"You can't take a broomstick and put pickups on it and make it sound good." Jim Lill has tested something equivalent and something even more extreme. Watch to the end: 'Tested: Where Does The Tone Come From In An Electric Guitar?'
I have a 2023 NX Metal 6. Its a really great guitar. It's super light, its modern, it sits comfortably in your lap no matter where you place the guitar. Its acoustically very loud and the notes sound "precise". The Endurneck does what it advertises...your thumb is always in the right place if you choose to let it. If not you can play as you like. The hardware and pick-ups are top notch. My fret ends were not sharp, and the Richlite fretboard is killer. Is it over-priced? I would have said yes 2 years ago, but since then the price of Indo and Korean guitars has risen. I got a B stock for $1500 shipped. I have taken it on over 50 flights and it has always remained in tune. Do I have other guitars? Yes...mainly Caparisons. But I dig my Strandberg. Is it perfect? No...I'm taking it in for a fret leveling. Do I enjoy playing it? I do...
I think the only thing I'll say is, Strandberg got their own separate building at the Indo factory, so while they're made over there, it's their own little offset factory
A lot of buyers are complaining about sharp fret ends on these. Makes you wonder if they were filed down enough before the fret end rounding process. And the thing with a maple fretboard is that the finish wraps around the edges of the neck, so if you run a beveling block down the sides to bring the fret ends down, you most likely file through the finish. No problem on an unfinished board like rosewood or ebony.
B-stock Strandberg Boden Prog NX6. Richlite board , no sprout issues, Suhr pickups, perfect construction and service and 600 off. I cannot find any flaws....I've reached the promise land! Thanks Ola!
no you can not, if you could someone would have done it and dont say they have because every one of those guitars sounds laughable or worse, no one would ever ever record with something that sounds like that.
@@elevenAD Hate to break it to you but the whole body and tone wood debate was debunked by a man on UA-cam in 2017 if I remember correctly, he made a blind test that conclusively sounded exactly the same as a famous Strat model and he made that sound by tightening strings between two tables, aka literally air. He also made hundreds of tests to conclude that body absolutely has no influence on the matter. Pickups and speaker matter, the rest are variables that are not made by the wood or body but rather by tiny uncontrollable variables as not even two of the same guitar sound the same. Some manufacturers even came out and straight up said that any attachment of players to the wood or shape of guitars are purely sentimental and serve no other purpose beyond looks and feel. Lastly to add a personal anecdote, I've recorded countless metal tracks without people even noticing a single bit that it was recorded on a jazz guitar, so the guitar seems to have no influence on the sound. No hate though, just informing. I personally prefer old cool guitars though, I love the innovation of Strandberg but it looks so goofy to me sadly, but I still want one. xD EDIT: Found another video concluding that not even the pickups nor the amp matter, you can make anything sound like anything, the only genuine part that matters seems to be the mic recording the sound and the speaker inside the cab. When it comes to amp sims they are made to sound different to make you feel justified with your purchase to ease the buyer in their choice, but IRL it was concluded that even those factors don't matter. This was found by an audio engineer called Glenn Fricker on his SMG Studio channel I believe it's called, and if you want I can even add the other guy that did the table test if you are curious. Ok acoustic detail messanger out for now. xD
I just recently bought a Kiesel Vader headless and no complaints. Also, I bought it used for 1,499.00 and it's only a few months old. Originally, I cost 3,300.00 new. Only down side is Kiesel has poor resale. Great for the buyer. it's bad for the seller. I currently own 3 Kiesel guitar and bought all three used. Got a killer deal on all three! 😀
You cannot beat the new Hils Next Headless guitar. You get a Hils Next for under 500 and get stainless steel polished frets, mahogany body, roasted maple neck, great pickups. At half the price of the Strandburg. Look up the review Phil on Know your gear did on it and you will see why it is so good.
I sold mine less than a year owning. Poorest tuning stability on a trem, cheapest finish I've seen, at this price no roasted neck (?!), most flat stock pickups on the market. Most comfortable body though..
@@deejay7339 After having bougt one and having played it for a year, I sold my PRS and my Dick Dykman guitars, because I didn`t play them anymore. Its not perfect, but a great, easy to play, comfortably light and good sounding guitar (H-S-S). Btw. best tuning stability, I ever had. Better than PRS and Floyd Rose.
I agree with those who disagree with your dismissive remark; these are not "tiny flaws", particularly the complaints about fret sprout and the high E being too close to the end of the fret and tending to slip off; those are both functionality issues, and the cosmetic ones are worth mentioning too; they all effect the value, particularly resale value of the guitar. He didn't trash the guitar, just pointed out some downsides, which even most great products have, especially when they're doing something innovative That's a more important service than positive reviews made to get you drooling. I have watched plenty of videos of people enthusiastically touting all the benefits, so I certainly welcome a video like this to help me get a more complete picture. I don't know if you want all reviews to refrain from mentioning anything negative, but most already do focus almost exclusively on the things they loved, so instead of railing against a rare reviewer honest enough to give the downsides, maybe just stick to the reviews of others who are still in the honeymoon stage where they can't see any flaws in their beloved. You can still have your dozens of gushing reviews, but let those of us who aren't still "in love" have our critical reviews too. Nobody is tying you down and making you watch. If they are, I am so sorry; you have every reason to be grumpy and dismissive, to say the least. Good luck with your escape, if that's the scene!
