Hagstrom Swede
- Thread starter SocialD
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OMG! I used to play one of those in the early 70's when I was a kid.... Belonged to the music store my dad worked at! Every guy who worked at the store and everyone who ever played it said it was better than a Les Paul! That thing played smooth as butter... one of the finest guitars I've ever played! I'd take that guitar over any Les Paul anyday! Was built better too... But extremely heavy
The new Chinese/Korean guitars have many things in common that set them apart (and generally below) an American made guitar. Usually the pickups sound pretty great these days but the rest of the wiring harness is cheap. Count on the pickup selector switch and the output jack failing in 6-9 months, with the pots (those that get used anyway) right behind. All this stuff is easy and fairly cheap to replace. The necks I have worked on have much softer fretwire than that on a Gibson/Fender. It does take a while to wear out a set of frets but you will go through these faster. Frets can be replaced but not so easy or inexpensive. I have seen a few truss rod failures, could be caused by inferior metal. Make no mistake, these guitars are built to a price point. For a player, I would rather pay just a bit more and get a used Les Paul Studio from the 80/90s. Get one with an ebony finger board and except for the better headstock angle, more fretboard real estate (no binding) and lack of ginger bread - you are playing a Les Paul Custom. Now the original Swedish made Hagstroms are another story. Those are top quality guitars but good luck finding an original Swede for $500. Just my 2 cents!
