Guthrie Govan Discussion :: View topic - A Most Worthy Addition to the 21st-Century Guitar Rig
Help support this site by shopping at Amazon through our link.
Guthrie Govan Discussion Forum Index

Guthrie Govan Discussion
The Official Guthrie Govan Discussion Board

www.GuthrieGovan.co.uk

 
 FAQFAQ   SearchSearch   MemberlistMemberlist   UsergroupsUsergroups   RegisterRegister 
 ProfileProfile   Log in to check your private messagesLog in to check your private messages   Log inLog in 

 

 
A Most Worthy Addition to the 21st-Century Guitar Rig
Goto page Previous  1, 2
 
Post new topic   Reply to topic    Guthrie Govan Discussion Forum Index -> Guthrie Tones and Gear
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
Carlo



Joined: 13 Sep 2004
Posts: 408

PostPosted: Tue Nov 04, 2014 7:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

alexkhan wrote:


The Les Paul is great, by the way. This one's special and a really LP is not easy to find. I'm still looking forward to getting one myself. The only thing is that the LP is about twice as heavy as the Strandberg but I'd only play it sitting down anyway. The tone is thick, rich yet still cutting with plenty of bite - exactly what a great Les Paul should sound like. The feel is excellent and it plays superbly. Marco really found a gem here. The only thing I'd change purely from an aesthetic sense would be to have the nickel covers on the pickups. I know the covers roll off the high-end a bit but that's what I'd want anyway and it'd look "right" to my eyes.



Yeah, I much prefer nickel covers on an LP than without. Def has to be nickel, i hate the chrome ones they put on the standards these days.

And the more I see these Standbergs, the more I am loving the design and aesthetics of it all. It looks like a very classy guitar for the modern forward-thinking player.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
alexkhan



Joined: 10 Sep 2004
Posts: 2783
Location: Chino, CA

PostPosted: Tue Nov 04, 2014 8:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Carlo wrote:


And the more I see these Standbergs, the more I am loving the design and aesthetics of it all. It looks like a very classy guitar for the modern forward-thinking player.



Marco absolutely loves the guitar, saying it's really fun and very inspiring to play. He took to the 8-string like a fish to water. Was comfortable with it immediately, which is rare. Marco's a great player - not a shred monster like Guthrie or anyone like that but he can riff, play rhythm, fills, etc. with the best of 'em. He'll be getting a custom Strandberg of his own soon.

BTW, you should check out the Levin Minnemann Rudess album. Just mind-blowing super technical prog. I love it. Perhaps it's Plini's influence but I'm in a rather hardcore prog phase these days. Marco actually wrote most of the tunes from what I understand. Marco also plays a good amount of guitar on it which provides some nice edgy organic quality to the music. Three mega-monster musicians just going all out and stretching boundaries and musical limits. Levin and Rudess are incredible as well.
_________________
Ed Yoon
Certified Guthrie Fan-atic
BOING Music LLC - Managing Partner
.strandberg* Guitars USA
Ed Yoon Consulting & Management
Guitar Center Inc.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
Carlo



Joined: 13 Sep 2004
Posts: 408

PostPosted: Wed Nov 05, 2014 5:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

alexkhan wrote:
Carlo wrote:


And the more I see these Standbergs, the more I am loving the design and aesthetics of it all. It looks like a very classy guitar for the modern forward-thinking player.



Marco absolutely loves the guitar, saying it's really fun and very inspiring to play. He took to the 8-string like a fish to water. Was comfortable with it immediately, which is rare. Marco's a great player - not a shred monster like Guthrie or anyone like that but he can riff, play rhythm, fills, etc. with the best of 'em. He'll be getting a custom Strandberg of his own soon.

BTW, you should check out the Levin Minnemann Rudess album. Just mind-blowing super technical prog. I love it. Perhaps it's Plini's influence but I'm in a rather hardcore prog phase these days. Marco actually wrote most of the tunes from what I understand. Marco also plays a good amount of guitar on it which provides some nice edgy organic quality to the music. Three mega-monster musicians just going all out and stretching boundaries and musical limits. Levin and Rudess are incredible as well.


Thanks for the recommendation! I will definitely check out that album (although I am afraid of the inevitable depressing realization that Marco is also probably a thousand times the guitar player I could ever be…damn him! lol)
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
alexkhan



Joined: 10 Sep 2004
Posts: 2783
Location: Chino, CA

PostPosted: Tue Nov 11, 2014 5:40 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Here's a couple of cool new .strandberg* baritone guitars. These are the ultra high-end 'Made To Measure' guitars made in Sweden. Nothing is too difficult for Ola. He's an amazing wiz with CAD (as well as software development in general) and coupled that with his background in mechanical engineering, sky is literally the limit when designing and producing instruments such as these. He also works very closely with various top-flight pickup manufacturers - EMG, Bare Knuckles, Lundgren, Lace, and Seymour Duncan. Note the slanted bobbins on the Lundgren pups on the first baritone hybrid below.



