Strandberg Sälen Classic NX 6 Butterscotch Blonde - Overview and Best Prices
- From Strandberg's 2022 Sälen series
- Made in Indonesia
- 6 strings
- 25.5" to 25"'' scale
- 20" Fretboard Radius
- Solid Swamp Ash body
- Quartersawn Maple, Carbon Fiber reinforced neck
- Birdseye Maple fretboard
- Bridge pickup: Suhr Custom Classic T Bridge (Single Coil/Passive)
- Neck pickup: Suhr Classic T Neck (Single Coil/Passive)
- 1 volume and 1 tone Dome knobs
- 3-way Switch
- Strandberg EGS Series 7 fixed & string locks bridge
- EndurNeck Bolt-On neck
- 24 Medium Jumbo Stainless Steel frets
- At bridge tuners
- Side-By-Side Comparison
Show Specs
| Strandberg Sälen Classic NX 6 Butterscotch Blonde | ||
|---|---|---|
| General | ||
| Brand: | Strandberg | |
| Year: | 2022 | |
| Configuration: | SS | |
| Strings: | 6 | |
| Made in: | Indonesia | |
| Series: | Sälen | |
| Colors: | Yellow | |
| Left-Handed Version: | No | |
| Body | ||
| Type: | Solid Body | |
| Body Material: | Solid Swamp Ash | |
| Bridge: | Strandberg EGS Series 7 fixed & string locks | |
| Neck | ||
| Neck Joint: | Bolt-On | |
| Tuners: | At bridge | |
| Fretboard: | Birdseye Maple | |
| Neck Material: | Quartersawn Maple, Carbon Fiber reinforced | |
| Decoration: | Offset Luminlay Dots | |
| Scale Size: | 25.5" to 25" | |
| Shape: | EndurNeck | |
| Thickness: | 1st Fret: 1.2'' (30.5mm) - 12th Fret: 1.1'' (27.9mm) | |
| Frets: | 24 Medium Jumbo Stainless Steel | |
| Fretboard Radius: | 20" | |
| Nut: | Locking | |
| Nut Width: | 36mm (1.417'') | |
| Electronics | ||
| Bridge Pickups: | Suhr Custom Classic T Bridge (Single Coil / Passive) | |
| Neck Pickup: | Suhr Classic T Neck (Single Coil / Passive) | |
| Switch: | 3 | |
| Knobs: | Dome | |
| Volume Controls: | 1 | |
| Tone Controls: | 1 | |
| Hardware | ||
| Strap Lock: | No | |
| Hardware Color: | Chrome | |
Show Diagram
Our Scores and Tone Evaluation
- Heavy Metal
- Hard Rock
- Jazz
- Blues
- Funk
- Country
Strandberg Sälen Classic NX 6 Butterscotch Blonde
- Stainless Steel Frets
- Expensive Wood
- Locking Nut
- Top Brand Pickups
- Luminescent Inlay
- Made in Indonesia
- No Neck-Through Build
- No Push Knob or Extra Switch Option
- No Weight Relief
- No Tremolo
- No Compound Radius Fretboard
- No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- No Strap Lock
Price Overview
Its average competitor's price is $800, which means that the Strandberg Sälen Classic NX 6 Butterscotch Blonde costs around 149% more than the competition. It might be due to it having additional features, but know that you can find cheaper similar alternatives. This takes into account all instruments of the same category in our database with 6 strings and Fixed bridge that are made in Indonesia.
User Reviews & Feedback
Not all instruments are created equally. That's why it's important to have different opinions. Here's what our users who have played this instrument say. If you've played it before, help others by voting below!
Weight
VoteTuning stability
VoteNeck speed (thickness)
VoteNeck access to high frets
VoteNeck profile shape
VoteFret edges
VotePickups noise
VotePickups power
VoteOften Compared With
Hand Size Comfortability
After taking into account the neck profile, scale size, fretboard radius, and nut width, we can conclude that the Strandberg Sälen Classic NX 6 Butterscotch Blonde's construction favors people with relatively small hands.
Nevertheless, this comes down in the end to personal preference. Make sure you test this guitar—or another one with similar characteristics—before buying.
Beginner Friendliness
The Strandberg Sälen Classic NX 6 Butterscotch Blonde meets 5 out of our 8 criteria items for beginner friendliness, which means that it's a good guitar to start with as a complete beginner. 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 to get used to.
