Modern Guitars, Then and Now.

rossipedia said:
I guess really the only "modern" guitar I own is a Strandberg Boden Metal 6. It's a very unique guitar, but absolutely amazing. The trapezoidal neck is... interesting. Not sure I like it better than a regular rounded neck profile, but it doesn't hamper my playing. Lightest guitar I've ever picked up, ultra portable, and sounds and plays friggin' amazing.

Just.. don't put D'Addario XLs on it
Click to expand...
Explain that that last bit please sir. There's a chance I might end up with some sort of Strandberg some day, sounds like something I should be aware of.
 
Dave Merrill said:
Explain that that last bit please sir. There's a chance I might end up with some sort of Strandberg some day, sounds like something I should be aware of.
Click to expand...

It's a known issue. Basically because the regular XL plain strings aren't reinforced and due to the way the tuners work on the strandberg guitars they have a habit of unwinding the plain strings and breaking at the bridge.

NYXL, Ernie Ball RPS, etc... those strings are fine. I started using EB RPS sets and haven't had a tuning problem yet.
 
rossipedia said:
It's a known issue. Basically because the regular XL plain strings aren't reinforced and due to the way the tuners work on the strandberg guitars they have a habit of unwinding the plain strings and breaking at the bridge.

NYXL, Ernie Ball RPS, etc... those strings are fine. I started using EB RPS sets and haven't had a tuning problem yet.
Click to expand...
This happens with Ernie's as well. I solder the wrap just above the ball end on any non reinforced strings. It only takes a few minutes . If you do this be carful to use a minimal amount of solder so as not to interfere with any part of the bridge. It works 100% and saves money.
 
Last edited:
rossipedia said:
It's a known issue. Basically because the regular XL plain strings aren't reinforced and due to the way the tuners work on the strandberg guitars they have a habit of unwinding the plain strings and breaking at the bridge.

NYXL, Ernie Ball RPS, etc... those strings are fine. I started using EB RPS sets and haven't had a tuning problem yet.
Click to expand...
This is why D'Addario used to make the EKXL strings with reinforced soldered twists although for the difference in price it was easier to do as Andy recommends and do it yourself. It is basically standard practice for anyone with a Steinberger TransTrem who transposes sharp unless you like replacing high E-strings every time you play Summer Nights.
 
You can still get reinforced soldered end strings in several brands, including D’Addario. I tried so many different ones when I was using a Kahler. For me the strongest were Paradigms. But it does seem the most cost effective way is to solder the ends yourself.
 
Andy Eagle said:
This happens with Ernie's as well. I solder the wrap just above the ball end on any non reinforced strings. It only takes a few minutes . If you do this be carful to use a minimal amount of solder so as not to interfere with any part of the bridge. It works 100% and saves money.
Click to expand...
Ehh... EB RPS sets are super cheap. Breaking out a soldering iron for a string change is a bit more than I want to do usually (I change strings fairly frequently).
 
Harrassment said:
This is why D'Addario used to make the EKXL strings with reinforced soldered twists
Click to expand...
This explains why I got a case of D’Addario strings that had soldered twists and kept breaking on my CE-24. Shot them an email and they sent me another case and none were soldered. I bet they were getting rid of a bunch of leftover 0.010’s from that line. Apparently they use the same highest strings in differently lines.
 
Next; Strandberg Boden Original 6 (best version in my opinion .)
IMG_2086.jpg
I will start by saying why this is the best production version .
This represents the best build quality and materials in the standard version before the corners started getting cut.
The body is swamp ash (sassafras on the new one, a cheaper ash like wood first used by Leo Fender as a cheaper alternative) with a solid 4A flame top (veneer on the new one). Even the logo is no longer CNC (too risky with the veneer top).
The neck is roasted maple with two veneers of carbon fibre for support, a two way truss rod and a heavy Birdseye Maple figure fingerboard. Not roasted on the new one.
 
