# Strandberg 2017 lineup



## sixesandsevens

https://youtu.be/FpYJBrZDRLg

Discuss. 

Boden Classic - Solid alder, pickguard, HSS. Sonic blue, black, white. 6, 7, and 8 string.
Boden Original - Swamp ash, flame top. Roasted maple neck and fretboard. Fluence Modern pickups. 6, 7, and 8 string.
Boden Prog - 6 and 7 string with trem. Swamp ash, flame top, ebony board. Newly designed fanfret tremolo.
Boden Fusion - Gloss finish, HSH, flame top, alder back, rosewood board.
Boden Metal - TBD

New signature models too for Plini, Masvidal, Alex Machacek

Boden Plini - Australian Blackwood top, Suhr pickups, new trem, 3-way switch, no tone knob, ebony fretboard, roasted maple neck.

New signature models too for Plini, Masvidal, Alex Machacek



I love the inclusion of the Fluence pickups and roasted maple on the 7 and 8 string original models. 

Solid and gloss finishes on some of the models seems like a good move after the complaints a lot have had about lackluster tops. Also would love to hear what difference alder makes on those vs ash.


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## Casper777

sixesandsevens said:


> Also would love to hear what difference alder makes on those vs ash.



They certainly sound better


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## Hollowway

I'd love a classic in an 8. But something tells me I won't be able to afford these.


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## KnightBrolaire

If the tops are better and i get a roasted neck then i'm game for another 8 string.


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## steinny

any word on prices?


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## KnightBrolaire

steinny said:


> any word on prices?



no official word yet


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## curlyvice

I absolutely love the classic. I think a classic 7 is in store for me. Hopefully the price isn't too astronomical.


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## kevdes93

Very interested in one with a roasted neck, hopefully these won't vary too much price wise from the regular OS series


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## patdavidmusic

I reckon the satin none flamed top series is still coming as well, i'm just hoping that if the satin series is around $1000-1200 that doesn't mean that the original series and pro series get bumped up into a new price bracket

for the money that the old boden os series was, that should have included a roasted neck or at the very least a much better standard of top


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## Dayn

Prog hey? The 7-string trem has me really intrigued. I've been waiting for the production model. Looks like I know what I'm getting this year.

The Fusion looks great. Wonder if it'll come in 7...


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## Casper777

The limited choice between EMGs and Alumitones was the reason holding me back from buying an Boden OS 8... with Fluence pickups and roasted maple necks, it will be difficult to resist!


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## laxu

Don't like the pickguard on the classic but do like that they have started offering alder bodies.


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## HungryGuitarStudent

Well damn, I'm supposed to get news from Ed Yoon in February to buy a Boden OS7.

The big question, should I wait for the 2017 models or go with the OS7 (been waiting for about 4 months for it)...

Can't wait for Namm hands on impressions...


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## StevenC




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## HeHasTheJazzHands

Looks like they're going to be partnering with Roland/Boss for their new V-Guitar.


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## kevdes93

Interesting, looks like the classic is Chinese made, the boden original is Indonesian while the metal and prog series are korean according to the website
Classics start at 1300, metal starts at 2200, fusion starts at 2500, prog starts at 2300, and the original starts at 2000


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## Hollowway

Interesting. So I probably could swing a Classic. What's the word on the Chinese stradys? Good QC?


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## Soya

Well as far as I know there's never been a Chinese Strandberg, so guess it depends on which factory they use.


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## pott

The Per Nilsson signature (Singularity) is made in China.

So, what we have is:
* Classic: MIC, non-roasted, single-piece neck, non-chambered Alder body, OEM pickups. https://strandbergguitars.com/boden-classic/
* Original: MII, roasted Maple neck, chambered Swamp Ash body, Suhr (6) or Fishman (7,8) pickups. https://strandbergguitars.com/boden-original/
* Metal: MIK, roasted Maple neck, chambered Basswood body, Fishman pickups. https://strandbergguitars.com/boden-metal/
* Prog: MIK, roasted Maple neck, chambered Swamp Ash body, Suhr (6) or Fishman (7,8) pickups, vibrato bridge. https://strandbergguitars.com/boden-prog/
* Fusion: MIK, roasted Maple neck, chambered Alder body, Suhr (6) or Fishman (7,8) pickups, vibrato bridge. https://strandbergguitars.com/boden-prog/

Unless I misunderstand the Jescar frets description (very likely!), these do NOT have stainless steel frets.


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## Soya

Ah duh, I forgot all about the singularity. Interesting that the 7 string classic scale is 25" to 25.75", different from the OS scale of 25.5" to 26.25"


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## pott

The Korean and Indonesian new models keep the 25.5-26.25 scale.


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## feilong29

Selling gear now to fund one of these! WOOT! \m/


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## MSUspartans777

Just put my deposit down for the plini model! I can't wait to get it. Does anyone know the eta?


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## eugeneelgr

pott said:


> The Korean and Indonesian new models keep the 25.5-26.25 scale.



Pray tell, which models in the Strandberg lineup are made in Indonesia?


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## laxu

Ugh, they literally could not have chosen more uninspiring colors for the Classic. The Sonic Blue color is the only one that looks decent and it is only available for the 6-string for inexplicable reasons.

Also changing the pickups to dual humbuckers for 7 and 8 string with no coil split or slant is not a good move either. There are basically no single coil 7/8 strings on the market unless you order a Kiesel or a custom so having a HSS model 7/8 would have been nice. The 7 string Classic also has barely any fan to the frets.

At this point I've lost all interest in the new Strandberg models. They've axed all the cool colors like the blue and purple. Maybe Ola wants to push people to get their expensive custom models or something.


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## MSUspartans777

eugeneelgr said:


> Pray tell, which models in the Strandberg lineup are made in Indonesia?



I posted this in the other strandberg thread...

*Prices and preorders for the other models are up on their website*
Classic - Made in China - $1295
Metal - Made in Korea - $2,195
Prog - Made in Korea - $2,295
Original - Made in Indonesia - $1,975
Plini - Made in Korea - $2,495
Alex Machacek Edition - Made in Korea - $2,595
Fusion - Made in Korea - $2,495


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## patdavidmusic

laxu said:


> Ugh, they literally could not have chosen more uninspiring colors for the Classic. The Sonic Blue color is the only one that looks decent and it is only available for the 6-string for inexplicable reasons.
> 
> Also changing the pickups to dual humbuckers for 7 and 8 string with no coil split or slant is not a good move either. There are basically no single coil 7/8 strings on the market unless you order a Kiesel or a custom so having a HSS model 7/8 would have been nice. The 7 string Classic also has barely any fan to the frets.
> 
> At this point I've lost all interest in the new Strandberg models. They've axed all the cool colors like the blue and purple. Maybe Ola wants to push people to get their expensive custom models or something.



Agreed it's crazy!
They should have made the option to go s s h or s s s on all the classic series models imo

an s s s eight string at that price would have done really well,
but i do think they released so many different models in one year it makes sense to leave some things for next year, more colours different fretboard woods different pickup options etc 

I just ordered the boden prog


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## Forkface

well they certainly jacked up the prices tho, for 2.6k you could probably swing a used custom one.
the classics got me thinking though, Ive used my fair share of very well made chinese guitars so im sure if they keep em supervised they can churn out great stuff.


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## KnightBrolaire

meh upon seeing the specs I guess I'm going to look into getting an older japan-only OS or j series if I get another strandberg.


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## jemfloral

MSUspartans777 said:


> Just put my deposit down for the plini model! I can't wait to get it. Does anyone know the eta?



Classic is March for the first batch. Everything else (Prog, Metal, Fusion, Plini, etc.) appears to May.


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## angl2k

I really like the Strandberg design concepts but for me it's hard to swallow the price tag...

For $1300 you can by a MIJ Ibanez Prestige or a Made in China Strandberg..

Also for a European company they have ridiculous pricing for EU customers, $1895 for an OS 6 vs 1995 (roughly $2118) in the EU store. I think I'll skip.


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## laxu

angl2k said:


> I really like the Strandberg design concepts but for me it's hard to swallow the price tag...
> 
> For $1300 you can by a MIJ Ibanez Prestige or a Made in China Strandberg..
> 
> Also for a European company they have ridiculous pricing for EU customers, $1895 for an OS 6 vs 1995 (roughly $2118) in the EU store. I think I'll skip.



That's due to taxes. While their custom hardware is expensive to manufacture, their guitars are IMO just a bit too expensive for Korean made. I don't think these new models change the situation.


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## Razerjack

I was kinda hoping that after the company grows for a bit and expands their product line, the prices would be a tad more reasonable.... Guess I was wrong. 
The 6 string Boden Classic in blue/green looks pretty cool tho, might go for one of that.


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## KnightBrolaire

laxu said:


> That's due to taxes. While their custom hardware is expensive to manufacture, their guitars are IMO just a bit too expensive for Korean made. I don't think these new models change the situation.



yeah I agree. The roasted neck is a nice touch though, just wish they were still offering alumitones :/


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## ExileMetal

I agree with the color stuff. The Metal line only comes in black and white, wat.


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## Matt794

pott said:


> Unless I misunderstand the Jescar frets description (very likely!), these do NOT have stainless steel frets.



http://www.lutherie.net/fret.chart.html

Not sure how useful this is, but I think it confirms that these guitars don't have stainless steel frets. 

Man, I was pretty hyped to see the new strandbergs this year. I got a Boden OS8 last year, and I really like it despite its numerous shortcomings and flaws.

I don't think I'm sold on any of these new models, personally. Limited finish options, not stainless steel frets, only 1 and 3 piece necks, no pickup options, etc. 

Miss me with that.


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## BigViolin

Cool they gave Alex a sig, as he's a freakin' Jedi guitar wizard.


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## HungryGuitarStudent

It's seriously ridiculous to not offer SS frets on the new models. How much would it increase the price, i.e. is there a steel shortage/war in Europe I'm not aware of ?



Matt794 said:


> I got a Boden OS8 last year, and I really like it despite its numerous shortcomings and flaws.



For my benefit (and other noobs like me), what are those shortcomings and flaws ?

Oh, and what are the main complaints about the Boden OS heads ?


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## marcwormjim

A few backwards steps in 2017; with abandoning bearing-trems and stainless frets. My 2018 NAMM predictions include raising the prices another few hundred and adding headstocks.


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## laxu

eayottes said:


> For my benefit (and other noobs like me), what are those shortcomings and flaws ?



Having owned a Boden OS 8 briefly, the lackluster top on a limited edition model was a disappointment and the guitar I got had fretboard issues from the factory and could not be setup for low action. For the record Strandberg customer support was excellent and would have gotten me a better example if I wanted.

A big minus for me was the ash body though and that was ultimately why I sent it back. I had the model with Lace pickups and felt like the midrange of the guitar was lacking something, an issue I have had with every ash bodied guitar I have owned. That's why I was excited about the alder bodies on the new models but they messed up so many other things. The Lace pickups were not that great either, I felt they were just a tad too low output for my liking and I dislike EMGs. I'm sure the Fishmans are better.

Lack of switching options was an issue as well. I would have liked a 5-way selector for some singlecoil style tones. AFAIK that is possible at least with the Lace pickups. If not, a Gibson style 3-way switch is always nicer to operate than a 3-way Fender style.

I did not feel the Endurneck did much for my playing so maybe my technique is alright in that area already. The neck was a tad too large for my tastes at the first few frets and combined with the scale length of the OS 8 I had some discomfort there. Higher up the neck was fine.

The tuners were also really hard to turn and I mostly had to use an allen key to tune. It was a bit annoying. The heel on the body is also quite far out and got in the way a lot more than on my Kiesels for example.

I really want to like their guitars as the design is cool but the specs could use some work. This year I feel they put out way too many models. I would rather see them opt for alder bodies across the range and offer just two models (each with 6/7/8 string option): one with _H/S/S pickups, trem_ (except for the 8-string) _solid finish and maple fretboard, no pickguard_ and another with _H/H, fixed bridge and rosewood or ebony fretboard with a transparent finish and a figured maple veneer_ to drive the price down. The body design should be perfect for making a veneer top fit in well.


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## KnightBrolaire

eayottes said:


> It's seriously ridiculous to not offer SS frets on the new models. How much would it increase the price, i.e. is there a steel shortage/war in Europe I'm not aware of ?
> 
> 
> 
> For my benefit (and other noobs like me), what are those shortcomings and flaws ?
> 
> Oh, and what are the main complaints about the Boden OS heads ?



I've voiced my complaints about the 2 OS8s I've gotten (which mostly come down to aesthetic issues and comfort issues like strap pin placement- which is horrible imo, but easily rectified). 
My experiences is as such: 
-1st OS8- Really lackluster top, 808x pups didn't really sound good to me, strap pin placement digs into my chest, minor finish/fit issues near control cavity(stain run, and had small gap, wasn't exactly flush, not a big deal imo). Playability was great but the sound was lacking even when I switched to the 57/66 set imo. tuners were stiff but not a huge deal for me.
-2nd OS8 LE -horribly lackluster top (it's basically what I would call scrap maple, it's not even worthy of being called a quilted top), strap pin placement still drives me crazy but otherwise no issues except the action being a tad high when I got it and some stiff tuners (not a big deal imo). Lace pickups are excellent imo and sound great with my setup. 
-I've also got a custom shop 8 that I've been modding and it has some aesthetic issues like knots in the swamp ash (not a big deal imo) and some nicks on the body (filled in but unsightly imo). Top was pretty boring until I threw some dye on it and made it really pop, but now it looks killer and sounds killer once I took out the EMG 81x/85x combo (instrumental sfty3-8 pickups in it now).


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## HungryGuitarStudent

Thanks guys for the detailed replies. You are both making me rethink buying an OS 7, mainly due to your tone critiques (ash wood - weak mids + pickups).

Ignoring the price for a second but restraining myself to production models, I'd really like to buy the Boden metal but the f-in non-SS frets are bugging the hell out of me.


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## MSUspartans777

I really wish they hadn't shut down the washburn custom shop. My CL7 from the early builds is nearly flawless. I hate hearing about all of the QC issues from the production models.


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## laxu

eayottes said:


> Thanks guys for the detailed replies. You are both making me rethink buying an OS 7, mainly due to your tone critiques (ash wood - weak mids + pickups).
> 
> Ignoring the price for a second but restraining myself to production models, I'd really like to buy the Boden metal but the f-in non-SS frets are bugging the hell out of me.



Note that my views on tonewoods are just mine, there are plenty of guitarists who like their ash bodied guitars so it's all preference.

I would not worry about the frets, if they are Jescar they are going to be pretty sturdy.


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## Matt794

eayottes said:


> For my benefit (and other noobs like me), what are those shortcomings and flaws ?



My Boden OS8L had loose materiel rattling around in the chambered cavity (not a big deal unless you twirl your guitar around a lot lol), and the ground wire wasn't connected at all. 

Other than that, they paired the Lace Alumitones with 500k pots when they probably should have been 250k, and the 3 way switch isn't very good.

I like the woods used and the design as a whole though. I also like the Alumitones overall, but the springs that hold them up were loud as hell, so they got replaced with foam.


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## Mathemagician

Is there not an option to add them, not ideal, but I'd imagine having a factory option would work for some.


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## Matt794

laxu said:


> I would not worry about the frets, if they are Jescar they are going to be pretty sturdy.



For me it's more a issue with how they feel. My OS8L was the first guitar I had with SS frets and they feel so much smoother than my other guitar's frets. Most of my other guitars need a good fret polish in order for them to feel really smooth on bends.


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## narad

MSUspartans777 said:


> I really wish they hadn't shut down the washburn custom shop. My CL7 from the early builds is nearly flawless. I hate hearing about all of the QC issues from the production models.



Order from the Swedish custom shop??


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## mniel8195

Not sure what they were thinking...They are going to loose a ton of business to Kiesel. Or skip the headless and buy a suhr modern pro!


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## HungryGuitarStudent

On the other end of the price spectrum, there's the singularity. Since the end of 2016 they have it in solid black but they don't give any pics of it on the website. Has anybody seen it ?


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## AkiraSpectrum

I'm going to echo a few people thus far and say that the new Strandberg offerings don't interest me at all.


