Hagstrom D-2H

The specs are well described by others, and you've probably checked the Hagstrom website already.

Perhaps I can post a copy of the return report I made when it went straight back to the retailer:

The neck has a terrible vibration/buzz fault. Please pick G# on the D string at the 6th fret together with an open G string.

I???ve taken the guitar to my local professional guitar technician. He suggested the H-truss rod could be vibrating inside the neck or that the head is not properly joined to the neck. We adjusted the intonation perfectly with a new set of strings. The truss is not loose at the nut.

The pickup switch and pickup cavities in the back of the body were totally full of wood shavings. Not just one or two ??? they were totally full. These have been removed by me.

The bridge system is not aligned. See how the strings ??? especially the B ??? do not run straight from the saddle to the screw-in string retainers on the body.

The string retainer blocks on the body are not mounted squarely. Take the bridge cover plate off to see this.

There are paint inconsistencies on the body . The body???s metallic paint spray was finished just under the pickup switch. Catch it under a light.

The paint on the neck binding has been damaged along the fret board by poor fret trimming work under the top E string from frets 18 - 21.

The nut is not properly cut and finished. Check for burrs at the top E and B strings.

There are small scratches on the neck by the joint of the head.

The pickup switch is very noisy. It crackles terribly when changing the pickup selection.

The pickup cavity cover is shimmed at one screw with a piece of thick tape or rubber to make it flush with the body. Remove cover to see.

The screw hole holding the G string tuning machine in the head is stripped.

Please note the hole in the cardboard packing case. This looks like it was caused by the pickup switch. The guitar was not at all tightly packed in the factory box and must have taken a beating during transit.

I was willing to forgive this guitar???s cosmetic paint faults. The intonation is fine, once set up with good strings. However the wood shavings really shocked me, and the buzz in the neck is simply unacceptable.

See above

See above

Retailer was great and refunded me immediately.

Looks like there are some pretty happy customers for this guitar, so I must've been unlucky.
Personally, I wouldn't touch another Chinese Hagstr??m with a 10ft pole.

2007 Chinese made Les Paul style guitar.
Standard 24 3/4" scale, mahogany body, set mahogany neck (thin "60s style"), 2 humbuckers, 3-way toggle. The fretboard is made of resinator wood for improved sustain. Fixed bridge with special string fixation.

I've got one in black sparkle.

Enough features for a paula :-)

I play all kinds of rock music and this baby blows your socks off!

Played it a/b with a Gibson Les Paul Classic through a Peavey 5150. What shall I say - the Hagstrom has MORE sustain and MORE clarity than the Gibson. No kidding! The Hag's sound is fantastico! Rich rocksound with enough clarity lots of body and unbelievable sustain.

I sold the Gibson and keep the Hagstrom. It's amazing how the $600 Hag blew the $3000 Gibson away. Brilliant!

If you're a rocker in need of a rock guitar - get a Hagstrom!

No flaws, absolutely fantastic looks (black sparkle is soooo kinky). Simply a fantastically built product!

I play it in the studio and on stage/on tour. Never let me down. A great rocker for a long night of rock'n'roll!

This baby is a bargain and a perfect investment in a great piece of work!

Took delivery of this silver D2H 3 weeks ago.
Flawless paint job, binding and inlay.
Beautiful contoured body.
Neck is very straight and thin, with its H-style truss rod and composite wood fingerboard.
I had to tweak the bridge a little to suit my style and the intonation is spot on right the way up.
Nice weight and neck / body balance.

I'd been wanting a Les Paul since forever to complement my Tele, and it does the job very nicely.
I only play at home and record with Sonar and Amplitube.
The pickups are a bit noisy when they're not grounded by your hand. They sound ok - somewhat muddy - but I'll probably replace them in time with EMG's.
Pickup switch is noisy.
The sustain on the guitar is very impressive. Just playing it acoustically, the notes hold for ever and it's loud. The bridge is a piece of work and the contoured body really resonates. Yes, it's got character.

I ordered this over the internet and it came pretty well set up.
Action was a little low but it took 5 minutes to set how I like.
The neck, as others have said is very thin but quite wide.
It's clearly been made with top quality tools, as I can't fault the workmanship in any way.
Loses a point for the pickup switch.

This guitar is a rock. I'd have no worries about anything breaking.
The tuning pegs are very smooth and the art-deco design doesn't detract at all.

I'm in Europe and bought it from Thomann.
3 year warranty.
Bought loads of gear from them. Never been disappointed.

