Product: Hagstrom Super Swede Tremar
Price Paid: USD 750
Submitted
08/26/2009
at
06:49pm
by
Frank
Email: geteinar at gmail<dot>com
Features
:
10
Single cut away, 45mm Mahogany Body with 10mm Carved Maple Top and Flamed Maple Cap. Set Mahogany Neck with a fender 25.5??? Scale. Resinator Fretboard with Hagstrom Pearl Block Position Marks. H-Expander Truss Rod. Hagstrom 18:1 Die Cast Tuners. 2x Hagstrom Custom 58 Humbuckers with a 3-Way Toggle. Hagstrom Tremar Vibrato /w Tremar Roller Bridge (chrome finish). 2x Volume / 2x Tone / Mini-Toggle Coil-Tap Switch.
This guitar was built in '09 (first year I think) in China.
My first experience with a high end product out of china. I'm very impressed.
Sound
:
10
Play Rock, blues, jazz and this guitar does well. The noise gate on my Vox VT50 takes care of the hum in single coil mode but I've been shopping around for a new tube amp and have noticed on those amps a bit of noise but no more than my Strat. The sound is similar to a Les Paul rich and full with out being muddy. Does not have the sustain of the Hagstrom Select Super Swede, which has more sustain than ANY guitar I've ever heard.
It was a tough decision between the two.
The coil tap produces a very lively tone not as thin and flat as humbuckers i've tapped in the past, VERY VERSATILE GUITAR.
there is a volume loss when you split the pickups. Can you split a humbucker without the volume loss?
wish I could have had the sustain of the select super swede AND the Vibrato.
Still, a 9.7 (I'll round up to 10)
Action, Fit, & Finish
:
10
I adjusted the pickups a bit but the guitar was ready to go from the shop.
Flamed maple top is perfectly bookmatched; it's hard to tell where they meet.
the guitar has a flawless finish. Have been shopping for a new amp, I bring this one with me to try them out. Every time, someone's jaw hits the floor and comes up to take a closer look/listen (a few have even asked to try it) even the guys at the shop. every aspect of this guitar works as it should, it's attractive, and built well. this is as good as the best of them.
Action is SO low, very flat fret board. Hagstrom made enough changes to the vibrato system that it seems they got by the Bigsby copyrights. It works well. Stays in tune great, and with the improved grip I like it better that a Bigsby. The tuning pegs are cool too.
In the sound section I complained that it didn't sustain as long as the Select (it does have great sustain though and if i hadn't heard the select...). The guitar side of the Tremar vibrato system is flat, not routed to the curves of the guitar, would more contact here give it more sustain? is that the way it's suppose to be or is it (the only) cost cutting thing I can see (hear) on the guitar. It still deserves a ten considering it's price tag and maybe that's the way it's supposed to be.
Reliability/Durability
:
10
solid (and stupid heavy)and built well all round.
I have no worries.
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
?????
Overall Rating
:
10
Alright, I gave it 10's all round. I don't work for Hagstrom (really!); I actually hadn't really heard or seen much of them till I took it home. at $750 it was in the Epiphone price range and A/B'd alot of them. There was really no comparison when considering sound, playability, and features. On those terms it's more in the A list of guitars like the Gibson Les Pauls. I chose the Hag for a couple reasons:
1) I'd feel like a dork with a LP (think of the guy with the porsche 911 who keeps grinding his gears, that would be me)
2) Price ($750), check the price for a LP with those feature.
3) TOTALLY SEXY AXE!!! (that made me chose the Hag over the other really great high end-lower priced guitars)
