# Couple Strandberg Boden OS7 questions for owners



## TheShreddinHand (Apr 20, 2015)

Hey guys, really thinking about just taking the plunge and ordering one seeing as how I don't think I'll ever find one to test out and the return policy is pretty favorable. Anyways, had a couple other questions for owners who might be able to chime in:

- How big are the frets? I don't think they're Ibanez jumbo size, but are they similar to EBMM JP fret size?
- Regarding the 0 fret, even though it's stainless steel, it wears down and will eventually need to be replaced?
- Obviously going the passive pickup route would take some work changing from the stock EMGs (grounding, pots, all new wiring, etc.), but since the pickups are on a slant, do they have to be calibrated or something? So I wouldn't be able to throw in a stock Dimarzio or BK set would I?

I'm a huge metal (thrash, prog) and Dream Theater guy and I think the Strandberg can cover that territory, but I'm most excited about the enduraneck and bodyshape/weight. I'm all for a guitar that's easier to play! Thanks guys!


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## asher (Apr 20, 2015)

-I don't think they're quite full jumbo, but they're probably medium jumbo. Definitely bigger than the frets on my old JP7 (the first version).
-Presumably it might wear it eventually. IDK. This is probably a function of string gauge too.
-It's just a straight soapbar sized route, tilted slightly. The fan is fairly small, so I wouldn't at all be concerned about sticking something passive that'll fit the routes in.


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## Zinter (Apr 20, 2015)

1 - Can't find my fret size sheet today but they are probably med-jumbo I'd guess as well. They feel a bit smaller though, could be the way mine were finished. 10 years down the road I see myself putting jumbo frets in but that's my slight preference. 

2 - Mine came with some nicks from what I think was a file at the factory, I recrowned it the week I got it and it has not worn yet with mostly ernie ball cobalts (usually heavy wear)

3 - I have swapped mine to a 57/66 set and the poles are not perfectly aligned. It doesn't have any volume or dynamics issues that I can hear, some manufacturers claim it doesn't matter. You can usually order slanted ones from companies like Bare Knuckle which would look perfectly aligned. I plan to do that just in case. 

They're really nice guitars, even after Canadian conversion (dat oil economy) it felt like good value. I own a lot of WMI guitars though so I'm biased for sure.


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## TheShreddinHand (Apr 21, 2015)

Thanks guys!


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## boogie2 (Apr 21, 2015)

TheShreddinHand said:


> Hey guys, really thinking about just taking the plunge and ordering one seeing as how I don't think I'll ever find one to test out and the return policy is pretty favorable. Anyways, had a couple other questions for owners who might be able to chime in:
> 
> - How big are the frets? I don't think they're Ibanez jumbo size, but are they similar to EBMM JP fret size?
> - Regarding the 0 fret, even though it's stainless steel, it wears down and will eventually need to be replaced?
> - Obviously going the passive pickup route would take some work changing from the stock EMGs (grounding, pots, all new wiring, etc.), but since the pickups are on a slant, do they have to be calibrated or something? So I wouldn't be able to throw in a stock Dimarzio or BK set would I?



The frets are surprisingly small. I've got a number of other guitars (Anderson, Suhr, Fender, Gibson, Gretsch, Ibanez, ...) and these are about the smallest frets I have. 

No idea about the zero fret.

The slant of the pickups is pretty minor. I asked Ola and I seem to remember he said they were 7 degrees for the neck and 10 or 11 degrees for the bridge. I replaced the stock 707x's with the normal EMG 57/66 set (which has pole pieces). They don't line up exactly be it's not off by much and has no effect on the functionality at all. 

Both Duncan and BKP will build slanted pups for a price if you must have them. You could also go with a blade type pickup (like the Bare Knuckle Black Hawks) and there is no alignment issue.

Despite the fact that I'd prefer bigger frets and hated the stock pickups, I still love the OS7 and play it a lot. 

Good luck!


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## TheShreddinHand (Apr 22, 2015)

boogie2 said:


> The frets are surprisingly small. I've got a number of other guitars (Anderson, Suhr, Fender, Gibson, Gretsch, Ibanez, ...) and these are about the smallest frets I have.
> 
> No idea about the zero fret.
> 
> ...



