Well think again, because this month we're looking at a
representative range of models that show that when it comes to
guitars, Suzuki are seriously worth looking at.
    Suzuki don't specialize in new, cutting edge, ground breaking
design, so you won't find 'exciting' weird or otherworldly shapes in their catalogue. What you will here find are superb copies of classic guitars that are well made and superbly finished, and excellently set up and playable. And the price? Simply within the range of the most penurious of axepersons, for the value for money quotient is really ground breaking.

Models.

Suzuki do a representative range of the best designs in acoustic,
electric and bass guitars. You'll find Gibson and Martin clones
in their acoustics, Strats, Teles and Les Pauls in abundance, and Jazz and Precision basses all covered in the range.

   I got three models for review: The SLS-50CS Les Paul Standard model, the SCG-35CE Acoustic electric, and the SJB-20 Jazz Bass model. Let's look at them in further detail.

SCG-35CE

The SCG-35CE is the cutaway classic model, a nylon strung guitar with active pickup and 4 band EQ. Again, this guitar is superbly constructed and finished with fine attention to detail. Here we have a spruce top allied to mahogany back sides and neck. The binding and soundhole decoration just can't be faulted. Just look inside the soundhole at the construction; there are no unfinished bits and careless blobs of glue here!

   The rosewood fingerboard is fine to play and the body resonates extraordinarily well in the lower ranges, which surprised me for a new guitar. After some playing in, this should be a very rich sounding guitar indeed. As expected the action and trueness of the neck is a delight, and the cutaway makes high position playing very comfortable indeed. But it's once you start to use the onboard (PP3 powered) pickup that the guitar takes on a new life altogether.

   I put the SCG-35 through my studio desk and was surprised at the range and warmth of the sound. The 4 band EQ is very well chosen; the bass end will make the furniture rattle at high levels, the mid can boost the body of the guitar or be cut for added punch in a sound, and the high end adds brightness without ever being harsh, while the presence slider adds right hand attack and air to the sound. The overall result is a comprehensive range of sounds for all seasons. I did a nice line in Lee Ritenour sounds (but not his genius, alas) with this guitar. Ideal for classical and gentle fusion material.

   The SLS-50 is Suzuki's Les Paul Standard model, available in black or sunburst finish. The body is either Alder or Mahogany, and the Neck is either Maple or Mahogany, with a Rosewood 21 fret fingerboard. I have to say here that the finish and build quality is superb; there's no sign of corner cutting or lack of quality control here. This is a guitar that looks and feels excellent. In fact, everything about the quality of the construction inspires confidence in the player. It feels the right weight, the neck sits under the hands perfectly, and it's setup and adjusted perfectly, here with a nice set of D'Aquisto strings. All too often in the past I've come across budget (and indeed no so budget) guitars that are good but need some serious adjustment to get the best out of them. Not so in this case.

   As for the sound and playability: it's just right. This is a very responsive guitar, where the neck is true and accurate all the way up the fingerboard, the action is just right, and you get all the right sounds with no unwanted electrical noises. The range of sounds is nicely variable, from plummy jazz tones to cutting twangs, and on distortion settings through an amp, you know that the sound is the business. If you want quality Les Paul sounds, they're all here for you. An excellent guitar in every respect.

SJB20-BK

   And so to the SJB20-BK, a Fender Jazz Bass copy, supplied in black, but also available in sunburst finish. By this time I was getting used to expecting a high level of finish and detail,  and I certainly wasn't

disappointed. Once again, you can't fault the finish and build quality. The maple neck is set solidly into the alder body with the customary four bolt bassplate, all the hardware and electrics work perfectly, and the bass was superbly set up. In fact, this bass was better to play on than quite a few original Fenders that I've tried! The neck was very comfortable
under the hands, and right hand slapping techniques were made
easy, comfortable and economic by the nice feel of the instrument.

   The sound is typical Jazz bass, with enough twang
(again courtesy of some nice D'Aquisto strings) at the top end as well as deep throbbing bass tones when you need it. In fact if you're looking for a Fender Jazz model bass, this is probably as good as they come. At the (very competitive) price, you can afford to do a Jaco and strip out the frets yourself, as a
fretless model isn't currently available -it should be. All in all, this bass is everything you could ask of it.

Conclusion

   I'm genuinely delighted by the quality of the Suzuki range. They easily equal (if not surpass) the originals in some respects. While you can buy good and bad originals (due to the somewhat wayward quality of past decades), the Suzuki range can justifiably regarded as uniformly excellent, with superb build quality, hardware, electrics, playability and sound. In fact there's just nothing I can find to criticize. If you're not worried about having 'name' instruments and want great  quality that will last for years, Suzuki has to be the marque for serious attention, all at an unbeatable price.