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Every guitar has a story.

Suhr

Modern

Suhr could have added two frets to a Standard. It drew a new guitar instead.

For ten years John Suhr’s shop built electrics that stopped at 21 or 22 frets. When it finally went to 24, in 2008, it started over: new body, new horns, new heel, new neck. Within a year the Modern was its most popular guitar.

Introduced
2008
Type
Solidbody electric
Class
Production
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The short version

  1. 1997

    JS Technologies

    John Suhr and Steve Smith start the company in October. The first model is the Strat-layout Classic.

  2. 2008

    Twenty-four

    The Modern debuts at Winter NAMM in Anaheim, in the shop’s tenth year.

  3. 2008

    The anniversary run

    A signed 10th Anniversary Limited Edition rides the same launch, with a Floyd and a quilted top.

  4. 2009

    Pro Series M

    The Custom Modern goes onto a fixed-spec line, “new for 2009.”

  5. 2012

    The black one

    James Norbert Ivanyi gets his first custom Suhr, a black Modern. It becomes his touring guitar.

  6. 2018

    Modern Plus

    The pre-configured Modern gets a roasted maple neck and a new name.

Side A

A1

Ten years at twenty-two

January 2008, Winter NAMM, Anaheim. John Suhr’s shop was ten years old, and for all ten of them its electric guitars had stopped at 21 or 22 frets.

That was the job they’d set themselves. John Suhr and Steve Smith started JS Technologies in October 1997, and the first production model was the Classic, a Strat-layout guitar. The Standard came in 1998, the Classic T in 1999. Lovely guitars, and none of them had a 24th fret.

The Modern was. And the easy way to make it would have been to take a Standard and add two frets.

A2

Not a Standard with two extra frets

Suhr’s own launch copy said it straight: the Modern is not a Standard with two extra frets. Add them, and the body geometry changes. The pickup cavities move. The balance has to be worked out again.

So they started over. The body got smaller. The horns got longer. The heel was redesigned so you can actually reach the top two frets instead of just owning them. The outline went slightly asymmetrical, so the guitar balances whether you’re standing or sitting.

The neck was new too, cut for this guitar and “based on an early-80’s shape that is fast and slim but not too thin.” Suhr calls it the Modern Elliptical.

It worked faster than anyone had a right to expect. In less than a year, the Modern was Suhr’s most popular model.

Add two frets, and the whole guitar has to be thought out again.

A3

A hundred, signed

The launch had a showpiece riding along: the 10th Anniversary Limited Edition. Mahogany under an angel-quilt maple top, a mahogany neck, a recessed Gotoh Floyd, Aldrich humbuckers, and a signature on the headstock.

How many there were depends who you ask. Dealers treat the run as a hundred, and numbered ones turn up as 32 of 100, 58 of 100, and 100 of 100. The factory history page from the time never printed a total.

In 2009 the Custom Modern got a fixed-spec sibling, the Pro Series M: alder, the slim neck, jumbo stainless frets, a Gotoh 510 or a Floyd. Later Pro Moderns moved to basswood with a flame-maple top. That’s the recipe that stuck.

Flip the record · By the numbers

  • 24

    Frets. Two more than any Suhr electric had in its first ten years.

  • < 1 yr

    How long it took the Modern to become Suhr’s most popular model.

  • 100

    The 10th Anniversary run, as dealers count it. The factory history never printed a total.

  • $3,800

    A custom Modern on Suhr’s 2013 list.

Side B

B1

What “Plus” means

Ask Suhr today and they’ll tell you the Modern is a body shape, and the Modern Plus is a guitar. The Plus arrived in 2018 with “a brand new roasted maple neck,” and it’s the one you buy pre-configured.

It’s still the same idea. Basswood with a flame-maple top and scraped binding. A 10-to-14-inch compound radius, which means the board is rounder near the nut, where you play chords, and flatter up high, where you bend. Jumbo stainless frets that barely wear. A humbucker, a single, a humbucker, and a push/pull on the tone knob that splits both humbuckers, so the same guitar can get thinner, single-coil sounds and then go back to lead.

