Hagstrom Swede

'72 all original - bought from original owner so no questions there. 23 frets on bound ebony fingerboard with pearl block inlays. Solid cherry finish bound mahogany body LP style etc., etc. Tune o matic bridge that is orig. but seems weird cause of
shallow seating indentations [per posts adjstmnt/heighth issues.
Very unlike Gibson tune o matic cause of knurled knob lack.
Tuners are classic 'stairstep' classy buttons with what I assume were/are "Inhouse " machines. All metal is chrome. Pups are 2 humbucker and controls are as expected.

I blush to say...I hav'nt wrung this out yet 'cause recently aquired,so I'm assuming the previous opinions apply to mine in this category. After all, It's so mint, it just can't be a dog! I like the fact that I bought it for a song , but dislike the fact - I had to!

Action is wonderful...Set neck and ebony with neck radious seem as good or better than my '71 LP Custom! Blasphemy, perhaps, but it doe's feel solider[heavier]. Pup adjustment might be overated in most cases unless you're anal. This has one of the most bombproof AND refreshing construction simplicity of designs of this era that I'm aware of. NO plys in neck or body-
just a well made inst.

Very subjective - 'cause of 1st owner's 1st electric and yes it was gigged...but very moot, because of that. I imagine when I sell It -
it might not be appreciated as much; but reading previous reviews, I believe this inst. has a bit of starting over. A true mint
example of TLC.

Don't know, but if I'm unhappy, my buddy will remedy. That's nice! - Don't Ya think?

I've own/ed countless classics, and can't pass up deals that invariably will haunt you if ignored. I love provenance and mint condition of this and the LP aura just might help me excuse my recent '71 LP Custom up for sale thing. I mean...I'm not a lead player and have several quality acoustics for rhythm...OK! I'm no great shakes at that either, but a electric is always a neccessity...especially if you have an Amp.

Mine is a 1973 Swede in natural mahogany finish, with bolt neck,ebony board and the rest. When I got it, I was told it had belonged to Chet Atkins' second guitarist, Paul Yandell. This wasn't substantiated except by word of mouth. The tech told me the "tone" toggle was disconnected, phase and coiltap switches installed and the pots exchanged for centralab audio taper 500k pots, apparently at the behest of Mr Yandell. The case was original and serviceable. I bought this axe to back up my Les Paul deluxe in 1988. When I got a 74 LP special to replace it,I sold the Hag to a freind in 1991 for what I paid...150 bucks. During the time I owned it, I had it refretted, put on schallers and straplocs, and changed the treble pickup to a Seymour Duncan JB. All in all a pretty sweet guitar....and get this...I just bought it back 3 weeks ago for 300 bucks!! Inflation, but still a bargain!

Truthfully, I only used the rhythm pickup for recording a few solos back in the day, and I bought it back for nostalgic reasons. I play hard rock originals as I did then. Then I used it thru a Music Man HD130 head into a Fender 2-12 with JBL speakers. I used a proco rat,crybaby wha, and a solid state echoplex.I hated its tiny frets and altho the tuners were pretty, they were useless. The lead pickup was anemic so in went the JB.Oddly enough, after all the work it was sweet, but I sold it when I got the Les Paul Special. The sound is quite good thru my current JCM 800 and Vox AC30 and after using it I can say it suits me way better than it did all those years ago. The neck is quite fast and it does play nicely with no noise and many good tones. It sounds very similar to a Les Paul,but with more clarity and less midrange snarl. I thought it sucked a bit in 91....now I think it awesome to play. It has always been very nice looking! I'll grade it according to how I liked it then, how I like it now, and take off a bit for work done to it as it was pretty poor in stock condition playing and tuning-wise

Tiny frets and sucky tuners, crap lead pickup....but the fast neck and low action are there. The finish is quite good and has lasted well. The wood is quite pleasing and workmanship is clean and neat. Outside what I've mentioned already, this is a fine guitar.

