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Strandberg Boden Fusion NX 6 Amber Yellow | Gibson Custom 1957 Les Paul Custom Reissue Ebony 3-Pickup | |
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General | ||
Brand: | Strandberg | Gibson Custom |
Year: | 2021 | 2022 |
Configuration: | HSH | HHH |
Strings: | 6 | 6 |
Made in: | Indonesia | United States |
Series: | Boden Fusion | Historic Collection |
Colors: | Red, Yellow | Black |
Left-Handed Version: | No | No |
Body | ||
Type: | Solid Body | Solid Body |
Body Material: | Chambered Alder | Solid Mahogany |
Bridge: | Strandberg EGS Pro Rev7 tremolo system & string locks | No-Wire ABR-1 |
Neck | ||
Neck Joint: | Bolt-On | Set |
Tuners: | At bridge | Kluson Waffleback w/ Pearloid Tips |
Fretboard: | Indian Rosewood | Ebony |
Neck Material: | Maple | Mahogany |
Decoration: | Green Side Dots | 1950s Pattern Mother of Pearl |
Scale Size: | 25.5" to 25" | 24.75" |
Shape: | EndurNeck | 50s Rounded Medium C |
Thickness: | 1st Fret: 1.2'' (30.5mm) - 12th Fret: 1.1'' (27.9mm) | 1st Fret: - 12th Fret: |
Frets: | 24 Medium Jumbo Stainless Steel | 22 Medium Jumbo Nickel Silver |
Fretboard Radius: | 20" | 12" |
Nut: | Locking | Nylon |
Nut Width: | 36mm (1.417'') | 42.9mm (1.688'') |
Electronics | ||
Bridge Pickups: | Suhr SSV+ Bridge (Humbucker / Passive) | Custombucker Alnico III (Unpotted) (Humbucker / Passive) |
Middle Pickup: | Suhr V60LP single-coil (Single Coil / Passive) | Custombucker Alnico III (Humbucker / Passive) |
Neck Pickup: | Suhr SSV Neck (Humbucker / Passive) | Custombucker Alnico III (Unpotted) (Humbucker / Passive) |
Switch: | 5 Way | 3 Way |
Knobs: | Dome | Bell |
Pickup Mods: | Coil Split | None |
Volume Controls: | 1 | 2 |
Tone Controls: | 1 | 2 |
Hardware | ||
Strap Lock: | No | No |
Hardware Color: | Black | Gold |
Show Diagrams Comparison
Reasons to Get
Strandberg Boden Fusion NX 6 Amber Yellow over Gibson Custom 1957 Les Paul Custom Reissue Ebony 3-Pickup
Reasons to Get
Gibson Custom 1957 Les Paul Custom Reissue Ebony 3-Pickup over Strandberg Boden Fusion NX 6 Amber Yellow
Other Key Differences
Strandberg Boden Fusion NX 6 Amber Yellow vs Gibson Custom 1957 Les Paul Custom Reissue Ebony 3-Pickup
Shared Features
Strandberg Boden Fusion NX 6 Amber Yellow vs Gibson Custom 1957 Les Paul Custom Reissue Ebony 3-Pickup
Common Strengths
- High-Quality Nut
- Top Pickup Brand
- Expensive Wood
Common Weaknesses
- Stays in Tune (Evertune)
- Compound Radius Fretboard
- Strap Lock
- 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- Active/Passive Preamp
Price History Comparison
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Hand Size Comfortability
After taking into account the scale length, nut width, neck profile and fretboard radius, we can conclude that both favor small hands .
Strandberg Boden Fusion NX 6 Amber Yellow:
Gibson Custom 1957 Les Paul Custom Reissue Ebony 3-Pickup:
Beginner Friendliness
The Strandberg Boden Fusion NX 6 Amber Yellow meets 5 out of our 8 criteria items for beginner friendliness, while the Gibson Custom 1957 Les Paul Custom Reissue Ebony 3-Pickup meets only 4. This takes into account the type of frets, scale length, nut width, bridge type, fretboard radius, and neck profile to determine the easiest combination for new players.
New Player Friendliness
Strandberg Boden Fusion NX 6 Amber Yellow- Comfortable shape
- Easy-to-use bridge
- Tall frets
- Narrow nut
- Comfortable neck
- Comfortable fretboard
- Short scale
- Locking tuners
New Player Friendliness
Gibson Custom 1957 Les Paul Custom Reissue Ebony 3-Pickup- Comfortable shape
- Easy-to-use bridge
- Tall frets
- Comfortable neck
- Comfortable fretboard
- Narrow nut
- Short scale
- Locking tuners
Sound Quality Comparison
The wood used in an electric guitar or bass is not as important to determine the final tone. However, some people prefer specific wood types, so we'll take a look at those first. Then, we'll take a look at the electronics to determine the versatility and sound quality of each instrument.
