Periphery’s Jake Bowen Joins Strandberg, Artist-Driven Projects Underway

Jake Bowen has officially moved from Ibanez to Strandberg, becoming the latest addition to the Swedish brand’s compact artist roster. The announcement ends months of onstage speculation—Bowen has been playing Strandberg models in recent Periphery shows, a shift his bandmate Misha Mansoor had already alluded to. Strandberg says the alignment “between Bowen’s creative requirements and Strandberg’s design philosophy” was a natural one, and confirms that “artist-driven projects” are in the works.

Bowen had three Ibanez signature guitars, all high-performance S-styles built around his DiMarzio Mirage humbuckers. His move to Strandberg might bring those pickups to a headless platform, likely a modified Boden model. The switch highlights a broader realignment in the progressive metal scene, where lightweight, ergonomic instruments have become the norm rather than a niche revival. Strandberg’s roster already includes Plini and Per Nilsson, and adding Bowen reinforces its grip on a market that has steadily left eighties-era skepticism behind.

In a statement, Bowen described picking up a Strandberg for the first time as an immediate source of inspiration—a feeling he says persists through studio and touring demands. No release timeline exists for a signature model, but given the existing Bowen thread in Periphery’s gear mythology, the internet already has a working title: the Strandberg Bowen. Strandberg’s marketing team won’t need to move many letters.