And another one built for Javier Reyes of Animals As Leaders:







Javier in action with his new .strandberg* axe.







And, of course, Tosin Abasi still takes a .strandberg* 8-string guitar on tour as well along with his Ibanez TA Signature Model guitars and a Rick Toone 8-string.



Animals As Leaders and the Devin Townsend Project are embarking on a massive co-headlining tour of North America in about a week. I'll certainly be catching them when they hit LA in mid-December. I saw AAL at the Roxy back in March and it was an amazing show. Got to meet Tosin as well. Very cool nice guy as well as a monster player of the highest caliber. Can't wait to see AAL again with another one of my musical heroes Devin Townsend! Cool
_________________
Ed Yoon
Certified Guthrie Fan-atic
BOING Music LLC - Managing Partner
.strandberg* Guitars USA
Ed Yoon Consulting & Management
Guitar Center Inc.


Last edited by alexkhan on Wed Nov 12, 2014 5:25 am; edited 1 time in total
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
alexkhan



Joined: 10 Sep 2004
Posts: 2783
Location: Chino, CA

PostPosted: Tue Nov 11, 2014 5:46 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Another awesome up-and-coming player is Leonardo Guzman from Colombia. His eclectic and distinctive fusion encompasses rock, metal, Latin, and jazz - just an amazing all-around player. Shocked And now Leonardo has a Boden 8 in his most capable hands. Very Happy



And here's a teaser video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uz1xYxrWTys&feature=youtu.be

Really cool to have Leo on board. Cool
_________________
Ed Yoon
Certified Guthrie Fan-atic
BOING Music LLC - Managing Partner
.strandberg* Guitars USA
Ed Yoon Consulting & Management
Guitar Center Inc.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
alexkhan



Joined: 10 Sep 2004
Posts: 2783
Location: Chino, CA

PostPosted: Wed Nov 12, 2014 5:38 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Some more noteworthy artists who own and use .strandberg* guitars.

Aaron Marshall of the Intervals... Really cool and exciting modern prog-metal band.



Aaron just took delivery of his second Strandberg below:



Misha Mansoor of Periphery. Periphery is big, very big and getting bigger. Although now a Jackson signature artist, Misha still owns at least a few Strandberg guitars in his collection.





The great legend - Allan Holdsworth... What more needs to be said?





Some pics of Allan's Made-To-Measure .strandberg* with True Temperament frets.






_________________
Ed Yoon
Certified Guthrie Fan-atic
BOING Music LLC - Managing Partner
.strandberg* Guitars USA
Ed Yoon Consulting & Management
Guitar Center Inc.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
alexkhan



Joined: 10 Sep 2004
Posts: 2783
Location: Chino, CA

PostPosted: Sat Nov 15, 2014 11:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

And here's Marco demo'ing my .strandberg* Boden 8 in a hotel room while on tour with Satch.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10152608841383773

Marco just returned and will have lunch with him to get the guitar back and return his Goldtop to him. Always fun hanging with Marco. Very Happy Marco says he'll miss the guitar greatly but I'm sure he'll be getting a customer version for himself real soon. Cool
_________________
Ed Yoon
Certified Guthrie Fan-atic
BOING Music LLC - Managing Partner
.strandberg* Guitars USA
Ed Yoon Consulting & Management
Guitar Center Inc.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
alexkhan



Joined: 10 Sep 2004
Posts: 2783
Location: Chino, CA

PostPosted: Fri Nov 28, 2014 12:11 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Got the rig moved to another room in the house to accommodate some other things in what used to be my music room. And now the rig has a new member of the family - the Charvel GG Signature Model guitar. Cool









Finally had the chance to put the two guitars side by side and compare them through the rig as well as acoustically. It literally is like comparing apples and oranges; the two guitars feel, play and sound so different that it really does feel like night and day. The difference between the two is greater than comparing, say, a Les Paul to a Tele or a Strat.

And that's what I find so cool about the .strandberg*. Everything else (solid-body wise) is pretty much based on the three iconic guitars: Tele, Strat and Les Paul. The .strandberg* is a completely different thing altogether. It's got its own thing that is unique and also extremely pleasing and fun to play and hear.

