Strandberg Boden in Japan!

[AlexKhan]

Mine just came in. I'll be doing a NGD with better pictures after I get out of the office. I got to played this beast during my lunch break. I don't want to jump the gun on this but I think this is going to ruin the rest of my guitars for me. Can't wait to go home and plug it in.

Here is a tease:

Hey Shane, glad to know that the guitar arrived safe and sound and that your intial impression of it is positive. We're putting a lot of effort into the QC and setup work here in CA but please do check the neck bow setting again as it may have moved a bit during transit and now that the guitar is in a much cooler and probably drier environment. Thanks!

 

[AlexKhan]

I want to add that, for those of you who haven't owned or played a Strandberg before, the tuner may feel stiffer than you may have imagined. I certainly thought so when I first got mine. It can hurt the fingertips somewhat if you spend a lot of time tuning as I do.

I normally use a 6mm Allen wrench and that works really well and also offers a great degree of control when getting the tuning just right. Also, when stretching the strings, I recommend that you do a lot of bends across the range of the fingerboard instead of pulling the strings upwards off - especially the high strings - since doing so can have the strings slip out or break at the lock clamps behind the nut.

 

[AlexKhan]

Wow, this thread just got 10 times better! I wanna thank Mr. Yoon for stepping in and answering our questions, thats goddamn customer service right there and its awesome to hear that the project is designed in such grand scale. I'm definitely getting a sixer once they release them.

It's my pleasure to answer questions and provide useful info that can be helpful. It is a different kind of guitar and there was some learning curve for me as well when changing strings and doing the setup work. I broke a good number of strings and struggled with getting things just the way I wanted it but, like anything else that's new and different, it takes time and repitition to get used to the point of it being second nature.

Yes, we've got some exciting things in development. The Boden OS 6 isn't far off and the OS 8 is in development as well. We are also working on developing more manufacturing sources in Japan, China and Europe to develop products to cover a wider range of price points and serve their respective regional markets. We are also busy setting up a limited number of dealers and distributors around the world to complement our direct-to-consumer model.

I think our business model is and will be quite different from most high-end guitar brands and manufacturers as it's mainly about the design and the unique features and capabilities of the Strandberg instruments. The key for us will be choosing and working with the right manufacturers all around the world and then staying on top of the QC at the source as well as before final shipment to customers. Compared to all the Strat/LP knockoffs and various flavors of the superstrat, a Strandberg is quite different and also difficult for manufacturers. But Ola and I expect to be very deeply involved in working with them so that they thoroughly understand the concepts and the QC standards. My 20+ years of experience working with the manufacturers in Asia and the US will certainly be leveraged to the tilt to assure we meet this goal.

 

[Jonathan20022]

^ Also Strandberg tuners break in really well, they smooth out quite a bit and are much easier to use a few days after tuning and using the guitar.

Awesome that these first ones are coming out so well, props to you guys!

 

[fortisursus]

The wait for mine to ship out is killing me! I'll be sure to check the action when I get it and compare it to the factory specs( whatever they are) for reference

 

[MBMoreno]

As I said on another thread

Man, this thread is giving me chills. In a good way. Until I remember it will be a while until Europe...

 

[boogie2]

Mine just came in. I'll be doing a NGD with better pictures after I get out of the office. I got to played this beast during my lunch break. I don't want to jump the gun on this but I think this is going to ruin the rest of my guitars for me. Can't wait to go home and plug it in.

Here is a tease:

Damn, I've got a natural maple w/rosewood board on order. I hope it looks like that. Very nice. Waiting anxiously for the review.

PS: if anyone's keeping track, I'd rather have the Lace p'ups as well.

 

[fortisursus]

Damn, I've got a natural maple w/rosewood board on order. I hope it looks like that. Very nice. Waiting anxiously for the review.

PS: if anyone's keeping track, I'd rather have the Lace p'ups as well.

Good choice! I too went natural/rosewood. Don't think you can go wrong with any of the combo's though. I've never actually tried Lace pups before. How do they compare to some of the conventional pups out there?

 

[boogie2]

Good choice! I too went natural/rosewood. Don't think you can go wrong with any of the combo's though. I've never actually tried Lace pups before. How do they compare to some of the conventional pups out there?

From the clips I've heard, they are on the bright side and extremely clear and defined. Those are the things I love about Tom Anderson's pickups. Seems like they'd be a good fit for me.

 

[littledoc]

Ola and I expect to be very deeply involved in working with them so that they thoroughly understand the concepts and the QC standards. My 20+ years of experience working with the manufacturers in Asia and the US will certainly be leveraged to the tilt to assure we meet this goal.

Ed — with my OS 7 due to arrive day after tomorrow I'm very happy to hear this, but I'm also curious if you have any comments on the apparent QC issues here:

http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/4295064-post12.html


I mean these are the first batch of guitars, so of course we can't expect them all to be perfect. But, good to know where some course corrections may be needed.

 

[Inceptic]

I appreciate how forums like these almost serve as a second layer of QC. I'm definitely looking forward to all the upcoming NGD's!

 

[AlexKhan]

Ed — with my OS 7 due to arrive day after tomorrow I'm very happy to hear this, but I'm also curious if you have any comments on the apparent QC issues here:

http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/4295064-post12.html


I mean these are the first batch of guitars, so of course we can't expect them all to be perfect. But, good to know where some course corrections may be needed.