I've got 2 Strandbergs, both of the classic style. A Sälen SS T-shape w/fixed bridge and a Boden HSS w/tremolo, both equipped with Suhr pickups. I think some of the objections in this video depend a little on which model you buy. "Thin sounding" with little sustain certainly does not apply to my Sälen which is above and beyond everything else I own (Fender/Suhr/Anderson). The Boden with a floating bridge is "thinner" sounding, which may be down to the thin/light trem-block that is used. The Sälen was bought second-hand. I don't know exactly when or where it was built, but both materials and build-quality is better on the older model than on the brand new Boden. Strandberg claim to have dedicated machinery and the most experienced workers within the Cort factory for optimal quality, but something seems to have slipped recently in manufacturing. Cheaper materials and lower QC-standards should be reflected in lower prices, but they are not. My Boden was b-stock so I can't say whether all its flaws were from the factory or if a clueless 1st customer had done something to it. Strandberg should regardless have checked it over before shipping. It arrived without a trem-arm, tools or case-candy, with an unplayable setup, pickguard-protection that required complete disassembly for removal and one of the shoulder-straps on its gigbag disintegrated completely the 1st time I used it. Being a hobby-luthier for 35 or so years of experience it still took me 2-3 hours to make it play ok. I have only seen broken instruments this bad in the past. The neck had a backbow with strings resting on the frets up to the 10th or so, intonation was way off and saddle-heights were all over the place.
Totally happy with my strandberg boden plini neck-thru. It feels great, very good for fast playing and a really great sound with the neck pickup and neck-bridge combined. The bridge pickup alone sounds bad (for me). It's a ridiculously expensive guitar but I love playing it, so much that I no longer touch my Suhr Modern and Schecter Nick Johnston Custom shop. In fact I'm selling those now... Might look at a headless Kiesel as well when the others are sold. 7-string Vader maybe.
Some of these, I don't feel are that relevant. Fret sprout can happen on any guitar, especially imports, and especially anything that's going from dramatically different climates here in the US. My Boden 8 arrived nearly in perfect tune without issues, but the next day was sharp - changes in humidity from the west coast to the midwest. I didn't have issues with the frets at all, but my Boden has a roasted maple neck and fretboard. The satin paint, I mean.... that's what happens with satin paint. And personally, I love the placement of the input jack because it ensures the cord is always out of the way. I've never damaged the finish mine across several different Strandbergs. And, the thing with the chording and the headpoint... I'd argue that's just not a good/efficient technique in the first place, but any guitar with a volute will create the same problem. And, the chambering and lighter body absolutely does make the guitar sound fuller. There may be a pickup/EQ issue, but no guitar I own has the bell-like fullness my Bodens do. If you're used to heavier guitars, you may just need to dial back your treble and presence settings.
Thank you for saying what people won’t say. It’s what matters most to us especially if we’re looking to buy our first electric guitar. I chose the Strandberg Boden Classic on Thomman store and I’ll make sure to tell them to check for sharp frets to file them down if they happen to be sharp.
Interesting points you bring up, no doubt. There is sort of a group think when it comes to Strandbergs so it’s good to hear the “little” things that may be a big deal to other players. Personally I’m a big fan but since they are so different it’s important to get more information. Thanks!
I have owned seven different Strandberg models, and eventually I just fell out of love with the design due to a few of the things mentioned in the video. Most important was the Endurneck. IMO, it is a solution to a non-existing problem because there's absolutely nothing in a normal guitar neck that prevents you from playing with "proper" hand position, yet Endurneck makes it uncomfortable to play chords near the open positions, and those corners are just clunky feeling in general compared to how smooth the curvature of a normal neck is. The other problem is that multiscale makes it more difficult and sometimes impossible to play certain chords (but Strandberg does now have the Essential line that has normal scale models). The Endurneck is so synonymous with Strandberg at this point that I doubt they'll ever release models without it, which is a shame. I'm now selling off my very last Strandberg because I have found better alternatives that have all the benefits of a similar headless design but none of the negatives that Strandberg has.
Kind of nitpicky. Flat finishes gloss due to finger oils? No kidding. Same for every guitar w a flat finish. Simple solution: don't buy a guitar w a flat finish if that bothers you. Fret sprout due to changes in humidity? Same. Every guitar is susceptible to this unless its carbon fibre or some other hybrid material. The other stuff is pretty subjective. I found the neck contour comfortable almost immediately. The only exception being on bar chords in the first position, but I think thats more a byproduct of fan frets since I have the same issues with my fan fret bass.
Ummm no. Just nitpicky. None of those issues are particular to Strandbergs. And the rest are a matter of personal preference. If me saying that constitutes “revved up” you’re the one who’s triggered
Great points 🙂 For a $1,600 guitar to have issues a $500 has is concerning. The headless bump at the first fret would bother me and I would end up sanding it down 🤷♂️
Great review . Ive gone fom Kramer 17 yrs old .Ibanez Frank gambale cheap one..to Steve morse earnie ball.the guitar that does alot..play one guitar than pick up two in a gig..this is the next A guitar that's interesting
How come Korina V’s and Explorers from the same Epiphone (and Gibson) series sound different? The V has more top end. If you see an E chord from each recorded in the same digital method, same string gauge, pick, everything - you’ll see that in EQ and you can’t argue it.
@@baal7793 Same CTS 500K pots and Orange Drop caps, same Gibson shielded wire, same jack. I understand pot-sweep variability is a thing but for purposes of comparison you can even dig through bins of pots and use a multi-meter to match values - but at the end of the day physics stands on the side of wood making a difference. Different shaped objects reverberate frequencies in different fashion, because its a game of air-pressure within different density and that's scientifically (and sonically) demonstrable.
As a player and owner of several styles of guitars, I find that the shapes make me change my playing more than the tone being drastically different from shape to shape. But there IS a difference in tone.
