No way on earth will i buy a molded plastic guitar. This is the problem with the whole "wood and pickups don't matter" campaign! How much longer will it be before guitars just become keyboards. Boring black plastic rectangles with computer chips that mimic the sounds real guitars used to make. No thank you. Im sure its a real instrument but its evil! EVIL I TELL YOU!

@andrefludd

4 ай бұрын

😂 you will love my aristides vs Parker video coming soon. A lot of people don’t know this but Ken Parker is a tone wood guy

@stevenpipes1555

4 ай бұрын

@@andrefludd i know i worked for him. The carbon on the neck is specifically for the tone of the wood. Tha carbon fiber carries the load of the strings leaving the wood relaxed and optimizing its resonant capabilities. Artists were made of the clearest straightest grain spruce ive ever seen, that was very important to him. In fact while i was there we did a Fly deluxe for the, at the time, new president of Fender. It was a gift from Ken and it was one solid piece of flame maple, with special gold frets and the paint on the back of the guitar had gold dust in it. It was stunning and all of us who got to work on it signed a certificate that was presented with the guiatr.

@shinokugt

4 ай бұрын

Calm down, take your meds and go back to bed grandpa. The rest of us are gonna keep moving forward. Oh, and tone wood is a marketing scam.

@RedSkyWhisper

4 ай бұрын

My Aristides is the loudest guitar in my collection when playing unplugged. This is definitely not plastic and it's heavier than my strandberg.

@stevenpipes1555

4 ай бұрын

@@RedSkyWhisper Yeah, for now.

This was super insightful bro, thank you! I do love the Aristides look and would be stoked to try one but, honestly, knowing that you think the money is better spent on a Strandberg does strengthen my love for my Strandbergs haha. Cheers bro! 🤘

I'm disappointed to hear a stainless steel fret zero was worn despite the guitars relatively young age. I thought a zero fret was always a good choice unless one really liked the tones of open strings without it. I read up a bit and it does seem they wear faster than nuts. Nuts are a bit cheaper to replace. Maybe that's why Ken Parker left a zero fret off of his design. It might be a niche topic, but I'd love to hear your thoughts on a nut vs a zero fret. Great video as always, cheers

@andrefludd

4 ай бұрын

Yea this is an easy choice for me. With a well cut nut, a zero fret simply isn’t needed. I’ve have very old guitars and I never had to replace a worn out nut. I will say, if someone’s zero fret began to wear it could be removed and a new nut could be installed. It wouldn’t be the most difficult mod.

@jasonjayalap

4 ай бұрын

My understanding is that a perfect zero fret is easier to make than a perfect nut. But if you're gonna put the resources into doing the nut right (or your customers don't notice anyway), no reason to have both a zero fret and nut (on a head-ful guitar). I guess the wear issue says choose just-nut on headless as well.

The fact that i was thinking of this EXACT dilemma earlier 🤯🤯 Excited to watch this video!!

Great comparison video! I get that a lot of people are not into the use of alternative materials, but it is still fascinating to see the ways that boutique makers incorporate them into their models.

@andrefludd

4 ай бұрын

Agreed. I think it pushing things forward in a positive way. Thanks for supporting!

Your videos have gotten me so into the idea ajd looks of ergonomic guitars. You convinced me to get a strandberg, and im saving up right now to get either a Boden NX7 or a Tremolo HSS just like yours lol. Great content like always!

@andrefludd

4 ай бұрын

I hope you love it!

fantastic breakdown.

I'm glad that you always highlight the objective good and weak points of each. I fell into the headless rabbit hole with my strandberg 7 and it has led me to buy my Aristides H/08. I wouldn't really be able to decide between both, except that I prefer a rounder radius most of the time, and the extra flat radius on the Boden is a bit less comfy for me for sweep picking or chords compared to the rounder one on the Aristides.

interesting comparison. Still pleased with my EBMM Kaizen 6 guitars; and Majesty 6.