It is pretty tough and quite heavy at 11 pounds. I know it holds up well as the fellow I sold it to used it onstage for many years as his main axe. The finish looks as it did when I sold it and the hardware is good. I will gig with it, but since I use several tunings< I require several guitars at performances and that gives me backups. That said, outside of a string breaking, this guitar is very reliable. In the 16 years I've been around this Hagstrom it has been a real trooper!!

It was used and Hagstrom had been defunct 8 years when I bought it the first time...'nuff said!

I have been playing for 25 years and have been a "gear whore" at times!! I've had everything but currently I own this Hagstrom, several Gibson electrics, a Martin 000-28, a Gretsch Nashville, Ric 330-12, several Fender guitars and a Pbass, Marshall, Vox, and Fender tube amps, too many effects pedals, and a Hammond b-3 organ. This axe is one I would not replace if stolen, but I would be very pissed off and saddened if it was. It has come top be like an old friend after all these years.

This guitar was made in alvdalen, sweden in 1970. Its the 120th swede built(out of 4000 total 1970-1980) and in the first year they werent called swede but "lp", the name change probably was a result of the model guitar being exported abroad.
The features are identical to any pre-1976 swede(when they switched to a set-neck design). All mahogany, bolt on neck with ebony fretboard, mop block inlays, those elegant hagstrom tuners, a very unpractical adjustabke bridge, dual humbuckers, 2-tone 2-volume pots, 3way selector and 3-way "mystery switch"(this is disconnected on mine)

There is a rumour going round that the first batches of Hagstrom humbuckers were alot like gibson PAFs(its infact very probable that they are copied from gibsons design) in having a very special "magic" sound. This rumour could be true because they are VERY good pickups indeed.
Very balanced, defined and rich tone with a lot of bite, completely free of mud. They sound very genuine.

I play mainly through a Line6 guitarport(2.0) so Ive really been able to test the guitar with different amp models and effects, its extremely versatile, much more than my gibson les paul, especially clean but you could play death and nu-metal on it too, no problem.

but we tried it on a cheap marshall v65 the other day and some amps doesnt go with this guitar, it got very trebly and unpleasant(but that amp isnt exactly the cream-of-the-crop either)

If you're curious of the sound then you might try Kaipa's first album where Roine Stolt plays a Hagstrom Swede on some songs.

Since its now 34 years old, it has lots of dings- scratches, cracks and whatelse but no factory flaws. The bridge isnt a very good invention(it has two screws opposite eachother to adjust the intonation which require a lot of fiddling) but its possible to adjust it very well. The tuners stay in tune too.
The frets have proabably been changed atleast once on this guitar and the ones on now are too low which makes it difficult to fret notes without buzzing, but this again is no fault of the Hagstrom company.

This guitar has been USED, its almost as rediculously worn as the fender relic models, but it holds together and sings like it was new. Its a brickshithouse with the only classic weakspot which all guitars with angled heads have, if you drop it with enough bad luck, the neck will proably snap at the nut just like with Gibsons. Allthough this is a little thougher because of the thicker neck.

Hagstrom ceased in 1981.

A very fine instrument, with proper setup it can hold its own or top a Gibson any day.

