Boden standard nx 7 tremolo natural

[Zigracer]

Any of you fellow 7 string players ever try one? Edit: The brand is Strandberg.

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

I've played a standard hardtail Boden standard 7 that I found hanging on the "used" wall at GC. I was so excited to see it there that I was ready to buy before playing. Fortunately, I played it first...

Keep in mind that this was a few years ago, and they've changed both how and where they make them since that one was made. But I don't know if the changes were for the better or for the cheaper. My first impression on picking it up was that it just felt crude. It was solid enough, but everything from the finish to the join lines between pieces (like the way the neck sat on the body) to the hardware just felt a bit less refined than it should have. The tuners felt really cheap and flimsy. And they were so crude and rough that loosening them did not result in any change in string tension - I had to pull on the strings to get the anchors to move so they'd slacken up. Tuning up was a chore because it took a lot of force and the ratio was rather low. All 7 tuners were identical, so it was not just a bad one. I could not get a decent jazz tone from it. No matter how I set the tone pots on guitar and amp (a very nice 20W Friedman 1x12 tube amp), it was a rocker's dream for sure.

The neck profile didn't bother me at all. In fact, it felt great. It was comfortable to hold and play - it just didn't sound and feel like a quality instrument. And given the locations of the pickups relative to the bridge, I suspect that no pickup could tame the tone, even with a huge tone cap and a 100k pot.

[GuyBoden]

I play 7 string headless, the Boden standard 7 string is ok. I've tried one.

I like the body shape for playing whilst seated.

But, with so many headless 7 string guitars around, are they worth the price?

Ibanez are now making a 7 string headless guitars.

I built this fan fret 7 string headless last year at a fraction of the cost of a Strandberg.

[GuyBoden]

I prefer the Strandberg type body shape for playing seated.

But, I would look at the Ibanez QX527PB 7 string Headless. (I've not played it.)

Info here:
QX527PB | Q | ELECTRIC GUITARS | PRODUCTS | Ibanez guitars

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

I prefer the Strandberg type body shape for playing seated.

But, I would look at the Ibanez QX527PB 7 string Headless. (I've not played it.)

Info here:
QX527PB | Q | ELECTRIC GUITARS | PRODUCTS | Ibanez guitars

I thought about this one when they first came out. Chuck Levin (in Wheaton, MD) had one on his website, so I called to make sure it was actually in hand before driving down to see & hopefully buy it. I don’t know to whom I spoke, but I mentioned my impressions of the Strandberg and he told me the Ibanez had similar hardware compromises, a similarly thin tone, and a slightly unfinished look & feel. He asked about my current guitars, my needs, and the music I played. He responded that he’d love to have me come down and see the store, but that he thought I’d be wasting my time if my sole purpose was to buy that Ibanez.

[GuyBoden]

I thought about this one when they first came out. Chuck Levin (in Wheaton, MD) had one on his website, so I called to make sure it was actually in hand before driving down to see & hopefully buy it. I don’t know to whom I spoke, but I mentioned my impressions of the Strandberg and he told me the Ibanez had similar hardware compromises, a similarly thin tone, and a slightly unfinished look & feel. He asked about my current guitars, my needs, and the music I played. He responded that he’d love to have me come down and see the store, but that he thought I’d be wasting my time if my sole purpose was to buy that Ibanez.

Thanks for the good info, you obviously have a lot of knowledge and experience of 7 string headless guitars.

What 7 string headless do you like and own?

[Christian Miller]

Imagine the comments turning up with one of those for a gig. I get enough if I show up with a tele haha

These designs make a lot of sense for ergonomics and the extended range is nice, but most of my instrument choice is based on what looks familiar to sax players lol.

Maybe things will change.

[GuyBoden]

Imagine the comments turning up with one of those for a gig. I get enough if I show up with a tele haha

These designs make a lot of sense for ergonomics and the extended range is nice, but most of my instrument choice is based on what looks familiar to sax players lol.

Maybe things will change.

That's the trouble with being a professional player, you need to look the part and play well, as a hobbyist player I play whatever guitar I like (but badly).

Here is me seated below. (Strandberg shaped bodies are great for seated playing IMO.)

[Christian Miller]

I've played a standard hardtail Boden standard 7 that I found hanging on the "used" wall at GC. I was so excited to see it there that I was ready to buy before playing. Fortunately, I played it first...

Keep in mind that this was a few years ago, and they've changed both how and where they make them since that one was made. But I don't know if the changes were for the better or for the cheaper. My first impression on picking it up was that it just felt crude. It was solid enough, but everything from the finish to the join lines between pieces (like the way the neck sat on the body) to the hardware just felt a bit less refined than it should have. The tuners felt really cheap and flimsy. And they were so crude and rough that loosening them did not result in any change in string tension - I had to pull on the strings to get the anchors to move so they'd slacken up. Tuning up was a chore because it took a lot of force and the ratio was rather low. All 7 tuners were identical, so it was not just a bad one. I could not get a decent jazz tone from it. No matter how I set the tone pots on guitar and amp (a very nice 20W Friedman 1x12 tube amp), it was a rocker's dream for sure.

