"A versatile, brilliantly engineered machine that will have your back, no matter what the gig": Strandberg Boden N2 Original review

What is it?

Electric guitars, at their core, are simple things. There are a few exceptions, but not much has changed in their fundamental design since the ‘50s, so when something comes along that’s both genuinely different and genuinely impressive, we tend to pay attention. Strandberg ticks both those boxes, making waves in the 2010s and now, in 2025, they are onto its fourth generation of guitars - the Boden N2 line.

The company has an interesting history. In conversation with Ola Strandberg ahead of the launch, I heard first-hand how, despite no background in luthiery, he started building guitars because of a lack of headless hardware. Not able to get a hold of any, he built what he needed himself. As you do.

Fast forward a few years, and the custom guitars he was building gained the attention of the likes of Tosin Abasi and Misha Mansoor; helping get the guitars in front of the masses. Now, Strandberg is a key name in the prog/technical guitar scene, building headless guitars with the EndurNeck that feel unlike any other and have a truly unique look.

Strandberg guitars are designed to be more than just an instrument for the technical shredder, though. Its founder sees them as all-around machines for the working guitarist, with a versatile nature to suit any genre.

To drive this home, the N2 line has been tweaked to, in his words, “get closer to perfect on everything”. With new pickups voiced for both modern and classic versatility, as well as ergonomic and economic improvements.

What I have for review is the Boden N2 Original. This sits above the new N2 Standard, with the main differences from the Standard being the chambered swamp ash body, Strandberg POWR:D by Fishman fluence pickups, maple top with flame maple veneer, and the roasted birdseye maple fretboard.

Needless to say, I am excited to give it a go and see if it really is more than just a machine for the technically inclined.

Specs

• Launch price: $2499/€2799
• Made: Indonesia
• Type: Six-string, headless electric guitar
• Body: Swamp ash, chambered
• Neck: Roasted maple, EndurNeck
• Fingerboard: Birdseye roasted maple
• Scale length: Multi-scale, 25.5" - 25"
• Nut width: 42mm/1.65"
• Frets: 24
• Hardware: Strandberg EGS Arc bridge and string lock
• String spacing at bridge: 51mm/2"
• Electrics: Strandberg POWR:D by Fishman Fluence neck and bridge
• Weight: 5lb/2.3kg
• Left-handed options: No
• Finishes: Sunset Coral Burst (as reviewed), Black Denim Burst
• Cases: Strandberg soft case
• Contact: Strandberg

Build quality

Build quality rating: ★★★★★

The first thing anyone will notice when you turn up to a gig or band rehearsal with a Strandberg is its headless nature. Some may approve, others not so much, but the interesting thing is that this choice is functional, not aesthetic.

Since the company's beginnings, one of Strandberg’s aims has been to keep the guitar's body lightweight, which is achieved in this case through the chambered swamp ash body. The problem with light bodies is that the headstock can often cause an imbalance, which results in the dreaded neck dive. Solution? Lose the headstock.

This means tuning is done via the bridge. It might feel a little alien to those new to it, but it is simple enough. The string is fed through the bottom of the bridge and locked in place with an allen key at the nut. Then the tuner is placed on the bridge and tightened until the string is in pitch.

Rotating those tuners can feel a little bit clunky for newcomers, but there's a knack to positioning the thumb and finger in the right place to get them turning. Once this is conquered - and it’s easy to do so - it’s a smooth experience.

Bringing out those big overbends reveals a guitar that maintains its tuning well. What’s more is that in doing this, I find the whole guitar is vibrating with a sustain that, even unplugged, is notably impressive. A sign of a well-built instrument.

This could be in part due to some of the changes from the previous model. Namely, the dual titanium rods for added neck stability and improved resonance — shared across all N2 models, and upgraded Strandberg EGS arc hardware. The latter is designed to aid resonance with carefully considered, enhanced body contact.

Additionally, the switch to titanium rods instead of carbon fibre is also a sustainable decision. Titanium is worth recycling, whereas carbon fibre often isn’t.

Staying on the neck, the birdseye maple fretboard is stunning, and the frets are finished flawlessly. Adding to the aesthetic is the striking maple veneer that sits atop that swamp ash body and maple top.

Here it's the Sunset Coral with an Acrylic Satin finish. This keeps the body free of anything that the arms can stick to, and it feels as if it will wear nicely as it’s played in.

The five-way switch feels sturdy, as do the tone and volume controls – designed with a flat area on the side as well as a marker on top to offer a tactile way of knowing where they're set. I would, however, like a little bit more resistance on the tone control, as on this test model, it’s loose enough that I am prone to accidentally turning it when I use its push/pull function, but to be fair, this is a very minor complaint.

