# NGD : Strandberg Made To Measure #67



## eugeneelgr (Dec 27, 2015)

Hey guys! This is gonna be a lengthy post, so scroll downwards if pics are all you care about... For those of you who want 

a little background and review on this build, read on.


Back in December of 2011, I was still playing my Suhr Modern. I wasn't really happy with it after the initial honeymoon 

phase of owning my first custom guitar, namely being the upper fret access. The lower horn was cramped and narrow, and long 

stretches on the higher frets were very tough to do.


I had seen strandbergs around before, and being a superstrat kinda guy, I wasn't really interested in the whole aesthetic 

of it. However, after checking out Tosin's and Misha's beautiful builds, I was intrigued. I started reading up on the whole 

EGS guitar concept and really loved all the improvements he made to the existing idea of what a guitar should be. Also, the 

shape began to grow on me, since the top half of the guitar looked like a superstrat, and the bottom half was like a 

petite/compact outline to my thighs to rest on. The whole design just looked really futuristic and ergonomic, and I loved 

how thick the body was despite it being so small. And after finding out that I didn't have to put a deposit to get on the 

list, I knew I had to sign up.


Fast forward to Jan 2014. My spot was ready and I began to spec the guitar. Ola was SUPER patient during this phase, and if 

you know how OCD I am about details (ie. diameter of luminlays, nut width, offset of face dots, control positions and other 

questions about his hardware and EGS design), you would have an idea of what I had to put him through. I had asked for a 

quilt maple top, and unfortunately, the samples Ola sent me were just lack lustre. At the time, Narad's build(#60) was just 

being completed and I loved his top, so I approached him on where Ola could purchase one for me. Narad, being the perfect 

gentleman and gearhead, told me about all I needed to know about quilt tops and at the end of the conversation, he asked me 

to ask Ola if there was any left from his build, and if there was, I could have it. Needless to say, there was left over, 

and I was stoked that my guitar was gonna have such an amazing top. From there on, it was about a 10 month wait before the 

next steps commenced, such as control postions etc.


In April 2015, pictures of the body were posted on the facebook page. As I had requested for a prs tiger eye kind of 

finish, I asked Ola for more yellow/gold to be applied onto the finish. Also the bronze hardware took quite awhile to 

collate and get together due to the volatile nature of anodising. The build took so long as I was hoping to get the trem 

stopper on it, but Ola could not complete the design on time. Also the bronze string clamps were lost in transit and needed 

to be found by Ola's anodiser.


All in all, by Christmas Eve, the guitar arrived. I was stoked. The finish, while not as golden as I would like, was a nice 

shade, and really made the quilt top pop. Pics ahead.
































These are the basic specs, though I have the entire build sheet and I'll try to see if I can attach it here.

Quilt Maple Top
Honduran Mahogany Body(Non-chambered)
Indian Rosewood neck with carbon-fiber fillets
African Ebony Fretboard
Glow in the dark inlays
Bare Knuckle Alnico Nailbomb and VHII pups
Schaller sure-claw
Strandberg Trem and string locks (bronze coloured anodized aircraft aluminium)

A more detailed review of the performance will be done later on.


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## exo (Dec 27, 2015)

LOVE the hardware/finish combo! Fantastic looking guitar! HNGD!


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## narad (Dec 27, 2015)

eugeneelgr said:


> and really made the quilt top pop. Pics ahead.



Pfft - it did not need any help! ;-)

Glad you like it man, and cool to see a .strandberg* with a more traditional neck carve.


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## Bdtunn (Dec 27, 2015)

I've followed this one on Facebook for the last while. Easily one of the nicest PCs strandberg has put out. Congrats!!


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## eugeneelgr (Dec 27, 2015)

narad said:


> Pfft - it did not need any help! ;-)
> 
> Glad you like it man, and cool to see a .strandberg* with a more traditional neck carve.



I wish you could give it a try. Might sway you to go with it for your 7! It's fantastic. Under the right light, the quilt REALLY pops like #60! Was so relieved as the pics Ola sent me, the quilt was rather wierd looking. Like discoloured or something.


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## Daf57 (Dec 27, 2015)

Gorgeous guitar!! Big congrats!


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## eugeneelgr (Dec 27, 2015)

*Review and thoughts*


Even though I've only had 4 days with this guitar, I've played it incessantly and shall pen down some of my thoughts about it. Hopefully this will help those considering the Bodens, OS or even the made to measure range.


Workmanship is fantastic. Joints were really tight. Aside from the wierd blemish that was probably filling in of a dent(shall try to get pics of this tomorrow) and the neck feeling abit rough at places though it could be the satin feel of rosewood(probably needs to be worn in after playing it for a few months), the workmanship is impeccable. It's not super polished like some other brands eg. prs private stock, knaggs or vigier, but really really really close. Also, wierdly the face dots on the 19th and 21st and 24th fret do not line up with the rest. Not too sure why this is the case. Maybe its meant to be compensated when viewed from above?


