Strandberg / Astral EXR Systems / Announcement!

[Cloudy]

All these flame tops almost look like stained ash they're so not flamed. Really disappointed in the wood library thats being used on these so far. As long as you guys are happy with them all is good but I'd be livid if I got any of those tops.

 

[leonardo7]

All these flame tops almost look like stained ash they're so not flamed. Really disappointed in the wood library thats being used on these so far. As long as you guys are happy with them all is good but I'd be livid if I got any of those tops.

Believe me when I say that I totally know what you mean. But aside from veneers, I was just thinking that Im not sure Ive ever seen any production guitars with consistently amazing tops. Its sort of a custom thing isnt it?

Thats a part of the reason why people go custom is to be able to choose or clarify what type of figure your after, and then pay accordingly. All the amazing tops we have seen on Ibanez, Schecter, ESP are all veneers. The real tops such as J Custom or Jackson Broderick's arent anything special on a regular basis. You just dont get custom quality on a production guitar. You get what you pay for, and in the case of a production Strandberg its as if your paying for the design, feel, and tone of the Boden guitar more than the custom quality maple tops. They have sort of made that obvious by now. It is disappointing because some of the first few were that went out were 5A stuff. The one above might be nicer than what my J Custom had, which is owned by my local friend Brian in Fallujah now if youve seen it

 

[Cloudy]

If carvin can consistently get 4a flamed maple tops for under a grand then there is no excuse for strandberg at 3.5k+ to have these tops man, I get that it can be difficult to source lots of quality wood but everyone who buys a production boden is paying a premium for a quality instrument and so far whats been going out is far from it. Additionally I really enjoy seeing strandberg advertise production bodens with gorgeous tops only to give the paying customers mostly crap.

 

[TemjinStrife]

Believe me when I say that I totally know what you mean. But aside from veneers, I was just thinking that Im not sure Ive ever seen any production guitars with consistently amazing tops. Its sort of a custom thing isnt it?

Thats a part of the reason why people go custom is to be able to choose or clarify what type of figure your after, and then pay accordingly. All the amazing tops we have seen on Ibanez, Schecter, ESP are all veneers. The real tops such as J Custom or Jackson Broderick's arent anything special on a regular basis. You just dont get custom quality on a production guitar. You get what you pay for, and in the case of a production Strandberg its as if your paying for the design, feel, and tone of the Boden guitar more than the custom quality maple tops. They have sort of made that obvious by now. It is disappointing because some of the first few were that went out were 5A stuff. The one above might be nicer than what my J Custom had, which is owned by my local friend Brian in Fallujah now if youve seen it

Um, Suhr does production runs with consistently excellent flametops. It just speaks to the amount of time that Washburn is willing to spend grading and selecting tops for Bodens.

That also, in some minds, speaks to the amount of time they're willing to spend on QC for them as well . . .

 

[leonardo7]

If carvin can consistently get 4a flamed maple tops for under a grand then there is no excuse for strandberg at 3.5k+ to have these tops man, I get that it can be difficult to source lots of quality wood but everyone who buys a production boden is paying a premium for a quality instrument and so far whats been going out is far from it. Additionally I really enjoy seeing strandberg advertise production bodens with gorgeous tops only to give the paying customers mostly crap.

Not to mention the huge price increase this past year and the inevitable smaller one coming next year.

Plus the premium you pay is only so that you can wait 6-10 months. I can see that it sort of makes it feel more like a custom and much less like a production guitar in that respect

 

[Cloudy]

Not to mention the huge price increase this past year and the inevitable smaller one coming next year.

Plus the premium you pay is only so that you can wait 6-10 months. I can see that it sort of makes it feel more like a custom and much less like a production guitar in that respect

The premium I was referring to is the massive price tag that far exceeds the production cost (I'm assuming). I understand that you get to skip the M2M wait list but thats kind of the entire purpose of a production line...so.

 

[canuck brian]

If customers are paying for a 4aaaa maple cap, they should be receiving a 4aaaa maple cap, not a 2 or 1a top. If you advertise a guitar showing a 4aaaa maple top that makes people immediately want the guitar, you should deliver the product you have advertised as being available.

I fail to see how you are not comprehending this.

 

[Cloudy]

If customers are paying for a 4aaaa maple cap, they should be receiving a 4aaaa maple cap, not a 2 or 1a top. If you advertise a guitar showing a 4aaaa maple top that makes people immediately want the guitar, you should deliver the product you have advertised as being available.