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## HungryGuitarStudent

In terms of playability, I don't expect much difference between the OS 7, Metal and Fusion models. Sure SS frets make a difference, but I don't expect it to be that much (although fret durability may be an issue for non-SS frets).

My main concern is tone. Since I can't try any of these guitars and demos are severely limited, I'd like to know what you guys think (i.e. people with actual experience with the Boden line).

For example, how would you qualify the difference in tone between chambered ashwood (OS 7), chambered basswood (Metal) and solid basswood (Singularity) ?

My main fear is having a sound that's way too bright or muddy that is difficult to adjust. I'm aiming to record mostly (metal) leads with my eventual purchase.


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## jonajon91

No basses yet?

Hmmm...

Ill be back next year.


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## marcwormjim

eayottes said:


> For example, how would you qualify the difference in tone between chambered ashwood (OS 7), chambered basswood (Metal) and solid basswood (Singularity) ?



In terms of tonewood, I'd qualify it unquantifiably, then quantify it unqualifiably. 

The lack of try-before-you-buy options is a dealbreaker, in this respect. I recommend buying whatever model has pickups closest to your liking, with the expectation that you may return the guitar before getting to the point of replacing the pickups with something more dialed-in to your preferences.


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## laxu

eayottes said:


> For example, how would you qualify the difference in tone between chambered ashwood (OS 7), chambered basswood (Metal) and solid basswood (Singularity) ?



Ash: bright with scooped mids
Basswood: pretty even with perhaps a little bit muted highs
Chambered basswood: No experience but I would expect it to open up the mids a bit.

Basswood is soft and not visually good looking but it is not a bad tonewood by any means. There have been several boutique brands like Suhr who combine basswood with a maple top.


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## marcwormjim

And remember, laxu says that with enough certainty to reimburse you the full purchase price, should the guitar sound different.

Joking aside, I've wondered what the range of weight for the OS models are - A 5.8 lb Boden should resonate and sound subjectively different from a 5.0 lb one comprised of the same tree species, and I'd be surprised if the tolerances are tight-enough to keep ones over 6 lbs from leaving the factory.


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## laxu

marcwormjim said:


> And remember, laxu says that with enough certainty to reimburse you the full purchase price, should the guitar sound different.



Yeah if you live in Europe it should be a no brainer. If you don't like the guitar or there is something wrong with it you can send it back within their return period. Strandberg customer service really seemed accommodating.


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## HungryGuitarStudent

Thanks for the advice guys. I talked a bit to Ed and finally opted for the "order, test and possibly return my purchase if I'm not happy with it" strategy. Now the waiting begins... or actually continues.


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## cslushy

Really happy to see the Plini sig back but $2500 for a Korean made guitar seems kind of ridiculous when you compare it to the prices of other guitars coming out of the same factory like PRS SEs.


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## m107a1

I want to see proof of major quality fit & finish improvements from Strandberg this year before they get my business. They have quite a few models that are intriguing to me, but I keep seeing allegedly high-end stuff from them that looks like a kid's school desk up close. This holds especially for the Korean builds, but includes custom shop work. The prototype pix of the headless Mayones (with its given warts) are already ahead of Strandberg's 2016 work IMHO.


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## Jeff

$2000 for an Indonesian guitar, and $2500 for a Korean?  sure, okay.


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## marcwormjim

One thing I'll give Strandberg is that I almost never see OS models listed here or on Reverb. Those I have seen have been listed at just below (and often ABOVE) their direct-sale price. The Japanese OS import-export stock for $3000+ don't count. 

That said, I still expect to see the brand suffer the "Parker Fly"-effect in the next few years; with many used listings appearing on eBay and Reverb for 30-40% less than the ever-increasing costs of new models, bought and re-sold within the perpetually small community of niche-demographic. As much as I'd like the Boden to continue to grow in popularity, it's simply not designed to win people over with its looks.


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## KnightBrolaire

I wish strandberg would offer 8 strings in orange or some other cool colors. What's the point in putting a nicer top on them if I can't blind people with the top's awesomeness lol


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## littleredguitars2

marcwormjim said:


> One thing I'll give Strandberg is that I almost never see OS models listed here or on Reverb. Those I have seen have been listed at just below (and often ABOVE) their direct-sale price. The Japanese OS import-export stock for $3000+ don't count.
> 
> That said, I still expect to see the brand suffer the "Parker Fly"-effect in the next few years; with many used listings appearing on eBay and Reverb for 30-40% less than the ever-increasing costs of new models, bought and re-sold within the perpetually small community of niche-demographic. As much as I'd like the Boden to continue to grow in popularity, it's simply not designed to win people over with its looks.




thats fine. i'll buy as many as i can.


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## KnightBrolaire

I'm willing to wait for a j-series at the price of an OS or lower, that would be killer.


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## Hollowway

Yeah, I'm kind of waiting for the used 8s to drop to a price I can rationalize. And to get one with anything but a rosewood FB. Might be a long time, but I would love to get one.


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## KnightBrolaire

Hollowway said:


> Yeah, I'm kind of waiting for the used 8s to drop to a price I can rationalize. And to get one with anything but a rosewood FB. Might be a long time, but I would love to get one.



8s are the hardest to find used imo. especially if you're looking for anything other than an OS8. I was cruising reverb every day looking for strandbergs..


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## squids

i haven't seen any comments about the paul masvidal sig, and while i don't think i'd ever buy one, that single pickup 6 string looks pretty sick!


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## m107a1

KnightBrolaire said:


> 8s are the hardest to find used imo. especially if you're looking for anything other than an OS8. I was cruising reverb every day looking for strandbergs..



There's 9 Strandbergs on Reverb right now. Including two OS8s at ridiculous prices from $3500 to $9000. I wonder if the hype bubble around these guitars will burst any time soon?


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## KnightBrolaire

m107a1 said:


> There's 9 Strandbergs on Reverb right now. Including two OS8s at ridiculous prices from $3500 to $9000. I wonder if the hype bubble around these guitars will burst any time soon?



yeah those are not OS models. the red one is a custom shop and the spalted one is made to measure. You probably won't find a custom shop for under 2500$ (there was a strictly 7 made blue one that I saw go for 2300 a while ago). Finding an mtm for under 7k is also unlikely from what I've seen. I would recommend looking at rakuten as they have wayyy more 8 strings.


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## Emperor Guillotine

m107a1 said:


> There's 9 Strandbergs on Reverb right now. Including two OS8s at ridiculous prices from $3500 to $9000.


Someone doesn't know their Strandberg history/models...


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## Casper777

m107a1 said:


> I want to see proof of major quality fit & finish improvements from Strandberg this year before they get my business. They have quite a few models that are intriguing to me, but I keep seeing allegedly high-end stuff from them that looks like a kid's school desk up close. This holds especially for the Korean builds, but includes custom shop work. The prototype pix of the headless Mayones (with its given warts) are already ahead of Strandberg's 2016 work IMHO.


 
Are you sure you want to base your purchase decisions on the criteria of pics quality?!


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## narad

m107a1 said:


> I want to see proof of major quality fit & finish improvements from Strandberg this year before they get my business. They have quite a few models that are intriguing to me, but I keep seeing allegedly high-end stuff from them that looks like a kid's school desk up close. This holds especially for the Korean builds, but includes custom shop work. The prototype pix of the headless Mayones (with its given warts) are already ahead of Strandberg's 2016 work IMHO.



Show me a pic of Strandberg's 2016 custom shop work that looks like a kid's school desk. In fact, just show me any example of subpar craftsmanship on those models.


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## Emperor Guillotine

narad said:


> Show me a pic of Strandberg's 2016 custom shop work that looks like a kid's school desk. In fact, just show me any example of subpar craftsmanship on those models.


Well, there was this OS one about a week ago.

NGD and Honest Review Strandberg Boden OS7 (LONG)

I'm not agreeing with m107a1. I'm just posting a link.


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## KnightBrolaire

Emperor Guillotine said:


> Well, there was this one about a week ago.
> 
> NGD and Honest Review Strandberg Boden OS7 (LONG)
> 
> I'm not agreeing with m107a1. I'm just posting a link.



that's an os7, not a custom shop.* this* is a subpar top for a 3500$ guitar:


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## getowned7474

KnightBrolaire said:


> that's an os7, not a custom shop.* this* is a subpar top for a 3500$ guitar:



While that is a beautiful guitar, I agree that is completely unacceptable for that money. Hopefully the QC is better this year with the new lines to help justify the price hikes. Even with higher prices I'm pretty interested in some of the new models though. I probably won't be able to afford another guitar for years though since I'm going to university this year lol...


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## blacai

I bought an OS7 L last year.
http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/showthread.php?t=314415

Almost flawless.
-small ding in the "not-headstock"(there is a picture)
-bad drilling in one of the holes of the electronics cover. It was too close to the border and the wood slightly broke.

this is just my opinion, but I do love strandberg tops. I don't like the "shiny" ones that for example kiesel offers. That looks like cheap varnish to me.

Although prices are scaling too much, I will consider getting a custom because I am really happy with my OS model. Right now the war is between skervesen and strandberg. I don't even count with mayones for my custom headless.


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## KnightBrolaire

getowned7474 said:


> While that is a beautiful guitar, I agree that is completely unacceptable for that money. Hopefully the QC is better this year with the new lines to help justify the price hikes. Even with higher prices I'm pretty interested in some of the new models though. I probably won't be able to afford another guitar for years though since I'm going to university this year lol...



well they did say the tops were going to be better on the production models (4a tops).


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## Casper777

blacai said:


> I bought an OS7 L last year.
> http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/showthread.php?t=314415
> 
> Almost flawless.
> -small ding in the "not-headstock"(there is a picture)
> -bad drilling in one of the holes of the electronics cover. It was too close to the border and the wood slightly broke.
> 
> this is just my opinion, but I do love strandberg tops. I don't like the "shiny" ones that for example kiesel offers. That looks like cheap varnish to me.
> 
> Although prices are scaling too much, I will consider getting a custom because I am really happy with my OS model. Right now the war is between skervesen and strandberg. I don't even count with mayones for my custom headless.



I agree with you on that... As long as super shiny tops are a must on a PRS, Suhr.. I find the pure and natural design of a Boden accomates for a painer top... 

Then again, call a subpar top "a quality issue" is a non sense for me... do we buy instruments or furniture?!

The top topic is becoming recurrent in all threads (Jackson Juggernaut, Strandbergs,...)

For some obscure reason, nobody finds it shocking that Mayones charges almost 4K for a regius with a plain 3A top  but on a 2K instrument that features a bunch of innovative features (SS frets, roasted neck, brand pickups, endurneck, fanned frets, proprietary hardware,...) they want a furniture grade 8A 100 year grown maple top...


----------



## prlgmnr

You might equally question the need to continue charging a premium for "innovative" features, it's not like they have to innovate them every single time they build a guitar.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Casper777 said:


> I agree with you on that... As long as super shiny tops are a must on a PRS, Suhr.. I find the pure and natural design of a Boden accomates for a painer top...
> 
> Then again, call a subpar top "a quality issue" is a non sense for me... do we buy instruments or furniture?!
> 
> The top topic is becoming recurrent in all threads (Jackson Juggernaut, Strandbergs,...)
> 
> For some obscure reason, nobody finds it shocking that Mayones charges almost 4K for a regius with a plain 3A top  but on a 2K instrument that features a bunch of innovative features (SS frets, roasted neck, brand pickups, endurneck, fanned frets, proprietary hardware,...) they want a furniture grade 8A 100 year grown maple top...



While you are entitled to your opinion about plainer tops, the overwhelming majority of people that buy or have bought strandberg OS models (or even some custom shop guitars) complain about the tops. There's a reason they started putting 4A tops on their guitars now- it's because most of us want better tops. It's stupid to pay the same price or more than a mij ibanez or esp and not get at least a comparable top. I agree that it matters how a guitar plays, but past a certain price point it becomes about the minutiae like top aesthetics, overall finish, and other ways to differentiate the product. *At this price point aesthetics matter a lot.*


Everytime there's a strandberg thread someone pops in to say "Hurr durr look at all the features you get though"-- yes ss frets are still relatively uncommon on production level guitars (though schecter has started putting them on a lot of guitars), fanned frets are becoming way more common (ibanez, esp, jackson make ff models) and for 2k+USD I better be getting brand name pickups (any big production line company offers them at this price range). with regards to the hardware and endurneck- it obviously doesn't cost them that much to manufacture if they can build them, put them on a chinese/indo body and still make a profit. I'm pretty sure the hardware cost isn't anywhere near as significant as it used to be 5+ years ago back when they were a far smaller operation. Their manufacturing costs are likely higher than average for a company their size, but a big part of that is because they were having parts built in Sweden, and Sweden is bloody expensive.


----------



## littleredguitars2

ola strandberg posted in the official strandberg thread just a day or two ago. thought i'd share it here in case anyone missed it



ola_strandberg said:


> Hey guys,
> sorry for all the confusion. I'm sure a lot of you hang on Facebook as well, but just in case, here is (a slightly edited version of) what I posted in response to a similar post there earlier:
> 
> Thanks for the feedback and for starting this thread - it is very valuable for us to tap into the overall mood and conversation. I want to address a few things:
> 1) all guitars but the Classic line have stainless steel frets, there was a copy-paste error on the website. The Classic line, as well as the Singularity, have a stainless steel 0-fret and Jescar nickel silver (except the True Temperament Singularity) for the remaining frets.
> 2) the original tremolo ball bearing design for the tremolos was introduced as an improvement over traditional knife edge designs, primarily as a way of making it more durable and having replaceable parts. One of the major drawbacks, however, was that the ball bearing housings were not height adjustable, meaning that each individual saddle had to be raised/lowered in order to change the action. This affects the tension of the tremolo and leads to needing a spring adjustment when changing the action. The new tremolo has a new design, which is revolutionary and perhaps not so well described yet. The knife edge sits in the hardened steel post and the tremolo rests on a hardened steel insert that has two off-center notches, each providing a different pivot point and different feel/stiffness of the tremolo. You can flip the inserts around for two additional positions, i.e. you can tailor the feel of the tremolo in four different ways. If any of these parts ever get worn, it is incredibly easy and quick for you as an end user to replace them with just a screwdriver. Furthermore, you can raise and lower the entire tremolo construction, thereby not affecting the balance or spring tension
> 2b) all our hardware is still machined individually piece by piece from solid aircraft grade aluminium in order to allow us to anodize it, unlike most hardware that is manufactured from cheap zinc through a casting process
> 3) the 2017 lineup features other raw material upgrades such as roasted maple necks and the original Japanese Luminlays
> 4) wood grading is a complex subject, and within each grade there is a wide range of qualities. Although we have not changed the listed grade of woods, the selection (made by hand) is much more strict (meaning that the bulk of tops that are purchased for us have to be discarded or used elsewhere) and in order to meet our requirements, many changes have been made.
> 5) we have a newly designed custom made control cover plate and integrated jack mount, that both helps shielding and makes it way easier to replace output jacks in the event that it is ever needed, as well as better access to the electronics.
> 6) depending on what sound you are looking for, we now have models with a range of wood and pickup selections to meet your needs.
> 7) we feature Suhr pickups on most 6-strings and Fishman Fluence pickups on most 7- and 8-strings.
> 
> All in all, we are letting all kinds of MtM and Custom Shop options ripple down into our production guitars, and the feedback we have received from people who have actually _played_ the guitars and seen them in person is 100% positive. Lastly, I will say to anyone that the _country_ of manufacture means absolutely nothing when it comes to quality anymore. It is who you choose and how much investment you make into helping them to deliver to your vision that is important.
> 
> There are people who can share horror stories about their experiences with us, I'm sure, and each and every one of them saddens me and adds a few gray hairs to my head and a hours of lost sleep. But there are also many stories of extreme gratitude of our (mostly) quick customer service, personal touch and generous warranty terms that balances it out. Product development costs. In fact, none of the above comes for free, and we are very proud of these guitars. I look forward to hearing your assessment once you have played one.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

KnightBrolaire said:


> that's an os7, not a custom shop.* this* is a subpar top for a 3500$ guitar:


My bad. I didn't see the "custom shop" part of his request.