New Player Friendliness
Strandberg Sälen Classic NX 6 Butterscotch Blonde- Comfortable shape
- Easy-to-use bridge
- Tall frets
- Narrow nut
- Comfortable neck
- Comfortable fretboard
- Short scale
- Locking tuners
Videos
Playability
Scale Length
Scale length is the distance the strings will span between the bridge and the nut. It can tell you a lot about the overall playability and tone of the instrument. A longer scale length means longer distance between frets, brighter tone and more string tension—which means lower action, but more difficult bending of the strings.
Here's the Strandberg Sälen Classic NX 6 Butterscotch Blonde's 25.5" to 25" scale length compared to other common sizes:
The Strandberg Sälen Classic NX 6 Butterscotch Blonde features a multi-scale fingerboard, which means that it incorporates two scale lengths at the same time. This is present in some 7+ strings guitars to give a different tension to the lower strings and 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.
Neck Profile
The neck profile tells you the thickness (neck depth) and shape in cross section. Every difference will completely change the feeling and comfortability of the neck. This is a highly subjective thing, but most players indeed prefer certain types of necks (like Cs and Ds) because they feel nice in most hands.
The Strandberg Sälen Classic NX 6 Butterscotch Blonde's neck thickness is approximately 1.2'' (30.5mm) at the first fret, and 1.1'' (27.9mm) at the twelfth.
These measurements were taken either from the official Strandberg website, or, in case this information wasn't provided, by researching multiple online marketplaces and forums where owners of this model have posted their measurements.
It has a C type neck. C-shaped necks like this have been the most popular for the last years. The reason is that they feel good in most hands. It's generally a thin neck that doesn't get in your way when playing fast, but that also has enough mass to give your hands a comfortable grip for chords if they aren't too big.
Thin necks like this make it easier to move your hand across the neck and it helps when playing fast solos, especially if you like to leave your thumb free while playing high on the fretboard. However, thinner necks are also weaker and will need adjustment more often than a thicker neck.
Fretboard Radius
When it comes to fingerboard radius, personal preference will dictate which one is better for you. However, most people seem to agree that a more curved (lower) radius will make it easier to play chords while a less curved (higher) radius is better for soloing and bending.
The Strandberg Sälen Classic NX 6 Butterscotch Blonde has a 20" fingerboard radius.
Here's an image comparing this fretboard radius to other popular choices:
This radius makes the fretboard almost completely flat, which means that it's perfect for playing single notes and bends. However, making complex chord shapes will be harder because you might mute the strings accidentally. It's a fretboard made for shredders, and probably for heavy music genres.
Compound radius fingerboards give the best of both worlds. Unfortunately, the Strandberg Sälen Classic NX 6 Butterscotch Blonde has the same radius across the board.
Playability compared to main competitors
Nut Width
The Strandberg Sälen Classic NX 6 Butterscotch Blonde has a nut width of 36mm (1.417''). This is considered a narrow width for a 6-string guitar. This means that this guitar will have a narrower string separation at the nut, which will affect your fretting hand.
If you are a player with big hands, you might find it difficult to play chords without muting strings. However, this is good for players who have smaller hands, as it will allow them to reach each string more easily at the nut.
Frets
The Strandberg Sälen Classic NX 6 Butterscotch Blonde has 24 frets. A lot of people mistakenly believe that having more frets will always be better because it gives you a higher octave. This is certainly an advantage, but there's also a disadvantage to this.
Since the fretboard will be longer, the neck pickup will need to be placed closer to the bridge. And as you may know, the further away the neck pickup is from the bridge, the warmer it sounds. This means you'll have a brighter-sounding neck pickup when using a 24-fret guitar, even if you use the same pickup on a 22-fret guitar.
Finally, these are stainless steel frets. They're the best fretwire available. This means you won't need to change your frets since they should last as long as your guitar. Some people also feel easier bendings after swapping to stainless steel.
Fret Size
Finally, let's talk about fret size. Some people prefer tall frets because it's easier to press the strings and perform bends since there's less friction against the fretboard. On the other hand, some people like shorter frets because they like to touch the fretboard when playing, or because they got heavy hands and tend to press too much on the string and alter the of the note pitch accidently.
The Strandberg Sälen Classic NX 6 Butterscotch Blonde's frets are Medium Jumbo size. These sit somewhere between a Jumbo and a Medium fret. They're not quite as tall as a full Jumbo, so you'll still feel the fretboard, but you won't feel it as much as with medium frets. This is a good size if you want to make it easy to press the strings but would also like a little bit of ''feedback'' to know when to stop pressing so the notes don't go out of pitch.