Woods Used in the Strandberg Boden Fusion NX 6 Amber Yellow
Maple is one of the most popular necks for good reasons. It is a strong wood that is relatively cheap to make and looks beautiful. The highest quality maple is the hardest that comes from North America. Find out more about Maple.
Rosewood is an almost purple-looking wood that is used mainly for fretboards since it's heavy, rare, and expensive. It's sometimes used on acoustic guitar bodies to create stronger warm tones. Find out more about Rosewood.
Alder is the most popular wood that Fender uses in most of their guitars nowadays. Even though they say it's because of its balanced tone with an emphasis in the upper midrange, it probably is because it isn't too expensive, and it's also pretty lightweight—more than Mahogany. Find out more about Alder.
Woods Used in the Gibson Custom 1957 Les Paul Custom Reissue Ebony 3-Pickup
Mahogany is a fairly rare wood nowadays. It's used mostly for bodies due to its relatively lightweight. Gibson popularized it with their Les Paul guitars during their golden years, so this wood has a lot of good reputation behind it. The most expensive type comes from South America and it's still used by Gibson even today. Find out more about Mahogany.
Ebony is a high-end wood, so it is not cheap. It's only used for fretboards because it's also very heavy. It does an excellent job as a durable material while looking elegant. Find out more about Ebony.
Winner: Gibson Custom 1957 Les Paul Custom Reissue Ebony 3-Pickup.
Pickup Configuration
The Strandberg Boden Fusion NX 6 Amber Yellow has an HSH configuration while the Gibson Custom 1957 Les Paul Custom Reissue Ebony 3-Pickup has HHH pickups.
HSH is a versatile pickup configuration that will give you the high output, full tone, and quiet sound of humbucker pickups, but with the possibility of using a single coil for cleaner tones. The disadvantage is that the middle single-coil pickup will have a noticeable lower volume, so you might want to adjust the height of the pickups. Another problem is that if you set the middle pickup too high, it might interfere with your picking hand.
On the other hand, A triple Humbucker (HHH) can be intimidating at first, but it's one of the combinations that offer the most tone versatility. You'll be able to have from a lot of output for Hard Rock genres, to warm and clean sounds that are more common in Jazz.
Pickups Quality
Both come with very good pickups from at least one of the specialized brands in the market. With pickups like these, you probably won't need an upgrade anytime soon.
However, the Gibson Custom 1957 Les Paul Custom Reissue Ebony 3-Pickup has a slight sound quality advantage when taking into account other factors like the type of pickups, magnet, position, etc.
Both use Passive pickups. This is what's used for most music genres. They have a regular output and will serve you for both high-gain and clean tones. The alternative (Active pickups) offer a higher output that is mostly used for heavy music.
Winner: Gibson Custom 1957 Les Paul Custom Reissue Ebony 3-Pickup.
Versatility Comparison
Some instruments offer you more ways to explore your creativity than others. Below you'll find how both compare when it comes to versatility.
Switch Options
The Strandberg Boden Fusion NX 6 Amber Yellow gives you 5 switch options while the Gibson Custom 1957 Les Paul Custom Reissue Ebony 3-Pickup gives you 3. This means that the Strandberg Boden Fusion NX 6 Amber Yellow gives you more options to find the right pickup combination for the type of sound you want to achieve
Only the Strandberg Boden Fusion NX 6 Amber Yellow comes with some kind of pickup modification: Coil Split.
Coil Split lets you disconnect one of the pickup coils. When used with humbuckers, it turns them into single-coil with lower output and cleaner tone.
When evaluating versatility, we also take into consideration bridge and neck joint type, number of frets, switch options, amount of pickups and more.
Winner: Strandberg Boden Fusion NX 6 Amber Yellow.
Final Sound Quality Scores
Build Quality Comparison
When it comes to build quality, we like to take into account everything used to build the instrument. This includes materials, hardware and the quality control expected depending on the country where it was built. Let's see how the Strandberg Boden Fusion NX 6 Amber Yellow compares to the Gibson Custom 1957 Les Paul Custom Reissue Ebony 3-Pickup.
Country of Origin
The manufacturing country can tell a lot about the build quality of an instrument. The Strandberg Boden Fusion NX 6 Amber Yellow is built in Indonesia while the Gibson Custom 1957 Les Paul Custom Reissue Ebony 3-Pickup is made in United States.
Indonesia is becoming the most popular country for guitar building because they can make good instruments for a low price. Some people think that they're 'the new China' when it comes to build quality. But the truth is that Indonesian guitars are more consistent, although Chinese quality has improved a lot in the last few years.
