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I guess I'll be the guy to jump in to rain on this. The "shame" here is that guitars like this are stolen IP. China is kind of known for stealing IP and making copies and counterfeits, and supporting them makes it more difficult to stop. That being said, I'm happy OP didn't get screwed on this deal. But I do feel that, as artists, we should be the first line of defense in respecting the time and effort others put in for their art. The strandberg design is recent, currently controlled only the ola, and not like the omnipresent strat, LP, etc designs. Ola is actively trying to come out with multiple lines, more affordable versions, new innovations, distribution deals, etc. Supporting a knockoff makes it harder for him to do that, because it takes away demand, reputation, or revenue. Again, I don't want to be a negative Nancy, but if someone says, "why the shame," this is why.
There's a lot to consider from the viewpoint of IP. I'm sure there a lot of people who will disagree, but this is simply my viewpoint on this particular instrument.
1. No logo. People who are aware of Ola and his work will know immediately that a Grote=/=.strandberg*.
2. Market differentiation. The people shelling out .strandberg* money will not even look twice at this. Hell, I absolutely love this guitar, but I know it doesn't stack up to Ola's creations.
3. Ola didn't invent headless guitars. He'll even say this himself, I'm sure. And the hardware isn't even remotely similar. It's all proprietary (or by another import company doing headless systems.)
4. The strat. Practically every guitar company has an iteration of such, and they all play and sound very differently. Hell, a lot of people still search for pre-lawsuit instruments from companies like ESP that have very blatantly ripped off the originals.
In short, people are going to copy things. In fact, there are boutique custom luthiers making much more blatant .strandberg* copies that everyone loves. The stolen IP argument just doesn't make sense to me.
I've actually been super tempted by these for a laugh. HNGD. The red and blue ones they have look real nice.
Hows the bridge? If I got one I'd swap out the pups and stick a hipshot headless bridge on there.
The Strandberg hardware *needs* a wrench to tune, as well. As in, you can use your fingers, but they won't be in any shape to play by time you're tuned up.
You can tell it's not a real Strandberg because the fret markers are straight...
(kidding)
Holy crap, that's what they look like in person!? How is the fretwork, electronics, neck etc.?
You can tell it's not a real Strandberg because the fret markers are straight...
(kidding)
As a man who respects what Ola has done from a craftsmanship point of view, I'm trying reallly hard not to laugh at this.