Hagstrom Swede Reissue

I believe this is an '09 Swede lefty goldtop. I bought it on Ebay and it came with the tweed Hagstrom case. The sticker on the neck says made in China. You can read what everyone else has said on the description but I will add that it is one of the most stunning specimens that I have ever seen in a Les Paul shape.

I try to play blues/blues-rock/jazz on a 40W Stagg amp. At first I thought the neck pickup was too tinny but making adjustments to the amp, this thing came alive. It sounds good clean or distorted. One of the best sound guitars I've had. I normally don't play the bridge pickup on a humbucker guitar but even that sounds good. The tone selector switch is a little akward to have but as you play with it more you learn to try to work with it since it's sitting there on your guitar. The stock humbuckers are pretty awesome and I don't plan on changing them out.

I got this thing used so it was already set-up. This guitar had no flaws and I'm not even a fan of goldtops but this thing definietly got my attention. No picture of the Swede does it justice it is absolutely beautiful in person. It appears Hagstrom is very selctive on what guitar passes the quality inspection. The neck does feel slim, almost like my stratocaster neck.

I don't play live but I would play this guitar on stage if I did. It weighs (10)lbs or more so I don't doubt it being solid and durable. The finishes are not applied on cheaply so it seems like they will last.

Since it's used there's no customre support. However I believe you would have to go to a local Hagstrom dealer to get this fixed.

I have been playing for off/on 4 years. I own a Fender Mexi-strat, Epi SG400, and Johnson jumbo acoustic. I would be really pissed if this guitar was stolen. My favorite feature is the solid weight and the awesome neck. Plus it has one of the best sounds I have heard come from a guitar I have purchased. It was a toss-up for me, either the Agile 3000 or Hagstrom Swede. I am happy I chose the Swede because I think Agile couldn't match up well enough.

This is a 2008 Chinese Swede Reissue, transparent red finish, 22 frets; essentially its a mutant Les Paul. Not a LP copy, either in looks or sound. It has a tone filter switch on its lower horn, which either takes out the mids or everything except of the mids. Hagstrom have this patented plastic/wood pseudo ebony finger board. The body is a lump of mahogany, and not surprisingly it is incredibly heavy (much heavier than modern LPs). Graphite nut.

Mine is a really nice looking guitar if you like some thing a bit different. Not sure about the art deco tuners though.

I play blues, country, and jazz, all of these with a punky, high energy feel. My main gigging amps are a 1968 Vox AC30 and an Orange Tiny terror (depending on size of venue). I use a little slap back echo, a Boss Tremelo, a Boss Equalizer (to bring up mids on single coils for solos) and a Boss Overdrive. This guitar sounds excellent through this rig. Most of the time I use a Strat, but for the rockier stuff, its the Hagstrom. This guitar doesn't sound at all like a LP, which is good as far as I'm concerned. The pick ups are powerful, and the bridge pick up has a real edge with no fizz and no clang. The filter switch is almost totally redundant, though the hollowed out sound is good if you keep it totally clean. The mid-only sound is horrible under all circumstances.

If you want to be Gary Moore (yuk!) this guitar is no good (top end access too awkward). If you want a really throaty, rocky growl, this guitar is great. You can easily coax a Billy Gibbons sound out of it and pinched harmonics come effortlessly. I really like it and have used it on about 15 gigs since I bought it 6 months ago.

This guitar was sold to me as a second. The bridge pick up was a bit scratched, but the finish is otherwise flawless, frets are fine, and the binding is perfect. However, the A string has broken twice, and the D once at gigs. On investigation, the saddles were rough, and I've had to file them smooth.I normally get all new guitars set up, but this was otherwise so well set up when I bought it, I haven't bothered.

The plastic fingerboard is fantastic, feels like ebony, very hard, very smooth and very fast. Its easy to play, though access to the very top of the fingerboard is awkward (ok for me, I rarely go there).

6 months isn't long, but so far so good. I tend to sling guitars around, bash headstocks into mic stands and put them into guitar stands awkwardly so they fall over. The guitar has dealt with all this with out complaint, and continues to attract remarks about its good looks. Unlike me. No scratches on the back either, which suggests durability.

No idea. Don't use these services. I get my guitars from Frank Murphy of Frailers in Runcorn, and I suggest you should too, as he provides all the customer support you need.

