Hagstroms Anyone?

[WhiskeyJack]

Looking for any hands on reviews of Hagstroms. The few review videos i watched seemed meh. As expected uninformative and just a bunch of doorknobs wankshredding. It's not a name you see come up too much. I think @Tadpui acquired a Hagstrom not that long ago and seemed pretty happy with it. Though i think what he got and what i have my eye on are two very different quality levels and vintages.

I might have an opportunity to get my hands on a lefty F200P for about 300CAD if it is still on the shelf after the holiday season. (I don't treat myself to new things before Christmas, a very funny life lesson from my late grandfather gave me I'll share in another thread)

I have been saying for a while now i'd love to have a left handed guitar strung proper to just learn on to see if i like it or can do anything different with it. The only problem is i can never find one that is any kind of good that i like for under 700 dollars. While i didn't have time to sit and fingerbang this model for very long (at the mercy of my wife chauffer who had 50 other things to do that afternoon) it didn't feel awful felt pretty good. Sturdy, It definitely looks super cool, had some jazzmaster type of P90's in it.

I dunno seems like the price is right for a cool looking beater guitar. Would be cool if it sounded and played well. If i loved the guitar itself but not the string arrnagement i could always flip the nut and saddles and make it a Shan creature.

Anyways it is this funny looking thing.

[JD01]

I think that's cool as fuck, Shan. And about time you learned to play like a human.

[Greg_L]

I love it. I personally could do without the Strat style vibrato and jack but the rest is badass.

That's a pretty inexpensive guitar though. Not that there's anything wrong with that but it's probably not got very good pickups and electronics. The nut is probably plasticized poopoo. But try it out. It's cheap enough to get a shot IMO and If you like it you can upgrade stuff.

[muttley]

They were solidly made guitars in the day and pretty cool. What age is that one?

[Tadpui]

That's a cool looking guitar @WhiskeyJack. Love the dual P90s and the "SG and a Strat had a baby" aesthetic.

My Hagstrom is the modern Made in China Viking. I got it as a b-stock for around $800-ish, and other than the wonky toggle switch that I just replaced, that guitar has been awesome. Seriously, the fit and finish (other than the blemish in the clear coat on the headstock that earned it a b-stock designation) is surprisingly great. I wouldn't have guessed that some factory in China could crank out such a well made instrument. Plays great, sounds great...I'm very happy with it.

I'm not sure what kind of quality they're cranking out at $300 though, but I'd at least go and play it if it's nearby.

I only see 2 of those F200Ps for sale currently on Reverb. They're both in the $325-360 USD range. So I'd say $300 CAN is pretty good, especially for a lefty. It's hard to tell though, because prices on Hagstroms seem to be all over the place on Reverb. I don't see any for sale at Sweetwater or Musician's Friend or those types of places where prices seem to usually be more stable and less prone to gouging.

[Lt. Bob]

I had original Hagstroms ..... not sure that's useful for this one.
I had a Swede and I had a III .... liked both of them ..... would really like the III back ...... indifferent about the Swede

These but my III was red

[Armistice]

You could reach out to miro... he had a zillion of them. Not sure what that says about them as guitars, however.

I can't decide whether I like or not until I see it the right way around...

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[Armistice]

Local shop seems to have the entire range - pretty sure I saw one or two there last time I popped in.

Their site says "online only" for all of them though. Code for, "it'll take 6 months..." usually. They seem to be mid-rangey on price.

https://www.mooloolabamusic.com.au/bran ... m-guitars/

[WhiskeyJack]

They were solidly made guitars in the day and pretty cool. What age is that one?

It is a MiC reissue of the F200 from what i understand. Somewhat newer, but this reissue is now also discontinued as well. If i make it back in to test drive and it is still there i'll note the serial number. I think though for 300 bucks and they usually have a pretty smoking boxing day sale I might snag it up. But i do want to get a bit more hands on time with it.

That's a cool looking guitar @WhiskeyJack. Love the dual P90s and the "SG and a Strat had a baby" aesthetic.

My Hagstrom is the modern Made in China Viking. I got it as a b-stock for around $800-ish, and other than the wonky toggle switch that I just replaced, that guitar has been awesome. Seriously, the fit and finish (other than the blemish in the clear coat on the headstock that earned it a b-stock designation) is surprisingly great. I wouldn't have guessed that some factory in China could crank out such a well made instrument. Plays great, sounds great...I'm very happy with it.