@@NewPraetorianBluesstill a super small difference that won't be heard after running through any sort of effects. The tone wood debate on electric guitars is very stupid. Sure it has a small difference in tone but nobody besides you will notice and after running through your pedal board and amp the difference will be unnoticeable. Also eq exists
Having lots of wood doesn’t make a guitar sound bigger. In fact it should have the opposite effect. Less mass = more resonance = more vibration of the pickup coils, which, along with the impact on overall string harmonic content, is what a guitars physical characteristics will affect. If it sounds thin I’d imagine that’s more to do with the electronics department. Overly heavy wax potting or just bad pickup design maybe.
by a good dehumidifier, i live on a island with high humidity all the time and mine are fine but thats with a dehumidifier, recommendation is 40-60% humidity is ok for guitar
I live in Miami where it's impossibly humid all the time but the air conditioning takes care of it... Compared to 95% humidity outside humidity inside my apartment is down to about 55/60% which is not perfect but it's still good enough and I've never had any issues with my guitars whether they're Gibsons or Squiers or any other brands I own... Then again maybe the air conditioning in my building or any other venues I play is really efficient 🙂🙂
Very honest, thoughtful review. The Strandberg I'm most interested in is the six string Boden Essential. But I'd have to try one at a shop before deciding on adding one to my guitarsenal.
I owned a Boden original 8 string for about a year and a half and my experience was a little different than yours, but I had one big point of contention that led me to selling the guitar. My Boden Original had a roasted maple board, which helped to minimize humidity issues. I do have to say as well that the fret work was fantastic, they were gorgeously rounded ball ends, and the fretboard was rolled so nicely, so the neck was a joy. However, the thing that I feel no one talks about is the pickup placement on the 8 strings. The bridge pickup is way too far away from the bridge, and it leads to everything sounding honky and almost split-coil-like. After I had that realization, no pickup changes could have resolved it, so unfortunately it was time to part ways.
See, that is just my problem with these guitars: they are inconsistent as hell. I also have owned an Original 8 since 2021. The fretwork was atrocious. Very sharp fret ends (not even an attempt at ball ends), flat crowns, and uneven frets. I sent it for a full fret level and re-crowning and it's basically a different guitar now. The roasted maple has made no difference in stability. It also has a tiny crack in the birdseye maple board (although it's purely cosmetic and was probably there before the board was even glued). Other problems have been the mega thick neck. I have an Oni Essi 8 where the neck is literally a full centimeter thinner. I agree 100% about the placement of the bridge pickup. It honks SO much, but I also have a feeling that the Fishman Fluence Modern is a big contributor to that sound, so I have a couple of Elysium Valkyries on order to fit in the guitar. We'll see how that goes. The guitar is also a bit too "slab-y" for my taste, although I believe the NX line fixed this problem significantly. It is overall actually a decent guitar, but it has problems that are typical of this brand. They have been cutting corners on quality control for years and re-assigning a lot of that budget to marketing, all the while pricing them waaaayy too high for the quality they deliver. They've really just been charging for specs, not quality. It's a good thing I'm willing to work on this guitar myself and see its potential, because otherwise I would have got rid of it long ago.
My biggest hang up on these. Is you are buying an indo-China product while paying 'made in Sweden/Japan/USA/Germany' price. Hell to the no on the price for what your getting.
And the indonesian and chinese copy have the same quality for 1/3 of the price. And with that price you could upgrade the pickup from these no name brand to stuff like dimarzio
I agree...When I heard they were built in Indonesia I was a bit... Disappointed... I have nothing against guitars made in China, Indonesia, South Korea or anywhere else in Asia, anybody can build a high-end guitar anywhere but still... It would have been better ( for me anyway ) if these had been built in Sweden... Also, at this price you should get a case and not just a gig bag, they may try to make it look fancy but you should at the very least get a polyfoam case : All the advantages of a gig bag and the protection of a hard case... I guess I'll have to find a case for mine though... I'll still get one because I want one...
All the things you said. Yes. Thank you. They just put out an Indonesian made guitar for 4k. I don't know what Ola is smoking but unfortunately, there's enough idiots that smoke the same kinda stuff and bought it. One could get an American made PRS for that money. And I already saw flaws on one of those guitars on a youtube-video without the person pointing it out at all. 4k, Indonesian, flawed - that's insanity to me.
You advised us not to subscribe, so being emotionally equal to a 12 year old, I had to do what you said not to! Seriously, it made me laugh, and was the best pitch for a sub I can recall seeing! More to the point, kudos for the honest review! As a prospective owner, I definitely valued the information; reviewers are mostly looking to make more money, and to avoid getting manufacturers mad at them. Nobody should fear that; if you can't give your honest opinion without the company taking it badly, they aren't worth promoting anyway, and by not posting gushing dishonest reviews, you get to keep your dignity, and not build an audience of people based on lies.
4:02 The indonesian production thing confuses me. I just bought a Harley Benton cst-24 made in indonesian and it cost me new 175 euros. It plays great and it is a lot of guitar for that price. Now I would like to buy something more exotic and I am looking at a Strandberg boden with trem, it costs 1.700 euros and it is made in indonesia. Why would I spend 10 times for a guitar made in the same origin and a margin bump in quality? I know the cost of production of a strandberg is higher but still, 10 times?! It makes me think the rg550 genesis made in japan with the amazing edge tremolo and super wizard neck at 900 euros are a bargain...
here is the thing about them ,,,,,, you can get the Boden Essential for a grand and there is no guitar you are going to want to keep more then the Strandberg .... so yes there are cheaper guitars but you will want to flip them - the Boden you will want to keep forever
I've owned a 7-string Boden Metal model for ~2 years now and these are some issues that I ran into within a few months: * Oily patches on the matt finish * High E string buzz at the bridge saddle * Pickup battery drain - the pins were shorting inside of the jack making it always "on" and leeching the battery out. This also affected the output of the guitar * Input jack loosening on its own * Sharp fret ends (sprouting) - I had to file them down, otherwise I ended up with my palms all scraped and cut up My model has no whammy bar, so luckily less issues due to that. I still like it for the ergonomics and the way it sounds, but I had many guitars, some for half the price that didn't have any issues. For example my PRS SE Holcomb model came in flawless for less than half the price (we're talking 900 Euro for Holcomb vs over 2000 for the Strandberg).
Body shape and wood dont affect the sound. The speakers you play through have, by far, the most to do with your sound. Sustain? All day that is alot of the wood and pick ups not the sound though. Wood does nothing in the ways of electromagnetism.