Lastly, and in a change for the N2 series, the output jack has been angled upward slightly at roughly 45 degrees to keep the lead away from digging into thighs when seated, and it does exactly that.

Playability

Playability rating: ★★★★★

Now, that EndurNeck. Probably the most initially outlandish feature of the guitar, which is saying something considering the body shape (we’ll get onto that later). The neck is an asymmetric trapezoid, meaning flat sides that shift position as you move up towards the higher frets.

The thinking here, according to Ola, is to reduce wrist fatigue with a correct playing position and relaxed thumb placement on a flat surface to facilitate those, and I quote, “16-hour practice sessions”. Sounds like a big claim. The thing is, it absolutely works.

Chewing out some familiar lead lines feels as easy as ever, with the thumb resting against the flat surfaces in a relaxed manner. Bringing the thumb over the top of the neck to mute strings for open chord playing and riffs like the Red Hot Chili Peppers' Can’t Stop feels a little odd; however, this was something to get used to rather than an actual issue.

Once that adjustment is made, and it doesn’t take long, things feel relaxed no matter where you are on the neck.

The EndurNeck neck has a decent amount of girth at around 23mm at the 12th fret. The usual conclusions we can draw from neck depth alone are a little bit moot here, as the innovative shape throws all the normal rules out the window, but the point is that it’s comfortably slim, but not wizard-thin like you might expect from a guitar associated with technical music.

This, however, does not stop those speedy lines from flying off the fretboard with ease. The 20” fretboard radius is what we have to thank for this. Usually, the trade-off with this type of super flat board would be in the feel of playing open chords down at the lower frets, but these remain comfortable, which seems to be thanks again to that ergonomic neck shape.

Flashy lines like these are often accompanied by bends north of the 19th fret, which we are granted easy access to via a nicely carved heel joint that is almost invisible as far as the hands are concerned.

The multi-scale nature of the guitar also helps things along in this sense, from 25.5" on the low E through to 25" on the high E. This makes those bends feel slinky at the high strings, whilst maintaining string tension on the lower strings, so that it is easier to avoid that wobble when they are hit. And getting used to the angled frets really isn't an issue – you may be very surprised.

And, as if that wasn't enough, the setup is a fantastic straight out of the box. A low action at 1.25mm at the 12th fret of the low E and 1mm at the high E, perfectly intonated and buzz-free through an amp. What more can you ask for?

This invisible feeling can be extended to the whole guitar, due to the unique body shape. Again, its purpose is not aesthetic; it’s functional, as the curves allow for the guitar to be held in a number of different playing positions. I was playing on my left leg, my right, on both, and standing up, all of which felt equally comfortable. This degree of flexibility when seated recording is very much by design, according to Strandberg's founder.

Aiding in this, and new for the N2 models, is a slightly arched top that is exceptionally smooth to rest the arm on. As a case in point in testing, I obviously spent a lot of time playing the Strandberg and when I went back to my usual ‘51 Custom Shop Telecaster, the Fender all of a sudden felt rather big and clunky to hold.

Don’t get me wrong, I love that Telecaster, and it is not at all an unwieldy guitar. But the ergonomics of the Boden’s body shape, combined with its lightweight credentials, make the Strandberg sort of melt into your body by comparison. Again, great for the stage and extended playing and recording sessions at home.

What all this adds up to is a guitar that plays quite differently, but is not limited in any way.

Personally, the feel isn’t one I would associate with any particular playing style, which is perhaps due to Strandberg's unique approach that is unlike the guitar designs that are associated with familiar musical styles. I’m not in country mode like I would be with a Telecaster, or in modern metal land like I would be with a Schecter. It feels to me like a guitar I could really play anything on.

Sounds

Sounds rating: ★★★★½

None of this means anything much if the Boden N2 Original doesn’t hold up its end when plugged in. The Original models ship loaded with Strandberg POWR:D by Fishman Fluence pickups - a collaboration between the two in order to create voices bespoke to the new model.

Fishman Fluence pickups are always interesting. Their use of stacked PCBs rather than coiled wire allows for the real-time editing of sounds to create different voices - an ability we’re told Strandberg took full advantage of here, with the sounds modelled after their previous Original and Metal series guitars.

Out of this emerges pickups that are advertised as covering both vintage and modern sounds, via a combination of the push/pull switch on the tone pot and the pickup selector. In the down position, we have a hot-rodded modern PAF-style humbucker in the bridge and a vintage voiced PAF-style bucker in the neck.