I've been playing for 35 years, and I tried this guitar when I was taking my daughter out looking for the Epi LP sunburst that she's set her heart on. I liked it so much I went back to buy it for myself. I really like it. I took as an exchange plus a little cash.

I'm sure a decent LP would be better, but it would also cost four times as much, and this guitar has a real character of its own. I am normally a strat and tele player, and for me this is perfect when I want a humbucking sound. It looks good, it sounds good, it stays in tune and it plays well.

Main down side is: too heavy; string destroying saddles; and I forgot to mention that the jack socket keeps working loose, which is irritating. But at this price, who cares?

Purchased in the UK:
Gold Top, mfd 2008 in China - one of the more recent reissues.

Great feature is the tone switch - very unusual and gives a subtle wah effect when switched between the two active positions.

Something not often mentioned is that it's a solid Mahogony body AND top - gives it a distinctive edge over other mid-priced guitars (the main reason I chose it over an Epiphone)

This thing is HEAVY (not a negative as helps the great sound).
Get yourself a nice soft leather strap. Swapped for locking strap pins straight away!

Features as per other reviews:
24.75
1 x tone sw
1 x PU sw
2 x vol
2 x tone

Luscious thick, fat sound. Great sustain (helped by the sheer density of the guitar) and nice with rock and blues.
Haven't played for that long but know that this is one guitar I will keep forever.
VOX AD30 > DD7 > TR2

Here's where a nice sounding guitar is let down....

Downside:
---------
Poor quality components!!
Have already swapped the nut (cheap and plastic and VERY VERY badly set - so badly it caused the top E to drop off the fretboard at the lightest touch) for bone and will do the same for the pots when I have the cash!

Action was pretty good direct from the shop however bridge PU incorrectly angled and difficult to realign so its flush with the strings.

Upside:
------
Machine heads pretty good. Keeps its tune and funky styling

Body, neck and machine heads solid, but doubt the hardware will last but plan to swap the pots and PUs over time.
Although Hagstrom have told me the brand new models come with graphite impregnated nuts, I would swap the nut.
Only costs around ??30 for a bone replacement. Well worth the money.

Dawsons in Reading hopeless but made contact with Hagstrom UK.
Very helpful and offered good advice.
Thanks Steve & Pete!

LOVE IT! A ??700 LP for ??300!

FYI -- the guys at Hagstrom recommended paraffin oil to clean the fretboard:
Steve @ Hagstrom :"I have spoken with one of the technical people over in Sweden and they recommend paraffin oil for the fret board"

Mfd in China.
Basic Les Paul type feature set with the addition of a 3 way tone filter switch which routes the signal through one of two different capacitors.

Specifications from Hagstrom:

Body : 45mm Mahogany Body with 10mm Carved Mahogany Top
Neck : Set Mahogany Neck
Fingerboard : Resinator Fretboard with Hagstrom Pearl Block Position Marks
Truss Rod : H-Expander Truss Rod
Tuning Keys : Hagstrom 18:1 Die Cast Tuners
Scale Length : 24.75??? Scale
Pickups : 2x Hagstrom Custom 58 Humbuckers
Pickup Selector : 3-Way Toggle
Bridge : Long Travel Tune-O-Matic with Hagstrom Stop Tail Piece and 6 Individual Brass String Blocks
Controls : 2x Volume / 2x Tone / 3-Way Tone Filter Toggle (center bypass)

I'm using a pedalboard through either a Vox AC15 or a '65 Twin Reissue. Before the guitar even arrived, I was planning on switching out the pickups. Over the years I've come to realize that you'r not going to get an import guitar with superior pickups, so that's just a given ijn my rulebook. i didn't expect the stock custom '58s to sound great but they did actually sound very decent. If I we to keep one of them, it would be the neck P.U. However, I will try removing the covers & giving them a listen before i sell them.
I replaced the stock P.U.'s with a Duncan JB and a Duncan Jazz. These really made this guitar sound like a good Les Paul

Mine is the black model. This guitar was nearly flawless out of the box. It shipped with D'Addario 9's(?). Great tuners, good fret dressing, etc. Far better wormanship than many more expensive guitars I've owned. Binding beautiful.

