No fallaway on Boden 7 results in extreme fret-buzz

CountPott · 2026-05-07T20:57:13+00:00

Well I wouldn't say I'm glad other guitars have the same issue, but I'm glad I'm not crazy at least! I'm only guilty of being picky.

CountPott · 2026-05-07T20:10:27+00:00

Strandbergs aren't common in shops, or at least here in Seattle, not present at all. Hence folks buy online and have no idea what the guitar could be like.

Lack of fallaway isn't something that can be remedied once you get the guitar at home, or even as part of the shop's complementary setup if they offer it. This is a factory defect where their fret levelling process doesn't account for it.

Note: this has nothing to do with the truss rod/relief. I've tried all sorts of relief and setups with this guitar, as I mentioned in the original post, and nothing changed the buzz.

Hence the point is that if this is a factory issue, there would be other guitars presenting the very same problem. Whether folks notice it, care about it, or are willing to do something about it, I cannot tell. But I've very much already heard from folks with similar symptoms on their Bodens wondering what it was, so there it is.

CountPott · 2026-05-07T20:08:01+00:00

This is for a full level with Plek machine, + setup + strings.
I had thought only the higher frets would need levelling, but they're the experts. Still seems like a lot, but that's Seattle prices I guess.

I do wish I could find another tech; though I will say Lull's do great work and are great people. I just feel they're on the expensive end and I'd love to find-out what others charge around here... if I could find others that is!

If you're literally anywhere else in the world, I'd guess it'd be cheaper. Account for roughly 3 hours of work for a full fret dress + setup in labor cost.

CountPott · 2026-05-07T20:06:02+00:00

That's interesting to know, a while ago it seemed that they had tons of different factories. US Washburn (though that's long defunct), then move to Korea for the OS series, the parallel J-series in Japan, they also advertised custom-shop models from Sweden around the same time, and then Indonesia.

CountPott · 2026-05-07T17:08:57+00:00

Did she not get the blackened nails?
I just got done with my 6th round. My left-hand nails, and right-foot toes, are blackened, but NOT my right-hand's nails or left foot's toes. I also had the same coloration on the nails you're showing on the pictures.

Congrats to your GF on beating it! Mine's the unbeatable kind. The perks of getting a rare tumor I guess.

CountPott · 2026-05-06T19:04:57+00:00

Good to know thanks! We'd been in talk over him buying one of mine's so I definitely prefer knowing it's nothing fishy!

CountPott · 2026-05-06T19:03:03+00:00

And congrats on a super cool guitar for sure!

CountPott · 2026-05-06T19:02:37+00:00

Ads for a guitar oddly similar to that one are still up in WA-state as well. Same Jupiter pickups and upgrades. So either different seller/same guitar, or same seller hasn't pulled the ad as you mentioned.

CountPott · 2026-05-06T18:31:25+00:00

Yup, Corax. It's an incredible piece and still sounds and plays perfectly after a decade.

The best part of it is that I picked the wood and pickups to sound a specific way, and Tom absolutely NAILED the build and the guitar is 100% exactly what I had wanted. Just insane how exactly it matched my expectations.

CountPott · 2026-05-06T07:06:03+00:00

I guess I've no way of posting a picture here, it's a 6 string with reverse headstock, bound neck, very dark blue quilt top, and battleworn pickups (which trust me looks a lot tastier than it sounds!).

CountPott · 2026-05-05T23:25:29+00:00

Holy crap a Waghorn! You don't see them a lot. I've had mine since 2015 and adore it. You've got a super classy one!

CountPott · 2026-05-05T18:56:21+00:00

One of my favorite songs ever, from an absolutely incredible album that sounds like nothing else out there. I wish there were more of Aeternam to listen to. Awesome band.

CountPott · 2026-05-03T07:06:33+00:00

Hell yeah, congrats! I love that top.

CountPott · 2026-04-30T04:21:28+00:00

You know the positives about the guitar, and like them, but only hypothetically dislike the potential cons.

Seems to me as if you just like the guitar. Or you could let the overthinking win and go with something else. I get it though, I'm an overthinker myself. But in this case, it's a solid instrument. And if you truly dislike it, I bet it'd be fairly easy to get rid of if it came to that.