Fretwork is terrific. No sharp fret ends, frets were smooth as well. I think suhr's fretwork is slightly better though since they do plek their frets, but this is close. Probably will get even smoother with more playing perhaps. Action was set up really low. I love it for leads, but for chords, striking too hard will result in some buzz. The attack is amazing in this instrument. So loud, even though mine is not chambered.


Hardware is FANTASTIC. The strandberg trem was smooth yet sturdy. It is stiffer than a gotoh floyd in feel, but it allows for more control. Doesn't go out on tune if you rest too heavily on the bridge. Also I can make slight tweaks in tuning without the trem going out of balance. Very nice touch. The trem arm is supreme. Its bent nearer to the stalk, so it doesnt hit your leg while practicing ( the way the body is shaped also plays a part in this. Brilliant design.) The fine tuners were stiff, but in a good way. Felt sturdy and well made. Didn't give me too much of a problem while tuning unlike what many people are facing. What I didn't really like, but doesn't really bother me, is that the string locks at the nut are pretty sharp. If i were to do a bend at the 1st or 2nd fret with my fourth finger, and graze my hand on the string locks, they did hurt. Other than that, no complaints. The knobs were nice and smooth, turned really easily. Love them. The pickup selector was also really high quality, clicked very sturdily when switching positions(Could be because its new?)


The body is amazing. The shape makes so much sense. The lack of a headstock means i can be less careful when carrying it around. The cuts around the body make so much sense when sitting down to play. So many positions, and all of them were supremely comfortable. The upper horn was at the right position for me to rest my chin comfortably while playing technical passages, and the strap buttons were placed at the right height and angle, makes the guitar hang balanced no matter how you rotate it around/sling it around your neck.

What I feel could be improved in his design is the shape of the neck heel. The neck heel is big. Like really big. You only have unrestricted access to the 15th fret. Even my suhr modern you get unrestricted access to the 17th or 18th fret. However, the heel is rather thin, and if you place your thumb over the heel to play in a classical position, you can definately reach the 24th fret easily with even your pinky. But takes a bit of getting used to, since your thumb needs to move behind the heel to get access to higher frets, for quick slides and position shifting, it does get in the way, no doubt. However, the lower horn is so wide and comfy, you can do wide wide stretches without the back of your palm hitting wood and being obstructed. Could be cut a little deeper though, imo, to really open up the 23rd and 24th frets, like on the fanned models.


Another triumph is the weight and balance. Once you own a strandberg, other guitars just feel so big and cumbersome.


When ordering my guitar, I knew I wanted a conventional neck. Not cus I didnt trust Ola's endurneck, but it seemed too big of a departure, and I knew I should just get something I like and knew I would love. I wasn't too sure about neck shapes however. I knew my suhr modern's was abit too thin, so I asked for something between medium and thin, with a flat back. Idea was to combat my aches when doing barre chords and legato with the thicker neck as well as make bends and vibrato easier, with a flat back as I do play in classical positioning pretty often( being classically trained and all) and Ola says that it will be more comfortable as the hand doesn't need to counteract the forces in order to balance the fretting hand. Sort of like a cross between a conventional neck and an ipnp if you will. Ola gave me his profile that he used for Misha and Letchford's first build, and let me tell you : It is fabulous. Just the right thickness. Feels chunky and comfortable, esp when playing bends and chords, but feels fast enough due to the flat back. Absolutely love it.


Finally the pickups. Bare Knuckle Nailbomb in the bridge and VHii in the neck. Both alnico. Really great shreddy pickups, pretty similar to the Suhr aldrichs if you have ever tried them, but with more clarity. More sizzle in the high end and lots of attack. And cleans up beautifully. I never knew a volume knob was as good a tool of expression until these bare knuckles came along. Hot and gainy on full, and turn them down, it still stays clear and fat. Coil splitting was fantastic as well. No volume drops whatsoever, no fading off. Just long beautiful sustain. Oh and did I mention the sustain of this? Hit a note and it lasts about 3 seconds longer than my Suhr. Tons of sustain.


I think that covers all the aspects of it I can think of for now. All in all, this guitar is truly a dream come true. Not only is it absolutely beautiful and well built, it addresses all the issues I have had with other guitars and improved upon most of the strengths they had. I simply can't even imagine playing my other electrics from now on. It is THAT good. I highly recommend anyone who has access to one, to try them out. It could change your playing forever.


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## shadowlife (Dec 27, 2015)

Thanks for such a detailed review- the guitar is a stunner!


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## Dawn of the Shred (Dec 27, 2015)

Congrats man!


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## Ape Factory (Dec 27, 2015)

Very hot! Perfect color choices, everything is very complimentary.


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## asher (Dec 27, 2015)

That is jaw-droppingly gorgeous. All the color and wood selections are perfect together. The bronze looks AMAZING!

HNFGD!