In fact, the Charvel GG sounds so different that the presets I programmed on the Axe-Fx for the Boden 8 don't sound right for it. The Boden 8 (not counting the two extra low strings) sounds much more "acoustic" with an extended range of lows and highs compared to the mid-heavy GG. The .strandberg* is a chambered design so that's expected but it doesn't feel or sound like other solid-bodies that have a good chunk of wood scooped out of the body. It's still a very punchy guitar, evidenced by the number of high-profile prog-metal artists using it.

I really can't say I like one over the other; they're so different. I have a Boden 6 coming in January so it'll be very interesting to compare that to the Charvel GG although it'll have a hardtail system with six individual bridge pieces. I love 'em both and I feel that these are the two best guitars I have ever owned and they complement each other beautifully. I'll need to program a bank of patches on the Axe-Fx strictly for the Charvel GG now. The Charvel sounds very "traditional" and "classic" while the .strandberg* sounds very "modern" and "hi-fi" but it still retains a very organic, natural and warm sonic character with plenty of tonal complexity.

Well, all I can say is I'm in gear heaven these days. To me, this is way better than owning a boutique gear store. I feel I really have everything I could ever want in a very compact, versatile and flexible system that also doubles as a great hi-fi stereo system that I can play along with. The Axe-Fx II just sounds and feels better with each firmware update and the used value of it is still almost as good as new, which you just can't get with any other boutique gear out there.

Oh, yeah, and the photos are courtesy of the iPhone 6 Plus, which now takes great photos in low-light nigh conditions. The iPhone 6 Plus is amazing as well; I can't really even imagine something better right now. It's just so perfect for my needs. Well, gonna enjoy the Thanksgiving festivities now and I'll definitely start enjoying this great gear over the weekend. Very Happy
_________________
Ed Yoon
Certified Guthrie Fan-atic
BOING Music LLC - Managing Partner
.strandberg* Guitars USA
Ed Yoon Consulting & Management
Guitar Center Inc.


Last edited by alexkhan on Sun Dec 07, 2014 7:20 am; edited 1 time in total
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
alexkhan



Joined: 10 Sep 2004
Posts: 2783
Location: Chino, CA

PostPosted: Sun Dec 07, 2014 5:52 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well, I decided to "expand" this rig somewhat to make it much easier to tweak and save patches on the Axe-Fx II as I hate using the front panel's 80's-style little display window and scrolling through pages and pages of parameters. The laptop on top of the rack using the Axe-Edit software to tweak is certainly better but was somewhat of a hassle as well. Well, I happened to have an extra Apple 27" Thunderbolt Display so I decided to set that up right next to where I'd be sitting in front of the rig for easy tweaking from exactly where I'd normally sit to play and listen - including my iTunes music library.

Just got the Axe-Fx updated with Firmware 17 and it just gets better and better. The Axe-Fx really is an amazing piece of gear. Its resale value right now is almost as much as a brand new unit after being 3 years out on the market. You sure won't get that with any boutique amp out there. And with each free firmware update, you get more features and improved sounds.

I spent over 3 hours playing this rig last night going in between the Charvel GG and the Strandberg Boden 8 and I really felt like I was in aural heaven. I played some stuff from my iTunes library to play along with as well as some loops in Garage Band through the Axe-Fx and out to the Atomic CLR speakers. The DAC in the Axe-Fx is top-notch and the audio quality is superb. The guitar sound sat perfectly in the mix to whatever I was playing along with as well.

After a few hours playing at a fairly loud volume, I turned it down to near whisper level and everything still sounded big and clear - filling the room but at a level that you can have a normal conversation over. Most of all, it all felt great in the hands. Also, I'm not sure what has happened with the most recent FW updates but I'm now having a very easy time getting sweet harmonic feedback even at bedroom volume levels. I was doing that yesterday and going, "Whoa! I don't remember this when the FW was at 12 or something like that." To get harmonic feedback that I can sustain endlessly at a whisper volume level is a first. I was like, "Wow! This is just too good." Very Happy

I can't be happier with this rig. It's not something I could have even imagined about 3~5 years ago. It has turned out much better than my wildest expectations. It's the best and by far the most versatile guitar rig and and the best hi-fi audio system I've had in one fairly compact and attractive looking system. Even my wife likes the look of it all. Laughing It's in our master bedroom and she has no problem with it whatsoever. Well, she is a very tolerant and understanding type. Wink

