Hagstrom Ultra Swede

This is a guitar that is designed and built with the guitarist in mind who doesn't want to pay the more expensive prices to get a Gibson Les Paul. They are target market is someone who wants a nice dense thick robust tone instrument and doesn't want to spend a lot of money for it. This guitar company is relatively unknown to many people because I think companies like Fender and Gibson dominate the world with guitar and exposure, but this is certainly a decent company that provides pretty budget friendly instruments to consumer.

UTILIZATION

Features

Basswood Body with Flame Maple Top
UltraLux Maple Set Neck
Resinator Fretboard with Abalone and Pearl Shell Inlays
H-Expander Truss Rod
Hagstrom 15:1 Die Cast Tuners
24.75" Scale
2x Hagstrom Custom '58 Humbuckers
3-Way Toggle
Long Travel Tune-o-matic style bridge with Hagstrom stop tailpiece and 6 individual brass string blocks
1x Volume / 1x Tone / Mini-Toggle Coil Tap Switch



SOUNDS


If you have played a Gibson Les Paul guitar then you will be right in line with the tone of this instrument. This is an instrument that can you give you a very familiar deep warm tone that you would get off a Gibson Les Paul guitar. So these are the guitars that are going to go really well with British sounding amplifier such as a Marshall or an Orange amplifier. The union between this British voiced amps with these mahogany based Les Paul designed shaped guitars go really well together. This is a guitar that doesn't look that great in fact it kind of looks dorky with the headstock but overall it's a decent entry for the money. This guitar features basswood for the body which is sort of similar to the mahogany but not quite his thick and warm sounding. However it is going to be warmer than say alder or ash body.

OVERALL OPINION


You can find use for for a few hundred dollars on the new markets. You can't find them easily in the used market because they're just not as popular as Epiphones, Gibsons, Ibanez, Fender guitars. These are decent budget friendly guitars that sound decent for the money.

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.

Guitar made in Asia I believe but I do not know where.
22 frets
Channel "ultrathin"
Basswood body
Maple neck
Touche "Resinator" (Hagstrom composite wood)
Passive pickups with coil-tap
1 volume 1 tone I believe

UTILIZATION

Already little story ... I wanted this guitar for a very very long time (I fell in love with the light on Thomann but never in stock) and I could finally get their hands on one of them. ..
Big downside, I found the handle just horrible, I am beautiful cramps when I play
Access to acute is really average, worse than the Custom 77 Lp-like.
The sound is not bad but lacks a bit of Roar.
Being in love with the guitar I decided to sand the handle to enjoy it and not get frustrated + I added a kit emg an unused guitar ...
BAH AND FINALLY! She tears ...

SOUNDS

As I said earlier, the microphones were not bad but I thought it lacked character so I've fired.
The guitar sounds good in emg, but the basswood body is too much in acute and it breaks a little ears without EQ worthy of the name.

OVERALL OPINION

I have this shovel for 1 year and a half I believe and yet it holds (I did fell 2 times, changed the mechanical 1 time)
She has a mouth that is undeniable, it is smaller than a les paul and I personally find most beautiful.
With experience not younger I had money in quantity and I spent buying full of guitars in the 400 € the skyscraper without thinking and I regretted. So no I do not have that choice rather I orienterais to a high end guitar!