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## eugeneelgr (Dec 27, 2015)

Thanks so much guys, glad you emjoyed the pics. Do note the photos are filtered. But in real life, the colour is actually quite dark unless you catch it in the light. Also the back was actually stained black accidentally by Ola, who very kindly sanded it off. Created a really nice darkened look, almost vintage looking. 


Also, while i wasnt really kind to the neck heel, i remember paul gilbert saying bigger neck joints mean greater contact area, leading to better tone and sustain. This guitar could possibly be proof of that. And i've always stood by my opinion that a wider cutaway does more for fret access than a small ergonomic neck heel, and this has possibly one of the widest cutaways ive seen.

As to the review, yea i literally sat down and looked at the guitar to write so i dont miss anything out. Theres alot of hype regarding these small scale/boutique builders, and because most of the buyers would be buying blind, i wanted to give my utmost honest opinion about the guitar. After all, mtms do command more dough than builders like anderson,suhr and prs, so im sure people probably need to know if the changes really make that big of a difference to the playing experience, and they really do. Every improvement he made just makes so much sense. Imo if you currently have issues in your own guitars you want addressed, get on the list pronto. The list is just getting longer cus people are seeing the beauty and innovation in Ola's design (fun fact : i was position 300 iirc back in '11, and im only build 67. Probably filled with djent fanboys who werent serious buyers). Makes way more sense than brands like aristides and blackmachine(the current "IT" brands)imo, just based on body shape/cutaway design alone.


Follow me on instagram @eugeneelgr too, i regularly post short clips there. Will do some for my youtube channel eugeneelgr as well. Thanks for the support brothers!


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## Nlelith (Dec 27, 2015)

So gorgeous... HNGD!


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## Hollowway (Dec 27, 2015)

Dang, that's a nice one! One question - did you put a filter on those photos, or is that how it actually looks? I'm trying to get a realistic idea of the finish on the hardware, but the photos all have a grayish tint, making me think there's a filter on?


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## Erockomania (Dec 28, 2015)

Love the color scheme! Really nice. One of my faves.

Ya, odd about the frets dots not lining up. Did you ever get an answer about that?


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## eugeneelgr (Dec 28, 2015)

Hollowway said:


> Dang, that's a nice one! One question - did you put a filter on those photos, or is that how it actually looks? I'm trying to get a realistic idea of the finish on the hardware, but the photos all have a grayish tint, making me think there's a filter on?



Yes, as mentioned above, the pictures are filtered. But only mildly. In real life its abit less brownish, slightly more greyish and darker. Only when light hits it does it give off a more golden brown tinge. The hardware wierdly,looks exactly the same as it does in real life. The stain in low light is actually quite near to trans charcoal/trans grey. And the lower half is more yellow/golden than the top half. You can see this in the filtered top dowm pic above too.

I'll upload the unfiltered pics if you guys want them.


The dots dont really bother me. Plus theres no way to change it at this stage too.


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## Hollowway (Dec 28, 2015)

Just noticed the FB dots. That's kind of weird. It's like the 12th, 24, 19th, and 21st are all on the same line, and then all the others are on a different line.


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## remus1710 (Dec 28, 2015)

i saw the dots also... what is with that anyway??


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## jjcor (Dec 28, 2015)

Love it! Congrats!


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## Lorcan Ward (Dec 28, 2015)

Happy NGD! It turned out so well.


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## eugeneelgr (Dec 28, 2015)

Hollowway said:


> Just noticed the FB dots. That's kind of weird. It's like the 12th, 24, 19th, and 21st are all on the same line, and then all the others are on a different line.



Yea! I just noticed that too after you pointed it out haha. Perhaps its to give the guitar a more organic look? LOL. 

But seriously though, the guitar is so good I haven't really been bothered with the smaller details just yet. Perhaps in the weeks to come. 

*Oh and just adding on to the review,*

The output jack location makes SO MUCH SENSE. When sitting in a classical position or on a couch, the jack just leads the cable to such a comfortable direction it doesn't even get in the way at all. And its tapered slightly to the back, its not parallel to the body, so the cable doesn't get bent.


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## Hollowway (Dec 28, 2015)

I don't want to be a kill joy, because I'm a HUGE fan of Ola Strandberg, and I think he is everything that is good about the luthierie business. But those dots are not a small detail. I'm usually one that hates when people get their panties in a bunch about little insignificant things, but those dots are pretty off. My assumption is that they are done with a CNC, but maybe it's by hand. In any case, something is amiss. If ask Ola about it, since my guess is you paid north of $5000 for that. I would bet that he doesn't want that sort of thing out there.


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## Emperor Guillotine (Dec 28, 2015)

Bruh...your dots are funky as hell.

Love all things Strandberg though.


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## geese_com (Dec 29, 2015)

Wow! I call dibs.


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## eugeneelgr (Dec 30, 2015)

Hollowway said:


> I don't want to be a kill joy, because I'm a HUGE fan of Ola Strandberg, and I think he is everything that is good about the luthierie business. But those dots are not a small detail. I'm usually one that hates when people get their panties in a bunch about little insignificant things, but those dots are pretty off. My assumption is that they are done with a CNC, but maybe it's by hand. In any case, something is amiss. If ask Ola about it, since my guess is you paid north of $5000 for that. I would bet that he doesn't want that sort of thing out there.