First of all, this is not, strictly speaking, a Swede. It's a Patch-2000, which was basically a Swede with the addition of circuitry for driving an analog synth (e.g., moog, ARP, etc.) When I got it, all of the circuitry was intact, and I had not one, but TWO of the external interface pedals. Unfortunately, not having much foresight at the time, I figured I'd never be using an analog synth, and I ripped out the digital electronics, and turned the pedals into wah-wahs, volume controls, ring modulators, and such. Oh well! That said, in terms of features, this was (I think) the FIRST synth guitar, which is pretty significant. I actually had occasion to use it through a synth once, and I have to say, aside from being a novelty, it wasn't terribly useful. It used wired-fret technology, allowing only single-note leads, no bending, etc. Still, with the crystal clear hindsight of retrospect, I do wish I had left it intact. Other than that, it has basic Les-Paul type features -- two humbuckers, 2 volume and 2 tone controls, adjustable bridge and stop tailpiece. An interesting result of the synth technology is that the saddles are plastic, and the bridge electrically isolates the strings from one another, which was necessary for the circuitry to determine which string was touching which fret. I have since rewired the guitar completely. It now uses two mini 3-way toggles on the pickguard to allow each pickup to be configured with the coils in series or parallel, or single-coil configuration. It now has a single volume and a single tone control where the two original volume controls were, and push-pull switches allow the pickups to be configured in series or parallel, and in or out of phase. This gives me a wide range of sounds, from big thick jazz-box tones, to thin, tinny Telecaster-like sounds. To do this I had to replace the original 3-way toggle pickup selector with a 3-position rotary switch, but this works fine. The first position is the neck pickup, the third is the bridge, and the middle pickup gives four different tones, depending on the configuration of the two push-pull pots. Where the original tone controls were, I have a 6-position vari-tone setup, with a separate pot to control the depth of the notch filter (which is what the vari-tone really is. Finally, the notch-depth pot is also a push-pull, which cuts in the center-tap on the inductor, effectively doubling the 6 sounds from the vari-tone. All told, this will give me a whopping 462 distinct combinations! And this does not take into account the notch-depth control or the tone control. So, I'd have to say, this guitar has a LOT of features, though most are non-original. The neck is renowned for being fast and thin. It has a ebony fretboard, which I like a lot, and a mahogany neck. The body is also solid mahogany.

I play a wide variety of styles, from jazz fusion, to classic rock, to country, and even a bit of folk. This guitar can basically make all the sounds I need. I play it through a 50W Sundown tube head, which has been modified to use EL34s instead of the original 6L6 power tubes. I don't use many effects, just a Marshall PowerBrake and a 2X12 bottom with Celestions. I could not wish for a better sound. I have been through several pickup combinations with this guitar. When I first got it, I replaced the bridge pickup with a Gibson PAF. To my surprise, it did not sound significantly different than the original! Later I replaced it with a Duncan Invador -- TOO MUCH! Now it has a pair of Ibanez humbuckers, which are just fine.

When I first got the guitar it was set up just fine. The quality of the wood is excellent, as was the fit and finish.

This is a well constructed guitar, that can easily stand up to the rigors of touring and live playing. I did replace the strap buttons with lockers, which I do on every guitar, ever since a keyboard player lifted my Les Paul Standard by the strap, dropping it on a concrete floor and snapping the headstock.

Company is out of business, so this issue is moot.

I've been playing for about thirty yeaers now. In the past few years I have owned a Fender '57 Reissue Strat, a Fender Roland Ready Strat, a Brian Moore i2.5 synth guitar, a '81 Melody Maker 3/4, a Gibson Howard Roberts Fusion-III, and a Gibson Les Paul Standard, as well as a LoPrinzi acoustic. At the moment, all I have left are the Hagstrom and the LoPrinzi. The thing I love most about it is the contour body, which introduces a Strat-like contour on the back of the body. The things I DON'T like about it? Well, first of all, it has a bolt-on neck, and the truss rod is not adjustable. The neck is dead straight, so it really isn't a problem, but it bugs me nonetheless. Secondly, the block inlays are PLASTIC! Not a big deal, I guess, but hey, this was a guitar that cost over $1400 when new (early 1970s). Even without the synth stuff, the Swede was as expensive as a Les Paul Custom. For that money, bolt-on necks and plastic inlays are, in my opinion, inexcusable. I could just see some bean-counting geek telling them that they could save a few pennies by cutting corners. In my eyes, this keeps it from ever being a real valuable instrument. However, it plays great, sounds great, and for what I paid for it, I guess I can't complain.

1974 cherry red solid body (Les Paul) style Hagstrom "Swede".
Solid mahogany body & neck,wih 2 humbucking pick-ups, fully bound body
neck and headstock,ebony fretboard,2 volume and 2 tone controls, 3-way
pickup selector,and 3-way TONE selector switch. It has a 24.75 in.
scale neck with MOP block inlays, a tune-o-matic bridge and stop tail
piece.(All original)

I play a variety of music from blues, pop, jazz, and country, and everything in between. The guitar sounds best played thru a Peavey
transtube amp. I have added a phase switch, and coupled with the existing stock electronics, I am able to get sounds ranging from an
L-5 jazz box to a Strat (quack), to a Tele bite. This is probably the
most versatile guitar I have ever owned.