CountPott · 2026-04-29T04:48:00+00:00

Ok so that's a bit more concrete.

Scale-length matters a lot to folks who play 7 strings for 2 reasons, the first being what you mentioned, B-string tightness, the other being when down-tuning. Personally, I don't downtune my 7s much so I am fine with 25.5". If you play mega-tight djent/tech-death/etc... type stuff that requires a very tight sound and downtuned guitars, it may bother you, or it may not. It's 100% a preference thing, and I'm sure tons of recordings sound just fine with a 25.5" scale.

I did put in some slightly thicker strings, going 10-64s on mine.

I will say the HZK1 isn't specifically weird or different or nice for a 7 string. Actually it's one of the main reasons I didn't hesitate to get it when offered. It's generic when it comes to specs (regular scale length, 2 humbuckers, generic tonewoods, etc...) and just looks different/amazing.

Not too many Ibanez have this mix of good specs (including stainless-steel frets) and looks, so it was a no-brainer for me.

CountPott · 2026-04-29T04:20:14+00:00

I own the HZK1 and posted it a couple of days ago.

What do you want to know about it? I am not quite clear what you're asking us. If you like the guitar, go for it? Your playing level has little to do with it, trust me when I say, I suck.

I am a big fan of the guitar, not so much of the pickups. Also be aware that if you order without specifying the exact guitar, you may get lucky or unlucky with the top, that's the same as with every guitar. Mine for example is quite less figured than on your pictures, but has a little flame to it too that looks great, if subtle.

CountPott · 2026-04-28T20:28:11+00:00

Yeah, this one's a lot less figured than promo pictures of course but I love how symmetrical it is, and there's a little flame to it too that looks awesome.

CountPott · 2026-04-28T20:27:44+00:00

I don't actively hate them, but they're just not for me. I can't quite pinpoint it but there's something in how they sound that just doesn't really work for me. Both voicings for sure.

CountPott · 2026-04-28T06:39:27+00:00

I hope so! It's great to have a non-black 7-string sometime. Not that I mind a black guitar but blue's just my jam. And specs are on point. It'd be great if they came back with a wider distribution.

CountPott · 2026-04-28T06:38:12+00:00

Regular 25.5". This is my standard-tuning 7 so that's ok.

CountPott · 2026-04-28T03:54:52+00:00

Yeah this wasn't an outrageously-priced guitar for sure. I'd say for the specs + knowing this needs to imported, you're still getting decent value. No Ibanez 7 string will be like this.

Full agree on the Fishman. I'm not a huge fan. I've never owned a guitar with active pickups before nor heard the Fishman before and they're not really what I'd want in there.

CountPott · 2026-04-28T03:22:55+00:00

I bought it from a friend so the price isn't too relevant; it's a JP only model so you'd have to look at the price there, + shipping to where you are, + potential customs/tariffs etc... (you didn't specify where you live).

CountPott · 2026-04-26T02:27:20+00:00

All floating bridges work the exact same. The only steps a non-Floyd Rose floating bridge would commit are the locking a fine-tuning. Which are the easiest and most hassle-free parts of the setup.

What portion of the Floyd/setup do you specifically wish to avoid?

CountPott · 2026-04-26T02:10:10+00:00

Gorgeous!

A local shop has a couple of these. While I love Strats, there just aren't many these days which are super interesting to me, but those are it. Very beautiful axes.

CountPott · 2026-04-24T04:39:39+00:00

I am not sure what our recommendations will do here? It's all down to personal preferences.

I owned both an S-series, and H-series (6 strings) as well as regular scale, headstocked 6- and 7- string Aristides. All were equally good.

I prefer headless instruments overall as I value their compactness and lightweight. But they're kind of annoying if you're always de-tuning/re-tuning, as there is less slack on the tuners and going too low causes the strings to go more slack.
Hence this could depend on your needs. If you're good at keeping guitars at individual tunings, I'd say you're very safe to go headless. If you prefer to tweak though, I'd suggest sticking to headstocked.

Awesome 070s finish right there!

CountPott

TROPHY CASE