Thanks for that info! I'm a little concerned about that fret size as I like bigger frets too (oftentimes thinking the JP frets were too small).

Couple other questions I thought of guys.

Does the chambering help with alleviating some of the sterileness of the EMG pickups? Particularly for cleans? I was thinking it may have an effect on that and make cleans sound a little better.

Also, what's the profile like on the bridge? Is it really low? I'm only used to Ibanez trems (edge, lopro, etc.) and the JP guitar trems. How does the profile compare?


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## boogie2 (Apr 25, 2015)

Hey, I can't really answer your EMG question. The 57/66 set was a big improvement. Much less compressed and dynamic than the original 707x pickups.

The bridge seems pretty low profile. Very flat with no part that passes above the plane of the strings. Cool design. I like it. Tuners start out quite stiff but loosen up pretty quickly.

Hope this helps.


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## TheShreddinHand (Apr 25, 2015)

boogie2 said:


> Hey, I can't really answer your EMG question. The 57/66 set was a big improvement. Much less compressed and dynamic than the original 707x pickups.
> 
> The bridge seems pretty low profile. Very flat with no part that passes above the plane of the strings. Cool design. I like it. Tuners start out quite stiff but loosen up pretty quickly.
> 
> Hope this helps.



Appreciate it!


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## Dram Horst (Apr 27, 2015)

Rather than making a new thread...

Hi- Longtime lurker and new official member here. Regarding swapping the pickups in an OS7, I read in another thread (can't remember if it was here or elsewhere), that the soap bar sized Bareknuckles, in fact, do NOT fit in the EMG routes on the OS7. Can anyone confirm/deny/elaborate on this?

I understand there is some work to be done to get a ground wire in, but are soap bar sized BKs a proper swap otherwise? It's either those or the active mount SD Pegasus/Sentient set. Leaning toward BKs but I can be swayed if that means having to hack away at the guitar. I'm planning on ordering black/maple as soon as they are back in stock next week!

Thanks dudes!


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## ikarus (Apr 27, 2015)

Dram Horst said:


> Rather than making a new thread...
> 
> Hi- Longtime lurker and new official member here. Regarding swapping the pickups in an OS7, I read in another thread (can't remember if it was here or elsewhere), that the soap bar sized Bareknuckles, in fact, do NOT fit in the EMG routes on the OS7. Can anyone confirm/deny/elaborate on this?



The BKPs do not fit in the routes and the pole pieces do not line up with the strings. You would need a special set where the pole pieces match the angle of the fan or pickups with a bar magnet that is wide enough.

edit: i ....ed it up, corrected now


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## Dram Horst (Apr 27, 2015)

How important is that beyond aesthetics? I've had several guitars where the poles are not perfectly aligned. Perhaps I just got used to compensating for output loss further in down the chain, and I tend to not favor crazy high output anyway. I see people suggesting the EMG 66/57 a lot. Is the alignment issue not a thing with those?


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## STARLOVIN (Apr 27, 2015)

BKP soapbars do NOT fit EMG routes. They are off by a few millimeters. Routing would be required. I spoke to BKP about this. They suggested getting slanted pups with custom soapbar covers with no pole pieces.


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## Dram Horst (Apr 27, 2015)

Bummer. They don't fit EMG routes at all or just on the Strandberg? If it's all EMG routes, then what's the point? Bummer. What about the SDs?


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## ikarus (Apr 27, 2015)

Dram Horst said:


> Bummer. They don't fit EMG routes at all or just on the Strandberg? If it's all EMG routes, then what's the point? Bummer. What about the SDs?



edit: nevermind


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## STARLOVIN (Apr 27, 2015)

BKP Soapbars - 88.9mm x 38.4mm - Mounting hole width 78mm
EMG 707x - 88.9mm x 38.1mm - Mounting hole width 82.5mm

I'm not sure if 0.3mm makes a huge difference. Mounting holes would certainly need to be filled and redrilled however on the OS7


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## HighGain510 (Apr 27, 2015)

ikarus said:


> They do fit normal EMG routes but not the slanted strandberg routes apparently.



