Question: Old Hagstroms-- any experience?

With the ones made in Sweden? Specifically their LP-style Swede? Not their Fender-styles.

There's one available semi-locally (not in Gainesville proper, but a nearby town) for $500 w/ohsc:

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I hardly ever play my Fernandes Ravelle, which is also a mahogany dual-HB guitar, and think with the Swede's more traditional look, I might play it more than I do the Ravelle. The 5 bills also seems like a decent price, unless this particular one is a dog, and if I sell the Ravelle I wouldn't be too far out of pocket for the Hagstrom. In fact Mrs. K is all for me having fewer guitars, even if the remaining ones are more expensive, because Casa Krashpad is totally out of storage space. I have a nice setneck Epi LP Junior I haven't had long enough to bond with, and if I sold the Ravelle and Junior, I'd probably even be in the black.

A Canadian internet friend of mine, a talented and experienced guitarist, says they are plentiful and cheap there and that the line he's heard is they have "quality control problems and lousy playability." But fwiw Vintage Guitar magazine (which I would think would try to be objective) doesn't seem to think that. Of the Swede, specifically, they say "Ampeg began an aggressive promotion campaign which focused on the Swede, positioning it as a high-quality, low-production Swedish instrument. Fairly accurate, I’d say," and "guitars like the Swede were just darned good."

Weird.

https://www.vintageguitar.com/1934/hagstrom-guitars/

Anyhow these things are kinda rare, so if anyone has any experience, things to look for, etc. I'd appreciate any info anyone might have!
 
But fwiw Vintage Guitar magazine (which I would think would try to be objective) doesn't seem to think that. Of the Swede, specifically, they say "Ampeg began an aggressive promotion campaign which focused on the Swede, positioning it as a high-quality, low-production Swedish instrument. Fairly accurate, I’d say," and "guitars like the Swede were just darned good."

You don’t sell a vintage guitar collecting magazine by telling readers that the old guitars they collect are mostly trash that were forgotten in attics, basements, and barns for a reason.
 
I've never played one, sorry.

There is a regular over on the Kiesel forums that bought a new one last year, a Super Swede (25.5", the regular Swedes are 24.75" scale) with P-90s. He likes it alot, and that's probably pretty high praise from him, as his #1 guitar is an old 1986 Carvin DC150 Koa that he bought brand-new.

Can you try it before you buy it?
 
You don’t sell a vintage guitar collecting magazine by telling readers that the old guitars they collect are mostly trash that were forgotten in attics, basements, and barns for a reason.

You don't stay in business for years publishing a magazine that tells people bad things they are considering buying are great, either.
 
I've never played one, sorry.

There is a regular over on the Kiesel forums that bought a new one last year, a Super Swede (25.5", the regular Swedes are 24.75" scale) with P-90s. He likes it alot, and that's probably pretty high praise from him, as his #1 guitar is an old 1986 Carvin DC150 Koa that he bought brand-new.

Can you try it before you buy it?

Yeah, I should be able to. I wouldn't buy an old guitar that I didn't have experience with, with the brand at least, without playing.

I've played one of their old Fender/boltneck styles that was pretty junky, but it hadn't been kept up. This one looks like it's in pretty good shape, plus I think maybe the Swedes and Super Swedes were their more expensive/flagship models, so hopefully decent.

Iirc one of the guitarists in the Swedish band Sahara Hotnights used to play an old Super Swede, but I think it got stolen on tour.

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I used to have a late 70's Hagstrom Super Swede in the late 90's (before the Swede was re-issued) , & it was amazing. I foolishly sold it because I was having neck issues at the time, & I found it to be a little too heavy for me.

Apparently there are only about 1500 original Super Swedes out there. Mine was in mint condition. I didn't know they were so rare, or I wouldn't have sold it. It had a natural finish, & an extra switch that I think was a coil tap.

I have to disagree with the "plentiful & cheap" , & lousy quality control comment . Maybe it's different for the Super Swede ( vs. the Swede ), but mine was beautifully made, & rare, apparently.

I've only seen one Super Swede in my life, & it was the one I had. Hope someone else is enjoying it now as much as I did.

$500 is probably a good deal, my Super Swede would be worth about 3 times that these days
 
I used to have a late 70's Hagstrom Super Swede in the late 90's (before the Swede was re-issued) , & it was amazing. I foolishly sold it because I was having neck issues at the time, & I found it to be a little too heavy for me.

Apparently there are only about 1500 original Super Swedes out there. Mine was in mint condition. I didn't know they were so rare, or I wouldn't have sold it. It had a natural finish, & an extra switch that I think was a coil tap.

I have to disagree with the "plentiful & cheap" , & lousy quality control comment . Maybe it's different for the Super Swede ( vs. the Swede ), but mine was beautifully made, & rare, apparently.

I've only seen one Super Swede in my life, & it was the one I had. Hope someone else is enjoying it now as much as I did.

$500 is probably a good deal, my Super Swede would be worth about 3 times that these days
How would you describe the neck profile on the super swede? A 50's or more like a 60's Gibson profile?
 
My college room mate had one...I'd say it was about the quality of what Norlin was putting out at the time. His was a brown one with the tailpiece like Smear's. Since we were all into strats at the time we didn't think much of it.
 
It had a natural finish, & an extra switch that I think was a coil tap.

I think the lower-horn switch is a 3-way tone selector, from what I've read.

I have to disagree with the "plentiful & cheap" , & lousy quality control comment . Maybe it's different for the Super Swede ( vs. the Swede ), but mine was beautifully made, & rare, apparently.

I think those comments were meant to reflect his local used-guitar market, up in Canada, today. Which is about 180 degrees different from my local experience-- I've never even seen an old Hagstrom Swede or SS in 40 years of going to music stores and pawn shops in Florida. A friend had one of their boltnecks, years ago, but it hadn't been taken care of and was in rough shape, so I never bothered plugging it in or anything, just picked it up and set it back down.

Thanks for your comments!

Also, my Canuck friend found the frets to be small-- do you remember that being the case? I'd prefer at least medium.
 
I think the lower-horn switch is a 3-way tone selector, from what I've read.



I think those comments were meant to reflect his local used-guitar market, up in Canada, today. Which is about 180 degrees different from my local experience-- I've never even seen an old Hagstrom Swede or SS in 40 years of going to music stores and pawn shops in Florida. A friend had one of their boltnecks, years ago, but it hadn't been taken care of and was in rough shape, so I never bothered plugging it in or anything, just picked it up and set it back down.

Thanks for your comments!

Also, my Canuck friend found the frets to be small-- do you remember that being the case? I'd prefer at least medium.

I think the frets were smaller, but they didn't bother me.
 
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