I think Strandbergs suck

[gh0styboi]

As an internet observer, doesn't the Essential have better hardware and no zero fret that will get dented and make pling noise over time?

I have zero experience with zero frets, so I can't say from anything other than hearsay, but based on what I understand about them and the potential issues, I prefer guitars without. So the Essential lacking one is a bonus for my preferences.

The hardware seems less complicated, but I haven't had hands on one yet, which is why I have such trepidation with ordering one sight unseen/hand unplayed.

 

[nightsprinter]

A 1 pound block of rubber will not vibrate the same as a 1 pound block of carbon fiber, both of which have kind of similar densities. Neither will a 1 pound block of said carbon fiber vs a 1 pound thin plate of the same material.

It's not just density though, but also shape. I admittedly forget half of my courses in vibrations, (not my area of expertise in my years after starting work as an engineer) but it really does come down to stiffness, mass of the oscillating/reciprocating body(ies), damping, and resonant frequencies. Guitars are very complex systems from a vibrations point of view, and the very shape of them will change not just things like decay and sustain, but also which harmonics will starting decaying first. The different parts of a guitar and their dimensions wiĺl also change its vibrational properties. A lot of these little details on their own are quite imperceptible to most people's ears.

My Oni Essi 8 is quite a light and thin guitar, but it acoustically projects sound very loudly, and it sustains for long. Dan has purposely designed it this way. An example of that is the inclusion of two carbon fiber rods in the headstock along the outer edges. Also, he gets away with having a super long neck on these guitars relative to body size because he has managed to make them quite stiff with all the internal carbon fiber structures he makes. I can't tell you that I know exactly what difference in sound and sustain these things make individually, but it's a ton of little considerations like these added together that can make a bigger difference. Props to all the skilled luthiers out there. These guys are basically engineers without a degree.

Also:

Vibrations are not "high school physics". They are a last-year course in mechanical engineering degrees, and use a ton of equations that draw parallels to electricity and magnetism laws as well as control systems. Entire graduate programs span out of vibrational analysis.

Well if I was gonna build guitars, I'd hire the person who designed the Hitachi Magic Wand

 

[gh0styboi]

Well if I was gonna build guitars, I'd hire the person who designed the Hitachi Magic Wand

Definitely only for your shoulders and neck and back. Definitely.

 

[Lord Voldemort]

I've always been stunned (and tbh a little disappointed) that Strandberg went the 'offshore mass-production' route.

Well before I could afford anything nearly as elevated as a Strandberg they were a small boutique brand with this amazing aura and ethos of being innovative and forward thinking, and all of these young modern players like Misha and Tosin, Aaron Marshall and Chris Letchfield would pose with their Strandbergs. And at that time as well the Strandbergs were always made of natural, beautiful woods with a natural finish. The idea of ever owning one when the wait-list was bordering on half a decade and the barrier to entry was like $5-7k was preposterous, but that just added to the mystique.

Then when they went to SK with the OS models that were a bit more mass produced, that seemed to be a decent middle ground. Still very expensive, but still using all natural beautiful woods and with seemingly incredible build quality and in small batches as well. There was still a feeling of exclusivity and innovation, but owning one was no longer a fever dream.

Fasting forward to today, where almost everyone that I know has owned one and they're using veneer tops and have a ton of QC complaints, and as well a lot of other mass produced brands have come out with something more or less equivalent to a Strandberg (if not exactly the same thing), it's seriously like a whole different brand.

I still hold Strandberg in the childlike reverence of my youth and probably always will; those hours of just staring at custom shop Strandbergs made of unicorn trees being held by some of my heroes are irreplaceable.

But they made what has been undeniably the best move for their business in mass producing guitars as quickly as possible, a literal exact 180 from the company that I grew up with. As a result I've now owned a half a dozen, which is something I'd never have been able to do before I can't imagine. But also as a result the mystique of this obscure, forward thinking ergonomic custom shop brand has all but completely dissipated as everyone gets essentially their headless schecters with a triangle neck now.

 

[jco5055]

I've always been stunned (and tbh a little disappointed) that Strandberg went the 'offshore mass-production' route.

Well before I could afford anything nearly as elevated as a Strandberg they were a small boutique brand with this amazing aura and ethos of being innovative and forward thinking, and all of these young modern players like Misha and Tosin, Aaron Marshall and Chris Letchfield would pose with their Strandbergs. And at that time as well the Strandbergs were always made of natural, beautiful woods with a natural finish. The idea of ever owning one when the wait-list was bordering on half a decade and the barrier to entry was like $5-7k was preposterous, but that just added to the mystique.

Then when they went to SK with the OS models that were a bit more mass produced, that seemed to be a decent middle ground. Still very expensive, but still using all natural beautiful woods and with seemingly incredible build quality and in small batches as well. There was still a feeling of exclusivity and innovation, but owning one was no longer a fever dream.

Fasting forward to today, where almost everyone that I know has owned one and they're using veneer tops and have a ton of QC complaints, and as well a lot of other mass produced brands have come out with something more or less equivalent to a Strandberg (if not exactly the same thing), it's seriously like a whole different brand.

I still hold Strandberg in the childlike reverence of my youth and probably always will; those hours of just staring at custom shop Strandbergs made of unicorn trees being held by some of my heroes are irreplaceable.

But they made what has been undeniably the best move for their business in mass producing guitars as quickly as possible, a literal exact 180 from the company that I grew up with. As a result I've now owned a half a dozen, which is something I'd never have been able to do before I can't imagine. But also as a result the mystique of this obscure, forward thinking ergonomic custom shop brand has all but completely dissipated as everyone gets essentially their headless schecters with a triangle neck now.

Yeah I definitely feel that Ola must have just kinda changed his mindset or whatever once he got a taste of the $$$ which I can't blame him; I like to think now that I'm in my early 30s I'm old enough/lived like a normal person long enough that if I ever got rich or famous I wouldn't change or whatever but I'm sure there's a huge chance I would.

It is disappointing to see that there really doesn't seem to be anyone who took up Ola's mantle of being Mr "create the ultimate forward thinking guitars", like there's some builders/models here and there like the Forshage Orion or Steve Klein/Steinberger of course, or Dan from Oni, but no one to me really gives off that pre-mass production Strandberg vibe.

 

[Ray-T]

Strandberg was Ola's hobby.
Now it's his job and his hobby is biking.

 

[Ray-T]

Those early Strandberg guitars were special ... but were they really better made than the mass produced ones now?

 

[vark]

Generally, less mass=less sustain. Strandberg is one of the lowest mass form factors I can think of as far as guitars go.

right, thats why acoustic guitars are solid blocks of wood!

 

[jco5055]

Strandberg was Ola's hobby.
Now it's his job and his hobby is biking.

Honestly probably not, I was the philosophy/ethos though haha