NGD Strandberg

cobbler

cobbler

Fractal Fanatic
I have had some neck/arm/wrist issues over the past couple years that have severely limited my playing time. I have small hands and have always had to contort a bit to get my wrist and fingers in position to barre chords etc. To keep everything in context, I play sitting down.

I have always had some interest off and on with the Strandberg guitars due to their light weight and ergonomics but never had the opportunity to hold one other than the 30 seconds I had Tosins' in my hands back in 2013. Now with my neck and wrist issues flaring up I decided to revisit that interest. Enter the Strandberg Boden Neck Thru series and a couple posters here on the forum with recent purchases (@Sleestak , @WW Audio ) and the fire was lit.

I decided I wanted the Neck Thru 6 Fusion model with the Suhr HSH config. Strandberg recently changed from a primarily custom shop to a production line manufactured in Indonesia so I had concerns about the QC of the newer guitars. Both @Sleestak and @WW Audio assured me that their instruments were made well. The Fusion Neck Thru is only offered with two color options. Orange or Teal. I preferred the Teal but was told they would not be available anywhere until July. Several Orange ones were available on Sweetwater so I pulled the trigger so to speak. I was awaiting pics to be displayed of the two Sweetwater had in stock so I could choose when I got an email from Strandberg saying they had a couple Teal versions become available with one caveat. They were refurbs.

So I called Strandberg and while they wouldn't define the exact fix made they assured me that it was cosmetic and all in house. In other words, it wasn't an instrument returned from a previous owner. Since Strandberg has a liberal return policy i choose to take the gamble since they reduced the price $450. I got it yesterday!

I love this guitar!!! It's actually lighter than my Parker. Never figured I'd see that day. The Enduraneck with the fanned frets just fits my hands right. Barring chords is just easier with less contorting.The workmanship on the guitar is very nice. The fretwork is clean. Everything feels solid. It will take me a bit to get used to tuning at the bridge but that's no big deal. I looked over the guitar and could not find where there was any kind of cosmetic repair. I finally found it under the lights. I'll take that $450 smudge anytime.

Anyway, it's obviously all honeymoon at the moment but i really like the way this guitar feels and plays. It just hugs the body and is so light. A cloud in the hands. Parker players will understand. Plays like butter out of the box prior to any setup. It's also so much more convenient sitting in a chair at a desk without the headstock hitting everything as I turn around to adjust knobs etc.

If I have one complaint I guess it would be that for such an expensive guitar, the flame maple top could be a little cleaner. Oh, and they should give you the stand free with the guitar purchase since they are a pain to store. :) I'll be making one this weekend...


... AND IT SOUNDS GREAT IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE AXE-FX III

Edit: Sorry for the long rant :rolleyes:

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The blemish. Worth $450 to me since I don't resell anything and I will have it dinged up far worse than that in a matter of days. :)

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As a Parker owner (2 pre-refined) you have now deepened my GAS for one of these. The look has grown on me over time & I have yet to hear anyone that has one say anything negative about how they feel or sound. One question though...How stable is the whammy on that thing?
 
Rhodes said:
As a Parker owner (2 pre-refined) you have now deepened my GAS for one of these. The look has grown on me over time & I have yet to hear anyone that has one say anything negative about how they feel or sound. One question though...How stable is the whammy on that thing?
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It's a big chunk of metal. Feels solid and functions as expected. As far as any tuning issues well see over time. None so far. It came with D'addario strings and I am an Elixir guy so I'll be changing them promptly and do a quick look/set-up to measure the basics but out of the box it feels great so I doubt I'll be doing much if any adjustments. I'll definitely follow up with my impressions post honeymoon.
 
cobbler said:
It's a big chunk of metal. Feels solid and functions as expected. As far as any tuning issues well see over time. None so far. It came with D'addario strings and I am an Elixir guy so I'll be changing them promptly and do a quick look/set-up to measure the basics but out of the box it feels great so I doubt I'll be doing much if any adjustments. I'll definitely follow up with my impressions post honeymoon.
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Thank you for that input! I will keep an eye out for your updates.
 
Glad you're digging it. Loved mine right outa the box. Only thing I did was drop the action just a bit as it was slightly higher than I prefer. Boden's and Axe III's......seemingly made for each other and now an entirely new universe of noodling waits to be explored.
 
