# NGD: .strandberg* Boden 8



## Apatheosis (Feb 1, 2014)

I picked up this wonderful piece over the Australia Day weekend after courting a picture of it on a local sales board. I'm not sure how many of these made it over here and I've always dreamed of owning a Strandberg, so I ended up taking the plunge and contacting the seller for a trade.

Upon receiving it I had a very pleasant surge of deja vu when I picked up the Strandberg softcase and thought for a split second that 'there can't possibly be a guitar in here'. I had a similar experience upon receiving my Parker Fly Deluxe some years back and mistakenly thinking I had only been sent a guitar case 





Upon arriving home I sat down and jammed out almost the entire Animals As Leaders discography before calling up my tech and submitting it for a service. This thing is an absolute blast. It's so lightweight and extraordinarily resonant acoustically and the IPNP neck... the IPNP profile is just something else... I was thoroughly disoriented for the first five minutes but now I can't imagine an 8 string with anything else. The rosewood comprising the neck is also just gorgeous.

Here's where my review gets less glowing. It was fairly evident to me that the previous owner hadn't played this guitar for some time, which is fine, it's totally his prerogative where he invests his time. But the fingerboard was extremely thirsty and the pickups had accumulated a lot of grime. No worries, I oiled the whole thing up and down and cleaned up the pickups as best I could. The majority of this guitar's flaws are probably the responsibilities of Strictly 7. I went into the trade knowing that this guitar could well be an ill put together S7 Boden but decided I would assess the situation in person. It passed my brief visual inspection but open arriving at the tech some flaws became more apparent:








The top was coming off...





...Fixed this one quick-smart

Additionally there appear to be CNC-inflicted grooves on the back of the beautiful neck, which was a little surprising 





I intend to get the grooves sanded down and the neck refinished ASAP...

All in all I waited for 3 excruciating days for my newly acquired Strandberg to return to me set-up for optimal play, and it didn't disappoint. Flaws aside, the playability on these things -I must re-iterate- is incredible. It blows my old Ibanez RG2228 out of the water for the style I play. The fan plus the IPNP profile make most chords fairly effortless and hand fatigue is so far non-existent.

More photos:

















































The Lace pickups are very uniquely voiced, although not perhaps what I'd consider having installed forever. The cleans are absolutely flooring but the gain tone leaves a lot to be desired. Whilst I'm not looking for pummelling metal pickups for this specific guitar, I would probably enjoy a tighter, more focussed attack in the gain-department. Hopefully I can find something that won't sacrifice the clarity of the cleans!

tl;dr - In conclusion I am 100% thrilled with my first Strandberg, it's not perfect and I would certainly not purchase one for retail price, but for my needs it's holding it's own fantastically amongst my other guitars. I feel this is a definite keeper and once I get all of the factory issues cleared up I'm sure that it will become the pride of my current arsenal.

8.5/10. 




(photo credit: capoeiraesp)


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## mphsc (Feb 1, 2014)

Congrats on finding a reputable guy to fix things and the guitar.


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## Apatheosis (Feb 1, 2014)

Cheers! Yeah, he was an absolute life-saver. He has a keen eye for flaws and has helped me get the Boden up to it's highest performance possible.


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## jemfloral (Feb 1, 2014)

HNGD. i believe the grooves are supposed to be there (running lengthwise on the neck)... check this out at 12:54 where he mentions 'groove neck' :

Congrats again, i'm still gassing for a boden 7 or masvidalien


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## Stresspill (Feb 1, 2014)

Just the photography nerd in me wanted to say, dig those snaps at the end there!


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## Apatheosis (Feb 1, 2014)

jemfloral said:


> HNGD. i believe the grooves are supposed to be there (running lengthwise on the neck)... check this out at 12:54 where he mentions 'groove neck' :
> 
> Congrats again, i'm still gassing for a boden 7 or masvidalien




Thanks for the heads up! I'll watch the video and show my tech and see what he makes of it. It does feel quite rough underhand, but if that's intentional then I'm more than happy to roll with it.


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## Apatheosis (Feb 1, 2014)

Stresspill said:


> Just the photography nerd in me wanted to say, dig those snaps at the end there!



The photo credit goes to capoeiraesp, who is a lethal with a camera 

I personally can't take an in-focus photo to save my life!