The neck profile didn't bother me at all. In fact, it felt great. It was comfortable to hold and play - it just didn't sound and feel like a quality instrument. And given the locations of the pickups relative to the bridge, I suspect that no pickup could tame the tone, even with a huge tone cap and a 100k pot.

Thanks for the observations. Tbh I was checking out the Keisel trad semi acoustic and that sounded thin in the demos lol. Might be the playing style - that sort of tricksy Neo-soul meets Polyphia thing, the fact that I find irritating shows that I have seen become old and irrelevant.

(The Tim Miller sig sounded nice being played by Tim Miller.)

i think that’s the aesthetics of the sound of the players who use these guitars who are almost invariably prog metal players. When i were a lad the aesthetic of guitars were driven by the 335 and the tele even among contemporary jazzers. Now the strat and the out of phase thing is more fashionable for clean tones, so I wonder if that informs the tonal palette of these guitars. The proggers also seem to want quite a bright clean sound that takes ambience well with a thick a tight dirty sound, rather than a fat clean tone that takes up a lot of the mix

although to be honest the tonal properties of these instruments remind me of why i would probably never actually buy an Ibanez RG, now matter how much I like the colour. I guess I’m just a Gen Xer who likes fat toans and flannel shirts lol

[Fusionshred]

I played a 6 string Boden Standard a few times. One seemed to be very well built and had perfect frets. The next two had significantly uneven frets and had a thin and bright neck pickup tone. Great fusion/ shred guitar (but I have those bases covered) but not a good traditional jazz tone.

unfortunately I had the same tonal experience from a Kiesel HH2 recently.

[Christian Miller]

That's the trouble with being a professional player, you need to look the part and play well, as a hobbyist player I play whatever guitar I like (but badly).

Here is me seated below. (Strandberg shaped bodies are great for seated playing IMO.)

yeah that looks like a very comfortable playing position.

[GuyBoden]

The Allan Holdsworth 7 String trem is a very popular headless guitar.


AH HH7 Kiesel.

[Christian Miller]

It doesn’t look too outre either

[GuyBoden]

It doesn’t look to outre either

Or, unusual, strange, and odd looking.

Not like the 7 string Tele I built about 15 years ago, not many folks liked it.

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

Thanks for the good info, you obviously have a lot of knowledge and experience of 7 string headless guitars.

What 7 string headless do you like and own?

None - I haven’t found an affordable one that I liked enough to buy, and I don’t need another guitar enough to spend the cost of a custom. I have 6 sevens - 3 solids and 3 archtops. Along with a tricone and a few oddballs, I have more than enough. But if a sub-$1k headless 7 comes along that I like, I’ll take it.

[Christian Miller]

Or, unusual, strange, and odd looking.

Not like the 7 string Tele I built about 15 years ago, not many folks liked it.

what’s wrong with that? Did people not like the headstock?

[GuyBoden]

what’s wrong with that? Did people not like the headstock?

Yes, the small headstock.

Here is my latest odd creation, I built from an odd assortment of parts I had, but I play this 7 string everyday.

Strandberg type shape body with a normal(ish) neck with banjo type machine pegs.

The Steinberger banjo type machine pegs are very good for fine tuning.

I only build guitars for myself as a hobby, so there is no restrictions on experimention.

[Zigracer]

I’m not necessarily hell bent on a headless 7. However, I have a small travel 6 string electric and I was thinking of replacing it with a headless 7. The Strandbergs are a few inches longer, so they won’t fit in my large suitcase, but they look like they could be an easy carry on. We also have a boat and I won’t bring my Palen 7 (or any really good 6 string) on board, so I end up taking my “campfire” 6 string flat top or that little travel guitar. We spend a lot of time on the boat and I miss playing a 7 when I’m there. First world problems - eh?

[GuyBoden]

I’m not necessarily hell bent on a headless 7. However, I have a small travel 6 string electric and I was thinking of replacing it with a headless 7. The Strandbergs are a few inches longer, so they won’t fit in my large suitcase, but they look like they could be an easy carry on. We also have a boat and I won’t bring my Palen 7 (or any really good 6 string) on board, so I end up taking my “campfire” 6 string flat top or that little travel guitar. We spend a lot of time on the boat and I miss playing a 7 when I’m there. First world problems - eh?

I remember seeing a custom 7 string Steinberger type guitar that should be a nice travel size here:
Steinberger 7 | custom-made guitars - Dmitry Poznysh's workshop