Is Strandberg the new Steinberger?

[Inflames626]

So for metal guys like me 7+ strings are all the rage now, especially with these YouTube guitarists who are famous for doing nothing but being influencers. Like. Subscribe. Ring the bell. But I can't name a single original song they've written.

Off the soapbox. I see Strandberg and Mayones being marketed very heavily now in social media, with Strandberg having a cult of PRS-like ferocity. This is similar to how Halo, Strictly 7, Agile, and Legator were popular for a while back in the 00s and then dropped off.

So do you guys think Strandberg is the new Steinberger? That is an extremely 1) trendy and innovative design that 2) has a very devoted, niche audience and is 3) associated with a certain period of time? In Steinberger's case this would be late 80s/early 90s.

I see Strandbergs as rather faddish and I wonder if they will be desirable 20 years from now. My guess is no.

This faddishness goes along closely with the popularity of 7+ strings "djent" playing as well.

Guitar is not completely like piano. Yes, on guitar you can tap, but on a piano, you can play any interval, especially as a chord. On an extended range guitar, you have greater range but are still limited by what your hand can physically do.

Unless a player is very comfortable with the fretboard and has great technique, I think 7+ strings are a waste. The human hand isn't designed for so many strings, so you can't utilize all the complex chord shapes that arise from having more strings. Additionally, they step all over the bass player. Having a low F# drone note over something you play over it isn't worth the time and expense of them, IMO.

I'd rather just arrange parts for multiple guitars playing in different parts of the neck.

"But Meshuggah is so great!" they say while they study Holdsworth and their drummer works on his polyrhythms. Sorry, off the soapbox again.

More seriously, I would probably like an 8 string if it had a high A string, but every guitar I have seen save a newer Dean Rusty Cooley signature is set up for a low F#, not a high A.

For a high A that I could bend, my guess is I'd need an 8 gauge string with a 24.75" scale length or less for the string to survive the tension without breaking.

Meanwhile the low B might benefit from being lengthened to 30". A guitar with 24" on the high A string and 30" on the low might have some crazy slanted frets.

Still, tune that to drop A and with a high A string you'd probably get some cool sounds.

Anyway, if you guys know of a shorter scale 8 string on the high strings, I'd be interested.

Thanks.

 

[Mincer]

Strandberg has its own thing going on, and they have a lot of Steinberger ideas. However, their odd necks are their own. However, if I was going to go for an over 6 string guitar, I'd go for either an NS Stick or Touch Guitar, both of which allow for many types of playing. I think for massive amounts of strings, you gotta throw conventional playing and technique out, and develop something new.
But I think Steinberger's designs in the 80s were just better ideas than conventional guitars at the time. The TransTrem was revolutionary, but Strandberg just has conventional knife edge trems. Also, I don't think Strandbergs use double ball strings, which are just a much better idea.

 

[Inflames626]

Thanks for the great links, Mincer . I had no idea either of these existed.

Something I might have issue with is how to dial in a tone when you have some strings that are bass strings and some that are guitar strings. I'm not a huge fan of distorted bass. Maybe a stereo setup?

I think something like the Jamstik MIDI guitar is a good idea, as well as the Kaos pad used by Matt Bellamy of Muse.

As guitarists, we just have to be able to deploy more sounds, especially with kids these days being into EDM.

At the same time we run into the problem of live shows no longer being musical performances and just triggering things at certain times, which kind of depresses me.

As far as coming up with new ideas, I'm not sure what can be done. This video has a bunch of different guitarists reacting to a 10 string for the first time. Their reaction would be a lot like mine, especially since I think A1 sounds kind of like poo. Korn was low enough.

You do get a bit of a timbre difference on a low tuned guitar than a bass, but I'd rather have a bass with more high strings for more melodic playing. Since you only have to focus on playing one note on rock bass most of the time, I think going high on bass makes a lot more sense than going low on guitar.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0TFMmbwZfU

 

[Inflames626]

Interesting that True Temperament isn't used more on extended range guitars as well. If they're going to do so much with scale length might as well put in the kitchen sink.

 

[Inflames626]

Fates Warning original bassist Joe Dibiase is playing a Steinberger bass here and I think it sounds great. He really cut through the mix on the earlier albums.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=le1bXtZOL7U

 

[Mincer]

For instruments like the NS Stick, and say, the Warr Guitar, there are 2 outputs, one for each set of strings. The Touch Guitar uses 1 output, and the idea isn't to really play 2 parts (though you can do that), its that you are only playing a bass part or treble part, and you switch sounds with a midi controller going to a preamp.

 

[uOpt]

You can have a Kiesel Aries in 8-string multiscale. I'm not sure whether they publish information about what the scale of the highest string actually is, though.

 

[Blille]

Not sure. I love both. I think it’s also a bit like Parker.

I currently have a Strandberg and it’s my workhorse. I find it very comfortable and do most of my practice there. If it had 22 frets I’m pretty sure it would be my number 1. The neck is a bit polarizing. I am not a huge fan but I think it’s ok.

 

[Mincer]

Not sure. I love both. I think it’s also a bit like Parker.

I currently have a Strandberg and it’s my workhorse. I find it very comfortable and do most of my practice there. If it had 22 frets I’m pretty sure it would be my number 1. The neck is a bit polarizing. I am not a huge fan but I think it’s ok.