The problem with the strandberg is that it wasn't built in the 1950s. I constantly hear people criticizing the strandberg and then praising a Gibson les paul, a guitar made with the wrong design for 70 years, with modifications proposed and then rejected by the purists themselves. Idiocies.
Thanks For Taking The Courage For Mentioning Some Of The Flaws Of That Strandberg Guitar You've Got There. Generally In My Opinion Those Guitars Are Overpriced . 2300 $ And Up For A Boden NX 6 With No Name Pickups Like DiMarzio And Stuff And Maple Veneer Top ? I Mean Come On , So Much For Innovation . I Like The Concept And Shape OF The Guitar But That's It. Btw I'm A Lefthanded So Imagine That Options Were Limited All MY Life.... So I Started Making My Own Guitar Shapes That Doesn't Exist Or Are Too Expensive To Buy For My Self. If You Can't Buy It Just Make It Your Self. 😎 Sorry For My English But It's Not My Native Language 😉
I absolutely agree that the mass and thickness of a guitar can affect the tone . I’ve said this for years but people disagree . Not to be a d**k but most players play for a hobby and the majority can barely play in tempo or even in tune . If a player can’t detect even being out of tune they will not detect differences from guitar to guitar . People with years of training their ear for this stuff can pick it up , think of guys like Rob Chappers while blindfolded can hear all kinds of subtleties in tone
Everybody's a luthier these days...And the most amazing thing is all these people who will go to any extreme to prove to you ( us ) that the shape and mass, scale length, etc...Have no effect on the sound and feel of a guitar... It's almost like their lives depend on it...
I have the same guitar in blue, I like it a lot but the quality control is not great. There are blemishes in the painted binding all the way around the guitar. There are also finger prints stuck in the paint finish in the spring cavity
Guitar wood has nothing to do with the pickups bro. Those pickups just suck. I own that exact same guitar. Put pickups in it i was familiar with and it sounded EXACTLY like my other guitar's with those pickups. Edit: you forgot to mention the unlevel frets....
it's not necessarily a technique issue... i've owned several wolfgangs...and a couple of them had the same high e fret slip issue/ usually upon pull-offs and pull-off-tapping ...same models...different years.
That's why people shouls get one guitar and stick to it where possible. You adapt to the guitar ergonomics and get to be a better player rather than a gear whore. @@jackvai2681
Being a previous owner, I have a few things to say. Yes this guitar is unique, has a cool look, and is comfortable to play due to its weight....however If youve ever played a true high end guitar, or more specifically a fully hand built guitar (esp japan, boutique guitars like mayones, or something along these lines), youll instantly notice and feel the low quality this guitar has. Messy assembly, poor quality wood, sharp edges especially where the fretboard meets the bottom of the neck, and annoying to work with bridge. Its just not there for the price point. Again, I respect the hell out of what it did for the community and advancement of our traditional designs. But the price absolutely does not justify the unique design of these instruments. Maybe their custom shop models, but surely not the mass produced models.
Ehrm! I own several ESP J:s with outstanding quality. Still I prefer my Masvidalien Cosmo over any of them. The quality of my Cosmo is easily on par with all my ESP's. I have owned several Strandys including the Modern Guitarist limited run Boden and noone was poorly built. However I sold my PRS, Fender custom strat, Gibson Flying V x 2 to buy Strandys instead (kept my ESP's). Happy customer here.
@@gkail6980 As with everything Chinese, these instruments come in tiers. For headless guitars for example. NK makes budget to mid range (500 to 600 USD). GOC makes mid range guitars (1K to 1.5K USD). I don't think *Strandberg or Ibanez can offer anything similar in those price ranges.
"You can't take a broomstick and put pickups on it and make it sound good." Jim Lill has tested something equivalent and something even more extreme. Watch to the end: 'Tested: Where Does The Tone Come From In An Electric Guitar?'
I have a 2023 NX Metal 6. Its a really great guitar. It's super light, its modern, it sits comfortably in your lap no matter where you place the guitar. Its acoustically very loud and the notes sound "precise". The Endurneck does what it advertises...your thumb is always in the right place if you choose to let it. If not you can play as you like. The hardware and pick-ups are top notch. My fret ends were not sharp, and the Richlite fretboard is killer. Is it over-priced? I would have said yes 2 years ago, but since then the price of Indo and Korean guitars has risen. I got a B stock for $1500 shipped. I have taken it on over 50 flights and it has always remained in tune. Do I have other guitars? Yes...mainly Caparisons. But I dig my Strandberg. Is it perfect? No...I'm taking it in for a fret leveling. Do I enjoy playing it? I do...
I think the only thing I'll say is, Strandberg got their own separate building at the Indo factory, so while they're made over there, it's their own little offset factory
Yep. Same with PRS SE. Nobody has issues with Cort quality.
@@hanovergreen4091 I actually didn't know PRS did it too, I do know they also get inspected in Maryland once they hit the US
A lot of buyers are complaining about sharp fret ends on these. Makes you wonder if they were filed down enough before the fret end rounding process. And the thing with a maple fretboard is that the finish wraps around the edges of the neck, so if you run a beveling block down the sides to bring the fret ends down, you most likely file through the finish. No problem on an unfinished board like rosewood or ebony.
B-stock Strandberg Boden Prog NX6. Richlite board , no sprout issues, Suhr pickups, perfect construction and service and 600 off. I cannot find any flaws....I've reached the promise land! Thanks Ola!
2:40 - you literally can take the body out completely and make a guitar that can sound good
no you can not, if you could someone would have done it and dont say they have because every one of those guitars sounds laughable or worse, no one would ever ever record with something that sounds like that.
@@elevenAD I mean, Strandberg has a guitar that's basically the neck and the pickups. Look it up, it's called Boden Meloria
@@elevenAD "no one would ever ever record with something that sounds like that" you talk about what strandberg guitars ?
