.....

[metropolis_4]

Would that stop you buying a Les Paul? at one time they had plastic nuts and saddles and all zinc castings.

The one big difference though is that all that LP hardware is easily swapped out since there is so much aftermarket hardware available.

I would assume I’m probably stuck with the proprietary bridge that comes on this Strandberg.


If I was shopping for a Les Paul and it had those features I would definitely have to consider the cost of replacing that hardware as part of cost of the guitar

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

Looks like somebody's trying to start a "tone wood" debate .

Not a tone wood debate at all - I don’t want a guitar body made of poplar regardless of tone for similar reasons.

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

They lost me here:



At least they’re being honest and letting us know it’s zinc so I know not to buy one

What's wrong with zinc? When folks complain about zinc trem blocks its usually the method-of-making, not the alloy used that is the problem.

 

[Eagle]

What's wrong with zinc? When folks complain about zinc trem blocks its usually the method-of-making, not the alloy used that is the problem.

Agreed but often it isn’t easy to find out.

 

[metropolis_4]

What's wrong with zinc? When folks complain about zinc trem blocks its usually the method-of-making, not the alloy used that is the problem.

All I know is that my Strat came with a zinc block and it never sounded as good as other Strats, but I couldn’t figure out why.

One day I replaced the zinc block with a steel one and the guitar instantly came to life and sounded 100x better

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

All I know is that my Strat came with a zinc block and it never sounded as good as other Strats, but I couldn’t figure out why.

One day I replaced the zinc block with a steel one and the guitar instantly came to life and sounded 100x better

Like in all things guitar, that just tells you that that particular steel block sounded better than that particular zinc block. WIthout knowing more, I would not be willing to extrapolate that experience to "Zinc sucks". My understanding is that a lot of cheap zinc blocks are made by filling a mold with powder and heating to below melting point so powder particles fuse together. If it sounds like a process that would lead to a a trem block of much different density than one that is machined from a solid piece of metal...you would be right. WHile the crude casting method works for a trem block, I doubt that is the approach they are using for the bridge structure here.

 

[metropolis_4]

Like in all things guitar, that just tells you that that particular steel block sounded better than that particular zinc block. WIthout knowing more, I would not be willing to extrapolate that experience to "Zinc sucks". My understanding is that a lot of cheap zinc blocks are made by filling a mold with powder and heating to below melting point so powder particles fuse together. If it sounds like a process that would lead to a a trem block of much different density than one that is machined from a solid piece of metal...you would be right. WHile the crude casting method works for a trem block, I doubt that is the approach they are using for the bridge structure here.

It was enough of an experience to make me wary of zinc bridges. And that combined with the fact it’s not a part I could easily swap if it does suck would give me something to be concerned about if I were thinking about purchasing.

It’s one thing to buy something like a Strat where I know there are hundreds of aftermarket parts I can swap if I don’t like it, but this is a whole different proposition

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

It was enough of an experience to make me wary of zinc bridges. And that combined with the fact it’s not a part I could easily swap if it does suck would give me something to be concerned about if I were thinking about purchasing.

It’s one thing to buy something like a Strat where I know there are hundreds of aftermarket parts I can swap if I don’t like it, but this is a whole different proposition

Given that the only part of a strat trem we are talking about is the block, which this bridge doesn't have at all because its not a trem, the rationale by which you are judging this guitar just seems arbitrary on multiple fronts.

 

[Eagle]

Like in all things guitar, that just tells you that that particular steel block sounded better than that particular zinc block. WIthout knowing more, I would not be willing to extrapolate that experience to "Zinc sucks". My understanding is that a lot of cheap zinc blocks are made by filling a mold with powder and heating to below melting point so powder particles fuse together. If it sounds like a process that would lead to a a trem block of much different density than one that is machined from a solid piece of metal...you would be right. WHile the crude casting method works for a trem block, I doubt that is the approach they are using for the bridge structure here.

That is almost certainly the method used by most of the OEM low end companies.