Since the EMG's used in those guitars stock (707X active soapbar mount) are the same size just rotated, that doesn't make any sense whatsoever.  I believe what he said, if you read his post again, is that *BKP soapbar 7's will not fit EMG ROUTES without routing the pickup routes larger for the BKPs*.




STARLOVIN said:


> *BKP soapbars do NOT fit EMG routes.* They are off by a few millimeters. Routing would be required. I spoke to BKP about this. They suggested getting slanted pups with custom soapbar covers with no pole pieces.



See?


The issue has nothing to do with the fact that they are slanted in the Boden, BKP "active soapbar-sized" covered pickups will not direct retrofit into EMG routes, period. 

The route itself on the Strandberg fits an EMG stock, so obviously BKP is saying they know their pickup won't directly fit an EMG route, so any EMG 707-sized pickup is going to require routing. The BKPs use metal covers which are likely a few mm thicker than the plastic cover size that EMG uses. 



Dram Horst said:


> Bummer. They don't fit EMG routes at all or just on the Strandberg? If it's all EMG routes, then what's the point? Bummer. What about the SDs?



Seymour Duncan DOES make a custom shop fanned Pegasus/Sentient set where the poles line up directly, so you can order them straight from Duncan CS as that's an option for the USA Washburn-built Boden 7 models and you can see them in the pics here:

https://strandbergguitars.com/product/boden-7-custom-shop-headless-custom-7-string-guitar/#

Click on the blue one with the active-sized soapbars with pole pieces. You can see they line up, those are the Duncan CS set.







To be clear since misinformation seems to be rampant all of the sudden, there's no special EMG going into the Strandberg OS 7. It's a stock EMG 707X. BKPs soapbar-sized 7-string covered pickups are SLIGHTLY LARGER than a stock EMG 7-string soapbar pickup. It has nothing to do with the rotated EMG 707 route on a Strandberg, the BKP pickup is just slightly larger by a few mm on the sides due to the covers they're using, so you WILL need to route and unless you work out a custom deal with BKP it sounds like their pole pieces will not match up on a stock soapbar-covered 7-string pickup.


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## Dram Horst (Apr 27, 2015)

Gotcha. The mounting holes wouldn't be a big deal but redoing the whole route would be a bit much for me. Do we know if anyone here has done that switch and seen exactly how extensive that swap is?

Do we know about the Duncan set? Or any other options? I've dug through other threads but haven't turned up much yet. I've also considered just getting a pick guard made and mounting regular pickups in that. Kind of flies in the face of my not wanting to do extensive routes, but I feel like that would be more manageable and easier/cheaper to do than redoing the pickup routes. Or even getting pickup rings.


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## Dram Horst (Apr 27, 2015)

HighGain510 said:


> Since the EMG's used in those guitars stock (707X active soapbar mount) are the same size just rotated, that doesn't make any sense whatsoever.  I believe what he said, if you read his post again, is that *BKP soapbar 7's will not fit EMG ROUTES without routing the pickup routes larger for the BKPs*.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Thanks dude! This was very informative.


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## HighGain510 (Apr 27, 2015)

Dram Horst said:


> Gotcha. The mounting holes wouldn't be a big deal but redoing the whole route would be a bit much for me. Do we know if anyone here has done that switch and seen exactly how extensive that swap is?
> 
> Do we know about the Duncan set? Or any other options? I've dug through other threads but haven't turned up much yet. I've also considered just getting a pick guard made and mounting regular pickups in that. Kind of flies in the face of my not wanting to do extensive routes, but I feel like that would be more manageable and easier/cheaper to do than redoing the pickup routes. Or even getting pickup rings.



You should be able to order the Strandberg-sized (correct pole spacing and mounting) active soapbar 7 pickups from the Seymour Duncan Custom Shop, and as such you could custom order any pickup in that format you wanted within reason I would imagine. SD Custom Shop pricing is in line (or cheaper in some cases) than BKP pricing anyway, so if you're in the US and like Duncans or want to do a custom hybrid design I highly recommend that option. 

