Undoubtedly one of the most notable signature guitar releases of the past few years is the Strandberg Boden JC Djesse – a quirky, oddly tuned electric guitar dreamt up by Grammy-winning multi-instrumentalist Jacob Collier, which bamboozled guitar fans by the fact it came with only five strings.
A result of Collier’s early experiences with a four-string tenor guitar – and his desire to mastermind a guitar that could help facilitate and accommodate his otherworldly musical approach – the Strandberg Djesse is one of the most inventive creations to hit the guitar market in some time, but it was met with some skepticism because of its diminutive string configuration.
A five-string guitar (even one with Collier’s name attached) was perhaps going to be a tricky sell to the guitar community, which is probably why it was released alongside a more accessible six-string – one that behaved like an ordinary electric just with the eccentric stylings of the original design.
However, such skepticism proved to be wide of the mark because, as Collier told Guitar World during a quick-fire chat at NAMM 2025, the five-string is actually outselling the six-string.
It’s an outcome that few probably saw coming, and one that certainly took Collier by surprise. After all, the concept of a five-string was lost to many, and the OG Strandberg Djesse wasn’t devoid of doubters – doubters who have been comfortably proven wrong.
“As of a couple days ago, they’ve been selling around the world,” Collier said when we caught up with him after his very, very well-attended performance at the Strandberg booth, which drew one of the biggest crowds of the entire NAMM show.
When asked if the success of his signature surprised him owing to its uncommon configuration, he continued: “I honestly had no reference as to what it would be like. Like, I didn’t know where people would put it in their minds.
“But yeah, seeing that the five-strings are out selling the six-strings is like a victory, as far as I’m concerned. That’s very exciting.”
As mentioned, the JC Djesse, which is tuned D A E A D, came from a desire to expand the four-string tenor guitar. And, after a chance run-in with a Strandberg guitar while working with Arch Echo in 2021 – an experience Collier has already told about us in the past – the wheels for the five-string electric were set in motion.
“That guitar didn’t exist,” Collier goes on to say of the five-string of his dreams. “I eventually realized, actually, maybe this could exist. So I had the audacity to ask the great Ola [Strandberg, brand founder] if he wouldn't mind making one for me. And he said, ‘Leave it with me.’
“A few weeks later, I received in the mail this incredible guitar, which was so exciting and so, so special. Since that moment, it’s just been a journey of continuing to understand the potential and the shapes of it and stuff like that. But yeah, I’m so thrilled.”
Visit Strandberg to find out more about the Boden JC Djesse.
