# NGD! Strandberg Boden Metal 7...



## pott (Feb 27, 2018)

I'm quite a negative person, so to introduce this guitar, I'm going to start with the good:
* The finish is really nice. Not super flashy, but just fancy enough to be interesting. Plus with a solid finish, there's no issues to be had with the top's quality  (There IS a maple top here...). Chrome hardware complement the guitar's very well!
* It sounds pretty nice! A little thinner sounding, perhaps, than my US Boden 6 was, but in no-way disappointing
* Tuners are much easier to use than on my old Boden 6
* Volume/tone knobs finally have a notch to see where they're set... though good luck seeing these in the dark!
* 3-way switch only, but super clunky and nice-feeling
* Fluences sound GREAT. First time trying them. I'm not a fan of voicing 2 (a little bassier, less tight) but I'm loving all other tones here
* Also sounds good acoustically, though could be louder for a chambered guitar of this quality. Still, perfect for 'movie practice' where you also don't want to turn up the movie to tinnitus-inducing levels
* Factory setup was, honestly, very good. I am SUPER PICKY about setups (and build quality, small details, engineering features etc...) but honestly, the setup here is good. I'll likely fine-tune it somehow if I keep it and use it more, but this is certainly good-enough as far as I'm concerned
* Endurneck makes playing this 7 string-guitar feel like a 6er!

For what it's worth (trust me, not much at all but eh, in-case these things matter to you which you're certainly entitled to), this one is Made in Korea; production is now moving to Indonesia as Cort becomes Strandberg's sole OEM builder overseas as I understand it.

Now there ARE niggles. And on a 2k instrument, I feel they should be pointed out.
* A rough area between fretboard/neck at the 5th fret
* Rusted neck-mount screws. Well, not rust... I don't know. The metal just looks used-up, it's not super pleasant
* Some weird... smudge (?) marks on the fretboard which I'm sure a little lemonoil and rub will take care of
* Tiny tiny tool marks on the frets... juuust enough to kind of feel them when bending if paying attention. By-and-large the frets are nice, but not perfect
* Some small imperfections here-and-there in the build
* The usual headpiece hardware not aligning with the string spacing
* Gigbag's ID card window is coming apart! That was FRESH FROM THE FACTORY
* Honestly, and again I am SUPER picky, this is it
I'll be honest, taking it out of the box I was disappointed. I have never seen factory guitar with issues before, and these feel like they shouldn't be on any guitar over 1k.

BUT

It's just so damn fun 

Now for pictures; teh guitar!




Nice work on fret-ends and inlays:



Rough area close-up (with the world's sharpest lens and worst photographer):



String-spacing weirdness:


Neck mount screw smudginess:


Some unclean bits:


Fingerboard smudge:



Voila. Obviously it's been only a few hours. The rough area on the neck/fingerboard join at the 5th fret is the worst issue here and the only one that's not quite fixable but it's hardly noticeable at all. Still, this has no place on a guitar this expensive, make no mistake.

Apart from that, like I said... it's super fun, sounds reaaally good, and plays just as good as I would hope.


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## DudeManBrother (Feb 27, 2018)

Can’t wait to try it out haha! 
Sucks about the spot near the 5th fret; but every thing else seems like it’ll clean right up if you decide to keep it. HNGD


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## blacai (Feb 27, 2018)

Nice pics and good details you are pointing out.
Could you please take some photos of the electronics cavity? Mine was awful, just like a cheap chinese one... with bad soldering, broken screws holes...


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## FitRocker33 (Feb 27, 2018)

Ah me likey this one. Veddy niiice!

Makes me want to go cuddle up with my Vader 7 and engage in some Tuesday afternoon br00tz


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## Lemonbaby (Feb 27, 2018)

Happy NGD. I wouldn't worry too much about these minir issue. Polish the frets and dig in...


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## pott (Feb 27, 2018)

I've never polishes Stainless Steel frets, does the 0000 steel wool even take? Man I used to do some mirror polish on nickel frets... just haven't gotten to it since most of my guitars have SS now.