I went with the Lundgren M7C set in my OS 7. To my ears without the pickup poles (inside the cover, you can't see them but they're there) lining up directly under the string, there is a **slight** hint of output change specifically on the high E to my ear, but it's not substantial and in a mix I doubt you could pick it out honestly. If I were not so set on wanting Lundgrens in this wood combo, my next bet was going to be SD Custom Shop as I loved the custom set they built for my Parker 7 so since it would have cost less than a set of the covered BKPs, wouldn't require routing AND the poles would line up, it seemed like a no-brainer. 

I wouldn't recommend routing it for straight pickups and throwing them into a pickguard personally. The fanned frets with the non-angled pickups I have in my Boden CL7 compared to the fanned frets with the angled pickups in my Boden OS7 sound very different, and the bass sounds substantially tighter and more punchy. Part of that could be the pickups, but both guitars have fairly high output pickup sets that are tight on the lows so I think a bigger part of it is that the lower strings don't have the pickups set as far back towards the bridge on the CL7 as they are on the OS7.


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## Dram Horst (Apr 27, 2015)

Perfect. Thanks a ton dude! Seems like the SDs are my best bet. I'll reach out to them later. Do they have pricing for that listed anywhere? I can't find it on the site anywhere. I imagine it's more of a car-by-case?


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## boogie2 (Apr 27, 2015)

HighGain510 said:


> You should be able to order the ...
> 
> I went with the Lundgren M7C set in my OS 7. To my ears without the pickup poles (inside the cover, you can't see them but they're there) lining up directly under the string, there is a **slight** hint of output change specifically on the high E to my ear, but it's not substantial and in a mix I doubt you could pick it out honestly. If I were not so set on wanting Lundgrens in this wood combo, my next bet was going to be SD Custom Shop as I loved the custom set they built for my Parker 7 so since it would have cost less than a set of the covered BKPs, wouldn't require routing AND the poles would line up, it seemed like a no-brainer.
> 
> ...



How do you like the Lundgrens? How are they for cleans and mid gain? I take it they fit the the Boden routes without issue? 
Which Duncans are in your Parker 7? 

I love passive pups. The EMG 57/66 were a big improvement and are now tolerable, but really not my favorites. I'm leaning toward a set of Blackhawks (despite the routing) as soon as I find a decent tech, but I'm still open to other suggestions.


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## HighGain510 (Apr 27, 2015)

Dram Horst said:


> Perfect. Thanks a ton dude! Seems like the SDs are my best bet. I'll reach out to them later. Do they have pricing for that listed anywhere? I can't find it on the site anywhere. I imagine it's more of a car-by-case?



They usually have to quote you for something like this, but you'll likely have to be VERY specific to include the info they'll need to give you an accurate quote (calling out that the pickups are EMG active-soapbar housings with the slanted pole spacing for a Strandberg is probably a good idea ):

Contact Us - Seymour Duncan Custom Shop

I had to go that route when I ordered my Parker 7 CS Duncans, but they emailed me back quickly and we worked it out from there.



boogie2 said:


> How do you like the Lundgrens? How are they for cleans and mid gain? I take it they fit the the Boden routes without issue?
> Which Duncans are in your Parker 7?
> 
> I love passive pups. The EMG 57/66 were a big improvement and are now tolerable, but really not my favorites. I'm leaning toward a set of Blackhawks (despite the routing) as soon as I find a decent tech, but I'm still open to other suggestions.



I really like the M7's for everything, they do anything from clean to high gain without issue which is something I really dig about them. They are not the typical "high output, only good for metal (djent)" pickups you tend to see with some brands higher output pickups, so that's why I really like the M7's in the swamp ash body + maple neck combo. The pickup housings used on the M7C are the same plastic housing the EMG 707 pickups use, so the pickup covers fit in the routes without altering the pickup route size. The Duncans in my Parker were a custom ceramic/alnico set I put together with Derek Duncan.


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## Dram Horst (May 8, 2015)

Hey dudes- another quick question here: what about the X-bars/Death bars? The measurements seem to line up, but then I would've assumed that about the BKs as well. I know the mounting screws are different, but would they fit the route?


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## Viginez (May 10, 2015)

HighGain510 said:


>



woah, that neck alignment. scary.


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## oremus91 (May 15, 2015)

Viginez said:


> woah, that neck alignment. scary.



What are you talking about exactly? I'm not sure how you can ascertain that from such a pic.