The reason that an Aristides doesn't have issues like fret sprout and has overall better tuning stability is due to the material construct. The 'Arium' doesn't get affected by humidity and temperature the same way that wood does.

@GonnaGetYouBoi

2 ай бұрын

If you don't think Bob Arum is affected by humidity and temperature.. you're living in a fantasy world.

I have owned seven Strandbergs at this point and one Aristides H/08, and I agree with most of what you said in the video. I'm currently selling off my H/08 because I just don't play 8-strings as much as I thought I would, and when I do, I find myself wishing for an Evertune because it's hard for an 8-string to stay in tune, and my H/08 has never had tuning stability since the day I bought it. My Strandbergs in comparison, have much better tuning stability, but my Prog NX 7 also has tuning stability issues, while none of the 6-string Strandbergs ever had tuning stability issues. That makes me wonder if an H/06 would have better tuning stability than the H/08. Once I'm done with this round of selling, the only Strandberg I'll have left in my studio is the Original NX 6 Neck-Thru, which is the first model they have released that has all the features I want (neck-thru, the new NX forearm contour, the pickups/wiring of the Prog, tremolo, and natural flamed Maple top).

It’s kind of funny. It’s your videos about Aristides, including the first one being very honest yet critical of the guitars is what led me to buy a used one. I love them. Seriously, thank you for your videos.

God I want a Strandberg so badly, The few I've played have been my favorite instruments

Looking forward to one day getting my own Strandberg or Mayones Hydra But I recently bought a Carvin DC400, and that along with my four guitars has me quite happy.

@andrefludd

4 ай бұрын

I now have 4 Carvins and I love them

One feedback from the aristides headless model vs the strandberg one I have is that if you play in the classical position, you have to be vary of the trem touching your right leg on the aristides. If the trem touches the leg it will give tension to the trem and the strings will go sharp, with the strandberg its basically impossible for this to happen that the trem is ”resting” on your right leg. I thought this was a design flaw on the aristides that could have been thought out better.

Great video and comparison. All Aristides comparison videos seem to attempt to describe how similar or dissimilar they are to other guitars made out of wood, especially when it comes to the price point. I think it is helpful to mention that Arium is also EXTREMELY durable by comparison. Paint can chip or scratch and wooden guitars in the same price range can be easily dented. I have 6 of the Aristides raw series and they have zero dings or scratches after 6 years of use. They have definitely been bumped into furniture and other guitars during that time lol. That material and the coating is part of the price of the instrument and the reason a lot of people are fans of the brand.

I’m very intrigued by the Bootlegger Absinthe headless (with straight frets). Made in Korea, under $1000. Haven’t found a review video that is very useful. One looks useful but the player is speaking in a French dialect I can almost understand a little based on my school French courses. I wish you would review one. Of course I could just buy one and try it myself! 😎🎸

hi dude! good comparison!! I have a boden 7 prog and an aristides 070, and I definitely still like the endure neck of the strandberg more, I wish they could make a strandberg with evertune, it would be the most broken thing in the world of guitars Cheers from Chile

IMO it's going to come down to neck preference any time you are trying to decide between anyone and Strandberg (unless Ola also makes models that have traditionally shaped neck profiles). Since Strandberg's neck profile is unique and patented as well as being something that directly affects the human/instrument interface it's a very polarizing element in any decision making process. That everyone is moving to clones of the AANJ from Ibanez makes sense since once it was created to fit in your hand there's not much anyone can do to improve that - if you're going to do bolt on necks. Also IMO bolt on necks are more maintenance and more likely to drift out of a configuration you've got them set to where you like; in an accident situation or even with some rough shipping, your neck can loosen, become strained/stripped, torn off, and all states in between (you can take it off to ship it but very few dealers do that or will even if you ask them to). Right now I like set/through neck instruments somewhat better but I'll play anything fairly interchangeably and my opinions change as my knowledge/experience increases. Bolt on always feel a little "flexy" or "weak" compared to set/through that I own; it's more of a "oneness" or "whole" thing, it doesn't feel like there's an imaginary hinge that flexes just a little in the middle.