Casper777 said:


> For some obscure reason, nobody finds it shocking that Mayones charges almost 4K for a regius with a plain 3A top


You're looking at the wrong Mayos, son. Do you see anyone buying those Mayos?


----------



## oniduder

so an 8 string classic is like 1400?? that's incredible, 

at the same time, i think this whole headless thing is a tad bit faddish, 

you all can yell at me now, 

idk why, i do like the design, strandberg is the only one i find appealing,

above the ormsby, the skervesen (actually hate the way those look), the tk instruments ones, found some guitar company (probably well known idk though) overload guitars, and i didn't like their design either, standberg is the most appealing aesthetically

BUT! and it's a big but, i can't imagine the hardware being anything but crap-oh, 

i guess i'm a luddite, i've owned a boden, loved it, the erdurneck is really nice, love the weight of the guitar, etc etc,

BUT, the hardware, the setup, the weird way you put strings on, the machine heads suck, and everything is awkward for me at least when it you have to maintain the instrument, stringing it etc

screw em

and send your hate messages directly to my house,


----------



## marcwormjim

Address, please.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

oniduder said:


> so an 8 string classic is like 1400?? that's incredible,
> 
> at the same time, i think this whole headless thing is a tad bit faddish,
> 
> you all can yell at me now,
> 
> idk why, i do like the design, strandberg is the only one i find appealing,
> 
> above the ormsby, the skervesen (actually hate the way those look), the tk instruments ones, found some guitar company (probably well known idk though) overload guitars, and i didn't like their design either, standberg is the most appealing aesthetically
> 
> BUT! and it's a big but, i can't imagine the hardware being anything but crap-oh,
> 
> i guess i'm a luddite, i've owned a boden, loved it, the erdurneck is really nice, love the weight of the guitar, etc etc,
> 
> BUT, the hardware, the setup, the weird way you put strings on, the machine heads suck, and everything is awkward for me at least when it you have to maintain the instrument, stringing it etc
> 
> screw em
> 
> and send your hate messages directly to my house,


----------



## Hollowway

oniduder said:


> so an 8 string classic is like 1400?? that's incredible,
> 
> at the same time, i think this whole headless thing is a tad bit faddish,
> 
> you all can yell at me now,
> 
> idk why, i do like the design, strandberg is the only one i find appealing,
> 
> above the ormsby, the skervesen (actually hate the way those look), the tk instruments ones, found some guitar company (probably well known idk though) overload guitars, and i didn't like their design either, standberg is the most appealing aesthetically
> 
> BUT! and it's a big but, i can't imagine the hardware being anything but crap-oh,
> 
> i guess i'm a luddite, i've owned a boden, loved it, the erdurneck is really nice, love the weight of the guitar, etc etc,
> 
> BUT, the hardware, the setup, the weird way you put strings on, the machine heads suck, and everything is awkward for me at least when it you have to maintain the instrument, stringing it etc
> 
> screw em
> 
> and send your hate messages directly to my house,



Hahaha, I can't disagree with the headless stuff being a fad. Things get really popular, then once everyone has it, they get hugely UNpopular. Then it comes back in as a collector or vintage item. If all the guys who had the Shocking Pink JEMs kept them and didn't sell them to buy Jagstains during the grunge era they wouldn't be kicking themselves so much right now.  

That said, there are advantages to headless designs, and if you don't pay a premium just because it's headless, then you're probably going to be happy with it long term. Like you were saying about the strandy. That's why the Kiesel Letchford model and the Mayones Hydra (still can't believe they chose that name!) to me indicate the headless design is jumping the shark. Strandbergs will always be around, and will always hold value, because Ola has done a great job of building a brand, and has a design where the headless component doesn't appear to be an afterthought. The others will be also-rans. 

Back on topic, I think $1400 for Chinese made 8 string Classic is asking a lot for that. But gotdangit, it's hot! And I will likely buy one.  If it plays well, I don't care where it was made. And as I will be the first to admit, I buy with my eyes. I want a pretty guitar with a good design. I just can't get excited to play an ugly slab of wood.


----------



## oniduder

yeah i agree, strandberg, will be around

and 1400 idk if i care if it was made on some moon orbiting jupiter by bacteria

i've always found those arguments about where stuff is made to be kind of ignorant

i mean people are people, then someone in bangladesh could make just as great a guitar as someone in louisiana, actually some parts of the south or bible belt i would rather it be made in bangladesh, 

all that any build has to require to be up to the "USA made" standards is quality control, and yes quality control can be done in other countries,

everyone's iphone is made in china, seems that would be a bit more complicated than a f-in guitar, 

anywho


----------



## marcwormjim

At least those of us in the know can recognize a bargain when we see the specs. Nationalism goes hand-in-hand with the ignorance guitarists demonstrate in elevating mediocre instruments into best-sellers. I mean, a workhorse is a workhorse at the end of the day - But the market has historically shown us that, for the big brands to prosper, the innovators must fail or be bought and sunsetted. Tell me how many Steinbergers, Parkers, Line 6 Variaxes*, or Switch Vibracell guitars you see on the walls of a big-box store.

*In case anyone wants to nitpick the Variax being mentioned, I'm aware that Yamaha is sustaining their market "presence" and production - The point is that they're too radical an improvement over the individual guitars they model to appeal to more than a niche audience.


----------



## Casper777

Agree than those "made in ..." comments are the most ignorant teenage ones 

But chhhht.... don't tell them!


----------



## Hollowway

Ugh, what the heck is this Murietta California thing? In a moment of weakness I went on the strandy site to see about ordering an OS, and there's an option to pick it up directly from the Murietta site. Which is fine, but that means there's a presence in California, which means I get hit with the 9% sales tax. Between the shipping and tax, that's an additional $210. So I bailed.  Sales tax sucks!

For those of you who have one, what is upper fret access like? That neck heel looks gimongous. I'm a stickler for easy high feet access.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Hollowway said:


> For those of you who have one, what is upper fret access like? That neck heel looks gimongous. I'm a stickler for easy high feet access.



it's really not that bad of a neck heel tbh. A little blocky for my taste but it doesn't get in the way really. Fret access is super easy even at the 24 fret for me.


----------



## marcwormjim

Hollowway said:


> Ugh, what the heck is this Murietta California thing?



It's Ed Yoon's house - He's doing QC setups, fret levels, etc. there, and keeping the US distribution-overhead as low as he can. I hear you, though: When I used to live in your state, the tax discouraged me from buying these and Kiesel's stuff.


----------



## laxu

Hollowway said:


> For those of you who have one, what is upper fret access like? That neck heel looks gimongous. I'm a stickler for easy high feet access.



It's acceptable, but for an otherwise very ergonomic guitar it is pretty bad. My Kiesel AM7 has a fantastic neck heel that is totally unnoticeable. The Strandberg heel is so far up the neck that it becomes noticeable even though it's contoured and not that thick. I think it is an area where they could improve the design.


----------



## narad

I didn't really notice the neck joint or how my hand accommodated it when playing. But then I played StevenC's neck-thru boden and it was definitely way different. Honestly I wouldn't worry about it, but yes, it could be better.


----------



## littleredguitars2

yeah upper fret access could be better but its not that bad.


----------



## iamaom

marcwormjim said:


> At least those of us in the know can recognize a bargain when we see the specs. Nationalism goes hand-in-hand with the ignorance guitarists demonstrate in elevating mediocre instruments into best-sellers. I mean, a workhorse is a workhorse at the end of the day - But the market has historically shown us that, for the big brands to prosper, the innovators must fail or be bought and sunsetted. Tell me how many Steinbergers, Parkers, Line 6 Variaxes*, or Switch Vibracell guitars you see on the walls of a big-box store.


 I don't think the Classics are a bargain at all, which is what makes me sceptical of them being made in China. Obviously the quality will not be as good as the others, but the materials and the work doesn't really add up. With the price of chinese labour (the cheapest in the world), it seems like they're making a pretty big profit. What exactly about a strandberg makes it more expensive than any other guitar? Sure it has a custom bridge and head piece, but those should be easily mass produced like any other metal part. The rest is wood and plastic, the wood can be cut by industrial machines, dozens or more at a time in a matter of minutes, and plastic can also be made custom order in large quantities for cheap. The rest is simply screwing everything in and doing some fret work. Part of strandberg's profit comes from its name, just as any other niche product, and it commands a premium price not because it actually cost that much to produce but because it's what they can charge. 

I'd also rather buy a brand that is made in a country that pays it's workers a decent wage and not shipped thousands of miles overseas. It has nothing to do with nationalism, I don't mind buying a MIJ guitar because Japan is a country that actually pays its workers well for good quality. I don't think there's anything wrong with asking for a product produced under the cheapest conditions possible to not cost over $1k, when items of comparable or even better quality are produced for less.


----------



## AlexKhan

Hello Guys,

Ed Yoon here. I thought I'd interject and offer some thoughts here after reading through this thread. I'm not here for a sales pitch but will try to offer an explanation of the logic behind the new lineup.

Overall, we wanted to improve the lineup in every possible way over the OS line based on the feedback we have been receiving. We are certainly well aware of the issues and have been working hard with the suppliers on improving the consistency of the materials, build quality and attention-to-detail.

Ola and I visit Asia once every 3 months for 2~3 weeks at a time to do on-site QC audits and meet with the managers and the workers to point out issues and work on changing or improving manufacturing processes to meet our QC standards.

I did this kind of work at Fender for 10+ years, a few years while I was at Suhr (for the Rasmus line) and a few more years at GC corporate and I can honestly say that Strandberg guitars are quite difficult to produce as they are not only vastly different from the huge majority of the guitars that the OEM factories produce but also require an amazing level of precision. Getting the factories that are only used to producing the well-known big-name "normal" guitars to understand the intricacies and the nuances of our guitars has been quite a challenge to say the least.

The thing is I do understand their situation. I'm a Korean-American and I speak, read and write Korean fluently and understand the Korean culture and socio-ecomonic conditions very well. So communications has been good but it's still not easy since communications can and often do break down between American companies here in the US. I deal with that too! The key is in making them understand what matters to us players. I would sometimes ask their managers: "Do you know what good _feel_ means? Or build quality? Or how a guitar _plays_? And _sounds_?"

Of course, it's difficult to translate these abstract terms to manufacturing managers and engineers. We can't even explain that to a lot of people here in the US. When I was at Fender and some furniture manufacturing company people visited the Fender plant, they were astounded by the tight tolerances that had to be adhered to on wood. They were asking, "You guys have to cut to within +/- 0.5mm tolerances?!? That is _insane_!!!" Well, if we don't, then the instruments may not play right.

As Ola mentioned on his recent post here, it's really not the country of manufacture that matters but the factory-company itself. There are some really excellent factories in Korea, China and Indonesia but, admittedly, they are unknown to most consumers and their reputations are lumped in with the great majority of the factories that produce, ummm, not-so-high-quality guitars. That's too bad but we understand people are skeptical because most guitars from these countries aren't high-end at all.

We chose our suppliers very carefully and it takes over a year just to get the first samples approved after all the back-and-forth on making sure they're getting the details right. For instance, Yako in China and PT Cort in Indonesia. These are world-class factories now capable of producing some of the best solidbody electric guitars. Granted, it'd be a small portion of their overall manufacturing output since they do also produce tons of low-end guitars for big-name brands but they also have their high-end "Custom Shop"-like operations within with their best and most experienced workers. These are the operations we work with - the same place where they make high-end ($1000~2000 MSRP) guitars for various brands - some small and some very big.

These are not sweatshops that so many people envision when they see "Made in China" or "Made in Indonesia". These are relatively well-paid workers who are happy to work there in a very clean, organized and safe working environments. PT Cort's "premium" line is one of the most beautiful and impressive factories I have ever seen and I've seen well over a hundred factories all around the world. It's a small part of the overall PT Cort operation (only 4,000/month out of the 50,000/month they put out) and they use the latest technology CNC and laser cutting machines with their best-performing workers who have at least 10 years of experience.

Guitars will always need a great deal of hands-on labor. It is not at all like an electronic gadget that gets stamped out by big machines. It takes a lot of experience and skill to sand, paint, buff, assemble and set up guitars properly. Machine programming and cutting needs a lot of attention as well. Woods are organic and are inconsistent - even from the same piece of log. One part may be dense and dry and another part may be soft and oily in comparison. A machine cutting that with the same bit spinning at the same speed will produce inconsistent results. Or perhaps the bit hasn't been changed when it should have been. Maybe the jigs on the CNC weren't bolted down firmly before a body-cutting run. Machines don't guarantee perfection at all when it comes to woods and shoddy maintenance or human operating mistakes will still cause mistakes to happen. These are the things that Ola and I check on constantly whenever we visit these factories because we know woods and human labor are two of the most inconsistent variables imaginable.

I worked at Suhr for 6+ years and it's the same there. Suhr produces some of the most exquisite and precise guitars in the world but that comes through John's amazing attention-to-detail and thorough QC processes from picking out the woods, using the most state-of-the-art machinery and to training his workers to pay attention to the most minute details. I try to apply the same philosophy and the same methods I learned from John and during my years at Suhr to the factories we work with. Yeah, it's hard but Ola and I are hammering away at them on the details and they are slowly but surely getting it. 

It isn't rocket science or quantum physics but requires good instincts for what makes a guitar feel, sound and play good. I've known and worked with Yako and PT Cort closely since the early-90's when I was at Fender. In fact, I started Fender's business at both factories then and they have slowly but surely improved to where they are now, building some great high-end guitars for both major mainstream brands and small "boutique" brands. I've been very good friends with the top managers there for over two decades so we have an excellent rapport. And I keep talking to them about the esoteric qualities that boutique connoisseurs seek in great instruments. I beat that stuff into them constantly.

Speaking of "boutique connoisseur", Ola and I visited the Suhr facility before NAMM and had a nice tour of the facility and meeting with John and the COO there. That was really fun. We are really excited to be working with Suhr. I have loved Suhr pickups from my days running Tone Merchants and I think they're the perfect fit for our guitars as far as passive pickups are concerned. It was cool and fun to see Ola and John talking about all the tech nerdy engineering kinds of stuff, which all flew right over my head as it suddenly started sounding like a different language. Haha.

Also very excited about using the Fishman Fluence pickups on the new Metal 6 model and all of the 7- and 8-string guitars. They definitely don't sound or feel like any other pickups I've tried. I'm somewhat of a traditionalist when it comes to guitar sounds (well, I was at Fender/Suhr for 16 years so that must have something to do with that) and just want to hear the natural acoustic sonic characteristics of the woods to come through. So, personally, I've never been a fan of active pickups but these Fluence pickups are different. They really seem to straddle the best of both worlds. I've also known Larry Fishman since my days at Fender so it's very cool to be working with him again as well.

So these are just some of my thoughts as we bring out this new line. Oh yeah, I see some complaints about the lack of color choices so let me address that as well. As you guys have seen, we offered the OS line with fretboard, color and pickup options for 6-, 7-, and 8-string guitars with some signature, limited and lefty guitars thrown in and the SKU count ballooned to well over 100. Ola and I just decided that we need bring that number down, start over and keep things simple for now. As you guys can imagine, managing inventory as well as production of all those variations and options can be quite a challenge. 

I'm sure we will add more colors and other options as time goes by but we are going to start out with tried-and-true "bread-and-butter" or "meat-and-potatoes" colors like black, natural and white to start. Many people like them and they never go out of style. Color options are notoriously difficult - if not outright impossible - to forecast accurately. So please bear with us on that. We do want to offer more but we need to start out slow.

So that's about it. Hope I've been helpful and that you understand we are trying our very best to make sure each and every guitar meets people's expectations. Guitar manufacturing is hard, much harder than it may seem on the surface. Mistakes do happen a lot more on guitars than they would for most things we see around our respective homes. We just have to work that much harder and smarter to make sure they are minimized as much as possible.

Thanks!


----------



## patdavidmusic

Thanks so much for taking the time to write and explain Ed! It so good to be able to hear from you and Ola about the situation as a whole, sounds like you both have a lot on your plate. So taking the time to write is certainly appreciated!

