# Has anyone played a 60s vintage Hagstrom guitar?



## Shoemark (Oct 5, 2010)

Hi guys, has anyone played a 60s Hagstrom guitar before? 

Need some help with understanding the electronics. It's got switches for tone, mute (which doesn't actually mute) L, M, H and an on-off switch. 

Pictures are here: http://bit.ly/aWXQ4X

Any ideas? Thanks.


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## Alex Csank (Jul 22, 2010)

Yes. I have a 1966 Hagstrom I. It has the same pick-ups and most of the electronics except it has only two pick-ups.

As I recall, the Hag III has a total of seven two-position switches and a volume knob.

1 'On/Off' switch for all electronics near the neck
3 'Pickup' switches (High, Middle, Low - one on/off switch for each pick-up)
1 'Tone' switch
1 'Mute' switch
1 'Top' switch










Obviously, the pick-up switches are simply to turn the pickups on or off. The tone switch does very little to change the tone (it seems common that there isn't much difference when switching this switch according to many Hag players. The mute switch should reduce the volume somewhat, but this switch (and others) often doesn't work because of a lack of use or overuse and may need repair (it's common). With The 'Top' switch on, the Hag III guitar seems to respond better in the upper range, so I would use it like a 'Rythm/ Lead' switch.

Have a read of these reviews: Reviews Hagstrom III

Here's a couple of good quotes from the reviews: 

"You can get a fair number of tones out of different pickup combinations, but really the best sound comes from the bass (neck) pickup along with either the mid or high (bridge) pickup. Other combinations are ok, but do less for me." 

"The pickups, despite appearances, use a single bar magnet, not individual poles (what look like individual poles are actually just little pieces of steel glued into the plastic pickup housing), and they are INCREDIBLY microphonic. We're talking being able to hear the leather in your strap creaking as you walk around. ANY noise your guitar is subjected to will be transmitted to the amp -- every bump, every squeak as the vibrato arm jiggles around (and it does - a lot), even the sound of the pickgaurd buzzing due to string vibration. If you're into that, cool, if not, steer way clear."

Good luck and have fun with that Hag!


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## Shoemark (Oct 5, 2010)

Hi alex, thanks so much for your post with awesome information. It has helped a lot and i have made further repairs to the guitar. It had a hairline crack along the neck to the head probably cos of the truss rod but I have glued it shut and sort of refinished it. 

U are right, some of the switches don't actually work so i cleaned them electronics up as well. Plays ok now, I actually like the tone when I push it hard thru my dr.z where it is on the edge of overdrive. It's beautiful. 

Thanks again; I'll try to post some pictures of the repaired guitar here later.


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## Alex Csank (Jul 22, 2010)

Glad I could help. These old Hagstrom solid-bodys have a very unusual, '60s 'grunge' sound, like the sound favored by Dave Davies (The Kinks) or bands like 'The Trogs', 'The Animals', or Randy Bachmann of 'The Guess Who' (as a few examples). Enjoy! I'll probably eventually add a Hagstrom II and a Hagstrom III to my little collection.


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## Shoemark (Oct 5, 2010)

Hi Alex, yes, 60's grunge sound it is! LOL! Apparently Hagstrom was ahead if it's time by 30 years when the first grunge bands appeared in Seattle! Check out the article here: A Relic Guitar - The Hagstrom III Story


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## big frank (Mar 5, 2006)

Hagstroms are excellent guitars.
I have a '66 or '67 Viking 1. The serial number is batch 695 and it spans both years; so it could be either.
Wonderful pickups; very P-90's.


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