Strandberg Guitarworks

I ended up buying the one from gitarrdelar.se although it was _very_ expensive. It seems to be of very high quality and I used it briefly without a router table (not advisable) and will continue as soon as I have arranged for one. I can also report that I'm not sold on the Luthier's Friend (or rather the RoboSander part of it) for shaping bodies from a template. A router bit is far, far more efficient and leaves a better surface that requires less work. Anyway, here is some progress on one of the necks, read more details on my site: Channels router to save weight (carbon fiber reinforcements should make it stable) Some more channels Rough shaping using rasp and ready for radiusing fretboard Does anyone else have experience with a hollow neck?

Ordered!

I've made some serious machinery investments lately (for my hardware), but maybe it's finally time for a router table as well...

Is that a bit that you put in your hand router, i.e. with like an 8 mm shaft? I haven't seen one that tall - I have top bearing bit but it doesn't cut the whole body in one pass. Also, I don't have a router table although that would make things a lot easier. Cheers, Ola

Not much progress has been made on the actual instruments - but that doesn’t mean that I haven’t been busy! Instead, I have been preparing my workshop for some new additions soon to be delivered. Here, I have completed the routing and roughly cut the body shapes with a bandsaw. On one, you can see the template attached for final shaping. I used to do this kind of work with my router, but this time I am looking forward to using my newly acquired Luthier’s Friend. I will post some notes about my experiences as soon as I’m done.

Finally underway! First, some progress on finalizing the Moses Graphite neck, which will be one of the new necks: And, the materials, cut up and ready: From left to right: (top) mahogany veneer 1,5 mm thick to laminate neck with some wenge veneer that I may or may not use ebony fretboard blanks (made during last build) wenge top maple top (identical to last build) flatsawn maple to be cut, stacked and laminated into neck blanks honduras mahogany swamp ash (from same batch as last build) When I started measuring, I realized that the neck blank for the neck-through 7-string will let me cut a matching second blank from underneath. This gave me the idea that I will build an 8-string while I’m at it… I at least have the neck materials and I do have some old zebrano laying around that I could use for the body. Regarding the neck blank, I am in the middle of an experiment that is baking out in the shop. I will say for now that it involves carbon fiber, epoxi and wood. More later! As always, more materials on my site.

So you are telling me that a moderator can not change your signature if it is against the rules? I sent you a PM the moment I changed it explaining you why, like I do everyone else that I have modded! And everyone else has gotten in touch with Brian and got their signature back and a nice little tittle that either says VIP or Verified Vendor. I understand your grief, but the rules are the rules and all we do is enforce them, we are not getting paid to do this, and we all do it in our free time, I already told you that you can replace it with an address, but no link until Brian approves it. Maiden69 - You explained that my post was probably inappropriate, and the second I read your message, I edited my post and removed any content that could be perceived as commercial. I also explained in the post itself that I had done it and why. You did not tell me in advance that you would alter my signature - I had not realized that it was you that had done it until now. I did contact Brian politely and with the best intentions and got a response that did not mean anything to me. I sent him a follow up and have not heard back. This is no criticism against him or against the rules of this board. This is the last post I do on this topic. I hope that it is removed like Prostheta suggests.

I have enjoyed being active here and I have valued the input I have received on my design process. I am trying to be understanding and mature about what has transpired, but I can not respect that my signature was changed by a moderator without warning or prior notice - criteria or no critera.

FWIW, I have contacted Brian but not heard back yet. I thank everyone for the support and do understand the criticism. I hope a solution is near, because this has been a pretty de-moralising experience even with the best intentions.

This is snow-balling way out of proportion... I am a luthier and an inventor. I document my work on my blog (the link I had in my signature leads to the blog) and I use this site to publicize my work and drive traffic to my blog in order to get more input from other visitors. And yes, it is possible to buy some of my work. Does that make me a vendor? Who is Brian?

Spot on WezV - my intentions exactly - thanks. I appreciate this forum for the exact same reason and have received a lot of ideas and connections from it. Cheers, Ola

Fair enough... To date, my posts have covered the development process of my hardware - hardly commercial info. This latest post was the first with finished product as the result of a sale. Will take more care in the future! All the best, Ola

This post has been edited by myself because the original content was perceived as commercial. Apologies for that! In the original post, I simply referred to my home page. Here are a couple of links directly to the build, posted by the owner: Pic 1 Pic 2 Soon is holiday time, so I might actually make some progress on my ergonomic guitar build topic... Cheers, Ola

Keegan, the string locks are indeed included in the bridges. The intent is to create a simple pricing model priced by string. Considering that the Swedish Krona has lost a lot against the Euro as well, I have been planning to offer free shipping (i.e. 16-20 EUR discount). Only problem is that as of yesterday, I am sold out of fixed bridges.... I will take orders, but it will probably be 4-6 weeks before I can ship. Tremolos are still available.