I've not yet looked inside the electronics cavity; I'll take a look tonight!


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## pott (Feb 28, 2018)

Something more worrying I'm noticing; he finish on the neck is less than good on the edges of the Endurneck's...edges. Given that the tjumb is slightly bigger than the center flat surface, I ALWAYS feel finish defects with it when going up/down the neck. It's really weird and not something you can forget since it's exactly at your fingertips. It feels... scratchy.

Out of all the issues here, this is likely the biggest one in terms of feel/play ability


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## Avedas (Feb 28, 2018)

That's a new one. Every Endurneck I've played has been flawless except some weird OS model shenanigans.


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## primitiverebelworld (Mar 2, 2018)

Looks like a nice guitar man! I have been eyeballing strandbergs(2.2-2.5 kg) since I broke my collarbone(strap side OFC). The price IS pretty steep though...for a korean piece.


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## Andrew Lloyd Webber (Mar 3, 2018)

primitiverebelworld said:


> The price IS pretty steep though...for a korean piece.



Good news: They’re making them all in Indonesia and China, now, and asking the same price.*

*The discounted Metals were remaining WMI Korea stock. I’m unaware of any official word concerning whether the lower price will remain permanent.


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## diagrammatiks (Mar 3, 2018)

Andrew Lloyd Webber said:


> Good news: They’re making them all in Indonesia and China, now, and asking the same price.*
> 
> *The discounted Metals were remaining WMI Korea stock. I’m unaware of any official word concerning whether the lower price will remain permanent.



Ola said on the groups Facebook that the pricing is permanent for the time being. 

Originals are 200 more expensive though. 

Progs are now made in Indonesia at the same price. 

So your mostly right.


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## Andrew Lloyd Webber (Mar 3, 2018)

I mostly thank you.

_Strandberg Guitars:_ ”_Permenant for the time being.”
_


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## pott (Mar 14, 2018)

The issues were too much for me. I returned it to MF. 
I planned on getting another Metal 7, or an Original 7 when they get back in stock. But yesterday I got to play a friend's Parker Fly, AND the new Aristides 060s was released so er.... well I will not be replacing the Strandberg with another.


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## technomancer (Mar 16, 2018)

pott said:


> The issues were too much for me. I returned it to MF.
> I planned on getting another Metal 7, or an Original 7 when they get back in stock. But yesterday I got to play a friend's Parker Fly, AND the new Aristides 060s was released so er.... well I will not be replacing the Strandberg with another.



I feel you... I returned the white one I got too. Mine didn't have the problems yours did, but it was also not up to par with what I think a $2k guitar should feel like. I can't even imagine buying one of the newer ones that are all Indonesian now. This was on par with a PRS SE... but an SE won't set me back $2k because it is headless and has SS frets.


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## Restarted (Mar 16, 2018)

pott said:


> the new Aristides 060s


wait wut how did I miss this


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## pott (Mar 16, 2018)

Pre-release slots so far of the fanned-fret versions of the 060 and 070. Stayed up late and got in.


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## Restarted (Mar 16, 2018)

pott said:


> Pre-release slots so far of the fanned-fret versions of the 060 and 070. Stayed up late and got in.


Nice! What's the build time on these? I was quoted 7-8 months for a 060. Most likely changing for a 070 but definitely placing an order very soon. 070s sounds very tempting but it may be too risky for me having never played a multiscale. Also it's going to be in standard tuning so their 26.5 scale works just fine.
Still tempted...


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## Andrew Lloyd Webber (Mar 17, 2018)

technomancer said:


> This was on par with a PRS SE... but an SE won't set me back $2k because it is headless and has SS frets.



Youtube fashion accessories command premium prices.


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## pott (Mar 18, 2018)

Restarted said:


> Nice! What's the build time on these? I was quoted 7-8 months for a 060. Most likely changing for a 070 but definitely placing an order very soon. 070s sounds very tempting but it may be too risky for me having never played a multiscale. Also it's going to be in standard tuning so their 26.5 scale works just fine.
> Still tempted...