Since it was purchased used, I have no way of knowing how it was set up from the factory. The frets were too tall for my liking, but a fret
dress took care of the problem. I adjusted the truss rod slightly when
I purchased it 20 years ago, and haven't had to touch it since. The
tuners work well and hold tune nicely. Action is set low with no buzz.
The guitar is heavy, but the contour on the back makes it comfortable
to play.
The finish is the best I have ever seen on any guitar. I have owned
top of the line Gibson and Fender instruments, and none could compare
to the Hagstrom finish.
Now for the few negative aspects: The pickup surrounds break very
easily, and the neck binding has a tendency to fall off. This is an
easy fix with some luthier's duct tape (super glue). The adjustable
bridge is a pain in the butt, but once intonation is set, further
adjustments are rarely needed.
Overall the guitar is of very high quality, and needs little adjustment.

The "Swede" is built like an armoured car. If Deep Purple wanted to
smash this guitar in one of their shows, they had better bring their
lunch, 'cause' it's gonna' take awhile.
This guitar has been my main axe for the past 20 years with no back up
90% of the time. It had never failed me yet.

N/A Company out of business

I have been playing for 40+ years and have put more miles on this
guitar than all of the others I have owned combined.
I recently purchased another 1974 natural mahogany Swede which came
from the same batch as my original Swede. (218 numbers apart)
The Hagstrom "Swede" in my opinion is one of the best made guitars for the money, and I would highly recommend it for just about any style of music. It is very versatile and virtually bullet-proof.

My latest guitar is a 1970's Hagstrom Swede, made in Sweden of course =)
It's a 22 fret Les Paul copy, basically... It's a natural walnut-coloured stain, and looks very glossy and deep even after all of these years. It's all solid mahogony, which makes it weigh in at almost thirteen pounds (!!). It's fully bound as well, and has beautiful real mother-of-pearl rectangular inlays. The fretboard is ebony, and looks and feels great. The frets are very low and fast, and the neck is just a little bit thicker than a Gibson 60's neck.
I can't really say much for the bridge, since it is an aftermarket brass affair, and the stock tuners were at some point replaced with Schallers.
It's dual humbucker, of course, with the standard LP configuration except for the so-called "mystery-switch" on the upper bout. It seems to be a treble-cut/boost switch of some sort, and is mostly useless as far as I can tell. While we're on the subject of the switches, they are probably the most solid switches I've ever seen, on a guitar or elsewhere. Other companies should check these out!

This guitar is very much voiced like a classic Les Paul. The output is quite low, and the clean sound with the neck humbucker is very smooth and woody- coupled with the easy action, this makes the guitar great for jazz. When distorted, the neck pickup is very smooth- think Santana.
The bridge pickup, on the other hand, is quite sharp. It has a great 50's crunch when overdriven at all- not the greatest solo tone however. When it comes to rock, this guitar is very much a rhythm guitar. In all, I'm very surprised at just how good this guitar sounds.

Obviously, I can't say how this guitar was set up at the factory, since it was made before I was born. The finish is fantastic, and there are really no flaws that I can find. The only problems are ones that come with age- all of the pots need to be replaced, there's some binding on the neck that's coming off, and both of the pickup mounting rings are broken.

This guitar is like a brick. It is very solid, and would easily withstand live playing. The finish will probably outlive me. The strap buttons are a little bit weird, seeing as they're kind of barrel shaped- time will till if they work well. It seems very dependable.

Well, the company has been out of buisness since 1980 or so... From what I hear, some distant relative of the original owner still has a warehouse of parts, and you can buy them from him. Now that's service!

I've been playing for about 6 years now, and have eleven other electric guitars. This one is easily one of the best. I would love to buy another one, and probably will if I ever find another one- apparently there were only about 4000 made.

Probably my least favorite feature is the weight; the best feature is the fact that I basically got a Les Paul Custom for $400! Honestly, this guitar is built like a $4000 LP, and plays and sounds like one too. If you can find one, buy it!!

