If you’re the sort of guitarist who eschews traditional aesthetics for contemporary playability, then I’ve got a super Black Friday music deal for you. Over at Sweetwater, you can get yourself a gigantic $300 off the Strandberg Boden Essential, a guitar that forgets retro looks and vintage tone in favour of technological advancement and the ultimate in ergonomics.
We gave it a rock-solid four and a half stars out of five in our Strandberg Boden Essential review, giving it particular plaudits for the super-fast playability of the neck, and the outstanding finishing and build quality. While we totally get that headless guitars aren’t for everyone, in all honesty, this guitar has to be played to be believed.
I’m not ashamed to admit I was one of the doubters when the Boden Essential came into the office. It looked weird, the neck felt absolutely alien, and it felt so small when cradled in my lap. It only took five minutes of playing to convert me to the benefits.
The Strandberg EndurNeck profile is kind of like a ‘V’ neck, but the middle section is broad and flat, which gives your thumb a natural platform to anchor your fretting hand. This meant that once my brain got over the initial strange feel, I was soon flying across the fretboard faster than I could’ve imagined.
It’s not just fast either, the profile is designed to reduce strain on your wrist and fingers, and I found myself playing quite literally for hours without feeling like I was slowing down at any point. Three note per string legato licks felt easy, bends happened without feeling like I was straining, and it delivered a totally different experience from what I’m used to playing a Fender modern ‘C’.
I really loved the lightweight feel of the body too. When sitting, the shape of the guitar means you can place it on either leg, or go for the classical position with the guitar upright if you want to get properly into your shredding. When on a guitar strap it feels barely there, and the lack of a headstock means that you’re not likely to crash into your bassist or singer, even if you’re playing a tiny stage in your local venue.
It’s a divisive guitar, I can admit that, but as a former doubter myself, I do think you should give one a go, because you might well be surprised by how good they are. With such a massive discount for Black Friday, it’s well worth a go to see if you can totally change the way you feel about what a guitar can and should be.
Shop more Black Friday deals
- B&H Photo: Early Bird Holiday deals
- Fender store: Player II Strat lowest price ever
- Gear4Music: Early Black Friday deals are live
- Guitar Center: Up to 40% Black Friday sale
- Guitar Tricks:
$899$99 annual sub - IK Multimedia: Up to $300 off Tonex hardware
- Musician's Friend: Early Black Friday 50% sale
- Native Instruments: Over 50% off UA bundle
- Plugin Boutique: 100s of software savings
- Positive Grid: Up to $50 Spark savings
- Reverb: Black Friday early access
- Sweetwater: Up to 80% off Black Friday sale
- Thomann: Up to 70% off Cyber Week sale
- Universal Audio: 12 Days of UAD software sale
- Waves: Huge plugin bundle deals up to 95% off
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