belongs to a Knopfler nut, that the guitar's response is tendentially "hard"... I couldn't get over the "compressed" feel of the steel frets + Suhr pickups.
To my energetic right hand, the guitar sounded way too brash and middy, without that nice "expanding" kind of tone that I expect from a Stratocaster. By this I denote A) the mid scoop that I have in mind from listening to too much Hendrix and SRV coupled with B) the increased dynamics in a single coil p.up vs. it's humbucker counterpart - one could say in tune amp terms: "sag".

Anyway, I took some time to play the Suhr through my Carr Rambler (www.carramps.com - check them out!)... One of the first things I did was lower the highs on the amp AND lower the guitar's tone controls down to "6". Now I was in business.
The guitar really shines because the pickups' compression actually helps you play with a much lighter right-hand touch - which is obviously a useful feature if you're playing 2,3 hour long sets - and helps you get the same kind of output level if you're fingerpicking. Not a stupid idea at all.
I actually loved the sound of the guitar played fingerstyle vs. the sound of celluloid on the strings and I did find that the Buzz Feiten optimization does wonders for those first position chords, especially triads played on the lower three strings - which usually sound a bit dodgy.

All in all I guess I've found a way to love yet another guitar - much to my wallet's distress.
My girlfriend actually fell in love with it, which means I'll have a much harder time selling it!