@@elevenAD Watch Jim Lill's video: 'Tested: Where Does The Tone Come From In An Electric Guitar?'
@@elevenAD Hate to break it to you but the whole body and tone wood debate was debunked by a man on UA-cam in 2017 if I remember correctly, he made a blind test that conclusively sounded exactly the same as a famous Strat model and he made that sound by tightening strings between two tables, aka literally air. He also made hundreds of tests to conclude that body absolutely has no influence on the matter. Pickups and speaker matter, the rest are variables that are not made by the wood or body but rather by tiny uncontrollable variables as not even two of the same guitar sound the same. Some manufacturers even came out and straight up said that any attachment of players to the wood or shape of guitars are purely sentimental and serve no other purpose beyond looks and feel. Lastly to add a personal anecdote, I've recorded countless metal tracks without people even noticing a single bit that it was recorded on a jazz guitar, so the guitar seems to have no influence on the sound.
No hate though, just informing. I personally prefer old cool guitars though, I love the innovation of Strandberg but it looks so goofy to me sadly, but I still want one. xD
EDIT: Found another video concluding that not even the pickups nor the amp matter, you can make anything sound like anything, the only genuine part that matters seems to be the mic recording the sound and the speaker inside the cab. When it comes to amp sims they are made to sound different to make you feel justified with your purchase to ease the buyer in their choice, but IRL it was concluded that even those factors don't matter. This was found by an audio engineer called Glenn Fricker on his SMG Studio channel I believe it's called, and if you want I can even add the other guy that did the table test if you are curious. Ok acoustic detail messanger out for now. xD
The treble bleed cap and resistor on the volume pot is the reason it sounds thin. Cut those off and the body returns. Worked for mine.
I just recently bought a Kiesel Vader headless and no complaints. Also, I bought it used for 1,499.00 and it's only a few months old. Originally, I cost 3,300.00 new. Only down side is Kiesel has poor resale. Great for the buyer. it's bad for the seller. I currently own 3 Kiesel guitar and bought all three used. Got a killer deal on all three! 😀
But they are not customized for you I guess, but it s not a problem. Tons of other guitars are not either yet we buy them
I was ready , now I need to double think it. Thank you.
they're good guitars, most def in the top 3 brands imo.
Love this video very honest and eloquent
You cannot beat the new Hils Next Headless guitar. You get a Hils Next for under 500 and get stainless steel polished frets, mahogany body, roasted maple neck, great pickups. At half the price of the Strandburg. Look up the review Phil on Know your gear did on it and you will see why it is so good.
You know its a great guitar when you have to really reach to find flaws. To me, the advancements out weigh the tiny "flaws".
I sold mine less than a year owning. Poorest tuning stability on a trem, cheapest finish I've seen, at this price no roasted neck (?!), most flat stock pickups on the market. Most comfortable body though..
@@deejay7339 After having bougt one and having played it for a year, I sold my PRS and my Dick Dykman guitars, because I didn`t play them anymore. Its not perfect, but a great, easy to play, comfortably light and good sounding guitar (H-S-S). Btw. best tuning stability, I ever had. Better than PRS and Floyd Rose.
Doesn't seem like reaching at all. All of his points are valid and substantial minus the paint complaint.
These are valid points specially for that price. These aren't "tiny flaws"
I agree with those who disagree with your dismissive remark; these are not "tiny flaws", particularly the complaints about fret sprout and the high E being too close to the end of the fret and tending to slip off; those are both functionality issues, and the cosmetic ones are worth mentioning too; they all effect the value, particularly resale value of the guitar.
He didn't trash the guitar, just pointed out some downsides, which even most great products have, especially when they're doing something innovative That's a more important service than positive reviews made to get you drooling.
I have watched plenty of videos of people enthusiastically touting all the benefits, so I certainly welcome a video like this to help me get a more complete picture.
I don't know if you want all reviews to refrain from mentioning anything negative, but most already do focus almost exclusively on the things they loved, so instead of railing against a rare reviewer honest enough to give the downsides, maybe just stick to the reviews of others who are still in the honeymoon stage where they can't see any flaws in their beloved.
You can still have your dozens of gushing reviews, but let those of us who aren't still "in love" have our critical reviews too. Nobody is tying you down and making you watch. If they are, I am so sorry; you have every reason to be grumpy and dismissive, to say the least. Good luck with your escape, if that's the scene!
I've got 2 Strandbergs, both of the classic style. A Sälen SS T-shape w/fixed bridge and a Boden HSS w/tremolo, both equipped with Suhr pickups. I think some of the objections in this video depend a little on which model you buy. "Thin sounding" with little sustain certainly does not apply to my Sälen which is above and beyond everything else I own (Fender/Suhr/Anderson). The Boden with a floating bridge is "thinner" sounding, which may be down to the thin/light trem-block that is used. The Sälen was bought second-hand. I don't know exactly when or where it was built, but both materials and build-quality is better on the older model than on the brand new Boden. Strandberg claim to have dedicated machinery and the most experienced workers within the Cort factory for optimal quality, but something seems to have slipped recently in manufacturing. Cheaper materials and lower QC-standards should be reflected in lower prices, but they are not. My Boden was b-stock so I can't say whether all its flaws were from the factory or if a clueless 1st customer had done something to it. Strandberg should regardless have checked it over before shipping. It arrived without a trem-arm, tools or case-candy, with an unplayable setup, pickguard-protection that required complete disassembly for removal and one of the shoulder-straps on its gigbag disintegrated completely the 1st time I used it. Being a hobby-luthier for 35 or so years of experience it still took me 2-3 hours to make it play ok. I have only seen broken instruments this bad in the past. The neck had a backbow with strings resting on the frets up to the 10th or so, intonation was way off and saddle-heights were all over the place.