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## revivalmode (May 17, 2015)

Still eagerly waiting for some Boden OS 6/7 NGD topics...


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## olejason (May 17, 2015)

Viginez said:


> woah, that neck alignment. scary.



It looks really bad but it can be hard to ascertain the actual alignment from a picture at that angle. 

Does anyone know if the OS will be offered with an ebony fretboard?


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## oremus91 (May 17, 2015)

olejason said:


> It looks really bad but it can be hard to ascertain the actual alignment from a picture at that angle.
> 
> Does anyone know if the OS will be offered with an ebony fretboard?



I feel like you are spreading FUD, there is no offset or alignment issue in that picture. The fanned frets and the subtle slope that all bodens have following the slanted pickups there might be an optical illusion of sorts in that small picture where you don't have full perspective.


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## olejason (May 17, 2015)

oremus91 said:


> I feel like you are spreading FUD, there is no offset or alignment issue in that picture. The fanned frets and the subtle slope that all bodens have following the slanted pickups there might be an optical illusion of sorts in that small picture where you don't have full perspective.



You might want to try reading that again. I said the exact same thing you're saying.


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## asher (May 17, 2015)

Maybe he wanted to grab the quote you were responding to?


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## jahosy (May 17, 2015)

So rather than starting a new thread, hope the OP doesn't mind me asking this to existing boden owners.. is it a pain to change strings and setup in general?


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## asher (May 17, 2015)

jahosy said:


> So rather than starting a new thread, hope the OP doesn't mind me asking this to existing boden owners.. is it a pain to change strings and setup in general?



Not paritcularly. To change your strings, you've obviously gotta take the bolt out at the nut (the blocks themselves stay in place and you run the string all the way through them), and unscrew the tuning screws at the back of the bridge. The strings run through there so you can just pull them out, run the new ones through, and put the tuners back on.


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## jahosy (May 17, 2015)

Thanks mate. Been sitting on the fence for a few years now but with the OS line it's probably time to get hold of one.


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## STARLOVIN (May 25, 2015)

I'm a total newb when it comes to active pups. My guitar tech suggested I try out the 18v mod on the 707x pups. Has anyone tried this before? What exactly does this mod do?


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## Antiproduct (May 25, 2015)

I have a question to the Boden OS owners:

How does the finish of the body feel? On pictures it looks similar to Ibanez Premium finishes, like my 721RW or the M80M.


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## cubix (May 25, 2015)

As for the neck alignment on that particular guitar, from the pics on the Strandberg site it indeed seems it might be somewhat off, compared to pics of other 7s. Both pics are taken from the same straight angle. These were one of the first guitars so I'm sure they eliminated all the issues, if the neck isn't super tight in the pocket it might be just a case of loosening it and slightly shifting to the other side.


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## technomancer (May 25, 2015)

cubix said:


> As for the neck alignment on that particular guitar, from the pics on the Strandberg site it indeed seems it might be somewhat off, compared to pics of other 7s. Both pics are taken from the same straight angle. These were one of the first guitars so I'm sure they eliminated all the issues, if the neck isn't super tight in the pocket it might be just a case of loosening it and slightly shifting to the other side.



Or the camera could have been tilted a couple of degrees while taking the photo. I've had that exact same look in photos of guitars with perfectly straight necks.


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## shredwoodforest (May 25, 2015)

Frostod said:


> I have a question to the Boden OS owners:
> 
> How does the finish of the body feel? On pictures it looks similar to Ibanez Premium finishes, like my 721RW or the M80M.



Its like a normal matte finish. Its not glossy and doesn't have that sticky, glossy feel. I find its more comfortable.


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## Antiproduct (May 26, 2015)

So its more feeling like a normal satin finish despite the structure of the wood (on the back for example) and not like a wood like on a oil finish?


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## asher (May 26, 2015)

Well, it IS a normal satin finish  so yes.


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## cubix (May 26, 2015)

technomancer said:


> Or the camera could have been tilted a couple of degrees while taking the photo. I've had that exact same look in photos of guitars with perfectly straight necks.