I genuinely wish I could afford the Aristides. The injection molding, proprietary materials, and high quality finish work is understandably very expensive though.

Hmm. I'm lucky enough to have both and they are totally different. Then again, I play in the Classical guitar position, so they both sit great. There are a lot of differences in the Strandbergs also. It's really a matter of taste and whether you want guitars with different sounds and pickups. Both brands are fantastic.

@andrefludd

4 ай бұрын

Yep sounds like we came to similar conclusions

The Aristides in this video became available locally and I bought it. I love it and have been playing it a ton. I did change the pickups out. I put in Fishman Tosin Abasi pickups and it took it to another level. EMG's aren't bad but I like Fishman more

@andrefludd

Ай бұрын

I’m Glad it found a good home!

I've seen some aristides with the 20 inch radius on their instagram. I assume it is something it can be worked out, but not sure how much extra would it cost.

A video that HAD to happen. These are 2 finest ergonomic guitar brands on the market. Except them only custom luthiers make similar body shaped guitars.

Do you think you’ll do a video on the strandberg boden essential when it comes out?

@andrefludd

4 ай бұрын

Yep. I’m on the waitlist

@preetangad

2 ай бұрын

Hey Andre, did you receive your Boden Essential yet? I see some other reviews but been waiting to hear your thoughts about it.

What does the back of the Aristides neck feel like? Does it feel like natural wood, or more glossy? That's a make or break for me.

@andrefludd

4 ай бұрын

It feels unfinished. No gloss.

Isn't the zero fret also stainless and it wore down?! What fretwire is strandberg using? Do your other frets show wear?

Have you tried a GOC guitar yet? They're headless and some models have an Endurneck style neck carve.

@andrefludd

4 ай бұрын

Not yet

You mentioned in a previous video that you unconsciously favored wider nut widths for fingerstyle. I only play fingerstyle and am very comfortable with an Ibanez AM2000H which is like 1.692. I see these are both pretty narrow nut widths at about 1.65. Do you find either of them practical for fingerstyle or is the narrow nut width a deal breaker?

@andrefludd

4 ай бұрын

I don’t like the Aristides for me personally for any style. The Strandberg feels like a good everything guitar. It doesn’t feel the best for finger style for me, but it is def good enough.

@kenzeo

4 ай бұрын

Appreciate the reply.@@andrefludd

You gotta try GOC! They have awesome quality and ergonimics for less than 1k$

i vote the blue guitar on your left

Did you spec that custom 2112 inlay? When/where will we hear more about that?

@andrefludd

4 ай бұрын

No I got it used so idk the story behind it

you should try an ormsby goliath, also headless

3:46 I feel like a compound radius on a multiscale is pretty weird? It’s usually 16 inches I think

i'm waiting for an ormsby 8 or 7 string review T_T

I recently tested the strandberg boden standard nx 7 and i don't agree with your opinion about the endure neck. The neckprofile was guiding my thumb aloang the upper edge of the trapezoid and caused my hand to move further down when going up the neck. My hands are kind of big and in order to keep my fingers close to the fretboard i usually rest my thumb on top of the neck, often muting the lowest string. I couldn't do that with the endure neck. There is nothing to grab on to on the upper side of the neck and having my thumb resting further in the middle or even lower than that was a very uncomfortable and unergonomic experience for me. It's a pitty. I really liked the low weight of the guitar, the low action and the pickups. If it only had a thin c neck profile. Oh and it didn't rest on my right leg in the "modern-classical" position, it had a little neck dive and slipped off because of that, wich i did not like either.