Pat


----------



## prlgmnr

oniduder said:


> everyone's iphone is made in china, seems that would be a bit more complicated than a f-in guitar,



Right, and they occasionally set on fire.


----------



## laxu

AlexKhan said:


> So these are just some of my thoughts as we bring out this new line. Oh yeah, I see some complaints about the lack of color choices so let me address that as well. As you guys have seen, we offered the OS line with fretboard, color and pickup options for 6-, 7-, and 8-string guitars with some signature, limited and lefty guitars thrown in and the SKU count ballooned to well over 100. Ola and I just decided that we need bring that number down, start over and keep things simple for now. As you guys can imagine, managing inventory as well as production of all those variations and options can be quite a challenge.
> 
> I'm sure we will add more colors and other options as time goes by but we are going to start out with tried-and-true "bread-and-butter" or "meat-and-potatoes" colors like black, natural and white to start. Many people like them and they never go out of style. Color options are notoriously difficult - if not outright impossible - to forecast accurately. So please bear with us on that. We do want to offer more but we need to start out slow.



First off, thanks for taking the time to reply and it's interesting to read your insight on the manufacturing process.

I'm sure you've done the math but to me it looks like the lineup you have now would be even more complicated. At least to the prospective buyer it kinda is. Can you say anything why you decided to make the Classic line different between the different amount of strings? The 6-string is a H/S/S with that nice sonic blue finish but the 7 and 8 only come with humbuckers and the most boring finishes you could think of. AFAIK there are currently no H/S/S headless guitars on the market so personally I would have been interested in a H/S/S 7 or 8 string so it's a bit of a shame the Classic line went with all humbuckers for those.

I do appreciate you offering better pickup choices and other body woods than swamp ash. I felt the Lace and EMG pickups were not that great and personally dislike swamp ash. Unfortunately at the moment that puts me in a pickle where the only Strandberg I would like would be the custom shop options but maybe in a few years I'll look at your lineup again.


----------



## oniduder

prlgmnr said:


> Right, and they occasionally set on fire.



is that true for iphones as well? i thought that was a particular issue with the samsung galaxy 7? or at least much more prevalent with the samsung phones, although yes any lithium ion battery will have that possibility, so it's certainly plausible, but i haven't heard a lot of stories about the iphone with that issue in particular, i don't care, i don't own or want to own a smart phone, soooooo

anyway, i hear your point... it think? 

as an aside could you imagine a tesla exploding from it's battery! you'd be going 60 mph in less than 3 secs, then all of sudden boom!!!

hopefully the strandberg classic won't ignite upon plugging into an amp, because made in china! or give me rabies or syphilis

i'm thinking that herpes is more likely than syphilis anyways, 

but not to derail the thread again, i really do appreciate that Ola is concerned about QC, and takes the time to make sure his design is produced in some manner he should be proud of,


----------



## narad

iamaom said:


> I'd also rather buy a brand that is made in a country that pays it's workers a decent wage and not shipped thousands of miles overseas. It has nothing to do with nationalism, I don't mind buying a MIJ guitar because Japan is a country that actually pays its workers well for good quality. I don't think there's anything wrong with asking for a product produced under the cheapest conditions possible to not cost over $1k, when items of comparable or even better quality are produced for less.



Hey, good news! You can buy a Strandberg Swedish custom shop guitar for $3800! And people who don't care about origin and want to pay less can do just that! Win-win.

Btw, do you know of a comparable or even better quality guitar produced for less? I'd be interested to hear your opinions on the boden classic you played, and in what ways in was inferior to the other guitars.


----------



## ihunda

Thanks for taking the time to write this great message Ed! I'll try to be less of a bigot regarding guitar country of manufacture the next time


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

Ed didn't really address what you guys have been debating though regarding the differences in production between factories located in various countries. He just delivered a speech on Strandberg's attempts at quality control.

There is a reason that guitars made in some Asian-based factories (like China or Korea or Indonesia) cost much less money to the buyers of the guitars. The regional economies in those countries, lower wages and labor costs, cheaper materials, less training for workers, etc. are a few reasons. What I am saying is not coming from a stance of "nationalism", but it is more so partiality based on facts and evidence regarding the factories in those regions.

Even if you're maintaining the strictest of quality control standards, if a crew of workers just aren't perfectly nailing the building process of a particular guitar/model or are lacking training in some department, well, the end result isn't exactly going to be the best and worth the high price tag to the buyer, right? 

While I understand that having production being handled in China, Korea, and Indonesia is assisting Strandberg in keeping costs down for us as the buyers, it seems that after you factor out production costs, percentages for distribution, dealer markup, etc., there is a massive margin that is straight profit. I'm guessing that the "premium" based strictly on name (iamaom mentioned this on the previous page) is factored in there somewhere. Are guitarists willing to pay that premium? The answer is: yes.

After seeing all of the diehard Strandberg fanboys praising the new 2017 models that were introduced at NAMM, I went around out of curiosity and asked several of my online friends and acquaintances who attended NAMM about the new Strandberg 2017 lineup. They all stated that the guitars that they played first-hand definitely were not worth the prices that were being asked. (Keep in mind that these are just personal opinions that I collected from several guys. The guitars may be worth it to some folks but not worth it to others.) While the designs were spectacular as expected, one repeating topic in all the conversations was that the guitars still felt like generic, sterile Chinese-made, Korean-made, Indonesian-made instruments.

So, based on what I gathered from others sharing their personal experience, the question now becomes: will you pay for the features and ingenuitive designs but accept that the guitar will have the sterile, cheaply manufactured feel of a sub-$500, sub-$800, sub-$1000 guitar? Only time will tell. I see some guys here on the forum have already placed pre-orders. Once the "honeymoon phase" wears off, I would be interested in reading up on what you all have to say.


----------



## narad

Emperor Guillotine said:


> While I understand that having production being handled in China, Korea, and Indonesia is assisting Strandberg in keeping costs down for us as the buyers, it seems that after you factor out production costs, percentages for distribution, dealer markup, etc., there is a massive margin that is straight profit. I'm guessing that the "premium" based strictly on name (iamaom mentioned this on the previous page) is factored in there somewhere.



Yes, Strandberg Guitars does profit from selling guitars. This is sometimes known as _business_. It stands in contrast to _charity_, which is when there is no markup for a product or service over its manufacturing and distribution costs.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

narad said:


> Yes, Strandberg Guitars does profit from selling guitars. This is sometimes known as _business_. It stands in contrast to _charity_, which is when there is no markup for a product or service over its manufacturing and distribution costs.


Do you have to be such a smart-ass on every single post? Profit is nice and is obligatory. Nothing wrong with that. You focused in on one part of my post and missed the point entirely.


----------



## narad

Emperor Guillotine said:


> Do you have to be such a smart-ass on every single post? Profit is nice and is obligatory. Nothing wrong with that. You focused in on one part of my post and missed the point entirely.



"Hey Ed, what's the margin on these like?"

"Well, we get $300 per guitar in terms of core margin. Then an additional $200 in the margin for the .strandberg* name."

"Oh, and how much is it to get rid of the manufactured feel of a < $800 guitar?"

"Mmm, looks like that would reduce our profits 60%."

"Oh, alright, just leave it as is then."


----------



## Hollowway

I should probably know the answer to this already, but has there ever been a neck thru boden? I assume not, but curious if there has been.


----------



## narad

Hollowway said:


> I should probably know the answer to this already, but has there ever been a neck thru boden? I assume not, but curious if there has been.



Lots. M2M or that "private stock" CS run only, though.


----------



## StevenC

Hollowway said:


> I should probably know the answer to this already, but has there ever been a neck thru boden? I assume not, but curious if there has been.



This sounds awfully like my favourite question:


----------



## Hollowway

That looks awesome! Yeah, I knew they did the M2M stuff, but I wasn't sure if there was ever a production level neck thru. I figured not. I'm a sucker for neck thrus, though!


----------



## Simic

While I do feel that these are priced too high you can just wait for a few months and get a used one? Ive seen a ton of OS bodens hit the used market in the last few months for like 500&#8364; less than they were new. While I don't really feel like dropping 2.4k&#8364; on a new prog model as much as I love it (yum  ) I will probably grab one when they hit the used market at 1.8k&#8364; or something similar 
So all in all I don't really see the problem with their pricing... Some folks are prepared to pay the new prices and others can just grab the instruments at used prices


----------



## Hollowway

Yeah, although I'm not seeing good deals on used ones. They appear to be priced rather high. But I'm not actively looking, either. With the new models and pickup changes I suspect the older models may drop in value a bit though.


----------



## AlexKhan

Guys, I totally understand the skepticisms and rolling eyes in regards to the pricing. Obviously, I can't get into the details but I can confidently say that the costs of our guitars from the factories (what they charge us) is typically higher (sometimes a lot more) than the _street prices_ of the other guitars they build for other brand name companies in the same factories. Our guitars just cost a lot more to build and require a lot more labor per unit as well as for setup times. Our volume also isn't anywhere near the volume of the well-known name brand companies so there is no economy of scale factor involved as well.

Every manufacturer wants efficiency during production. They want to build one model with the same color over and over again. Fender or Gibson or Ibanez can place orders for thousands of units of one SKU. We tend to order in quantities like 4 or 6 units per SKU. Factories hate that. To have them work on dozens of different SKUs at 4 or 6 each is like a nightmare to them and they charge us accordingly. After producing hundreds and hundreds of units of simpler guitars, the workers suddenly have to adapt to producing several units each of all these different variations with different specs.

Having worked in this industry for 26 years now, I totally understand the cachet of USA-made guitars compared to Asian imports. I worked both sides. Things aren't like they used to be 10, 15 or 20 years ago. A lot has changed. The industry now is virtually unrecognizable from what it used to be like in the heyday growth days of the 90's. Costs in Asia have gone up exponentially over the past 10 years. The most expensive cities to live in the world are now mainly located in Asia. Material (mainly wood) and labor costs are constantly rising. And yet, guitar prices have generally held ground while the quality has gotten better and better.

So this is all good for the guitar-buying consumers but the problem this industry faces is that the overall guitar market continues to shrink and has been doing so since 2008. Kids (early-teens) aren't getting into guitars like when we were kids. They have too many other distractions and too short of an attention span to practice playing the guitar when there are video games, gadgets, social media and tons of movies to watch on demand. Many guitar factories in Asia have shut down over the last 5 years and there still remains a glut of production capacity. It's a very tough time in the industry right now and we in the industry all wonder when we will finally hit bottom but that hasn't happened yet.

What we are doing is offering something different in a niche market. There is a lot of development time involved in design, engineering and for setting up manufacturing. And it really does cost a lot more to build and we are specifying premium materials that are getting increasingly difficult to find. We reject a lot of guitars and send them back to the factories. We have to put in a lot of time to each and every guitar that we receive and sometimes we do see the little blems and tops that aren't as nice as we'd like them to be and still ship them out because they can't be repaired or trying so could make things worse. If the customer doesn't like it, they can return it after two weeks for a full refund and we are totally fine with that. We are appreciative of the fact that some customers point out the minor cosmetic issues but happily keep the guitars because they love the way it sounds, feels and plays. We take any negative feedback in a positive manner and work on correcting the issues and improving the overall quality and consistency with our manufacturing partners. That's our job.

Only the consumers can decide if a guitar (or any product for that matter) is worth a certain amount of money. Ultimately, companies don't decide that. If the prices are deemed too high for what they sell, then the products simply won't sell and they'll be out of business. There are plenty of choices out there - more than there has ever been. It's a great time to be a guitar player in terms of all the choices and offerings available at a wide range of price points. No guitar can be a be-all-end-all and we certainly don't claim to providing something like that. Every individual has a different taste and/or take on what will work for him/her. You walk around NAMM and you'll see many thousands of different guitars and each one will appeal to _somebody_ for whatever reason. Such diversity is what makes our industry interesting and also quite challenging from a manufacturer's perspective. We're just one of many guitar makers with our own offering like any other. And we'll also trip and stumble sometimes like anyone else but we'll learn from it and do our best to not do that again. I do want to add that Ola and I truly love what we are doing and that we are very excited and optimistic about what the future holds.


----------



## AlexKhan

laxu said:


> First off, thanks for taking the time to reply and it's interesting to read your insight on the manufacturing process.
> 
> I'm sure you've done the math but to me it looks like the lineup you have now would be even more complicated. At least to the prospective buyer it kinda is. Can you say anything why you decided to make the Classic line different between the different amount of strings? The 6-string is a H/S/S with that nice sonic blue finish but the 7 and 8 only come with humbuckers and the most boring finishes you could think of. AFAIK there are currently no H/S/S headless guitars on the market so personally I would have been interested in a H/S/S 7 or 8 string so it's a bit of a shame the Classic line went with all humbuckers for those.
> 
> I do appreciate you offering better pickup choices and other body woods than swamp ash. I felt the Lace and EMG pickups were not that great and personally dislike swamp ash. Unfortunately at the moment that puts me in a pickle where the only Strandberg I would like would be the custom shop options but maybe in a few years I'll look at your lineup again.



Thanks for your post and enquiry. As mentioned in my post, we are indeed starting out with a limited number of what some would consider "boring" or "vanilla" color and feature options. It's very easy to create every body color, fretboard wood, body wood, pickup and hardware color option imaginable on a spreadsheet but from a manufacturing and inventory management perspective it can become a real nightmare to deal with. 

We've had to deal with some of that as we had been offering numerous colors besides the fretboard wood and pickup options on the OS line. This is something the likes of Fender, Gibson, and Ibanez can do but not us. With this new lineup we reduced the SKU count by 70%. Essentially, we realized that we bit off more than we can chew by offering so many choices. We're just not at the size and scale to offer all those options but we do believe we will eventually be able to get there.


----------



## node

AlexKhan said:


> Thanks for your post and enquiry. As mentioned in my post, we are indeed starting out with a limited number of what some would consider "boring" or "vanilla" color and feature options. It's very easy to create every body color, fretboard wood, body wood, pickup and hardware color option imaginable on a spreadsheet but from a manufacturing and inventory management perspective it can become a real nightmare to deal with.
> 
> We've had to deal with some of that as we had been offering numerous colors besides the fretboard wood and pickup options on the OS line. This is something the likes of Fender, Gibson, and Ibanez can do but not us. With this new lineup we reduced the SKU count by 70%. Essentially, we realized that we bit off more than we can chew by offering so many choices. We're just not at the size and scale to offer all those options but we do believe we will eventually be able to get there.


 
Thanks man for answering all these questions. I'd be interested in them if I could actually get my hands on any sort of strandberg (lefty here, would kill for a Boden 6 trem). I know that Ola does lefties through the MtM (I can imagine the waitlist time is astronomically high though), and I know you guys have done two lefty runs in the past (missed both of these). Anyways, I'm just curious if you guys have any plans to do actual production runs of lefty Bodens at any point in the future. Additionally, is there a reason that the custom shop doesn't offer lefty models? I mean it is a CUSTOM shop, just kind of find it odd. Thanks again


----------



## iamaom

AlexKhan said:


> So this is all good for the guitar-buying consumers but the problem this industry faces is that the overall guitar market continues to shrink and has been doing so since 2008. Kids (early-teens) aren't getting into guitars like when we were kids. They have too many other distractions and too short of an attention span to practice playing the guitar when there are video games, gadgets, social media and tons of movies to watch on demand. Many guitar factories in Asia have shut down over the last 5 years and there still remains a glut of production capacity. It's a very tough time in the industry right now and we in the industry all wonder when we will finally hit bottom but that hasn't happened yet.


 I was unaware of this, but I guess with the rise of personal computers as studios and electronic music it makes sense. I guess I live in a bit of a musician bubble. I can't imagine what the drumming industry is going through.


----------



## HungryGuitarStudent

AlexKhan said:


> Hello Guys,
> 
> Ed Yoon here. (...)



First, I don't know companies that would dedicate time to reading posts on a forum and having enough empathy to really put themselves in the customer's place. For that alone, I say good job !

I'm not a Strandberg owner (yet), but I must say your customer support has been flawless and turned up to be a contributing factor that confirmed that I made a good decision by ordering one of your guitars (I've had horrendous customer service/RMA/warranty from another major guitar company that I won't name here).

Keep up the great work !


