# Info on Hagstrom Ultra Swede pickups



## mikedem (Feb 3, 2008)

Hi, 
I have a Hagstrom Ultra Swede that I just traded for and the original owner swapped out the original pickups/pots/caps for an EMG 85 in the Bridge and a coil tapped EMG 81TW in the neck. I'm not crazy about the EMG sound and was wondering if anyone knew the specs (k) on the pickups that came stock on these. I'd like to get the closest I can. 
Thanks


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## J S Moore (Feb 18, 2006)

They came stock with the Custom 58 pickups. Alnico 5. I couldn't find any specs on them but the general opinion is they are fairly hot pickups. It seems to be split pretty evenly between those who like them and those who don't.

I would bet the electronics were changed as well with the pickups. I think EMG's use pretty low value pots.


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## Phlegethon (Dec 18, 2009)

EMG's use 25k pots . . . they're much lower in value than the 250k/500k used for passive singles/humbuckers . . .they need those low value pots to work properly. IIRC, using high value pots basically kills the pot's ability to work as a volume/tone control and it ends up working more like an on/off switch. would be rather annoying to say the least, especially if you use your volume/tone controls in any way


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## J S Moore (Feb 18, 2006)

25k, that's what the value was. I couldn't remember but I knew it was low.


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## Fader (Mar 10, 2009)

I opened up my Ultra Swede and had a peek.

They use 500 K pots that are only about 20 mm in diameter. There's not too much clearance around the volume pot, but you might make a PEC fit if you're handy with a Dremel.

I measured the P/Us. Maybe Jon can verify if this sounds about right.

Bridge - 127k split - 63k

Neck - 74k split - 37k


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## J S Moore (Feb 18, 2006)

I would say that's probably 12.7k for the bridge and 7.4k for the neck.


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## Fader (Mar 10, 2009)

I'm thinking about swapping out these pickups.

Would there be something you could recommend for this Jon?


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## J S Moore (Feb 18, 2006)

That would depend on what you were looking for tone wise out of the guitar.

The existing bridge pickup has about 20% more output than a standard humbucker. It takes about 12,000 winds of 43 gauge for that resistance as opposed to 10,000 winds as standard output. That gives you a starting point on where to go. If you want more top end than go with lower output. If the guitar has a good sound acoustically and you don't play with a lot of gain than you could try un-potted as well.


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## Fader (Mar 10, 2009)

The guitar does sound good acoustically and I only use moderate gain most of the time.

I looking for more warmth and clarity. These P/Us are just a tad too hot for my liking.


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## J S Moore (Feb 18, 2006)

Medium output with Alnico 2. I like to do a coil mis-match for clarity. The most popular output is 7.4-6k for the neck and about 8.3k for the bridge. That gives a nice balance between the positions as well.


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## Fader (Mar 10, 2009)

E-mail sent to [email protected] .


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## mikedem (Feb 3, 2008)

Hey , just got back. Thanks for all the info. Yeah , the pots are 25K for the EMGS an I'm not sure what the tone caps are but I planned on changing them as well. I really appreciate you metering your pickups , that info is not easily found. The only EMG I like the sound of in this guitar is the neck one when it's split , really nice single coil sound. I would have never guessed they used such a big difference in values from bridge to neck though.


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## Fader (Mar 10, 2009)

They are surprisingly good guitars for the money and play well if you like a thin neck. 

I wanted to have a look at the innards for myself just out of curiosity. It's not a quality soldering job. It looks like they must have ten year-olds on the production line.

Jon is winding a couple humbuckers for me, so I'm looking forward to their arrival.


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## Fader (Mar 10, 2009)

I am totally blown away by how much better the Ultra Swede sounds with the V-59s. I am so very pleased.


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## Duster (Dec 28, 2007)

I have a lefty Swede, and I'm thinking about getting way over my head into the electronics.

The guitar is great, sounds good, plays well, etc. But the electronics leave a lot to be desired. Mine has a scratchy switch, and one switch (the Hagstrom "tone filter"), that doesn't work at all. What's more, being a lefty, the tone and volume pots are backwards, and don't do much - they're basically "on-off" switches. And the input jack keeps falling loose, and has fallen into the cavity twice.

That being said, I think the pickups sound pretty good. I don't think I'd want to change them.

What I'm considering doing is, first and most simply, fixing the input jack so that it doesn't come loose any more. Next I'd like to replace the tone and volume pots to reverse-taper ones that will actually work for a lefty. Finally, and most ambitious, I'd like to turn the "tone filter" switch into a coil split switch.

Too ambitious? Keep in mind I've never used a soldering iron. Expect to see me in this forum asking lots of questions. By the way, where do I get a good soldering iron suitable for guitar work?

--- D


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