One trap, because people fall into it. The Modern Elliptical GG neck carve is named for Guthrie Govan. Govan’s own Suhr signatures were a Standard and a Set-Neck. The carve is his. The guitar isn’t.

B2

The black one

In 2012 James Norbert Ivanyi got his first custom Suhr. It was a black Modern, and it went on the road with him.

By 2019 it had been his touring guitar for seven years. “People associate me with that guitar,” he said. In his own film about it he puts it on every solo record he’s made: Aphasia, Madison Convention, The Usurper, Denalavis, Wireless. He has also said a Classic S did 80 to 90 percent of the album tracking. Keep both. Onstage, there’s no argument.

When Suhr gave him a signature, he described it as “based on the elegance and simplicity of my main black Suhr modern.” Not a new idea. That guitar, again.

Andre Nieri got his first Modern in 2013. “My first guitar was a Suhr Modern Frost,” he says on his signature page. His signature has a different neck and a mahogany body. Same shape.

It took a whole new drawing to get the Modern right. Ivanyi’s signature didn’t need one. It started from the black guitar.

Put this on

You’ve read about it. Now hear it. Here’s what this guitar sounds like, and what to listen for.

  1. James Norbert Ivanyi ·

    Rubik’s Grand Convolution

    Suhr’s own film of the song from Omen Faustum, played on his signature Modern, the guitar built from his black one.

    Watch it on YouTube

  2. James Norbert Ivanyi ·

    Aphasia

    Ivanyi says the black Modern is on every solo record he’s made, this one first in his list. He has also said a Classic S did most of the album tracking. Both are his words. The Modern is the live guitar for sure.

    Find it on YouTube

The cast

The people, and the specific guitars, that made the legend.

  • 2012

    James Norbert Ivanyi

    2012 black Modern Custom

    His first custom and his touring and live guitar for years. “People associate me with that guitar.” His signature Modern is based on it.

  • 2013

    Andre Nieri

    Suhr Modern Frost, then a signature Modern

    Got his first Modern in 2013. His signature is mahogany with a plain maple cap and a different neck carve, on the same shape.

Liner notes

Specs, construction, rarity, value, and every source we used.

Twenty-four frets, an offset-horn body, and a Modern Elliptical — Suhr’s Superstrat, not a Classic S.

Body
Basswood; flame maple top; scraped binding; Modern shape, rear-routed, no pickguard
Neck
Bolt-on roasted maple; Modern Elliptical .800"–.850"
Fingerboard
Pau ferro or roasted maple; 10"–14" compound; jumbo stainless (.057" × .110")
Scale
Not printed on the factory table
Pickups
HSH: SSH+ (black) bridge, V60LP (black) middle, SSV (black) neck
Hardware
2-post tremolo with steel block; Suhr Locking 18:1; chrome; Travel Pro premium softshell
Electronics
Push/pull tone splits both humbuckers
Finish
Not printed on the factory table
Nut
1.650" Tusq
Open the full research fileConstruction details, the complete player record, production numbers, dated value estimates, and sources

Current typical = pre-configured Modern Plus, SKU family 01-MDP-0050 (suhr.com/instruments/modern-plus; fetched 12 October 2026). Factory prints inches. Scale, fret count, and finish chemistry missing from that table. Dealer millimetres labeled dealer in Construction. Mix flagged. Custom Modern is still the made-to-order shape. Modern Antique is nitro and aged. Modern T, Modern 7, and Modern Set-Neck are other cards. Classic S (suhr-classic-s) is the 22-fret Strat-layout sibling. Standalone — not a Strat family card.

Construction

Ask for a Suhr that plays the 24-fret Superstrat job and this is the guitar they mean. Offset horns. Sculpted heel. Bolt-on maple. Lake Elsinore, not Fullerton. Not a Fender Stratocaster (fender-stratocaster). Not a Classic S (suhr-classic-s). Not a Standard. The 2008 factory copy is blunt: the Modern is not a Standard with two extra frets. Adding them changes the body geometry and the pickup cavities. The balance has to be thought out again.