I asked Ola, and he says the idea is for the dots to align the centreline between the strings. I dunno. I checked his other builds and their dots all line up. Not sure how I should approach him about this.


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## SDMFVan (Dec 30, 2015)

eugeneelgr said:


> I asked Ola, and he says the idea is for the dots to align the centreline between the strings. I dunno. I checked his other builds and their dots all line up. Not sure how I should approach him about this.



If that's the case then from your pics it would appear the dots on frets 5, 7, 9, 15 & 17 are out of alignment. Did you send him a pic? It's pretty undeniable that if they're all intended to be in a line with each other they're not.


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## eugeneelgr (Dec 30, 2015)

I talked to Ola about it again and he realised it is indeed a mistake after taking a closer look at my pictures. He offered me a no-cost rebuild(still waiting on him for a reply on lead time) or a "reasonable compensation" should I decide to stick with it.


Thoughts? The dots are really starting to bother me. Thing is i sort of blame myself since I noticed this in the initial pic he sent me of the guitar with the neck but I thought it could just be the angle of the shot.






I've grown so attached to the guitar. Plus I was really hoping to use it in practices starting in the new year for a possible big gig happening in April should I get through auditions. Sigh.


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## Ape Factory (Dec 30, 2015)

Why not just a new neck? It is a bolt on...


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## Hollowway (Dec 30, 2015)

Ape Factory said:


> Why not just a new neck? It is a bolt on...



Yeah, +1 to this. It's a very standardized system old has, so he should be able to just make a new one and either have you ship the body to him or vice versa. The only potential downside is that the quilt on the headstock might not match the body. Lololololololol!!!


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## RUSH_Of_Excitement (Dec 31, 2015)

+1 on the new neck idea, that'll allow you to keep the guitar to use while waiting for the new neck and if he's willing to do it free of charge, I don't see how this could go wrong


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## Emperor Guillotine (Dec 31, 2015)

The day that Ola was slackin'... And it's not even something ridiculously minute only visible under a microscope. It's a blatantly obvious flaw. Never thought that I would see the day...

Are people going to roast Strandberg now the way that they have roasted other luthiers who've left pretty bad flaws in their instruments/builds?


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## Ape Factory (Dec 31, 2015)

Another thought, he could theoretically just do the fretboard even, thus ensuring the neck stain matches the back stain.


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## Possessed (Dec 31, 2015)

I would just take some compensation money and keep the guitar as it is. The alignments will not bother me that much since they are not random.


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## Hollowway (Dec 31, 2015)

I'm thinking take the rebuild, since if you try to sell it that aspect might turn people off. Nor make them even think it's not a real MTM Strandy. But I guess it depends on what he offers you back. For me, personally, it would drive me nucking futs knowing they don't line up, and I'd never be able to stop obsessing over it. But it really depends on what you want. The cool thing is he'll make it right either way.


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## big_aug (Dec 31, 2015)

Rebuild for resale. Even if you think you'll never sell it, better safe then sorry


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## Possessed (Dec 31, 2015)

Rebuild is not a 100% secure solution imo. Jackson used to spend 10 years to build a double neck for a custom order. They messed up the spec 3 times. Who knows what will happen in the second build.


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## narad (Dec 31, 2015)

And just wanted to add Eugene means a rebuild of the fretboard - not the entire guitar.



Possessed said:


> Rebuild is not a 100% secure solution imo. Jackson used to spend 10 years to build a double neck for a custom order. They messed up the spec 3 times. Who knows what will happen in the second build.



Well come on - it's a 100% secure solution. It could potentially take a few iterations, but in this particular case there are ~67 M2Ms without messed up board inlays, opting to replace the fretboard with a frequentist's 66/67 chance of success is not exactly worth fretting over.



Emperor Guillotine said:


> Are people going to roast Strandberg now the way that they have roasted other luthiers who've left pretty bad flaws in their instruments/builds?



The difference is that the no class luthiers typically say take it or leave it.


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## Possessed (Dec 31, 2015)

Yeah, only if it can be done that way - replacing fretboard


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## Mwoit (Dec 31, 2015)

Sick guitar man! Hope you enjoy it.

Ola is an upstanding character so you can trust him to help you if your guitar is not perfect. Just my two pence. If people start roasting .strandberg*, at least Ola's offering totally reasonable and decent options to the OP to amend the problem.


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## deftones-88 (Dec 31, 2015)

Possessed said:


> I would just take some compensation money and keep the guitar as it is. The alignments will not bother me that much since they are not random.



+1 to this. I didn't even notice they were out of align until someone pointed it out. I'd go with compensation. I'd say the cost of a new neck (or at least the labour and material cost to repair it) I would say and keep it if you like it. It'll be a unique piece! 