The United States is considered one of the best electric guitar manufacturers in the world. A guitar made in this country is supposed to have world-class quality control. Nowadays, guitars made in other countries can beat some of the ones made in the US, but most of the time, this country offers the best you can get. Of course, that comes at a price.
Winner: Gibson Custom 1957 Les Paul Custom Reissue Ebony 3-Pickup
Nut Material
If you want your guitar to stay in tune and sound good, you need a well cut nut. Nut quality can be inconsistent even when comparing two copies of the same model. The best way to make sure you're nut will be well done is by getting a nut made by an expert company like TUSQ or Micarta.
The Strandberg Boden Fusion NX 6 Amber Yellow has a Locking nut. Instead of a regular nut, this guitar has a locking system that will lock down the strings at the nut, preventing it from getting out of tune. It removes one of the disadvantages of tremolo bridges, tune stability.
On the other hand, the Gibson Custom 1957 Les Paul Custom Reissue Ebony 3-Pickup comes with a Nylon nut. It used to be one of the highest quality materials for nuts (and still is), but it's rare to find nowadays because it's hard to work with. It's a very resistant material with very low friction, so it will keep the guitar in tune and will last for a long time
Winner: Tie.
Fret Material
Most fret wire is made of nickel silver. This material eventually wears down after a lot of use and most instruments end up needing a complete fret replacement. However, some expensive models come with stainless steel frets. This is what you should aim for if you can afford it.
In this comparison, the Strandberg Boden Fusion NX 6 Amber Yellow is the only one that has stainless steel frets. These frets will basically last for the entire life of the guitar. They will never need polishing nor replacement. And not only that, but some people also notice that bending and vibratos are much easier to perform when they upgrade to stainless steel.
Winner: Strandberg Boden Fusion NX 6 Amber Yellow.
Bridge
The perfect bridge for you will depend on your playstyle because they all have advantages and disadvantages. However, some bridges are more expensive—like Floyd Roses and Evertunes—and thus add more value to a guitar.
The Strandberg Boden Fusion NX 6 Amber Yellow's brige is a Tremolo. Tremolo bridges give you more versatility than fixed bridges. They let you perform the intense vibrato effects that would be impossible with a fixed bridge. However, since the bridge floats and there's less contact with the body, the strings lose sustain slightly faster. They can also be a bit harder to restring and set up correctly than fixed bridges.
On the other hand, the Gibson Custom 1957 Les Paul Custom Reissue Ebony 3-Pickup's is a Fixed. It's a simple bridge that is very beginner-friendly since it doesn't require any set-up. You can swap strings easily. It might also give more sustain since it doesn't have complex moving parts that make the strings lose vibration. However, it doesn't have the same versatility as a tremolo bridge.
Since we need to be objective, the most expensive type of bridge will be the winner of this section. In the end, this doesn't matter if you're not going to use the bridge for its original purpose, so choose the bridge that fits your playing style better.
Winner: Tie.
Tuners
In this case, the Strandberg Boden Fusion NX 6 Amber Yellow has no machine heads because it is a headless guitar. Instead, the strings are tuned at the bridge. This gives the guitar a better balance and will prevent neck dives. It also makes it more travel friendly.
Winner: Tie.
Neck Joint
Contrary to popular belief, the difference in sustain and tone that some neck joints give to a guitar is simply unperceivable—if they're all well built. However, some of them do have advantages over the others.
The Strandberg Boden Fusion NX 6 Amber Yellow has a Bolt-On neck joint. This neck is joined to the body by 4 bolts that you can simply unscrew. This allows you to replace the neck or take it off for travel. It's the most common and cheapest way to build a guitar.
On the other hand, the Gibson Custom 1957 Les Paul Custom Reissue Ebony 3-Pickup comes with Set neck joint. This neck is tightly glued to the body. They give you the least versatility because you can't swap them for a neck that fits your hand better if you want to, unlike bolt-on necks. Some people think this gives more resonance and sustain, but there's no real difference if the bolt-on joint is well built.
Winner: Strandberg Boden Fusion NX 6 Amber Yellow.