----------



## ImBCRichBitch

oniduder said:


> at the same time, i think this whole headless thing is a tad bit faddish,



People said this in the 80s. then the 90s with 7 strings. THEN a few years ago with 8 strings.


----------



## Mathemagician

narad said:


> "Hey Ed, what's the margin on these like?"
> 
> "Well, we get $300 per guitar in terms of core margin. Then an additional $200 in the margin for the .strandberg* name."
> 
> "Oh, and how much is it to get rid of the manufactured feel of a < $800 guitar?"
> 
> "Mmm, looks like that would reduce our profits 60%."
> 
> "Oh, alright, just leave it as is then."



You seem to have just entirely skipped the amount of QC that Ola and Ed put into their factories, and decided that "MII/MIC = crap construction".

My MII sterling plays better than most MIK guitars I own, and it was $425 new. 

And let's step aside and discuss profits: if Apple can make an iPhone in China, and rock a 40%+ margin on the most expensive models no one bats an eye. 

A guitar manufacturer puts out (apparently) very high quality level guitars, and people are offended that they MAY have a nice profit margin. 

Dude, just don't buy it. You seem UPSET at the idea of paying for quality, because of country of origin. As though you "deserve" to pay less because of where it's made. Yes cheap crap can be made somewhere, but if they're spending time and effort to ensure it's made well, then they just benefit from lower labor costs. Should a firm pass 100% of savings on labor to the end consumer or just some? I don't expect charity from a business, but it seems like you do. 

Strandberg doesn't owe anyone anything. If they make a product and people buy it at a price they've deemed acceptable, then it works. If it's bad/no one buys it, they'll re-evaluate just like any business. Then complaining because YOU can't afford it/don't value it just makes you sound entitled. 

Plenty of people can't justify $800+ for an iPhone. So they just wait for it: don't buy it. They buy a phone that they are happy with. The guys that complain about apple being "overpriced crap" just sound like dicks.

Tl;dr cool stuff is made in places with lower labor costs, a company doesn't HAVE to pass 100% of labor savings to end consumer. Consumers will vote with their wallets, not forum whining. (It's why Schecter had garish abalone inlays for so long - people actually bought that).


----------



## Mathemagician

StevenC said:


> This sounds awfully like my favourite question:



Also: What year will I be able to get this neck joint on a Boden? Somebody just ballpark it for me. Make up a year. Idc. Lol.


----------



## narad

Mathemagician said:


> You seem to have just entirely skipped the amount of QC that Ola and Ed put into their factories, and decided that "MII/MIC = crap construction".



You seem to have just entirely skipped the post I quoted and the rest of the context there that would have tipped you off to the immense dowsing of sarcasm present in that post.

Tl;dr I agree with you so take it up with EmperorGuillotine


----------



## Mathemagician

Bro if I quoted the wrong guy then I quoted the wrong guy. But the right guy knows who he is. And he's being a dick.


----------



## Emperor Guillotine

narad said:


> Tl;dr I agree with you so take it up with Emperor Guillotine


My post has nothing to do with this. Let's read it again.



Mathemagician said:


> Bro if I quoted the wrong guy then I quoted the wrong guy. But the right guy knows who he is. And he's being a dick.


Naw, man. The immature name-calling that you're engaging in is a dick-ish move.


----------



## StevenC

Mathemagician said:


> Also: What year will I be able to get this neck joint on a Boden? Somebody just ballpark it for me. Make up a year. Idc. Lol.



I'm pretty sure you can get one of those Boden Private Stocks right now. That or sign up to the M2M list and wait a while.


----------



## Mathemagician

You're basically complaining about a firm earning a profit on its "import" models. Even though like they've said, they have to order in small batches, and spend a ton of time training/maintaining QC. They've invested in R&D, and are now trying to earn that back, what's the issue? Just go MTM if it concerns you, or consider used?


----------



## narad

Emperor Guillotine said:


> My post has nothing to do with this. Let's read it again.



You mean the one where you act like just because a Chinese person touched your guitar it's magically imparted with "generic" or "sterile" sound and "manufactured feel"? Yea, I don't think I need to reread that one anytime soon.

Meanwhile, anyone that's every started swapping hardware on an import guitar can tell you just how much an effect on overall sound the parts have, and a lot of the taboo of import guitars starts with instruments with cheap hardware. An epiphone with BKPs sounds pretty damn good. An ibanez premium with a plek job can play pretty damn good. I've had a squier with Suhr pickups and it was not too bad at all! And I currently have Suhr pickups in a much "nicer" guitar, and honestly the difference is not worth the roughly 10x price increase there...

And now you're talking about guitars with the exact same hardware as found on the more expensive models -- same bridge, nut, and pickups. So yea, if your nameless NAMM friends can only assess a guitar in terms like "manufactured feel"*, it's already enough right there to know that their opinion is worthless. 

*fun-fact: they're all manufactured.


----------



## Mathemagician

StevenC said:


> I'm pretty sure you can get one of those Boden Private Stocks right now. That or sign up to the M2M list and wait a while.



Yep, that's what I figured. Too pricey for me ATM to go full mtm. But I'll keep an eye out. Love how the neckthrough looks in that shot.


----------



## jemfloral

Just out of curiousity (not trying to gang up on you at all, but actually curious here), Emperor, what guitars were the NAMM-attending online friends fond of? i.e. what are they comparing against? If there's something better out there that I don't know about yet, i'd be interested in hearing about it


----------



## Casper777

narad said:


> You mean the one where you act like just because a Chinese person touched your guitar it's magically imparted with "generic" or "sterile" sound and "manufactured feel"? Yea, I don't think I need to reread that one anytime soon.
> 
> Meanwhile, anyone that's every started swapping hardware on an import guitar can tell you just how much an effect on overall sound the parts have, and a lot of the taboo of import guitars starts with instruments with cheap hardware. An epiphone with BKPs sounds pretty damn good. An ibanez premium with a plek job can play pretty damn good. I've had a squier with Suhr pickups and it was not too bad at all! And I currently have Suhr pickups in a much "nicer" guitar, and honestly the difference is not worth the roughly 10x price increase there...
> 
> And now you're talking about guitars with the exact same hardware as found on the more expensive models -- same bridge, nut, and pickups. So yea, if your nameless NAMM friends can only assess a guitar in terms like "manufactured feel"*, it's already enough right there to know that their opinion is worthless.
> 
> *fun-fact: they're all manufactured.



+1
It's quite refreshing to read something that has some sense in this thread!


----------



## Jonathan20022

Me and Narad have butted heads a bit on the whole import subject, but IMO it's still a rough time paying a premium for something import wise when you're comparing it with the rest of the market. It's nothing racist on my part, but personal experience and me using that to gauge how I purchase things in the future. 

Chinese/Indonesian/Korean guitars get the stigma of coming out of the factory with very low tolerance for flaws and issues regardless of brand. I mean there's a reason there's an effort there for Ed and Ola to travel so often to maintain those standards they have. If the reputation of those guitars was just a race fueled pigeonholed opinion, then there wouldn't be a need for that. And that's where the apprehension comes from. The NAMM Strandbergs were pretty solid, and I spent some time there playing the various models and checking everything out and it all felt really nice. I'm far less of a stickler over small imperfections like super tiny tool marks and 0.001 neck gaps like I used to be hah. But the strandbergs felt perfectly fine to me, expensive sure and not particularly something I'd go out and buy. But if someone feels like paying the price and sees the value in a particular model that's their choice.

Import guitars are getting better, my favorite was the Chapman line the price and value of something like the Norseman is ridiculous for the price you'll pay for it. The GTR Ormsbies were pretty awesome, and even the Chinese Classic (Which was the model I was the most interested in) felt really nice even being a guitar of Chinese origins.

I don't see another strandberg in my future, and who knows when but I'll patiently wait for the modular nut to be adopted into the rest of the line if it ever does. Then I'll be in store for a varberg when it does happen.


----------



## narad

^^ It should be noted that Jonathan is like the most nitpicky person with custom guitars ever. If he walks away from an instrument without asking for 15% off due to some imperceivable defect, that's like a ringing endorsement.

The Chapman stuff is definitely a good value but it's all barebones. Doesn't Ormsby have an overseas headless? How much is that one?


----------



## Jonathan20022

You're painting me in such a bad light lol, but I'm not nitpicky at all. I just don't like my necks to arrive with 2mm deep dings and being told "no refunds" LOL.

The Goliath is like 12-1400 AUD? Guessing off the top of my head.

EDIT: like 1700-1900 AUD actually, just double checked.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Jonathan20022 said:


> You're painting me in such a bad light lol, but I'm not nitpicky at all. I just don't like my necks to arrive with 2mm deep dings and being told "no refunds" LOL.
> 
> The Goliath is like 12-1400 AUD? Guessing off the top of my head.
> 
> EDIT: like 1700-1900 AUD actually, just double checked.



works out to 1300-1500 usd essentially.


----------



## littleredguitars2

Just throwing this out there. Both strandberg os 6s ive owned have blown away every other guitar in the same price range including a bunch of usa made models. South Korean or not, the quality speaks for itself.


----------



## Jonathan20022

^ In what way, that's a pretty broad statement to make. Considering the options in the price range of just under 2k will net you PRS CE24's, Suhr Modern Satins, Most of EBMM's selection of guitars (Axis/Luke/Stingray/Cutlass/Albert Lee). And while the Bodens were extremely solid, they were not as refined as the guitars I mentioned so far. 

There is a premium there for being headless and having the strandberg specific features. But they certainly don't blow away the competition if we're really going to compare these guitars with others in the 2k range. Regardless of where they're made, the Suhr/EBMM/PRS simply have a higher production standard available atm.


----------



## narad

I mean, I just don't see why we're even trying to draw comparisons here. I imagine the Suhr Modern satins would be hands down better than almost any random sampling of Boden OSs -- those are just killer -- but they're fundamentally different and that matters. If I'm in the market for this headless ergo thing, it's very unlikely I walk out with some floyd rose super strat, etc. So I guess I just kind of forgot why this was being discussed so much!


----------



## KnightBrolaire

littleredguitars2 said:


> Just throwing this out there. Both strandberg os 6s ive owned have blown away every other guitar in the same price range including a bunch of usa made models. South Korean or not, the quality speaks for itself.



I definitely do not feel that way having owned 2 os8s and a custom shop 8. If anything I'd say the OS line was lacking for a 2k price point, especially compared to comparably priced ibanezes/esps/prs/EBMM models.


----------



## MSUspartans777

Although pricy, I don't think OS models should be compared to traditional styled guitars. Your paying for innovation and the strandberg name. Many of these factories have to make special accommodations to produce guitars so different from the standard.


----------



## Jonathan20022

That's not the comparison I was making, I was pointing out that when someone says these blow away other guitar in their price range it simply doesn't ring true. Note I even mentioned that there is a premium being paid for the headless factor and for the strandberg specific features. They're well made but they're not going to blow away anything else in that price range.


----------



## laxu

MSUspartans777 said:


> Although pricy, I don't think OS models should be compared to traditional styled guitars. Your paying for innovation and the strandberg name. Many of these factories have to make special accommodations to produce guitars so different from the standard.



Productionwise only the neck is special. The body is a rather simple slab type with no significant contours. The hardware is unique and expensive.

I calculated that an equivalent spec Kiesel VM8 would have cost me only about 300 euros more after shipping and taxes than the Boden OS 8 LE I had and while not quite as ergonomic, would most likely be built a bit better and have much better looking woods. That to me is the real competition for Strandberg. In Europe the Skervesen Shoggie 8 I ordered with higher specs ended up being only about 1000 euros more expensive and probably about 1000-2000 euros cheaper than a Swedish custom shop Strandberg.

Of course both Kiesel and Skervesen have a different business model where guitars are built to order whereas Strandberg's import line is built x pieces at a time and then sold. But with the competition being as is I can understand why some feel Strandberg's lineup is a tad expensive. I would have liked if the regular Boden OS lineup was under 2000 euros and the LE models were just a tad over. As they were, I felt they were a few hundred euros too expensive.


----------



## narad

laxu said:


> I calculated that an equivalent spec Kiesel VM8 would have cost me only about 300 euros more after shipping and taxes than the Boden OS 8 LE I had and while not quite as ergonomic, would most likely be built a bit better and have much better looking woods. That to me is the real competition for Strandberg.



Kiesel is competition for Strandberg in the same way Hot Topic is competition for The North Face.


----------



## jemfloral

narad said:


> Kiesel is competition for Strandberg in the same way Hot Topic is competition for The North Face.



Introducing the new 2017 North Face Goth Line (free choker with purchase of $10 or more).

(stevexc, could you mock this up for us?)


----------



## KnightBrolaire

laxu said:


> Productionwise only the neck is special. The body is a rather simple slab type with no significant contours. The hardware is unique and expensive.
> 
> I calculated that an equivalent spec Kiesel VM8 would have cost me only about 300 euros more after shipping and taxes than the Boden OS 8 LE I had and while not quite as ergonomic, would most likely be built a bit better and have much better looking woods. That to me is the real competition for Strandberg.



Yeah I pretty much agree with this, my OS8 LE and my previous OS8 were great guitars, just not comparable to my vaders. Then again, it's not entirely fair to compare semi-customs to production line guitars. I think the ormsby goliath could be a good competitor against the OS line due to competitive pricing (it's like 1500$ for an 8 string) though we'll see how they turn out.


----------



## Icarusnic

littleredguitars2 said:


> Just throwing this out there. Both strandberg os 6s ive owned have blown away every other guitar in the same price range including a bunch of usa made models. South Korean or not, the quality speaks for itself.



I'm completely with you man, I bought a used, but practically new Boden OS7. Fantastic instrument and a huge bang for the buck.


----------



## littleredguitars2

KnightBrolaire said:


> I definitely do not feel that way having owned 2 os8s and a custom shop 8. If anything I'd say the OS line was lacking for a 2k price point, especially compared to comparably priced ibanezes/esps/prs/EBMM models.



well i'm sorry you had such an experience. either way, i dont think that makes mine any less genuine. both my os and my custom shop are incredible.


----------



## GenghisCoyne

they should look into a 5 or 6 string with a 35ish scale -_-


----------



## HungryGuitarStudent

FYI, upon checking today, I noticed that a lot of 2017 models have been pushed back a month or two (in the US store).


Prog:	June ~ July 2017
Fusion:	June ~ July 2017
Metal:	June ~ July 2017
Classic	April ~ May 2017
Plini Edition:	First batch sold out. Second to arrive July ~ August 2017
Alex Machacek Edition:	June ~ July 2017


----------



## MSUspartans777

eayottes said:


> FYI, upon checking today, I noticed that a lot of 2017 models have been pushed back a month or two (in the US store).
> 
> 
> Prog:	June ~ July 2017
> Fusion:	June ~ July 2017
> Metal:	June ~ July 2017
> Classic	April ~ May 2017
> Plini Edition:	First batch sold out. Second to arrive July ~ August 2017
> Alex Machacek Edition:	June ~ July 2017



I'm so thankful I preordered that Plini edition the day it was annouced.


----------



## jemfloral

The Classics were delayed a month because of the latest CITES laws affecting the importation of the guitars. Apparently the paperwork needs to be filed on both ends of the shipping/receiving and it's causing some headaches industry-wide. Not sure why the others would be delayed further since they should have a process sorted out by May/June.


----------



## domsch1988

Well, i'm saving up for my first strandy. I won't preorder (out of principal i never preorder anything ever. Have had some bad experiences in the past)...
Trying to decide if i go 6 or 7... I feel 28" is still to short for me to go 8. It's really tough. In my head the 6 might limit my options. From my RG8 experience i fear not liking the 8 string. I don't have a 7 to be sure whether it's for me or not. I don't feel like "wasting" 2k on an instrument i might not end up liking...

If you'd play 85% six string stuff in E-Standard to Drop-B and the rest is experimenting with extended playing, would you go Boden 7 and use it as a six too or Boden 6 and retune? Maybe adding a cheap Ibanez 7 for the occasion i need it? Also, how does the strandberg handle frequent retuning??


