Hagstrom Guitars Hagström Gitar |
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Visit to Frankfurt - Music Messe April 2005
I got my photos first, only to realise the guy clicking away
with his camera next to me was a familiar face, non other than Lynn Martin of
AM&S. So that was a good start. A shake of hands and a long overdue conversation
followed, while edging closer to the guitars on show. I have to say the examples on show were appealing at first sight. Comparing the myriad of guitar trade stands around the show emanating from Far-Eastern manufacturers was easy. Most of the others had good looking guitars on show, no-one knows what they sounded like, or how they would last, and they seemed to be faceless examples of what can be done with the right templates, nothing more. Looking at the Hagstroms, there was a definite attempt at superiority by the way they were presented, despite basically being just another Chinese copy. They are not good examples of the original form though, so they are without doubt sincerely... cheap. Careful and quality representations of what can be achieved in a first run of batches would have been better, but now the mesh all round the stand was a way of hiding something fairly basic. So criticise if you will, but considering this original run of instruments, all the time it has taken, this should have been a welcome return, instead we almost have a wasted opportunity. By ignoring anything slightly difficult, and having taken so long to get this far, how can you ever make use of the heritage and the origins they aspire to? I desperately wanted to be excited, but instead I only thought it could be a business opportunity only. Forget that too I suspect, you'd have to be part of the global club to even get a sniff at that... Far from being content with this achievement, this is just the start. The reason there are so few guitars available for sale yet, is because of constant 'revision and improvement' to models taking place. It had taken ages to come up with these examples, and although the LP models look OK, you couldn't try one even if you wanted to. David Lee is a worthy engineer and luthier for this project. Spending 50% his life to-ing and fro-ing between the manufacturer, his home country and other countries, making sure that every tweak and adjustment is fully understood. He assures us that if you like what you see, there is much more to come in the future. Lets hope they get it right for a real launch!
Following Music Messe,
The other remaining concession is the zero fret
on the SuperSwede. Given the level of discussion on this single point, there had
to be a very good case not to reintroduce it. Having climbed the hill and come
down Having explained the clarity of modern composite nut material compared to the original plastic used in the seventies, and having accepted that zero frets can also wear down to give a less than crisp starting point, all that discussion surrounding sustain, clarity and purity starts to look a little over the top? All you have left is the look, without one of the endearing features! OK, it doesn't need to be there these days "with the change to composite nut materials", but then why call it a Hagstrom SuperSwede? The things such as scale length, coil tapping, tone toggle switches on Swedes (but not the Vikings), and the Hagstrom Crest logo on chrome tails have come back in a modified form. The logo says "Sweden Design" or some similar poor grammar, the inspiration is being taken too lightly. I haven't been more inspired since I bought my first Hagstrom guitar, in 1974, then my second then my third, etc., These new models are not Hagstroms at all really. They are photo finished standard models with the brand slapped on them. "A few tweaks here and there and hopefully we'll sell a few more than the other cheapo's". If the new company had achieved only part of what they set out to do, then you'd find these guitars being best sellers in Sweden as well as every other country - even if the buyer has no thought of heritage. These guitars will not do much for the player because they are not only cheap copies, they are just a business opportunity. Hey, what was the cry from people when Hagstrom showed them off in Sweden. Nothing... nobody took much notice at all. They've got real Hagstrom guitars still and they'll go on being worth playing long after these ones have returned to dust. Please try to do it properly; you have the cheapest labour in the world at your disposal, the keenest people to please, and probably enough money to do the job properly. Will it ever happen though? There, - attack me if you will... nothing in life is perfect, but some things at least try. The design of the coil tap switch on the SuperSwede looks really cheap, and I remember having to convince David Lee that it was relevant right at the start of the project. As for other aspects it seems that if they can't get the Hagström look, then they've just copied a Gibson Les Paul look instead (gold translucent dials white pickguards and pu surrounds) no-one will worry eh, its just business, and what has that got to do with music? The sound of the original pickups is being investigated apparently. The Concord Bass pickups may reappear looking exactly right with those figured square poles, and criss-cross pattern, and I might win a million pounds in the lottery. So believe me, every detail is being assessed, then copied as cheaply as modern technology will do it. If it won't do it then don't worry about it and just slap the logo on it. Someone will buy one... for about $250... How about that for reversing all the cult status it took years and years to appreciate... from a real Hagström! So, following my time at the stand, and after my meeting with David Lee ended, I felt no real anticipation, as we in the UK still have to wait for production to get up-to-speed, lets hope someone doesn't shove them between the pages of a bargain catalogue, or list them endlessly on eBay where they get ignored even more. There is no way we'll get the opportunity to get these instruments until Tricor is really ready to try and take your money with a half hearted "They're Here, Be Inspired" hmmm... maybe... maybe not. If you just want to make some money, then fine - so long as you're the guy selling them - that's business. They'll never be collectable even if they sound half reasonable! Shove it through plenty of effects units then it doesn't matter - it could be anything out of China really - it is after all difficult to make a bad guitar these days... unless you make a custom one. Just like these examples, you might get away with it... Boy did I want to love these guitars, what a waste eh?
I'm a regular at the Marshall stand when it comes to these events. Well you've got to get your Jimi poster signed by "Dr Jim" haven't you! I might add that we had more adventures along the way in our two-day visit to Frankfurt, not least me having my "Marshall Amplifiers" Zippo lighter confiscated by airport security control. The guard took pity on me in the end, and decided he could take all the wadding out, the wick out, and hand me back the shell. With a rare smile he said "Nice music from Marshalls". Maybe one day he'll say the same after an original old
Hagström Zippo has
been confiscated! :-) Dream On...
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| There's nothing like a REAL original Swedish made Hagstrom (and there are loads around), but if it 'floats your boat', or you can't find an original then who are we to say? | |
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Plenty has been said already and |
Well, you
deserve something about music if you've made it this far, so I shall try not to
disappoint you in this final section. The thought of dodging any accessory
manufacturers, and infiltrating past the mesh of that Hagstrom stand would be no
problem today, although I did wonder how presentable I would be once I'd made it
there to sit and chat with David Lee.
The level of
detail, question and clarification that still continues will only bear fruits
for the sceptics they way it is going. I hear from people that the F200 is a great guitar if
you have an open mind, but it isn't a Hagström at all. More importantly I hear that there will be accurate
revivals of models never thought possible... plug in PU units, slide switches,
do they mean anything to you? Well, stay with us for more on the next episode IF
it ever unfolds. Meantime go get yourself a real Hagstrom, it will still outlive
these, and won't cost much different to these anyway!
David
Lee and key people from the company flew to Älvdalen to meet local craftsmen who
built the original instruments back in the fifties, sixties, seventies and
eighties. They took new guitars with them for critique, advice and assessment.
Also a special one for presentation. They came away with minute details of
angles of strings and why. How the construction of certain parts was achieved,
details on bridges and other parts used on models - so as to recreate them
faithfully to the last detail in the future batches. We will see... 
the other side with the
questions surrounding what Diamondwood is (actually extremely close grained, and
ebony-like, and in no-way a compromise... according to the Tricor company that
owns the brand). Hmmm so why doesn't everyone use this stuff too? So
apparently there is good reason to alter some aspects in the
current range. So a SuperSwede without a zero fret is just a Swede eh, so it is
cheaper to ignore the defining features if they are slightly difficult?
Certainly the body is the same as the SuperSwede, no sharp lower horn to define
it clearly either. Obviously another cost cutting move.
