Hagstrom Swede Reissue

goldtop with 2hb's, 2xvol 2xtone pick up selector and tone filter. A reasonable bunch of features.

a little more open sounding than a true Les Paul, using with Laney VC30 Boss and barber pedals. Standard tone controls need replacing as they are essentially on/off, vol pots ok. Tone filter needs carefull use and can provide a real dark tone or a stuck wah type sound. not necessarily where you might ideally stick your wah, good fun if you wabble it while holding a power chord though. With some decent tone pots and maybe a mod on the filter I reckon this would be a 9'er. out of the box it's an 8

Finish quite good actually, very minor sinkage on the rear but inlay work and goldtop are very nice indeed. Pickguard is a bit nasty. Nut seems ok height. Fretwork is deplorable, being realistic this is not a ??1200 LP so maybe I shouldn't expect 1.2mm on the E string. Came set up high but 2.3mm is as low as it goes before becoming unplayable through the strings contacting frets higher than the played one. Bottom E string is worse at 3mm otherwise it just futts at the dusty end. Not something a basic set up will sort out. I'm waiting on the view of a rescted tech regarding remedial fretwork but this could cost up to ??80.00 the dealer has said he'll support the cost but beware. It should now be obvious that I do not work for Hagstrom.

apart from the tuners this guitar looks to be solid with a capital D. Assuming it can be sorted out I think it could be relied upon but would never gig without a back up.

We'll see what happens, if it can't be fixed I would be wary of a direct replacement.

playing for 30 years, I have USA & Japanese Fenders, Blade and Gibson instruments. I like this instrument because it is similar but just that bit different. Don't know if I would buy another. it is quite pretty with the attention to some detail being very good, verging maybe on style over substance though.

Gold top Hagstrom Swede
Not sure of the year..
Check their site for specs.

I grew up playing shoegazer/alternacrap, but recently have devolved into playing with more of a punkish/bluesy vibe. Stripped down on the pedal mania (amazing what a decent tube amp can do for your sound!). My chain goes:
Geetar (whatever suits my jones at the time) > crybaby wah > modded Ibanez Tubescreamer > EH Small Stone phaser > EH #1 Echo > Digitech RP5 (tuner) > Morley Black Gold Volume > Fender "Evil" Twin.
Was used to Les Paul Standards and such, took a hiatus and came pack with a penchant for semi-hollows and P90's, but missed that sexy Les Paul body and humbucker bite. Didn't want to kill the wallet 'cuz Gibson is on some superstar shit with their stupid pricing and crappy workmanship (sad but true, folks). Had never heard of Hagstrom. Played a suede at the shop and lost my freakin' mind.
Love the paulish bite, but with a lil' more edge and crispiness.
Still playing with the bypass toggle switch, but I'm finding loads of interesting sounds with it as I go. The neck pickup sounds full and thick without as much mud like some pauls I've played. Bridge pickup is brighter than I thought it would be, but after playing a few hours I grew to like the cutting bite it gives. With both pickups on I get the best of both worlds, and this is where the toggle is staying.
This sucker offers a nice variety of sounds, more so than any paul I've owned. I really should stop comparing this to pauls, as it seems to have a character and sound of it's own. Pleased as spiked Kool-Aid.
No dislikes, but I've only started with this thing so give it a few months. Nothing is perfecto as we all know.

This is actually a B-stock I copped thru ebay. Just some discoloration on the fingerboard. Came with 10's which I immediately flipped to 11's.
Didn't really play with it before changing strings, as I fully intended on setting intonation and adjusting action to my liking anyways. I recently bought a Viking as well, and I must say, Hagstrom is doing their thangy thang with these necks. I was able to set the action lower than I thought before getting some buzz. Frets seem fine to my fingers. Love these tuners, but then I'm used to crappy epiphone tuners, so..
I was most impressed with the look and finish. Again, this is a b-stock, so I expected some flaws.. Nada! Freaking flawless gold sparkley beautiness. The coating seems impervious to bullets, but I'm sure I'll ding it up as I usually do all my guitars.

Not gigging anymore, so maybe I'd be the wrong person to ask about playing without a backup. Feels like it's built to last. Strap locks are a given nowadays. I'm confident this will hold up in most playing situations.

Haven't had to bother Hagstrom yet. Don't really bother manufacturers too much. If I have any issues, I just go and get it taken care of by pros. Too impatient to ship and wait. Screw all that.

