Strandberg Salen Classic - Let's Put It Up Against A Fender Telecaster. 

Very pleasantly surprised. Sounded like the Tele but clearer, livelier and fuller!

this tone is unreal, i haven t listened to tone this amazing for ages.

Picked up a Boden and it's instantly my favorite guitar for playing live. They're incredible machines.

Finally a decent video showcasing this particular Strandberg. Thanks for the video. I just ordered this exact guitar and feel much better about my decision watching this. Can’t wait to get it now! 😬

The sound is a matter of taste. The Tele USA sounds more Vintage, The Salen Classic ads a contemporary sparkle to it.

I've had a Standberg Boden for 7 years now. You soon get used to the Endurneck design and it is really comfortable to play. It is also a great travel guitar due to its size. Personally I thought the Salen sounded brighter and more articulate than the Tele in this test. Fantastic playing, as always 👍🎸

sounds very nice with excellent features but I have to say that the Telecaster on the back pickup and mid settings was perfect here.

Found the video I was looking for!!! Thank you Studio Rats!

I own one. The Endure neck takes no time to get used to. The weight is awesome for a gig. No aching back at the end of the night. The tone is not as rich, but I use a Helix and just have an EQ block in my presets, which easily dialed in the tone I was looking for. It stays in tune very well because, like a Floyd Rose, both ends are locked down. My only complaint is that the tuners take more force to turn than I would like.

Impeccable tone and the playing is just top notch! Suhr pickups 💯

Awesome playing as always. Getting that Strandberg this week. Cant wait :).

The pickups on the Tele have a little more quack in the bridge and middle positions. In the neck position, the pickup has a more, of what I like to call, "tubular" sound. The Strandberg seems to have a more "tall" or resonant sound. Both sound great!

Very good demo. Just received a Boden Prog NX 6 a couple days ago. I love it. As odd as it may sound I was really close to getting the Sälen Classic. Every clip I hear they sound so resonant and true to the Tele sound. Those Suhr’s seem to really bring them alive. The Prog has Suhr’s also that are not super hot pickups and have two positions that are split outside coils and split inside coils. This gives some of the Tele type spank, but not exactly like the real setup. I didn’t realize there is no upper bout bevel. That one thing Strandberg improved upon on the NX models. Thanks for the honest demo. 👍

Sounds amazing! I have a Boden 7 with the chambered body and fishmans. All of these are great.

Nice job on this.

Thanks for this - I'm getting very interested in Strandberg. This one is lovely and I believe there's one with a trem bar as well (?) also this one seems quite Teleish but with maybe a bit more open / harmonics happening, that slightly 'acoustic' option. Must try one at my local in HK!

thanks for doing a demo where you actually play it like a Tele, which is difficult to find. i used to have this exact model and am missing it alot. was looking for a clean demo because that’s mostly what i do.

The Salen sounded wonderful on chord work due to superb string separation, the tele had the edge on the lead sounds though but not by much, and that is a particularly good tele (as I’m sure you know!)

Great playing and tones!

I have the special edition Svarten by Strandberg and LOVE it. I'm growing to appreciate more and more the ergonomics including the weight, and now I'm looking for one more Tele-esque. I WISH I could find the Candy Apple Red Deluxe, but they are tough to find. Maybe one day.

Sounds really promising 😃😎👍 The Tele does sound sweeter in some applications. Agree with the inclusion of a arm bevel😉 The future looks and sounds bright 😎👍 Cool 😎👍❤🖖

Great informative video as usual. I had the same guitar, however I sold it due to the limitation of the saddle height adjustment system. Had every single screw milled to improve the height with no avail. Had also the neck Pleked due to poor fret leveling. It was impossible to set the string action to my liking. I have to say that in the sound department it was great and also the sustain was very pleasant.

No question. My next guitar will Strandberg. But still have to decide which model...

