The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #101

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    I've played 5 of them. 1 Boden Original that was handmade by Ola, and the other 4 being a Fusion/Prog/Salen and their Classic model SSH one with a trem, all of the more recent Indonesian series, none of them suffered from it. The Fusion was a neck through model and that was almost too body heavy if anything, it really wanted that neck up high.

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    The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
     
  3. #102

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Soloway
    And they're bringing out a jazz model in a few days.
    That's great news. I wrote them an e-mail a couple of months ago telling them I like the Sälen shape but think it's over-decorated with the pickguard and control plate. I told them I would appreciate one in that shape but with a more minimalistic look – and maybe the option of humbuckers.
    Strandberg Guitars-bildschirmfoto-2021-04-01-um-08-32-31-png

    They replied the next day.
    Strandberg Guitars-bildschirmfoto-2021-04-01-um-08-32-45-png
    Don't know if that fostered the idea, but there may be others who gave them similar feedback? A company that listens to it's customers is one to consider IMHO. ;-)

  4. #103

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  5. #104

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    Very intriguing guitar ... Looking forward to the demos

  6. #105

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    The pickguard looks too much like a concession to conservative sensibilities.

    And, sigh, 24 frets. I guess that would be too hard to change.

  7. #106

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    Quote Originally Posted by guavajelly

    That's great news. I wrote them an e-mail a couple of months ago telling them I like the Sälen shape but think it's over-decorated with the pickguard and control plate. I told them I would appreciate one in that shape but with a more minimalistic look – and maybe the option of humbuckers.
    Strandberg Guitars-bildschirmfoto-2021-04-01-um-08-32-31-png

    They replied the next day.
    Strandberg Guitars-bildschirmfoto-2021-04-01-um-08-32-45-png
    Don't know if that fostered the idea, but there may be others who gave them similar feedback? A company that listens to it's customers is one to consider IMHO. ;-)
    I gave them almost identical feedback through their US sales manager

  8. #107

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    Quote Originally Posted by Lobomov
    Very intriguing guitar ... Looking forward to the demos
    Yes, to me the guitar would appeal even more without it. My first thought was if it would be possible to take it off. ;-)

  9. #108

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    Quote Originally Posted by guavajelly
    My first thought was if it would be possible to take it off. ;-)
    That's my first thought for every guitar I've owned :-)

  10. #109

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    It seems like many people have asked for that. Next thing we should ask for is a peghead


    There is a playing demo a little earlier in the video btw.

  11. #110

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    have you guys seen this jazz hollow headless guitar?



    Rocca 3 Carved Top Semi-hollow Headless Guitar | Rocca | Reverb

  12. #111

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    The Strandberg thread over at sevenstring.org and NGD threads have been littered with QC issues on $2500+ Indonesian Strandberg builds. I owned one from their Strictly 7 deal several years ago, which is my only direct experience with the instruments.

    Completely different budget, but I would save for a while (maybe long while) longer for a Victor Baker ergo design over anything "jazz" related from Strandberg: Ergo design archtop from Victor Baker

  13. #112

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    Jim, Five Watt World has done a you-video on the Strandberg history. He also showed his personal guitar on a vid called "one rig for 30 days." You might find these interesting. He changed the pickups on his Salen model to a Fralin mini-hum and split blade. Worth checking out!

  14. #113

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    Here's a picture of the Sälen Jazz w/o pickguard on insta:
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    Strandberg Guitars-bildschirmfoto-2021-06-10-um-09-25-41-png

  15. #114

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    I visited our local GC to pick up a handheld digital recorder (got a TASCAM DR40x and love it, buit that's another thread). While waiting for the staff to find the recorder, I noticed a Strandberg Boden 7 hanging at the top of the "used" wall and asked if I could please play it. This was the first Strandberg I've seen in the flesh, and I was ready to buy it if I loved it. But sadly, I did not.

    It's all natural and made in Korea (thus pre-2017) with a pair of EMGs, two pots, and a 3 way blade switch. My first impression when I got it in my hands was that it looked and felt like a cheap guitar, and I'm not sure exactly why. The finish was thin and matte, so the woods all showed their natural beauty. But the fingerboard and top had a lumberyard vibe - the grain, figuring etc were more low end solid wood furniture than luthier-built instrument. The edges of each piece of wood seemed like they'd been finished rapidly rather than carefully shaped to lay against each other. So every join line was just a bit too obvious, e.g. where the fingerboard laid on the top. The pots felt cheap, in that there was none of the smooth, gentle, consistent resistance that a fine control offers when turning it. The jackplate was a little loose in the body, and the jack was a loose fit for the plugs on the ends of the cable (I tried both to be sure it wasn't the plug). It made my $750 Raines Tele7 (which appears to have been made with similar construction methods) look and feel like a PRS.

