Thoughts on strandberg 7s

[Corporial Bodies]

Hi guys thinking about getting a strandberg boden, anybody have any experience with them? What's the enduraneck like? And sound vs a non headless guitar. Plus should I get a neck thru or bolt on? Any thoughts would be great. I'll be mostly tuning to drop A

 

[Avedas]

Endurneck is very chunky, and it's even more pronounced with the more strings you have. That being said, I find them to be very comfortable. Even more so with the Japanese Boden 7s, which definitely felt like a different neck profile to me than the regular production ones. I found the current production line necks to be a bit too thin for me in the 7 string format.

They're very light guitars – even the non-chambered ones. Don't expect to have the sustain and deep resonance of a giant slab of mahogany. In return they feel very quick and snappy, and my personal experience with Bodens is that they're quite bright.

Neck through vs bolt on is really up to whatever you find most comfortable. The neck throughs all have painted necks though, which I'm personally not really a fan of but again, that's personal preference. I also don't think it's worth the rather significant upcharge for those models. The bolt on heel can be somewhat obstructive if you're playing wide stretches on the highest frets, but it rarely bothers me.

 

[Corporial Bodies]

@Avedas Ok so in short, there not very resonant and dont sustain very well? Are they quite thin sounding then? Any experience with the egs trem vs fixed. Is the differences between the original, prog and other models just the finishes?

 

[SpaceDock]

I have an OS7 and it is very light but very resonant due to the chambering. The endurneck might be chunky but it plays very well, it forces you to not thumb over and it works very well. My only complaint about the guitar is that it does not feel as natural to play standing up. Sitting position playing is the best of any guitar I have played, but when standing I wish the guitar was heavier. For comparison I love playing my Strandberg sitting down and is the easiest to play seven string I have tried, but if I am going to stand I change over to my majesty. The majesty was literally twice the cost of the OS7.

 

[ScottThunes1960]

My experience has been that the Bodens have more variation in sound guitar-to-guitar than they do between the fixed and floating versions of their featherweight aluminum bridges. I didn't notice a dramatic difference in unplugged tone or sustain between a fixed Boden Original and a Prog with a locked Tremol-no, but of course YMMV.

 

[Corporial Bodies]

Cheers guys, ok next question the fishman fluence pickups or the sulr pickups?

 

[diagrammatiks]

neither!

but between the moderns and the suhr ssv probably the suhr

but you should buy the moderns, sell them and get a set of km's or abasis.

 

[Corporial Bodies]

Lol I have some moderns, there ok haha but I was thinking maybe the abasi or juggernauts?

 

[Trentan Snow]

I think SpaceDock hit the nail on the head. I have a Standard 7 which I bought at the beginning of the year because I think it had a decent price point. This is my first 7, so I definitely have limited experience in the 7 field. That being said, the thing is super easy to transport around because of its weight and size, the Endurneck is buttery smooth and was a game-changer for me because my work has screwed up my wrists a bit and this neck has really helped with comfort as well as my technique. The standard has a bolt-on neck, solid body opposed to chambered, and Strandberg designed pickups which I think sound amazing - but I also haven't personally been able to play any other pickups enough to really give my thoughts comparatively.
I got nothing but praises. I was hesitant to pull the trigger because of price, not being available to try, and dealing with the anxiety-inducing shipping of instruments. I'm currently looking into experimenting with drop f# because super thicc, but going to need to mess with the setup a bit for that low of a tuning. It suits drop A pretty well though with the standard setup.

 

[thomas.reuter]

I have a 2018 original 7 and it's been my go-to axe since I got it about a year and a half ago. The only criticism I can give on it is I want to put in Abasi Fishmans as I don't like that the moderns don't have a 5 way switch.

 

[Dayn]

I like my Prog 7, the one with the floating bridge. I like the sustain and tone, though there's certainly a twang to it while unplugged which reminds me of a TOM bridge. Which isn't a big deal.

I like thin necks that don't get in my way. The endurneck isn't thin, but it doesn't get in my way. I really, really like it. As for the Fluence Moderns... I enjoy them. But I enjoy the Abasis in my 8 even more. The Moderns are great - but I think I prefer the Abasis more.

 

[HungryGuitarStudent]

I’ve had a Prog 7, a Singularity 7 and a Metal 7 and played Strandberg guitars exclusively for the last 5 years.

About neck thickness:

Older models have a bulkier Endureneck. The current production models (Prog, Metal, Fusion, Standard, Classic, etc) have a smaller Endureneck. The Singularity has a thinned down version of that neck. The 2020 Singularity will have the same thin neck with rounded down edges.

