Mateus Asato has parted ways with electric guitar maker Suhr after more than a decade of collaboration.
The Brazilian neo-soul virtuoso, who has been honored with a range of signature Suhr guitars over a 12-year period, made the announcement via a social media post, in which he thanked the Suhr clan for their support.
“After 12 years of a very successful partnership, I’ve decided to part ways my professional relationship with Suhr Guitars,” Asato writes. “My deepest gratitude to Mr. John, Kevin, Aura & Katelyn Suhr for everything you’ve done to me as a musician and person.
“A special thanks to David, Travis, Chris, Don, Justin – all the A&R people who always treat me the best way,” he continues. “Muito obrigado Felipe Raposo por ter sido a ponte que iniciou tudo isso [Many thanks to Felipe Raposo for having been the start of everything].
“And the biggest thanks to all Suhr employees who made this company so special and one of the greatest brands of history of this instrument I passionately love [sic]. History was made. I will never forget this journey we built. Much love always. God bless you all!”
As Asato says, his partnership with Suhr has been hugely successful. Since joining forces more than 10 years ago, the two have worked on a number of signature guitars that have been played by Asato on the biggest stages over the world, alongside the likes of Bruno Mars, Tori Kelly, Jessie J and more.
His flagship S-style signature arrived in NAMM 2018, and was followed in 2020 by a matching T-type and, three years later, a pair of two additional single-cuts, one of which came packing with Gold Foil pickups.
As Asato once revealed to Guitar World, that original S-style, with its pink finish, became Suhr’s best-selling signature guitar. It was his calling card.
The pink Suhr, intrinsically linked with Asato, became a mainstay of his early Instagram videos, which both made Asato a household name among guitar fans, and pioneered the social media platform as a channel that could be leveraged by guitarists.
Closing the chapter on his partnership with Suhr, then, is a big deal, and it begs the question: who will Asato be partnering with next? Because make no mistake about it: Asato will not be short of offers, and we can’t imagine it will be long before he makes his next move.
Fans have already started speculating about a potential team-up with Fender – which seems like the obvious choice, given the Tele and Strat-leaning vibes of his Suhr guitars – but Asato has been partial to PRS guitars in the past, so perhaps that move shouldn’t be ruled out.
Fender is the clear and obvious choice, though, and the next most-likely destination that the majority of fans are hanging their hats on. An HSS Mateus Asato signature Stratocaster would be very popular indeed – and would be one helluva way for the new Fender CEO to kickstart his artist series agenda.
NAMM is right around the corner, but that’s probably too soon for an announcement. Still, Asato is about to release his debut solo album, so the timing certainly would work.
Whatever the case, keep your eyes peeled on Mateus Asato’s Instagram account for updates.
In related news, John Suhr – the mastermind behind the boutique guitar company – recently sat down with Guitar World to look back on the origins of his brand, revealing he why decided to become a guitar maker in the first place.
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