I've been playing for, umm, 1,2 err, about 35 years.
I also own an old, much-modded Telecaster and a Spector bass.
This guitar is a great addition.
I read just about every review I could find before going for it. It was either this or a real Les Paul. I'm so glad I took this. Apart from the pickups - which are really ok - it's flawless.
For the money - well - it's just amazing.

Features are nice and simple. One volume, one tone, one toggle. Simplicity of function and, in my opinion, adds to the overall aesthetic. Tuners are OK, but not great. They are dripping with the same crazy, retro vibe that's oozing out of the rest of the guitar. I may swap out for Grovers, but they just look so cool... Probably the only thing I can find on the guitar that won't last forever (except for maybe the bridge). Nice tailpiece design. It has 6 big blocks of metal fixed to the guitar. So, you get nice sustain without having to upgrade. Pretty ugly, but hidden by a cool cover. As for the tune-o-matic bridge, I've see worse. But, it will give way to a TonePros eventually. Lots of budget Korean guitars are leaving the factory with a TonePros system, and it would be nice to see that here. The bridge is adjustable with a screwdriver, which is nice. No more sore fingers! There are some other nice surprises here and there. The graphite nut was a great idea. Neck is on the slim side, but not crazy skinny. It's a little wider than I expected, and I think it's very comfortable. Frets aren't jumbo, but far from vintage. I would have liked just a tad bigger, but I'm happy overall. Solid, full-size tone pots were also a welcome sight. Good beefy toggle. I have to say, the electronics are solid. I expected to swap everything out right away, but no need. Pearloid headstock is nice and weird, and I'm a big fan. Quasi-synthetic fretboard does indeed have the feel of ebony, and it's fun to play. Although there are certainly a few shortcuts, you have to keep in mind that this is a guitar that retails for less than $500. It would be unrealistic to expect more than this, and I think they've done a great job with this guitar.

Stock pickups are perfectly adequate. If you're a beginning guitarist, you'll think they sound great. If you've been playing forever, then you've already got a set of pickups in mind before you even buy the thing, so a review of the stock pickups is probably not needed. They had a pretty good response, but generally lacking in character. Pretty typical import pickups. I think they made it for about 9 hours in mine before I switched them out for a set of Duncan 59's. Sound is much improved, but I may wind up replacing the bridge for a JB instead. Even with the maple cap, this guitar has a dark, mellow quality. It's not completely monochromatic like the Swede, but there's not a ton of tonal variety here. I can coax a little jangle out of it, but not much. Thinking a hotter bridge pickup may help. Anyway, for the tones I can get, they really sound great. Nice, ringing sustain. Really mellow, almost like a vintage instrument. More than I expected. Definitely not a guitar for country, but y'all already have your Teles. It could probably hold its own with just about every other style though.

Guitar came straight from the factory, and the setup was fine. Factory setups usually suck, and you have to tweak it a bit; that's just standard. I adjusted the action and intonation, and it plays really well. Relatively low action with minimal buzz. Nut slots were well cut. This is a common irritation with cheaper guiars, but no problem here. I haven't broken out the microscope yet, but no glaring flaws that I can see. Frets are relatively well dressed. Once again, not perfect, but very nice for a guitar in this price range. OK, so this is the part when I have to say something cheesy about how indestructable the finish is...we've all read those reviews. In all honesty, this does look like the toughest finish I've seen on a guitar, so here goes: After WWIII, all that will be left are the bees, roaches, and the polyester gold sparkle of this guitar. Oh, as an aside, when I say sparkle, I mean sparkle. It's not a standard gold top. The finish kind of looks like that sparkly vinyl you'd see on a bar stool at a 50's diner. It's neat though, and would probably look good under stage lights.

I think that, with a few upgrades (pickups, bridge, maybe tuners, and of course straplocks), this is a professional-caliber instrument. It really does seem solidly built, and I agree with other reviewers, in that it has a nice feel. Nice balance with a strap, and a substantial weight at about 8.5 pounds. Just enough heft for some nice sustain, but without being a backbreaker. Not sure how long the tail cover will hold up, or the bridge or the tuners, but everything else looks very solid. Though, since I've only had it a week, it's hard to say.

No clue...

