Strandberg Guitars

[Doughboy]

Does anyone own or have 1st hand knowledge of Strandberg Guitars?

I'm really interested in buying a Boden 6 w/ a trem, but have never heard in person, played or spoken to anyone who's played one.

Also, are there dealers for these guitars where one can try it out, or strictly custom orders from Sweden?

Any help would be much appreciated.

 

[dainbramage0]

I believe that they are being produced by Washburn now, though I could be wrong.

 

[technomancer]

The Bodens are build by the Washburn custom shop. Full custom orders are built in Sweden by Ola Strandberg.

 

[LWD]

My brother got one of the Strandberg Boden 7's that were built by strictly seven. Lots of issues. To add insult to injury when he contacted Strandberg about the problems Ola was gracious enough to tell him that since his business partnership with strictly 7 was ending that it was between my brother and Jim Lewis. Total tool that doesn't stand behind a product with his name on it. Jim lewis eventually made my brother another Strandberg Boden that was made better but it took about a year. In the interim he bought a Carvin HH2. MUCH BETTER guitar. The Strandbergs are so light they feel like toys. The bridge is also poorly designed IMO. The strings sit in grooves that also are used to adjust the action so they must be turned 180 degrees which really limits the fine tuning of the string height. The Carvin is Made much better. A lot more solid feeling guitar. Smaller too. The only issue with the Carvin is the tuning stability of the bridge. A J custom XS trem that Carvin doesn't make. The issue is related to the roller bearings. You have to replace the bearings in the bridge to resolve the problem. No big deal especially since Carvin stands behind their products and resolved the issue for free.

 

[LWD]

In fairness to Jim Lewis of strictly 7 he got screwed by Strandberg too. He was a decent guy to deal with it just took a long time because of what he was going through with Strandberg. I'm sure if the partnership with washburn fizzles Strandberg will deal with it the same way. I'd stay away.

 

[Doughboy]

My brother got one of the Strandberg Boden 7's that were built by strictly seven. Lots of issues. To add insult to injury when he contacted Strandberg about the problems Ola was gracious enough to tell him that since his business partnership with strictly 7 was ending that it was between my brother and Jim Lewis. Total tool that doesn't stand behind a product with his name on it. Jim lewis eventually made my brother another Strandberg Boden that was made better but it took about a year. In the interim he bought a Carvin HH2. MUCH BETTER guitar. The Strandbergs are so light they feel like toys. The bridge is also poorly designed IMO. The strings sit in grooves that also are used to adjust the action so they must be turned 180 degrees which really limits the fine tuning of the string height. The Carvin is Made much better. A lot more solid feeling guitar. Smaller too. The only issue with the Carvin is the tuning stability of the bridge. A J custom XS trem that Carvin doesn't make. The issue is related to the roller bearings. You have to replace the bearings in the bridge to resolve the problem. No big deal especially since Carvin stands behind their products and resolved the issue for free.

Ouch!!!! Sorry to hear about that.

I guess I will pass on the Strandbergs. They look great on paper & some youtube videos, but I can't deal with poor craftsmanship issues & people who do not stand behind their design/products, especially for custom shop prices.

 

[LWD]

That would be my suggestion. As far as my opinion on the Carvin vs. the Strandberg it has nothing to do with the fact that Strandberg is a douche. Which he is. If you could see some of the responses he gave my brother anybody would want to smash him. I'm not really into headless guitars but the Holdsworth is really cool. I may actually get one to take with me if I travel. Carvin has tons of options so if you wanted the same woods as a Strandberg they can do it no problem.

 

[Doughboy]

That would be my suggestion. As far as my opinion on the Carvin vs. the Strandberg it has nothing to do with the fact that Strandberg is a douche. Which he is. If you could see some of the responses he gave my brother anybody would want to smash him. I'm not really into headless guitars but the Holdsworth is really cool. I may actually get one to take with me if I travel. Carvin has tons of options so if you wanted the same woods as a Strandberg they can do it no problem.

I LOVE Carvin guitars. I have 3 of them, including a Holdsworth model.

I just liked the Strandberg look & thought I'd go for something really different.

 

[LWD]

Cool. My brother had a few of the original Holdsworths and they were really nice too. If you haven't seen the headless Holdsworth in person they are even cooler. My brother got his with a burled maple top , black limba back and neck, ebony board and satin finish on the whole guitar. I'll see if I can get some pics. Really cool guitar.

 

[Doughboy]

Cool. My brother had a few of the original Holdsworths and they were really nice too. If you haven't seen the headless Holdsworth in person they are even cooler. My brother got his with a burled maple top , black limba back and neck, ebony board and satin finish on the whole guitar. I'll see if I can get some pics. Really cool guitar.

I haven't seen the headless Carvins at all except in pics. I'm not that big on headless & the reason I was going for the Strandberg was more the body & layout that the headless aspect.

I have a headless Steinberger that I haven't played in years. Now all this headless talk has gotten me curious about digging it up & giving it another go. I remember the headless-ness was weird, but the tras-trem was cool. Being able to bend chords in tune was supa duda.

 

[Doughboy]

I sent an e-mail to Strandberg & Ola responded himself with a detailed response.

He basically said that the issues were mostly with Strictly Seven & he's taken care of any other problems with poor quality & craftsmanship, so it shouldn't be an issues like in the past.

Now, I'm thinking that I may want one again.

 

[technomancer]

I sent an e-mail to Strandberg & Ola responded himself with a detailed response.

He basically said that the issues were mostly with Strictly Seven & he's taken care of any other problems with poor quality & craftsmanship, so it shouldn't be an issues like in the past.

Now, I'm thinking that I may want one again.

Yeah dig up the videos Jim from Strictly 7 posted then deleted and watch them. That will tell you all you need to know about what a great guy he is and how he handled the situation. They're still floating around the net.

This is a great example of the quality work he was sending out as well http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/sevens ... boden.html

 

[narad]

If you're into the headless ergo thing, definitely go for it!

I received my Swedish made 8-string from Ola earlier this year. Ola was actually nice enough to hand deliver it to me in London since he was flying in for business. It's a supremely comfortable guitar, very lightweight, and I really enjoy the endurneck -- especially on something as wide as an 8-string neck. The most informative thing I can say is that it's its own thing, and I think it accomplishes the goals Ola had in mind when he set out designing it.

But I should warn you - I don't think you can get a trem on a boden outside of ordering direct from Ola, which means you're at the end of a very long queue. I haven't played one with a trem, but a trem and TT frets are definitely going to make their way onto my next order.

 

[putnut77]

Ive owned a Strandberg Masvidalien and a Boden 8. Both were incredible guitars, and I really want a Strandberg 6 string again. The endure neck profile is whacky at first but absolutely incredible when you're hands figure it out.

In terms of Ola, Ive had nothing but positive experiences with him, and have heard nothing but awesome things about him. I know there were some issues with Masvidalien neck spacings here and there and Ola replaced one of the defective ones with an updated specced new guitar for a 2nd hand owner.