The Sälen is the .strandberg* take on the legendary first solidbody electric guitar from the 1950’s: not a mere copy of this iconic guitar that changed the history of music but a thoughtful and innovative design that balances the best of the tried-and-true traditional with the thoroughly modern concepts that our guitars are known for. The Sälen is at once familiar and strikingly bold, vintage and futuristic, yesterday and tomorrow. Sonically and tactile response-wise, the Sälen Deluxe models will provide nice warmth and roundness due to the chambered body and make the bridge pickup less piercing on the high notes so there’d be no need to roll back the tone knob. The chambered Alder/Maple body Deluxe has a great middle pickup sound while the solidbody Classic Trans Butterscotch has a beautiful snap due to the Ash body and Maple board combo while the Classic Ice Blue Metallic exhibits the same type of snap but with a little fuller sound due to its Alder body and Pau Ferro fretboard. During the course of manufacturing of this guitar model, the color of the roasted maple has varied to some degree. The wood is roasted to achieve the desired properties (tonal response and dimensional stability in different weather conditions) and not to a certain color. This means that the color sometimes does not match that of the product photos, which were taken of the first produced sample guitars. We are working on a revised process and acquiring new equipment for roasting maple that will give us greater control of the results, which should be in place in early 2021. Until then, if you have any concerns about the color of the roasted maple neck or fretboard before ordering, please reach out to us through the contact form at the bottom of this page, and we will be happy to send you a photo in advance, or talk you through the process. For more information about roasted maple, and colors, please see: https://support.strandbergguitars.com/article/95-how-dark-is-roasted-maple