Strandberg Sälen Classic NX 6 Tremolo Black - Overview and Best Prices
- 1 Prices - New from $1,795 >
- From Strandberg's 2023 Sälen series
- Made in Indonesia
- 6 strings
- 25.5" to 25"'' scale
- 20" Fretboard Radius
- Solid Okoume body
- Maple neck
- Birdseye Maple fretboard
- Bridge pickup: Strandberg custom OEM bridge humbucker (Humbucker/Passive)
- Neck pickup: Strandberg custom OEM neck humbucker (Humbucker/Passive)
- 1 volume and 1 tone Dome knobs
- 5-way Switch
- Strandberg EGS Pro Rev 7 tremolo system & 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 Tremolo Black | ||
|---|---|---|
| General | ||
| Brand: | Strandberg | |
| Year: | 2023 | |
| Configuration: | HH | |
| Strings: | 6 | |
| Made in: | Indonesia | |
| Series: | Sälen | |
| Colors: | Black | |
| Left-Handed Version: | No | |
| Body | ||
| Type: | Solid Body | |
| Body Material: | Solid Okoume | |
| Bridge: | Strandberg EGS Pro Rev 7 tremolo system & string locks | |
| Neck | ||
| Neck Joint: | Bolt-On | |
| Tuners: | At bridge | |
| Fretboard: | Birdseye Maple | |
| Neck Material: | Maple | |
| Decoration: | Illuminlay Offset 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: | Strandberg custom OEM bridge humbucker (Humbucker / Passive) | |
| Neck Pickup: | Strandberg custom OEM neck humbucker (Humbucker / Passive) | |
| Switch: | 5 | |
| Knobs: | Dome | |
| Pickup Mods: | Series Split | |
| Volume Controls: | 1 | |
| Tone Controls: | 1 | |
| Hardware | ||
| Strap Lock: | No | |
| Hardware Color: | Black | |
Our Scores and Tone Evaluation
- Heavy Metal
- Hard Rock
- Jazz
- Blues
- Funk
- Country
Strandberg Sälen Classic NX 6 Tremolo Black
- Stainless Steel Frets
- Expensive Wood
- Locking Nut
- Top Brand Pickups
- Series Split Pickups
- Luminescent Inlay
- Tremolo
- Made in Indonesia
- No Neck-Through Build
- No Weight Relief
- No Compound Radius Fretboard
- No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- No Strap Lock
Price Overview
Its average competitor's price is $700, which means that the Strandberg Sälen Classic NX 6 Tremolo Black costs around 156% 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 Tremolo bridge that are made in Indonesia.
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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 Tremolo Black'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 Tremolo Black 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 Tremolo Black- 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 Tremolo Black's 25.5" to 25" scale length compared to other common sizes:
The Strandberg Sälen Classic NX 6 Tremolo Black 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 Tremolo Black'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 Tremolo Black 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 Tremolo Black has the same radius across the board.
Playability compared to main competitors
Nut Width
The Strandberg Sälen Classic NX 6 Tremolo Black 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 Tremolo Black 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 Tremolo Black'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
Okoume Body: It's an affordable wood and it was one of the first to replace Mahogany when prohibitions started. It's generally softer than Mahogany and the tone has warmer 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: Strandberg. 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 Tremolo Black's configuration is HH. With this pickup combination, you'll get warmer tones and more output than using single coils. Humbucker pickups cancel the noise that single-coil suffer from, which also results in a warmer tone. This pickup combination isn't only for high-gain music like Hard Rock or Heavy Metal. Their warmness is also popular for Jazz, Indie, R&B, Blues and more.
More with the same pickups
Versatility
It gives you a good amount of tone options with its 5-way switch. You can use it to choose at least 5 different pickup combinations.
It has a Series Split option. Some pickups will be wired in series (the ground wire of one is connected to the hot wire of the other). This is how Humbuckers are usually connected, so you can expect a fuller sound with more output than two single-coils connected in parallel.
What music genre is it good for?
As a 6 strings, Solid Body guitar with HH 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 Tremolo Black 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 Pro Rev 7 tremolo system & string locks: This type of bridge allows you to change the pitch of the notes by pulling the bridge with the attached bar, which gives you better versatility. Also, since the bridge is not fixed to the guitar body, the bridge will move as you bend the strings. So you'll have to increase the distance of your bends to reach the same tension (note) compared to a fixed bridge. This allows you to perform smoother bends but will also make you slower. Finally, remember that this type of bridge requires a bit more maintenance than fixed ones, especially when changing strings.
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 Tremolo Black 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.