It wasn't because it would be apparent on other parts of the guitar, for example the side of the neck or the joint would become slightly visible. Go take a look at the full photos, no difference in the angle. And what's the chance of taking 2 pics that look like the neck is not aligned from 2 different angles


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## Jonathan20022 (May 26, 2015)

^^ Except they are from seperate angles, the black one has a shadow/pickup cavity visible to the left of the soapbars but not the right. And the Blue Boden has that shadow/cavity route perfectly visible all around.

It's hilarious that no one asks these questions and makes these assumptions with one off luthiers that let plenty of flaws fly by. Yet a reputable, *established* company like Washburn/Strandberg/WMI gets all this flack over every small detail. The only model with alignment issues *was* the Masvidalien, and that's been fixed already. I've had 5 other bodens and they've all been perfect.


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## haieb (Aug 7, 2015)

I read the first page about the covered BKP not fitting in the emg 707x routing and i have a question about the uncovered ones. So if i order slanted ones without a pickup, will the fit without doing any routing? 

EDIT: Sorry I totally did not see that the pickup routing is not slanted at all....damn. So do the normal BKP without cover fit or are there other possibilities except the custom duncans?


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## jemfloral (Aug 7, 2015)

haieb said:


> I read the first page about the covered BKP not fitting in the emg 707x routing and i have a question about the uncovered ones. So if i order slanted ones without a pickup, will the fit without doing any routing?
> 
> EDIT: Sorry I totally did not see that the pickup routing is not slanted at all....damn. So do the normal BKP without cover fit or are there other possibilities except the custom duncans?



As noted in a number of these threads now: any standard soap bar-sized covered pickup should fit into this route. I have a set of Lundgren M7Cs that dropped right in to the space where the EMGs or Laces would've been. Cheers!


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## Chris Rowberry (Sep 17, 2015)

Hey guys,

Chris from Bare Knuckle Pickups here.

I just wanted to pop on and clear up a few things I've seen on this thread that are confusing people.

Our 7 string soapbar sized covers are a direct replacement for guitars routed for actives like the 707. There should be no issue getting them to fit in the cavities whatsoever. 

The only problem you will face is pole alignment. So what we recommend to remedy this is to order a slanted 7 string humbucker with a soapbar sized, no-holes cover. 
This way the poles under the no-holes cover will align with the strings above. We don't produce covers with slanted holes as of yet. But there shouldn't be any need for routing.

Dimensions can be found here - https://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/main/downloads/dimensions/humbuckers/soapbar_7_string.pdf 

I hope this has helped clear up any confusion.

Chris


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## Zinter (Sep 17, 2015)

Chris Rowberry said:


> Hey guys,
> 
> Chris from Bare Knuckle Pickups here.
> 
> ...



I just ordered a black set of Aftermath pickups that were custom slanted under no-holes covers like this. It fit directly into my Boden OS 7 with no routing but barely fit.  They sound better in my strandberg than a Gibson LP i have with them.


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## Silence2-38554 (Sep 17, 2015)

Also wanted to pop in here & suggest the Fishman Fluence modern 7's for the OS7. I installed them in my guitar & they're great, though they do require drilling for a bridge ground. Here's a really long video I made of the install process:


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## boogie2 (Sep 18, 2015)

Chris Rowberry said:


> Hey guys,
> 
> Chris from Bare Knuckle Pickups here.
> 
> ...



Chris, so you're saying that there shouldn't be any need to route to fit the Bareknuckle 7 string soapbar covers? That would be awesome. I've been wanting to get a set of Blackhawks for my OS for a while now. Since they're a bar type, pole alignment isn't an issue.

It sounds like the only real work is redoing the mounting holes, adding the bridge ground, changing out the pots, adding a 5 way superswitch, finding a schematic I like...  Hell, If it was easy, everybody would do it.


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## boogie2 (Sep 19, 2015)

Silence2-38554 said:


> Also wanted to pop in here & suggest the Fishman Fluence modern 7's for the OS7. I installed them in my guitar & they're great, though they do require drilling for a bridge ground. Here's a really long video I made of the install process:




Thanks, the video is really helpful. I was wondering about adding the bridge ground and this answered all my questions. Looks like a new set of Blackhawks are in my future.


