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I am convinced this is the Strandberg counteroffer for the Ibanez Q series and it was the one and only goal to land in the same price bracket.You know... you've kind of hit the nail on the head, I think. Put my own feelings into words. For the first time in forever years I got together with a dude to jam. I brought my Boden 8 because the guy wants to create some super low tuned, heavy, slow, doomy vibes. The guitar did its job, but god I hated playing it.I think it's just because I am still too conscious that it is not a normal guitar. It's more comfortable in most regards (save for the neck), but it's just too different.
Regarding how they're cutting costs... I realize it's just a marketing post, but in the blurb on the announcement video on Instagram they say this:
I have a tendency to read into things too much sometimes, but that whole paragraph kinda tells me the whole story. Paying for the "design" aspect of things is... well, the R&D for these guitars has been done for a long time, imo. They haven't done anything in terms of innovation for a long time other than Ola trying whacky stuff like the titanium travel guitar. All they've really done is change minor specs, onboard artists, recycle material they would have had throw out otherwise, (i.e. the RESQD line) and probably some minor savings with the change in specs for the NX line (switch from flamed maple cap to veneer and no roasted maple), and probably minor-to-major savings on - oh, I don't know - shit quality control.
Ola owns the company, so he reinvests and pays himself whatever he wants (from full profits to nothing at all) after paying all company costs. They've also settled on a routine by now and seem to have stabilized their manufacturing to the Indonesian factory. They've probably been raking in quite a lot of cash for a while from those big margins, since we all know these guitars really aren't worth the asking price. (Particularly the more expensive models. Which, mind you, doesn't mean they are bad guitars... just priced way too highly.) Marketing seems to have been their main investment the last few years. They've built a very strong brand and have managed to move quite a lot of overpriced gear. In terms of branding and company identity, I really feel that they've basically become to the guitar industry what Apple and Nintendo are to the tech and gaming industries, respectively.
This probably all means that they either had a substantial amount of money set aside to invest in the Essential line or that they decided it was time to reduce their overall margins to sell more of the cheaper and more accessible stuff. In other words, strandberg as a company is probably perfectly positioned nowadays to start investing into economies of scale, and the Essential line may be just that. They have had great margins so far, a large and stable revenue stream, and probably a ton of cash sitting there ready to be invested. Honestly, in the end I don't think it has much to do with price of materials or features; that's just part of the overall equation.
Then again, as always, I am open to being wrong about all this.
Anyway, that's my late-night spiel. Excuse my insomnia.
I have bought Chinese crap once and would never do it again. But I would have bought an Ibanez Q series over a Strandberg any day. Now Strandberg is back as an option I would consider.
I can see their endorsed artists being happy to use it, the ones that do tour internationally besides being influencers. And then maybe the concept becomes popular and we get solid travel guitars in a price range somewhere in the middle of Strandberg and Aliexpress.
I do love nice bicycles but what travel guitars could you recommend? I would be in the market for one. Any type (nylon or electric), I am just looking for something to play on while traveling, where I have peace of mind that airlines won't stop me from taking the guitar with me on board.
Must be a typo and it's actually 1050 €. That seems about right.WTF. That Meloria with the regular pickups clocks in at 10.500 €
Thanks, they all seem to be a bit below 400. I looked at traveler guitars and thought they cost around twice of what I would expect a guitar of that quality to cost but maybe it's just wrong to want to compare it with normal guitars.
Because they do.Hey I just realized: why is this thread in the luthiery section like there's something about Strandbergs that inherently needs fixing?
Has QC ever been good for these? Not even sure the custom shops were that incredible either, were they? (I'm asking genuinely to whomever has an answer, not trying to be an edgelord dick.
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