My Swede is probably 74-75, with what I believe to be all original parts, except a few small screws. I bought it very used at a guitar show in 1998. At that time I was actually looking for a good deal on a Les Paul, but when I picked this up and played it, I couldn't leave without it. It came without a case.

These days I mainly perform with my acoustic, but when I'm going electric, the music style ranges from blues to rock. The swede works great for these styles, both for chunky chords and soloing. I use a Gallien Kruger amp, mainly because of its portability, but I can imagine if this guitar were played through a tube amp it would be amazing. The sound is rich and full, but has great range. I had the electronics cleaned up by a pro just after I bought it, and I think he replaced one or two of the pots at that time.

I think this is one of the best-built guitars on the planet, specifically the body and neck. Some of the minor hardware is getting loose, the bridge is oxidized, and a peg tuner head fell off recently. But this guitar is 25+ years old, and I think it was played a lot before I got it.

This guitar has been absolutely dependable, although eventually I'll have to replace the tuners, and I'm not sure whether I'll replace them with original equipment, or better quality new tuners.

Company out of business.

I've been playing for 26 years, and I own a lot of equipment, but only one electric guitar, and this is it. If it were lost or stolen, I'd miss it because I wouldn't be able to afford a replacement guitar of the same quality and feel (I'm thinking $3000 for something this good new). But if I had all the money in the world, I might buy another Swede in mint condition, or at least fix up this one. Then I'd probably buy a new guitar as well.

My Swede is all mahogany and was probably from the mid 1970's, judging from the serial# and the hardware. The neck is a bolt-on, with a nice tight fit and very low action. I bought this guitar used, in very good condition, except the pickguard is missing. No big deal, it looks great without it. I could never figure that extra upper switch on the Swedes, but the upper position seems to be a tone cut, which basically is like rolling the tone to "0" with the flick of the switch. The other 2 positions are likely phase options.

The Swede looks similar to a Les Paul, but sounds and plays a lot like a really good Guild BluesBird. The notes have an acoustic, bright ringing quality to them and there is no muddiness. The pickups are relatively quiet, but will feed back at higher gain settings on my amp. The tone is bright and punchy with a lot of sustain. The note definition within distorted chords is fantastic. I can see this guitar used for a variety of music, from jazz to country to hard rock. It has a wide tonal range.

Why can't today's guitars be built like this?
The hardware is of good quality and the build quality is second to none.

This guitar has already survived some 25+ years. I expect it to last my lifetime. That's all that matters to me!

Hagstrom closed shop about 20 years ago.
My Swede's warrantee has long expired.

I love everything about my Swede, from its vintage vibe to the wonderful tones it produces. It is a fine instrument.

Hagstrom Swede, mid 70's. 2 volume, 2 tone, 3 way selector and well, I'm not too sure what the other switch does, almost acts like a tone cut. Two humbucker pick-ups. Mine is a transparent red with white binding. Tuners are some of the neatest I've seen. Beats the standard Gibson or Fender style in looks and the performance of them is quite good. I got a case with it with a plush purple lining.

I play a wide variety of music and it's never let me down yet. The tone sweep is beautiful for going from jazz to rock so you don't have to search for the tone "sweet spot" while on stage. The controls on mine are beginning to show their age. The bridge pickup volume goes from 10 to half and then back to about seven when all the way down so that is slightly annoying but it's not a hard repair. The treble pickup is beautiful for country, nice and bright but still full. I use a Fender Deville tube amp with it and the clean on the neck pickup is great, so full.

I didn't get the guitar new so I don't know how it was set up at the factory but mine plays like a dream. The frets are a touch low, I think the've been done once and slight rattling on the 6 string F. It plays better than my 96 SG though.

This guitar has withstood all that I've used it for without any problems. Good solid hardware that will last forever. The beginnings of slight oxidation on the hardware though but I can live. I read that a few people have had problems with the strap buttons but I haven't encountered that yet. It will probably happen at my next gig. I don't think I would use it on a gig without a backup just purely on the fact that I wouldn't want to take that chance and no one in the audience wants to watch you change strings in the middle of a performance.

