Ryan's Gig Guide - February 2019

This guitar is one big steaming pile of awesomeness!! Legend has it, not one piece of wood that leaves John Suhr’s factory brings disappointment.The Ma- teus Asato Signature is by far no exception. As soon as you lay eyes on the nitro finished shell pink, you are already lost for words. The only problem you might find, if you were to wear this guitar to a gig, is that no one will be looking at you as they will be too busy admir- ing your instrument. It truly is a majestic beast and so is the man who’s name it bears. If you have not listened to this guy it is a strong must. You can find him on Instagram @ma- teusasato, that is not clickable. Excellent musician aside, this guitar stands out by itself. Its modern appointments are ex- actly what what you would ex- pect from a Suhr. Constantly striving for the next best thing in guitar technology, they are a shining beacon of hope for the player that wants an awe in- spiring instrument that is er- gonomically as good as it could be. No sacrifices are made with the intention of making it more like the original guitars of the golden era. It is all about now and the future with this company.They look great, they sound great and they won’t let you down. It shows, you will find Suhr in the hands of many session players. They are a working musicians instrument. It is also warming to see this company backing the new gen- eration of professional work- ing guitarists. Mateus Asato being a perfect example, making his break by building his social media platforms to then ob- tain work with Jessie J andTori Kelly. He is the modern pro player tem- plate. Once you have finished admiring its appearance, it is time to wrap your hands around it.Your fret- ting hand will be met by the smooth satin finish that sits on the roasted maple neck. During the roasting process the wood is heated up and essentially baked. Very much like a cake, the re- sults are j u s t as tasty.The wood then changes at a mo l ecu l ar level which in turn then changes its characteris- tics. After the process, it will not take on as much mois- ture, mean- ing it is more sta- ble when changing climates. You don’t necessar- ily have to be on the road to no- tice how much of difference this can make, especially when blessed with the un- predictable nature of British weather patterns. The wood will have lost a lot of moisture and due to some other magical changes in its chemistry, it will have become more resonant. Res- onance is a large part of what makes a guitar stand out from the masses.When you can feel what you are playing translated into vibrations across your whole instru- ment, the feeling is inspiring. You will find more resonant guitars will be louder un- plugged and when you plug them in there is more hap- pening harmonically.A lot of what makes a guitar com- fortable comes down to the neck. Suhr have chosen to u s e what they call an Even C Medium neck profile for this design and most play- ers will agree that it simply fits well.A hand- ful of wood with contours that sit naturally in the arc of your hand. Mateus d e m o n - s t r a t e s beautifully that any- thing from slow taste- ful playing to fast accurate REVIEW: Suhr Mateus Asato By Adam Roberts Local stockists... 28 rgg Feb 2019 www.ryansgigguide.com