I've been playing about 15 years, and I've owned dozens of guitars. Though not the greatest guitar I've ever played, it does play very, very well. As said before, although a little one-dimensinoal, the sounds it does have are very sweet. For this price, the hardware is great, and I wouldn't expect anything more in this range. I got this as a blem for $250, so I really can't complain. I'm basically trading a couple white spots on the neck for a pickup and bridge upgrade, so it's all good! It sort of combines the weight of a strat, the feel of a Paul, and the looks of a Gretsch. If you're looking to stand out in a crowd, this may be the guitar for you. Highly recommended.

all the specs can be found on the hagstrom site, this guitar is just called the deluxe on there, dont know why its called d2h here...2 humbuckers one volume one tone, 3 way switch...do you need any more?
made in china, who cares?

this guitar sounds amazing, and for the price, a complete steal! I own a 1995 les paul standard, not the epiphone, a real les paul. whie not a les paul, this guitar comes very close...this model is not even supposed to be their answer to the les paul, its more like an sg, but it comes SO close to the lp sound...and at a fifth of the price...it is a litle darker than the LP, the tone is a litle more lower midrangey, but it is good, not a bad tone at all...the guitar makes just as little noise as the gibson too...and yes I constantly a/b'ed them. I would stand in one spot, play a riff, plug in the deluxe in te same spot, play the same riff, and wonder why companies charge so much...

got it through musicians friend, set up already, the intonation is a bit off all the way up the neck, but what dummy doesnt get their guitars set up the way they like them once they buy them? why do you think when you buy in person, that the store gives a free set up? anyway the action is not bad either, might lower it, pickups adjusted perfectly...this guitar FEELS great...the finish is good, at first I thought it was cheap, then cheesy, then I loved it...its not made cheaply, its good, just not what I expected. the hagstrom site doesnt do the guitars justice...the flaws in the finish are where the neck meets the body, by the neck pickup you see a bit of unfinished wood right by the end of the neck and where the neck pickup begins, under neath the pickup casing, not really noticable until you look at it up close...the wiring may be also where they cut corners with this guitar, the pots are not as effective as they should be, I might get better ones put in there...

havent gigged with it yet, but it feels like it will be fine, hardware is great, stays in tune unless i do some really crazy bends, but then my 2500 dollar les paul goes out of tune also...the strap buttons are great, we all put locking straps on there, right? who plays a gig without a backup? silly question...

guitar makers are lucky, they never seem to get contacted, most people just buy a guitar, mod it, or break it, get bored with it, and then sell it...

I am hooked on Hagstrom! I'm left handed, and I found hagstrom after doing a left hand guitar search on the internet...I bought this guitar after visiting the Hagstrom site, didnt know what to expect, but love it! I've been playing for over 20 years, but got out of it a little while, decided to get back into it full time, and wanted to treat myself to a new guitar, but gibson's prices are just ridiculous...

Other companies are gonna have to step up, cause this guitar is great, and I'm totally gonna buy some other models...hell, at 450 a pop I can buy one every couple of months...I think people get into "name" brands, I know I was a victim of that...dont get me wrong, I love my les paul, it is one of my cherished guitars, but when I plug this in, and play, and realize its SO close to it, and at 450 bucks, it just makes me smile...try one!

THE HAG
so I call it. Very impressed.. the finish in sparle blue with the mahogany sides and back really is eye catching. the blue is dark so it is not cheesy. the neck has binding on the side and the fingerboard is a dark wood. long neck seale tuners nice carved top humbuckies,and one volume one tone.abalone inlay headstock.

Really was blown away with the sound. the tone control has a very wide balance and distinguishes the tone supurbly. I have played through a fender chorus amp sounded great. A Yamaha jx55 sounded great and last a vox valvetronix. the pickups are warm. and have a very glowing sound when palm muting. this guitar suits my style and in fact compliments it

the guitar was setup almost perfect, low action, all i had to do is raise the action a hair.

ppretty heavy guitar all is solid and I like the fact i dont have 4 knobs. what for? I don't like the 3 way switch where it's at. kinda get's in the way for hammer on's. but other than that rock solid

I give it a ten over all because it really is a great value. I like it better than the epiphone les pauls. which I almost bought. but I would compare it to my fernandes ravelle. the ravelle is a little better. But I paid mor for the fernades as well.

This is an update to my review directly below after owning it a while. Same specs.

Originally I said the pickups sounded good. I was so overwhelmed by the quality/price I kind of used blinders originally. The sound is fantastic but after a pickup change. Like all 'noname' pickups they are no bargain really but they do sound better than most. Only when I swapped them out for Seymour Duncan Model 59's did I see them for what they were. An imitation of the Diuncan Designed Jazz/JB set found in recent imports. The bridge pickup has that '43 guage' overwound upper midrange peak like the JB. If you like the JB then it's great. I like 'vintage' humbuckers so with a pickup change this axe is a definite 10.