I'm sure Ola would agree to that than rebuilding a full guitar then again, He may not wish to have it out there, especially with only 67 built your guitar is practically a promotional piece!


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## eugeneelgr (Dec 31, 2015)

deftones-88 said:


> +1 to this. I didn't even notice they were out of align until someone pointed it out. I'd go with compensation. I'd say the cost of a new neck (or at least the labour and material cost to repair it) I would say and keep it if you like it. It'll be a unique piece!
> 
> I'm sure Ola would agree to that than rebuilding a full guitar then again, He may not wish to have it out there, especially with only 67 built your guitar is practically a promotional piece!



As I've mentioned above, Ola has suggested a fretboard rebuild only. Not sure if he's into the neck rebuild, though I'm sure that will take even more time. And also, I've already mentioned Ola offered to do that at no cost. My only worry is that I have to pay taxes on it entering my country again and most importantly, if a fretboard rebuild is a wise idea. Ola says it wont affect the strength and quality of the neck, though plying the fretboard off and sticking a new one on just seems like a bad idea to me.


I'm pretty bummed to be honest. It is an extremely lovely guitar, and Ola has been nothing but a stellar gentleman(no excuses were given and he offered to help me whether I send it for a rebuild or keep it). I just feel like the QC at the shop could have been improved. Its so obviously out of place. *And I've already waited 2 years*. *With this rebuild, how long am I going to have to wait again*(still waiting for Ola's input on this though I don't expect a fast turnover frankly)? It's really extremely frustrating and has really put a damper on the whole experience of owning this guitar frankly.


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## eugeneelgr (Dec 31, 2015)

Also, managed to take a photo of the blemish on the finish.








I think with the satin oiled finish, you see alot of imperfections in the wood. A couple of other sections have dents and blemishes as well.


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## Hollowway (Jan 1, 2016)

Well, knowing Ola (which I don't, haha) I would think he'd move your guitar to the front of the line for the new FB. And don't sweat the idea of the FB being taken off and redone. That's not a big deal in the hands of someone who knows what they're doing. What I'd personally do is ask him to schedule an exact time when he is able to do it, and then ship the guitar at that time. That way you should have it out and back in a couple of weeks, tops.


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## MoshJosh (Jan 1, 2016)

I'm no luthier, but as far as I know replacing the fretboard shouldn't be a huge deal as far as risk of damaging or weakening the neck is concerned.

I think if I were you, I'd ask Ola to start building the fretboard, I can't imagine he'll need you to send the guitar back to do that. That will allow you to keep the guitar until the fretboard is ready, and minimize your time without the guitar.


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## eugeneelgr (Jan 1, 2016)

Thanks so much for the input guys, great suggestions! I will discuss this matter with Ola in greater detail after his new year holiday.


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## shadowlife (Jan 1, 2016)

If it were me, and i was happy with everything else about the guitar, i'd leave it, and take some compensation.

BUT

if this is bothering you, you need to get it taken care of.
Best of luck getting it resolved.


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## eugeneelgr (Jan 2, 2016)

Possessed said:


> I would just take some compensation money and keep the guitar as it is. The alignments will not bother me that much since they are not random.



Actually they are completely random. I would have accepted it if the 12th and 24th fret markers were on a different level. but now its 3,12,19 and 21st on one level and the rest on another.


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## ppazin (Jan 2, 2016)

If guitar is playing and sounding good why are you bother if dot is few millimetres up or down? When I am playing in standing position it is very hard to see fingerboard dots anyway.


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## eugeneelgr (Jan 2, 2016)

ppazin said:


> If guitar is playing and sounding good why are you bother if dot is few millimetres up or down? When I am playing in standing position it is very hard to see fingerboard dots anyway.



When you pay close to 35000 Croatian Kuna and most importantly wait 2 years for it, I think one is entitled to demand for perfection, or at the very least for dots to line up. But that's just my thoughts. 

But what you said is true. When sitting down, the dots on the 19th, 21st and 24th fret are pretty hard to see, but on this one, due to the "mistake", they are easier to see than if it were further down.


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## ppazin (Jan 2, 2016)

I respect your money and waiting time. 
I ordered custom guitar long, long, time ago, and when received it, there was few tool marks on fingerboard around 14th fret, and small knot like imperfection almost in same place, as on your guitar. But guitar played like dream.
I had and played a lot of guitars since then, some of them, especially few prestige Ibanez were flawless, but I never again bond with any guitar on the same level.


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## eugeneelgr (Jan 2, 2016)

ppazin said:


> I respect your money and waiting time.
> I ordered custom guitar long, long, time ago, and when received it, there was few tool marks on fingerboard around 14th fret, and small knot like imperfection almost in same place, as on your guitar. But guitar played like dream.
> I had and played a lot of guitars since then, some of them, especially few prestige Ibanez were flawless, but I never again bond with any guitar on the same level.



