Unconventional genesis of Strandberg's EndurNeck: tracing its roots to a simple household gadget and personal experimentation.
Strandberg's groundbreaking EndurNeck profile, a contentious design in the guitar community, has its origins in an unexpected source - a trapezoidal-shaped remote control for a television. The founder of Strandberg Guitars, Ola Strandberg, revealed this during a recent seminar, disclosing that he was intrigued by the twisted shape of the remote and noticed how it allowed for a more comfortable grip.
The EndurNeck, a signature and patented asymmetrical neck design, utilizes flat surfaces instead of the traditional round profile. Strandberg claims that this offers a more restful grip for the thumb and aids in achieving an intuitive grip of the instrument, thereby optimizing ergonomic playing and performance.
While collaborating with another builder named Rick Toone, Strandberg took inspiration from Toone's trapezoidal neck concept. However, Strandberg altered this design to better suit his needs, eventually adopting a more unconventional approach. Strandberg also cited the Lace Helix guitar, another guitar with a twisted neck, as another source of inspiration.
Strandberg's innovative EndurNeck design has been well-received, with notable musicians such as Plini, Jordan Rudess, and others making use of the futuristic axe. This design has also contributed to a resurgence in headless guitar designs, following earlier attempts by Eddie Van Halen and Allan Holdsworth in the 1980s and 1990s to popularize the style.
In a recent chat, Strandberg mentioned that his memory of the exact moment of discovery has faded. Reflecting on the development of the EndurNeck, Strandberg released the Boden Essential, the company's first guitar priced under $1,000, thus making one of his futuristic axes more affordable for a wider audience.
The EndurNeck, Strandberg's patented asymmetrical neck design, was initially inspired by a trapezoidal-shaped remote control for a television. This design, originally borrowed from Rick Toone and altered to better suit Strandberg's needs, uses flat surfaces instead of the traditional round profile, offering a more comfortable grip and improving ergonomic playing. Now, with endorsements from musicians like Plini, Jordan Rudess, and others, the innovative EndurNeck contributes to the revival of headless guitar designs, a style earlier popularized by Eddie Van Halen and Allan Holdsworth in the past.
