whatever your suhrs and bakers sound, it will never sound better than my guitar, (not stock).
why? my ears says so. and i satisfy my ears. unless it has the tone that i like, which will satisfy me.
so, in my book, the best sounding guitars are the ones that i buy. because its the one that satisfied me, the ones that made my hands comfy, the ones that captured my tone and blah blah most of all its within my budget.
i can buy a more expensive gear like 3-4 times more expensive, yes i can, but if i get satisfied with a cheaper alternative, ill get that alternative.
some says suhrs and bakers are the best... maybe because:
1. they bought that guitar, IT SATISFIED THEIR EARS. just like my principle. its nice.
or
2. jinujustify lang ung tone > everything kasi nga mahal. ahahaha!!
anyway in my experience, pag ako nakarinig ng gitara that satisfies my tone, my ears, and its cheaper, i think "shet sana un nalang binili ko, nainvest ko pa sa iba sana ung money" and yes, i can buy the expensive ones. but im not up to the name and all for bragging rights. i want a cheap gear/guitar that will satisfy my ears. if it satisfies my ears, it fulfills me and makes me happy even though other people says that their guitars are billion times more expensive. in the end, what i pick is what i want and what i want satisfies me, no matter how cheap.