I couldn't agree more. I bond with this one on a level I can't even believe, its almost magic. Sounds cliched but it just responds to my touch and pick attack like no other, it sustains so long and has a very natural fade off and it just has this eq curve that makes it so easy to tweak on my axe fx, completely gets rid of this "honky" midrange that my suhr had that was really hard to dial out even with a parametric eq. Has a really nice sizzle on the high end too, something I attribute to the rosewood neck(rosewood has this high end sizzle I feel) and the scatterwinding on the BKPs. Nice ring to the high strings when strummed too. Doesnt sound muted, sounds fat, clear and bright.


Whats interesting about this that i realised last night is how thick the fretboard is. 5mm thick compared to less than 3mm on my suhr. So it could be a substantial piece of the puzzle that makes this strandberg so special. I'm beginning to sound like a mystic or corksniffer.


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## eugeneelgr (Jan 4, 2016)

Hollowway said:


> I'm thinking take the rebuild, since if you try to sell it that aspect might turn people off. Nor make them even think it's not a real MTM Strandy. But I guess it depends on what he offers you back. For me, personally, it would drive me nucking futs knowing they don't line up, and I'd never be able to stop obsessing over it. But it really depends on what you want. The cool thing is he'll make it right either way.



Haha I highly doubt they would think it's a fake strandberg, and even if they do, tons of pics online and on strandberg's facebook to prove it. I have the certificate of authenticity as well.


Another thing to add to the review, the trem has limited range compared to a floyd. No divebombing here. And pull up is rather limited. But it holds its tuning darn well.


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## Hollowway (Jan 4, 2016)

eugeneelgr said:


> I couldn't agree more. I bond with this one on a level I can't even believe, its almost magic. Sounds cliched but it just responds to my touch and pick attack like no other, it sustains so long and has a very natural fade off and it just has this eq curve that makes it so easy to tweak on my axe fx, completely gets rid of this "honky" midrange that my suhr had that was really hard to dial out even with a parametric eq. Has a really nice sizzle on the high end too, something I attribute to the rosewood neck(rosewood has this high end sizzle I feel) and the scatterwinding on the BKPs. Nice ring to the high strings when strummed too. Doesnt sound muted, sounds fat, clear and bright.
> 
> 
> Whats interesting about this that i realised last night is how thick the fretboard is. 5mm thick compared to less than 3mm on my suhr. So it could be a substantial piece of the puzzle that makes this strandberg so special. I'm beginning to sound like a mystic or corksniffer.



Yes, you're sounding dangerously close to a I-spent-a-lot-of-money-on-this-so-it-sounds-better-than-sex placebo effect!  But if you're liking it, that's awesome. That magic of a fancy new guitar is what keeps us addicts buying new ones over and over.


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## eugeneelgr (Jan 5, 2016)

Hollowway said:


> Yes, you're sounding dangerously close to a I-spent-a-lot-of-money-on-this-so-it-sounds-better-than-sex placebo effect!  But if you're liking it, that's awesome. That magic of a fancy new guitar is what keeps us addicts buying new ones over and over.



Haha you got that right man, GAS never stops. Though I have played enough guitars to call it for what it is, and this piece is pretty darn special.


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## eugeneelgr (Jan 16, 2016)

Hey guys, so today I was adjusting the output jack and so I had to remove the cavity plate and apparently, one of the screwholes has been worn out. Any ideas on the best way to fix this? Is mahogany really that fragile?


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## Ape Factory (Jan 16, 2016)

Depends on what type of "mahogany" it is. Easiest way is the toothpick/wood glue method. Sliver of toothpick the right length glued into the hole. Let it dry. Super duper way, you get a mahogany dowel rod of the right size. Tap/glue it in, re-drill pilot hole slightly smaller than screw. Put chapstick or wax on screw the first time you screw it back in. If you can't find a dowel that matches exactly, drill hole to dowel size and then fill in.

I'd go the toothpick method. Usually just a sliver will work.


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## budda (Jan 16, 2016)

eugeneelgr said:


> Hey guys, so today I was adjusting the output jack and so I had to remove the cavity plate and apparently, one of the screwholes has been worn out. Any ideas on the best way to fix this? Is mahogany really that fragile?



1. Why are you adjusting the output jack?

2. No, mahogany is not a fragile wood. 

*sigh*


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## eugeneelgr (Jan 16, 2016)

budda said:


> 1. Why are you adjusting the output jack?
> 
> 2. No, mahogany is not a fragile wood.
> 
> *sigh*



Because the sound was cut off unless i pushed the cable to the side of the jack, and i had tightened the jack a few days earlier cus it was coming loose. So thought id check it out and that means removing the cavity plate cus theres no way to access it on the made to measures otherwise. Perhaps i was applying too much downward pressure on the screw. I dunno.


I think mahogany is soft i remember my other neck bowing when i removed the strings.


@ape factory would applying wood filler and re drilling it the size of the screw work?


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## Ape Factory (Jan 16, 2016)

Wood filler's usually a bit soft for long term use. Honestly, some folks just put some wood glue in there and then wax the screw. Screw it in and let dry. The screw, being metal, will break free with some effort and you usually leave a perfectly formed "mold" of the screw behind.


