The "it's a blablabla shaped neck" part resonated with me. I always thought I have to use D shaped Ibanez necks because I have small goblin hands. Turns out, I feel most comfortable on C shapes, even on 7 strings. Same with radiuses. "Oh metal needs wide radiuses". Turns out, again, my smaller hands feel more comfortable on a smaller radius. People really should be more open minded and try something before judging it
I appreciate that you're wearing your Ha! Ha! Hagström shirt for this. I bought a black Super Swede on Reverb a few years ago. It's the model with the three P90s and their "Tremar" system. I had never played one, and honestly mostly pulled the trigger because of its super cool looks. I don't think they make this model any longer. Anyway, it has become my main electric. Super reliable, intonation never a problem, great resonance, that Tremar thing works like butter. The switching system for the P90s is a little less than intuitive, but it sounds great in any position anyway.
Best advice I have heard in a long time: ignore the specs, ignore the headstock shape, the tailpiece, etc. Play it! If you like it, buy it. If not, move on. Enjoy guitars. Enjoy music. Enjoy life.
I love Hagstrom , great quality guitars , the Northern Series super swede and the Three Kings killer guitars . I love how it looks the bridge even knowing most people don't . The colour in this guitar is just beautiful .
One of my favorite backing tracks lately, Elevated is always on point. If I didn’t already have an Epi LP custom, I’d be looking at this closer…and the super Swede. Honestly didn’t know these even existed until a day or two ago.
Except USA, with actually creating the electric guitar, I believe that Sweden has done the most inovating things to electric guitars! Hagström and Strandberg guitars... A proud swede here! Pat Smears is to something here...
I really love the improvised parts. Including the "mistakes". Most of the time though, your playing is beautiful. I wish I could improvise and play like that.
LuL it even comes with a hard case. Interesting bridge, too. Kind of makes me think Hagstrom and the Taylor Electric builder were on different parts of the world wrapping their brains around the same nuance at the same time. Hagstrom just made my radar. Thanks, EytschPi42. Youre alright for such a naughty youtube shill!
I love the Swedes - I've had one of the first wave of reissues since 2008. It's been my main instrument since day one. I've played the new ones and am still on the fence about the neck, but wow what a well made guitar! That neck to body transition is indeed perfection!
I assumed that bashing the big G was Fricker's territory ? We should try to go more into real shops an checking guitars out instead of the random ordering and sending back culture. Great review as always Henning 👍
I have 12 Hagstroms....The Alvar is starting to be my fave. I have been playing them since 1983. Their necks are PERFECT and I live in Florida where the humidity makes 2x4s into boomerangs !!!
I own many Hagstroms and the Swede and Super Swede are Les Paul killers. They might be made in China, although one I own was made in Europe recently, the quality is amazing and they play amazing.
19:39 Thank you! I always chuckle when guitarists get obsessive about neck shapes. I'm not discounting that some necks might be super comfortable. But my double bass's neck is about 2" deep, front-to-back. Great video, and a fantastic sounding guitar!
I got my first Hagstrom Swede back around 1976. It was my first good guitar. They were handcrafted in Sweden at the time. They cost the same as a new Fender Strat at the time $350. I got mine used for $165! Played it for years until it was stolen. Finally replaced it about 10 years ago with a new Swede. It has a few different specs than the newest one you're playing in this video, but for the money I can't believe the tone, touch and overall quality. Got mine in black as a "second" (missing a screw on the truss rod cover)for under $400 w/ case made in Canada. Insane quality to price ratio!!!!
Got my first Hagstrom in 83 , its a 71 model Swede and gotit for 100 bucks. I still have it and the neck is as straight as the day I got it. The old boy is 54 years old !!!
@@RichardPribbernow The rail they use in place of a truss rod probably helped keep it straight. For a 100 bucks you got the deal of the century!!! Hope you get many more years of enjoyment from it! I sometimes wonder where my 1st Swede is... and who might be playing it? The new one is a great guitar for the money, but the old one being handmade in Sweden and all, well it had a special vibe. I've had a few guitars stolen from me... including a 1956 Gibson ES-225. What kind of person does it take to steal someone's personal instruments? Very sad indeed.