The last cool touch I added was I put an Apple AirPort Express Wifi base station in the rack to stream music from our iPhones using AirPlay to the JDS O2 Headphone Amplifier which then sends the signal to a Radial direct box to the Atomic CLR speakers. I got the 128gb iPhone 6 Plus to store thousands of songs in the Apple Lossless format and I can now stream that to this system right from the bed - controlling the volume and everything else from the phone. I tried it with my iPad Air watching a YT video and because this is Wifi and not the slowpoke Bluetooth, the video on the iPad and the audio coming out of the system was in perfect sync! I couldn't help but smile and think, "Wow... We're really living in good times indeed..." Very Happy






_________________
Ed Yoon
Certified Guthrie Fan-atic
BOING Music LLC - Managing Partner
.strandberg* Guitars USA
Ed Yoon Consulting & Management
Guitar Center Inc.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
alexkhan



Joined: 10 Sep 2004
Posts: 2783
Location: Chino, CA

PostPosted: Mon Dec 08, 2014 2:30 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Had another pleasant Sunday afternoon hang with Marco. Marco had recently received his .strandberg* Boden 8 and he and I were eager to compare ours side by side. I also had to tweak his a bit since it arrived from Chicago earlier in the week and it's been quite rainy here in Southern Cal recently. So I loosened up the truss rod somewhat and the guitar played great. Marco has a big collection of guitars and he also mentioned how the .strandberg* simply sounds, feels and plays like no other guitar out there.

Here are a few pics taken at his home, including of Marco and yours truly with our respective Boden 8 guitars.




_________________
Ed Yoon
Certified Guthrie Fan-atic
BOING Music LLC - Managing Partner
.strandberg* Guitars USA
Ed Yoon Consulting & Management
Guitar Center Inc.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
alexkhan



Joined: 10 Sep 2004
Posts: 2783
Location: Chino, CA

PostPosted: Wed Dec 17, 2014 1:53 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

.strandberg* Guitarworks has a spanking new site.

http://strandbergguitars.com

And, today, an announcement was made that Plini is now an official .strandberg* artist. Here's a snapshot of the new site. It's still a work in progress and there'll be an extensive Artists section added shortly.



I'm very excited by all the developments going on at .strandberg* and there'll be more news at NAMM for sure. Getting to know and working with Ola and now Plini has been an incredible blessing and I look forward to a great future developing the brand and the .strandberg* company with both of them. I believe in the .strandberg* guitars, Ola's vision, and Plini as a most promising new artist. It really is an awesome "hobby" job to go along with my GC "day job" (which I really enjoy, by the way), running the Boing Music LLC label for the Aristocrats and continuing my close working relationship with Guthrie. 2014 has been an amazing year but I can truly say that the best years have yet to come. Very Happy
_________________
Ed Yoon
Certified Guthrie Fan-atic
BOING Music LLC - Managing Partner
.strandberg* Guitars USA
Ed Yoon Consulting & Management
Guitar Center Inc.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
alexkhan



Joined: 10 Sep 2004
Posts: 2783
Location: Chino, CA

PostPosted: Sun Dec 28, 2014 1:01 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Here are the specs and some pics of Plini's new .strandberg* Boden 6:

Model: Boden 6 (USA - Washburn Custom Shop)
Body: Boden shape with chambered Swamp Ash and Curly Koa top
Neck: 3-piece Birdseye Maple with graphite reinforcement
Fingerboard: Ebony
Neck shape: .strandberg* patent-pending EndurNeck
Bridge: Proprietary .strandberg* EGS Series 4 - six individual bridge pieces
Scale length - Fanned 25" (high-E) to 25.5" (low-E)
Fingerboard radius: Compound 16-20"
Pickups: Bare Knuckle Juggernaut humbucker x 2
Electronics: Volume, Tone, 3-way
Hardware color: Gold satin
Weight: 4 pounds









Can't wait to add a Boden 6 (and a 7) to my collection. There's something quite addicting about playing a .strandberg* and it's not just the futuristic look, amazingly light weight, superb ergonomics and awesome playability. For me, ultimately, it's the sound. I just love the big full-spectrum sound (so much more big tight and punchy lows and sweet clear highs than typical solid-bodies) and the way the instrument resonates through the body and the neck. You really feel the resonance in your fretting hand and against your body.

Really curious about these Bare Knuckle pickups which were developed by Bare Knuckle along with Misha Mansoor of Periphery. Plini says they sound great and I've been hearing nothing but great stuff about Bare Knuckle pickups from many in the industry. Seems to have a nice balance between "modern" or "contemporary" sounds and the "vintage" and "traditional" sounds with both ceramic and Alnico magnets used in the construction.