----------



## KnightBrolaire

domsch1988 said:


> Well, i'm saving up for my first strandy. I won't preorder (out of principal i never preorder anything ever. Have had some bad experiences in the past)...
> Trying to decide if i go 6 or 7... I feel 28" is still to short for me to go 8. It's really tough. In my head the 6 might limit my options. From my RG8 experience i fear not liking the 8 string. I don't have a 7 to be sure whether it's for me or not. I don't feel like "wasting" 2k on an instrument i might not end up liking...
> 
> If you'd play 85% six string stuff in E-Standard to Drop-B and the rest is experimenting with extended playing, would you go Boden 7 and use it as a six too or Boden 6 and retune? Maybe adding a cheap Ibanez 7 for the occasion i need it? Also, how does the strandberg handle frequent retuning??



it handles retuning fine, it's just the tuners are a bit stiff until you break them in or lubricate them a bit. The 28" scale length on the 8 would be fine for a lot of stuff. worst case you can always return it, though you'll end up eating the shipping.


----------



## blacai

Classics seem cheap to me... don't like.


----------



## narad

I'll take the seafoam!


----------



## domsch1988

Still trying to decide between Original for the looks or Metal for the fluence pickups... Why can't i have a original 6 with fluence pickups


----------



## jemfloral

domsch1988 said:


> Still trying to decide between Original for the looks or Metal for the fluence pickups... Why can't i have a original 6 with fluence pickups



You can... just put them in yourself.


----------



## xzacx

I can see myself buying a used seafoam once people start selling them.


----------



## glassmoon0fo

I've found that for my purposes, after ALL these years of super expensive, custom gear, mid range guitars with a few fixes (neck shims, fret jobs, shielding, etc) with my Axe II does just as well. If the features are right, I don't mind customizing midlevel gear myself. So, I'll definately be picking up a Classic 8 in white when the time comes. I'm thinking HSH with Ionizers and a pickguard color change, along with any functional fixes, and this will be an ergo 8 I wouldnt mind beating up on. Glad for the option!


----------



## domsch1988

jemfloral said:


> You can... just put them in yourself.



Yes, but here, where i live, i'd have to add nearly 400 of pickups to an already expensive (not sure about price yet but i'd assume 1700 or so) Instrument. It just leaves a bad taste in my mouth to spend nearly 2k on a guitar the i'm instantly going to replace parts on


----------



## blacai

domsch1988 said:


> Yes, but here, where i live, i'd have to add nearly 400 of pickups to an already expensive (not sure about price yet but i'd assume 1700 or so) Instrument. It just leaves a bad taste in my mouth to spend nearly 2k on a guitar the i'm instantly going to replace parts on



Metal starts at 2.375
https://strandbergguitars.com/boden-metal/

Original at 2.125
https://strandbergguitars.com/boden-original/

They just went crazy with '17 prices


----------



## domsch1988

blacai said:


> Metal starts at 2.375
> https://strandbergguitars.com/boden-metal/
> 
> Original at 2.125
> https://strandbergguitars.com/boden-original/
> 
> They just went crazy with '17 prices



Ok, this makes it very hard to justify  I hadn't seen the detail pages yet... At this pricepoint, there are so much more appealing options out there.  Although i like the ergo concept, this price is hard to swallow for a WMI Instrument.
Makes me look into framus. Made not far from where i live, and quality seems to be top notch. But thats OT here.

Maybe, next year or so, i'll grab a used one for a decent price


----------



## blacai

domsch1988 said:


> this price is hard to swallow for a WMI Instrument.



Not so fast  Original are MII. I actually don't care that much about origin, but first I need to test it. I had chinese and indo stuff and they were well built, but hard to justify in this prince range. Hardware should be the same, but QC ...let's see.

* Classic: CHINA.[1,390] https://strandbergguitars.com/boden-classic/
* Original: INDONESIA,[2,125] https://strandbergguitars.com/boden-original/
* Metal: KOREA,[2,350] https://strandbergguitars.com/boden-metal/
* Prog: KOREA, [2,450] https://strandbergguitars.com/boden-prog/
* Fusion: KOREA,[2,675] https://strandbergguitars.com/boden-prog/


----------



## domsch1988

blacai said:


> Not so fast  Original are MII. I actually don't care that much about origin, but first I need to test it. I had chinese and indo stuff and they were well built, but hard to justify in this prince range. Hardware should be the same, but QC ...let's see.
> 
> * Classic: CHINA.[&#8364;1,390] https://strandbergguitars.com/boden-classic/
> * Original: INDONESIA,[&#8364;2,125] https://strandbergguitars.com/boden-original/
> * Metal: KOREA,[&#8364;2,350] https://strandbergguitars.com/boden-metal/
> * Prog: KOREA, [&#8364;2,450] https://strandbergguitars.com/boden-prog/
> * Fusion: KOREA,[&#8364;2,675] https://strandbergguitars.com/boden-prog/



Ok, i'll admit the 2017 lineup is confusing to me  None the less. At Classic pricing it would have been an option, but the specs aren't close enough to what i'd want out of a 2,200&#8364; Instrument. I can buy a SE Holcomb AND an M80M for that money. Both should be of equal quality to the strandbergs and i wouldn't have to decide on 6 vs 8 and deal with scale length compromises  It's just that, for me, 2,200&#8364; is nearly two full months of work, or around a year of saving up. I'm not sure whether it's a wise investment for my situation


----------



## diagrammatiks

I have a quick question about pickup swaps...
It looks like the sevens have slanted cavities but the pickups are just normal pickups?
Will i be able to drop regular pickups in there?


----------



## j3ps3

diagrammatiks said:


> I have a quick question about pickup swaps...
> It looks like the sevens have slanted cavities but the pickups are just normal pickups?
> Will i be able to drop regular pickups in there?



Strings won't align with the poles of the pickups correctly, so the pickup should be slanted too. I ordered mine from BKP directly and they made the slant to go with the 26,5-28" scale of the Boden 8.


----------



## diagrammatiks

j3ps3 said:


> Strings won't align with the poles of the pickups correctly, so the pickup should be slanted too. I ordered mine from BKP directly and they made the slant to go with the 26,5-28" scale of the Boden 8.



is that true for the os 7 as well?


----------



## j3ps3

diagrammatiks said:


> is that true for the os 7 as well?



Well they have a fan too, so yeah  Unless you use pickups like EMG, which don't have poles for the strings.


----------



## diagrammatiks

guys whats the deal with this classic + trem...

i am hard as a rock.


----------



## Hollowway

Yeah, though I softened up considerably when I saw the blue was only available in a 6 string.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

hmmm if I had the cash I'd buy a classic 8 and just refinish it since apparently only schecter and ibanez seem to understand that 8 string players want a color other than fvcking black or white.


----------



## Hollowway

KnightBrolaire said:


> hmmm if I had the cash I'd buy a classic 8 and just refinish it since apparently only schecter and ibanez seem to understand that 8 string players want a color other than fvcking black or white.



Totally. That blue would be a cool color, but if we're talking refinish, I'm going for fuchsia. I could totally go for a pink strandy.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

Hollowway said:


> Totally. That blue would be a cool color, but if we're talking refinish, I'm going for fuchsia. I could totally go for a pink strandy.



 I was thinking neon orange or maybe blue sparkle.


----------



## oniduder

so anyone going to get the classic 8 and replace the pickups with something awesome sauce?

idk like anything other than what's in them?

unless somehow those are awesome sauce?


----------



## AbsentCurtis

Just got mine today (Will do NGD soon). I was planning on getting some Ionizers for it but honestly I don't think I need to. I'm pretty happy with how they sound. Its pretty close to the Lace pickups in my OS7.





oniduder said:


> so anyone going to get the classic 8 and replace the pickups with something awesome sauce?
> 
> idk like anything other than what's in them?
> 
> unless somehow those are awesome sauce?


----------



## jemfloral

AbsentCurtis said:


> Just got mine today (Will do NGD soon). I was planning on getting some Ionizers for it but honestly I don't think I need to. I'm pretty happy with how they sound. Its pretty close to the Lace pickups in my OS7.



I have mine and have a set of Alpha/Omega to go into it, but the pickups that came in the guitar actually sound very good already, so I'm thinking about putting the A/O into something else perhaps


----------



## oniduder

jemfloral said:


> I have mine and have a set of Alpha/Omega to go into it, but the pickups that came in the guitar actually sound very good already, so I'm thinking about putting the A/O into something else perhaps



well that is really good news, the price is really quite incredibly no matter where it's built, i assume just like with anything that there might be (ie are some) quality control issues, but really nice to hear that the pickups aren't worthless like say many other brands, oh idk, IBANEZ!!!!,

cool beans

thanks

and screw you for making me want to drop 1400 to get the dang nabbit thing

ciao


----------



## AbsentCurtis

I sold 5 guitars - an RG8 and 4 Agiles to fund this thing. While I love the Agile brand very much for their cost to value ratio I can say I do not regret my decision at all. The quality of the Classic 8 in build and hardware is vastly greater. My RG8 was virtually unplayable and those stock pickups were utter crap. Also, as someone that is getting older and has back and wrist issues, the ergonomic design and weight is totally worth it for me.





oniduder said:


> well that is really good news, the price is really quite incredibly no matter where it's built, i assume just like with anything that there might be (ie are some) quality control issues, but really nice to hear that the pickups aren't worthless like say many other brands, oh idk, IBANEZ!!!!,
> 
> cool beans
> 
> thanks
> 
> and screw you for making me want to drop 1400 to get the dang nabbit thing
> 
> ciao


----------



## sezna

Hollowway said:


> Yeah, though I softened up considerably when I saw the blue was only available in a 6 string.



I emailed them and had a little rant at their poor marketing team when I discovered the sonic blue classic is only available as a 6. I had seen the teasers and was saving up for a sonic blue 8. I don't regret what I did...

Also, if you're thinking about getting a classic 8 and painting it, youll have to deal with the fact that the pickguard is black and not white. They refused to budge on that, too. 

For that price I feel like we should have more color and configuration options, but they run a tight shop. I don't think Ola likes having unsold stock lying around.


----------



## Narvic57

Does anyone knows why the EU prices are more expensive than the US shop? (sorry if it has already answer somewhere in this thread)


----------



## Kaff

Narvic57 said:


> Does anyone knows why the EU prices are more expensive than the US shop? (sorry if it has already answer somewhere in this thread)


VAT included in the price..


----------



## Narvic57

Kaff said:


> VAT included in the price..



Aaaaaaaw... makes much more sense now  thanks!


----------



## diagrammatiks

Still no official announcement of the classic 6 with a trem. Cry


----------



## Jonathan20022

Anyone gotten theirs in yet? That Metal line is pretty tempting to give a shot of. I vaguely remember them at NAMM but it's been 6 months.


----------



## C_Henderson

Not an ERG, but I finally got my Plini sig last week. It's been a pretty busy week and I've only had time to play it for about a couple hours, but it's enough to confirm it's stellar. Appart from the looks (which are subjective but I personally love natural finished guitars with dark wood tops), I have the impression that they've really stepped up their game with the 2017 line up, because at least mine arrived set up perfectly and without any apparent flaws. Bridge works great, nut is properly lined up, frets are perfectly leveled and crowned, fretboard and neck are smooth and without a single blemish, no fret buzz or rough spots anywhere, stays in tune perfectly, side dots are in line too, controls are solid and smooth... And most importantly, it plays and sounds GREAT.

Really, overall after testing everything out and inspecting it to the mm, the only "problems" I've found (and I'm really picky, trust me) are a couple of darker spots on the top, under the neck pickup area (which I'd prefer if they weren't there, but honestly, it's a natural finish and they don't really look out of place, so I don't really care) and the fact that the tuning pegs on the bridge are REALLY hard to turn (but that's common to all brand new Strandbergs, it just takes some time).

I wouldn't say it's better than anything on that price range because it wouldn't be fair, since I'm just talking about one guitar and a Strandberg is essentially very different from say an ESP, some EBMM, a PRS CE, a Vigier or a production line Suhr, to give a few examples of what I tried out around the same price before ordering. But it definitely is as good as any of those, 100% confident. The fact that it plays as good + being more comfortable (IMO) makes me think I made the right choice.

I'm also curious about the other lines. If the rest of their new MIK models are as good as this, they're definitely worth every penny.


----------



## A-Branger

Jonathan20022 said:


> Anyone gotten theirs in yet? That Metal line is pretty tempting to give a shot of. I vaguely remember them at NAMM but it's been 6 months.



CITES regulations have slowed/stopped everything on the WMI factory. They dont need to have rosewood to get hit by it. Ormsby had their ebony on containers that had rosewood in it, so the whole container needed to be cleared. Only now those 6 containers have been cleared since they submitted the required paperwork in January. So theres a pretty good chance Strandberg are facing the same issues. Chapman only had theirs done pretty recently




C_Henderson said:


> Not an ERG, but I finally got my Plini sig last week. It's been a pretty busy week and I've only had time to play it for about a couple hours, but it's enough to confirm it's stellar.



nice congrats bro. Time to do a NDG tread!, love the look of that Plini one


----------



## C_Henderson

A-Branger said:


> nice congrats bro. Time to do a NDG tread!, love the look of that Plini one



Will do for sure! When I get home in a couple weeks I'll surely take time to enjoy it and report back!


----------



## diagrammatiks

A-Branger said:


> CITES regulations have slowed/stopped everything on the WMI factory. They dont need to have rosewood to get hit by it. Ormsby had their ebony on containers that had rosewood in it, so the whole container needed to be cleared. Only now those 6 containers have been cleared since they submitted the required paperwork in January. So theres a pretty good chance Strandberg are facing the same issues. Chapman only had theirs done pretty recently
> 
> 
> 
> 
> nice congrats bro. Time to do a NDG tread!, love the look of that Plini one


my local shop had a few metals and a prog. they sold really fast.


----------



## A-Branger

diagrammatiks said:


> my local shop had a few metals and a prog. they sold really fast.



sweet they are already out then.

I dont have that kind of Luxury over here, Im already lucky enough that my local shop (which is pretty big), doesnt have any Gibson and it has a pretty good deals of Ibanez and LTDs. So I have to rely on people here to show the new goodies


----------



## diagrammatiks

A-Branger said:


> sweet they are already out then.
> 
> I dont have that kind of Luxury over here, Im already lucky enough that my local shop (which is pretty big), doesnt have any Gibson and it has a pretty good deals of Ibanez and LTDs. So I have to rely on people here to show the new goodies



a bunch of them have been showing up in the owners group. classics, prog, no metals yet though. no youtube reviews tho


----------



## Jonathan20022

I ended up just ordering a Metal 6 today, they have two in stock in the US shop. I bought the Black Pearl one, but they have one of each left now. Looking forward to checking it out!


----------



## Jonathan20022

Got it in today, and first impressions are that it's insanely impressive. My roommate has a Washburn and a M2M and it's insane to be able to say that this Boden Metal feels even better than the Washberg. NGD later.


----------



## diagrammatiks

Jonathan20022 said:


> Got it in today, and first impressions are that it's insanely impressive. My roommate has a Washburn and a M2M and it's insane to be able to say that this Boden Metal feels even better than the Washberg. NGD later.



Ya they look insanely good from everything I've seen and the 200 over the os covers the pickups by themselves


----------



## C_Henderson

Jonathan20022 said:


> Got it in today, and first impressions are that it's insanely impressive. My roommate has a Washburn and a M2M and it's insane to be able to say that this Boden Metal feels even better than the Washberg. NGD later.



Congrats!! Glad to see the feedback on all the new models has been this positive! I was a bit skeptical at first with the price tag and knowing some of the issues that (some of) the OS series had last year, but when I got mine and after playing for a few minutes all those doubts jumped out of the window. It's the only Strandberg I've owned so far, but honestly, it's one of the best feeling guitars I've ever played. If in the future they're all at least this good, I'm afraid I've got a new dangerous addiction incoming... Now I can't wait until I get home on Sunday and finally get to play it properly for the first time in 2 weeks!


----------



## diagrammatiks

The music zoo has 2 original 7 trems in stock. They are made in Indonesia though. I wonder how they actually are.

It seems even the older wmi's might be a bit inconsistent. My 6 is great but my 7 is starting to warp a bit on the high frets....