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## deftones-88 (Jan 17, 2016)

Yeah, pretty much just filling the hole and using the screw to create the mold. Use a softwood. I used to simply dip the tip of a tooth pick into glues and slot it in the hole then breka the remainder of the tooth pick so it's sits flush with the body. Replace the cavity cover to provide some stability and screw it back in. The tooth pick is soft enough to allow the screw to remold the hole though strong enough once pressured into the existing grooves not to loosen up.


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## Hollowway (Jan 17, 2016)

Yeah the toothpick works well. I just bought an Agile 827 Floyd, and I had to shim the neck pocket to lower the action. One of the neck heel screws had some toothpick-like wood slivers in there to do that exact job. So it's pretty common. Weird to see on a new instrument for me, but the guitar only cost $325 so I ain't complaining. 

I typically don't even bother putting glue in there, but if you're likely to be doing this over and over again you should.

And is that a barrel style jack? My barrel jacks always come loose. Maybe put one of those locktite products on there? Anyone tried anything like that?


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## Inceptic (Jan 17, 2016)

eugeneelgr said:


> Hey guys, so today I was adjusting the output jack and so I had to remove the cavity plate and apparently, one of the screwholes has been worn out. Any ideas on the best way to fix this? Is mahogany really that fragile?



Which of the four screw-holes is worn out? Those new cavity plates look neat at first glance, but I suspect every time you plug and unplug your cable, you are actually tugging on those screws...


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## eugeneelgr (Jan 18, 2016)

Inceptic said:


> Which of the four screw-holes is worn out? Those new cavity plates look neat at first glance, but I suspect every time you plug and unplug your cable, you are actually tugging on those screws...



Yes the jack is attached to the cavity plate, but im not too sure if it affects the screws as the pull is perpendicular to the screws. Its the screw thats on the side furthest from the jack and on the bottom.


I'm gonna try the wood glue+toothpick method. So let me just recap the steps, dip one toothpick in glue and slot into the screw hole, break off the excess, replace the cavity plate for stability and just screw the bugger in?


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## Ape Factory (Jan 19, 2016)

You might want to try half a toothpick (cut length wise so it's half the thickness). Just cut with a razor blade. You can also pre-measure the depth of the screwhole and pre-cut the toothpick length. This'll keep sharp objects away from the guitar


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## J_Mac (Aug 23, 2016)

Hey dude, interesting story. Did you get a satisfactory resolution?

I feel stoopid for complaining about similar defects in my OS!


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## hodorcore (Aug 25, 2016)

no pics


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## narad (Aug 25, 2016)

hodorcore said:


> no pics



You're late to the party. Click the link in OP's signature:
https://www.facebook.com/eugeneelgr/media_set?set=a.10153198630401759.1073741828.576181758&type=3


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## hodorcore (Aug 25, 2016)

still nothing, damn


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## J_Mac (Aug 27, 2016)

It's a beautiful thing!


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## eugeneelgr (Aug 29, 2016)

hodorcore said:


> still nothing, damn



I'm not too sure what the problem is, as I made the album public! 

But I'll post my 2 favourites of the album of it. Lord Narad is the reason why I have a nicer top than Chris Letchford or Plini even  Please excuse the pimpin' carpet.











@jmac I think you're entitled as a paying customer to bitch about any defects you have. No judgement there. As long as you enjoy the guitar and have no complaints about the playability, which I think is most important. And also as long as you understand where most of your money went to(hardware, build features). And yes, I received fair compensation for the defects. Ola, being the true luthier he is, wasn't comfortable with it unless I was completely ok with the defects. He feels that delivering a product I was completely happy with was more important even though it meant costing him more money, but I decided against it as I really enjoyed the guitar and I got over the defects which were purely aesthetic. Had a few gigs through this year and the weight and compact size made life much easier as well.


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## prlgmnr (Sep 4, 2016)

One day when you're famous every one is going to want to copy your slightly offset offset inlays.


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## eugeneelgr (Sep 5, 2016)

prlgmnr said:


> One day when you're famous every one is going to want to copy your slightly offset offset inlays.



Unfortunately, already done HAHA!


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## littleredguitars2 (Sep 6, 2016)

i'm a little late to this party but wow. i'm truly blown away that something so obvious was overlooked. its like one guy started the inlays and someone else finished. but that body is seriously killer. if that were me i'd ask for a new neck. or just the fretboard at least. a skilled luthier could definitely replace just the fretboard.


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## eugeneelgr (Sep 13, 2016)

littleredguitars2 said:


> i'm a little late to this party but wow. i'm truly blown away that something so obvious was overlooked. its like one guy started the inlays and someone else finished. but that body is seriously killer. if that were me i'd ask for a new neck. or just the fretboard at least. a skilled luthier could definitely replace just the fretboard.