I fail to see how you are not comprehending this.

exactly.

 

[crg123]

If customers are paying for a 4aaaa maple cap, they should be receiving a 4aaaa maple cap, not a 2 or 1a top. If you advertise a guitar showing a 4aaaa maple top that makes people immediately want the guitar, you should deliver the product you have advertised as being available.

This. I just don't understand. Its really a shame because it seems like other then the tops most people are pretty happy with their instruments.

 

[TemjinStrife]

This. I just don't understand. Its really a shame because it seems like other then the tops most people are pretty happy with their instruments.

I dunno, there have been some QC issues in the past. Which is disappointing at any price level, but even more so now that these are well and truly in the Suhr/Collings/Tom Anderson price bracket.

 

[leonardo7]

The whole part that really bugs me about any builder or company is when they call it a "production" guitar, yet they want $1500 up front before it even goes into production, then you wait 6 months for something thats in "production" to be made? This makes you more like an investor than a customer. The whole thing is just really weird if you ask me.

 

[canuck brian]

The whole part that really bugs me about any builder or company is when they call it a "production" guitar, yet they want $1500 up front before it even goes into production, then you wait 6 months for something thats in "production" to be made? This makes you more like an investor than a customer. The whole thing is just really weird if you ask me.

legit. It's closer to Carvin's concept of semi-custom guitars and their lead times.

 

[Jonathan20022]

everyone who buys a production boden is paying a premium for a quality instrument and so far whats been going out is far from it.

Sorry, but are you just blanketing everyone's experience here? I've played 4 Washburn made Strandbergs and they've all been fantastically well made. The only flawed one was the Masvidalien with it's neck alignment, I've said it several times before but just because you're not getting a 4AAAA Top on a guitar doesn't mean it's going to be crap. You might as well just buy guitars with veneers and photo tops if it helps you feel secure in your purchase.

Your consistent argument is that your experience wasn't that good, and I think most of us who've kept up with the thread know about that already. Being a downer on other people's excitement over their guitar isn't something you should be doing IMO. If customers aren't happy with the tops, there's a return policy and you can get a rebuild if you'd like. I know this from speaking to Washburn, their work is fantastic and the build quality of ALL 4 ones I've owned have been awesome. The fretwork is perfect and the neck pockets are insanely tight without causing neck pocket cracks you often see in other production guitars.

The Masvidalien issue is being rectified and from what I understand is just the fault of CNC Machines. It's not significant enough to bother some as there are some happy owners, but the spacing being off by a little bit does affect some. And Washburn stands by their stuff and takes care of them, including a customer who was the 2nd owner, no other Production companies will do that for you. At least not to my knowledge.

 

[Cloudy]

Sorry, but are you just blanketing everyone's experience here? I've played 4 Washburn made Strandbergs and they've all been fantastically well made. The only flawed one was the Masvidalien with it's neck alignment, I've said it several times before but just because you're not getting a 4AAAA Top on a guitar doesn't mean it's going to be crap. You might as well just buy guitars with veneers and photo tops if it helps you feel secure in your purchase.

I'm not blanketing everyones experience, as stated before (many times) I'm well aware there's been a slew of extremely nice ones put out which is awesome because I'm a huge fan of the strandberg design. However its undeniable that a number of guitars coming out are lack luster and definitely not worth the price tag. If you want to keep telling yourself that a 1a top on a 3.5k instrument is fine then so be it but if it were me I'd be super upset with quite a few of the bodens that have come out, including the two you own. The boden I had was a first run washburn and it was absolutely littered with errors and I know of quite a few other people with similar experiences.


Edit: in response to your edit, yes I did have a bad experience as I've mentioned quite a few times. What I'm trying to do is WARN people that what they're seeing in the catalogue is most likely not what they're going to receive. False advertisement is a dirty dirty practice and I have zero respect for a company that does it, like strandberg. If you enjoy your instrument I'm totally happy for you, I'm really glad you enjoy your strandbergs I WISH I did, Id absolutely kill for a boden 6 but I'm not rolling the dice for a 1a top on a 3.5k instrument. At that price point I want perfection and highly figured woods, as I'm sure most people want as well.

This sums up my argument revolving around the top woods:

If you advertise a guitar showing a 4aaaa maple top that makes people immediately want the guitar, you should deliver the product you have advertised as being available.

I fail to see how you are not comprehending this.