That being said if the Indonesia ones are any good...you are basically just paying 300 more for wmi and an ebony board...

Decisions decisions.

Actually I just checked...their new pricing is kind of confusion actually. 

The original 7 trem is 2145. The prog 7 is 2399. Why wouldn't you pay the extra 250 for the more reputable factory. Huh.


----------



## J_Mac

The 2017 stuff doesn't look as well designed as the original OS range. Carbon fibre fillets? Ugly uncovered trem mechanics. If you have them on show, surely use better looking metal? Anodise it or something. And what is going on with the price hike? Some of these are nearly £2,500, for a Korean factory production! For the same as a USA hand built PRS! You can get a custom from Skervesen or RAN for under £2000. Don't get me wrong, I love Strandberg, I bought an OS6 a year or two ago for £1600 and it's one of the best designs I've played. But there were numerous finish flaws, it was a disappointing purchase to be honest. Not even a little hard case included. I would say the original OS6 should have sold for about £1000. I've had new Ibanez for under £1000 with hard case and no flaws at all. I know Ibanez have bigger economies of scale, but I don't think I'll be going back to Strandberg in a hurry unless these new models have been improved.

Sorry to rant, I'm not usually negative. Just thought I'd chip in with my Strandberg experience. Brilliant guitar, disappointing finish, overpriced a bit I think.

Sounded amazing though, and felt great to play. Hopefully someone can put me right on my negatives, and we can see more reviews like the Jonothan20022's.


----------



## Soya

I felt the same about my os7. I did a good job convincing myself that $2000 for a Korean instrument was still worth it, since I had great guitars from Schecter from the same plant. But after several finish flaws, stripped "headstock" string holders, factory dents, and poor fretwork I couldn't stomach the disappointment and had to send it back. I enjoyed the comfort and playability but with the price increases I don't think I can convince myself to take the plunge again.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

J_Mac said:


> The 2017 stuff doesn't look as well designed as the original OS range. Carbon fibre fillets? Ugly uncovered trem mechanics. If you have them on show, surely use better looking metal? Anodise it or something. And what is going on with the price hike? Some of these are nearly £2,500, for a Korean factory production! For the same as a USA hand built PRS! You can get a custom from Skervesen or RAN for under £2000. Don't get me wrong, I love Strandberg, I bought an OS6 a year or two ago for £1600 and it's one of the best designs I've played. But there were numerous finish flaws, it was a disappointing purchase to be honest. Not even a little hard case included. I would say the original OS6 should have sold for about £1000. I've had new Ibanez for under £1000 with hard case and no flaws at all. I know Ibanez have bigger economies of scale, but I don't think I'll be going back to Strandberg in a hurry unless these new models have been improved.
> 
> Sorry to rant, I'm not usually negative. Just thought I'd chip in with my Strandberg experience. Brilliant guitar, disappointing finish, overpriced a bit I think.
> 
> Sounded amazing though, and felt great to play. Hopefully someone can put me right on my negatives, and we can see more reviews like the Jonothan20022's.


yep same here, I can't justify owning another OS. I had 2 mediocre ones and had to do some work to my custom shop to get it to how I liked it. Conversely, I have done nothing to my kiesel vader, which for the money, is a far superior guitar imo. Hell for the money i paid I should have just bought a used ibanez prestige or two. If I do buy another strandy it's going to be a classic 8 so I can repaint it in road flare orange or maybe daphne blue instead of boring black/white


----------



## C_Henderson

That's what I tried to convey with my quick review (NGD post coming next week probably, I hope I have enough time). I was conscious of those issues and was certainly a bit hesitant before ordering, but I decided to take the chance with the Plini model and I'm glad I did, and it seems like everyone I've seen that has got one of the new models feels likewise: all of those issues and inconsistencies seem to be completely gone, so far (so no finish or hardware flaws, no poor fretwork...).

That's why I'd like to hear other buyers' opinions on what they've got, because at least mine is flawless and easily one of the best guitars I've ever played. Not exaggerating, it's on par with most regular EBMM, Vigier, production Suhr or ESP I've tried, and about the same price. MIK or not doesn't mean much to me, you're paying 2.5k for a guitar that should be on par with any other ~2.5k guitar regardless of where it's made, and that's what I've got. I almost went for a Suhr Classic in surf green I loved (and which I'll eventually get), but in the end I decided to get the Strandberg this time (at worst, if something was wrong or I didn't like it I could always return it or sell it), and it is every bit as good in all aspects, simply a very different kind of guitar which is what I needed right now.


----------



## marcwormjim

We're all happy for you, but I'm going to go ahead and call honeymoon blinders on any WMI instrument owner putting their new guitar on the same pedestal as EBMM, Suhr, Vigier, and top-tier ESP in any respect (in this case, they're equal in _cost, _and Ed and Ola themselves acknowledge that's not a bragging point).

My 2017 WMI Strandberg feels like something out of the WMI factory: Not as nice as Hoshino Gakki instruments I've owned, but far and away the best that the big-contract Korea/China/Indonesia factories are spitting out.

The WMI Strandberg QC standards are simply not shared by those other brands: The point in having 20" radius fretboards is for the sake of low action. WMI's spec on the Bodens is half an inch under the high e. Compare that to another middle-of-the-road brand that markets themselves as high-end, such as Kiesel/Carvin; whose spec on their 20" radius Holdsworth models have historically been a quarter-inch.

The result of that quarter-inch difference is that my Carvin Holdsworth arrived in 2011 needing no setup. Both of my WMI Strandbergs arrived with high action to disguise "mostly-level" frets, even though the hyperbolic QC checklist shipped with each guitar claimed it had been set up to a dramatically-lower spec. Adjusting my current Strandberg to the Kiesel spec results in buzz caused by several high frets unaddressed by the "good-enough" room the factory spec allows: That is, the guitar - As specc'd - is under no obligation to have frets more level than that half inch dictates. As a consumer, I'm biased toward evaluating the frets as "level or not", on a pass/fail basis.

As nice as the Carvin was, most of the Parker Flys I've owned have blown the quality of that Carvin out of the water. Both Vigier Shawn Lanes I've owned handily blew the Parkers out of the water. But it's the easiest thing in the world for some guy on the internet to tell me me the Vigier beside me is only as good as the Korean guitar next to it that the guy just happened to have just bought.

Adjusting action and relief to one's own preferences - Let's even include putting in our preferred pickups - is to be expected on any guitar. Anything more involved in setup is compensating for cut corners and, assuming the best of the brand, the corners cut are dictated (or at least allowed) by the price point.

The WMI Korea-Strandberg line's high price points create the unfair comparison to instruments built to, and sold, at higher standards. Carvin/Kiesel's marketing has been "If you compare our instruments to others listed for twice as much, what we give you should seem like a pretty good deal." Whereas the Korean Strandbergs' production overhead puts them in the awkward position of begging us to please not compare them to other guitars in their price-range.

I reach for the Strandberg because it's 5 lbs and has the patented neck shape - Not because it competes with the brands mentioned on their own turf.


----------



## C_Henderson

Hey, I'll be the first to say that I am still getting used to the Strandberg and that down the line I might find some things I may not like as much, as with any other guitar, but the least you could do is give me some credit. As I said, they cost A LOT of money for a production guitar, so if it wasn't perfect you can be sure I wouldn't keep it. Your experience with them may not have been that good, and I completely agree that some of their OS models left quite a bit to be desired. But that's not at all what I got, so what I'm trying to gather is whether that vision of "cool and comfortable design, but poor QC and overpriced" that some people have is still true or not, because based on what I've played and seen in the last few weeks it may not be the case anymore.

And why don't you try seeing it the other way round? I'm not saying that your Vigier is "just" as good as a Korean guitar (as if that mattered?) a nobody just happened to buy: Vigiers are fantastic guitars, it's that the Korean guitar I just bought has ended up being better than I expected, and as good as the Vigier and better than the Fender I've been playing until now (and of which I just happened to sell the Excalibur HSS I've had for the past 5 years).

Regarding the setup, as soon as I got it I checked everything was working and in place, and I set it up at ~1.3 to 1.5 mm as I do with all my guitars. No fret buzz anywhere on the fretboard.

To give a counter example, my experience with Carvin/Kiesel, since you just mentioned them, has left a lot to be desired. Add to that all the ongoing issues with their QC and customer service, and the fact that they're simply not a good value in Europe, and it's understandable that I'd never consider buying one or that I don't have a good image of them. But that doesn't mean I'll just write them all off as poor or that I won't listen to anyone who happens to like theirs, because I know they can get it right and I do like some of their work. Strandberg made some mistakes last year with their first OS line, but maybe they've learned from those mistakes and this time they've got it right?

Oh, and just to make it clear, I wasn't comparing it to anything like a custom Suhr, PRS or ESP. Of course I know those are in another league (and also a lot more expensive), I was talking about the Classic, the CE-24 and the M-III respectively, which specifically were the other ones I was considering before getting the Strandberg.

I hope that didn't look like senseless rambling and I got the idea across in the end, it's almost 1 A.M. here and I've been working since this morning.


----------



## Jonathan20022

Marcwormjim, anyone who remembers my posts and rants will tell you that my stance on the OS and Korean line was a hard pass. I was from the start an avid promoter to NOT pay 2k for a guitar from WMI.

I took a chance on this because the design of the Metal Line is so attractive and well thought out. That it's very close to something I'd want, and speaking to Ola and a few guys on the team I got the vibe that they've been refined to a certain point.

I cannot speak to everyone else, my guitar is great and it's very apparent why. The time put into this guitar is perceivable, the fretwork is so nice and well done. And I've had 7 or 8 Washburn Strandbergs in the past, I can very easily make the comparison that this specific Boden surpasses the feel of those guitars. My roommate has a CL7 and he wants to sell that and buy a Metal 7 to replace it because at 2/3 of the cost and having pickups he wants to try. They're killer.

Duds are always a possibility in any production, I could have gotten lucky. But I was the last person you could convince that I'd get a build this nice from a factory in Korea. I'm meticulous about build and quality in general, if a guitar doesn't feel like what I put in cash wise. Then it goes back, it's as simple as that. I don't accept flaws on my guitars. 

My Koaberg, my last Washburn guitar came with a nut that was so improperly cut that the strings developed divots in the 0 fret BEFORE I got it. I have a few pictures of the string angle as it reaches the 0 fret on that guitar in my email and seeing the nut and height being cut at the correct height on this Metal series had me overjoyed. I've experienced 3-4k disappointments from a US factory, and to see such a positive experience from a Korean factory not only by myself and others is refreshing.

Let me be honest too, even though the reason I don't own anymore Kiesels is due to things other than the build quality of my guitars (Aka the guitars were great until the last one, but I couldn't support the company after the Customer Service I was met with when something did go wrong). But Kiesel's model is very different from what other brands offer. They are great guitars when they come out and arrive great, but beyond design and brand specific features. A good strandberg is going to outpace a good Vader. 

Strandberg has a lot of selling points over it's uniqueness and features. And depending on interest and curiousity some people might be willing to pay more or less to try or have them. Ultimately the reason why I reignited my GAS for one. I played my friend Nick's OS6, recognized how solid it was and when I purchased my Metal I was met with a stellar guitar that definitely feels like it is worth it's 2.2k price tag.

It's sitting on my Rack next to a PDN JP6, a Caparison Horus M3, and a Suhr Modern Pro and Suhr Custom 7. The Metal stands as a very strong case that the factory has ramped up and are producing extremely tight and well playing instruments. I bought the Boden half hoping that it wouldn't be as nice as them, I took the gamble because I missed the comfort of the design. And after playing it all weekend I am going to be keeping it as a part of my collection for a long time.

I get where you're coming from because that was my stance too in the past. The OS line had hiccups and a few lemons, but at the very least strandberg took care of them. But I still held that firm stance, and you can see that from my post history and even a few posts in this very threat. But I'm very happy to be proven wrong.


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## Jonathan20022

Forgot to post pics, here's a few of my Boden Metal 6.


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## diagrammatiks

I think having caveats in recommendations is a perfectly reasonable thing to do.

I have 2 os's. 

My os7 is an older one with the rosewood fretboard and the series 4 hardware. It's got some problems. The neck build is wonky at best and needs a fret leveling and maybe some minor neck repair work. 

my os6t is new and one of the last ones they made before they switched product line around. It's perfect. great fretwork, perfectly straight neck, low action. I haven't really heard any complains concerning this last batch.

If they were all like my seven I'd definitely tell people to stay away. I still tell people to stay away from the older ones.

But if they are like my 6, I'd have no problem spending 2k on one. 

By all accounts the new wmi's are even higher quality. 

The price difference versus the older wmi's isn't as large as marc makes it out to be either.


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## marcwormjim

Let's leave the guys who save up two grand and are still a few hundred short to reach their own conclusions.

I don't mean to rain on everybody's honeymoons when my reaction to a post includes me rambling in-depth as to why prospective buyers shouldn't be expecting a $1k guitar sold for $2k to be a $3k killer. That I own one myself is a heartfelt endorsement for the guitar _as it truly is, _though it seems my tendency to roll my eyes at hype tends to put me at odds with other owners of niche guitars (I remember catching similar flak when I unfavorably compared a "refined" Parker Fly I owned to an older one I owned, during a period where US Music Corp was dictating to every Parker enthusiast that the newer guitars were superior in every way).

I hadn't forgotten Jonathan's turmoil with Kiesel; am happy for him, and feel he deserves nothing short of the best. If his new guitar inspires him more than his Caparison or Suhrs, then...that's called having a new guitar. No better feeling in the world. But I'm also allowed to imagine him wearing the Strandberg in ninja turtle socks and jumping on a bunk bed while he typed this:



Jonathan20022 said:


> It's sitting on my Rack next to a PDN JP6, a Caparison Horus M3, and a Suhr Modern Pro and Suhr Custom 7. The Metal stands as a very strong case that the factory has ramped up and are producing extremely tight and well playing instruments. I bought the Boden half hoping that it wouldn't be as nice as them, I took the gamble because I missed the comfort of the design. And after playing it all weekend I am going to be keeping it as a part of my collection for a long time.



When I read it the second time, I noticed none of the exclamation points I had imagined were actually there. You're right to be elated at finally getting a Strandberg that surpasses your expectations, and I swear I want nothing more than for this to hold true for you - As I'll likely be banned for posting this quote in your "For Sale" thread a few months from now.

Let's hear/see some clips of that bastard!


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## Jonathan20022

Well first off it'd be Zelda inspired socks, and I happen to be very proud of my exotic wood bunk bed 

I'll probably be way too lazy to actually get some clips posted, but if I do I'll put em up here.


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## C_Henderson

Here's a pic as promised. Still have to get used to the fanned fretboard on the upper registers, but surprisingly adjusting to the Endurneck has been a breeze.

http://imgur.com/a/tY2af






PS: Image uploaded to Imgur, the file is apparently too large to post it here directly.

PS. Holy shit it is large indeed!


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## diagrammatiks

marcwormjim said:


> Let's leave the guys who save up two grand and are still a few hundred short to reach their own conclusions.
> 
> I don't mean to rain on everybody's honeymoons when my reaction to a post includes me rambling in-depth as to why prospective buyers shouldn't be expecting a $1k guitar sold for $2k to be a $3k killer. That I own one myself is a heartfelt endorsement for the guitar _as it truly is, _though it seems my tendency to roll my eyes at hype tends to put me at odds with other owners of niche guitars (I remember catching similar flak when I unfavorably compared a "refined" Parker Fly I owned to an older one I owned, during a period where US Music Corp was dictating to every Parker enthusiast that the newer guitars were superior in every way).
> 
> I hadn't forgotten Jonathan's turmoil with Kiesel; am happy for him, and feel he deserves nothing short of the best. If his new guitar inspires him more than his Caparison or Suhrs, then...that's called having a new guitar. No better feeling in the world. But I'm also allowed to imagine him wearing the Strandberg in ninja turtle socks and jumping on a bunk bed while he typed this:
> 
> 
> 
> When I read it the second time, I noticed none of the exclamation points I had imagined were actually there. You're right to be elated at finally getting a Strandberg that surpasses your expectations, and I swear I want nothing more than for this to hold true for you - As I'll likely be banned for posting this quote in your "For Sale" thread a few months from now.
> 
> Let's hear/see some clips of that bastard!