Thing about Strandbergs are, that once you get familiar with them, it’s hard to look back. I have two of them (7 and 8 string) and I cannot be botherd with these 1950 desings (Fender & Gibson) anymore. Neck feels so much better, guitars are more resonant and multiscale is just so much better sounding than the traditional one. Fishman Fluence pickups are also cool, since they add tiny bit of compression to your sound. 👍

Strandys are so incredibly versatile! I got my Boden Metal NX6 18 months ago. It´s obviously great for metal but its split-coil sounds are easily the best cleans I´ve ever gotten out of any guitar I´ve owned. I rarely touch my other guitars nowadays since I can get any sound I want out of my Boden. If you need to sell some of your other guitars to be able to afford one, just do it. You won´t be sorry, I can guarantee it

Holy crap, this sounded surprisingly great. I have not really cared for the tones of any if the headless or multi scale guitars that I have heard yet. That could partially be a function of the demos typically involving higher output pickups and doing modern metal stuff. But this guitar really does have a depth, body, and resonance that seems counterintuitive to what y8u woukd expect from a headless guitar with such a small body. Definitely going to look further into these now.

I thought the Strandberg had greater clarity than the Fender, possibly the pickups contributed to that. I would be interesting to hear the side-by-side with the same pickups. I have a Strandberg Boden (their least expensive model) and it plays amazing and took very little time to adjust to. I did change the pickups to a Tom Anderson HF1/HF2 set, which are a little more "vintage" than the original pickups. (And very reasonably priced.)

I liked the sound better than the Tele -- fuller and livelier. I didn't expect that.

Awesome demo Paul. Can you do a shootout between your standard tele versus the new Ibanez AZS? or maybe together with that Strandberg if you still have one. That would be fun to watch. Thanks

The tele has the mojo, it's got some depth, character and a bit of softness to it. In comparison the .strandberg* comes off clean and present, almost digital. I would imagine it to be perfect for a lush delay/reverb situation while not becoming overbearing. Thanks for a great example of how the guitar sounds played legato without a girls hairband tied around the top! I want one.

I'm quite tempted by this - I do have arthritic problems in my hand from time and wonder if this would help

Great sound and playing what is the hardware behind it?

great video, something i've been wondering about as well the strandberg is definitely a lot glassier sounding, the resonance was surprising for me as well, i'd probably pull back on the tone pot on the strandberg, even maybe the volume to get a bit more rounded off highs on there, would get a bit closer to the tele, i'd be curious what pots are used in the strandberg, might just be a case of 500k vs 250k, the strandberg did sound great in any case it's a bit weird that given the super ergonomic design concept, that the forearm contour wasn't implemented here, that would put me off as well, i think it's the same for all the other Salen models i've always been a bit put off by the pricing, but you're getting something rather unique for the cost (neck carve/ergonomics etc)

Please do one with their Classic 6 strat style HSS guitar!

What's the model of the fender tele?

Listen to Tory Slusher play both. It doesn’t matter what you play. It’s in your fingers, and your brain. A pickup is a pickup is a pickup. In a mix, nobody can tell any difference. Go watch Tory Slusher. The best guitar player in the world.

Salen every time.

Been playing Stranberg for about 6 years now when I pick up a new guitar if is not a Stranberg it's just kind of meh for me now. Love the Endurneck!

Great video ,what is the song played at 4:11

Thank you so much for the video! I’ve been looking hard at Strandberg guitars, really interested. I’ve never have had a chance to play a Salen though I’ve played a Boden. One question if I may, do you think that there would be any way to install benders on a Salen? I have a Fender Tele with B and G benders, so that’s kind of what I’m used to in a Tele style guitar.

I’ve never been comfortable with asymmetric/awkward necks… but I’d have to try one of these to be able to judge… Thanks for the test run. Cheers Paul

I really love your videos and your playing...you are one of the few demo guys out there that knows that chords are 90 percent of playing. I just noticed something about your lighting however. When I was watching this video I noticed that it was impossible to see where the pickup selector switch was on either guitar. The shadow from your hand precluded seeing anything. It would be nice to be able to see an important detail like that. Maybe you can address that in the future :). Rock on.

