Rick05 Posted March 28, 2020 Share Posted March 28, 2020 Hi, Sorry if this has been covered before, but I have been looking at the Strandberg basses, particularly the Boden Prog bass, with a lot of curiosity and envy recently. Does anyone have any experiences with these basses that they can share? Thanks, Rick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geek99 Posted March 28, 2020 Share Posted March 28, 2020 You might get better responses if you post some links ? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick05 Posted March 28, 2020 Author Share Posted March 28, 2020 Thanks, the bass I’m mainly interested in is the Prog Boden Bass https://strandbergguitars.com/product/boden-bass-prog-5-brown/?no_geo_redirect=1¤cy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Machines Posted March 28, 2020 Share Posted March 28, 2020 I've tried one in GuitarGuitar. Very nice, sounds great and well built but that price tag is just too rich for me, especially for a Far East built instrument. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ped Posted March 28, 2020 Share Posted March 28, 2020 My friend has a guitar. It’s gorgeous and the angled neck feels amazing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fiatcoupe432 Posted March 28, 2020 Share Posted March 28, 2020 (edited) 1 hour ago, Machines said: I get you, they used to be made in USA but I reckon the amount they were selling wasn't covering the expenses and rates for a shop in illinois yhe the moved to Indonesia few years back However........ I ve played few and to be honest they better then most European USA handmade instruments I guess location on where the bass is made hasn't much to do with costs nowdays components woods gonna cost the same if not more in the far east as they will be imported All I wanna say its don't let put yourself off cause of the location strandberg are unbelievable instruments price seem in the right range at least for me Edited March 28, 2020 by fiatcoupe432 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russ Posted March 29, 2020 Share Posted March 29, 2020 I've tried a Boden Prog. Lovely, if somewhat esoteric. I tried it out as I'm on a bit of a quest for something super-light. Weighs practically nothing, which I love - my back and neck very much appreciate that at my age! It weighs maybe 7lbs. It's small and would fit in a guitar gig bag. Neck is a strange, bevelled shape and the whole headless thing always throws me (you'll feel like the neck ends too soon). Plays like butter though, very well-dressed frets, low action and a surprisingly big sound for such a small, light instrument, with super-punchy mids and a great B string. It's also extremely crisp and will magnify any faults in your technique! Downsides? Pricey. No variations in finishes or colours. No fretless option (although fretless on a multiscale bass would be a bit weird). If they did some of the funky colour schemes they offer on their guitars I'd definitely be more interested, especially if they did one like the new Per Nilsson Singularity guitar, with the red-and-black stained ash body and the red anodised hardware. Verdict: Awesome, but definitely try before you buy. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick05 Posted March 29, 2020 Author Share Posted March 29, 2020 Thanks guys that’s a massive help. I really like the current finishes, but it will be interesting to see what they come up with in future. I’m going to have to check one out as I’m really interested to hear the range of tones you can get from the Nordstrand pickups and Darkglass preamp on the prog bass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ander87 Posted April 15, 2020 Share Posted April 15, 2020 I was super interested and excited on them until I saw the price tag.... personally, 2.7k+ is overkill for me - I can get a custom spec'd for that... I was genuinely expecting it'd be around 2k 'just'...! Similar to China Dingwalls etc.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fclef4life Posted April 16, 2020 Share Posted April 16, 2020 I was very interested in these basses as well. As @Ander87 well said I can get a custom made instrument for that price. I understand they spent a lot on R&D, but still it's too expensive for a made in Indonesia bass. My 0.02 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doctor J Posted April 16, 2020 Share Posted April 16, 2020 Surely the quality of the instrument is the important bit rather than some ill-conceived negative bias against far-Eastern manufacture? Remember when Japanese instruments were looked down upon? I’m sure even Indonesians can build high quality instruments given the appropriate platform to do so. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted April 16, 2020 Share Posted April 16, 2020 (edited) Check the other thread on these. There have been a few quality control issues on the ones i've tried and other people have commented on this as well. Sharp hardware, roughly routed wood and a few other things. They play really nice and the neck is superb, but the rest of the bass feels like a mid range far eastern instrument, only it costs nearly £3k. I'd buy one if they were Ibanez priced as they feel at that kind of level, but never for the amount they want. Check out the new Ibanez headless range instead with the nordstrand pickups and fancy finishes at half the cost. Edited April 16, 2020 by Kev 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linear Posted April 16, 2020 Share Posted April 16, 2020 (edited) Surely if you spec a custom multi-scale to the same level it's going to end up costing about the same? So, you don't get to specify everything about it, but you don't have to wait six months plus to get it and you can choose not to buy it if you don't like it. 6 minutes ago, Kev said: Check the other thread on these. There have been a few quality control issues on the ones i've tried and other people have commented on this as well. Sharp hardware, roughly routed wood and a few other things. They play really nice and the neck is superb, but the rest of the bass feels like a mid range far eastern instrument, only it costs nearly £3k. Ah, fair enough. Direct experience trumps my ill-informed speculations. Edited April 16, 2020 by linear Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fiatcoupe432 