Hagstrom

Made in China with 21 frets and a set mahogany neck. It comes with matched H90 (P-90) pickups Vol X1, Tone X1 and 3 way Pickup selector all mounted on a pearloid pick guard. It uses Hagstroms full contact tremelo system which works ok. since I don't use trem I added 3 additional springs and have it tightened down. This actually makes it resonate through the Mohogany body and neck even better. This one features the discontinued White Pearloid Pick Guard that Hagstrom now offers in Charcoal Pearloid instead. UTILIZATION The highest frets are a little harder to reach than an Ultra Swede. But it's not that big of a deal because of the sound this thing puts out. Because of the short neck scale and smaller than SG body it's light for a mahogany bodied guitar. The back of the neck is more D shaped than the Ultra Swede as well but I like it. The P 90's crank out perfect tone whether my amp is on the clean channel or with high gain. SOUNDS I use a Roland JC-120 with a TS-9 Tube Screamer in front of it. I use a Morley Distortion 1 pedal for my solo boost. I also use a Vox VT100 with a foot-switch to change up the sounds variations. I usually play with a lot of gain and flat EQ. I can get any sound I want out of this guitar. For instance playing lighter stuff through the clean channel on my amp is suitable for entertaining the old folks. I will probably not buy any other brand of guitar than Hagstrom. I'm partial to the 24.75" scale of this one, the F200 and Ultra Swede set Neck guitars. OVERALL OPINION I really like how much lighter is is than an SG or LP. It way more stylish than a Strat too. It's just a good all around sound machine. I would probably not buy another 21 fret guitar which is why I'm eager to receive my new F200.

Made in China with 22 fret set UltraLux neck. It's got Vol X1, Tone X1, 3-way Pickup Selector Toggle, and mini-toggle switch for coil tapping the twin open faced Humbuckers. It's got a long travel Tune-O-Matic bridge with a fixed bridge consisting of 6 individual blocks (one for each string). It does have a couple of finish blemishes which is why it was so inexpensive. The face of the headstock has a slight bulge around the G tuning peg. Also the binging on the headstock had a rough spot and there was a tiny scratch on the chrome tailpiece cover. UTILIZATION I play on the higher frets all the time. I love being able to bend up to that highest E on the bottom string on the 22nd fret. I generally leave both pickups on with the volume and tone all the way up and use my amp's foot-switch to achieve all the different sounds I want. When I play clean I do mess around more with the coil tap and ton controls, but I mostly play with distortion for rhythm and distortion with volume and gain boost for solos. It's basswood body is definitely lighter than a LP. The neck is very comfortable in the fretting hand. The controls are easy to access while playing. The pickups are better than any stock pickups coming out of most of the other Asian guitar factories. They are as good as what's being used in current Gibson and Fender or Gretsch models I've tried recently. SOUNDS I use a Roland JC-120 with a TS-9 Tube Screamer in front of it. I use a Morley Distortion 1 pedal for my solo boost. I also use a Vox VT100 with a foot-switch to change up the sounds variations. I usually play with a lot of gain and flat EQ. I can get any sound I want out of this guitar. For instance playing lighter stuff through the clean channel on my amp is suitable for entertaining the old folks. I will probably not buy any other brand of guitar than Hagstrom. I'm partial to the 24.75" scale of this and the F series set Neck guitars. OVERALL OPINION It was very inexpensive and the tiger maple top is superb. I get as many compliments about how great it looks as much as how great it sounds from the audience. I don't think there is a guitar manufacturer out there offering this kind of top shelf quality for such a low price. I've played dozens of guitars in my 30+ years of playing. I will probably not buy any other brand. I have a F200P as well and just traded a 2001 Framus Panthera Studio Custom for a F200 with a guy in Daytona Beach, FL. I don't care that I'm going to eat like $500 in retail value because I know the Hag is going to be a better sounding, easier to play axe.

