# NGD - Strandberg Boden OS 7 / Red & Rosewood



## JejeLaFrite (May 18, 2015)

Hi there,

Finally received my Boden !



First impressions: 
- It weights nothing ! It's truly surprising and enjoyable
- The flamed maple top looks ok. (However we can notice a square pattern around the pickup.)
- The guitar is super comfortable to play in every position, and we almost do not notice it's a fanned fret
- Neck is really different from everything had before. Doesn't feels weird or amazing yet. Just need some time to have an opinion on it.
- The nut seem trimmed a bit coarse. The high E, high B and G string are moving by 0.5mm in there and it creates a small noise when I bend...Emailed them about it.


And now, djentlemen, pics


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## Musiscience (May 18, 2015)

Congrats and happy NGD! Don't know if it's just me but the pics are not showing.

Edit : They are working now, and it's beautiful! Dunno what happened


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## asher (May 18, 2015)

Workin for me.

Welcome to the club!


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## cwhitey2 (May 18, 2015)

Hngd!!


I want an OS 6 so bad!


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## shredwoodforest (May 18, 2015)

Congrats! One of us!


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## flaherz09 (May 18, 2015)

HNGD! I'm probably picking an OS 6 up on the near future, glad you are digging yours!


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## JejeLaFrite (May 19, 2015)

Thanks guys !


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## JejeLaFrite (May 19, 2015)

Btw, am I the only one to notice the rectangular pattern around the pickups ?
It's like there's been a stencil while on it while crafting.

I'll try to post other pics about it.


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## morbidus (May 19, 2015)

Every time I see one of these I want one more. I am unsure about some of the features but every single post states they are great after a few minutes of playing with them. Congrats!


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## shredwoodforest (May 19, 2015)

JejeLaFrite said:


> Btw, am I the only one to notice the rectangular pattern around the pickups ?
> It's like there's been a stencil while on it while crafting.
> 
> I'll try to post other pics about it.



I checked mine and didn't notice anything like that. I'd be interested to see yours if you could post a pic!


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## HighGain510 (May 19, 2015)

JejeLaFrite said:


> Btw, am I the only one to notice the rectangular pattern around the pickups ?
> It's like there's been a stencil while on it while crafting.
> 
> I'll try to post other pics about it.



I doubt it was a stencil since they're all being routed by CNC. Post pics so we can see what you're talking about, but my guess is that it might just be a coincidence with the maple top and stain around the pickup routes.


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## JejeLaFrite (May 20, 2015)

Here are some pics in the sun:
(I circled in green the rectangular pattern)












Might be natural, but looks surprising once you notice it. The shape is really regular. 
Could this be a sanding mistake ?


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## jwade (May 20, 2015)

Kind of looks like the stain didn't take quite as well there.


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## the.godfather (May 20, 2015)

Wow, that's definitely one of those things that once you 'see' it, you can't 'un-see' it. 

She sure does look pretty in the sun though! You got a nice dark piece of rosewood there too. The more I see them the more I really want one of these things.


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## JejeLaFrite (May 20, 2015)

Ok, I asked a friend of mind who's a professional luthier.
Although he only had the pictures above as reference material, he seems to think it might be a stain flaw, because if it was the wood natural layout, it couldn't be a such a perfect rectangle with clear edge, and a fully symmetric on the two half top.
Emailed Strandberg to see what they think about it and what they can do.

:'(


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## HighGain510 (May 20, 2015)

Wow, yeah that's an odd one! I double-checked mine and didn't see anything like that going on so no idea what they could have done to accomplish that.  If you feel like it's a serious flaw I'm sure they would exchange it for another one, but as someone pointed out above you got a really nice rosewood board on that one so personally I wouldn't risk it.  They won't (or at least would not previously) swap necks and bodies as they pair them up for the best fit from the factory, so my guess is the option will either be keep it or exchange it for a different body/neck entirely. Good luck either way, personally I think outside of the box rofl that thing looks great!


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## JejeLaFrite (May 20, 2015)

Thanks for all the feedback guys.
I was trying to convince myself it was normal but you made it clear it's not.
I tried to email them to : supportATstrandbergguitarsDOTeu but doesn't work.
"This is an automatically generated Delivery Status Notification.
Delivery to the following recipients failed."