Playability Score
Tone
Wood will have little influence in the final tone of an electric guitar or bass. Instead, the hardware, especially the pickups, will be the most important thing to look at. Bur first, let's see the quality of the wood.
Wood
Ash Body: The most popular Ash wood for guitars is swamp Ash. It has a really light color with beautiful patterns, which makes it perfect for a natural-looking finish. It's not as lightweight as Alder, but also not as heavy as Mahogany. It's known for producing a bright tone with solid mids and lows.
Maple Neck: This is one of the most popular types of wood used in all kinds of guitars. It's heavy, strong and compact, which makes it great for necks. However, it's also used for fretboards, bodies and tops due to its light color, resistance and beautiful patterns. When it comes to tone, it highlights the mid and high frequencies.
Birdseye Maple Fretboard: This wood has beautiful patterns only found in specific types of maple.
Pickups
This guitar comes with pickups from one of the top brands: Suhr. So you can expect well built pickups with great sound that shouldn't need an upgrade anytime soon.
These are passive pickups, so you can expect a rounder sound and a moderade level of output.
The Strandberg Sälen Classic NX 6 Butterscotch Blonde's configuration is SS. This is the classic Telecaster configuration and it's used mainly for playing clean or with low-gain distortion. It doesn't give you as much versatility as a Strat SSS configuration, but you might like the cleaner look of a guitar body with fewer pickups.
More with the same pickups
Versatility
It comes with the popular 3-way switch that is present in most guitars. For more versatility, players tend to prefer a 5-way switch, although it all depends on what you want to use your guitar for.
Unfortunately, it doesn't come with more options for coil split or coil tapping. This makes it less versatile than some competitors.
What music genre is it good for?
As a 6 strings, Solid Body guitar with SS configuration and Passive pickups, we'd recommend it for genres like Heavy Metal or similar. However, you can use almost any guitar for any genre. This is just the typical type of music for this particular one.
Sound Score
Build Quality
Country of Origin
Knowing where the instrument is produced is a good way to know how well it's built. Some manufacturing countries are known for having higher quality standards. For example, most expensive instruments are made in the US or Japan, but there are some exceptionally great countries—like South Korea—that are building a good reputation.
The Strandberg Sälen Classic NX 6 Butterscotch Blonde is made in Indonesia. Many people prefer the quality of an Indonesian guitar over a Chinese. Respectable brands like Epiphone, Ibanez and Schecter are building in this country because of the great quality and lower price. Some people like to compare them to the ones built in Japan during the 80s, when Japanese guitar makers made a name for themselves.
Bridge
Strandberg EGS Series 7 fixed & string locks: The advantage of fixed bridges is that they don't require any kind of set-up. This makes it extremely easy when changing strings because you don't need to adjust anything besides tuning the guitar. Also, the fact that the bridge is directly attached to the body will help to increase sustain. The disadvantage is the lack of versatility since you can't create the same vibrato effects as with tremolo bridges.
Nut Material
Another important thing to analyze is the nut material, as it's one of the most important aspects that can affect the sound and playability of your guitar. A well-cut nut will make sure it stays in tune and will make it more comfortable to play.
In this case, the Strandberg Sälen Classic NX 6 Butterscotch Blonde has a Locking nut. Instead of the typical nut, this nut locks the strings in place and will make them stay in tune even after heavy tremolo use. This type of nut provides the best tune stability, but they also make the guitar more expensive.
Unfortunately, it doesn't come with a retainer bar for the nut, which would be a helpful addition. Without it, the strings will change pitch once you lock down the nut, so you'll have to make more micro-adjustments at the bridge to tune it correctly.
Neck Joint
The neck joint is the part where the neck of the guitar meets the body. There are three main techniques to attach both parts together: Set-In, Bolt-On and Neck-Through. The latter two provide different advantages, although neck-throughs are the most expensive.
This guitar has a Bolt-On neck joint. Even though this type of neck was looked down upon for a long time, nowadays bolt-on necks are well built and provide just as much sustain as any other join method. First of all, it's cheap to make because it consists of simply 4 bolts that attach the neck to the body. And you can travel with the guitar more easily, swap out the neck if you damage it, or upgrade to a more comfortable neck later on.