    I have to say that these are very comfortable to hold and play. Balance was great both sitting and standing, and it felt about 2 pounds lighter than the Tele 7. The weird neck contour didn't bother me much. If I'd liked the rest of the guitar, I could easily get used to the neck. For those who don't know about the Endurneck (Strandberg's own design), it's a series of flat surfaces rather than a continuous rounded contour. Here's a picture of the back, with the headless headstock to the right:

    Strandberg Guitars-strandberg_neck-jpg

    Sadly, despite being strung with real strings (10 to 65, I think, which means it didn't get to GC from a metalhead) and having standard 7 string EMGs (which I have on my Les Paul 7 and love), it sounded awful to me. No matter how I set the controls, it was bright / tinny / harsh / [insert your pick of adjectives for "not jazzy at all"]. I played it through a very nice, new 20W Friedman tube head and single 12 cabinet but could not get it to sound decent. At first, I thought the pup selector was wired backwards from most - but that wasn't it. The bridge pup was even more twang and less fat.

    The tuners are thin knurled cylinders at the bottom of the body -

    Strandberg Guitars-strandberg_tuners-jpg

    They're crude and rough, to be polite. They do not turn smoothly or easily, and the small diameter of the knurled shaft makes it hard to get a fine adjustment. Dropping the 7th string from a B to an A required backing 'way off the tuner knob, pulling firmly up on the string until the piece holding the ball end moved enough to lower the pitch, then tightening it up to tune. When nothing happened while trying to loosen it, I thought it was broken and asked the sales rep to look at it - he's the one who did the deed, since I'd never have yanked that hard. All the strings were a bit off tune, and all the tuners felt equally rough when turning them even though the rest did result in the desired action without resorting to violence.

    I was sorely disappointed, because it could be a stellar guitar for most gigs and I was ready to buy it if I loved it. But the downside is long and steep. Strandberg's website says clearly that they no longer have any replacement necks or other wood parts available for the Korean guitars, and that Indonesian instruments (which is all except custom ones since 2017) have no wood parts that are interchangeable with those of the Korean-made ones. So major issues or injury could result in very expensive custom work.

    Then there's the price. The fact that GC wants $1500 for this one when a new Boden standard 7 lists for $1695 was another deterrent. Strandberg claims that the Indonesian instruments are superior in every way to the Korean ones. I hope this is true, and I'd like to think that this one is just one of those unfortunate examples that's a sad confluence of wide tolerances, production variants, and bad karma that cause the occasional product to be a bad example of its breed. But if this one is a typical example, Strandberg guitars are not for me.

  16. #115

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    Not sure if you're a member over a sevenstring.org, but the QC issues have been discussed on these guitars for years. Unfortunately for us, Ola had tremendous ideas that the factories have not been able to deliver.

    I had one of the US Custom shop 8 strings for a while (Strandberg's first US run) and while it was a neat guitar, the headless market now is so broad that you can get something great for almost any budget.

  17. #116

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    Quote Originally Posted by JSanta
    Not sure if you're a member over a sevenstring.org, but the QC issues have been discussed on these guitars for years. Unfortunately for us, Ola had tremendous ideas that the factories have not been able to deliver.
    I am, but I never paid attention to Strandberg posts because I never expected to see one in a US store and the visual style didn’t excite me. But I had to try it when I saw it.

    I just searched sevenstring.org, and you’re describing the tip of the iceberg. Every one of my observations is repeated in multiple posts by players who gave up on Strandberg. The tuner issue, the strange playing feel, the odd tone etc are all common complaints that caused returns and resales.

    If I could get it for a reasonable price, I’d try to fix it up myself. It’s very comfortable and not nearly as weird looking in the flesh with natural wood as it is in web pictures finished in macabre or garish color schemes. I can’t imagine why they have so many problems since they’ve all been built in factories that turn out much better products for others.

  18. #117

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    It does seem these are designed for the modern solid body crowd in mind. And if you use ambient effects and or distortion quite a bit this might be your ticket.
    I and probably most here prefer to here the acoustic properties of the instrument first and foremost. Even if it’s a Tele or Les Paul.