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## Chris Rowberry (Sep 22, 2015)

boogie2 said:


> Chris, so you're saying that there shouldn't be any need to route to fit the Bareknuckle 7 string soapbar covers? That would be awesome. I've been wanting to get a set of Blackhawks for my OS for a while now. Since they're a bar type, pole alignment isn't an issue.
> 
> It sounds like the only real work is redoing the mounting holes, adding the bridge ground, changing out the pots, adding a 5 way superswitch, finding a schematic I like...  Hell, If it was easy, everybody would do it.



Exactly, there shouldn't be any reason to make modifications to the cavity.


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## JejeLaFrite (Sep 22, 2015)

Hi Chris,

Thanks for your feedback.
I have to admit that when i saw that it put me off from ordering BKP for my boden:
Aaron Marshall&#8217;s new Boden 7 | Al's Repair Blog
As I didn't want to take any risk, I ended up ordering a 57/66 set.


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## Zinter (Sep 22, 2015)

JejeLaFrite said:


> Hi Chris,
> 
> Thanks for your feedback.
> I have to admit that when i saw that it put me off from ordering BKP for my boden:
> ...



I think the one in that link is a Washberg, the OS line seems to have slightly bigger routes because they fit in mine without modification. Could be that I got lucky with variation by the cnc


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## boogie2 (Sep 22, 2015)

Chris Rowberry said:


> Exactly, there shouldn't be any reason to make modifications to the cavity.


 
Ordered my blackhawks today!  Now the wait starts...


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## Lemonbaby (Sep 23, 2015)

One more question to all Strandberg owners: can you guys check out your neck's dimensions? I'd be interested in the thickness at the nut and 12th fret. This info is impossible to find anywhere... for no plausible reason.


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## nistley (Sep 23, 2015)

Lemonbaby said:


> One more question to all Strandberg owners: can you guys check out your neck's dimensions? I'd be interested in the thickness at the nut and 12th fret. This info is impossible to find anywhere... for no plausible reason.



I will check, but the reason is that it doesn't matter, even though it is thick. On a rounded neck, I rest thumb and digits on the curve. On EndureNeck, the thumb rests on the flat side of the triangle. The 'sharp' tip of the triangle always fits into the concave space between your thumb and index finger. Yes, I think I would prefer the neck to be slightly thinner overall, but it really can't be compared to a regular neck by this spec.


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## Lemonbaby (Sep 23, 2015)

nistley said:


> I will check, but the reason is that it doesn't matter, even though it is thick. [...]



Got the exact same reply from Strandberg - they basically refused to give me the sizes. I'm wondering why that's such a secret...? Even more so as I actually prefer thicker necks to the ultrathin Ibanez Wizard stuff.


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## big_aug (Sep 23, 2015)

The reason they arent giving a measurement is the neck has multiple dimensions. Its extremely thin on the top and bottom. In the middle it's very thick. Overall, the neck feels very chunky. It's a lot bigger than my Schecters.

It's kind of like this:


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## nistley (Sep 23, 2015)

Lemonbaby said:


> Got the exact same reply from Strandberg - they basically refused to give me the sizes. I'm wondering why that's such a secret...? Even more so as I actually prefer thicker necks to the ultrathin Ibanez Wizard stuff.



It's not a secret, it is just moot. It's like asking a car manufacturer how many horse shoes per mile the car is. You are simply not doing anything with the thickest part of the neck the height of which you're asking about.


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## asher (Sep 23, 2015)

nistley said:


> It's not a secret, it is just moot. It's like asking a car manufacturer how many horse shoes per mile the car is. You are simply not doing anything with the thickest part of the neck the height of which you're asking about.



That's completely dependent on play style (speaking from experience). I wouldn't want it any thinner, honestly.

I suspect not giving out the dimensions is tied to being stricter control of the Endurneck, like how it's not free any more. Did they patent it?


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## nistley (Sep 23, 2015)

asher said:


> That's completely dependent on play style (speaking from experience). I wouldn't want it any thinner, honestly.
> 
> I suspect not giving out the dimensions is tied to being stricter control of the Endurneck, like how it's not free any more. Did they patent it?



Yeah, AFAIK, it's patented and licensable.