Hagstrom has been around for nearly 100 years. At first they made accordinons and in the 50s they switched to guitars. They had some of the most original designs of the time. They took features from more well known guitars and changed them up and added their own style to them. The original company closed down in the mid 80s but it is back now. The guitars are not made in Sweden anymore they are made in China. All the parts are still built by Hagstrom. The Viking is a Semi-Hollow design that comes in many different colors. It is similar to a Gibson 335. It has the Gibson 24.75 scale length so your fingers still take to it instantly. It has Hagstrom made pickups and two tone and two volume controls. It has a floating tail piece that adds some style and a unique sound to the design. It has a maple body with a maple neck. The Deluxe model gets flamed maple all around. Even the tuners are made by Hagstrom. It has a cool composite fretboard that is as smooth as ebony. They call it their resonator fretboard. UTILIZATION The composite fretboard is a dream to play on. Ebony is my favorite wood for fretboards because of its smoothness and this composite resonator fretboard is just as smooth. It has Hagstroms proprietary truss rod design which allows the neck to be very thin. This makes the guitar very easy to play but the neck remains stable. The neck is thin and flat. You will forget you are playing a big 335 style semi-hollow guitar. It feels like an 80s shredder when you are playing. The flat fretboard allows you to get the action as low as you dare and you can bend notes forever. This is a great combination of old style looks and modern playability. SOUNDS The unique floating bridge helps the sound a lot. Since all the wood on the guitar is maple you would expect it to sound very bright. The floating tail piece helps level out the brightness and get you a nice darker jazzy sound from the guitar. The medium output pickups help get a vintage vibe from the sound also. You can still get some twang from the guitar but it is cool and muted. With high gain it can sound a little thin due to it being a semi-hollow. It will kinda make you sound like Ted Nudgent. OVERALL OPINION If you are on a budget and are looking for a Gibson style semi-hollow guitar this may be for you. The sound is muted and jazzy so it wont bite your head off. Hagstroms are not played by everyone either so you will stand out in the crowd. Not every good guitar is made in America. The Swedes know how to build a guitar too. This guitar is a great combination of old school looks and sound with great modern playability. Plus it plays way better than a 335. It has a very modern feeling neck and a smooth fretboard. The Gibson players may get jealous. If you are looking for a Semi-hollow that is something different than your typical 335 this is a good option.

I'm a 16yr player who's been around in a couple of bands here and there. I mostly play blues and jazz but once in a while I like to shred a couple of metal licks... I bought this baby at Musique Max in Rosemere,Qc 'cause the store owner,Mark and also a good friend of mine talked me into trying this axe. And as you've noticed, I bought it! Very cool place, a good service and he doesn't sell you what you don't need. First thing that pops out is the beautiful flame top: just georgous! The action is just perfect and the playability is awesome! Just about everthing is to love about it. The resinator fretboard has a great feeling and the string bending is very easy and smooth. Two minor and I mean very minor: I changed the knobs for ''tele'' type knurled chrome ones because the originals looked like the ones that my father had on his old '71 grundig radio. The second one involves sound: not that the pickups are bad oh no! quite the contrary, it's just that they could've added a coil tap switch (four wire pickups always should have coil taps the add a bit of flavor).Aside those two minor imperfections, in my opinion, is ok. Very very sturdy, solid and well made! The H expander truss rod is the most innovative thing a guitar neck should have. Seems to withstand just about anything: humidity, temperature variations and soforth. Aestheticaly, everything is in it's rightful place except maybe the wierd ''tune-o-matic'' bridge wich seems to make the guitar ''smile'' lol. Bottom line is, if you ever come across one and your in to getting a set neck guitar but don't have the dough to buy a LP, just buy this one and you won't be disapointed, if so, just kick in a pair of Duncans and you'll still have some cash left ( it even comes with the HSC!) Very good bang for the buck!!!! This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

Hagstrom has been around for nearly 100 years. At first they made accordinons and in the 50s they switched to guitars. They had some of the most original designs of the time. They took features from more well known guitars and changed them up and added their own style to them. The original company closed down in the mid 80s but it is back now. The guitars are not made in Sweden anymore they are made in China. All the parts are still built by Hagstrom. The Viking is a Semi-Hollow design that comes in many different colors. It is similar to a Gibson 335. It has the Gibson 24.75 scale length so your fingers still take to it instantly. It has Hagstrom made pickups and two tone and two volume controls. It has a floating tail piece that adds some style and a unique sound to the design. It has a maple body with a maple neck. Even the tuners are made by Hagstrom. It has a cool composite fretboard that is as smooth as ebony. They call it their resonator fretboard. UTILIZATION The composite fretboard is a dream to play on. Ebony is my favorite wood for fretboards because of its smoothness and this composite resonator fretboard is just as smooth. It has Hagstroms proprietary truss rod design which allows the neck to be very thin. This makes the guitar very easy to play but the neck remains stable. The neck is thin and flat. You will forget you are playing a big 335 style semi-hollow guitar. It feels like an 80s shredder when you are playing. The flat fretboard allows you to get the action as low as you dare and you can bend notes forever. SOUNDS The unique floating bridge helps the sound a lot. Since all the wood on the guitar is maple you would expect it to sound very bright. The floating tail piece helps level out the brightness and get you a nice darker jazzy sound from the guitar. The medium output pickups help get a vintage vibe from the sound also. You can still get some twang from the guitar but it is cool and muted. With high gain it can sound a little thin due to it being a semi-hollow. It will kinda make you sound like Ted Nudgent. OVERALL OPINION If you are on a budget and are looking for a Gibson style semi-hollow guitar this may be for you. The sound is muted and jazzy so it wont bite your head off. Hagstroms are not played by everyone either so you will stand out in the crowd. Plus it plays way better than a 335. It has a very modern feeling neck and a smooth fretboard. The Gibson players may get jealous.