I'd definitely gig with this guitar; that's why I bought it. I always install straplocks on my guitars...it only took one guitar falling off a non-straplocked strap to start doing that.
These guitars are definitely gig worthy.

Called Hagstrom one time & got a reply within a day.

Really, at the price I payed for it new ($278), this guitar can't be beat. Even at the Musician's Friend Price ($600), you'd be hard pressed to find a better guitar. One of the best values out there and I bet you'll see the prices go up, soon.

2007 Black lefty, made in China for sure. All the standard features, but does have an additional 3-way filter switch that gives you dull-, normal- and a sort of a twangy sound, don't know anything about the electronics behind it though. The placement of that extra switch could have been better and it could have been smaller as well.

I like the sound, a bit darker than expected, but fits a Marshall for old school metal. Not very noisy, no extensive feedback tendencies.

Thought the factory settings gave a little too much action, tried to lower it a little, that with a lot of buzz as result. Low action super fast neck BS!

So far I have managed to find as many as three small finish flaws, one in the cut, the neck and at the top of the head. At the top of the head it seem like they have repainted it at least once.

The high E could not be bent without some additional filing of fret 6-12.

The knobs that are mounted ARE NOT FOR A LEFTY, haven't yet received an answer how in the name of ***** you can fit knobs that indicates an increase that when you turn em actually result in an decrease.

The head is the same for all guitars, lefties or not, so yes it is up side down on a leftie!

This is a cheap guitar you, YOU DO NOT GET ANYTHING MORE THAN THE VALUE OF THE BILL, and I seem to got a B-stock without any B-stock discount.

It did not withstand the treatment in the factory very well, but I think it will hold its pieces together of normal playing.

First thing I had to do was to tighten the tele jack though, that piece almost fell of immediately.

Hagstr??m does not have any contact information available at all, think you have to bring it to your local dealer if you have problems.

I bought this guitar from Thomman, that's rather stupid, it has a lower price tag, but the hag bag it's not included so the lower price tag will actually fool you.

Made in china 2008; 22 frets 24.75 inch scale; solid mahogany carved top and mahogany body; set neck design with single cut; passive electronics; 2 Hagstrom custom 58 humbuckers; 3 way toggle switch; 3 way tone filter.
To save some reitteration, see www.hagstromguitars.com/swede.html
Surprisingly, no one before me has mentioned this but the difference between the Swede and a Les Paul is that the Swede body is made from mahogany on mahogany while the Les Paul is made with a maple cap on a mahogany body.

Very typical of magogany/humbucker/neck set design guitars. Sound is rich, complex and a bit dark. Very good "growl" with overdrive. Sustain is also very good. Pickups are fairly quiet as humbuckers typically are.
I am running this through a Crate Palomino 16 (class A 15 watt) amp sometimes using a Roland GT-8 effects processor.
Let me confess a bias in that I am a big fan of Leo Fender designs and singlecoil sounds. This instrument definately is darker than a strat or tele but it does provide some interesting crunchy rich tones. I do not feel that it provides the tonal ranges of strat or tele however.
The tone filter is not a big addition, but it does provide a quick tonal shift as if moving a wah-wah pedal as someone previously described.
The sound produced by this instrument does suit my style which is blues based and influenced by jazz and funk. This instrument possesses a unique vibe.

OK, this is where this "bad boy" excels. I have only owned american made instruments to this point, but I have to tell you, the workmanship on this is impressive.
I purchased this instrument lightly used and the look and feel of this guitar in this price range is unbelievable. It is hard to believe that this guitar is one quarter the price of a Gibson.
This is a very comfortable guitar to play as well.

I would assume this guitar would hold up as well as any other set neck design guitar, given the proper care. It is a dependable asset to anyone's collection.

I bought the guitar used and I doubt that I would be able to obtain a warranty.

I have been playing about 15 years time. I currently own a Fender 50th anniv. strat; a Warmoth Tele thinline (with a USACG neck); a bicentennial gibson firebird reverse; a National Delphi; and a pair of Larivee's.
I chose this guitar because I found it used on craigslist. Being left handed, I am always looking for a different instrument from the standard Mexican Strat.
What I enjoy most about this instrument is the feel. It is a very comfortable guitar to play. The neck is absolutely wonderful, a bit meaty but not too much. There is also good balance to the guitar as well.
I have played a few Chinese made Epiphones in the past which are also in a similiar price range. The Epiphones did not compare to the Swede at all.
A Swede would make a nice addition to anyone who is looking for a Les Paul type vibe or a solid body humbucker design.