Same almost perfect. Hard pressed to find flaws. Only ones I can find are out of view in the pickup cavity routes. Excessive wood taken out of the body and a shorter than standard neck tenon sloppily installed. back of the H truss rod is exposed at the back of the neck inside the cavity. Also a 3/8" guide hole in the bridge pickup cavity is drilled very deep probably only a 1/4' or so more to go right through the body. If these areas can be addressed this would be the equal of guitars selling in the $1000 price range. A bargain considering it cost less than 1/2 that.

Should withstand the test of time.

Hmmm. At this point terrible. The distributor AMS answered emails but failed to come through on a small issue/request for my Swede. So like most imports don't count on it.

It really is a fantastic value. Where else can you get a 1-piece set mahogany neck and body with a 'real' 3/4" carved maple cap with superb craftmanship for under $500? Maybe from Agile possibly but their quality control is not very consistant and they use very cheap hardware. Not the Hagstrom. Everything is top-notch.

Made in China. Les Paul style but a bit larger and rounder like a Guild Acoutic/Electric in shape. 5mm thinner than a Paul. 40mm Mahogany body with a 10mm Carved Maple top. Gold Sparkle top. Transparaent Red back/neck. Beautiful polyster finish that is warm to the touch unlike Polyurethene. Custom 60 Alnico V humbuckers. Like a cross between a PAF and Duncan JB. Has the power and top end of the JB but also the cleanliness and warmth and mids of the PAF. 1 vol and 1 tone, perfect! Definitely a players guitar. Beautiful vintage Hagstrom Swede style headstock inlay. fully bound with dot position markers and a resin impregnated ebony fingerboard. Heavy but balances well.

Sound? Custom 60 Alnico V humbuckers... Hmmm... Like a Les Paul? The pickups are pretty darn good. Can do any style perfectly. Warm, bright, crunchy, soulful and toneful. Not sure who makes them but they do sound good.

Couldn't find anything wrong with it except for a few sharp edges on the fret ends. Other than that built like a guitar costing much more. Looks a lot like the Fernandes top-end models ie; Ravelle, etc. Same Factory?

Pro instrument all the way. Almost as good as the Swedish originals.

Had a few questions and they replied almost immediately and was more than willing to help.

The simplicity of this guitar is an assett. One tone, one volume, 2 pickups, solid wood and, great tone.. I appreciate the simplicity of the setup - it feels like the SG Jnr approach to Les Paul tone (ie humbucker lp's), in that it's just plug in and play. There is however a lot of tonal variety between the two pickups and the tone pot itself is very usable.

Sounds terrific. As others have noted it excels at clean tone as much as high gain. I was really blown away by how good the thing sounded straight out of the box. Lovely high end sheen for humbuckers as well as thumping mids when distorted. Very, very usable.

The finish is hot.. Unfortunately however, I ordered off the internet (sight unsound) before relocating with it overseas and was expecting a gold-top style thing rather than full on gold sparkle. And it is very very sparkly - too sparkly for me in fact. It looks terrific but just not my colour, so definitely, if you are looking at buying one try and check out the colours in the flesh as web photos don't do them justice.

The guitar came from a shop in the states with a shop set up job. I took it to my guitar repairer straight away and had the frets evened, and string spacing adjusted for personal taste and to suit my playing, but it was still very playable out of the box (I am just particular).

It seems very reliable and durable... but......

My repairer warned me that the bridge will buckle over time with heavy palm muting. This is a regular occurence with Les Paul style bridges, apparently due to the break angle of the strings from the bridge to the body. Apparently due to the style of the bridge, replacements could be difficult.. but we shall see. Apparently it is nothing to be too worried about for a while, but an eye should be kept on it over time.

I have thus far had no dealings with Hagstrom.

I'm a huge fan of this guitar, especially given the price. I first became interested after hearing Aaron North use a bunch of reissue Hagstroms on tour with NIN. The beauty of the D2h is the simplicity and the tone facilitated by the solid mahogany body (with less electronics/cavities than more complicated controls) and wonderful pickups. My only gripe is I'm not happy with the colour - and let's face it, colour is an issue, if only to the mental state of the person playing it! The concern with the bridge is something to watch over time, but it is no biggie really. The neck feels wonderful, the weighting is terrific and it snuggles up to my body very comfortably - which is a welcome change after playing a 335 for years. It is an absolute pleasure to play this guitar and it sounds fantastic. I am dying to get my hands on a cherry swede.

