Pierre
Stratologist
Y'all know the specs on this. This is the EMG version (55/56), ebony fretboard and flame maple top.
I've already written most of my impressions about the Boden in http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/standard-guitars/288772-played-boden-6-today-wowza.html
Oh. Pictures. I don't have any camera with me (my phone does have some picture taking hardware. It does not qualify to be called a camera) so please refer to the previous owner's NGD: http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/standard-guitars/298455-ngd-strandberg-boden-6-solar-flare.html
Said previous owner is, by the way, great to deal with, so thank you SevenStringJones for your patience and help here!
I've only gotten a few minutes with it, but onto the first impressions... Keep in mind, when I say 'price' I meant the NEW price, obviously I did not pay that much and I do NOT believe the guitar is worth the new price (that is my opinion and mine alone).
Sounds warm. Could be the EMGs? Never played a guitar with them before... Oh, I only have a Roland Cube Lite here, so let's not spend too much time on the amplified tone...
It's loud acoustically. I like it. Balanced and expansive and all the other buzz words. Chambered body, lightweight blablabla you know the deal.
It's heavier than expected... 5lb and 4.5 oz, whatever the hell that unit of weight is (sort your measurement system America!). Still lighter than 99% of guitars out there (that aren't Strandbergs) of course
Looks, woods... well... honestly, for the price these cost new, I would quite disappointed at the flame top and woods used here. It's a nice guitar don't get me wrong, but if you handed it to me and asked to guess the price, I would say it's an OS.
Neck is figured... not too much. I have a custom which was cheaper and has much nicer wood. All my MusicMans (MusicMen?) as well. However the neck feels very nice; satin finish, endurneck profile. The edges are more rounded than they look, and it's very comfortable indeed (more on it later).
Flame top is ok. Finish is nicely 3D, but for that (again, brand new) price, I would accept nothing short of Inferno-level flames. Again, I do like the satin finish though!
The ebony on the fingerboard is nice; very dark brown, and uniform. Just one tiny shade off black. I like it. It doesn't seem dyed (eh, what do I know) and I also appreciate that Strandberg doesn't contribute to ebony wastage by only getting jet-black pieces (not to mention charging a premium for it). So nice.
Setup/playability:
Buzzes like a mad wasp. Definitely needs a setup. That's no one's fault though It's a used guitar which has just traveled from Wisconsin (I don't know much about the US, but it seems quite far from Seattle. True story).
Those tuners are HARD man. Pope's balls they hurt. I was done tuning this baby and couldn't play immediately until my thumb could move again. Also there's only two allen keys included: truss rod and string clamps. For a 3.5k non-custom guitar? Sort it out Strandberg! There's 4 different sizes of keys required here: tuningkeys (for tuning and adjusting), truss rod, and clamps.
So... onto the main issue: a) fan b) ergonomics
I don't get the 0.5" fan. Sure it makes the high strings a little easier to bend (and you can feel it: niiiiiice on those beautiful frets). But it does nothing for downtuning and the low strings either way. I've never played a guitar like this, but a 1" fan with a more symmetrical setup (neutral fret at 7th or 8th maybe) rather than a 0.5" spread with neutral nut may offer more advantages (26-25" of course). On paper at least. And since wood and paper are both made from trees, this argument holds.
It's not weird to play or anything. Takes a 5 mins adjustment, that's it. But with such a small fan, I wonder what the actual benefits are besides the slightly easier bends?
The body shape is awesome. That is all. It keeps all my anchor points, is uber compact (for that couch noodling guitar) and just like my hypothetical girlfriend, takes well to all kinds of positions. Very space age.
Voila. I remember this dude from the Haarp Machine saying that if a guitar were to be re-designed now, with no Les Paul, Telecaster, Stratocaster etc... influence, it would be a Strandberg. I agree. This is an engineer's guitar. It does everything other guitars do (well er... except behind the nut bends, doh), and may do a lot of it even better. It's NICE and very special indeed. Above everything, it's FUN. And I like fun.
For me to order one brand new, it would take:
1) a Varberg shape (seriously... sexy)
2) more fan options (say, that 1" fan)
3) a lower price. Again this is MY opinion. A company, even a guitar company, has to make money, and their products are priced to what keeps the company growing and what customers are willing to pay. Quite simply, I am not (yet), but I recognize the product is pretty damn awesome.
To this particular guitar, I shall perform the following:
1) Clean fretboard and guitar, open up electronics cavity and take a look at the firepower and grounding
2) Put on some 12s, tuned to D standard (can capo the 2nd fret to get to E)
3) If grounded for passives (I doubt, but let's see), put on some pickups. Unsure what yet... thinking Rebel Yell. And I really need (ok, want) a 5 way superswitch with my usual wiring. I'll play the EMGs for a bit first of course! But what can I say... more talent tweaking than playing
Voila I'll post more as I get to play more, however I'm still in a temporary situation until October and will not get my own apartment (and therefore, existing guitars and amplifier) until then. So for now, couch noodling it is!