Totally happy with my strandberg boden plini neck-thru. It feels great, very good for fast playing and a really great sound with the neck pickup and neck-bridge combined. The bridge pickup alone sounds bad (for me). It's a ridiculously expensive guitar but I love playing it, so much that I no longer touch my Suhr Modern and Schecter Nick Johnston Custom shop. In fact I'm selling those now...
Might look at a headless Kiesel as well when the others are sold. 7-string Vader maybe.
Some of these, I don't feel are that relevant. Fret sprout can happen on any guitar, especially imports, and especially anything that's going from dramatically different climates here in the US. My Boden 8 arrived nearly in perfect tune without issues, but the next day was sharp - changes in humidity from the west coast to the midwest. I didn't have issues with the frets at all, but my Boden has a roasted maple neck and fretboard.
The satin paint, I mean.... that's what happens with satin paint. And personally, I love the placement of the input jack because it ensures the cord is always out of the way. I've never damaged the finish mine across several different Strandbergs. And, the thing with the chording and the headpoint... I'd argue that's just not a good/efficient technique in the first place, but any guitar with a volute will create the same problem.
And, the chambering and lighter body absolutely does make the guitar sound fuller. There may be a pickup/EQ issue, but no guitar I own has the bell-like fullness my Bodens do. If you're used to heavier guitars, you may just need to dial back your treble and presence settings.
Thank you for saying what people won’t say. It’s what matters most to us especially if we’re looking to buy our first electric guitar.
I chose the Strandberg Boden Classic on Thomman store and I’ll make sure to tell them to check for sharp frets to file them down if they happen to be sharp.
Interesting points you bring up, no doubt. There is sort of a group think when it comes to Strandbergs so it’s good to hear the “little” things that may be a big deal to other players. Personally I’m a big fan but since they are so different it’s important to get more information. Thanks!
Than first string distance to the edge of the fretboard is a bit worrying.
I have owned seven different Strandberg models, and eventually I just fell out of love with the design due to a few of the things mentioned in the video. Most important was the Endurneck. IMO, it is a solution to a non-existing problem because there's absolutely nothing in a normal guitar neck that prevents you from playing with "proper" hand position, yet Endurneck makes it uncomfortable to play chords near the open positions, and those corners are just clunky feeling in general compared to how smooth the curvature of a normal neck is. The other problem is that multiscale makes it more difficult and sometimes impossible to play certain chords (but Strandberg does now have the Essential line that has normal scale models). The Endurneck is so synonymous with Strandberg at this point that I doubt they'll ever release models without it, which is a shame. I'm now selling off my very last Strandberg because I have found better alternatives that have all the benefits of a similar headless design but none of the negatives that Strandberg has.
Many thanks for your honest opinion !
i put pickups in my boat, that much wood the tone goes through makes it sound very full
Kind of nitpicky. Flat finishes gloss due to finger oils? No kidding. Same for every guitar w a flat finish. Simple solution: don't buy a guitar w a flat finish if that bothers you. Fret sprout due to changes in humidity? Same. Every guitar is susceptible to this unless its carbon fibre or some other hybrid material. The other stuff is pretty subjective. I found the neck contour comfortable almost immediately. The only exception being on bar chords in the first position, but I think thats more a byproduct of fan frets since I have the same issues with my fan fret bass.
Uh oh he revved the fanboy
Ummm no. Just nitpicky. None of those issues are particular to Strandbergs. And the rest are a matter of personal preference. If me saying that constitutes “revved up” you’re the one who’s triggered
@@scottbuonanno41 "no u" excellent
@@buckbreaker5185 I think you've hit the nerve of at least two people, who just bought themselves a RESQ
Great points 🙂 For a $1,600 guitar to have issues a $500 has is concerning. The headless bump at the first fret would bother me and I would end up sanding it down 🤷♂️
Great review . Ive gone fom Kramer 17 yrs old
.Ibanez Frank gambale cheap one..to Steve morse earnie ball.the guitar that does alot..play one guitar than pick up two in a gig..this is the next
A guitar that's interesting
My next guitar will be a boden essential. My goto is still my parker deluxe....that won't change.😅
The body of an electric guitar has negliglible impact on tone. That is a myth often busted(also on youtube)
How come Korina V’s and Explorers from the same Epiphone (and Gibson) series sound different? The V has more top end. If you see an E chord from each recorded in the same digital method, same string gauge, pick, everything - you’ll see that in EQ and you can’t argue it.
@@NewPraetorianBlues because the electronics are probably slightly different.
@@baal7793 Same CTS 500K pots and Orange Drop caps, same Gibson shielded wire, same jack. I understand pot-sweep variability is a thing but for purposes of comparison you can even dig through bins of pots and use a multi-meter to match values - but at the end of the day physics stands on the side of wood making a difference. Different shaped objects reverberate frequencies in different fashion, because its a game of air-pressure within different density and that's scientifically (and sonically) demonstrable.
As a player and owner of several styles of guitars, I find that the shapes make
me change my playing more than the tone being drastically different from shape to shape. But there IS a difference in tone.
@@NewPraetorianBluesstill a super small difference that won't be heard after running through any sort of effects. The tone wood debate on electric guitars is very stupid. Sure it has a small difference in tone but nobody besides you will notice and after running through your pedal board and amp the difference will be unnoticeable. Also eq exists
Having lots of wood doesn’t make a guitar sound bigger. In fact it should have the opposite effect. Less mass = more resonance = more vibration of the pickup coils, which, along with the impact on overall string harmonic content, is what a guitars physical characteristics will affect. If it sounds thin I’d imagine that’s more to do with the electronics department. Overly heavy wax potting or just bad pickup design maybe.
Keep away from the saw...not much left...got glue.😊
I want to buy a Biden box prog. But where I live there is high humidity. Is it worth buying?😊
by a good dehumidifier, i live on a island with high humidity all the time and mine are fine but thats with a dehumidifier, recommendation is 40-60% humidity is ok for guitar
I live in Miami where it's impossibly humid all the time but the air conditioning takes care of it...