I think I was told 8 to 9 months. I am in no hurry and don't care much about the lead time. I have two Aristides so know what to expect.
The 070 I have is AMAZING. Just a top drawer instrument. I don't know how or why, but I rate it higher than my 060!


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## Avedas (Mar 18, 2018)

I'm starting to feel like I really lucked out. My strandy still has no issues after 3 months. Although I didn't like any of the 7 string models I played, including OS, original, and Boden J.


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## Flappydoodle (Mar 19, 2018)

This thread is just a really cool snapshot of the times we live in:

Get something new which has been hyped like crazy. Full of excitement. Rave about it. You realised those problems were there, but just ignored them and post-rationalised them away.

Two weeks later, the unhappiness finally builds up, and you get rid of it.

Already fixating about something else, which is something completely different and also massively hyped recently (Aristides).

This is not a personal attack on you @pott, it's something that I'm sure we've all been through. It's also why so many "reviews" online are nonsense - because people are too caught up in the hype train and honeymoon period.


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## Andrew Lloyd Webber (Mar 19, 2018)

The honeymoon period is an essential part of the review experience - It’s just that the prevailing wisdom of what SSO regulars have come to believe reviews are leave the rest of us to read between the lines, rather than someone outright-starting an NGD with “Like it; don’t love it - It’ll be in the classifieds next month. Will trade for other memes.”


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## Restarted (Mar 19, 2018)

pott said:


> I think I was told 8 to 9 months. I am in no hurry and don't care much about the lead time. I have two Aristides so know what to expect.
> The 070 I have is AMAZING. Just a top drawer instrument. I don't know how or why, but I rate it higher than my 060!


Nice! I was going to order a 060 but then realized I'd much rather have my one main guitar as a 7. I'm in no rush either. I'll be picking it up myself from the factory during a trip in April 2019. Hardest thing was picking a finish, but I think I got it


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## Flappydoodle (Mar 19, 2018)

Andrew Lloyd Webber said:


> The honeymoon period is an essential part of the review experience - It’s just that the prevailing wisdom of what SSO regulars have come to believe reviews are leave the rest of us to read between the lines, rather than someone outright-starting an NGD with “Like it; don’t love it - It’ll be in the classifieds next month. Will trade for other memes.”



I wouldn't pin that on SSO. I mean, at least OP came back and updated the thread!

YouTube is, by far, worse. Get a guitar sent to you, for free, and you rave about it and then send it back. And of course, if you shit all over it, you won't be getting any more products to "review" (aka advertise)


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## pott (Mar 19, 2018)

Flappydoodle said:


> This thread is just a really cool snapshot of the times we live in:
> 
> Get something new which has been hyped like crazy. Full of excitement. Rave about it. You realised those problems were there, but just ignored them and post-rationalised them away.
> 
> ...



While I don't disagree with you holistically, you won't find my reviewed guitars for-sale here once they've been hyped.
This one was defective, so it goes back. That's simple. I waited a week because I wasn't at home and couldn't send it back  It went out the first day I was able to.

Hype is subjective. I like guitars because of what they offer, not because of how others like them. Sometimes, hell yes, it coincides with 'hype' because we're all gear nerd and cool new gear is cool new gear  
The Strandberg works for me because:
* Lightweight, compact body-shape (note: said body-shape also has some issues as a whole, which other headless do not...)
* Endurneck which I find super comfy and which helps me play 7-strings

So this was a carefully considered decision, made after playing a friend's OS6 and having owned a US Strandberg; I KNEW the guitar worked for me for its specs (i.e. what induces hype, acknowledged), but I also knew the risk: that is why I bought it new from a reputed retailer.

On the honeymoon period: yep, this is exactly why you get 'OMG AMAZING' reviews and three weeks later 'best guitar I ever had, but GAS is GAS'. Hey we're all humans, I don't judge. If you look through my reviews, they focus on the objective more than the subjective: after all if I buy an expensive guitar, I'm already pretty sure it's got the specs for me! Build quality and the objective part of tone (Is it loud? Is it bright? Is it dynamic or flat?) will help others make a buying decision more than 'I won't say anything other than I personally love it'. This is, of course, the Internet, and everyone will read what they wish from these write-ups. And that's ok too!