John Suhr and Steve Smith started JS Technologies in October 1997. First production model was the Classic — Strat-layout, ancestor of Classic S, not this plate. Standard arrived 1998, Classic T 1999. For ten years the shop’s electrics stopped at 21 or 22 frets.

2008. Factory history, captured 2009: JST’s tenth year, and the 24-fret Modern. MusicPlayers.com: Winter NAMM, Anaheim, that January. Dealer reprint of the launch copy (Guitar Heaven / Vintage and Rare): downsized body, extended horns, a redesigned heel so the two extra frets actually work, a slightly asymmetrical outline that balances standing or sitting. The new neck, cut for this guitar, is “based on an early-80’s shape that is fast and slim but not too thin.” That is the Modern Elliptical. This plate starts in 2008. Factory history: it became Suhr’s most popular model in less than a year.

The 10th Anniversary Limited Edition rode the same launch. Mahogany, 3/16" angel-quilt maple, mahogany neck, African rosewood, Modern Elliptical .780"–.830", jumbo stainless, recessed Gotoh Floyd, Aldrich humbuckers, signed on the headstock. Numbered objects this pass: 32/100, 58/100, 100/100. Dealer copy treats the run as 100. The 2009 factory history page does not print a total. Keep both. Limited object. Not the living table.

2009. Pro Series M, “new for 2009,” put the Custom Modern on a fixed-spec line: alder, Modern Elliptical .780"–.830", jumbo stainless, Gotoh 510 or Floyd, Sperzel locking. Later Modern Pro cards (Okada; Equipboard’s 2013–2017 window) move the typical Pro onto basswood with a flame-maple top, SSH+ / ML Standard / SSV, Suhr Locking, and Modern Elliptical .800"–.850". Other woods sit on individual customs. Do not flatten them onto the Pro recipe.

What you buy pre-configured now is Modern Plus. Factory copy: “The 2018 Modern Plus features a brand new roasted maple neck.” Eddie’s: new model for 2018. Thomann: available since December 2018. Suhr customer service, quoted on The Gear Page, 22 March 2023: Modern is the body shape; Modern Plus is a specific pre-configured model. Humbucker Music: Plus is essentially a renamed Pro with roasted maple, a V60LP in the middle, and a push/pull that splits both humbuckers.

The live factory inches, fetched 12 October 2026: basswood, flame maple, scraped binding, Modern shape. Neck is bolt-on roasted maple, Modern Elliptical .800"–.850". Board is pau ferro or roasted maple, compound 10"–14". Frets are jumbo stainless, .057" × .110". Nut is 1.650" Tusq. HSH is SSH+ bridge, V60LP middle, SSV neck. Push/pull tone splits both humbuckers. Suhr Locking, copy prints 18:1. Bridge is a 2-post tremolo with a steel block. Chrome. Travel Pro softshell. Factory scale is missing. Fret count is missing. Finish chemistry is missing. SSCII is not on that table.

Thomann’s Modern Plus HSH is a dealer millimetre card, not the factory table. Scale 648 mm (25.5"). Nut 41.9 mm or 42 mm (1.65") Graph Tech TUSQ — two dealer wordings, not averaged. Radius 254–356 mm (10"–14"). 24 stainless jumbo frets. 5-way. The dealer prints Gotoh 510; the factory prints 2-post tremolo. Same hardware class, two wordings. Leave 648 and 41.9/42 on the dealer card. Mix flagged.

The family split around that recipe. Modern Antique is nitro and aged — other finish. Modern Satin (2012, Wikipedia: replacing the Asian Rasmus line; jumbo stainless from April 2013) is discontinued. Modern Terra was a 2021–22 limited satin. Modern T is Andy Wood’s Tele-outline 24-fret. Modern 7 is seven strings. Modern Set-Neck is glued. Signatures on this shape are other millimetre cards. A Fender Stratocaster is a Fender. Anderson’s Classic and Tyler’s Studio Elite are 22-fret boutique S-types. This one is the 24-fret Suhr: asymmetrical body, Modern Elliptical, sculpted heel.