Chambered can non-chambered:

Some models have hollow bodies, others have solid filled bodies. This obviously changes the resonance characteristics of the instrument.

Endureneck:

I like the Endureneck. After 5 years of playing it, I found that the Singularity is best for my hands/play style (stretches, etc.). However, after tying the ovoid neck of the Abasi Japanese Larada, I found that I prefer the J Larada’s neck, which is basically a rounded slim Endureneck. After getting a J Larada, I haven’t played any of my Strandberg 7s.

In other words, you may like or dislike the edges in the Endureneck. If your thumb moves a lot while playing, it may bother you. Try one and see.

Fanned frets:

All 7s have fanned frets except the Singularity (afaik). If you’re like me and you do a lot of tapping arpeggios, it may take a while to get used to it (it took me a couple of weeks). No big deal, just something to consider.

Stock Pickups:

I’ve changed all the stock pickups in my Strandbergs. After a long trial period, I found that I dislike the Fishman Modern Humbuckers.

 

[Corporial Bodies]

Chambered can non-chambered:

Some models have hollow bodies, others have solid filled bodies. This obviously changes the resonance characteristics of the instrument

So, I know what chambering is but I've never play chambered guitar, how does this affect the tone/sustain/resonance of the guitar?

 

[HungryGuitarStudent]

I think this link covers a lot of your questions: https://strandbergguitars.com/how-to-choose-your-strandberg-guitar/

 

[oracles]

Strandberg IMO represents the least overall value in all their objective price points. There's no reason to buy one over any other headless unless you cant live without the endurneck or their proprietary hardware. Aside from that, the value really isn't there. You can pick up a Mayones Hydra at around $2k that blows the door off most Strandbergs. The J Bodens are their best built models, but their pricing on them puts them in a category where they're outclassed by their competitors and youre comfortably in the CS range for a lot of shops.

 

[Avedas]

The best production version of the Endurneck is on Leda's signature with the rounded edges. That thing is awesome.

The other thing Strandberg has going for it is a properly designed aesthetic. I swear every other headless maker does at least 1-2 things that just look disgusting. The worst being multiscales with non-angled nuts

 

[Corporial Bodies]

What are the usa custom shop build like? I've seen a second hand one that I'm interested in

 

[The Spanish Inquisition]

I've found my Strandberg experience, which was very short lived, completely positive. It was a very comfortable neck end the body works well with my chunky self. However, I found the Fishmans in it to sound metallic and lifeless, there were a lot of production flaws, and last but definitely not least, one of the saddles was overtightened very easily. It stripped the hole and couldn't clamp down the saddle anymore. You're paying USA prices for something from Indonesia where the QC issues are still quite present.

 

[HungryGuitarStudent]

Strandberg IMO represents the least overall value in all their objective price points. There's no reason to buy one over any other headless unless you cant live without the endurneck or their proprietary hardware. Aside from that, the value really isn't there. You can pick up a Mayones Hydra at around $2k that blows the door off most Strandbergs. The J Bodens are their best built models, but their pricing on them puts them in a category where they're outclassed by their competitors and youre comfortably in the CS range for a lot of shops.

Endureneck, body shape and aesthetics are what initially drew me to Strandberg.

I’ve had hand and arm issues, so neck/body ergonomics are important to me. The Mayones, Kiesel and other headless 7s I tried are nowhere near Strandberg for my ergonomic needs, and, as @Avedas said, may not be universally aesthetically appealing.

In terms of build quality ymmv, but I’ve been fortunate to live 15 minutes from my country’s Strandberg distributor, so I’ve been able to pick my builds (and they’ve all been pretty much flawless).

All that being said, I switched to the Abasi J-Larada since its ergonomics are even better for my needs (the ovoid neck especially), it sounds insanely good and it inspires the hell out of me.

My advice, don’t pick a brand, try it and see how it feels. Too many things are player specific. Hell, seemingly minor things like where and how you rest your picking arm on the body can result in totally different experiences (ask Troy Grady).

 

[xzacx]

What are the usa custom shop build like? I've seen a second hand one that I'm interested in

I can only speak on the Washburn ones, but in my experience, those have been the best Strandbergs I've owned—better than the OS and current overseas lines, and far superior to the Swedish Custom Shop. I've had a bunch, and the only one I wish I had back was from the Koa run from the Washburn shop. The top wasn't anything special but it was the only best sounding Strandberg I've ever heard by a mile, and it had Lace pickups.

As far as the other US-built ones, I'd personally avoid the S7G-built versions on general principal, and I've never played the more recent ones from that short-lived US run a year or two ago.