I guess if it was the 1500 fire sale price versus the 2200 new model price I could see it...but being able to save up 2k and then being 200 short? Does not compute. 

I don't think anyone expects these to be 3k guitar killers...although both of mine are comparable to any of the caparisons I've played. The newer ones are about as good as any 1k-1.5k guitar I've ever played. The suhrs I've played and the andersons I've owned are better but they are also way more. 

Even if you told me it was just 1k for the eduraneck, the hardware, and the pickups I'd be fine with that. Small batch custom hardware is expensive as shit.


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## prlgmnr

diagrammatiks said:


> The newer ones are about as good as any 1k-1.5k guitar I've ever played.



That's Marcworm's entire point, they're as good as any 1k guitar you can find, for 2k.


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## C_Henderson

prlgmnr said:


> That's Marcworm's entire point, they're as good as any 1k guitar you can find, for 2k.



The thing is, they're not. They're just as good as pretty much any 2-2.5k range guitar from any reputable brand, no more and no less: noticeably better than any 1.5k guitar I've ever played or owned, but of course not as good as most 3k+ guitars (nor they intend to be). After spending more time with mine I 100% agree with Jonathan, they're worth every penny of the 2-2.5k price tag.


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## diagrammatiks

prlgmnr said:


> That's Marcworm's entire point, they're as good as any 1k guitar you can find, for 2k.



But you can't buy a 1k guitar with Swedish hardware, an eduraneck and fluences? 

Plus that's not really the point I was making. I said even if they were only 1500 of quality the unique stuff makes it worth it.

If you aren't really after a headless with the edurneck and the ergonomics and the low weight...like why are you even in this thread? Just buy a used prestige.

At any rate...I do agree that the older ones are a bit inconsistent. I can say this from personal experience since there are issues on my rosewood 7 that are not present on my maple 6t. That being said my 6t is fantastic. And if the new ones are at the quality of my 6 or higher they are easily worth 2k+.

If the classics are even half as good as even my 7 I'm gonna get three of them.


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## Lemonbaby

The price tag doesn't solely reflect the build quality, it's also made up of the components used including availability on the market and efforts to manufacture. If you want the 50th Strat copy or Superstrat, look somewhere else. The hardware alone is massively expensive, even a Hipshot headless guitar set costs 400 USD and they can produce cheaper than Strandberg due to their volumes. For a batch of maybe 100-200 (maybe less) Boden Metals, Strandberg won't get a big discount on the Fluence PU set - that also costs 300 on top. The manufacturing sites also have an upcharge for multiscales, the necks with carbon layers and so on. From my perspective, the Bodens are absolutely worth the price. And if you can't agree, here comes the best point: you don't have to buy one.


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## marcwormjim

This site exists to sell ads; and runs on hype. Once this particular hype does down, it will be clear that neither myself, diagrammatiks, Jonathan, or c_henderson, in our capacity as owners, have really disagreed; so much as some eagerly defended their hype. We all agree on the premises that overhead has dictated the cost of the Koreaburgs, that expectional quality is a bonus, and that, were the overhead not what it is, they would handily outclass anything in the resulting pricepoint.

This exchange best represents our differing positions:



marcwormjim said:


> prospective buyers shouldn't be expecting a $1k guitar sold for $2k to be a $3k killer.





diagrammatiks said:


> I don't think anyone expects these to be 3k guitar killers...although both of mine are comparable to any of the caparisons I've played.



The response starts out agreeing that such expectations are unreasonable, reassures that no one is honestly holding such expectations...Then immediately claims his new guitar handily meets such expectations. Again; we're not in disagreement - Diagrammatiks has only taken the agreed-upon premises and reached a differing (and exciting) conclusion. Good for him.

What we should be doing, instead, is getting to the _real _matter: How come none of you losers bought Ibanez Prestiges instead?


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## KnightBrolaire

I refuse to buy another strandberg until they make an 8 string singularity.


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## diagrammatiks

marcwormjim said:


> This site exists to sell ads; and runs on hype. Once this particular hype does down, it will be clear that neither myself, diagrammatiks, Jonathan, or c_henderson, in our capacity as owners, have really disagreed; so much as some eagerly defended their hype. We all agree on the premises that overhead has dictated the cost of the Koreaburgs, that expectional quality is a bonus, and that, were the overhead not what it is, they would handily outclass anything in the resulting pricepoint.
> 
> This exchange best represents our differing positions:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The response starts out agreeing that such expectations are unreasonable, reassures that no one is honestly holding such expectations...Then immediately claims his new guitar handily meets such expectations. Again; we're not in disagreement - Diagrammatiks has only taken the agreed-upon premises and reached a differing (and exciting) conclusion. Good for him.
> 
> What we should be doing, instead, is getting to the _real _matter: How come none of you losers bought Ibanez Prestiges instead?



1. You start out by saying that they are 1k guitars for 2k and then saying they aren't 3k guitar killers. All the Caparisons I've had a chance to play were listed at 2k. If anyone has just been repeating their very confusing viewpoint at nausuam it isn't me. 

2. They can be inconsistent depending on when they were made so make sure to take advantage of return policies and price dedications on used ones. 

3. I have three used prestiges.


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## marcwormjim




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## MSUspartans777

I purchased a Plini Prog edition back in January and got it on July 17th. 

I wanted to comment on the build quality considering everyone is a little uneasy about the pricing. The build quality is amazing. I owned a USA Washburn CL7 for the longest time and the Pliniberg (Made at WMI) has every bit the build quality the CL7 had. Honestly, the Plini is immaculate and the CL7 had some blemishes in the finish on the neck. The pricing is a little high considering I paid around 3k for the USA CL7 but in the end, I'm happy with the purchase and the guitar shreds. 

I don't think we should be upset about the 2017 pricing. The custom shop is where the pricing is insane.


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## Jonathan20022

Quick update on mine, getting a replacement in.

The zero fret actually already developed divots and it's abnormal and far too soon for that to happen. But the bigger issue is something my roommate pointed out, 2 spots on the body seem to be raised a bit and in our uneducated opinion it could be captured air underneath the gloss or gloss that wasn't properly cured and raised in transit. Really hard to photograph but definitely an be felt.

Ed is shipping me out a replacement from the next shipment and I'll be sending this one back unfortunately.


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## MSUspartans777

Jonathan20022 said:


> Quick update on mine, getting a replacement in.
> 
> The zero fret actually already developed divots and it's abnormal and far too soon for that to happen. But the bigger issue is something my roommate pointed out, 2 spots on the body seem to be raised a bit and in our uneducated opinion it could be captured air underneath the gloss or gloss that wasn't properly cured and raised in transit. Really hard to photograph but definitely an be felt.
> 
> Ed is shipping me out a replacement from the next shipment and I'll be sending this one back unfortunately.



Sucks man. Ed is pretty easy to work with. Hope your next one is better.

I'm really really interested in the Boden Metal 8. Finish looks awesome paired with the ebony fretboard. I would love to hear from anyone who has one.


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## Jonathan20022

Should be all good, wish we could get the adjustable nut pieces on these. That would be insane.


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## MSUspartans777

Jonathan20022 said:


> Should be all good, wish we could get the adjustable nut pieces on these. That would be insane.



Yeah I've only seen them on the custom shop and made to measure guitars.


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## marcwormjim

Hey guys, I think I have a lead on a discounted B-stock Boden Metal that'll be up on the site in the next week or so.


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## jephjacques

I've tried two different Strandberg custom shop 8s and didn't get along with either (something about the scale length and zero fret makes low Es sound weird and bad to me) but I'm definitely tempted by a Metal 6 or 7.


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## diagrammatiks

marcwormjim said:


> Hey guys, I think I have a lead on a discounted B-stock Boden Metal that'll be up on the site in the next week or so.



I wonder how much the discount would be if they resold it. As long as they replaced the zero fret.


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## Jonathan20022

I don't know what those raised bits are or how bad they could get, but if you guys want to try it go for it. I'll let you know how the replacement is.


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## narad

marcwormjim said:


> I don't mean to rain on everybody's honeymoons when my reaction to a post includes me rambling in-depth as to why prospective buyers shouldn't be expecting a $1k guitar sold for $2k to be a $3k killer.



Man, this is just nonsense. Something can't be a $1k guitar sold for $2k. It's a $2k guitar.

Lots of $1k guitars can be $3k killers, in that variance in quality increases as price decreases -- it doesn't stop there from being diamonds in the rough, and different shops and teams within shops have wholly incomparable consistencies in putting out high quality stuff.


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## Jonathan20022

Well bad news, and to condense all of it into a short statement. The replacement isn't as good, and Ed unfortunately told me he sent me the best of the 4 instocks they had at the moment of inspection.

Fretwork is sloppier, tool marks. There's some glue and goop on the fretboard and frets, which actually came from the Fishmans. Ed has been working nonstop to clean it off of this batch of pickups and unfortunately it got on the strings/fretboard/frets during the cleanup. But the adhesive plastic screen that comes over the Fishmans is leaving behind that residue.

The weirdest part of this guitar, is it seems to have some kind of veneer binding, I got it in and played it. Felt solid, but when I went to wipe the neck down with my micro fiber cloth I felt something crack off and it was a part of that "binding". My first one had nothing like this, so this was just strange to me. You can see across several different points that it's got edges so it could crack off like this all over the fretboard just from a light swipe with a cloth. 

I asked Ed if there really are no comparable ones to my first, but seeing as he sent me the best of the available set. I think I'm just going to walk out of this with a refund instead of another Strandy.













21146648_10212454794118942_1656314205_o



__ Jonathan20022
__ Aug 27, 2017


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## C_Henderson

Damn, that's a shame, I'm sorry to hear that


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## diagrammatiks

Now...are the other ones that are floating around as good as your first one. Or mostly like your second....hmmmm


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## Jonathan20022

Who knows, at this point it's the owner's word against the experiences of that guitar. And if I know most people, they won't openly say their guitar sucks/had problems until after they've sold it or gotten rid of it. I personally have no reason to lie about my gear, and that first Boden 6 was killer. In perspective I should have probably just asked him to level the 0 fret and had him ship it back. Since the 2 small bubbles under the finish wasn't going to do much in the way of worsening with time.


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## diagrammatiks

Has me kind of worried about my goliath. I think with all the cites stuff going on right now...wmi does not have its shit together especially for these smaller harder runs.


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## marcwormjim

What...what happened to the hype, guys?

I was finally annoyed enough to spot-level the random high frets on my glans-purple '17 OS, and will level the whole board when I feel like setting my nicer, cheaper guitars down in favor of lowering the action on the Boden.

It's worth saying I've never had to do that on this $$$ of a guitar.


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## diagrammatiks

marcwormjim said:


> What...what happened to the hype, guys?
> 
> I was finally annoyed enough to spot-level the random high frets on my glans-purple '17 OS, and will level the whole board when I feel like setting my nicer, cheaper guitars down in favor of lowering the action on the Boden.
> 
> It's worth saying I've never had to do that on this $$$ of a guitar.




Still getting a prog 7 and a metal. Having the authorized dealer in Hong Kong order them so I can play them first. 

Shrug


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## C_Henderson

Well, it's a shame this happened, but as far as I know it's still not the norm. Mine is still perfectly fine.


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## Jonathan20022

Dude hype is such a buzzword it's annoying at this point. "What's with the hype?", is all you hear from everyone nowadays.

I played a buddy's Boden, missed one after having a great experience with Washburn's CS and decided to get another one in for it's comfort and unique features. Shit happens, but the people who tend to talk about hype around companies are usually the ones that feed that fire themselves.

No one can guarantee you'll walk out happy from any transaction with 100% certainty. I had hoped my 2nd one would be killer, but it wasn't the case. What I will give props to the Strandberg guys on, is great customer service. Responses to emails at 2am their time within minutes, because I got home late from work and happened to check out the guitar then. And complete honesty and a very quick solution. I could have waited for another batch and tested the waters, but Ed instead of leading me on with uncertainties offered me a full refund and told me that it'd be a large wait and I probably wouldn't want to get stuck on that. The man is actually working late hours putting in time on each guitar just to get them up to par.

Just don't be dumb and buy into products that don't provide a safe out in case you run into problems as a customer.

tl;dr, Hype is an extremely overused buzzword in the guitar community and it's tiring to hear constantly. And also deal with both ends of it, people who feed it, and those profit on it by pushing their own motives.


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## Casper777

Sorry to hear these stories..

Just got my Boden Metal 8 and I must say it is flawless and really nice. (NGD to follow).

I think the quality has stepped up from the older OS models, especially the fret job!

I have inspected mine carefully and I must say that as picky as I could be, there's nothing to complaint about.

That's my 4th Boden (with the 5th one coming soon from the Custom shop)...


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## HungryGuitarStudent

Damn, that sucks (Jonathan220222). I just received my Metal 7 but didn't have time to open it. I hope I'm more lucky than you. Anyhow, I hope your problems get resolved quickly.

Dumb question: this will be my first Strandberg (and my first 7-string), are there any guitar strap requirements I'm not aware of or will any guitar strap do the job ? (yeah, I could just Google it... I guess I'm lazy)


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## KnightBrolaire

eayottes said:


> Damn, that sucks (Jonathan220222). I just received my Metal 7 but didn't have time to open it. I hope I'm more lucky than you. Anyhow, I hope your problems get resolved quickly.
> 
> Dumb question: this will be my first Strandberg (and my first 7-string), are there any guitar strap requirements I'm not aware of or will any guitar strap do the job ? (yeah, I could just Google it... I guess I'm lazy)


any strap will do.


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## Soya

I'd recommend some flush mount strap locks, so the upper horn strap button doesn't jab your chest like a disobedient woodpecker while you're playing.


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## KnightBrolaire

Soya said:


> I'd recommend some flush mount strap locks, so the upper horn strap button doesn't jab your chest like a disobedient woodpecker while you're playing.


or you could move the strap pin to the horn. that's what I did.


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## Casper777

That's strange, the strap pin never bothered me... guess it's really depending on the playing position.

Worst for me was my Parker Fly, as the upper horn really dig into my chest.


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## marcwormjim

Thankfully, the partially-absbored twin over my heart means I don't have that problem with my Boden or Flys.


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## Soya

As long as you don't have to give it writing credits.


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## diagrammatiks

the boss boden has been released.

no pricing I can find yet tho

http://www.guitarworld.com/gear-news-electrics/boss-announces-v-bdn-vg-strandberg-guitar/31731

well there's the japanese pricing....4k usd in japan.


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## jemfloral

It's supposedly a limited batch, so I wouldn't be surprised if they did ask $4K for them...


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## HungryGuitarStudent

I finally found the time to inspect and play a bit with my new Boden Metal 7. Visually, I found no apparent issues, except for some small dot-shaped stains on the fretboard (probably due to a liquid of some kind). I guess I'll clean them out when I change the strings. Soundwise, the Fishman pickups sound great. It's my first 7-string, my first endurneck and my first fanned fret guitar, so I can't comment on playability other than to say that the neck feels natural. That being said, I presently suck at playing it; things that were easy to play (notably some sweeps and some tapping arpeggios) are a mess of unwanted strings ringing. I guess I should approach it as playing a new instrument, which it kinda is. To sum up, I'm happy with my purchase but I'm far from being ready to record with it due to my current suckage.


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## sixesandsevens

eayottes said:


> That being said, I presently suck at playing it; things that were easy to play (notably some sweeps and some tapping arpeggios) are a mess of unwanted strings ringing. I guess I should approach it as playing a new instrument, which it kinda is. To sum up, I'm happy with my purchase but I'm far from being ready to record with it due to my current suckage.



It took me about two months or so to really get used to it. The hard part for me was the extra strings and recalibrating all the intuition I had about where I was playing in relation to the low E.

Hang in there!


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## Gorespe

I own the Boden Metal 8 variant. I really enjoyed it when I first got it, and then I found myself putting it back in the case to sit. Mine came with a few flaws from the factory, such as tool marking above the nut and a faint paint blemish on the back inside of the bolt cavity. It's a really great guitar to perform live with, and it sounds massive.


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