Hagstrom Viking Video Review

[Robert]

I'm digging this guitar a lot!

Here I used a Marshall JVM410H through an Avatar 2x12 cab with Eminence Wizard speakers. Miced with an SM-57 into a GAP Pre-73 into an Apogee Duet.

Featured here is also my latest and shortest hairdo. :bootyshake

 

[Commodore 64]

Hairdo kicks ***.

Oh and the guitar is ok as well.

 

[Tone2TheBone]

That's a wicked guitar when did you get that?

 

[Robert]

Thanks, I bought it on Friday.

 

[Tone2TheBone]

Does it have a poly finish or nitro? The fretboard looks ebony...is it rosewood?

 

[Tig]

Wow, great demo and playing!
I really like the range of styles and tones this guitar is capable of.

The haircut is good on you. Nice and simple, no fuss, too.

"Keep your sword greased"? I'll leave that one alone!!!

 

[Robert]

The resinator fretboard is an extraordinary, homogeneous wood composite that maintains a strong fundamental harmonic and eliminates wolf tones. It offers the articulate sound of high-quality ebony but with more consistency and durability. Silky smooth, reliable, and fast.

The Viking's high-grade polyester finish is hard, smooth, and more dense than polyurethane, so its guaranteed to look great and provide excellent protection and sonic performance.

Specifications:
[ Body ] Contoured Laminate Maple Body
[ Neck ] North American Hard Maple Set Neck
[ Fingerboard ] Resinator Fretboard with Hagstrom 6mm Dot Position Marks
[ Truss Rod ] H-Expander Truss Rod
[ Tuning Keys ] Hagstrom 18:1 Die Cast Tuners
[ Scale Length ] 24.75” Scale
[ Pickups ] 2x Hagstrom HJ-50 Humbuckers
[ Selector ] 3-Way Toggle
[ Bridge ] Long Travel Tune-O-Matic with Hagstrom Trapeze Tail Piece
[ Controls ] 2x Volume / 2x Tone

 

[Heywood Jablomie]

Very nice. Robert, how many guitar do you have?

 

[Robert]

I have to go home and count... I don't know how many I have!

 

[Eric]

Cool.

So I must ask: what do you actually play the most these days? Suhr? Swede? Viking? Which do you practice on? What's your gig setup, including amps and pedals?

 

[sunvalleylaw]

Nice Demo and vid review Robert! I am glad you are liking it, and really glad to hear the tones you are coaxing out of your new Vik! :happy :applause :AOK

 

[M29]

Nice demo, the Hag sounds great!

Is that a no.2 or a no.1 hairdo? Looks good on ya. I get a no.2 but have been wanting to go with a 1.

M

 

[Robert]

I cut my hair shorter this time. Just used the electric razor on 12mm or something.

I play my Suhr the most, because it's my best guitar. I practice and gig with it too. I also play the Swede quite a bit. It works very well for my new rock band I'm in. Fat distorted tones....

I use either the Spider Valve MKII for gigs, or my Marshall or my Mack amps. Sometimes I use more than one amp at a gig.

For pedals, it changes constantly. I'm always experimenting.

 

[marnold]

"Keep your sword greased"? I'll leave that one alone!!!

I'm officially terrified now.

 

[SuperSwede]

Best video yet! Love that sound too But its still Hagström with a Ö in my book :R

 

[MAXIFUNK]

HAG GAS ABOUNDS Thanks Robert!!! LOL

Nice Axe it is now added to my very short list of must haves!!:applause

 

[Eric]

I play my Suhr the most, because it's my best guitar. I practice and gig with it too. I also play the Swede quite a bit. It works very well for my new rock band I'm in. Fat distorted tones....

I use either the Spider Valve MKII for gigs, or my Marshall or my Mack amps. Sometimes I use more than one amp at a gig.

For pedals, it changes constantly. I'm always experimenting.

Interesting. That's too many variables for my brain to handle sometimes.

 

[Bluenote]

Great demo, nice guitar. Thanks for posting the review.

 

[tjcurtin1]

Sounding great, as ever, Robert - don't know how you can have such an easy familiarity with so many different styles of playing... Interesting to consider how raunchy this style of guitar can sound when it's usually classified as a jazzer...

By the way, shouldn't that be "Keep your AXE greased"? I know them Vikings used axes as much as swords oke

 

[Katastrophe]

Sounds great, Robert! I was impressed with the versatiliity of the instrument.

Two things:

1. The neck pup sounds killer to my ears.
2. The raunchier tones were amazing as well.

 

[tjcurtin1]

I almost forgot - I vote for hearing you do more blues with that beauty....!

 

[Robert]

Thanks everyone. I am still getting to know it, but my instincts and evaluation tells me this is one of the best Chinese made instruments I have ever played. Impressive.

Sure Ted - keep your axe greased!

More blues will come with this axe.

 

[Monkus]

Awesome...thanks for the GAS Robert!!!

 

[sunvalleylaw]

Thanks everyone. I am still getting to know it, but my instincts and evaluation tells me this is one of the best Chinese made instruments I have ever played. Impressive.

Sure Ted - keep your axe greased!

More blues will come with this axe.

Not that I have your experience with as many instruments, but I agree Robert! I am heartened to find that my impressions I put down a while back are borne out by your experience as well. I love mine.

I look forward to more blues on it from you, but hopefully also with some good jazz influences, and also some straight up jazzy stuff as well. I love to work out jazz voiced chord on this rig. It is so easy to play.

 

[riverrick]

Great looking guitar Robert. And the tone is excelent as well. I've been looking at them online. They seem to be a really well made......but why so inexpensive??? I see that they are MIC....that was a surprise thought for sure they were a Swedish axe. I think I feel some GAS coming on. Better cool my jets.....my wife would kill me!!! Better wait awhile since I just bought one last month (a Gretsch).

 

[Robert]

There is so much cheap but good stuff made in China these days. Don't let Chinese-made fool you! A lot of their factories are nowadays quite top notch.

 

[mapka]

I just wanted to add my 2 cents here. I own a Hagstrom Swede. Yes, I would have rather it been built in Sweden but can find no fault on this MIC axe. I have let people who are use to playing LP's play it and they are impressed by the tone and feel. The finish is perfect and the only quality issue I could find is that the switches are rather cheap. The only change I made to mine is to add some black speed knobs. The guitar is white so the new knobs not only add function but IMHO also look nicer

 

[progrmr]

GREAT tone and playing

 

[pedalbuilder]

Nice video, nice guitar, great playing!

Hey - I wondered if you had tried or considered the Viking Deluxe? If so, was there any difference at all, or is it purely a cosmetic thing with the Deluxe?

 

[sunvalleylaw]

Hi Robert! I heard on FB that you swapped your humbucker pickups in your Swede. It made me curious about your Viking. do you still have it and is it still stock? Once in a while I think about swapping out pickups in my Viking, but have never done so. I think the only real goal there would be a bit more clarity and definition. But then I play it again and it seems fine. Thoughts?