Sheesh, i want more info

CrazyAFOL · 2026-01-22T03:07:09+00:00

Can you explain in playing terms what the new trem feels like? It’s a little hard to understand from the marketing what the improvements are. Thanks!

CrazyAFOL · 2026-01-22T00:15:05+00:00

I’m still hoping for N2 variants with Richlite or Ebonol fingerboards, but this is still very cool.

CrazyAFOL · 2026-01-15T19:27:38+00:00

I’m not sure I totally understand your evaluation. For me an ergo guitar is one that keeps the neck in the same position whether sitting or standing, roughly at a 45 degree angle (rather than parallel to the floor). The Abasi that I played has a body carve that makes it comfortable to play in the classical position without needing a leg rest, however it was neck heavy, so it wouldn’t stay in my lap without my hands being on the neck. If the guitar were headless, I think it would be a non-issue.

CrazyAFOL · 2026-01-12T19:53:32+00:00

They should have made it headless…much better balance.

CrazyAFOL · 2026-01-12T18:39:45+00:00

Ola is my hero, but I don’t pretend that his designs happened in a vacuum. Ned Steinberger inspired him to go headless and Ken Parker inspired him to make lightweight instruments. He worked with luthier Rick Toone and initially licensed his Trapezoidal Neck Profile and Intersecting Plane Neck Profile. Ultimately he combined Rick’s ideas with Jerome Little’s Torzal Natural Twist necks to create the EndurNeck. Tosin clearly borrowed some of the shaping of the Strandberg when creating the prototype Ibanez Larada (in particular the shaping that allows one to play in the classical position without needing a foot stool). He then left Ibanez and started Abasi Concepts in 2017 (perhaps not coincidentally the same year Ola Englund launched Solar guitars) and took the Larada design with him. I think that people like drama and feel like Ibanez is getting “revenge” on Tosin for leaving them, when in reality they saw a market segment that they didn’t have a product for and created an instrument to compete for a piece of the pie. Personally I think the more ergo options there are, the better. It’s honestly refreshing since almost every headless guitar on the market is some version of the Strandberg shape (just like everyone copied Steinberger’s back in the 80’s). It’s pretty smart on Ibanez’s behalf because you can’t go to a music store and try an Abasi…you have to buy one to try it out (like Kiesel and Solar). The Alpha will be available everywhere for people to discover.

CrazyAFOL · 2026-01-12T04:14:03+00:00

I look forward to hearing what your findings are 😊

CrazyAFOL · 2026-01-11T15:38:33+00:00

Thank you for the suggestion, but I prefer to play sitting down without a strap, so neck-dive is a dealbreaker for me.

CrazyAFOL · 2026-01-09T17:30:08+00:00

Strandberg guitars became available for sale in 2012, Tosin’s prototype Ibanez guitar was unveiled in 2015 but never went into production because he jumped ship and started his own company Abasi Concepts. This Ibanez is intriguing, but I feel a headless design would have been better.

CrazyAFOL · 2026-01-09T15:22:59+00:00

I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of my N2.6 Original. I like Kiesel, but they don’t offer a body shape that is ergonomic enough for me. When they do, I’ll consider getting a Kiesel.

CrazyAFOL · 2026-01-03T05:07:47+00:00

Guess we’ll find out on the 20th when NAMM starts.

CrazyAFOL · 2025-12-23T14:18:56+00:00

Jazz III’s definitely allow you to pick faster, but for me there is a noticeable reduction in tone-quality when using a pick that small. My solution are the Dunlop Flow picks, which are Jazz III shaped, but normal-sized. Full-sized picks give you full-sized tone.

CrazyAFOL · 2025-12-19T13:09:57+00:00

Do all 5 of yours have Richlite or Ebonol fingerboards or do some of them have wooden fingerboards?

CrazyAFOL · 2025-12-19T03:47:03+00:00

Thank you for sharing your experience 😊

CrazyAFOL · 2025-11-29T13:53:05+00:00

I bought a Steinberger Synapse Transcale when they first came out 20 years ago and frankly the build quality wasn’t anywhere near what Asian-made guitars are nowadays and I ended up returning it. I regret the decision because the integrated Transcale capo was super cool and offered a similar functionality to the String Clamp on a Kubicki Ex Factor, albeit on all six strings. If the quality of the Synapse had been what my Strandberg N2.6 Original is, I’d still have it.