I agree- if they came out with a 22 fret Strandberg, I'd be more interested. Getting used to the neck might take awhile, though.

 

[Blille]

I agree- if they came out with a 22 fret Strandberg, I'd be more interested. Getting used to the neck might take awhile, though.

I considered chopping the last two frets, putting a floating mini attached to the neck and tagging Ola Strandberg online with a recording. Then I figured it wasn’t the best plan. But I still may… lol

 

[Mincer]

They have a custom shop 22 fret Strandberg on their website. I've seen one at the NAMM show...I don't think many were made. Also, Steinbergers tended to have appeal across genres...prog rock, new wave, jazz, experimental, and even blues artists used them. Strandbergs seem to be expressly marketed to shreddy prog metal players. That's all they had in their NAMM booth, and it seemed like that's all their people in their booth cared about.

 

[Blille]

They have a custom shop 22 fret Strandberg on their website. I've seen one at the NAMM show...I don't think many were made. Also, Steinbergers tended to have appeal across genres...prog rock, new wave, jazz, experimental, and even blues artists used them. Strandbergs seem to be expressly marketed to shreddy prog metal players. That's all they had in their NAMM booth, and it seemed like that's all their people in their booth cared about.

I haven’t seen the 22 fret one! I’ll look for it. I think they made no effort initially to cater to prog metal but they definitely doubled down on it when they adopted it. I think it has to do with the neck. The thumb behind the neck position is more for technical schreddy players and that’s what the neck is trying to make easier. It feels a bit silly honestly. I can see fusion players adopting it but I don’t think fusion is a big movement now, unlike in the Steinberger days.

 

[Mincer]

When I talked to Ola Strandberg, he seemed disinterested in any style other than metal, so I guess that's where they went.

 

[Inflames626]

They have a custom shop 22 fret Strandberg on their website. I've seen one at the NAMM show...I don't think many were made. Also, Steinbergers tended to have appeal across genres...prog rock, new wave, jazz, experimental, and even blues artists used them. Strandbergs seem to be expressly marketed to shreddy prog metal players. That's all they had in their NAMM booth, and it seemed like that's all their people in their booth cared about.

Low End Lobster may take issue with your view of Steinberger, Mincer . That said, he's talking about the new Spirit models mass produced by Gibson (I think).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qeSB0VhcrsA

I'm sure a real Steinberger is much better.

Blille was dead on about the Parker comparison too. I tried a Parker Nitefly around 2000 and really liked it. Not sure why Parker went out of business other than price. Those were nice guitars. Maybe the aesthetics, which I think, like many Schecter models, were right on the verge of metal without being in BC Rich territory.

 

[Mincer]

The newer Spirits are pretty awful guitars, actually. They don't even compare to the Spirits of the 90s.

 

[mcdolphinburger]

I haven’t seen the 22 fret one! I’ll look for it. I think they made no effort initially to cater to prog metal but they definitely doubled down on it when they adopted it. I think it has to do with the neck. The thumb behind the neck position is more for technical schreddy players and that’s what the neck is trying to make easier. It feels a bit silly honestly. I can see fusion players adopting it but I don’t think fusion is a big movement now, unlike in the Steinberger days.

My main guitar is a Strandberg and I'm not primarily a metal player or a practitioner of highly technical music. I do have arthritis and recurring joint fatigue, primarily in my right (picking) wrist, so the Strandberg's light weight and ergonomics are huge for me. I tend to play in classical position much of the time, and even in normal seated playing the guitar rests in a much more comfortable position for my right hand than my more traditional guitars.

I live in New York City and don't own a car, and the portability is another massive factor in the guitar's favor. I regularly travel to rehearsal and lessons on a bicycle with the guitar on my back.

The neck geometry is a non-issue for me, and I play thumb-over as much as I do thumb-behind. I do have large hands though.

I agree that they seem to be targeting the shred segment of the player base to the exclusion of others. My guitar's action was outrageously low out-of-the-box -- like sub-1mm on the high E. This made for a nice showcase of the guitar's fretwork (relatively buzz-free!), but it did lead to poor sustain on notes fretted near the middle of the neck when I wasn't using much amp gain.

I would also jump on a 22-fret model, if only for the more traditional neck pickup tones.

 

[Mincer]

I do, however, like the Strandbergs much better than the headless Kiesels, though. They are much more comfortable to play, and better balanced (with better hardware). My Steinberger can use double ball strings, too, which should be the standard on headless guitars (I can use normal strings, too). Double ball strings are super-fast to change, and a whole set goes on in about 3 minutes with no tools.

 

[Ashurbanipal]

If we're talking materials, Aristides in NL is somewhat closer to Steinberger in that it's an entirely composite instrument. They make a fan-fret 8 string with a 26.5-28 scale, but I don't think you could get a high A to work with that. They seem like cool guitars though, I wouldn't mind a H/07 .

Because they're made in an injected mould, I don't think you can get a custom job like with a wooden guitar. They'd have to tool up completely with a new mould.

 

[Mincer]

A string tuned to a high A on a normal scale instrument is going to be trouble. I'd think that no matter what size strings you use, it will be a struggle. I know New Standard Tuning (Fripp's tuning) is CGDAEG, and he wanted the highest string to be tuned to A but they kept breaking no matter what size sting he used.