:/


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## shredwoodforest (May 20, 2015)

Have you tried [email protected]? Their sales alias has been really quick to respond to my questions. Also that fretboard is really nice! I didn't go with rosewood because I'm not a fan of the lighter brown fretboards, but yours almost looks ebony wood dark.


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## Quiet Sheep (May 20, 2015)

You can write at infoATstrandbergguitarsDOTeu, Ola answered to me right away.


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## JejeLaFrite (May 20, 2015)

I wrote there on monday evening to ask about the nut being loose for high string, and no reply yet :/


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## asher (May 20, 2015)

Poke them again. I don't know if I got a reply instantly, but it was pretty quick


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## Eclipse (May 20, 2015)

HNGD!


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## Inceptic (May 20, 2015)

HNGD!



JejeLaFrite said:


> "This is an automatically generated Delivery Status Notification.
> Delivery to the following recipients failed."
> 
> :/



I've gotten these too in the past. I just kept trying different e-mails listed on the site, and eventually got a response from the "info" address.


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## JejeLaFrite (May 21, 2015)

Hi there,

Ola replied yesterday (from the "info" address) and offered me an exchange.
Being OCD, this square pattern is really disturbing to me, so I accepted his offer.

He will receive his new OS batch on the first week of june, so I should have the replacement one in 2/3 weeks.

I'll keep you updated once I receive the new one.
Cheers!


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## HighGain510 (May 21, 2015)

JejeLaFrite said:


> Hi there,
> 
> Ola replied yesterday (from the "info" address) and offered me an exchange.
> Being OCD, this square pattern is really disturbing to me, so I accepted his offer.
> ...



Good deal.  Knew Ola and co. would take care of you.  At least you don't have to wait another 3 months for the replacement!


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## JejeLaFrite (Jun 10, 2015)

Ok Finally received the replacement !

Received another guitar last week, but UPS severely screwed up and I had to refuse the "wreckage" they used to call parcel.
(The face of the delivery guy saying "Alrigh' buddy, we got a wee problem..." would have been very funny if it wasn't my gear inside )
So refused the parcel, Ola got the guitar back, made an inspection and hopefully everything was OK, although the parcel was pretty damaged.

Received the new parcel today, in mint condition and the guitar looks stunning, with a wonderful flamed maple top. 
Icing on the cake, Ola added several multiscale string set as goodies in the parcel. Shout out for good guy Ola


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## technomancer (Jun 10, 2015)

Glad this all got worked out for you


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## ikarus (Jun 10, 2015)

JejeLaFrite said:


> Received the new parcel today, in mint condition and the guitar looks stunning, with a wonderful flamed maple top.




Can you post some pics of the new guitar?


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## Mwoit (Jun 10, 2015)

Hey hey, fellow Scottish .strandberg* owner here. Ola is an upright fellow, glad to see he fixed your issues.


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## JejeLaFrite (Jun 10, 2015)

Yep, I'll post pic over the weekend, I'm still at work now and pretty busy.

HS: Hey Mwoit ! We were in touch last summer when I relocated to Glasgow but we never had time to catch up. I think a beer is waiting for us. PM'd ya


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## HighGain510 (Jun 10, 2015)

Glad to hear it all worked out, bummer about the UPS troubles, can't seem to catch a break there, eh?!  Looking forward to pics of the new one and glad it got resolved!


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## JejeLaFrite (Jun 11, 2015)

Ok, so had some time to play with it yesterday evening.

Checked properly the guitar, and it's absolutely flawless !
String action was really too high for me (I like it very very low, allowing some "parasitic" as long as it don't go through the amp).
Felt like another instrument once re setup for my playing.

However, I still didn't succeed to adjust the pickup properly. They are almost at the same level so the neck pickup is much louder then the bridge one, tried to rise up a bit the bridge and lower as much as I could the neck, but still not 100% convinced.

I like when the neck PU is slightly less loud than the bridge, to have less grip on distortion and having a more airy sound, but I got the feeling it's not gonna be possible there, unless I dig the pickup cavity :/


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## MaKo´s Tethan (Jun 11, 2015)

Awesome


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## cubix (Jun 11, 2015)

I don't know if you tried taking the neck pickup out when you change the strings? There might be a foam insert under the pickup to keep it up, if you take that out I'm sure you'll be able to lower it even more. Try it!