Electrics are all excellent ;
Suhr SSV and SSH+ with CTS metric pots and CRL four pole switch and quality jack.
Not quite sure why you would go to the trouble of a proprietary metal dome knob and make it worse than a standard one (smooth no grip.)
IMG_2090.jpg
Given that CTS pots are quite stiff this is not great considering the company is predicated on a new ergonomic look at the guitar. The new one is only slightly better but worse the a f###### Telecaster knob.
 
Last edited:
Hardware.
This is where it is a bit of an issue.
The hardtail is fine being built in aluminium (good for tone and weight) BUT the tuner falls off after it goes loose in order to put a new string on.
WTF.
This is ridiculous as the teflon washer also just falls off if you are not carful.
IMG_2093.jpg
Why the thread isn't longer and you just thread the string through the back is just poor design . You can thread the string in the back now but the fine tuner still comes off far too easily for this to be a method.
 
Now let's look at the action adjustment.
IMG_2089.jpg
This works only OK because the bolt that is acting as the saddle can only be set at intervals of 180 degrees so if the action you want is in-between these you are stuck with one or the other. Yes I know that we are only talking half the pitch of an M4 thread but if you want a perfect match to the radius that will throw it off. Now look at the lock screw. It is the smallest part I've ever seen on a guitar and if you unscrew it out by accident whilst adjusting and drop it it will fall between the atoms in your floor and be lost.
Intonation is by loosening the bolt with string loose and sliding it by hand (guesstimating the amount.) passable but a PITA.
This also places string tension on that one small bolt threaded in to aluminium.
The new Rev 7 of the hardware improves on a lot of this but comes on a downgraded guitar so I still vote this is better.
My personal take on the hardware of the bridge is it is still a work in progress and the earlier versions should never have made it past prototype.
The good part is that it sounds very good being very simple with a low part count and made very well out of quality materials . I don't include the trem in this however. I suspect the baseplate is a zinc casting with steel inserts . This may be ok in the long run but we will have to see.
 
Headpiece:
IMG_2092.jpg
Good idea in principal that also should never have made production .
Why:
Each piece is the same so even if it was functional fine it wouldn't match the fingerboard radius, now turn half of them around. You can see in the picture the down angles over the zero fret are all over the place, some even touch the end of the fingerboard.
The reason was so that a single lock could fit all the guitars (or actually non of them.)
It is only screwed down with a needlessly short screw and held straight by a pin (even though there is a ton of wood here) and has another candidate for the smallest part on a guitar, that tiny washer to cover the screw and act as a surface to lock the string against.
sp-egsf-bk.png
This picture shows the issue and again WTF were they thinking when this made it in to production.
Also if you over tighten this you are in danger of ripping it off the guitar as the screw is so unsuitable . They later added a steel shim underneath to support the wood BUT why is the screw just shit. Changing a string at a gig is fraught with problems of loosing tiny proprietary parts that are vital to the guitars ability to even hold a string at pitch.
In fairness they have fixed this in rev 7 but should be sending out replacement nut clamps to ALL owners. This is just not fit for purpose.

I need to add this:
The reason the screw is so short is that they are all the same and the two centre ones go close to the truss rod. The obvious solution was a unibody string clamp screwed firmly in to the large amount of available wood under the A and B strings. This should be a recall event that the company just sends them to anyone that has a previous version. It should really be steel as well as should parts of the tuner assembly but the Rev 7 is a big improvement and will probably be sufficient .
 
Last edited:
Frets;
IMG_2087.jpg
Not too bad, end dressing is a bit square and not really as premium as it should be.
IMG_2088.jpg
With one file mark here.
Overall the rest of the fit and finish is very good easily on a parr with similar priced USA or Japan guitars. Tones are very good and playability is outstanding . I totally get why certain people love or hate these . I for one really like the concept but I don't get why the hardware issues where allowed to last for so long .
I know I haven't mentioned the Enduro neck carve and that's because it will be a matter of taste and I like it but it's not a big deal either way.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom