NGD: Strandberg NX8 True Temperament

[gunshow86de]

Managed to snag the very last one of these. Watching the in-stock number go down as I'm on hold with my bank to manually permit that large of a charge on my debit was very nerve-wracking. In before people say these are way over-priced for an Indo-made guitar (they are). This is my third Strandberg, and, I know people will argue, there aren't really any alternatives. Anyway, the combination of True Temperament, Richlite board and purple was too tempting for me to pass up. Overall I think it's very well built. The frets are perfect (aside from being squigly ). All the NX changes actually seem like upgrades. The old heel was never an issue for me, but this one is still "better." I like the change to the string locks. I've pricked my fingers on the string ends an embarrassing number of times on my other Strandbergs (I never learn). The new knobs are great (I also really don't like the old smooth knobs). My ear probably isn't good enough to really tell how much of a difference the TT makes with the intonation, but checking with the tuner it is dead accurate. My other Strandbergs are the Standard series with the solid bodies, and I feel like chambered/semi-hollow body makes so much difference. This sounds enormous acoustically. My only complaint is that the book-match on the top/veneer is a bit underwhelming, but I can certainly live with it.

Anyway, that's all I have to say about that. forestgump.jpg

I have a terrible eye for photography, so I just got as many angles as I could. I did my best.

 

[iamaom]

What's bending the strings like?

 

[gunshow86de]

What's bending the strings like?

I don't notice any difference in feel when doing bending or vibrato. But it is sort of disorienting when I look down at the fretboard, but I'm getting used to it.

 

[Grindspine]

I was fortunate enough to play a few *strandbergs a while back. I really did not get into the headless ergo thing until last year (2021) when I got an Ibanez EHB headless bass. After really getting comfortable with that, I have been wondering if a fan-fret 8 string would be fitting in my guitar collection.

Anyhow, great find! How djenty can get you get with it?

 

[AkiraSpectrum]

super cool, congrats

 

[Alberto7]

Nice! These are some of the few strandberg models I would still consider. The TT system is something I would love to try. I would also hope that, given how big of a feature they are on this model, the fretwork is given more attention. The fretwork on my Original 8 is very playable, but also very underwhelming.

I'll also say that the only thing I see as an actual improvement on the NX line are the new string locks. I, too, have pricked my hand and fingers way too many times on the string ends

Love the color on it, too!
Overall looks killer! Congratulations

And I tend to agree that there isn't a satisfying enough alternative to strandbergs, but it IS a very particular feature set.

 

[works0fheart]

Looks awesome man. I agree, the indo-bergs aren't as bad as people claim. Enjoy, throw up some clips!

 

[ixlramp]

My ear probably isn't good enough to really tell how much of a difference the TT makes with the intonation, but checking with the tuner it is dead accurate.

TT actually shifts each note slightly away from the standard 12 Tone Equal Temperament (12TET) by up to 4 cents, in order to increase the harmony of the more commonly played chords and keys.
So, each note should actually not be 'dead accurate' when checked with a tuner
TT does not result in perfect intonation to 12TET, by design. It is perfectly intonated to a tonal system called a 'Well Temperament' (as J.S.Bach used) that is slightly out of tune with 12TET.
To confirm this, see the 'True Temperament chromatic tuning offsets' table here https://www.truetemperament.com/how-to-tune/
There is a huge amount of misunderstanding concerning TT.

 

[gunshow86de]

TT actually shifts each note slightly away from the standard 12 Tone Equal Temperament (12TET) by up to 4 cents, in order to increase the harmony of the more commonly played chords and keys.
So, each note should actually not be 'dead accurate' when checked with a tuner
TT does not result in perfect intonation to 12TET, by design. It is perfectly intonated to a tonal system called a 'Well Temperament' (as J.S.Bach used) that is slightly out of tune with 12TET.
To confirm this, see the 'True Temperament chromatic tuning offsets' table here https://www.truetemperament.com/how-to-tune/
There is a huge amount of misunderstanding concerning TT.

Wow I had no idea. You would think Strandberg would have some type of literature in the case about tuning. I guess I have to learn how to tune this thing correctly now.

 

[Grindspine]

Peterson strobe tuners have modes for different temperaments. That could come in handy. I typically use either the equal temperament tuning or guitar mode (offsets for chording on 24.75" guitars).