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## JejeLaFrite (Jun 12, 2015)

Ok, in line with my initial concerns while ordering the guitar, I really don't like theses EMGs..

Just checked the BKP Juggernaut that I adore in my UV70p, and they are just 0.3mm thicker than the 707X (same lenth, less height and slightly wider).

I'm starting to consider a direct replacement, as I don't think the tolerance margin of the routing are down to 0.3mm.

Did somebody tried this before ?
Cheers,


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## JejeLaFrite (Jun 15, 2015)

Nae feedback ?


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## cubix (Jun 15, 2015)

If I were you I would get the EMG 57/66 , 7 string set. They are highly praised of being much more like a passive pickup, way more "dynamic" (totally different beast than the 707X) and they will swap right out without even messing with the wiring.


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## asher (Jun 15, 2015)

cubix said:


> If I were you I would get the EMG 57/66 , 7 string set. They are highly praised of being much more like a passive pickup, way more "dynamic" (totally different beast than the 707X) and they will swap right out without even messing with the wiring.



What I did. HUGE improvement.


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## Zinter (Jun 16, 2015)

JejeLaFrite said:


> Ok, in line with my initial concerns while ordering the guitar, I really don't like theses EMGs..
> 
> Just checked the BKP Juggernaut that I adore in my UV70p, and they are just 0.3mm thicker than the 707X (same lenth, less height and slightly wider).
> 
> ...



I forget who it was, but I don't think the OS 7's have the tolerance to fit BKP soapbars without modification. I've been holding off ordering a set, I put a 57/66 7 set in it and I agree with Asher it vastly improves it. I'm not entirely satisfied, I'm a big BKP fanboy these days though. Pics of the new one btw?!


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## haieb (Jun 23, 2015)

Just saw a video of a strandberg guitar and immediately noticed the resemblance  I think it is the same guitar you got first


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## fantasyl (Jun 26, 2015)

If I were you I'd try the Seymour Duncan Active Mount pickups....they should be a direct replacement AFAIK, you only need to do the ground wire mod and you're good to go 

Sure, you can't choose from the entire SD line (I remember Nazgul, Sentient, SH6, Pegasus, maybe few others are available, UNLESS you ask the SD custom shop), but I just installed a Pegasus 7 active mount version, and it's a very nice and balanced pickup. My first choice was the SH6 but it wasn't readily available and so I went with the Pegasus....no regrets so far


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## JejeLaFrite (Jul 6, 2015)

Hahaha,

Yep I contacted Sam few weeks ago about this. This is indeed the same one 
Never thought my former Boden would become so famous !

About the 57/66 kit, it's indeed a good option, pretty easy to swap. However they are told to be really PAF like, which is definitively not my taste. I'm looking for something more "modern".

Nobody tried to swap juggernaut on a Boden OS ? I double checked the size difference, it's 0.3mm, seems really doable !


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## JejeLaFrite (Jul 8, 2015)

Ok, found this Aaron Marshall&#8217;s new Boden 7 | Al's Repair Blog

Pretty interesting because
1) we can notice Aaron doesn't bother with non aligned pole
2) I checked the Sentinent / pegasus dimension ans they are supposed to be the same dimensions ( in fact smaller by 1/10mm ) as the juggernaut and here we can notice this doesn't fit though.
What's wrong with BKP ? Don't the give the proper dimension (+tolerances) ?

Anyway, ordered a 57 / 66 combo then.
Wait and see !


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## JejeLaFrite (Jul 16, 2015)

Ok, received them today and just installed them.

But first, pics before & after upgrade:















































First impression: Well, basically the 707X were ultra prescise and synthetic with distortion (pretty specific, but I liked it), and flat and lifeless in clean / crunch (which was bothering me). The new set is great, neck and bridge doesn't behave the same, which I like, and the clean are warm with a lot of dynamic. The distortion grip a bit less on it and they are a bit more muddy, but still does the trick for me. They sound pretty organic in the 5150 III 

Cheers !


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## Greenbrettiscool (Jul 17, 2015)

Dangit I want one so bad! Killer strandy dude, H(problem fixed)NGD !