Players

Do not hang a Classic S, a Standard, a Modern T, or Guthrie Govan’s 22-fret Suhrs on this plate. Govan’s signatures were Standard and Set-Neck. MusicRadar’s 2011 “Antique Modern” review is 22 stainless jumbo frets. The Modern Elliptical GG carve used on this shape is named for him. It is not his guitar.

James Norbert Ivanyi — 2012 Modern Custom; later the black signature. His own “Guitar Stories” film: first custom, touring and live guitar for eight years, and “on every solo record that I’ve ever made from Aphasia, Madison Convention, The Usurper, Denalavis, Wireless.” Factory copy: the signature is “based on the elegance and simplicity of my main black Suhr modern.” Australian Musician (14 July 2019): the black Modern on the road seven years, “people associate me with that guitar”; Classic S for 80 to 90 percent of the album tracking. Keep both. The Modern is the live one. It is not the only studio one. Suhr’s film puts “Rubik’s Grand Convolution,” from Omen Faustum, on the signature Modern.

Andre Nieri. Factory: first Modern in 2013. His line on the signature page: “My first guitar was a Suhr Modern Frost.” The living signature is mahogany with a plain maple cap, Even C Slim .800"–.880", 16" ebony, SSH Plus / SSV. Other neck. Same shape.

Also known to play stays short. Scott Henderson, Mateus Asato, Ian Thornley, Reb Beach, and Pete Thorn are other Suhr shapes. Andy Wood and Benji Madden are Modern T. None invented.

Rarity

You can buy a new Modern Plus. Current production is not rare as a model. Suhr does not publish Modern unit totals. None invented. Serials date a guitar. They don’t count a year.

What is actually thinner: 2008 first-run customs; the 10th Anniversary LE as numbered objects (32/100, 58/100, 100/100); Modern Satin after it left the catalog; Terra as a 2021–22 limited. Ivanyi’s 2012 black Modern is one guitar.

Value

Informal estimate, 12 October 2026. Not an appraisal.

Ask vs sold labeled. No invented medians or factory counts. Period lists are period money, not 2026 street.

New street. Factory Modern Plus $4,299 USD (SKU 01-MDP-0050, fetched 12 October 2026). James Ivanyi Modern $3,999; Ivanyi Antique Modern $4,299; Andre Nieri Modern $3,999. Custom options move the ticket. Named custom ask this pass, not a MAP: Reverb Porsche Red $3,999. Historical, not 2026: 2013 custom list MSRP Modern $3,800; MusicPlayers, January 2010, review guitar MSRP $4,710, dealer around $3,400; Eddie’s 2017 Modern Pro $2,995; Premier Guitar, 12 December 2012, Make’n Music Modern Pro LE, 20 pieces, $2,680.

Used modern. Reverb Price Guide, Custom Shop Modern: $2,329–$3,658, 202 orders, Good to Mint (fetched this pass). Named 2026 hammers on that guide, not a midpoint: 9 October Excellent $2,150; 7 October Excellent $3,500; 4 October Excellent $2,950; 29 September Excellent $3,475. Reverb Price Guide, Modern Plus HSH: $1,856–$3,041, 141 orders; typical new on that widget $4,225. Named 2025 Plus hammers: 7 September Excellent $2,750; 23 August Mint $2,900. Antique, Satin, Terra, Modern T, and Set-Neck are other rows. Do not fold them in.

Vintage / collectible. Early 2008–09 customs trade as used Moderns, not a separate SKU. The 10th Anniversary LE is a numbered object. Not a street tape.

See also

  • suhr-classic-s — the 22-fret Strat-layout Suhr this Superstrat is not
  • jackson-soloist — neck-through Superstrat; this one is bolt-on
  • ibanez-rg550 — mass 24-fret Superstrat this Lake Elsinore guitar is not

Sources

Guitars this one gets compared to, confused with, or descended from.