I'm not sure what kind of quality they're cranking out at $300 though, but I'd at least go and play it if it's nearby.

Right! the Viking! I knew you had one but i had it in my head it was a Swede or something cool. Yes, i happen to agree that this is a bargain basement product for Hagstrom and likely incomparable to your Viking. Especially considering this is an offshore reissue. I just think its super unique looking and i can satisfy a bit of gas for a proper lefty guitar for a relatively low price.

I really love the side carve on this too. I think that's what really caught my eye the most about it. That and it visiually leaps on the racks next to all the Big two guitars surrounding it on display.

I had original Hagstroms ..... not sure that's useful for this one.
I had a Swede and I had a III .... liked both of them ..... would really like the III back ...... indifferent about the Swede

These but my III was red

I think that III is pretty much the body of this one just a REALLY different pick up situation lol. I wouldn't have the first clue what to do with that many pick ups and switches.

You could reach out to miro...

Pass.

[Lt. Bob]

I think that III is pretty much the body of this one just a REALLY different pick up situation lol. I wouldn't have the first clue what to do with that many pick ups and switches.

I don't really remember what they all did .... 3 were just on/off switches for the p'ups ....... I think there may have been some tone switches and perhaps a phase but I don't remember.
I know there was also another switch that muted the guitar.

The neck was that super thin thing that I would now hate .... kinda like the old Mosrite necks.
The p'ups however were awesome ..... stratty as hell but like a strat on steroids ....... REALLY good sounding p'ups.

[Greg_L]

Pat Smear plays them.

[rayc]

Pat Smears: the man who jumps ships at the worst times.

[WhiskeyJack]

It sold.

It's fine. I instead ordered a guitar case for my Shannycaster and got some goodies for a friend who just bought his first guitar.

[Tadpui]

It sold.

It's fine. I instead ordered a guitar case for my Shannycaster and got some goodies for a friend who just bought his first guitar.

That sounds like a fair consolation. Good on ya for helping bring a newbie along.

[WhiskeyJack]

It sold.

It's fine. I instead ordered a guitar case for my Shannycaster and got some goodies for a friend who just bought his first guitar.

That sounds like a fair consolation. Good on ya for helping bring a newbie along.

I think so. I didn't even know he was out shopping and he bought a Denver brand entry level guitar and while it does actually sound good as far as acoustics go, it plays horribly. It just by eye balling it it needs a good humidification sessions for a few days a truss rod adjustment and a new set of strings. SO i am going to grabbed him a three pack of strings a case humidifier a nice D'addario string change / peg winder tool for in his gig bag and i'm going to gift him a good set up while we have a couple beer this weekend.

[Tadpui]

I think so. I didn't even know he was out shopping and he bought a Denver brand entry level guitar and while it does actually sound good as far as acoustics go, it plays horribly. It just by eye balling it it needs a good humidification sessions for a few days a truss rod adjustment and a new set of strings. SO i am going to grabbed him a three pack of strings a case humidifier a nice D'addario string change / peg winder tool for in his gig bag and i'm going to gift him a good set up while we have a couple beer this weekend.

That warms the cockles of my heart, nice going man. He'll appreciate that a whole lot.

[Armistice]

I think so. I didn't even know he was out shopping and he bought a Denver brand entry level guitar and while it does actually sound good as far as acoustics go, it plays horribly. It just by eye balling it it needs a good humidification sessions for a few days a truss rod adjustment and a new set of strings. SO i am going to grabbed him a three pack of strings a case humidifier a nice D'addario string change / peg winder tool for in his gig bag and i'm going to gift him a good set up while we have a couple beer this weekend.

That warms the cockles of my heart, nice going man. He'll appreciate that a whole lot.

LOL - I usually, if I don't actually know the person, actively try to discourage people from taking up musical instruments, on the grounds that they'll probably suck at it and be a disappointment to themselves and others. Happy for them to ignore me and either find out themselves or prove me wrong.

With people I actually know I'm a little more circumspect. I once tutored a group of three female work colleagues/friends who really thought they wanted to learn guitar. They called the facebook chat group Gearl Jam, which was pretty cute. Didn't last long - a couple of months max - because they didn't actually want to play guitar... they just thought they did, like most. It was fun though. Everyone enjoyed it.