New Gear Jonesing: .strandberg*
G.A.S. is weighing heavily on me right now, the desire to add to the stable something that might reduce the arthritic pain in my left hand is growing greater.
Lately, I have been watching a lot of a New Mexico based guitar player. She has a versatile style, able to play very Allan Holdsworthian riffs, lots of two handed tapping, piano parts transcribed to guitar, and even some prog rock deliciousness.
Tory Slusher is her name and she's active on Youtube, and sells her albums on Bandcamp. (that link is to her latest)
She is currently playing a Strandberg headless "Essentials" guitar, and that piqued my curiosity. I have never had or played a headless guitar, and I will admit that it seems weird. Intriguing, it has some benefits, mainly a lot lighter (4-5 pounds), and it is ergonomically designed to be played sitting down, where most guitars aren't (if you know, you know).
Once you start looking for reviews, well you get bombarded. Lots of Youtube videos (they practically beat you with them once you start), but then you look at the more expensive variants (the Essentials is the lowest cost variant), and yes, they have better pickups, but they also are multiscale, sometimes called "fan frets", and the general consensus is that the multiscale is not really a benefit for 6 string guitars.[1]
The higher end variants also have the option of a tremolo, something that I can live without. And there are figured maple tops, and styles that are optimized for jazz.
Whoop de doo!
The only negatives I could find was that the matte finish wears glossy with time, and that there can be fret sprouting if you have wide swings in humidity.[2]
Additionally, they have a patented "Endur" neck, designed by Ola Strandberg to be ergonomically correct. No "modern C," "D", or other shape, it is designed to position the thumb to reduce stress. The reviewers universally like it, and this is really the feature that intrigues me the most.
When you are young, you don't worry so much about ergonomics, basically playing through any discomfort. But when you get to my age, 60, with arthritis in my left hand, something designed to reduce pressures and stress sounds like a darned good idea!
And I gotta admit that it is mighty tempting to buy one of these to see if it is more comfortable to play.
Lastly, the Essential comes with a choice for a purple body. What's not to love?
1- The idea is to allow a longer scale length (25.5") for the bass strings, and thus greater tension, to give a "meatier" sound, while allowing a shorter scale length (25") for the treble strings increasing the playability. Mostly, this works better for 7 and 8 string guitars.
2 - Fret sprout is when the wood of the fretboard shrinks with lower humidity, and the ends of the frets can pop out. They can be super sharp, but it can be fixed with a bit of dressing (filing).
