I've been all over the place guitar-wise over the past 10 years but didn't have a production S-type guitar that sounded right to me. I recently splurged on two new-to-me guitars thinking I'd keep one and sell the other later on. I had high hopes for the Cutlass but was very weary of the silent circuit (had it in an old Silo and disconnected it promptly). The Cutlass was up against a Suhr Classic Pro, a guitar that retails for about $700 more, but after hearing many demos of the Cutlass (Burg's was the one that convinced me to buy it) I had to give it a try. So after a few days with them, here's my observations of the Cutlass:
- The new silent circuit is heaps (for my Oz friends) better than the old system. The best way I can describe it is less attenuation especially in the high end. It just works without being intrusive.
- The stock pickups just plain sound great. I'll use this guitar for cleans 85% of the time and these pickups are darn near perfect in every position (I usually use the notch positions and neck only).
- The string tension is very low, which makes for super easy playing .but. the strings rattle more than expected so I had to go from 9's to 10's and raise the action a bit. All is good.
- The neck shape is very comfortable though the string width is quite narrow. I would love to see this guitar with the waxed neck finish.
- I usually rest the bridge on the body anyway, so I like the bridge design. I read through old comments on another site where people were asking if the "cover" could be removed from the bridge. I like it just the way it is.
- The biggest nitpick I have with the Cutlass is the lack of a 3rd control pot. I prefer master vol/tone controls in every guitar except a Strat only because I rewire it to use the bottom tone control as a blend pot to bring in the bridge pickup when the neck pickup is on. Sorta like a Tele #2 tone but I can control how much volume the bridge pickup gets so it doesn't get too spiky. My needs are way different than most so it's not an issue with the guitar at all, just a personal preference.
Overall the Cutlass is quite different than the Suhr. I prefer the tone of the Cutlass but I do like the slightly wider string spacing on the Suhr. The point is that better doesn't always have to cost more, and even though boo-teek fanboys may tend to snub the Cutlass for how it looks, it's their loss. I'm very happy with both guitars and may end up keeping both, but only if I get some new pickups in the Suhr as I'm not thrilled with what's in it now.
TLDR - The Cutlass is an outstanding guitar for the money.
- The new silent circuit is heaps (for my Oz friends) better than the old system. The best way I can describe it is less attenuation especially in the high end. It just works without being intrusive.
- The stock pickups just plain sound great. I'll use this guitar for cleans 85% of the time and these pickups are darn near perfect in every position (I usually use the notch positions and neck only).
- The string tension is very low, which makes for super easy playing .but. the strings rattle more than expected so I had to go from 9's to 10's and raise the action a bit. All is good.
- The neck shape is very comfortable though the string width is quite narrow. I would love to see this guitar with the waxed neck finish.
- I usually rest the bridge on the body anyway, so I like the bridge design. I read through old comments on another site where people were asking if the "cover" could be removed from the bridge. I like it just the way it is.
- The biggest nitpick I have with the Cutlass is the lack of a 3rd control pot. I prefer master vol/tone controls in every guitar except a Strat only because I rewire it to use the bottom tone control as a blend pot to bring in the bridge pickup when the neck pickup is on. Sorta like a Tele #2 tone but I can control how much volume the bridge pickup gets so it doesn't get too spiky. My needs are way different than most so it's not an issue with the guitar at all, just a personal preference.
Overall the Cutlass is quite different than the Suhr. I prefer the tone of the Cutlass but I do like the slightly wider string spacing on the Suhr. The point is that better doesn't always have to cost more, and even though boo-teek fanboys may tend to snub the Cutlass for how it looks, it's their loss. I'm very happy with both guitars and may end up keeping both, but only if I get some new pickups in the Suhr as I'm not thrilled with what's in it now.
TLDR - The Cutlass is an outstanding guitar for the money.
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