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## ours-arctique (Mar 27, 2018)

I have had a Metal 7 for a few months now and like it very much : very good finish (I particularly like the neck finish which is very smooth), light, with powerful and versatile fluence pickups.


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## raytsh (Mar 28, 2018)

pott said:


> Something more worrying I'm noticing; he finish on the neck is less than good on the edges of the Endurneck's...edges. Given that the tjumb is slightly bigger than the center flat surface, I ALWAYS feel finish defects with it when going up/down the neck. It's really weird and not something you can forget since it's exactly at your fingertips. It feels... scratchy.
> 
> Out of all the issues here, this is likely the biggest one in terms of feel/play ability



I had the same issue with my OS that I got two years ago and sold about a month later. That said, I will buy a 2017 Original tomorrow, if the shop still has it when I get there. I hope the neck is smoother.


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## Wolfos (Mar 28, 2018)

pott said:


> The issues were too much for me. I returned it to MF.
> I planned on getting another Metal 7, or an Original 7 when they get back in stock. But yesterday I got to play a friend's Parker Fly, AND the new Aristides 060s was released so er.... well I will not be replacing the Strandberg with another.



I knew Pascal told me last year they would have multiscale coming in March/April but I never saw an announcement either. I've been stalking their website and FB page, how did they announce it?


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## C_Henderson (Mar 28, 2018)

raytsh said:


> I had the same issue with my OS that I got two years ago and sold about a month later. That said, I will buy a 2017 Original tomorrow, if the shop still has it when I get there. I hope the neck is smoother.



Can't speak for the Original, but my 2017 Plini sig's neck is as smooth as it gets for finished necks, and simply put one of the best feeling, and definitely the most comfortable neck I've ever played. Fretwork was also stellar out of the box, so that helps too. The top finish isn't as perfect though, a couple spots with weird reflections, but nothing you can see at plain sight so it doesn't bother me.


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## pott (Mar 28, 2018)

Wolfos said:


> I knew Pascal told me last year they would have multiscale coming in March/April but I never saw an announcement either. I've been stalking their website and FB page, how did they announce it?


They enabled pre-orders to a few people first, it's not been mass-announced yet. The slots sold-out in a few hours I'm afraid...


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## Wolfos (Mar 28, 2018)

pott said:


> They enabled pre-orders to a few people first, it's not been mass-announced yet. The slots sold-out in a few hours I'm afraid...



Oh well my 060 will be done in a month and I'll forget all about the multiscale.


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## raytsh (Mar 31, 2018)

C_Henderson said:


> Can't speak for the Original, but my 2017 Plini sig's neck is as smooth as it gets for finished necks, and simply put one of the best feeling, and definitely the most comfortable neck I've ever played. Fretwork was also stellar out of the box, so that helps too. The top finish isn't as perfect though, a couple spots with weird reflections, but nothing you can see at plain sight so it doesn't bother me.



The shop only had a single Original 6 Natural in stock. It had sharp fret ends and a partially glossy neck. Only about 20% of the whole neck surface was actually matt, the rest was high gloss polished. I have no idea what happened there but I did not buy it as it was.







I've got a Metal 6 white now, but I will return it. It has many stains on the fretboard, a crooked strap pin, one of the bridges is misaligned what results in uneven string spacing (E and A are closer to each other than the other strings, the bridge of the E is too close) and and the finish has many inclusions like dust or textile fibres.

I unscrewed the strap pin, and had to discover that the pain is shipped right at the screw hole. What is no surprise since the whole has just been drilled by hand, no drill press, and no countersinker has been used to prevent pain chipping.


























This is one of the few made in Korea. Not sure if Cort does a better job. But I'm still looking to get a Original natural with less flaws.

Since I'm gonna return the Metal 6 white right after the holidays I'm not sure if I will write a NGD, but I might, just to keep the flaws on record.


