OffsetGuitars.com

UlricvonCatalyst wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 03, 2020 10:35 am

Interesting to note that it can be made to sound like both a Telecaster and a Les Paul, too. So it's a Line6 Variax meets a Steinberger, then...?

i guess i didn’t really explain that bit - what i mean is that they don’t have much of a unique sound. the one they sell with tele pickups, just kinda sounds like a top mount tele, as one would expect, a little “plunkier” but i’m sure that depends as well on setup... the ones with humbuckers sound like “les pauls”(generic humbucker guitar #654927whatever) to my ears. i guess what i mean is that sound wise i’ve found them to be very boring, or versatile i suppose - a good enough sound but not at all a unique one.

all that to say, i wouldn’t buy a strandberg for the sound, and i wouldn’t buy a steinberger for the comfort/weight/ease of playing. different tools in my opinion, despite the aesthetic similarities.

I've had a Classic 6 for about a year and a half now, and it's definitely one of my favorite players. I'll agree that they don't have a ton of character, but I also think that it's less that they don't have character and more that they're very neutral and let you get a ton of tones by playing differently - I use a pick, my fingers, and tap, as well as playing basically all over the strings between the bridge and neck, so I get a ton of different sounds that I wouldn't call "characterless," it's more that they really emphasize the whole "tone is in the fingers" thing.

I will say too that the Classics have my favorite pickups of the bunch - the Fluences aren't my thing tonally and while they're way better than EMGs to my ears and hands, they're by far not my first choice. The Suhr pickups in the higher-end passive models I'll definitely call characterless - they sound like really good generic electric guitar sounds, which has a place for sure, but it's not really my vibe. The Michael Frank Braun-designed (or so I hear anyway) sets on the Classic 6/7/8 sound killer: they remind me a lot of the Guthrie Govan signature pickups in his Charvel (which makes sense, they're designed by the same guy) and have a really clean Strat-but-friendly tone that I dig. I like them so much that I pulled the singles out and put them in my Mustang (which gets the most playing time and had nice but weird Tim Shaw singles stock).

I like the body shape on these, but I can't stand the feel of a headless guitar. Can't get used to them at all.
They seem to have little in the way of overtones, and often come with really boring pickups.

The neck carve on these feels really cool in the hand though. Very alien at first, but it is a solid concept in practice.

I'd never own one, unless they start doing models with a normal headstock.

If I could only have one guitar, a J6 with Fluence modern would be a strong contender. This one is pale blue white maple burl with some pink hardware.

That kicks ass. I bet it's amazingly ergonomic to play too.

That might be the best Strandberg I've seen