Keegan: nope, no prototypes left of fixed bridges. In fact, running low on production ones at the moment. Regarding string locks, are you referring to the ones that I am working on now for the double-ball system? I actually have a small batch of black ready right now (as of yesterday). The other strings locks, as depicted in the build in this post are in stock and ready. Kenny: I have priced the prototypes at 275 EUR. Next production run pricing is TBD as it depends largely on how much the hardening process will cost and what batch size I can order up front. It will likely be somewhat higher. Cheers, Ola

Hey Kenny, this is a pretty old post by now, but my 2c on the finishing just in case you haven't done it yet is to use a 50/50 mix of boiled linseed oil and painter's turpentine. This is what some violin makers use on the neck and it's time consuming but amazing. You need to really drench the instrument in it to begin with, until it doesn't absorb any more. Then wipe excess and let dry. Repeat in absurdum. First cycles may take a day or two but final dry cycles will take a couple of weeks. When it doesn't seem to absorb any more, sand in the oil with down to 1200 grit wet-sanding paper. The end result is a very deep satin finish, that will improve with age. It is also very durable. I have used it on most of my instruments with great success. Cheers, Ola

Hi Metalhead28, you may judge for yourself at http://guitarworks.thestrandbergs.com/2009/01/19/referendum/ and see the following posts for the results. Truth be told, adding mass altered the sound to the majority's liking. But it is a matter of personal preference. Cheers, Ola

Sorry for being off the radar for a few days. The "ergonomic" is indeed a bit of a stretch here, but as Keegan correctly states, the EGS tremolo is considerably lighter than a Floyd/Strat original. One further point is that the balance of the instrument changes to focus the weight more in line with your body's natural center of gravity rather than way off to the left. I'm selling off my prototypes, BTW - the only practical difference to a production run is the lack of corrosion protection on the knife edges and the fact that if you look REALLY close, you can see that the edge has been ground off a bit by hand. The durability issue is solved, and another bonus of the design is that the knife edges are interchangeable in case they ever get worn. I have five units in total. Three black and two silver. Two of the black units have customized bridge seats (one is pictured in the post) to make them lower. Cheers, Ola

Rest of the steps:

Steps on the way:

I have created a series of installments on my site about the upgrade of a throwaway Strat to a modern and ergonomic instrument. Here follows the short pictorial version. End result: Starting point: Steps in next post.

A little bit off-topic, but I have created a series of installments covering how I convert a Squier Strat into using my tremolo. Please check out my site for the 5-part series. Cheers, Ola

Hi! Are you exhibiting at the FUZZ Guitar Show in Gothenburg, Sweden on April 18-19? Can you give me a square foot of your booth to show off my lightweight bridges? I'm running the "Ergonomic Guitar Build" thread here at PG and documenting progress at my site http://guitarworks.thestrandbergs.com/. I have some exciting things to show, but as I am in the early days, I don't really have the funds or the number of products to show to get my own table or booth. Give me a call at +46 730 387724 or e-mail me at guitarworks@thestrandbergs.com. Thanks in advance, Ola

Hi Xanthus, In the new design, the tuner and saddle are split into two. The tilted tuner portion is fixed and the semi-circular saddle portion can be moved. This means that the pull from the string does not affect the saddle portion, and you may move it back and forth freely with the string at tension. In the current design, the pull from the string affects the whole assembly which means that you have to release the tension from the string, adjust the position of the whole tuner assembly, and re-tighten the string. I personally don't think this is a big issue, because I generally stick to one brand of strings and very rarely need to intonate. The same thing happens with other designs like Floyd-Rose also. But it would be interesting to hear what others think. How important is this? Cheers, Ola

I want to address the following main areas: To be able to mount flat on a guitar surface, without a cut-away, and still reach the underside of the knobs to tune To be able to intonate with the string at tension And (the least important) to have actual Floyd-Rose measurements of the base mounting plate. I am also working on some alternate applications, like a tuner-only tailpiece for use with Tune-o-Matics, where it would make sense to mount the tuners at an angle. I will post some more designs with the tuners at a lower angle due to some concerns that they will protrude too far from the guitar surface for use in a hard-shell case.