Strandberg Guitars and Grammy-winning multi-instrumentalist Jacob Collier have announced they will finally release their innovative five-string , the JC 5 Djesse, this summer – having teased the internet about the collaboration for over a year. Word that Collier and Sweden’s ergonomic luthier were collaborating on a five-string guitar began bubbling last May, thanks to an that saw the British musician putting a prototype through its paces. Collier was first introduced to Strandberg guitars while working with prog metal instrumentalists Arch Echo.
, the firm’s founder, admits that “we did our best to impress” the musician, when they linked up, bringing along a mix of true temperament and extended-range guitars for him to try out. The musician was suitably impressed. “Everything about the Strandberg design appeals to me,” , in August 2023.
“Not only are they visually stunning, unique and slick, they are also lightweight, supple and feel incredible under the fingers.” However, as Ola explained in the same piece, Collier was “curious to know whether it would be remotely possible to make a five-string Strandberg.” For those unfamiliar with Collier's colorful songwriting, he's played five-string guitars throughout his career.
Typically, he tunes to : a strangely symmetrical setup divided into 4ths and 5ths, which he believes helps him “cover more ground with fewer strings to cross”. Thus a partnership between the two sets of innovators was born and the lim.