Have tried playing with a range of amps and effects and they all sound great. This guitar is very good for using with effects. I've always found Gibsons tended to get muddy with time based stuff, which made Fenders more suitable due to the top end. The D2h is great because the high end sheen is there - chorus, flangers etc sound terrific - as well as the grunt that's so desirable in a Les Paul (and typically lacking in Fenders).

Made August 2003 in China, one of the first Hagstrom reissues.

22 Frets

Solid body, black sparkle top.

2 humbucker pickups.

Hagstrom bridge and stop tail .

18:1 Hagstrom tuners.

24.75" scale.

This guitar sounds better than my Dean Hardtail.

Pickups extremely powerful, very low noise, rich
Les Paul sounds.

The body cavities for controls and pickups are minimal
and I think this is what contributes so much to the
beefy sounds the mahogany body produces. But you
can get suprizingly bright sounds out of it as if
it have a maple top (which it doesn't).

The tone control actually works on this guitar and
has incredible range. First tone control on any
guitar that I have found to be worth having.

I thought I wanted coil splitters but the range of
tones from the pickups, body integrity and tone
control make coil splitting unnecessary. I can get
a wider range of tone out if than my HardTail.

I've owned maybe 15 guitars and this is the best guitar
of them all and immediately became my #1 guitar (Dean
HardTail is now #2).

This has to be the best kept secret in guitars. If I had
to get rid of every guitar I've ever owned and could only
have one it would be the new Hagstrom D2H. This is the greatest
guitar ever designed.

Action is incredible, low and fast.
Not quite as thin as the vintage Hagstrom
but I actually like it better.

This guitar is build like a lead brick, i.e. indestructible.

Don't know. Bought two other Hagstroms reissues I wasn't
happy with (F300 and F20T - nothing broken - just didn't like
them).

have been playing guitar 35 years.

This is the first guitar I've owned that I have absolutely
no complaints about. It is a perfect guitar.

2005 Hagstrom D-2H, Made in China, 22 Frets,Cherry burst flame top, Hagstrom custom 58 pickups, body looks like 50's Hagstrom P46 model which is a single cutaway, tune-o-matic bridge, saddles are located under a block tailpiece, tuners say Hagstrom on them and have the vintage Hagstrom look, very nice vintage looking case (made in Canada) included a truss rod wrench,3 position toggle switch, set neck. That about covers the basics.

Pickups are very strong and have that classic humbucker tone, bridge pickup is very bright,middle pickup has nice sound for blues, and neck pickup sounds more mellow. Great tone knob, which not only gives you more treble but boosts the over all volume as well. Minimal buzz/hum,sounds great to me.

Purchased this from an online music store which included a setup. Using 3/32 for average action, the low strings were a tad high,backed off the tune-o-matic 1/4 of a turn and problem solved. Fret edges were sharp, had to slightly file the ends and then finished off with steel wool which solved that problem. Guitar was strung from the factory with D'Addario 9's which is a nice touch. Had to clean up the nut slots, as there were some shavings. Neck was dead on,finish and fit were perfect, headstock has beautiful inlay around the edges, binding was perfect, I give the overall condition a strong 8, the setup a 9.

This is a solid guitar with some weight to it, nothing like a Les Paul,but close. Chrome hardware looks sturdy,tuners look solid as well. Nice finish, plenty of gloss should hold up with proper care. I wouldn't ever gig without a backup, but having said that I can't imagine a real good reason to need one with this guitar, it is very well made.

Ten year warranty.

I've been playing for over thirty years. At this time I own two Fender Telecasters, a G&L Legacy, Peavey Wolfgang, 2 Dillion copies, and a Parker. If this guitar was stolen I'd get another, I like it. I was hesitant to buy a guitar made in China, but after receiving this one I'd be looking over my shoulder if I were one of the big boys. Everything, and I do mean everything screams out quality on this guitar. Frankly, I don't know how Hagstrom does it, although I suspect inexpensive labor and modern automation. There is much to love about this guitar, from the super fast neck to the nicely contoured body to the unusally striking headstock. Look, if you're tired like me of the same old rip off body designs, and repetitive models resurfacing again and again, check one of these babies out, my guess is you will not be dissapointed.