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## JejeLaFrite (Jul 18, 2015)

Ok, had some more time to play with it yesterday and it does confirm my first impression.
Thoses pickup really match the sound I tried to achieve. The guitar sounds organic, vibrant & full of dynamic.
The neck is warm and mellow, and the bridge is aggressive in it's own way, without being screamy. The output level is high without being insane, giving a bit more air and definition to chords.

The bottom line is that I'm really happy with my upgrade and this really turn the Stranderg into the guitar I was hopping for, in term of sound and playability. 

Cheers !


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## cubix (Jul 23, 2015)

Nice to hear you like them. I love the 57/66 aswell - amazing pickups! Just with they made them without those exposed poles...


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## JejeLaFrite (Mar 9, 2016)

Hi guys !

Here's a quick update after having the Boden OS and the 57/66 for almost a year now. I'm very pleased with it and it really unleashed this guitar true potential 
I have nice aggressive rhythm sound, creamy lead and round clean. Not as tight nor aggressive as the EMG 707X used to be, but much more polyvalent and organic to me. In fact, it's the only guitar I used on my upcoming EP !

Here's some clip about it 

https://www.facebook.com/allureofstellar/videos/490213184498184/

https://www.facebook.com/allureofstellar/videos/485719561614213/


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## nistley (Mar 9, 2016)

Thanks for the update. The sound quality leaves a lot to imagination  I sometimes think about putting EMGs back in mine, the juggernauts in strandberg require such a different preset than my other guitars... it's annoying. But I like the djenty spank of muted passives quite a bit.


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## JejeLaFrite (Mar 10, 2016)

Yeah, it's a small video diary of the EP recording, so it's just supposed to give the jist of it, nothing more 
However when the EP will be released you should be able to have a much more accurate idea about how it sounds in mix context.

Concerning your remark about juggernauts I completely agree. I have an UV70p which I modded with juggernauts and it completely messed up my preset with the Strandberg. 
Theses are really two different animal and require very distinct preset !


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## arahobob (Mar 10, 2016)

I just picked up a boden os7 - unfortunately it was not for me. 
Mainly I couldn't come to grips with the the endurneck below the 5th fret. It was pretty uncomfortable for me. 
The upper register was terrific. 

I didn't care for the stock pups either. 

I ended up returning it. It really is a nice guitar. I loved everything about it (multi scale !) but the neck was a deal breaker. 

Congratrs on the guitar!


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## JejeLaFrite (Mar 11, 2016)

Thanks man !

Yeah the endurrneck is not for everyone and it was my main concern as well. Being really picky on neck profile, big addict of Ibanez wizard and JP's neck I didn't know where to stand on this. However after a week of adaptation, this became fully natural and really suited my hand. Playing in "classical" position, with the thumb in the middle of the back of the neck, the endurneck edge was a perfect point of contact for my thumb and guiding if through the whole neck.

PS: some custom shop Strandberg doesn't have the endurneck


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## Bdtunn (Mar 11, 2016)

^ I've been very intrigued by the endurneck but could never get my hands on one. But the above helped a lot! I'm an Ibanez guy as well so the thick neck scares the day lights out of me. But I do play in classical sooooo........


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## JejeLaFrite (Mar 14, 2016)

Good to hear my feedback was helpful 

You can order a Stranberg and return it without any reason within 30days..... So you could try and send it back if the edurneck doesn't deliver for you. That's was my original B plan, however after 1 week I really started to dig it and finally kept it!


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## JejeLaFrite (Jul 22, 2016)

Hi guys,
Shot a playthrough of the song "Flatland", with my trusty magic combo Strandberg Guitarworks Boden OS7 & Kemper Amps! 
Recorded in the new studio with the help of the neck cam. I hope you dig it


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## patdavidmusic (Jul 22, 2016)

Looks and sounds amazing congrats!!


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## Esp Griffyn (Jul 23, 2016)

Is the pickup change an easy mod? I like the 707Xs in mine but would consider a change to a 57/66 set if it was just plug and play, I'd rather not do any soldering or even worse, drilling as per SD installation.


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## yellowv (Jul 23, 2016)

707x to 57/66 is just a plug and play. Well worth it.


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## JejeLaFrite (Jul 26, 2016)

Yes, pickups change is really easy to do, thanks to the solderless system.
Really dig the 57/66 combo since I installed it !


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