I've already written most of my impressions about the Boden in http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/standard-guitars/288772-played-boden-6-today-wowza.html
Oh. Pictures. I don't have any camera with me (my phone does have some picture taking hardware. It does not qualify to be called a camera) so please refer to the previous owner's NGD: http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/standard-guitars/298455-ngd-strandberg-boden-6-solar-flare.html
Said previous owner is, by the way, great to deal with, so thank you SevenStringJones for your patience and help here!
I've only gotten a few minutes with it, but onto the first impressions... Keep in mind, when I say 'price' I meant the NEW price, obviously I did not pay that much and I do NOT believe the guitar is worth the new price (that is my opinion and mine alone).
Sounds warm. Could be the EMGs? Never played a guitar with them before... Oh, I only have a Roland Cube Lite here, so let's not spend too much time on the amplified tone...
It's loud acoustically. I like it. Balanced and expansive and all the other buzz words. Chambered body, lightweight blablabla you know the deal.
It's heavier than expected... 5lb and 4.5 oz, whatever the hell that unit of weight is (sort your measurement system America!). Still lighter than 99% of guitars out there (that aren't Strandbergs) of course
Looks, woods... well... honestly, for the price these cost new, I would quite disappointed at the flame top and woods used here. It's a nice guitar don't get me wrong, but if you handed it to me and asked to guess the price, I would say it's an OS.
Neck is figured... not too much. I have a custom which was cheaper and has much nicer wood. All my MusicMans (MusicMen?) as well. However the neck feels very nice; satin finish, endurneck profile. The edges are more rounded than they look, and it's very comfortable indeed (more on it later).
Flame top is ok. Finish is nicely 3D, but for that (again, brand new) price, I would accept nothing short of Inferno-level flames. Again, I do like the satin finish though!
The ebony on the fingerboard is nice; very dark brown, and uniform. Just one tiny shade off black. I like it. It doesn't seem dyed (eh, what do I know) and I also appreciate that Strandberg doesn't contribute to ebony wastage by only getting jet-black pieces (not to mention charging a premium for it). So nice.
Setup/playability:
Buzzes like a mad wasp. Definitely needs a setup. That's no one's fault though It's a used guitar which has just traveled from Wisconsin (I don't know much about the US, but it seems quite far from Seattle. True story).
Those tuners are HARD man. Pope's balls they hurt. I was done tuning this baby and couldn't play immediately until my thumb could move again. Also there's only two allen keys included: truss rod and string clamps. For a 3.5k non-custom guitar? Sort it out Strandberg! There's 4 different sizes of keys required here: tuningkeys (for tuning and adjusting), truss rod, and clamps.
So... onto the main issue: a) fan b) ergonomics
I don't get the 0.5" fan. Sure it makes the high strings a little easier to bend (and you can feel it: niiiiiice on those beautiful frets). But it does nothing for downtuning and the low strings either way. I've never played a guitar like this, but a 1" fan with a more symmetrical setup (neutral fret at 7th or 8th maybe) rather than a 0.5" spread with neutral nut may offer more advantages (26-25" of course). On paper at least. And since wood and paper are both made from trees, this argument holds.
It's not weird to play or anything. Takes a 5 mins adjustment, that's it. But with such a small fan, I wonder what the actual benefits are besides the slightly easier bends?
The body shape is awesome. That is all. It keeps all my anchor points, is uber compact (for that couch noodling guitar) and just like my hypothetical girlfriend, takes well to all kinds of positions. Very space age.
Voila. I remember this dude from the Haarp Machine saying that if a guitar were to be re-designed now, with no Les Paul, Telecaster, Stratocaster etc... influence, it would be a Strandberg. I agree. This is an engineer's guitar. It does everything other guitars do (well er... except behind the nut bends, doh), and may do a lot of it even better. It's NICE and very special indeed. Above everything, it's FUN. And I like fun.
For me to order one brand new, it would take:
1) a Varberg shape (seriously... sexy)
2) more fan options (say, that 1" fan)
3) a lower price. Again this is MY opinion. A company, even a guitar company, has to make money, and their products are priced to what keeps the company growing and what customers are willing to pay. Quite simply, I am not (yet), but I recognize the product is pretty damn awesome.
To this particular guitar, I shall perform the following:
1) Clean fretboard and guitar, open up electronics cavity and take a look at the firepower and grounding
2) Put on some 12s, tuned to D standard (can capo the 2nd fret to get to E)
3) If grounded for passives (I doubt, but let's see), put on some pickups. Unsure what yet... thinking Rebel Yell. And I really need (ok, want) a 5 way superswitch with my usual wiring. I'll play the EMGs for a bit first of course! But what can I say... more talent tweaking than playing
Voila I'll post more as I get to play more, however I'm still in a temporary situation until October and will not get my own apartment (and therefore, existing guitars and amplifier) until then. So for now, couch noodling it is!
I don't have anything to take pics with and won't for a while still.
?
Would be a Varberg though!
