Boden OS6 confirmed!

[Andromalia]

you look at the price of a US Musicorp built Strandberg Base Boden 7 model (since specs match what you get on the OS 7 minus the scale difference) @ $3250 vs $1950, it's a $1300 difference. When you look at a Jackson Soloist SL2 for $2499 and the SL2 Pro is $899 (with no case) but made in Indonesia (i.e. EVEN CHEAPER labor than Korean factories), it's a $1600 difference. I don't really see your argument

Well, the Jackson is three times as cheap as the USA model, which the boden isn't. Using absolute values is irrelevant. Note I didn't expect a 800€ Boden given the hardware and general quality, but 1500ish would be more in line with the market. That's already paying ESP japan money for a korean guitar with a few special features.

 

[Sumsar]

Korea is spelled with a K, man. "Only like 40%" more expensive is a bit misleading, especially when you're talking in amounts reaching the $1500+ range. "Why bother getting that Honda, the Acura is only 40% more expensive! Doesn't matter that the comparison is a $25K car to a $40K car..."

Also you really think the used Boden OS guitars will drop from €1950 new to "€1200 used or less"? Seems like overly-wishful thinking there. Supply and demand doesn't support that line of thinking unless they're suddenly going to be churning these out in the hundreds.

Ah thought you english speaking people spelled it with a C, just like everything else, in danish it is also with a K oh well ..

Again I am in denmark, and 7 and 8 string guitars is not a huge thing here, so selling a made in Korea 7 string used for 1500 or 1700 Euro would be very very hard. On the danish version of 'craigslist' (online thing where you buy stuff used, right?) at the time there is a MIJ mint jackson slat3-7 for sale for about 500 euro it has been there for months and noone is buying it (I am seriously considering it though, although I have an identical one) I think that guitar new must have been like 1400+ Euro ish? (dunno didn't buy my own new). Just as an example.

But yeah, I dream of one day not raping my wallet to get a strandberg, blame me

 

[HighGain510]

Well, the Jackson is three times as cheap as the USA model, which the boden isn't. Using absolute values is irrelevant. Note I didn't expect a 800€ Boden given the hardware and general quality, but 1500ish would be more in line with the market. That's already paying ESP japan money for a korean guitar with a few special features.

Then go with the ESP Japan if it's a better guitar for what you're looking for? I dunno what to tell you, seems they arrived at their pricing somehow, and they are selling at that price, so I doubt they're going to look to price drop them anytime soon.

 

[technomancer]

1500ish would be more in line with the market.

Given the runs of these are selling out I would say the market doesn't agree with you

 

[cubix]

The price and the pickup choice makes me feel good about going through with the Washburn custom run. 2000 Euro plus pickup change would be just too much...

 

[Andromalia]

Given the runs of these are selling out I would say the market doesn't agree with you

Since they aren't for sale in europe yet I wonder just where you're getting that statement from.
I think I've done enough NGDs here to show I'm not tight handed on the cash, but I do want value for what I'm spending.
It just feels like a "let's ripoff the richer europeans" scheme again.

 

[HighGain510]

Since they aren't for sale in europe yet I wonder just where you're getting that statement from.
I think I've done enough NGDs here to show I'm not tight handed on the cash, but I do want value for what I'm spending.
It just feels like a "let's ripoff the richer europeans" scheme again.

I get the feeling the "let's ripoff the richer europeans", since this concept is similar to how Schecter runs things, is due to the fact that they ship the guitars from WMI to their techs in the US for final inspection and fretwork/setup, so all that logistical cost gets bundled in as well. I can't speak to what it ends up at for the final consumer with VAT and all added on top, but consider they're covering shipping from Korea to USA to Europe as part of the total cost for these MIK instruments regardless of brand. Believe me, I'm not calling you cheap or anything, just saying some of the comparisons people are making are a bit odd.

If you feel the specs on a Japanese ESP fit what you want and you're getting more value from that guitar for that kind of cash, by all means grab those instead. Those Japanese ESPs don't have fanned frets, chambered bodies, the EGS aluminum hardware etc. either, so I'm sure if ESP put something like that out from their Korean shop, the prices wouldn't be as low as their current Korean models are either. Any idea how much that multiscale Ibanez prototype is estimated to run? I'd be surprised if it was uber cheap, although it was listed as an Iron Label so with shoddy craftsmanship that has been coming out of their Indonesian shop in recent past I wouldn't be surprised if they keep the tagged price low since they're making up for it on poor labor and minimal QC.

The specs on the Strandberg stuff is unique which is why I *personally* felt at $1950 USD, the OS 7 was still a great value after having bought my US Custom Shop CL7 and loving the hell out of it even if the price was double the OS 7. Some folks might not see the value in a $1950 Korean-built instrument based on price comparisons to Japanese-built instruments, but personally while I'm not entirely discounting where the labor happened, I am more focused on the final product... and to me, my OS 7 plays and sounds like a $2K guitar (well the tonal piece is more the upgrade to the Lundgrens, so we'll say like a $2400 guitar if you want to nitpick, but some folks seem fine with the 707x pickups anyways ) and better than many Japanese built Ibanez or ESP's I've touched so I can't say I feel like I'm not getting value at the current price point.

Regarding your "no EU sales have been made" comment, I believe Technomancer was specifically referencing the OS 7's that have been put up for sale in Japan and the US, since we all know very well there aren't any for sale in the EU currently from all of the "WHY NO EU?!?!?" posts we've seen spanning the various Strandberg threads from folks over the last few weeks. It seems there is a good deal of demand in Europe for the Strandberg stuff, but if they try to market the OS line and they don't sell well at their current pricing, I don't think Ola's thoughts will immediately turn to "we need to slash the prices on these!!!" but rather "I guess the European market is not interested in the OS line at the price we need to sell these to make justified profit." Ola strikes me as a pretty smart guy, both in terms of engineering and in terms of sales and marketing (I'll give him a mulligan on choosing S7G for production work up front assuming he just didn't know enough about their reputation when they were selected originally for US Boden builds... ) so I would imagine he knows what he needs to sell these at to make a profit and is familiar enough with the EU market that the pricing he selected is one he thinks will allow them to sell well over there just as they have in Japan and the USA.

 

[technomancer]

All right seriously, enough of the price bitching this is getting ridiculous.

 

[Quiet Sheep]

A new video came out today:

https://youtu.be/BOBYaHseStQ

I'm always a bit let down by the tone in those vids. Considering all the positive experiences I'm sure the guitar sounds great but I've yet to find a flattering video for .strandberg*.

 

[cubix]

90% of the tone comes from the player, pickups and what the guitar is plugged into, so I never cared much about the "tone" demos on the interweb.

 

[HighGain510]

A new video came out today:

https://youtu.be/BOBYaHseStQ

I'm always a bit let down by the tone in those vids. Considering all the positive experiences I'm sure the guitar sounds great but I've yet to find a flattering video for .strandberg*.

That one has Lace pickups stock which IMHO aren't the greatest for showcasing "tone" in general, but that guy is also going for a very specific Holdsworth style vibe in his playing and tone anyway, so I don't know that I'd use that video as one to critique the tone of a Strandy. There is a pretty cool vid of a guy with an OS loaded with Lundgrens (no, not mine ) playing some Intervals that's not bad, IMHO.

 

[grail21]

Pre-orders are now up on the strandberg site, shipping May 15.
$1895 - same as the OS7.
Looking forward to seeing some NGD's here.
If anyone in the New England area happens to get one (or has an OS7 for that matter) I will happily bring you a six pack if you let me try it out for a bit (want to check that endurneck out)