Let's see.. In addition to the Swede, I have a recently copped Hagstrom Viking (another winner!), an Epi Casino, Epi Dot with GFS P-90's, and a Les Paul "The Paul II". I've thinned the pedal herd to bare essentials, relying more on the pickups and my Fender to find that sweet spot. Been playing 20 yrs, on and off, several band situations, but now I'm more than content with staying home and making my noize, with the occasional recording and jam sessions. I really like this Swede thing. I needed a reliable solid body to balance my semi-hollows, and this completes my sound. If this were lost or stolen, I would perform hateful santeria rituals on the fool who dared steal this girl from me. While nothing in life is perfect, I'm a stupid happy doofus in the presence of this thing. Saying that, I think I'll get another..

2007 chinese built swede reissue, solid mahogany body, carved mahogany top, set mahogany neck, 22 fret hagstrom resinator wood fingerboard, hagstrom custom 58 humbuckers, 2x volume & 2x tone (lp style), 3 way toggle, 3 way tone filter toggle (centre bypass), hagstom 18:1 ratio die cast tuners, 24.75 inch scale length

I play alternative & industrial rock (nine inch nails, smashing pumpkins, radiohead) but like most electric guitarists my playing roots & style is very bluesy (hendrix, floyd, zeppelin, cream, free)
The hagstrom lends itself to a range of styles.
With the tone filter bypassed in centre position the bridge humbucker sounds thick but bright and great clean or dirty. Not as big on the mids compared to a gibson & other makes but the hagstrom has a sound and character of its own. With both humbuckers on you get a great gretsch like crunchy/twangy sound, great for clean and blusey overdriven stuff. The neck humbucker is fat, smooth and very fruity sounding. All settings react well to pick attack so quite broad stuff.

Things get really fun when you bring in the tone filter. With the switch down and the bridge humbucker on it reminds me of a wah pedal left on in its mid position. Lots more mid range and quite nasal, almost muddy sounding but in a good way! It still cuts through and I use this setting loads, great on power chords and cutting riffs - very dirty! Similar sound with the switch up but darker and not much top end.

The hagstrom came from the factory with perfect intonation and a pretty good action. I took it up just a bit higher as there was a slight buzz on the bass strings but no problem and this is usually the case with any guitar.
The build quality & finish for the price of this guitar is amazing, it far outclasses epiphones & yamahas etc and is even better than some gibsons that i've played. The neck is great, pretty fast and very comfortable, not as thick as a 50's style gibson neck. Holds it tuning superbly, I borrowed a gibson sg special for a few days and the g string would be all over the place after a few heavy bends.
No complaints and incredible for the price.

Solid as a rock, first gig with it last weekend with no back up and no problems. I usually gig with a back up just incase I break a string and this would be the only reason next time.
Will probably replace the volume & tone pots with better quality pots at some point as it tends to get muddy fairly quickly when you roll of the volume but again you can't moan for the price.

Not needed them yet & doubt i ever will but i will say that all new hagstroms come with an owners card with the factory technicians signature quoting the serial no & saying he personally set the guitar up. A very classy touch & you don't even get this when you buy a les paul std! The overall impression is that actually hagstrom care and take their quality control very seriously.

I've been playing for over ten years & play in a couple of bands. Mainly a strat guy, I own a vintage fender strat and an eric clapton signature strat and a tanglewood lp copy which was my first guitar. Needed something with humbuckers as the tanglewood is now pretty worn out and tried pretty much everything - les pauls, sg's, yamaha aes 620, ibanez etc then came across hagstrom and i was hooked, once i played one i had to have one.
I love guitars that are a bit different and individual - hagstroms certainly tick this button. Being used to strats the hagstrom scale length is ideal, I love the headstock and the swede just looks so cool! It has unique features and a sound of its own.
Will definitely buy more hagstroms they are fantastic value and in my opinion far better than some guitars that cost twice as much.

solid mahogany, set neck, dual humbuckers, resonator fretboard, graphite nut, block inlays, nice binding, and a lot of options with the controls (two volume, two tone, pickup selector switch, and a switch for what i think is coil tap.

A lot of variety due to the controls. Most of the tones you get out of this thing are on the thick side, it's not a strat. Sounds awesome on an overdriven amp, I play mine through a mesa single rectifier combo. Equally impressive when played through the clean channel, still very thick but not muddy, like a les paul studio.

This is what impresses me the most. The fit and finish on this guitar is well beyond its price range. All of the inlay and binding work is flawless, the finish is flawless, and the electronics are way better than what you would get from an epiphone in this price range.

I've only had it a week so I can't say for certain but I would be willing to bet on this thing, it's a rock. The tuners seem a little cheap however.

I dunno.

Hagstrom guitars are the shit. I am definitely going to add more to my collection. If you are going to buy an epiphone, don't. You can get a Hagstrom for the same price or cheaper and you'll get a much high caliber instrument. If it were stolen I would be pissed because it is hard enough to find lefties as it is. O'doyle rules, hagstrom rules, gibsons are overpriced. Pat Smear is awesome.