I really can't say which one I like better between my .strandberg* Boden 8 and the Charvel GG. They're just so different - more so than, say, between a nice Les Paul and a nice Strat. The .strandberg* may be "modern" but it also sounds great for traditional vintage type of sounds. In fact, I kind of prefer the .strandberg* for the old sounds, even with EMG pickups. As Plini told me, it just sounds better although he's got the passive Bare Knuckle pickups.

How an electric guitar sounds unplugged is very important. I would not even bother plugging in an electric guitar into an amp unless I liked how it sounded unplugged acoustically in a quiet room and how it resonated and felt in my hands and against my body. An electric guitar is still an "acoustic" guitar that gets amplified and the pickups should be faithful in transferring that sound quality and character to the amp.

I've said this before and I'll say it again: an electric guitar unplugged is like an ant that gets converted into a huge dinosaur through the amplification process. You have a pretty ant and you'll have a pretty dinosaur; you have an ugly ant and you'll get an ugly dinosaur. So make sure you love the acoustic sound, resonant character and feel of an electric guitar unplugged first before plugging in. Pickups can always be swapped out later to meet your needs. Make sure you love the "ant" before blowing it up to a "dinosaur". Wink
_________________
Ed Yoon
Certified Guthrie Fan-atic
BOING Music LLC - Managing Partner
.strandberg* Guitars USA
Ed Yoon Consulting & Management
Guitar Center Inc.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
alexkhan



Joined: 10 Sep 2004
Posts: 2783
Location: Chino, CA

PostPosted: Sun Dec 28, 2014 11:26 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ola Strandberg just posted a very interesting article about the effects of tone wood on the sound of the electric guitar with a tonal experiment conducted by his son. It's a good read.

http://guitarworks.thestrandbergs.com/2014/12/28/the-impact-of-wood-choice-in-an-electric-guitar/

There are so many variables indeed and those variables need to be taken into account when testing the sonic characteristics of an instrument.

There will be noticeable differences between the woods when everything else is the same but construction methods, scale length, bridge type and material, string gauge, etc. will all contribute to the overall sound.

As I see it, a .strandberg* just sounds way different from conventional solid-body guitars I've owned and played in the past and I've literally played thousands and thousands of different guitars over 23+ years working at Fender, Tone Merchants, Suhr, and now at GC and .strandberg*.

A .strandberg* sounds as it does due to its unique chambered body, headless design, individual bridge piece for each string, and multi-scale fanned fret design. These factors all contribute to a sound that's different from "normal" solid-body guitars. And, personally, I just love the big acoustic sound and the very resonant character of a .strandberg*. It just has its own thing that I have not heard or felt from any other solid-body guitar I've tried.
_________________
Ed Yoon
Certified Guthrie Fan-atic
BOING Music LLC - Managing Partner
.strandberg* Guitars USA
Ed Yoon Consulting & Management
Guitar Center Inc.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
alexkhan



Joined: 10 Sep 2004
Posts: 2783
Location: Chino, CA

PostPosted: Sun Jan 04, 2015 7:00 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

If you're going to be at NAMM, be sure to visit the .strandberg* booth to check out the guitars and the .strandberg* artists who will perform there as outlined in the schedule below.



I expect to be busy with my GC duties there at least the first couple of days but should be hanging out at the .strandberg* booth a lot over Sat and Sun.
_________________
Ed Yoon
Certified Guthrie Fan-atic
BOING Music LLC - Managing Partner
.strandberg* Guitars USA
Ed Yoon Consulting & Management
Guitar Center Inc.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
alexkhan



Joined: 10 Sep 2004
Posts: 2783
Location: Chino, CA

PostPosted: Fri Jan 09, 2015 2:09 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have this USA Boden 6 incoming and am very much looking forward to it. It was actually the first Boden 6 prototype made at the Washburn Custom Shop in Illinois. Being that it's a prototype, it's one reason the top isn't a super highly-figured variety but I actually prefer it that way. Personally, I really don't care for heavily figured woods anymore.

It has Duncan JB and Jazz humbuckers but I ordered a calibrated set of the Bare Knuckle Juggernaut humbuckers to install on this guitar so I can see and hear what all the Bare Knuckle hoopla is about. Smile Will post new pics when the guitar comes in.


_________________
Ed Yoon
Certified Guthrie Fan-atic
BOING Music LLC - Managing Partner
.strandberg* Guitars USA
Ed Yoon Consulting & Management
Guitar Center Inc.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
Display posts from previous:   
Post new topic   Reply to topic    Guthrie Govan Discussion Forum Index -> Guthrie Tones and Gear All times are GMT
Goto page Previous  1, 2
Page 2 of 2

 
Jump to:  
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum



Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2002 phpBB Group