The week that passed was very exciting. First of all, there was the Scandinavian Guitar Show in Stockholm last weekend. I visited and met many good friends and made further connections. I also saw more than one ridiculously expensive guitars… Then I met up with my good friend Michele Benincaso, luthier based in Stockholm, with whom I have been collaborating for a few months. With him was Paolo Tofani and they had brought his Tri-Kanta Veena that Michele built for him. A truly amazing instrument and two amazing individuals. I encourage you to follow the links above and explore the music and history of Paolo and the Tri-Kanta! The picture shows Paolo with the Tri-Kanta. The top neck hosts 13 strings that are typically played as a “back-drop”, the middle has 8 regular guitar strings, out of which 2 are on a fretless part of the fretboard – and there are 2 additional reference strings for the “raga” (apologies if I don’t get the details 100%) that sits underneath these strings. The bottom neck has 13 additional strings that can be plucked and played in a harp manner. The guitar-like fretboard is played both conventionally and in a tapping manner. The topics of our discussions, I hope to get...
Learn MoreA picture says more than a thousand words, so here are a few: Click on the images for larger...
Learn MoreAnodized aluminium is not very conductive to electricity, which can lead to string grounding issues. It is quite easy to overcome though, and with recent and future orders, I am including the necessary materials. However, I do not want to make any assumptions on how you would prefer it to work, so I am not grinding off the anodization as described below. Step 1 – route the ground cable Drill a hole into the control cavity as usual and run a bare wire through it to the bridge. Step 2 – grind off anodization Next, grind off the anodization (using a Dremel for instance) from underneath the base plate. As well as on top of the base plate. Take care to check an approximate intonation first though. You want to make sure that the area you grind off will be completely covered by the bridge when it is mounted. The ground off portion should sit straight under the saddle. Step 3 – re-mount with the spring Lastly, insert the supplied spring into the bridge and re-mount it. The saddle will have full contact with the ground off anodization through the spring, and on to the ground wire that sits under the bridge...
Learn MoreI have put the EGS demo up on YouTube. Here are some of the vital statistics about the participants: Jonas Isaksson – main instrument is the clarinet, believe it or not. Although he prefers the violin… I, for one, am pretty impressed with his guitar skills. Nisse Blomster – jazz improvization and musical theory student from Uppsala, often appearing with the band Blue Stripe. Daniel Palmqvist – solo artist and guitarist of The Murder of My Sweet. And some vital stats about the guitar itself: Weight: 1850 grams/4 lbs Swamp ash back, stained “Ebony Black”, treated with Watco Danish Oil. Large tone cavities cut both top and bottom. Curly maple top (5 mm thickness), finished with Watch Danish Oil. Black veneer strip in centre. Three-piece wenge neck with cherry veneer strips. Ebony fretboard. Carbon fiber truss rod. Super wide/high frets 25.5″ scale length on low E, 25″ scale on high E string Strandberg EGS fixed bridges Lace Alumitone humbucker pickups 5-position pickup selector (front HB, front SC + rear SC out of phase, front HB + rear HB series, front SC + rear SC in series, rear...
Learn MoreI will start shipping the new batch of bridges tomorrow. I would like to thank those that pre-ordered for your patience! New and improved! There are many improvements and changes compared to the previous batch: The base plate has a groove in it to guide the tuner and ensure that it does not rotate by mistake if hit by a strong force. The base plate also has dual mounting holes as compared to one before. This makes it easier to mount flat on a guitar, without recesses as was originally intended. The bridge/tuner has a groove in it to allow lower height from the surface. The saddle has a finer thread than before, allowing even better height adjustment. The finish is a satin-matte finish that was chosen by popular vote earlier. The aluminum alloy has been changed to an even harder and more durable one than before. The tonal properties are outstanding. The bearing has been changed to one that fits a lot tighter. The scew might feel a little tight initially, but this will soon be broken in to feel very distinct. Please feel free to place orders on the Products page. I aim to ship within 1-2 days from receiving the...
Learn MoreI have just spent a couple of very ego-boosting days at the Uppsala VI International Guitar Festival. My EGS guitar was finished with only days to spare, still smelling of linseed oil, and it was with some nervousness I showed up on Friday to exhibit it. Those of you that have followed the progress know that there are many experiments going on at the same time: ergonomic body shape, fanned frets, trapezoidal neck profile (contact Rick Toone for more information about this neck profile) , carbon truss rod, Lace Alumitone pickups, semi-hollow body, and the list goes on. Most visitors of the exhibition stopped to look twice and were intrigued. Those who looked closer and actually tried it said without fail something along the lines of: “That wasn’t as strange as I thought it would be” and then moved on to: “It’s actually really comfortable”. But this is only after dropping their jaw at the weight of 1850 grams (approx 4 lbs). And after commenting on the amazing sustain. Yes – putting 10 lbs of solid wood on your shoulder is not the only way to obtain it. Some other comments were: “It’s almost like it plays iself” “It’s so fast in its response!” “I could sit here all...
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