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## C_Henderson (Mar 31, 2018)

I had no idea the Original had a glossy neck! I've only played my Plini and a Fusion and they both have a completely matte finish. I don't know if they plan on changing things now that they're moving all production to Indonesia or not, it seems they're pretty busy right now with the move. I'd definitely like to give the Original 7 a try someday.

A shame about that Metal though, some of those flaws wouldn't bother me, but the weird bridge spacing would definitely make me consider returning it too. About the fretboard stains though, I got to say that mine had a few too at first but after playing for a while they disappeared.


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## raytsh (Mar 31, 2018)

C_Henderson said:


> I had no idea the Original had a glossy neck! I've only played my Plini and a Fusion and they both have a completely matte finish.



No, that's not what I meant... The Original HAS a matt neck (and is overall matt) from what I understand. It's just that the one they had in the shop was flawed as in it having a partially polished neck. I guess that someone messed up the matt paint job and it had to be polished out. And no one in QC noticed that.

At least that is what I figured. Since the neck was matt in other places and the Original 7 had a perfectly matt neck. I've mailed Ola about that neck finish but did not get a reply yet.

Edit: I've just checked the photo of the backside of a Original 6 natural on the EU site and it indeed has a matt neck. Even the cheapest Classic have matt necks. I can't think of a reason for the neck to be glossy on purpose, it has to be a manufacturing error.


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## C_Henderson (Mar 31, 2018)

raytsh said:


> No, that's not what I meant... The Original HAS a matt neck (and is overall matt) from what I understand. It's just that the one they had in the shop was flawed as in it having a partially polished neck. I guess that someone messed up the matt paint job and it had to be polished out. And no one in QC noticed that.



Oh my bad! Then that's weird AND bad, it's something that should be pretty easy to notice :/


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## Bdtunn (Mar 31, 2018)

I really hope they can get production together, awsome guitars but too many flaws. I had one from a limited run and it wAs riddled with problems. Ola was great to help out, but I ultimately got rid of it.


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## Frostbite (Mar 31, 2018)

It's honestly super disappointing to hear there are still issues. I want a Strandberg more then anything after getting to play one at the Gold Coast guitar show last year but I don't want to either pay 4k for a good one or 2k for one that might not even be up to some of my current guitars which aren't any more expensive then a grand


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## raytsh (Apr 1, 2018)

Frostbite said:


> It's honestly super disappointing to hear there are still issues. I want a Strandberg more then anything after getting to play one at the Gold Coast guitar show last year but I don't want to either pay 4k for a good one or 2k for one that might not even be up to some of my current guitars which aren't any more expensive then a grand



I feel you! I had an OS two years ago but sold it, it had many finish flaws as well. I still want to have one of the new ones. I will probably go through several Original natural till I get one that only as very minor flaws with what I would be fine. I don't expect there to be a 100% perfect, flawless guitar.


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## technomancer (Apr 1, 2018)

Frostbite said:


> It's honestly super disappointing to hear there are still issues. I want a Strandberg more then anything after getting to play one at the Gold Coast guitar show last year but I don't want to either pay 4k for a good one or 2k for one that might not even be up to some of my current guitars which aren't any more expensive then a grand



I honestly can't believe there are people paying for these and keeping them at the quality level I see getting posted. Mine was ok, and the features were cool, but I've also played Suhr pros that were in the same price range that ate it for breakfast quality wise. I just didn't care about it being headless and wasn't wowed enough by the neck profile to pay a 100% markup over similar quality guitars for those features


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## KnightBrolaire (Apr 1, 2018)

i was really hoping they'd clean up their production qc but it still looks just as hit or miss when I bought my last 2 bodens. The price point for most of the strandbergs is insane given the meh quality I've been seeing over the last couple of years. As much as kiesel gets shit on for shit customer service/other stuff, at least they can churn out a headless guitar worth that kind of price point.


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## diagrammatiks (Apr 1, 2018)

technomancer said:


> I honestly can't believe there are people paying for these and keeping them at the quality level I see getting posted. Mine was ok, and the features were cool, but I've also played Suhr pros that were in the same price range that ate it for breakfast quality wise. I just didn't care about it being headless and wasn't wowed enough by the neck profile to pay a 100% markup over similar quality guitars for those features



I really like the headless and weight and neck though.

honestly, if the white guitar above didn't have a problem with the bridge I'd keep it. meh.