It's a pity this was overlooked for sure, but given that mine's the only one with wierd face inlays, I'd say their failure rate is pretty low. Not gonna lie, it does detract from the whole experience, but Ola was a gentleman and made good his word and took care of me. As Narad put it, typically the no-class luthiers say "take it or leave it".

Besides, I've learnt to appreciate the guitar for what it is and overlook the dots. As I've mentioned above, it's actually easier to view the dots when viewed from above, as wonky as it looks from the front.


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## narad (Sep 13, 2016)

They deviate so much from the standard that it looks like an odd, but intentional choice. What you don't want is a bunch of slight deviations that look like a low-precision realization of dots in a straight line.

And since they're dots, you could always just have them filled with a matching wood/epoxy and they'd disappear altogether. So yea, no excuse for this on a M2M level instrument, but ultimately it wouldn't affect my happiness, as long as the luthier admitted to it /compensated for it.


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## eugeneelgr (Sep 13, 2016)

narad said:


> They deviate so much from the standard that it looks like an odd, but intentional choice. What you don't want is a bunch of slight deviations that look like a low-precision realization of dots in a straight line.
> 
> And since they're dots, you could always just have them filled with a matching wood/epoxy and they'd disappear altogether. So yea, no excuse for this on a M2M level instrument, but ultimately it wouldn't affect my happiness, as long as the luthier admitted to it /compensated for it.



Absolutely, it kind looks like they follow a ")" orientation, which is what helped visually. I'm just enjoying the guitar for what it is in terms of performance rather than focus on what it aesthetically isn't. Even #60(Narad's) had slightly off positioned side markers.

At the end of the day, at least it doesn't only have 23 frets 

Here's a pic of it from the front. Doesn't bother me in the least anymore. I'm glad I didn't send it back for a rebuild and got to enjoy it for a number of gigs earlier in the year(and the discount of course)


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## narad (Sep 13, 2016)

eugeneelgr said:


> Even #60(Narad's) had slightly off positioned side markers.



::gasp!::
Yea, that's definitely a tiny bit of tooling error on mine. Just so people don't freak out, this is what Eugene is referring to:






Really only worth mentioning with respect to, "Is it perfect?" type questions.


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## eugeneelgr (Sep 13, 2016)

narad said:


> ::gasp!::
> Yea, that's definitely a tiny bit of tooling error on mine. Just so people don't freak out, this is what Eugene is referring to:
> 
> 
> ...



I can't even really tell which one it is, but is it the right dot of the 12th fret? Looks a bit lower than the left.

Really looking forward to your second build Narad!


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## narad (Sep 13, 2016)

Yea, the double dots are slightly off the angle of the board, but I wanted to show a picture just so this didn't come back in one of the Boden OS posts, "I heard that the M2Ms all have messed up side dots!" It's super tiny and just an observation -- below the threshold for complaining by a huge margin.


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## Malkav (Sep 13, 2016)

I thought the side dots were meant not to line up perfectly to serve as a guide to the orientation of the higher string's fret location, essentially misaligned to make it visually easier to compensate for the fan?


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## Thrashman (Sep 13, 2016)

^ Yeah, he's not talking about that though. There is a small misalignment in regards to the straight line in which they sit.


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## Malkav (Sep 13, 2016)

Oh right!

I see it now, that's a bit of a bummer. Still a beautiful guitar though


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## eugeneelgr (Sep 13, 2016)

narad said:


> Yea, the double dots are slightly off the angle of the board, but I wanted to show a picture just so this didn't come back in one of the Boden OS posts, "I heard that the M2Ms all have messed up side dots!" It's super tiny and just an observation -- below the threshold for complaining by a huge margin.



Haha, the Strandberg thread has essentially turned into a repeat of the following questions.

1) A 2k USD guitar SHOULD NOT be made in Korea! I didn't pay for original strandberg hardware, stainless steel frets and a chambered body! I want the last pair of hands to touch my guitar to be American!

2) Is a Boden OS worth it?

3) Anyone had problems with their Boden OS?

I miss the days where discussion revolved around M2M topics and build pictures..


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## littleredguitars2 (Sep 16, 2016)

on the topic of crooked dots... i wanted the share frankly the only flaw i could find on my OS6. i think its pretty funny when i look at it. 

in case the pic doesnt show up below, heres the link.
http://imgur.com/psw2Eal


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## crackout (Sep 17, 2016)

littleredguitars2 said:


> on the topic of crooked dots... i wanted the share frankly the only flaw i could find on my OS6. i think its pretty funny when i look at it.
> 
> in case the pic doesnt show up below, heres the link.
> http://imgur.com/psw2Eal



That's brutal. I couldn't live with that.


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## littleredguitars2 (Sep 18, 2016)

its really not a big deal to me. but i could see why some wouldnt wanna deal with it.


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## eugeneelgr (Sep 22, 2016)

littleredguitars2 said:


> its really not a big deal to me. but i could see why some wouldnt wanna deal with it.



Exact sentiments. I think on yours it looks a little worse than it should because of the black ring around the dots not being completely black aside from it being lopsided.


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