Hey, Robert! Got me one of those Swedish gee-tarz!

[duhvoodooman***]

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/miscella...ra-swede/12856

Pix:

[sunvalleylaw]

Congrats! I have enjoyed my Viking quite well! Mine ended up with sharp fret ends, which we fixed, and I had a jack issue when the nut holding the input jack came off and I had to fish it back out of there and re-secure it. But other than that, I have loved it! Once in a while I think about replacing the pickups, as the stock ones can seem a little dark. But they also really Rock! so I never do. Enjoy your Swede!

[piebaldpython***]

Nice score DVM. I love the color of the body. Oh no.......what goes out the door? lol

[duhvoodooman***]

Nice score DVM. I love the color of the body. Oh no.......what goes out the door? lol

Nuthin' else! It's part of the Vox AC15 divestiture plan!

[Robert****]

Nice! I haven't tried one of those, but I'm still rocking a Swede and Viking. It seems all their guitars are of nice quality for the price.

Now if I could find a vintage Viking, that would be something... my friend in Sweden has one and it's so nice.

[Hampus]

Congratulations! That is a beauty. I really liked my Viking.

Speaking of vintage Hagstroms there was one a few days ago on our version of CL. A Hagstrom Kent II from 1965 or 66 at an unbeleivable price, about 1/3 of what they normally sell for, 2500 swedish pesetas which is around $300. I figured the guy didn't know what he had. Turned out he had been swamped by calls and e-mails so I made him an offer but it just took off and he soon got a better one. Too bad.

Skickat från min SM-G900F via Tapatalk

[sunvalleylaw]

Congratulations! That is a beauty. I really liked my Viking.

Speaking of vintage Hagstroms there was one a few days ago on our version of CL. A Hagstrom Kent II from 1965 or 66 at an unbeleivable price, about 1/3 of what they normally sell for, 2500 swedish pesetas which is around $300. I figured the guy didn't know what he had. Turned out he had been swamped by calls and e-mails so I made him an offer but it just took off and he soon got a better one. Too bad.

Skickat från min SM-G900F via Tapatalk

Ah. Almost a really good find. An really nice old Hagstrom, or an old Guild Starfire, would be my most likely choices for a vintage guitar. Sorry, DVM, to be off topic. Let's see, back on topic. Oh yeah, Clips or it didn't happen!! Give us clips!

[marnold***]

All you need is some meatballs and lingonberries and you're all set!

Sent from my XT1049 using Tapatalk

[Hampus]

All you need is some meatballs and lingonberries and you're all set!

Sent from my XT1049 using Tapatalk

Just go to the nearest swedish furniture store, you know which one, and you can have a fill of meatballs, Kalles Kaviar and salt licorice.

Skickat från min SM-G900F via Tapatalk

[duhvoodooman***]

I decided pretty quickly that I didn't like look of the open, black pickups on this guitar--too much black in the middle of the body, plus the open pickups looked too "busy" to me along with the quilted maple cap on the body. So I added some chrome pickup covers and I like the look much better now:

[tjcurtin1]

Agreed - huge improvement in looks.

[Robert****]

Yep, it gets my Swedish Nod of Approval.