@@UnitedEffect I agree, How can a thief ever look at that guitar again with a clean conscience. Most likely sold to a pawn shop. Ive never had one stolen but it is a fear of mine. ...oh yeah that "h" beam is the key to the straightness. Keep strummin !!!
@@RichardPribbernow The Hagstrom Swede was and is a fine guitar. I found out after I bought my first one that one of my favourite guitarists, Larry Coryell, was endorsing and playing a Swede. Keep on pickin' and grinnin, Richard. Best regards from Canada, Glenn
Man, why is it always when I can't spare money for my hobbies when the cool gear comes out... I want this guitar badly, but home renovation budgeting is more important now. The ending bit about the neck is so true - I've had necks thin and thick, round and flat and I still love many of them for different reasons and styles. Don't limit yourself! :)
My first "serious" guitar was a Hagstrom Ultra Swede back in 2009, with some serious "black beauty" vibe. That guitar is still my go to main axe, both in looks and playability. It's neck has forever spoiled me for the classic fat baseball bats or Epis D shapes, since i learned on this insanely fast paperthin neck. I love this guitar to death and will never part with it, since it was 400-ish back then. Over the years there have been a bunch of Hagstroms, like the Dark king swede and super swede (500-600-ish back 5 years ago) which i will kick myself forever not having pulled the trigger on back when they were a thing.
Love, love, LOVE your advice to make decisions based on playing the guitar, rather than by looking at the specs! So refreshing to hear a reviewer say that-- thank you! The bridge, headstock, tuners... those are okay in my book, but the flame veneer is a pet peeve of mine; either use plain wood, or a flame top-- there's no need for a paper-thin piece of wood glued to the top (ugh!!). Thankfully I see that the Swede is offered in a gold-top finish-- hooray!! I am quite interested to see how the neck feels with the "H" shaped thing beneath the truss-rod, and the different fingerboard material. Looking forward to checking one out soon~
I fully agree with you, when you get over the quirky design, Hagstroms are awesome. I own a super swede and the longer scale makes it the perfect metal single cut. The H expander truss rod makes these guitars so stable.
I have the dark swede which was a limited edition. The edition has a Hagstrom 2 and 5. The 5 has medium output, the 2 (in the neck) a low output. Great sounding humbuckers and a great neck. The only disadvantage I can find is the lacquer that feels a bit thick and sticky but with some sand paper ...... great guitars! I keep on wondering why well known reviewers like Darell Braun don't review them.
Man, I wish Hagstrom did more with their basses. They used to have this great looking HB4, an SG type. And the Beluga! Those would be a must buy if they reissue them and are of the quality of this Swede.
Looking at this guitar in the video before the price was given... I thought this was a $3000+ guitar. I bought a Yamaha Revstar Standard which is of high quality at the same price point.
These guitar's are cheaper than Henning said in the review. At the moment on Thomanns site these are going for £833.00 including a decent hard case. It sounded great in the review and i quite like the slightly quirky look and the headstock is not a deal breaker for me. It's a really wel specced guitar with some good upgrades on the original design. It's a lot of guitar for a comparatively modest amount of money. A high end Epiphone goes for more than this. I know what route i would go Hagstrom Sweden via China.
I have an old Hagström Super Swede from 2008 which was around 500 €, and it’s the one guitar that always got trash-talked at rehearsals. Perhaps that was just because the pickups had a lower output than my other guitars, and louder often sounds seemingly better? I had it set to D standard, so now it has a dedicated purpose (=playing stuff that’s in style of Amorphis). I’m not sure I would play standard Les-Paul stuff on that Super Swede.
Thank you for your comments and suggestions, not only about this New Swede (that I own in Gold finish and love it) but especially on how to judge or choose a guitar! and b.t.w. I love the bla bla bla neck shape!!!
I got a Super Swede a year ago for 666€ and ohhh boy you are sooo right, it really feels like 2000€ or more. absolutely stunning guitar with a damn good Case
Oh no! Henning is now a Swedish shill.... 🤣 You know you are going to get some serious shit for supporting a guitar that produced ABBA! I bet they even paid you didn´t they! You know, for the immense time and effort that you put into producing an amazing video that we KNOW is an honest review! As always, thank you Henning, bum notes an all 🙂
I like everything about the look of the guitar except the bridge (not great, but not terrible) and the head stock- which in my opinion looks completely unbalanced compared to the body. It sounds great and appears to play great, but I cannot get past the head stock. I looked at their guitars a couple years ago and the look made me skip them entirely, which is a shame. It might work on some of their guitars quite well, but on more traditional shapes it looks completely out of place. If they had just repeated the top part of the head stock on the bottom I would find it a lot more palatable. Still, an excellent review of the instrument, though the Dire wolf you had at the end of the video worries me. Dire wolves eat guitarists.