 

[Jonathan20022]

I'm not blanketing everyones experience, as stated before (many times) I'm well aware there's been a slew of extremely nice ones put out which is awesome because I'm a huge fan of the strandberg design. However its undeniable that a number of guitars coming out are lack luster and definitely not worth the price tag. If you want to keep telling yourself that a 1a top on a 3.5k instrument is fine then so be it but if it were me I'd be super upset with quite a few of the bodens that have come out, including the two you own. The boden I had was a first run washburn and it was absolutely littered with errors and I know of quite a few other people with similar experiences.

It's not your call to make wether the price tag is worth it or not, it's the person putting their money down for it. And I could honestly care less if you like or dislike gear I own, especially considering you're a collector (in your own words) moreso than a guitar player. So the concern isn't needed, trust me.

Your experience is honestly outdated and I know several owners completely happy with their product. I've had EBMMs with flaws before and they've gone as far as completely rebuild the guitar for me. Flaws happen, and the tendency for a company to fix that flaw and make amends with their customer for it even happening is what makes a company good in my eyes.

EDIT: And dude, seriously? You threw down MORE cash than this on a barebones Blackmachine B6. You can argue quality all you want, but I'd put my Bodens right next my EBMMs which I honestly enjoyed far more than both B6's I've played in the past. You're not even getting a top on something that costs (Correct me if I'm wrong) 4k+ now with a wait of over a year?

 

[canuck brian]

The Masvidalien issue is being rectified and from what I understand is just the fault of CNC Machines.

CNC's don't make mistakes. People programming them do.

 

[Jonathan20022]

CNC's don't make mistakes. People programming them do.

They're obviously not BLAMING the machine. They simply told me what was the cause of it happening, nevertheless they offered a rebuild but I refused it favoring a 2nd Boden 7.

If customers are paying for a 4aaaa maple cap, they should be receiving a 4aaaa maple cap, not a 2 or 1a top. If you advertise a guitar showing a 4aaaa maple top that makes people immediately want the guitar, you should deliver the product you have advertised as being available.

I fail to see how you are not comprehending this.

I don't think anyone isn't comprehending that, no one would say no to a more figured top than whatever they're getting. Consistently saying it to the people on a forum with little to no actual company representatives does nothing for the cause. If more people than just me called up Washburn and voiced their opinion maybe something would change. There's a proper place to file your complaints, playing online vigilante to protect potential customers doesn't do anything for the cause.

And just to prove my point, this is one of the more recent builds that just came out of the shop for a customer.

 

[Mik3D23]

EDIT: And dude, seriously? You threw down MORE cash than this on a barebones Blackmachine B6. You can argue quality all you want, but I'd put my Bodens right next my EBMMs which I honestly enjoyed far more than both B6's I've played in the past. You're not even getting a top on something that costs (Correct me if I'm wrong) 4k+ now with a wait of over a year?

B6's also aren't being advertised with highly figured maple tops, and then having these put on. So how this is relevant to any argument is beyond me

Edit: to your last edit, one example of a nice top and finish doesn't negate any bad ones. Nor does 2 or 3, or so on. Also, no one was playing "online vigilante", cloudy was just voicing his concern for something that's been happening (that is allowed on a forum right?).

 

[Jonathan20022]

B6's also aren't being advertised with highly figured maple tops, and then having these put on. So how this is relevant to any argument is beyond me

I only think it's relevant because it's been said that spending 2k >, means you're supposed to be getting something with a highly figured top. And proven wrong by several guitars without tops or even hardly any figuring whatsoever costing far more than people are spending on Strandberg. It's more of a direct statement to Cloudy than anything because if I remember correctly he was the one who said that before. I could be wrong though, I haven't gone back and checked the thread.

 

[Mik3D23]

I only think it's relevant because it's been said that spending 2k >, means you're supposed to be getting something with a highly figured top. And proven wrong by several guitars without tops or even hardly any figuring whatsoever costing far more than people are spending on Strandberg. It's more of a direct statement to Cloudy than anything because if I remember correctly he was the one who said that before. I could be wrong though, I haven't gone back and checked the thread.

I'm pretty sure Cloudy's point was what I stated, and he either didn't make his point clear enough, or it was just misconstrued. I don't remember ever hearing anyone say "all guitars $2k+ NEED highly figured tops", otherwise what about Parker, BM, etc..

Feel free to step in and correct me, Cloudy