My Strandberg experience started on the net a few years ago watching a Plini video on YouTube. I fell in love with the look of the guitar at first sight, It was the coolest headless design I‘d seen since the Steinberger guitar in the 80’s. It was futuristic, almost sci-fi looking, but with a soul and a northern european vibe. Forward January 2018, I saw a Namm video where Ola Strandberg was presenting a new t-style guitar model, the Sälen. I knew then I had to try this guitar.

THE RESEARCH

Like almost everybody, before buying new gear I do a research on the net. I was shocked by the informations I was getting. Gone are the good old days of Harmony Central reviews where you could found a middle ground by removing the perfect scores and the bad scores. First problem, for some guitar players the Strandberg Guitar is a revolution, almost a cult thing like the Vibram Five fingers was a few years ago for the running community, a radical new product that will end war and make you a better, cooler and faster guitar player (or runner). On the other side, you have the non believers fighting the good fight 2018-style : with fake rumors and disinformations. I have seen this phenomenon before and I won’t let the cyber world destroy my freewill, so I decided to experience the Strandberg Sälen in the real world; I went to a music store, tried the guitar and bought the guitar.

THE REVIEW

The look of the Sälen Classic is astonishing, the ice blue metallic color is beautiful and there is no imperfection in the finish.The rich caramel color of the roasted neck with a Pau ferro fretboard and stainless steel frets bring warmth and graciousness to the mix of modern and classic guitar design of the Sälen.

You can see the influence of the Steinberger in the headless design of the Strandberg Sälen Classic, but the influence of Leo Fender’s Telecaster is very present in the electronic and the aspect of the guitar. The Strandberg guitar design is a very radical design but the T style elements of the Sälen Classic brings balance between tradition and innovation. In my opinion, something no other guitar company as done before.
The sound of the Telecaster is legendary from country to classic rock to jazz and pop, but the the T-style design is famous for his shrill sound and abondance of high frequencies. The Sälen Classic doesn’t have this sonic problem. The highs of the bridge pickup are perfect and the neck pickup is not muddy. The Suhr pickups give to the guitar a classic telecaster sound for the studio or the stage, it is one of the best tele I’ve ever played. My Sälen is now my go to guitar when I need a T style guitar, it replaces a luthier custom made Telecaster.

The playability is where the Standberg Sälen is very different from other T-style guitars. I love the Endurneck : it is revolutionary and very comfortable. I don’t know if it is a placebo effect, but it’s easy on the left hand. The multi scale makes the guitar more in tune and the headless design helps the perfect balance of the guitar in every positions and makes the task of changing strings easier and faster.

In the future, I hope Strandberg will give more pickups configurations options for The Sälen line : like two humbuckers or three single coils like a Nashville Tele. I think the Sälen line is here to stay because it is a good design that looks cool, sounds cool and feels great. If you have the opportunity try one and let me know your opinion.