Pulling the tone pot up reveals a set of modern high-output humbuckers, and positions two and four bring the single-coil flavours. Pretty versatile on paper.

In practice, getting stuck into the sounds is nothing short of a blast. For tones of a more traditional nature, I’m running through a Victory The Duchess MKII that I happen to have in for testing, with a Blues Driver and T Rex Mudhoney overdrive pedals to push the amp into some gain. Then a Line 6 Helix with a Revv amp model for the modern, high-gain stuff.

Starting with the bridge humbucker on its vintage setting, the tone is that of biting, classic rock, excellent for riffs in the vein of AC/DC. I spend a lot of time here, having a bit too much fun.

Reminding myself that I should be working, I pull the tone pot up, resulting in the low mids and overall output getting a good bump. Perfect, as expected for that modern high-gain thing, with an impressively tight and percussive low end which chugs while retaining bags of clarity for those complicated chords.

Position two consists of both pickups' inner coils, with a quacky, mid-forward spank that lends itself to some funk rhythm guitar strumming.

The third position brings us back to bridge humbucker land with the addition of the neck’s outer coil, producing a tone that is a more rounded version of the bridge pickup. Pulling the tone pot out puts the bridge into its modern voice, but doesn’t make quite as much difference here, adding only a little more of that output and percussive low end to my ears.

I find this to be particularly useful for warm, rhythm guitar in both a light gain and a heavier context. What’s impressive in both cases is the clarity, but personally, I do find myself preferring the bridge’s bite or the neck's warmth rather than this position three sound, which is somewhere in between.

We are back to single-coil flavours in position four, but this time with a more airy tone that is still quacky, but less mid-forward than position two, and with more low end courtesy of the neck pickups' outer coil. Cowboy chords sound great here, as do mellow leads.

Finally, position five is where we get that pleasing, warm humbucker thing. With the push/pull pot down, it’s excellent for both jazzy chords and high-gain lead playing a la Gary Moore. Lift it up, and it feels like the same thing but extra. Again, more low mids and more output, but still, and impressively so given that we are on a neck pickup, plenty of bite.

What I am struck by in all these positions is the clarity that is maintained, no matter how much gain is thrown at it. This is something that is often an advantage of active pickups, with the flip side being a tone and feel that is quite different from the traditional. This is of course a matter of personal preference and what you feel suits the music you are playing.

However, what Strandberg and Fishman seem to have landed on here is something in between - the clarity of active pickups with a feel closer to that of passive ones, whilst retaining the core tone of classic sounds with the vintage voicings.

The pickups obviously suit the technical crowd in their modern voices, but the vintage modes feel like idealised versions of traditional pickups, making the Strandberg Boden N2 Original a genuinely versatile instrument.

Verdict

Perhaps that is the best way to sum up the Standberg Boden N2 Original. It’s an idealised version of guitar as we know it. Shaped in a way that makes it feel invisible, a neck that encourages good technique and relaxed playing, and sounds that, in my opinion, not only suit the modern game, but take the more classic style of guitar tone and move it a little forward.

Don't get me wrong, it’s not going to replace guitars of decades gone by - a Les Paul is still the best way to get that Les Paul tone. My point is that the Boden N2 is a genuinely versatile guitar, with great tones capable in both the old school and modern camps.

Personally, I’m a big fan of the aesthetic, but the headless nature and body carve are quite out there, so understandably, it’s not going to be for everyone, and some may not like its unique neck. However, I have yet to meet anyone who hasn’t adjusted to it quickly.

The interesting thing is that these choices seem to have been primarily functional, facilitating comfort and ease of use, resulting in a versatile, brilliantly engineered machine that will have your back, no matter what the gig.

MusicRadar verdict: The Strandberg Boden N2 Original takes what made the Boden a success and adds a few tweaks to make it even more usable in traditional genres, as well as in the technical scene it is often associated with. A supremely playable and versatile instrument, perfect for the working musician.

Also try

Standberg Boden Metal NX6 $2095/£1999/€2399

Loaded with Suhr Aldrich humbuckers, if you are like the Strandberg thing but want something more aimed at the metal head, this is worth a look.

Strandberg Boden N2 Standard $1799/€1999

At a slightly cheaper price point, featuring a simpler body construction and passive Seymour Duncan Pegasus and Sentient humbuckers, this is a great option to save a bit of money and stick with a more traditional, passive setup.

Ibanez Q54W $1099/£922/€1049

Another headless, this time from Ibanez. Featuring a HSS configuration, their dyna-MIX9 switching system for a versatile selection of tones, and Ibanez's Wizard C neck, this is a great choice for those who want the headless thing with a less unconventional neck shape.