Compared to 95% humidity outside humidity inside my apartment is down to about 55/60% which is not perfect but it's still good enough and I've never had any issues with my guitars whether they're Gibsons or Squiers or any other brands I own...
Then again maybe the air conditioning in my building or any other venues I play is really efficient 🙂🙂
Love my Eart at a little over 300.00 on a sale. It’s a Chinese knockoff, keep it in my work truck to play during lunch.
got one myself now and didn't expect it to be made so well
Very honest, thoughtful review. The Strandberg I'm most interested in is the six string Boden Essential. But I'd have to try one at a shop before deciding on adding one to my guitarsenal.
I never buy an instrument with its resale value in mind, so that's where ya lost me.
I owned a Boden original 8 string for about a year and a half and my experience was a little different than yours, but I had one big point of contention that led me to selling the guitar. My Boden Original had a roasted maple board, which helped to minimize humidity issues. I do have to say as well that the fret work was fantastic, they were gorgeously rounded ball ends, and the fretboard was rolled so nicely, so the neck was a joy.
However, the thing that I feel no one talks about is the pickup placement on the 8 strings. The bridge pickup is way too far away from the bridge, and it leads to everything sounding honky and almost split-coil-like. After I had that realization, no pickup changes could have resolved it, so unfortunately it was time to part ways.
See, that is just my problem with these guitars: they are inconsistent as hell. I also have owned an Original 8 since 2021. The fretwork was atrocious. Very sharp fret ends (not even an attempt at ball ends), flat crowns, and uneven frets. I sent it for a full fret level and re-crowning and it's basically a different guitar now. The roasted maple has made no difference in stability. It also has a tiny crack in the birdseye maple board (although it's purely cosmetic and was probably there before the board was even glued).
Other problems have been the mega thick neck. I have an Oni Essi 8 where the neck is literally a full centimeter thinner. I agree 100% about the placement of the bridge pickup. It honks SO much, but I also have a feeling that the Fishman Fluence Modern is a big contributor to that sound, so I have a couple of Elysium Valkyries on order to fit in the guitar. We'll see how that goes.
The guitar is also a bit too "slab-y" for my taste, although I believe the NX line fixed this problem significantly.
It is overall actually a decent guitar, but it has problems that are typical of this brand. They have been cutting corners on quality control for years and re-assigning a lot of that budget to marketing, all the while pricing them waaaayy too high for the quality they deliver. They've really just been charging for specs, not quality. It's a good thing I'm willing to work on this guitar myself and see its potential, because otherwise I would have got rid of it long ago.
regarding the finish, just clean it with some zippo (naphtha), it should come right off, safely.
OR micromesh, 0000 steel wool, compound, etc., etc…
spot on!
My biggest hang up on these. Is you are buying an indo-China product while paying 'made in Sweden/Japan/USA/Germany' price. Hell to the no on the price for what your getting.
And the indonesian and chinese copy have the same quality for 1/3 of the price. And with that price you could upgrade the pickup from these no name brand to stuff like dimarzio
@@alieffauzanrizky7202 good point
@@alieffauzanrizky7202 strandberg should be a $1000 dollar guitar, tops.
@@alieffauzanrizky7202 May I ask what brand these copies are made by? Ty
I agree...When I heard they were built in Indonesia I was a bit... Disappointed...
I have nothing against guitars made in China, Indonesia, South Korea or anywhere else in Asia, anybody can build a high-end guitar anywhere but still...
It would have been better ( for me anyway ) if these had been built in Sweden...
Also, at this price you should get a case and not just a gig bag, they may try to make it look fancy but you should at the very least get a polyfoam case : All the advantages of a gig bag and the protection of a hard case...
I guess I'll have to find a case for mine though...
I'll still get one because I want one...
All the things you said. Yes. Thank you.
They just put out an Indonesian made guitar for 4k. I don't know what Ola is smoking but unfortunately, there's enough idiots that smoke the same kinda stuff and bought it. One could get an American made PRS for that money. And I already saw flaws on one of those guitars on a youtube-video without the person pointing it out at all. 4k, Indonesian, flawed - that's insanity to me.
You advised us not to subscribe, so being emotionally equal to a 12 year old, I had to do what you said not to! Seriously, it made me laugh, and was the best pitch for a sub I can recall seeing!
More to the point, kudos for the honest review! As a prospective owner, I
definitely valued the information; reviewers are mostly looking to make more money, and to avoid getting manufacturers mad at them. Nobody should fear that; if you can't give your honest opinion without the company taking it badly, they aren't worth promoting anyway, and by not posting gushing dishonest reviews, you get to keep your dignity, and not build an audience of people based on lies.
Thanks.
4:02 The indonesian production thing confuses me. I just bought a Harley Benton cst-24 made in indonesian and it cost me new 175 euros. It plays great and it is a lot of guitar for that price. Now I would like to buy something more exotic and I am looking at a Strandberg boden with trem, it costs 1.700 euros and it is made in indonesia. Why would I spend 10 times for a guitar made in the same origin and a margin bump in quality? I know the cost of production of a strandberg is higher but still, 10 times?! It makes me think the rg550 genesis made in japan with the amazing edge tremolo and super wizard neck at 900 euros are a bargain...
here is the thing about them ,,,,,, you can get the Boden Essential for a grand and there is no guitar you are going to want to keep more then the Strandberg .... so yes there are cheaper guitars but you will want to flip them - the Boden you will want to keep forever
I've owned a 7-string Boden Metal model for ~2 years now and these are some issues that I ran into within a few months:
* Oily patches on the matt finish
* High E string buzz at the bridge saddle
* Pickup battery drain - the pins were shorting inside of the jack making it always "on" and leeching the battery out. This also affected the output of the guitar
* Input jack loosening on its own
* Sharp fret ends (sprouting) - I had to file them down, otherwise I ended up with my palms all scraped and cut up
My model has no whammy bar, so luckily less issues due to that. I still like it for the ergonomics and the way it sounds, but I had many guitars, some for half the price that didn't have any issues. For example my PRS SE Holcomb model came in flawless for less than half the price (we're talking 900 Euro for Holcomb vs over 2000 for the Strandberg).