Great tones. Were you using Fractal here? Sorry if you mentioned that in the video.

Late to the party but...... Did you notice anything, good or bad, regarding the super flat fretboard radius? I think they're 20", if I'm not mistaken.

are those single coils on the Strangberg noiseless ?

I love my .strandberg* also love the tele. But will never change my Boden

what do they sound like with the same pickups??

The problem of Strandberg is quality: an American Tele hands down

Seriously great review!

there is going to be a difference because of the rosewood board. Should compare it to a tele with a maple board.

What little difference there is is probably because of the pickups. Suhr vs Fender. With the same pickups in both I doubt there would be much of an audible difference at all.

Would have been really interesting to have the same pickups in both guitars!

Playing through some digital emulator? Makes all guitars more similar. Also, the boden is NOT a 25.5 scale, therefore will not twang like a tele..

6:01 You could go have a bite, come back and uahhhHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH still be hearin that mind you.

What model is your telecaster? It sounds freaking good!!

Tho I believe HD guitars are ideal for weight however, it lacks the sound and appeal for guitarist to keep playing music for the tone.. I feel every time guitars with headstock sounds more full and artistic. HD feels like lifeless tho it is ideal for comforts and maybe ergonomic.

Could it be the just the tone wood difference

That would be nice to tell us in description what amp/fx you’re using on each video. Thanks

24 fret tele please!

I love the basic idea behind Strandberg and I would love to play one. But I tried one for a couple of days and the neck shape is just not my cup of tea. I tried to address the guitar rationally, knowing that the shape has been designed with ergonomics in mind. But I just didn't get warm with the instrument.

Is this the NX version or the regular one?

was this an indonesian built model?

what model was that tele exactly?? thanks

Do u like the strandberg enough to consider owning one? 😊

1:10 the guitar is outta tune. Needs a string tuning or is it faulty unit?

Realy nice sound but I definitely prefer the tele still

But how thick is the neck tho?

Its kinda like... if Ferrari had a go at building a land rover

Both the Salen and the Tele sound amazing in their own ways. The Tele has a little more sweetness (probably the rosewood fretboard in action there), while the Salen is a tad snappier. The Salen has a certain futuristic quality to it in the looks department, while retaining a silhouette that screams Telecaster. The light weight and ergonomics probably makes it very comfortable to play for longer stretches of time. I'm thinking it's gonna be a dream for a touring musician that's gonna be on stage all night.

For me fender Sounds much better

The number one issue for me is not the endur-neck but the multiscale...It's EXACTLY on the high frets I want a 25.5 inch scale, it gets way to crowded and "tiny" up at the highest frets with a shorter scale, like 25 or 24.75. If they would only make a straight 25.5 inch scale neck I would seriously consider a Strandberg.

The Tele sound like the Salen played really far away from the mic and turned up

Fender sound fenderish and strandberg sound strandbergish ! Both sound beautiful thanks for the review God bless

I have heard a lot of horror stories on the forums about guys getting strandbergs in poor form due to being built in Indonesia. Import strandbergs are not in the same ballpark as originals or USA builds or even the Japan builds. Too bad. They look cool and sound good.

Can't get over the no headstock.

...a Tele WISHES it could hold up against a Strandberg....

The real Tele put it to shame badly 😅

Tone aside the ergonomics of the Strandberg is beyond reach.

Cool guitar but the Tele has a smooth charm where the Strandberg has a much sharper edge, which is fine, but no sense in going with the Tele thing if all your gonna keep is the visual cues. It's a nice advancement in electric guitar technology, but not much of an advancement on a Tele if you ask me. The Tele is already a perfect design, everything else is just a different guitar.

Not a common sight on pro stages.

Get a Tele, a strat, and a les Paul. Strandbergs look stupid

It might be a good guitar, but the design...come on...