(Originally written by ironbull/translated from Audiofanzine FR) Made in China. 24 frets, Hagstrom tremolo, Hagstrom HSH pickups, 1 volume control, 2 tone controls, toggle switch plus humbucker split switch, very fast ultra-slim neck. UTILIZATION The guitar is perfectly ergonomic and not too heavy. It has an ultra-slim and fast neck. This guitar made me realize that there is a Hagstrom sound as opposed to the Fender and Gibson sounds... It can surely become a reference sound because it's incredibly clear but also warm and rich. It's very responsive and it faithfully reproduces every single nuance... The perfect sound. Not only for high-speed licks but also for blues. SOUNDS The sound is great, with a long sustain. You can play anything with this guitar. Its sound is so clean that you'll have to use your amp if you want a dirty sound. I love its tone, it's like having the best of Fender and Gibson in one single guitar. I've even thought about selling all my other guitars... OVERALL OPINION I'd definitely buy it again. The value for money is more than exceptional. It's a real pleasure to hear this Hagstrom guitars. The tremolo works very well, the pickups are excellent and I will buy a Viking. But pay attention to the manufacturing quality! I have a truss rod problem with my guitar: in order to get the right relief the truss rod has to be tightened to it maximum tension. I had to return another Hagstrom because the frets were so filed down that the fingerboard was damaged. Take a good look before buying one. I give it an 8 because of this.

The Hagstrom II is a vintage electric guitar that is from the 1960's. This is a Swedish made guitar, as Hagstrom is (was?) a company from Sweden. The guitar has 22 frets, and a two humbucker pick ups. I don't know what types of materials the guitar is made out of, but it's a pretty sturdy instrument. It's also got a whammy bar. UTILIZATION The neck of the Hagstrom II has a really low action, and it's very easy to play. Playing either rhythm or lead is pretty easy and using the Hagstrom II isn't difficult at all. Each of the two pick ups has setting controls for both volume and tone, in addition to a switch to choose between them. It's a pretty light guitar in terms of weight, and has a unique body shape that is somewhat of a mix between a Strat and an SG. SOUNDS While the sound isn't on par with high end Fender guitars, the Hagstrom II still has a great sound in it's own right. It's possible to get a good amount of differing sounds between the two pick ups, but I wouldn't say that it's the most versatile guitar around. I've used this guitar with a Fender Twin Reverb amplifier for the most part, and it's definitely a great sounding combination. I would say that the Hagstrom II is more like a Telecaster in that it's best for rhythm, but at the same time it sounds great for lead parts as well. I didn't use the guitar with any effects... OVERALL OPINION Hagstrom had a great line of guitars of all different shapes and sizes, and amongst them is the Hagstrom II. While I can't say that I like the II as much as I do the III, the Hagstrom II is still a great overall guitar. It not only has a great sound and is easy to play, but definitely has a cool look to it as well. While when these were made they weren't all that expensive, they aren't as cheap as they once were since they are somewhat of a collector's item now. Even so, they aren't all that expensive used if you're looking for a really cool vintage electric guitar.

The Hagstrom III electric guitar was made in Sweden in the late 1950s and 1960s. It has 22 frets and three pickups and switches to control each of them. It also has a volume knob and a whammy bar. UTILIZATION The Hagstrom III is quite easy to play and the neck has an overall nice feel to it. It is easy to access the top notes and in general feels good on the fingers. This guitar is extremely light in weight and has a really cool shape and overall look to it. It is easy to get a good sound out of it, and has a variety of different types of tones you can get by mixing and matching the three different pick ups. SOUNDS The inherent sound of this guitar is clean and definitley sounds like the era it came from. It is perfect for playing 60's rock and roll and surf type of music, but would sound good in just about any situation you wanted to play rhythm guitar. It also sounds good for playing lead, but is probably better suited for rhythm guitar. The clean sound is great, and throwing a bit of overdrive on this always sounds good. While this isn't the best sounding guitar I've ever heard, and it definitley won't rival a Fender Stratocaster or a Gibson Les Paul, the tone is respectable and unique. OVERALL OPINION This guitar was the first guitar my father ever bought, so it has been in the family for quite a while. My favorite part about this guitar is simply how cool it looks. The overall vintage look and shape of this guitar is unique and extremely awesome. If you can find one of these used, they won't run you too much and are definitley worth looking into in my opinion, especially if you play a lot of 60's rock and roll.