@andrefludd

4 ай бұрын

If you get a chance check out my 7 string vs 6 string Strandberg video. I didn’t find the 7 string endure neck as good as the 6 string. You may also dislike the 6 string, it’s all personal preference at the end of the day. But I also didn’t like the 7

Why some people complaint about Aristides using non wood body? Did people forget about ibanez ergodyne series?? Lmao to that people.... There's a Tokai Talbo using aluminium for guitars body..... Tonewood is a joke....

I don't know, if more $$$ is better, but I can say, that load is more good! Thx for the Video, enjoyed it, as always.

You do great reviews. You and Phillip McKnight got it down

@andrefludd

4 ай бұрын

Philip is the best IMO

@christopherfidler3019

4 ай бұрын

​@@andrefludd check out the channel MusicNGear that guy spends 60-90 minutes on a guitar review. you learn a lot about wood working and how guitars are made. very educational.

Would be great if you mentioned where each guitar is made and by who, considering this plays a large role in the difference in sale price. Should the buyer ever consider where their money is going?

@interwebuser

4 ай бұрын

Aristides - Netherlands - Themselves. Strandberg - Mostly Indonesia, some master grade in Japan. Indo ones seems to be PT Cort, Japan ones seems to be made by Nick Sugimoto.

MAN...! For a guy like me who plays a mangled Harly Benton EX-84 as his No.1 Engine ... I can't explain why I'm here... other than I love to hear people's opinions on guitars.

@andrefludd

4 ай бұрын

Same here. One of the reasons I started the channel!

aristedes inlay is awesome. rush!!!

My least favorite part of my Strandberg is the neck.

I had an Aristides H/0 and it had the worst tuning stability imaginable. It would literally go out of tune within 10 minutes of playing. Apparently, this is a common issue with their guitars. Something to do with the "strings heating up" or some bullshit, lol. Furthermore, it's just not worth the price tag or the ridiculous wait time. However, Kiesel's headless guitars are pretty damn good. Never had an issue with those.

@samuelcfuentes5540

3 ай бұрын

I've heard completely opposite. In fact everyone I see doing unboxing said the guitar was still in tune

Someday I will warm up to headless guitars, but not today.

@huxuf_is_an_idiot

4 ай бұрын

Cool?

@plamenpenkov2865

4 ай бұрын

Don't! They will die out, no need to pay attention... Let me explain... A guitar is a phallic symbol, the relationship with your guitar is sexual in the most basic terms. The headstock represents the ...head. Unless you for some reason prefer your cokc headless, do not play headless guitars. It is unnecessary, it is unnatural, it is not cool. As you were!

@nvatomic1013

4 ай бұрын

Start with legator headless guitars. I do not regret

@solanis369

4 ай бұрын

@@nvatomic1013Agile is better quality. Legator QC is horrible

@LifeOnceLived

4 ай бұрын

@@solanis369you have lost you mind legators are really good quality now I have both a strandberg and a legator and both are the same quality and both where around $2300

Strandberg all the way (the zero fret is a bummer though).

The $400 strandberg ripoff by eart is more my level, but your insights teach us much about what to look for in guitars. So much talk is low effort. You're like the consumer reports of guitars.

The sound of wood on an electric guitar is a scam, only the electronics and pickups have an impact on the sound (and don't tell me you tried the same pickup on 2 guitars and it sounded different, you probably didn't put it at the same height and didn't have the same pots, same pots value, cable length etc.).

Aristides kinda just seems like a block of plastic which looks kinda cheap to me and it just feels dead with no personality

Aristides are ugly and guitars with no wood at all.... i don't know i don't like it

And my 900$ jackson plays better than both of them😂

@Erock09291

2 ай бұрын

No it doesn't 😂😂😂

@onionring56

2 ай бұрын

aristides is probably one of the best playing brands. i doubt it

One thing hold me back from headless is their price, it’s just not worth that much money. I can get a decent guitar in a even lower price there is just no point to spend that money on a headless personally