Top of the morning, folks! Today I am going to talk about why I chose the Strandberg Prog OS 7 as my main guitar. So here goes the story. Don’t worry, I will keep it brief and succinct.

Amidst all the pandemic woes that were beginning to surface at the start of 2020, I had a stroke of luck that I could not believe had was happening. Previously, I had been on the waitlist for a Strandberg Boden Prog OS 7 for almost 11 months at that point and when I read the email that it was in stock and available for purchase, I wasted no time! Fun fact, I did not even wait till I got back home from work. I managed to sign up all my details and have it ordered from my phone (not surprising). But at the time, my phone had been battered from rough usage and I could barely read through the screen, yet I somehow managed to place the order and low and behold, within 7 days, my beloved guitar was here! I had taken the day off just so I could make sure I can have it delivered to myself and sign for it!

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Top 3 reasons why I chose Strandberg.

• Potentially the singular most defining feature of a .strandberg, the patented EndurNeck™ neck profile is an exclusive feature on all .strandberg instruments. This key feature results in far-less stress and tension on joints, muscles, and tendons, and allow for a more relaxed and sustainable playing experience overall.
• The feature most people might notice upon first glance is the headless nature of a .strandberg* guitar. The lack of a traditional headstock creates several ergonomic benefits, including the removal of conventional tuning hardware which helps to cut down on the weight of the instrument. It serves to promote good balance, as the reduced weight on the “headstock” end of a headless guitar means the instrument sits with more stability towards the center of the player.
• The multi-scale design (or “fanned frets”) refers to the fact that the frets on a .strandberg* guitar are laid out in a fanned shape, which has several ergonomic benefits. In addition to improving intonation and string tension, the multi-scale design provides a more organic left-hand playing experience than the standard fret layout on most guitars.

In case any of you wish to read more about this company and its founder Ola Strandberg, I have linked it here.☺️

My album recommendation for this week! 🎧

Snarky Puppy is an eclectic mix of Jazz taken to a whole new level of complexity yet you can find yourself grooving to the melodies and beats in the most unique possible way. Snarky Puppy’s ability to remain musically proficient enough for the culture vultures, and electric enough for everyone else is what makes their music so special. We Like It Here, probably their strongest record to date, strikes this balance immaculately. Michael League the bassist and founder of the band is an immensely talented individual as he orchestrates and writes all the parts for the myriad variety of instruments that the band comprises off and is sure to be a treat to the listener's ears.

We Like It Here Snarky Puppy

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Intriguing Reads - The National Archives of UK.

Who are they?

The National Archives are a non-ministerial department, and the official archive and publisher for the UK Government, and for England and Wales. They are the guardians of over 1,000 years of iconic national documents. They also comprise of expert advisers in information and records management and are a cultural, academic and heritage institution.

The National Archives website makes for ever so intriguing reads. Personally I find myself reading up historic documents that depict events happening around the Partition of India linked below. These documents are prserved in their original form and some even have the concerned person’s handwriting on them! I thoroughly enjoy going deep down this rabbit hole and it definitely serves as a unique respite from work when I want to take a quick snack break and want to read some cool facts!

I have linked two of my favorite articles below. If the links do not open themselves, remember to click the link that says, “View an archived version of this page” and it should pop right up!

​The Road to Partition 1939-1947 and The Ladies of Llangollen​

Announcements!! 📣

I have begun giving lessons to a few students from this week and if you think picking up the guitar is one of your new year resolutions, then I would urge you to act on it! Guitar playing can be a phenomenal hobby and it’s incredibly rewarding after a hard day of work! Feel free to reach out to me in any way possible as you will find all my credentials in the footnote of this newsletter! 😇

Footnote: As always, I look forward to hearing from all of you. If you have any questions/suggestions about what more you would want me to talk about or include in my next newsletter, feel free to drop me an email at ameyaxoxomusic@gmail.com. I will try to be as quick as possible with my responses.

If you happen to know anyone who would have some use of this newsletter, I would urge you to share it with them. 🥰

Stay safe ☺️

-xoxo