When I look at fanned-fret guitars, my immediate gut reaction is that it'd take a long time to get used to that. Was that true for you folks who use them?

I'm also not sure I get the point. Is it so the lower strings can be longer than the higher ones, for tone reasons? I don't really djent or anything, so I'm not sure I need/want that.

Do you use standard string gauges?
 
Dave Merrill said:
When I look at fanned-fret guitars, my immediate gut reaction is that it'd take a long time to get used to that. Was that true for you folks who use them?

I'm also not sure I get the point. Is it so the lower strings can be longer than the higher ones, for tone reasons? I don't really djent or anything, so I'm not sure I need/want that.

Do you use standard string gauges?
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It took me about 5 minutes to realize that I love the fanned frets strictly from a ergonomic standpoint as I also had no clue what their functionality was. I just read THIS article and it makes sense to me. All I can say is with he Enduraneck and the fanned frets this guitar is just comfortable for me and my hands.

The guitar came with D'Addario NYXL 110-46 strings. I am an Elixir Nanoweb guy so Ill be changing those out today with the same gage. I run 10-46 on all my guitars.
 
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GlennO said:
Thanks for posting that! How well does it balance in your lap?
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I play sitting. I'm a gimpy dude in a wheelchair. :) This guitar is well suited for sitting IMHO. First of all. its ridiculously light. I still use a strap even though I am sitting. If I take my hands off the guitar I literally would not know its there. The body cavity cutout is huge, as you can see from the pics, so it fits comfortably against my 'cough cough' six pack. The odd cutout below the strap button actually works perfect for me and was designed for the sitting player I believe. I always bump that area of my guitars on my wheel lol. It works beautifully if you like to play in a typical classical sitting position style as well by positioning said cutout against the inside of your thigh.

My interest in this guitar was mostly in the ergonomics. That it plays and sounds so well are most welcomed bonuses! Obviously its just day 3 with honeymoon and all but I know this is a keeper already and I can see a lot of others collecting some dust in the near and distant future.
 
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cobbler said:
Oh, and they should give you the stand free with the guitar purchase since they are a pain to store. :) I'll be making one this weekend...
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I just "modified" a traditional guitar stand with a pretty thick zip tie and two smaller ones to keep it in place.
Works like a charm.
 
Happy to hear that more folks discover these awesome guitars. I too recently got a *strandberg, but the 8-stringed. And I just love it! :) What an instrument! Comfy to play and so great sounding. There's a "ghost tone" one octave above the note you play, that starts ringing as the string fades out and this really sounds cool (not aware of the physical explanation to this phenomenon, but none of my other guitars has it. A bit sitar-like). I had read about the dodgy QC and sadly my new instrument gave an example; the pickup switch is noisy and might mute the guitar if you push it down too hard into the bridge pup position. The grounding of the metal hardware and strings were broken too. Strandberg has a post on this at their FAQ web page, normally one of the screws holding the bridge shall penetrate a wire inside the wooden body and this connection can be broken if you're unlucky. Finally someone have dropped a heavy tool on fret 23 at the G-string, resulting in tiny bump there if you do string pull glissandi. But I liked the guitar so much, got the feeling that this instrument is "one and only", so I decided to keep it anyway. I have temporarily grounded it by an external wire of 3 cm length and I will have that, and the pup switch issue, fixed by a pro guitar tech as soon as I can plan a time window to be without the guitar. I have no pictures of the guitar, but if interested you can see it in this video. Best guitar I've ever owned.
 
GiRa said:
I just "modified" a traditional guitar stand with a pretty thick zip tie and two smaller ones to keep it in place.
Works like a charm.
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I actually did something similar. I was able to bend the little bars that hold the guitar and it now holds the Strandberg. I have a wood shop in the garage so I'll come up with something cool down the road to hold this guitar. Thanks for the suggestion.

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Wall hanger came in from Strandberg. Works great. She can sleep safely and humidified at night now. :)

I am an Elixir guy so I changed the strings to 10-46 Nanowebs and did an overall check of the guitar. I lowered the action very slightly. The relief and intonation are spot on. I was a little worried as I have never changed strings on a Floyd Rose type bridge. After blocking the trem it wasn't as difficult as I was anticipating. All good and she plays so easily. Not sure if this honeymoon will ever end... :)

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