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## StevenC (Feb 1, 2014)

HNGD!

Two things, though. First that isn't the EndurNeck, that's Rick Toone's IPNP and second, those grooves are not intentional. The GrooveNeck was on Tosin's #17, but not on any of the production guitars.


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## Apatheosis (Feb 1, 2014)

StevenC said:


> HNGD!
> 
> Two things, though. First that isn't the EndurNeck, that's Rick Toone's IPNP and second, those grooves are not intentional. The GrooveNeck was on Tosin's #17, but not on any of the production guitars.



Oh wow, please tell me more. The seller told me it was an Endurneck and never having encountered one before I just presumed it was.

So the grooves on the neck are unintentional then? Hmm. Perhaps I will get them sanded down then...


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## MF_Kitten (Feb 1, 2014)

Yeah, the grooves are intentional, though I have no idea if S7G did them correctly. Anyway, feel free to smoothen them out and even round the edges if you want. I know Per Nilsson's sig has a rounded-off Endur-neck profile.

edit: apparently not the same thing, as noted above!

re-edit: Yeah, that's not the endur-neck! As you can see, the ridges run parallel to the neck laminates. The endur-neck is like a curved diagonal thing, being shifted towards the low strings nearer the nut and towards the high end nearer the body. I did try the IPNP on a Strandberg, and I was pleasantly surprised by how totally fine it was, despite looking like a terrible idea visually! It totally works for some weird reason 

Yeah, the top coming off is S7G's idiotic incompetence. They use Titebond 3 I think, rather than 2. This glue is generally shunned by luthiers, because it's rubbery where 2 is hard and solid, and it shifts, which is the opposite of what you want in an instrument.

So basically they don't do enough research before they do shit because they aren't professionals.


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## Apatheosis (Feb 1, 2014)

MF_Kitten said:


> Yeah, the grooves are intentional, though I have no idea if S7G did them correctly. Anyway, feel free to smoothen them out and even round the edges if you want. I know Per Nilsson's sig has a rounded-off Endur-neck profile.
> 
> edit: apparently not the same thing, as noted above!
> 
> ...



Cheers for the info, in the above video it seems that Ola has a rationale for the grooves and if he thinks it's a good idea I'm unsure if I want to go against that for now.

What do you speculate could be the potential pros and cons if I choose to leave the neck as is or sand out the grooves?

Thanks!


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## StevenC (Feb 1, 2014)

Apatheosis said:


> Oh wow, please tell me more. The seller told me it was an Endurneck and never having encountered one before I just presumed it was.
> 
> So the grooves on the neck are unintentional then? Hmm. Perhaps I will get them sanded down then...



This is EndurNeck:






This is IPNP:





From the looks of it, you have the latter.

More info on IPNP here:
Intersecting Plane Neck Profile

The grooves on your guitar are definitely unintentional. Some of the other S7 Strandbergs had the same issue.


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## MF_Kitten (Feb 1, 2014)

Apatheosis said:


> Cheers for the info, in the above video it seems that Ola has a rationale for the grooves and if he thinks it's a good idea I'm unsure if I want to go against that for now.
> 
> What do you speculate could be the potential pros and cons if I choose to leave the neck as is or sand out the grooves?
> 
> Thanks!



Actually, if it's an endur-neck, those grooves aren't supposed to be there. Sand them out.


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## ramses (Feb 1, 2014)

Apatheosis said:


> Oh wow, please tell me more. The seller told me it was an Endurneck and never having encountered one before I just presumed it was.



The seller may have been making the same assumption you made  

The first batch of Boden 8's had the IPNP profile, and subsequent batches used the endurneck.


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## Apatheosis (Feb 1, 2014)

StevenC said:


> This is EndurNeck:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Thanks for the info, much appreciated

In light of this information I guess I'll get the grooves sanded off, they're very odd and feel rough and unusual on such an expensive guitar


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## Apatheosis (Feb 1, 2014)

MF_Kitten said:


> Actually, if it's an endur-neck, those grooves aren't supposed to be there. Sand them out.



The mystery of the neck profile has been solved, I now believe this is Toone's IPNP profile. So... sand 'em off?!?

(I will be editing my original post to reflect this new information)


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## ramses (Feb 1, 2014)

MF_Kitten said:


> Yeah, the top coming off is S7G's idiotic incompetence. They use Titebond 3 I think, rather than 2. This glue is generally shunned by luthiers, because it's rubbery where 2 is hard and solid, and it shifts, which is the opposite of what you want in an instrument.
> 
> So basically they don't do enough research before they do shit because they aren't professionals.



I have owned an S7G made Boden 7 for five months now, and its body is actually one year old. I'm happy to say that my top is perfect  if that changes, though, I'll definitely post about it here.

In any case, going with S7G, to start the production line, was a horrible move.


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## ElRay (Feb 1, 2014)

What's your take on the straight pick-ups with a multi-scale guitar? Do you find the bridge pick-up Tele-twangy? With the neck, do you notice a "22-Fret Sound" in the bass and a "24-Fret Sound" in the trebles?

Ray


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## Erockomania (Feb 1, 2014)

I would imagine those grooves are intentional. Can't imagine that would pass QC (yes, even S7G QC) if they weren't. BUT, if you don't dig them, who cares if it was intended... sand em off! As you will find, the grooves aren't a "standard" feature and it won't devalue the guitar if you nix em.


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## stuglue (Feb 1, 2014)

are those Lace pickups the X Bars or Deathbars?


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## MF_Kitten (Feb 1, 2014)

Apatheosis said:


> The mystery of the neck profile has been solved, I now believe this is Toone's IPNP profile. So... sand 'em off?!?
> 
> (I will be editing my original post to reflect this new information)



yes. IPNP = no grooves. Smooth it out. I played a smooth IPNP Strandberg at NAMM, and it felt nice as hell. So you DEFINITELY aren't ruining it by doing that anyway


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## capoeiraesp (Feb 1, 2014)

Is definitely like to spend some more time with that neck. 

No family shot, Mitchell?


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## Apatheosis (Feb 1, 2014)

Family shots:


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## Apatheosis (Feb 1, 2014)

stuglue said:


> are those Lace pickups the X Bars or Deathbars?



Lace Alumitones, I believe. Though I can't confirm it.


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## Apatheosis (Feb 1, 2014)

MF_Kitten said:


> yes. IPNP = no grooves. Smooth it out. I played a smooth IPNP Strandberg at NAMM, and it felt nice as hell. So you DEFINITELY aren't ruining it by doing that anyway



Taking it to the tech first thing next week, glad I have a definitive answer, cheers!


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## axxessdenied (Feb 1, 2014)

DAT PARKER !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## JEngelking (Feb 1, 2014)

Good to hear you were able to get the issues with it cleared up and ended up with a great instrument in spite of them.  HNGD!

Great family too!


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## StevenC (Feb 2, 2014)

Assuming the pickups weren't changed, they should be X-Bars.


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## Syriel (Feb 2, 2014)

Titties.

Shame about the S7G flaws. But you got them sorted out and they're not super huge unrepairable flaws like "wormholes to add character" 

And man you have a beautiful collection right there. Awesome. HNGD!


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## Dabo Fett (Feb 2, 2014)

the more i see them the more i think ill need to be adding myself to ola's waitlist very soon


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## Apatheosis (Feb 2, 2014)

ElRay said:


> What's your take on the straight pick-ups with a multi-scale guitar? Do you find the bridge pick-up Tele-twangy? With the neck, do you notice a "22-Fret Sound" in the bass and a "24-Fret Sound" in the trebles?
> 
> Ray



Honestly, I'll have to test it with those factors in mind. When I get more time I'll PM you when I find anything conclusive.


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## Eclipse (Feb 3, 2014)

Beautiful guitars!


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## asher (Feb 3, 2014)

Syriel said:


> Titties.
> 
> Shame about the S7G flaws. But you got them sorted out and they're not super huge unrepairable flaws like "wormholes to add character"
> 
> And man you have a beautiful collection right there. Awesome. HNGD!



The top coming off is a super huge flaw. It's just also repairable.

That being said, HNGD! Glad it's all fixable.


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## ElRay (Feb 3, 2014)

Apatheosis said:


> Honestly, I'll have to test it with those factors in mind. When I get more time I'll PM you when I find anything conclusive.



Thanks. Just post something here. I know there's a lot of folks that haven't played straight pick-ups in a multi-scaled guitar that are convinced they will sound horrible. The couple of clips I've herald, don't sound bad at all. 

I'm still planning a multi-scaled build and I'd like to be able to go with standard 6-string pick-ups, to keep the cost down, but I'd like to get a better idea about the sound before I get that far.

Ray


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## Antwill (Feb 3, 2014)

Wow that guitar is awesome. I want one of these. how much was it?


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## Apatheosis (Feb 4, 2014)

Thanks for reading and educating me on my new guitar guys, much appreciated.

With that all said, I plan on modding this thing just a tiny bit. My tech suggests a larger 0 fret will help eliminate a lot of the buzz I'm getting. I've also been toying with the idea of getting a bone nut carved for this guitar instead of the Graphtech. I'm not even sure if this is possible or desirable but I'd love some opinions on it.


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## veshly (Feb 4, 2014)

Oh god, seeing that top come off made me run to check my own boden. 


Did you just oil the fretboard, or the whole guitar?


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## User Name (Feb 4, 2014)

god damn that is a beautiful guitar! congrats!


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## Apatheosis (Feb 4, 2014)

veshly said:


> Oh god, seeing that top come off made me run to check my own boden.
> 
> 
> Did you just oil the fretboard, or the whole guitar?



I oiled the fretboard and then lightly polished the rest of the guitar with the excess. Makes the top really stand out.


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## MF_Kitten (Feb 5, 2014)

Apatheosis said:


> Thanks for reading and educating me on my new guitar guys, much appreciated.
> 
> With that all said, I plan on modding this thing just a tiny bit. My tech suggests a larger 0 fret will help eliminate a lot of the buzz I'm getting. I've also been toying with the idea of getting a bone nut carved for this guitar instead of the Graphtech. I'm not even sure if this is possible or desirable but I'd love some opinions on it.



bone nuts are pointless. If you're going for something else than GraphTech, go for brass.


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## TemjinStrife (Feb 5, 2014)

MF_Kitten said:


> bone nuts are pointless. If you're going for something else than GraphTech, go for brass.



Brass is generally a pretty terrible idea. Soft enough to wear string grooves in and catch, and I've never heard a tonal benefit on my brass nut-equipped instruments (one guitar and one bass), especially since I'm not typically using open strings.


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## underthecurve (Feb 5, 2014)

TemjinStrife said:


> Brass is generally a pretty terrible idea. Soft enough to wear string grooves in and catch, and I've never heard a tonal benefit on my brass nut-equipped instruments (one guitar and one bass), especially since I'm not typically using open strings.



Not sure what type of brass you are referring to. Bell brass or bell bronze is relatively tough. Warwick uses it for their fret material IIRC. Also, since the strings are locked almost immediately after the nut and are tuned from the bridge string catching should be minimal. I vote he should keep the nut and get a brass 0 fret.


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## lewstherin006 (Feb 5, 2014)

Congrats bro she look amazing!


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## Splinterhead (Feb 5, 2014)

Congrats and welcome to the club!


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## Slunk Dragon (Feb 6, 2014)

Congrats on that awesome Boden, and glad to see the issues were all fixable.


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## AuroraTide (Feb 6, 2014)

You forgot to mention that it got the seal of approval from Mr Abasi too!


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## Apatheosis (Feb 6, 2014)

underthecurve said:


> Not sure what type of brass you are referring to. Bell brass or bell bronze is relatively tough. Warwick uses it for their fret material IIRC. Also, since the strings are locked almost immediately after the nut and are tuned from the bridge string catching should be minimal. I vote he should keep the nut and get a brass 0 fret.



That's an interesting perspective. Would you guys say the nut on a Strandberg would affect tone and playability more than the zero-fret? Or vice versa?


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## Apatheosis (Feb 6, 2014)

AuroraTide said:


> You forgot to mention that it got the seal of approval from Mr Abasi too!





Yeah, I failed to mention that! Tosin played this guitar last weekend and signed the backplate. This one's a keeper guys!

Unapologetic, unashamed AAL fanboy here


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## Damo707 (Mar 27, 2014)

What did you trade? I saw this guitar on gumtree and wondered about it's backstory.


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## Pandaonslaught (Mar 27, 2014)

Glad you like it, its definitely a good sounding guitar.


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