Thanks for the info on the not so great parts. I have not seen the matt finish and nut issues discussed elsewhere. I'll definitely keep that in mind.
Body shape and wood dont affect the sound. The speakers you play through have, by far, the most to do with your sound. Sustain? All day that is alot of the wood and pick ups not the sound though. Wood does nothing in the ways of electromagnetism.
The problem with the strandberg is that it wasn't built in the 1950s. I constantly hear people criticizing the strandberg and then praising a Gibson les paul, a guitar made with the wrong design for 70 years, with modifications proposed and then rejected by the purists themselves. Idiocies.
Make Guitars Great Again! MGGA
Thanks For Taking The Courage For Mentioning Some Of The Flaws Of That Strandberg Guitar You've Got There. Generally In My Opinion Those Guitars Are Overpriced . 2300 $ And Up For A Boden NX 6 With No Name Pickups Like DiMarzio And Stuff And Maple Veneer Top ? I Mean Come On , So Much For Innovation . I Like The Concept And Shape OF The Guitar But That's It. Btw I'm A Lefthanded So Imagine That Options Were Limited All MY Life.... So I Started Making My Own Guitar Shapes That Doesn't Exist Or Are Too Expensive To Buy For My Self. If You Can't Buy It Just Make It Your Self. 😎 Sorry For My English But It's Not My Native Language 😉
fret slip is something i absolutely despise...
had the same problem on a couple of my
older wolfgangs.
thanks for the honest review.
I absolutely agree that the mass and thickness of a guitar can affect the tone . I’ve said this for years but people disagree . Not to be a d**k but most players play for a hobby and the majority can barely play in tempo or even in tune . If a player can’t detect even being out of tune they will not detect differences from guitar to guitar . People with years of training their ear for this stuff can pick it up , think of guys like Rob Chappers while blindfolded can hear all kinds of subtleties in tone
And, most players don't even know how to get the tone they want/hear in their head. That takes a long time to know how to get different tones at will.
Everybody's a luthier these days...And the most amazing thing is all these people who will go to any extreme to prove to you ( us ) that the shape and mass, scale length, etc...Have no effect on the sound and feel of a guitar...
It's almost like their lives depend on it...
Appreciate the info.
Yeah, the input jack is impractical. You cant put a lot of wireless transmitters into it. The thin area busted on mine. Otherwise great guitar!!!
I have one and one of disturbed issues. In any case it's better to clean under your nails when you are making guitar video
I just noticed! I grow food in that backyard and I'm constantly in the dirt!
I have the same guitar in blue, I like it a lot but the quality control is not great. There are blemishes in the painted binding all the way around the guitar. There are also finger prints stuck in the paint finish in the spring cavity
dang they gotta step up their QA on the next batch
Thanks for your honest review!
Actually wood has zero effect on tone on a solid body
I tried a Stranberg in a shop in Paris. Totally overhyped
Guitar wood has nothing to do with the pickups bro. Those pickups just suck. I own that exact same guitar. Put pickups in it i was familiar with and it sounded EXACTLY like my other guitar's with those pickups.
Edit: you forgot to mention the unlevel frets....
As for the High E string issue, improve your technique and it won't be an issue.
For that money I would get an Ibanez instead.
it's not necessarily a technique issue...
i've owned several wolfgangs...and
a couple of them had the same
high e fret slip issue/ usually upon pull-offs
and pull-off-tapping
...same models...different years.
That's why people shouls get one guitar and stick to it where possible. You adapt to the guitar ergonomics and get to be a better player rather than a gear whore. @@jackvai2681
Being a previous owner, I have a few things to say.
Yes this guitar is unique, has a cool look, and is comfortable to play due to its weight....however
If youve ever played a true high end guitar, or more specifically a fully hand built guitar (esp japan, boutique guitars like mayones, or something along these lines), youll instantly notice and feel the low quality this guitar has.
Messy assembly, poor quality wood, sharp edges especially where the fretboard meets the bottom of the neck, and annoying to work with bridge. Its just not there for the price point.
Again, I respect the hell out of what it did for the community and advancement of our traditional designs. But the price absolutely does not justify the unique design of these instruments. Maybe their custom shop models, but surely not the mass produced models.
Ehrm! I own several ESP J:s with outstanding quality. Still I prefer my Masvidalien Cosmo over any of them. The quality of my Cosmo is easily on par with all my ESP's. I have owned several Strandys including the Modern Guitarist limited run Boden and noone was poorly built. However I sold my PRS, Fender custom strat, Gibson Flying V x 2 to buy Strandys instead (kept my ESP's). Happy customer here.
this must be the most ridiculous review i have seen so far on youtube
Hum yeah i guess
Glad I made you laugh!
and don't forget the tuning instability on A and B strings. always out of tune, every 20 minutes
Bro said nothing good 😂
Please dont play "cowboy-chords" on that guitar. Thats not what a Strandberg is made for. Despite of it great review 👍
The Chinese clones are addressing these questions at a fraction of the price.
Come back when Chinese clones would start address the matters of quality
@@gkail6980 As with everything Chinese, these instruments come in tiers. For headless guitars for example. NK makes budget to mid range (500 to 600 USD). GOC makes mid range guitars (1K to 1.5K USD). I don't think *Strandberg or Ibanez can offer anything similar in those price ranges.
you mean Eart?
@@wsplatinum NK & GOC
@@papaalphaoscar5537 Ah, ok thx
Ordered a Strandberg and send it back. Not impressed. Mediocre sound and sloppy made. Feels and looks like a 350 Buck Guitar.
Made in Indonesia, 100% overpriced