Hagstrom Hagstrom

12 string stage acoustic.
High gloss finish.
Thinline Mahogany Body
Spruce Top
Ivory/Black body binding and Ivory neck binding.
Hagstrom fleur de lis inlay on headstock,
Unusual stripe of inlay all the way up the centre of the fretboard.
Under saddle piezo Pickup with vol. and 3 band EQ
Stepped Hagstrom style tuners alternate with regular tuners
to make it easier to tell which of the pair you're tuning
without looking.

For a slimline 12 string, this guitar has a very full sound and volume. It's bright - 12's just are, but there's plenty of depth.

The voicing and action of this particular guitar are far cleaner than moist 12 string acoustics I've ever played, which had alot to do with why I bought it, although I wasn't looking for a new guitar at the time, and it is a far less wxpensive model (369 CDN) than I normally would look at. The last guitar I bought was a 1700 dollar Garrison. It has far less clatter and less propensity to dead strikes or string noise than most 12's I played, including my early 90's-ish BC Rich one. I doesn't have the low end of the BC Rich live-in-the-room, but that's just physics, the BC Rich has almost twice the body depth... and there's plenty of low end when recording or through the pickup.

A very nicely finished guitar, especially for the price, and as mentioned above, the action, right from the factory, was exceptional. About the only comment I could make a little to the negative side was that, (though it has no impact on the sound), the fretboard had a parched appearance, as if in need of a nice setup oiling, when i bought it, as did the finish on the bridge.

I admit, I have only had this guitar for a few weeks, and wanted to post a review because there were no reviews of the new Hagstrom acoustics online anywhere when I was considering buying it. However, it seems quite sturdy to me, and has remained stable though the early period of heavy playing as I've first brought it home, when many brand new guitars need adjustment after that, especially at this changing point in the seasons.

It would be nice, in an acoustic obviously designed for stage use, if they had installed a strap button at the neck/body join. However, I do kind of like that the input jack is round the lower bout, where it would be on an electric guitar, rather than in the bottom strap button, where I have to unplug it to put it on my low guitar stands, and rip strap holes out of shape to get them around.

I have been doing mostly acoustic gigs instead of electric ones, and the 12 is something I wanted for more sonic variety playing solo all night. As such, it's more a back-up itself than one I'd need to back up, I have the Garrison as my main 6 and a Takemine to back that up. I don't see it having much problem, though.

I found it a little strange that the Hagstrom site doesn't even admit they HAVE an acoustic guitar line, maybe these are very new? I bought it at MacAulay's music in Cambridge, ON, Canada, and they always look after me and any repairs or warranty issues, so I am unlikely to need to deal with the company anyway. I don't know alot about the NEW Hagstrom company, though I've owned a fantastic '73 Swede electric from the old one for years, and a bandmate of mine had 3 Hags he swore by, a Viking, a Super Swede, and a Swede bass. The new electric versions of these seem worthy re-issues to me, so I expect the acoustic to prove equal. (though this model is not based on one of the 70's Hag acoustics popular with J. Page and Steve Hackett).

To my partner's chagrin, this is the 15th guitar to join us in our 1 bedroom place, so I am a bit of a guitar buff. I don't really believe that another instrument of the same model is the same thing, as wood makes them each have their own personality, but would certainly start with looking at these again if i needed to replace it, especially as they are so reasonable. I do wish it had a tiny bit more low end 'live in the room', but it's not an issue onstage or when recording, which is what i got it for, and what it was designed for.