Haven't looked into it

I've been playing for 8 years and am currently attending a music school so I need something that I can depend on and sounds good. My only regret is that I didn't get them to put in a new pot when I bought it. I just had a guitar stolen,I don't know if I could go through an ordeal like that again, but I would definitely buy another one. I love the fact that it sounds great and it's unique. I'm not just another Les Paul guy. I don't really hate anything about it at all. I tried some Les Pauls but this one just fit me much better and it was much cheaper. Alot of people complain about the weight but I really like the solid feel you get when you play it. It doesn't feel like it's going to crumble in your hands. I also own a Gibson SG, a gibson 295 with P-90's and a strat and this can approximate the sound of all three with the right adjustments

I have both a cherry red Swede and a transparent blue Super Swede. The Swede is probably mid-70's in origin; I think the Super Swede was made in about 1980. Bought both by mail, the Swede from Canada and the SS from ... Sweden, of all places. They are both in near mint condition, despite their age.

These are solid body Les Paul inspired guitars, the top of the Hagstrom line, and are of very high quality. The Swede has a bolt-on neck, but still has excellent sustain and stays in tune extremely well. The necks are LP-like, not like the Hagstrom II or III, which were exceptionally thin and flat. I much prefer the Swede necks (and I own an HIII as well). Fairly flat radius, good for fingerstyle as well as playing with a pick. Fretboards are nicely bound ebony. The headstocks are beautiful, glossy ebony with pearloid Hagstrom inlay. They are heavy guitars, but comfortable to hold and play.

Interestingly, both of my Swedes have had the pickups replaced, although one came with the original pickups included. Tuners are original. I rather like them, but seem to be in the minority here. They work and both guitars stay in tune.

I play a pretty eclectic mix, from blues and rock to fingerstyle music in altered tunings. I have played these through a variety of amps, but mostly through a Trace Velocette tube amp which is a nice sound. I like them both through just about every amp I've tried, and I often practice with them unplugged - both resonate nicely. A word about that: I thought the Swede was absolutely perfect, with terrific sustain -- my second favorite guitar after a Fender custom shop Nocaster relic. Then I got the Super Swede. This guitar has a set-neck and also has a zero fret just below the nut. It sustains forever. A chord I played last month is still ringing away on the guitar, after I put it back in the case. Unbelieveable.

The tone is nice and full; you can get glassy to crunch, but I would like to see what these guitars would do with other pickups, too. I don't think I am an expert in this area, but I know what I like.

As far as fit & finish go, I would say it's pretty hard to beat these. One is 25 years old, the other 20, and they are nearly perfect. They are solid, the action is great, they stay in tune. The necks are extremely comfortably, with nice binding on the fretboard and very nicely finished frets (which I don't think have been touched since they were built). I doubt you could touch an American made guitar of this quality for less than $3000, and you would have to look for a while to find anything this classy looking. The blue super swede in particular is stunning.

These guitars were built by people who were obviously real craftsmen, and who put a great deal of pride in what they were making. After more than two decades, both instruments look and play like they are nearly new - the exception being some intermittent noise in the tone and volume knobs, no doubt from oxidation or corrosion from the passage of time. These are guitars for people who love guitars, and unless mistreated, I expect they will last another fifty years. All guitars should be built so well.

Well, Hagstrom went out of business in 1982, or thereabouts, so if there is any customer support I am not aware of it. If a Swede is in good shape to begin with, and is well treated, you probably won't need any.

I have been playing for about thirty years. I have a couple of tube amps and several other guitars. If I lost either of these, I would miss them badly - even though for the most part I lean toward teles and strats. I love the look of these instruments - they are classy and beautiful - and I love the feel of the neck and the contoured body. I don't like the weight, but that's part of the package with a solid mahogany, carved-top guitar. The one that came from Sweden had an unwanted surprise - the customs' fee, which was significant. I didn't know enough to ask about it in advance, and they collected it on delivery. The blue super swede is stunning; I have been told that only about six super swedes in this color were ever made. I would not be able to replace it if lost. Swedes are one of the best bargains you will ever find in used guitars; it is a shame Hagstrom is not still in business.