Here is the list of features that were considered when choosing the winner in the Features subcategory:
Strandberg Boden Fusion NX 6 Amber Yellow
- Stainless Steel Frets
- Expensive Wood
- Locking Nut
- Top Brand Pickups
- Coil Split Pickups
- Weight Relief
- Luminescent Inlay
- Tremolo
- Made in Indonesia
- No Neck-Through Build
- No Compound Radius Fretboard
- No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- No Strap Lock
Gibson Custom 1957 Les Paul Custom Reissue Ebony 3-Pickup
- Made in United States
- Expensive Wood
- Nylon Nut
- Top Brand Pickups
- Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
- No Locking Tuners
- No Neck-Through Build
- No Push Knob or Extra Switch Option
- No Weight Relief
- No Luminescent Inlay
- No Tremolo
- No Compound Radius Fretboard
- No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- No Strap Lock
Final Build Quality Scores
Playability Comparison
Let's now compare their playability. Bear in mind that the instrument will feel different depending on your hand size and play style. That's why you should always test before buying. But if you can't or want a second opinion on it, we can still take a look at each of the important measurements of the instrument for you. This way, we can predict how easy a guitar might be to play, or how different it will feel compared to the other.
Remember that, even though the difference might seem small, every inch counts when it comes to feeling of the instrument in your hands. Any variation can completely change how comfortable a guitar feels in your hands.
Nut Width
The nut width will affect the separation between strings at the nut. In this comparison, the Gibson Custom 1957 Les Paul Custom Reissue Ebony 3-Pickup has the wider nut with 42.9mm (1.688'') vs 36mm (1.417''). This is a 6.9mm (0.271'') difference
This means that it will be more difficult to do bar chords on the Gibson Custom 1957 Les Paul Custom Reissue Ebony 3-Pickup, especially closer to the nut. However, it's also easier to play without muting strings accidently. This favors people with big hands.
Scale Length
The scale length is one of the things that influences playability the most. This is the distance between the nut and the bridge and will affect everything from low action allowance, difficulty to perform bends, fret separation, and even tone.
In this case, the Strandberg Boden Fusion NX 6 Amber Yellow features a multi-scale of 25.5" to 25" while the Gibson Custom 1957 Les Paul Custom Reissue Ebony 3-Pickup has a regular scale of 24.75".
A multi-scale fingerboard incorporates two scale lengths at the same time. This is present in some instruments with long scale to give a different tension to the lower strings than the higher strings. The thickest strings need more tension to avoid fret buzz (especially when tuned low), so the scale is longer for these strings, while the thinnest strings will need less tension (because they have a lower gauge), so they have a shorter scale to reduce stiffness for bends.
It can feel awkward if you've never played a multi-scale because the frets will have more separation for the higher strings, but a lot of people love their versatility.
On the other hand, the Gibson Custom 1957 Les Paul Custom Reissue Ebony 3-Pickup's 24.75" regular scale means it has a fixed scale for all the strings.This is the scale length that Gibson uses for most of its Les Paul guitars. It's a smaller scale than the typical Stratocaster's 25.5''. Short scale lengths like this make it easier to bend the strings, which is pretty important if you have a fixed bridge. They also have a shorter fret separation, which makes it easier to change position fast at the fretboard.
On the other hand, a shorter scale like this one will make fret buzz more likely, which can affect you if you want to use thicker string gauges.
Lastly, remember that you can also affect the tension of the strings by changing your string gauge. You can use a thicker gauge for more tension and a lighter one for less tension.
Neck Profile
No single neck shape is better than others. However, most people tend to prefer a thinner necks because it doesn't get in their way when playing fast and most hand sizes can adapt to it pretty well. However, some people still prefer thicker necks for a better grip, especially if they have big hands.
Both the Strandberg Boden Fusion NX 6 Amber Yellow and the Gibson Custom 1957 Les Paul Custom Reissue Ebony 3-Pickup have a C-shaped neck. This is what you'll find in most modern guitars. Most people feel like the thickness of a C neck is simply the less intrusive one for playing fast, while at the same time allowing you to grab the neck easily for resting if you want to.
Fretboard Radius
Most guitar fretboards are not flat; they usually have a curve or arc across their width. A curved fretboard will make it easier to perform chords without muting strings, while a flatter one will make it easier to play single notes, which is good for bending and soloing in general. The best fretboards have a compound radius that varies across the fingerboard, but they're not common since they take a lot more work to build.
In this case, the Gibson Custom 1957 Les Paul Custom Reissue Ebony 3-Pickup's fingerboard radius is smaller, which means it's more curved than the Strandberg Boden Fusion NX 6 Amber Yellow's. This extra arc will make playing chords easier in this model. You won't be as likely to mute the strings, especially if you have big hands. However, playing single notes and bending will be easier on the Strandberg Boden Fusion NX 6 Amber Yellow.
Fret Size
Both have a Medium Jumbo fret size. These are slightly shorter than full Jumbo frets, so you'll still feel the fretboard when pressing down the strings. However, they interfere less with your fretting hand than medium-size frets. This is a good size if you like easy-to-press frets, but would still like to feel a bit of the fretboard when playing.