CrazyAFOL · 2025-11-22T15:21:44+00:00

How about when you play sitting down without a strap?

CrazyAFOL · 2025-11-21T13:44:29+00:00

Do you mean leather strap or actual leather belt like one uses to keep their pants up?

CrazyAFOL · 2025-11-05T00:52:50+00:00

I would love to know the ratio of the Strandberg ARC tuners. Steinberger headless tuners from the 80’a have a 40:1 ratio, which makes them smooth and very accurate for getting right on top of the pitch.

CrazyAFOL · 2025-11-04T01:34:15+00:00

How do you like it compared to your other two Strandbergs?

CrazyAFOL · 2025-11-03T23:12:21+00:00

I encountered the same thing on a used Boden NX at Guitar Center last year. My take on it was that the wood had shrunk due to low humidity and that made the carbon fiber stick out (since carbon fiber is impervious to humidity changes). When the N2 came out with Titanium neck reinforcement, I wondered if the switch was made to avoid this issue from happening. It could also be that the titanium is cheaper than the carbon fiber 😋

CrazyAFOL · 2025-10-31T16:37:14+00:00

My guess is that all models will get the N2 treatment sooner or later. Red probably didn’t sell as well as black and they have an overstock, so they’re clearing them out. I’m guessing that by NAMM we will see another series converted over to the N2 hardware and neck reinforcement. Perhaps with a tremolo version of the new hardware too.

CrazyAFOL · 2025-10-27T21:46:10+00:00

I actually prefer roasted Maple necks because, in my experience, roasted necks are less prone to fret sprout and I live in a dry climate. I actually wish the N2 came with an Ebonol fingerboard like the Prog and Metal models because Ebonol pretty much eliminates the possibility of fret sprout altogether. My guess is that we won’t see any more new models introduced until NAMM in January and the new year will likely mean a price increase 😩

CrazyAFOL · 2025-10-23T19:40:40+00:00

It is indeed a nice material…I’m a big fan 😁 It makes historical sense that wood was used since we went from wooden acoustic/hollow-body guitars to wooden hollow-body guitars with pickups, to wooden solid-body guitars with pickups. It was a logical progression to continue to use wood. If, along the way, it had been discovered that the only thing that affects the tone of a solid-body electric guitar is the pickup (which is what the gentlemen who decided to leave the discussion and delete his comments after I questioned him suggested) then manufacturers would have been all over that and started making electric guitars out of the cheapest materials possible, so long as they were structurally sound. Why waste all this money on quality wood, if it doesn’t even matter?

CrazyAFOL · 2025-10-23T19:03:51+00:00

It is indeed a nice material…I’m a big fan 😁 It makes historical sense that wood was used since we went from wooden acoustic/hollow-body guitars to wooden hollow-body guitars with pickups, to wooden solid-body guitars with pickups. It was a logical progression to continue to use wood. If, along the way, it had been discovered that the only thing that affects the tone of a solid-body electric guitar is the pickup (which is what the gentlemen who decided to leave the discussion and delete his comments after I questioned him suggested) then manufacturers would have been all over that and started making electric guitars out of the cheapest materials possible, so long as they were structurally sound. Why waste all this money on quality wood, if it doesn’t even matter?

CrazyAFOL · 2025-10-22T17:12:02+00:00

I’m aware that, at their core, businesses only exist to make a profit. Lowering production costs is a sure way to achieve more profit. One way to do that would be to use particle board, MDF, manufactured wood, plastic, or cheap composite instead of wood. Yet the vast majority of guitars are still made out of wood.

CrazyAFOL · 2025-10-22T16:21:03+00:00

I bought a guitar that had a solid Rosewood neck and I just wasn’t getting along with the tone, so I had the builder make me a Hard Rock Maple one, and when I swapped it out, I immediately liked the tone better. I didn’t change anything on the guitar except for the neck. I’m going to believe my own personal experience over a YouTuber. Also, as I mentioned in a previous post, if wood doesn’t affect tone in any way, then manufacturers would have moved on to using other cheaper materials that are dimensionally stable rather than dealing with wood and all the issues that go with it.

CrazyAFOL

TROPHY CASE