Posted April 16, 2020 Share Posted April 16, 2020 Like I ve said in my previous post... I ve played 4 strandberg, my friend lend me a prog 5 which I had at least for 3 month while I was having my other bass built I was so excited to go and pick my custom built which came close to 3k Went home started to play and I actually cried! Wasn't Half as comfortable as the strandberg the endurneck on the strandberg is amazing the build quality amazing and the bass disappeared in your hands after few minutes you forget you have a bass in your hands IMO no one beats the strandberg comfort and playability The rivals for me are Dingwall which in comfort and playability its second on my list Regarding the country of manufacture..... What's tge difference of strandberg built in the far east on cnc or a Dingwall built in Canada by cnc? I honestly see no difference Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fiatcoupe432 Posted April 16, 2020 Share Posted April 16, 2020 One day I will own a strandberg custom 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted April 16, 2020 Share Posted April 16, 2020 (edited) 15 minutes ago, fiatcoupe432 said: What's tge difference of strandberg built in the far east on cnc or a Dingwall built in Canada by cnc? I honestly see no difference The price. Labour is an awful lot cheaper in the Far East and labour accounts for much of the cost of a bass. Add to that running costs, warehouse space costs e.t.c. compared to UK/US/Canada. You would expect a bass in the Far East to be cheaper as it cost the company less to build them. You mention Dingwall, look at them as a comparison. The Combustion range has all Canadian woods and electrics, the entire vibe of Dingwall and all the tone, the NG series is their most popular bass and is fantastic. Yet, Dingwall chose to build them in the Far East to save cost and sell for half the price of their Canadian models. They've nailed the business model, Standberg have sadly swung and missed. Edited April 16, 2020 by Kev Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fiatcoupe432 Posted April 16, 2020 Share Posted April 16, 2020 27 minutes ago, Kev said: The price. Labour is an awful lot cheaper in the Far East and labour accounts for much of the cost of a bass. Add to that running costs, warehouse space costs e.t.c. compared to UK/US/Canada. You would expect a bass in the Far East to be cheaper as it cost the company less to build them. You mention Dingwall, look at them as a comparison. The Combustion range has all Canadian woods and electrics, the entire vibe of Dingwall and all the tone, the NG series is their most popular bass and is fantastic. Yet, Dingwall chose to build them in the Far East to save cost and sell for half the price of their Canadian models. They've nailed the business model, Standberg have sadly swung and missed. Yeah I get it it but.... They have decided to do a cheaper model and that's the reason why quality obviosly differ one Dingwall to the other, otherwise wherever they were built they would be slightly cheaper That's the reason you pay 5k for a mtd dingwall 6k for a fodera and all the other instrument so they price in my opinion is reflected in the price Again this is only my opinion I think £2500 is a fair price for a great instrument no matter were it was built if quality is there I see no problem Then people can argue that they prefer usa European built instruments over any other country,. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted April 16, 2020 Share Posted April 16, 2020 2 minutes ago, fiatcoupe432 said: Yeah I get it it but.... They have decided to do a cheaper model and that's the reason why quality obviosly differ one Dingwall to the other, otherwise wherever they were built they would be slightly cheaper That's the reason you pay 5k for a mtd dingwall 6k for a fodera and all the other instrument so they price in my opinion is reflected in the price Again this is only my opinion I think £2500 is a fair price for a great instrument no matter were it was built if quality is there I see no problem Then people can argue that they prefer usa European built instruments over any other country,. The Strandberg seems to be the equivalent of the Dingwall Combustion/NG range, but the Dingwall is around half the price? The Strandberg models are cost comparable to the Canadian Afterburner series, and these are bases built in Canada, without cheap labour, cheap factory space e.t.c. I am not questioning the quality of the instrument as a direct result of where they are made (although like I say, the 3 models I have tried have all had some kind of quality issue), its the cost and profit margins. We aren't privy to that of course, but I just don't see how the Boden could cost double a Combustion/NG to build. The Dingwall name has earned a lot of respect in the bass community as well and that in itself commands a price, whereas Strandberg are entirely new to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreek Posted April 16, 2020 Share Posted April 16, 2020 Have you spoken to @Andyjr1515 about building one to your spec? Seems there's nothing on this bass that he hasn't put on a build. Fairly sure he can be competitive and as a returning customer I can tell you the build quality (check the various build threads) is up there with your high dollar builds. You can only ask... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassmayhem Posted April 17, 2020 Share Posted April 17, 2020 (edited) My friend Erik did a demo on that particular bass: You find him on YouTube, FaceBook and here: erikarkoATgmail.com https://www.youtube.com/user/erikarko https://www.facebook.com/archisland?sk=wall&fref=gs&dti=58812007552&hc_location=group_dialog Edited April 17, 2020 by bassmayhem 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick05 Posted April 19, 2020 Author Share Posted April 19, 2020 I’d be really interested to compare the strandberg and the new Ibanez headless basses, though just in an aesthetic comparison I’m not too keen on the top horn on the Ibanez. Will be interesting to see how they compare. I’ll also be interested to compare the strandberg and Dingwall to see what you get for the extra money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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