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## nistley (Sep 24, 2015)

Lemonbaby said:


> Got the exact same reply from Strandberg - they basically refused to give me the sizes. I'm wondering why that's such a secret...? Even more so as I actually prefer thicker necks to the ultrathin Ibanez Wizard stuff.



It's 20mm thick consistently, so actually not that thick.


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## Chris Rowberry (Oct 2, 2015)

JejeLaFrite said:


> Hi Chris,
> 
> Thanks for your feedback.
> I have to admit that when i saw that it put me off from ordering BKP for my boden:
> ...



Ah, that's such a shame that you were put off by people doing guesswork on here. If anyone has any questions in the future you can just give us a call at the workshop during open hours or email us. We answer emails everyday, even weekends.


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## Chris Rowberry (Oct 2, 2015)

boogie2 said:


> Ordered my blackhawks today!  Now the wait starts...



Excellent!!! I recently put a Black Hawk set into my PRS Bernie with a spalted maple top and I can't put it down lately! Let me know how you get on once you have them installed!


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## shadowlife (Oct 2, 2015)

nistley said:


> It's 20mm thick consistently, so actually not that thick.



By my standards, that's pretty damn thin...


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## cubix (Oct 5, 2015)

Less strain on the muscles actually, if there is some girth to the neck. Found that out the hard way after all these years.


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## boogie2 (Oct 6, 2015)

My new soapbar/radiator covered blackhawks showed up yesterday. They look great and arrived about 3 weeks before I thought they would. I didn't get the calipers out, but just eyeballing it, it doesn't look like the fit will be any sort of an issue. I'm more concerned about drilling to add the bridge ground and re-drilling the mounting holes.

I think I'm going to use a blade 3way switch (like the original) with a pushpull tone pot for the coil tap. I might rewire and add a neck phase push-pull on the volume later. I'll also replace the wood knobs with knurled dome knobs. The wood ones don't really have any interesting grain or character and the texturing makes the push-pull easier.


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## Silence2-38554 (Oct 7, 2015)

boogie2 said:


> My new soapbar/radiator covered blackhawks showed up yesterday. They look great and arrived about 3 weeks before I thought they would. I didn't get the calipers out, but just eyeballing it, it doesn't look like the fit will be any sort of an issue. I'm more concerned about drilling to add the bridge ground and re-drilling the mounting holes.
> 
> I think I'm going to use a blade 3way switch (like the original) with a pushpull tone pot for the coil tap. I might rewire and add a neck phase push-pull on the volume later. I'll also replace the wood knobs with knurled dome knobs. The wood ones don't really have any interesting grain or character and the texturing makes the push-pull easier.



I'm very, very curious to see how the Black Hawks look & sound in your strandy! Did you go with a ceramic or Alnico bridge magnet? If you want some tips on drilling for the bridge ground, I made a video for installing my Fishmans:


The grounding process starts around 49:00:00.
It's pretty nerve wracking, not gonna lie. You're gonna need to buy a special, long drill bit. Go very slow & get the bit going at as flat of an angle as you can. To do this, you'll want to remove your 1st, 2nd & 3rd string bridge saddles. Hit me up if you have questions!


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## boogie2 (Oct 7, 2015)

Silence2-38554 said:


> I'm very, very curious to see how the Black Hawks look & sound in your strandy! Did you go with a ceramic or Alnico bridge magnet? If you want some tips on drilling for the bridge ground, I made a video for installing my Fishmans:
> 
> 
> The grounding process starts around 49:00:00.
> It's pretty nerve wracking, not gonna lie. You're gonna need to buy a special, long drill bit. Go very slow & get the bit going at as flat of an angle as you can. To do this, you'll want to remove your 1st, 2nd & 3rd string bridge saddles. Hit me up if you have questions!




Thanks, I really like all of the Blackhawk clips I've found. I went with the Alnicos. Seemed like the ceramic in the ash/maple combo could be a bit bright. I'm going to go with a 3way blade and a push-pull coil tap.

I saw your video, I'm going to use it as a guide . What size bit did you use? I found a 1/8" thats about 9" long. I figure I'll start with a short bit ( easier to control) and switch when I get the pilot hole drilled.

Still waiting on parts so it will probably be next week before I get everything together.


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