This is the very first shipment of the Boden OS guitars to the US and I have seen various little issues which we are addressing with the factory. Being that these guitars have a thin satin finish, there are little flaws (especially with the CNC cuts on the routs) like chips, dips, dents, etc. that are simply not fixable. Little flaws on gloss finishes can be buffed out with a buffing wheel but there's not much we can do on satin finishes.

It is a judgment call on our part on what we feel are acceptable and what aren't. A lot of it is the visibility factor from an arm length distance and from various angles or where the flaws are located (back, front, side). Perfection is very difficult to achieve with this kind of thin satin finish on soft porous woods. On gloss finishes, we can at least wet-sand, buff and polish the flaws but, unfortunately, we cannot even try to fix little issues on satin because things will most likely get worse if we tried.

So I admit that there are very small flaws that we have no choice but to send out and hope that it's not too bothersome to you. If it is, we will gladly take the guitar back and try to find a better unit or offer a refund but, as stated, completely flawless finishes are very difficult to achieve on a finish like this. Believe me, I have already sent dozens of photos to Ola and the factory and I already have quite a few units that will never get shipped. Those units will end up as discount units to artists or for demo purposes at dealers and/or trade shows.

I will check with Ola about the neck heel matter. The Boden 8 I have also has an extended neck butt that protrudes over the pocket so I'm not sure if this is by design or if the factory didn't cut it properly. Being that the first Boden OS shipment to Japan was made in October (Ola himself visited the factory at the time) and we hadn't heard of any major issues, it's difficult to imagine that the factory got that wrong.

Being that the minor visual issues are not fixable and we can't scrap otherwise fine guitars, we focused mainly on the setup and overall playability, which included removing the strings and sanding/polishing the frets and putting on a fresh new set of strings with an extensive playability test. We feel that the overall design aesthetics, functionality, playability and sound are the key features but we will continue working with the factory to have the managers and workers there pay more attention to the minute details.

Right now, that's the key - getting the factory to get the last 2~3% right. I went through this with the Rasmus line at Suhr as well. Getting them to go the last mile and get the little details right is the biggest challenge moving forward but I'm confident that we'll get there. And any issue that's even a bit more than very minor have not and will not get shipped but we can't guarantee absolute perfection at this point in time. We do guarantee great playability, functionality and sound. Please be assured that we do see all the little or tiny visual issues and have addressed them to the factory. The nature of the finish just makes it impossible to repair, touch up or buff out. We are not trying to push these things by you but hope that you can accept these little imperfections and enjoy all the other benefits the guitars offer. If the imperfections are too bothersome, we will gladly take the guitars back and offer a full refund or try to replace it with a "perfect" unit but I have to admit that absolute perfection is not possible at this point in time.

 

[littledoc]

Damn Ed, you deserve a huge virtual high-five. Let me just say that if that were my Boden OS in the other thread, I absolutely would not have cared about such barely-visible imperfections. I mean, are we gonna forget the USA Jackson custom that came missing a whole fret, or the Blackmachine with misaligned tuners? I've seen way worse QC issues on vastly more expensive guitars.

The heel protrusion is interesting because searching around, it seems to be sometimes there, sometimes not; even the stock photo of Per Nilsson's 'Singularity' shows a protruding heel. So as with the minor blemishes I don't foresee that as being even a quasi-remote issue should my guitar arrive as such, and I can't imagine it affecting playability to any significant degree. That said, I'm curious as to why some Strandbergs have the protrusion and others don't. I did a Google image search for the OS and there are a couple of pics of ones that have no protrusion. But, it's clearly a variance not limited to the OS line. Even Fred Brum's mtm appears to have it.

Anyway I greatly appreciate your diligence and dedication, and I'm super excited for my OS 7's arrival on Friday!

 

[wildrat666]

Ive got even more GAAAS now. the natural with maple board......wow

 

[rockstarazuri]

See, this is one of the reasons why I love my Rasmus and Strandberg OS7.

Stringent QC PLUS excellent customer service ^^

 

[cubix]

Thank You for all the detailed explanation Ed! It's rare and trustworthy what you're doing, joining the forum and actually talking to the customers. I'm following Strandberg very closely! Please don't take the wrong way the fact that I pick on the details - I don' do that and walk away, I definately want to be a customer in the nearest future possible. The heel is actually what impressed me the most on most of the Strandberg photos I've seen. While I understand the problems with the wood, it shouldn't be a big issue to decrease the step in the neck and I'm sure you agree it looks more professional and clean that way. On an instrument that pure and simple in its form these things really stand out. I for one am extremely happy You went for the EMGs and hope that Boden os6 will be offered with them aswell. Would love to see flamed tops as nice as the first Japan batch aswell! Thank You again for the work you're doing!

 

[Inceptic]

So are these shipping with cases?

 

[Zinter]

Should be the normal .strandberg* gig bag i think, has some padding for travel

 

[Silence2-38554]

So are these shipping with cases?

The .strandberg* gig bag is half the reason I want to buy one! They're so much small & more functional than a typical gig bag. I'm gonna bring this thing with me everywhere!

 

[TauSigmaNova]

Seeing Ed up here in this thread answering questions really says something about their level of CS and involvement. Awesome to see. Never really cared for headless guitars but I'm gassing pretty hard right now.