 

[Eagle]

Not a tone wood debate at all - I don’t want a guitar body made of poplar regardless of tone for similar reasons.

I bet you (and by that I mean anyone) couldn’t tell the difference between an alder and poplar strat body by sound or durability.

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

I bet you (and by that I mean anyone) couldn’t tell the difference between an alder and poplar strat body by sound or durability.

I've worked with poplar enough to know what I think of its stability. Its not always bad, but when its bad, its bad.

Maybe Alder is the same, I dunno, I've never worked with it.

I'm free to be as arbitrary in my deal breakers as @metropolis_4 all the while calling him ridiculous for being arbitrary

 

[metropolis_4]

Given that the only part of a strat trem we are talking about is the block, which this bridge doesn't have at all because its not a trem, the rationale by which you are judging this guitar just seems arbitrary on multiple fronts.

I once got horrible food poisoning after eating a Thai sandwich with carrots. It probably wasn’t the carrots that made me sick; I’d probably be just fine eating carrots again; I’m sure other people love carrots. But I don’t want to eat carrots again. Luckily, there are lots of other vegetables in the world.

 

[stonge]

I have a Strandberg Classic (s/s/h) and I like the tone better after swapping out the aluminum block for a brass one. The ergonomics are very good for me (YMMV) and it's great for fiddling at the desk using plug-ins. The tension on the high E feels tighter and less bendable than most of my guitars, and the high E strings (D'Addario and Ernie Ball) have a tendency for the winds on the ball-end to unravel. I plan to solder the wraps at the next string change to see if that helps. FWIW, my Steinberger GM4T and a friend's GL4S (on loan to me) don't feel tighter and don't unravel. My Carvin/Kiesel Holdsworth models also feel tighter and unravel pretty often.

the Essential model looks interesting; a hardtail option at a reasonable price is attractive as I like the headless option for sitting at the desk and working things out. Fanned frets or normal frets never really bothered me as I play equally poorly on both lol.

 

[spawnofthesith]

I've always had a touch of strandberg gas but a bit of an objection to the price.

This is more in line for me, but unfortunately I hate the colors lol.

Good move I'd say. Wonder how much of a difference this would be from the headless Agile turd I had?

Supposedly Agiles are made by WMI but I've never played an agile that was anything better than "usable if necessary" at best. Any other WMI made instrument I've owned/played was miles and miles ahead of agile junk

 

[Warmart]

I've always had a touch of strandberg gas but a bit of an objection to the price.

This is more in line for me, but unfortunately I hate the colors lol.



Supposedly Agiles are made by WMI but I've never played an agile that was anything better than "usable if necessary" at best. Any other WMI made instrument I've owned/played was miles and miles ahead of agile junk

Agiles desperately seek EMG's to come alive.

I never was 100% sure who exactly made them in Korea, but most factories build to the price-point, and Agiles were/are cheap.

That's the next trade-in candidate for me, or selling on FB Marketplace. I rarely ever play my AL-3200.

 

[mbenigni]

The tension on the high E feels tighter and less bendable than most of my guitars...

100%.

FWIW, my Steinberger GM4T and a friend's GL4S (on loan to me)...

If we're talking about the same guitar, that was supposed to be a gift.

Fanned frets or normal frets never really bothered me as I play equally poorly on both lol.

Bummed I can't find a decent "Come on, Dave, gimme a break" meme...

 

[dbagchee]

I'm about to pull the trigger on one of these, and having a hell of a time picking a color. Leaning towards the blue....

 

[Achilles]

I'm about to pull the trigger on one of these, and having a hell of a time picking a color. Leaning towards the blue....

Blue is definitely the way to go this year.......

 

[Eagle]

I like the straight frets on this model. My Original 6 gains nothing from slanting them.

 

[dbagchee]

Are shiny spots from wear on a matte finish less noticeable on lighter finishes?

Blue is definitely the way to go this year.......

I know right? My lambo orange Schecter still looks awesome though and I have several black guitars already....I kind of wish they did one in white like the NX Metal models.