duhvoodooman
February 5th, 2016, 12:46 PM
Saw this on my local CL and had to grab it! It's a 2009 Hagstrom "Select" Ultra Swede in excellent shape. I'd heard & read good things about these modestly priced designed-in-Sweden, made-in-China instruments, and they have a lot of very cool & unique features:
Basswood Body with Flame Maple Top (Quilted Maple on this "Select" model)
UltraLux Maple Set Neck
Resinator Fretboard with Abalone and Pearl Shell Inlays
H-Expander Truss Rod
Hagstrom 15:1 Die Cast Tuners
24.75" Scale, 14" radius
2x Hagstrom Custom '58 Humbuckers
3-Way Toggle
Long Travel Tune-o-matic style bridge with Hagstrom stop tailpiece and 6 individual brass string blocks
1x Volume / 1x Tone / Mini-Toggle Coil Tap Switch
The body shape is a modernized take on the classic LP shape. The neck is thin and VERY fast--the fretboard is a wood-resin composite material that is hard and slick. It plays extremely easily. The basswood body is light and very resonant, and those brass string blocks (see the Hagstrom stock photo below) seem to contribute to the acoustic liveliness of the guitar, which is evident as soon as you strum it. The quilted top is certainly eye-catching, and it's a nice looking instrument overall, with excellent workmanship. Even the binding--blond flamed maple--is unusually nice looking.
The guitar was set up very nicely--buzz-free, nice medium-low action and good intonation--and after putting on a fresh set of 10's, it was ready to rock.
So it looks great and plays well, but how does it sound? I was kind of expecting a let-down here, but it didn't happen. The humbuckers are clear and ballsy, and sound particularly good with distortion. And the coil split produces a very bright, distinctive single-coil sound. I measured DC resistance at about 9.0K on the bridge pickup, and 8.0K at the neck. The controls have a nice, solid feel, with no pops or scratchiness.
And to top off all that goodness, all the guy wanted was $220 for the guitar and another $30 for a really nice Hagstrom HSC! :shock: Not bad for a guitar that sells new for ~$450 and another $110 for the case! I would match this guitar up against pretty much anything in the sub-$1000 range....and I've seen more than a few guitars above that price that would have their butts kicked by this little beauty!
Here's a short review of the Ultra Swede on the Guitar Play mag website--they liked it, too: http://www.guitarplayer.com/miscellaneous/1139/hagstrom-ultra-swede/12856
Pix:
http://www.duhvoodooman.com/miscimages/musical/hagstrom/ultraswede_full.jpg http://www.duhvoodooman.com/miscimages/musical/hagstrom/ultraswede_body.jpg http://www.duhvoodooman.com/miscimages/musical/hagstrom/ultraswede_fretboard.jpg
http://www.duhvoodooman.com/miscimages/musical/hagstrom/ultraswede_headstock.jpg http://www.duhvoodooman.com/miscimages/musical/hagstrom/ultraswede_binding.jpg
http://www.hagstrom.org.uk/images/DC/Swede/Dcswede7.jpg
Basswood Body with Flame Maple Top (Quilted Maple on this "Select" model)
UltraLux Maple Set Neck
Resinator Fretboard with Abalone and Pearl Shell Inlays
H-Expander Truss Rod
Hagstrom 15:1 Die Cast Tuners
24.75" Scale, 14" radius
2x Hagstrom Custom '58 Humbuckers
3-Way Toggle
Long Travel Tune-o-matic style bridge with Hagstrom stop tailpiece and 6 individual brass string blocks
1x Volume / 1x Tone / Mini-Toggle Coil Tap Switch
The body shape is a modernized take on the classic LP shape. The neck is thin and VERY fast--the fretboard is a wood-resin composite material that is hard and slick. It plays extremely easily. The basswood body is light and very resonant, and those brass string blocks (see the Hagstrom stock photo below) seem to contribute to the acoustic liveliness of the guitar, which is evident as soon as you strum it. The quilted top is certainly eye-catching, and it's a nice looking instrument overall, with excellent workmanship. Even the binding--blond flamed maple--is unusually nice looking.
The guitar was set up very nicely--buzz-free, nice medium-low action and good intonation--and after putting on a fresh set of 10's, it was ready to rock.
So it looks great and plays well, but how does it sound? I was kind of expecting a let-down here, but it didn't happen. The humbuckers are clear and ballsy, and sound particularly good with distortion. And the coil split produces a very bright, distinctive single-coil sound. I measured DC resistance at about 9.0K on the bridge pickup, and 8.0K at the neck. The controls have a nice, solid feel, with no pops or scratchiness.
And to top off all that goodness, all the guy wanted was $220 for the guitar and another $30 for a really nice Hagstrom HSC! :shock: Not bad for a guitar that sells new for ~$450 and another $110 for the case! I would match this guitar up against pretty much anything in the sub-$1000 range....and I've seen more than a few guitars above that price that would have their butts kicked by this little beauty!
Here's a short review of the Ultra Swede on the Guitar Play mag website--they liked it, too: http://www.guitarplayer.com/miscellaneous/1139/hagstrom-ultra-swede/12856
Pix:
http://www.duhvoodooman.com/miscimages/musical/hagstrom/ultraswede_full.jpg http://www.duhvoodooman.com/miscimages/musical/hagstrom/ultraswede_body.jpg http://www.duhvoodooman.com/miscimages/musical/hagstrom/ultraswede_fretboard.jpg
http://www.duhvoodooman.com/miscimages/musical/hagstrom/ultraswede_headstock.jpg http://www.duhvoodooman.com/miscimages/musical/hagstrom/ultraswede_binding.jpg
http://www.hagstrom.org.uk/images/DC/Swede/Dcswede7.jpg