You can read the specs below.
Mine is a beautiful white Swede made in late 2006 i think.
Made in China and got it with the wonderful hagbag.

I think it suits all of the styles very well, especially jazz and rock.
I mostly play rock like Panic! At The Disco (their guitarist made me buy this) and then sometimes I play stuff like Queens Of The Stone Age.
It's just a very versatile guitar. I'm currently using a Hughes & Kettner 65w (transistor) Surf Edition something something (my brothers).
But when I get the money I will buy the lovely Fender Super Champ XD, and my tone will be complete. My setup is Swede->RAT2->Amp, and it sounds quite amazing (but will be ever better with the Fender amp).
The cleans are very very clean and bright and it suits me perfect.
The distorsion I get from the Rat plus my guitar is like heaven.
And something that others don't really like, that I like is the tone filter. This is a nice feature that you can use to produce more sounds than without it. If you flip it down it gets a nice kinda stuck wah-sounds that makes it very cool when you play single notes on the lower strings. And when you flip it up it gets very dark. But it's very nice. The fat sound in the custom 58 humbucks are GREAT btw!

Everything was set up almost perfectly right out of the box, and i fixed it by leaving it to my dealer. And back it came. Perfect.
I have no flaws whatsoever. Only made by myself. Doh!

This is as though as diamonds. It will last forever.
The only thing that i replaced was the strapbuttons. But the stock ones were actually good.

Never dealt with them, but my dealer helps me out.

This is "the" guitar. It's the best i've ever tried.
Been playing for almost 2,5 years and I think everyone should buy Hagstroms instead of ugly Les Pauls. Their horns are sharp and pointy, but Hagstroms are nice and beautiful and rounded.
And btw 6000 swedish kronors is 1000 bucks and that is not expensive!

long list of features, 2 tone selectors, 2 vol selectors, tone filter switch, 3 way pickups selecter. comes with 2 '58 humbuckers. i have the cherry finish and i love it, but i have seen the black and blue ones, htey are nice too

sounds awesome for classic rock, hard rock, jazz, and sounds great clean also. I am playing on a "Crate glx 65watt", the amp comes with a rythm and solo distortion and i can get great metal sounds from the solo distortion, and awesome classic rock tone from the rythm. with all the different setting to play with, you can get almost any sound you want.

came with one very minor imperfection in the finish on the neck, but otherwise it seems to be a very good quality piece.

i have had it for about a month and no problems yet

i have been playing for about 5-6 years, and i also own a washburn dd60, and this one is far better than the washburn, and it just feels better quality. when buying this guitar i compared it to a gibson sg faded model, and an epiphone les paul standard, and an epiphone sg g400 custom. The hagstrom sounded, felt, and played much better, and was cheaper.

a duplicate of the original for certain!

amazing - the tone flipped me out on this creature - beatiful blues, throw on a tad of 30s style amp distortion (you know the type - a small amp opened wide) gives this rig an amazing soul - great for finger picking the blues indeed

out of my 20 plus guitar collection of vintage rigs - this plays the best - ha ha, maybe cause my vintage rigs all have 'worn' personallity to them - but aside from that this rig plays great, set up nice from the factory/dealer (ebay) - thank you who ever made this puppy capable!!

have not dropped it yet - only time will tell the test of time (and gravity)

???

I give tis one ALL POINTS - it is the best guitar in my collection (72 strat, 77 marauder custom, 70 les pauldelux, etc....) in terms of play and sound - this is now my baby!

I picked it up cheap off of ebay - I am so getting another one or two of these China made wonder!!

All good - I have played for over 30 years - and yes this one is my baby! D yourself a favour - BUY ONE (or Two)

Well, the volume, tone, bass, treble, and dual pickup switches.

great guitar, just not sure how to use them all.

It is a great heavy, fat sound that I love. It beats the crap out of my washburn, and will never buy another guitar.

Very well made, not a dent or single problem with guitar

I don't know, just bought it.

Don't know, just bought it.

Well, I've been playing for almost a year and decided to make a move to buy a mid-range guitar, and so far I am very happy with my decision.