The BRAND NEW Suhr OSO!
Published on 11 June 2025
Oso. It’s Spanish for ‘bear’ and that’s maybe a good thing to keep in mind when considering Suhr’s newest original addition to their catalogue. I’ll come back to this! Unveiled at the Winter NAMM show in Anaheim, this is uncharted territory for the famed Lake Elsinore-based builders. We are excited - to say the least - for these to arrive.
But what are they?
Content
A New Hybrid Shape for Suhr
- Suhr bridge the gap between the ‘big two’
- New territory for this esteemed company
The Suhr OSO is an entirely new concept and shape for the brand. Already well known for their S and T-style guitars, Suhr have also dipped their toes into more Gibson-ish territory in recent years with their Aura guitar, a 100-piece limited edition beauty that paid tribute to Kalamazoo’s most famous single cut.
It’s reasonable to say that the Aura sat somewhere outside of Suhr’s known wheelhouse, but its success has no doubt carried across to the Oso, another pretty different guitar design for John Suhr and his fellow builders.
What would you call the OSO? A hybrid style? A mix of Fender and Gibson? More specifically, a mixture of Telecaster and Les Paul? But with a tremolo, right?
Yeah, it’s none of those really, it’s a fresh new design bearing strong flavours of those classic guitars, but also commanding its own look, style and vibe.
Short Scale
- Short scale for a loose feel
- Actually shorter than Gibson scale length, at 24.625”
- A genuine alternative to other guitars on the market
Broadly speaking, guitar companies tend to stick with certain conventions when building certain guitars: ‘this goes with this, that goes with that’, and so on. As players, we have expectations built on decades of received experience, and so something that looks ‘Fenderish’ - as most Suhrs can be said to look - tends to have a scale length of 25.5”, the same measurement that Fender uses.
On the other hand, guitar designs that borrow from Gibson models will invariably have a shorter 24.75” scale length, just like Gibson. This is because of our expectations in terms of feel and finger stretch: the difference in scale length and its corresponding feel is a big part of the reason why we choose one guitar style over another.
PRS famously opted for an in-between scale length of 25” on the nose, and they’ve largely stuck with that since day one, apart from a few specific models such as the McCarty 594 guitars. This gives PRS their own distinctive feel compared to other guitars on the market.
Suhr, for their part, are thinking along similar lines, but their ‘short scale’ guitar (I personally wouldn’t call this short scale - 24” such as a Fender Mustang would be short scale to me - but Suhr are using that term so let’s go with it) is 24.625”, a figure that hasn’t been applied to any guitar so far, to my knowledge.
The reason for the shorter scale is to offer a looser feel for players. You can play bends easier (and bend further) and also enjoy a slightly further stretch with your fingers since the distance is less. Don’t discount the seemingly minor size difference: you’ll notice a very significant change in feel!
No other Suhr guitars have this, so it’s a legitimate alternative to what they normally offer.
The Shape, the Build
- Tele meets Les Paul with a dose of Suhr thrown in
- There’s a choice of timbers, depending on finish
- Genuinely new and unique
So, I suppose it’s fair enough to call the outline of the OSO a Tele mixed with a Les Paul, because you get a single cutaway body that’s more Tele than LP, and you get a bolted-on neck. On the other hand, there’s also two humbuckers and a back-angled 3-a-side headstock, all of which are very ‘Les Paul’. I would actually align this guitar more in the ‘Gibbo’ territory overall, if it wasn’t for the bolted-on neck join (which fundamentally changes how you play the guitar) and the tremolo, which is definitely something you don’t see on Gibsons!
In terms of timbers, there’s actually a choice here, and the specs can vary between the four colour options available. Bodies are either alder or mahogany (with optional figured maple caps) and the necks are either mahogany or roasted maple. There are four finishes, and, as you can see from the pics, they are all pretty gorgeous in their own way.
Anybody else loving the plain top Tobacco Sunburst one the most?
A note: the bear on California’s flag is from the ‘California Republic’, a breakaway state (from Mexico) from back in 1846. Could this guitar be emblematic of that rebellious attitude? The desire to break away from the agreed norms of the industry? Whilst it’s hardly a full-on ‘revolution’ in terms of shape or sound, we guitarists seem to best enjoy changes to the status quo when they are more subtly applied, and so I wonder if John Suhr sees this as a subtle revolt against the cookie cutter Californian boutique guitar industry? Is its name as significant as this? Hey, if I ever find out, I’ll be sure to report back!
Details
- Tremolo and Hardtail options
- Two different neck carves
- Hot pickups
If there’s a hint of ‘vintage-modern’ about the OSO, then this sensibility is continued in the spec. For instance, there are two different neck profiles - Historic C and Even C Slim - and a 10” ‘in-between’ radius on the fingerboard.
The pickups are Suhr’s own SSH (bridge) and SSV (neck) units, from Suhr’s Single Screw series. I’d describe them as being versatile and open sounding, with the bridge unit being obviously hotter than a typical PAF pickup. Pulling back on the volume control knob will bring a less powerful, more vintage voice to proceedings, so you can have it all with this setup.
For bridges, there’s no sign of ‘Tele’ anywhere near the OSO, despite its various references. There is, however, a choice between a Tone Pros hardtail bridge and a Suhr-branded 2-point tremolo, which perhaps helps to really move this guitar into its own world.
Available To Order Now
It’s great to see something elegant, fresh and - importantly - new coming to the market, particularly from an esteemed builder like Suhr. New original designs always have it tough on the market (I’d venture to say that we all like new guitar designs from a distance, but we don’t always vote with our wallets), but with the brand pedigree behind it, I feel like the OSO will appeal to a lot of guitarists and become a success. Certainly, it ticks many boxes for a fussy player like myself, and that’s a good sign!
Is it a bear? I think that’s a suitable name: it’s familiar and appealing, but there’s a hint of danger there too. It’s California’s state animal, and maybe this is California’s new guitar? There’s a strange feeling involved when approaching this instrument, as if the OSO has always been around, as part of guitar culture since always.
The Suhr OSO is due with us later in the year. Try one for yourself and see if you feel the same way.