I've got a Select Super Swede from around 2010. It's got a long scale length with a LP style body. Playability (neck and fretboard) is good and the finish looks nice but it has several issues: The bridge doesn't go far back enough for good intonation. The finish is breaking off at the neck near the headstock. It's got poor soldering, I had to redo everything. A main issue is the pickup selector switch. For my version it is located below the cutaway. That's a problem as you could accidentially switch it with your thigh when playing seated. Also it needs space so the cutaway is too small. So after it broke a few months ago (it refused to make proper contact) i replaced it with a closed (and cheap) Harley Benton switch which I could mount 90° rotated so that now my tigh can't switch anymore. Also, it's well balanced but it's heavy, too.
I own 2 used Hagstroms (Select Super Swede and Ultra Swede FR) and play them more and more. Just because of the pure sound and they really "feel good" with all the resonance reflecting to your body. I almost don't dare say it, but I now prefer the Hagstroms to my Music Man Majesty ...
I had a hagstrom super Swede for the longest time . Looks like they’ve improved the neck joint ! That was my only gripe with the guitar back in the day .
I love the innovation fot he individual strings at the tailpiece... Trouble is, the strings the cross the bridge, a once piece metal bridge? Doesnt that remove the whole idea of the tailpiece? I look forward to the Hagstrom individual string bridge! I am sure its on the way 🙂
I have an original 70s Swede the best guitar ever. For all the guitars I've owned over the years this is the only one I've kept never had issues with intonation, neck I just hope the new ones are as good as the original
I WANT to like this brand so much!!! I've had 2 Super Swedes in the past and I loved the way they looked. But there's something about the neck profile that just doesn't work for me. I think the frets were a little sharp as well - not a biggie but still - they both turned into wall hangers that I eventually ended up selling.
Yes that headstock would absolutely keep me from buying this guitar! It looks like a tumor grew on the guitar. Yes I'm one of those people.. Otherwise it looks great! As far as sound and build quality I trust HP ;)
I play a Swede at my music school, and yes, it's an awesome guitar, but is has 2 big issues: - the cutaway is very small! Even I with my small hands do have trouble in higher positions! - it doesn't sit well when you play it seated over a longer time. i get trouble with my back
@EytschPi42 what's the identity? Their identity is that they're doing their best impression of 1950s Gibson.... they're identity is based on their ability to impersonate someone else.... that's not an identity, that's attempting to take someone else's identity.
@@riffmondo9733 they could have been around since the 1950s.... doesn't make any difference whatsoever.... they're making a blatant knockoff of a Gibson Les Paul...
If they did it would not have a: stable neck, volute, smooth heel, composite fretboard, individual ankered strings, longer scale length, locking tuners and the body plus headstock would look way more like an LP. This is also the most traditional design they offer, they do build popular models with way more unique shapes too, but I assume that you don’t even care since your comments leave me to think that nothing but the big G is good enough, at least I’m spacious enough for thinking that is ok too.
I'm getting so bored with these guitars. I feel sorry for the reviewer trying his/her best to rev up some enthusiasm for locking tuners. Has it got a neck joint (valute) whatever that is. Stainless steel frets! Wow! How did Hendrix make it without split buckers? . Not a criticism of this guy trying his heart out to flog a few bits and pieces to make a living but surely it's all in the fingers. My mate Billy can strum, whistle and fart Down in the Tube Station at Midnight while plucking his nose hairs in a syncopated fashion. Am I impressed? Absolutely not. I've had a bad day. Goodnight. Guten nacht.
You’ve had a bad day and you gotta come here to bring others down? Why? How am I responsible for your bad day? Sorry you have one, but it wasn’t my fault.
Once in a while I dont sleep right or I have a terrible day, then post something shitty, also. It happens less and less, and I salute you for being aware of the defect on your journey to being better at life.
