Hagstrom 8-String

Bare bones electronics, 2-single coil pickups, 1- volume, 4-tone/pickup switches. ULTRA-FAST skinny neck and of course, 8 strings
22 frets, rosewood(?) fretboard, very nice sunburst finish. pretty decent for a '68

awsome deep/twangy sound through a SUNN 200s (doesn't everybody play these though SUNN's?) not a whole lot of tonal range but you can vary alot by changing the playing position. The bass is currently only set up with four strings unfortunatly.

To tell the truth, this bass belongs to my dad (but hopefully will be mine when he kicks off a long time from now- I'll wait) This is the bass I learned on and played for almost six years and I have never had a problem with it (nor has my dad as far as I know) This was my dad's only bass sense buying it new in '68 and has endured countless gigs and shows.

I think the previous paragraph tells of the reliability. I have had to clean the electronics out and am trying to find replacements for the switches/pots. I know vintage buffs would kill me for saying this, but I am getting the body refinished and the hardware re-chromed., because I feel bad for adding a couple of dings to it.

Ummm dunno, but there are a few Hagstrom user's web sites out there that are pretty helpfull.

This is one of the coolest basses I have played with and holds a special place in my heart. I have been looking for another one for years with none found for sale.

Made in Sweden, 1969. 22 fret. Solid top. 1 round volume knob, 4 low profile toggle switches; Bridge pickup, Neck pickup, Tone, and Mute. I think the pickups are single wound Hagstrom design. Passive electronics. Fingerboard is rosewood, don't know the rest. Finish is glossy cherry, w/a pretty, dark grain. Body style is conventional, double cutaway solid body, looking a bit like a Gibson SG (go find some pictures of Noel Redding w/Hendrix on their first couple albums). Hardware is chrome, Hagstrom design. No locking anything. The bridge is small and uncomplicated but still allows all 8 strings to be individually adjusted, if only about 1/4" laterally. The neck is bolt-on, thin, narrow and VERY fast. Scale is medium.

This was my only axe from '68 - 75'. We did top-40 stuff and originals, covering everything from the The Carpenters (yawn) to Buck Owens to Led Zepplin, and, of course, Hendrix. I played thru a Sunn 200S w/2 cabs loaded w/2 JBL 15's each---a stock Sun setup at the time---until I could afford a Sunn Coliseum Bass w/2 18's. This bass did it all, live and in the studio. Mostly playing w/a pick as the strings are pretty close together, I did finger pick the mellow/slow/touchy-feely stuff that called for a deep mellow sound. W/alot of concentration, you could actually play it 4-string, only plucking the low octave. I would change the low octave strings (RotoSound round wounds) about 4 times to every time I changed the uppers, purposely letting them get pretty dead so the sound wouldn't get too twangy. But overall, this instrument sounds superb. My main sound was wide open on the neck pickup, and it was a big, deep sound w/a sharp, crunchy attack. The upper octave gave it extra body, and added articulation to faster riffs. W/those big 18's and no horns or piezo tweeters, the extra top end was helpful in most venues. We were happiest on stage, as I had the action set low and fast....it got buzzy in the clean environment of the studio, so it took adjustment but it still worked.
It was actually submerged in a flood for several hours w/the only ill effect being rust in the switches that cause me to take the face plate off and clean the contacts every couple years. The finish still looks like new!
Likes and dislikes? This is my "baby"! It's part of me and I love it! If I HAVE to find something lacking it would be the bridge for lack of adjustability, and the tone switch which was just a hi-cut.

Flawless! All around. I got it after an 1100 mile ride on a Greyhound bus in a cardboard box! All I did was reset the action and tune the bridge when I changed strings.
The plastic pick guard has taken a beating, but the white lettering wore off the knob area prematurely, I felt.

Both reliable and durable. The worst chip in the neck was suffered from a leaping collision w/our lead player and his Les Paul. We both finished the night. Strap buttons are solid, finish is tough, I have and would depend on it night after night w/no backup. The neck truss only needs adjustment w/a string/gauge change. I would tune it once a night, and if the temp in the room stayed fairly consistent that's all that was required.

They went belly-up in the early 70's.

Been playing since '66.
My '68 DID get stolen, and I DID replace it w/my current '69. I had a Fender Jazz (only made in American back then) for a week and couldn't stand it, sounded good but too normal--everybody had one--and it played like a fence post compared to the Hagstrom, so I took it back. Almost settled on a Hoffner, but the neck was tweaked. Just had to have another 8-string. It was a major part of our "sound". The only thing I always wished I had was more tone control on the guitar. Of course, active electronics were a few years down the road, so I just reached back to adjust the EQ on my amp, or I'd move my picking hand or change my technique to vary the timbre as necessary.