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## raytsh (Apr 1, 2018)

diagrammatiks said:


> I really like the headless and weight and neck though.
> 
> honestly, if the white guitar above didn't have a problem with the bridge I'd keep it. meh.



I love the neck! I might have kept the white one (maybe with a discount) without the bridge misalignment - I consider the bridge issue being more than just a cosmetic issue. I've just ordered a Original directly from Strandberg EU. I kind of hope the QC for the guitars they are selling directly is better.


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## diagrammatiks (Apr 1, 2018)

raytsh said:


> I love the neck! I might have kept the white one (maybe with a discount) without the bridge misalignment - I consider the bridge issue being more than just a cosmetic issue. I've just ordered a Original directly from Strandberg EU. I kind of hope the QC for the guitars they are selling directly is better.



the bridge is a deal breaker cuz that guitar is just busted..
but if they gave me 200 off for the finish...ya I would have kept it. 
I honestly have to say I never looked at my guitars that carefully until I started posting here. 
now everything is awful.


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## pott (Apr 1, 2018)

It's a very fair question to ask oneself: why even bother given the stories out there? 

My US-made Boden was perfect on the outside. My friend who has it loves it to death. I couldn't bond with it. That happens. The fact that the nut wasn't up to scratch for a 3k (4k now) guitar s an issue, but an easily fixable one.

Strandberg has managed to create a guitar that has such a niche appeal that price is almost irrelevant. Since they're chambered both in order to be light, and in addition to being light by design of being headless, they sound loud and clear acoustically which means the tone is almost guaranteed. The endurneck is nice to some, but it's not like guitar necks have worked incorrectly for the past 150 years either.

I love small guitars with loud acoustic tones. I can play them on the couch or in front of the PC. And the endurneck helps with the wider neck on 7 strings, makes it easier to play. 
Few guitars offer that overall. Hence why the price is a lesser issue. But that's only if quality follows.

Ola seems a decent guy and for every guitar story of one being returned, there's one of he or his company helping other people with issues or questions.
Until they can guarantee a quality point at the same level as their price point, I will not consider their guitars again. And once that quality is out there, I will have other guitars to consider.


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## raytsh (Apr 3, 2018)

pott said:


> It's a very fair question to ask oneself: why even bother given the stories out there?
> 
> [...|
> 
> ...



That's right. The only reason for one to bother with going through several guitars to find without major flaws is precisely because it's such a niche thing. If you are looking for a Strandberg, with all it's features, you won't find it anywhere else - There are no alternatives if one is into this specific niche. That's why one has to put up with all the hassle.

Regarding the price, it is quite too much for a guitar build so cheaply. But the small amount manufactured, the exclusive technology and design justifies at least some part of the price. Then again, it is manufactured in a region with low labor cost. I'm not sure of one should take all these things in account. At the end, for the most people, it might just come down to what quality you get for a certain price. At 2k+ Strandberg is really in a bad spot here right now.

It might be a bit like the current situation with Gibson guitars: You will get a better quality guitar from other manufacturer at lower prices. At the price of a recent Gibson guitar you'd get a nearly perfect guitar from a smaller manufacturer's custom shop or from other larger brands of the shelf lineup. But, this all does not matter for many Gibson fans because they want a Gibson, they are fine to deal with flaws and are willing to pay a lot more. I was quite into Gibson guitars for a while. If you are long enough in that "ecosystem", prices you are willing to pay and quality you are willing to accept changes over time. At least for me, it did. I wanted Gibson, no matter what. Of course, one could argue that they have they exclusive features and designs as well, but it's mostly mojo for me now. There are some brands out there that are doing Gibson "homages" that might be better than the real thing.

For Strandberg, there is no such a thing. I will keep trying to find one with only very minor cosmetic flaws.  I also think Ola is a really nice guy and I like to support what he does. With Gibson and their leadership I do not anymore.


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