.Strandberg Boden Original NX 6

93
DECEMBER 2021 GUITARIST
REVIEW
.STRANDBERG BODEN ORIGINAL NX 6
UNDER THE HOOD Modern in style, but what’s inside?
R
emoving the 3mm thick aluminium
backplate, which also holds the
output jack, you might expect to see
a modernist circuit board. But no, things here
are pretty conventional. The cavity itself has
copper foil lining and we basically have two
500k CTS pots and a Schaller Megaswitch
(M) five-way lever pickup selector. The
tone capacitor is a standard Mylar .022
microfarads (2A223), while the treble bleed
circuit uses a 680 picofarads (681) capacitor
in parallel with a 150kohms resistor.
Suhr’s pickups are well renowned and both
here – Suhr SSH+ at the bridge and SSV in the
Not quite as tidy as
the outside, but this
circuit works very well
the 12th fret. This offset, if you like, means
the bass side of the V increases in area as
you move up the neck and it’s the area
(with the guitar strapped on quite high)
where your left-hand thumb sits. As we say,
the back and sides are flat planes and only
lightly curved where they meet. If you play
with your thumb around the neck – as many
of us do – this will feel very strange indeed.
But with a more studied left-hand position
it begins to make sense.
Indeed, strap it high and that strange feel
becomes less odd the more you play. Your
left hand certainly doesn’t feel strained; you
don’t have to pull up the neck because of
any imbalance as with an SG, for example.
Its light weight means it just hangs in a
perfect playing position.
The setup is low (pretty much 1mm on
the treble side, 1.2mm on the bass) with
barely a fraction of relief, while the fret
height, which measures 1.3mm, ensures
that bends, hammer-ons and pull-offs
are stupidly easy. That said, if you’ve ever
played a headless guitar, you’ll know it
does take a little adjustment – you can
easily fret higher, for example, as your eye
just isn’t used to the 1st fret being so close
to the tip of the guitar, which is usually
the headstock. The fretwork is superb,
the frets feel super smooth, and whatever
3
neck position – are SS (as in ‘single screw’)
open-coiled humbuckers. The SSH+ has a
measured DCR of 16kohms and is described
by Suhr as “a true high-output humbucker.
The pickup exhibits excellent harmonic
content, lots of midrange and a focused low-
end. Well suited for classic rock or metal.”
The SSV neck pickup has a measured DCR
of 7.33k, offering “a broad sonic aperture
with very little compression”, says Suhr,
“making for a dynamic, vintage output
humbucker, a versatile pickup that combines
the warmth of a vintage humbucker with
increased clarity and definition”. Although
it’s direct-mounted, there is some height-
adjustment capability.
Position 2 on the five-way selector links
the inside slug coils of each humbucker in
parallel. Position 3 voices the outside screw
coils in parallel, while position 4 voices just
the screw coil of the neck humbucker.
The bridge pickup
is girthsome and
powerful, while the
neck unit is a little
more rootsy sounding
VIDEO DEMO http://bit.ly/guitaristextra
GIT479.rev_strandberg.indd 93GIT479.rev_strandberg.indd 93 27/10/2021 13:0227/10/2021 13:02