Hallmark VS-4 SweptWing

Not sure what year this was made but would get in the last 2 to 3 years. I purchased it from the nicest guy on Ebay. I drove from Santa Barbara to Los Angeles to pick it up. When the case opened I was in awe. This guitar has a beautiful finish. Mine is a pearl white with red/brown tortoise pick guard. Came with the matching case. Mahogany neck, strings sitting low. I was pleased as punch. Got it home and brought it with me to band practice. I play surf with a pick. The D string kept slipping out, impossible to play. Took it to a local guitar shop and had them install a little horse show thing on the head (yeah, I know that's not what it's called). That made all the difference in the world.

The pickups on this thing look like they would be really loud. I've found that I really have to tweak the settings on my Fender BXR amp to get it to sound strong and punch. Once done, sounds great.

As mentioned before, I had to modify mine a bit. However, that may not be the case with all of them. Great finish, well built. Solid.

Hard to tell yet. I have several guitars. It's similar in appearance to my Phantom IV and gets a lot of looks at shows. So far, no problems. First time out was a gig on the beach in Santa Barbara. No problems. I have a 1996 Fender Jazz Ventures model that I use for most gigs and recording. Hope to play it more this year at shows.

Haven't had to use it. Hear a lot of hell stories dealing with manufactures. Just take it in to someone you trust if you can't work on it yourself.

these are new reissues of the classic swept wing guitar. it has 4 extra frets an a very long mosrite type neck, unlike any other guitar i own. it has a gold sparkle finish and a maple neck.the selector switch is set up like ales paul though it sounds like a vintage mosrite.hard shell case incuded. made by the great hallnark guitars.

i play surf, avant garde, alot of styls, as far as asurf guitar its as good as any mosrite or fender jag or strat the selector switch is clean and noise free. the sound is across betwwen a mosrite and strat fantastic. iuse amarshall 50 watt combo with electro harmonix reverb box, i get a fantastic surf sound.

the factory set up is the best ive ever seen, i own 43 guitars so that says alot. pick ups perfect like mosrite, ithink bob shade who makes these worked for mosrite years ago.gold sparkle finish. great,

this guitar is one solid player, the shade vibrato system is a surf players dream.this guitar is made to be played and is solid as a rock.

never hade to but im sure bob shade backs what he sells

if been playing 25 years, own 40 other guitars, fender, italia burns. phantom, vox, dipinto, the sweptwing by hall mark is a very differnt guitar, as good as any mosrite on the market today. every surf player should have this monster, it rules!

I have the "custom" model with a set neck and flamed maple top. otherwise it's the same as the other guy (who sounds suspiciously like someone from Hallmark)describes.

Sounds terrific. Has some 60cps hum, but not too much. nice long scale twang in a short scale.
I love the featherweight, easy to play neck, great case.

bass itself is very well made; fit and finish is excellent as is setup-perfect right out of the box. the tuning machines are junk-like real chinese crap. they should be better at this price (especially for such a simple design. I also wish the bridge roller saddles adjusted on a thread side to side a little.
the finish was also too dark making it hard to see the nicely flamed wood-it's barely visible through the finish??!!...why would they do that?

I'm sure it's fine for the long haul

I hope it's great, but i haven't tried it yet.

I've been playing for 28 years. I own all kinds of crap (I'm embarrased to say that I've owned over 300 basses in my life...I envy folks that can have one bass that is really part of them. maybe someday).
Anything else you'd like to share?...yes: I'm poor. please buy my CD
http://www.cdbaby.com/thethings

New Hallmark SweptWing (by Shade) VS-4 Basses and guitars are made in Korea. This bass is from the first production run made in May-June of 2004 which are a updated re-issue of the original late 60's Hallmark design.

Scale is 30" with a ultra fast zero fret thin neck incorporating 21 frets in total. All hardware is first class as is the fit and finish. Quality control is excellent and it shows right down to the frets. Headstock uses the 2+2 pattern, and is finished in the matching body color.

The body of the SweptWing's is V shaped, with the neck attaching to the body at the wide part of the V. Because of this, access to the upper register of the neck is awesome.

The bass looks like it right out of a Jetson's cartoon being "space aged". The pickguard covers 95% of the body which adds to the ultra space aged look of the bass.
Hallmark are making their Vintage Series re-issues available in Black, Dove Pearl White, and Cardinal Red. They are also available in 4 Sparkle finishes of Red, Blue, Green and Gold.
All basses come with a White Pickguard except for the Dove Pearl White which comes with a Tortoise Shell pickguard.

My bass is finished Dove Pearl White with the Tortoise Shell pickguard.

Every Hallmark comes with a custom hard shell that is fitted to the instrument inside. There's a large Hallmark logo silk screened in silver ink on to the side of the case.

The bass features a single "Super Hot" pick-up mounted approx 2.5" in front the bridge. The pick-up is passive with there only being a single volume and single tone control knobs.

The bass sounds like a Precision in my opinion, producing a very tight tonal full range.

Right out of the case the bass came perfectly set-up. The action was low and fast and the pick-up was also perfectly set. Just pick up the bass and enjoy!

The bass comes equipped with D'Addario EXL-170M roundwound medium gauge strings. They suit this bass.

Access to the truss rod is at the body/neck joint where the pickguard and body have been cut back to allow easy access with a standard allen key.

Time will ultimately tell how the hardware and the finish will hold up. But from my experince with re-issue and new instruments, this bass looks like it will easily stand the test of time for many years to come.

Hallmark Guitars By Shade is owned by Bob Shade. Bob is a well known luthier who specializes in electric guitar repairs. He's located in the Washington DC area.
Bob has been quick to respond in detail to every email that i've ever sent him.
Seeing that I bought the bass without having tried one, I had a lot of questions for Bob. I have every bit of confidence that should I require any assistance from him, he will be there during the first 12 month warranty period and long after.

I've been a bassplayer for the past 35+ years and have a large collection of vintage basses. If this bass was ever stolen I wouldn't hesitate to replace it with another one.
These are the coolest looking greatest sounding easiest playing basses that you will ever find.
I'm sure that this body design is not going to be accepted by everyone, but it is certainly a conversation piece.

Take a few minutes to visit the Hallmark Guitars by Shade at
www.hallmarkguitars.com There are lots of great photos and a history page of Hallmark Guitars linking them to Semie Mosely and Joe Hall of Moserite Guitars.