Any experiences or opinions about the Hagstrom Viking?

AstonB

Hi.

I'm interested in a Hagstrom Viking II Ultralux. But it's difficult to find info about it, as it's an older model. Hagstrom normally has a good reputation from what I have read. But I'm not sure if this is mainly based on the newer models. Anybody with experience on this model? Thanks.

birtner

Gigged one for a few years back in the day. Slim neck, decent pick ups, looked cool and sustained for days. Needed a set up but was a decent guitar. 

AstonB

birtner said:

Gigged one for a few years back in the day. Slim neck, decent pick ups, looked cool and sustained for days. Needed a set up but was a decent guitar. 

Nice. Was it the Viking II or IIP? Was it your only Hagstrom Viking? Do you know how they compare to the newer Vikings in terms of build quality and finish?

OilCityPickups

I spend a lot of time in Finland ... and it's oddly enough a resting place for sooooo many old Hagstroms. At one point it was about the just about the only guitar brand you could get there ... and there were Hagstrom PAs and amplifiers too. Hagstrom build quality was, and maybe still is (I haven't tried new ones) right up there with the top US brands.
Weird looking mind :-)  

AstonB

OilCityPickups said:

I spend a lot of time in Finland ... and it's oddly enough a resting place for sooooo many old Hagstroms. At one point it was about the just about the only guitar brand you could get there ... and there were Hagstrom PAs and amplifiers too. Hagstrom build quality was, and maybe still is (I haven't tried new ones) right up there with the top US brands.
Weird looking mind :-)  

Oh yeah? Got any tips where to get used ones there then? Supply should be more available then. Do they have a main online market apart from ebay? Reverb is always overpriced no matter where.

Did you play them by the way? :-)

earwighoney

I've got an old HIIN which is in a wreck of a condition, needs a lot of work but when it was up and running it was a fun guitar.  

The old Swedish ones are superb guitars.  

Good luck to the OP, I hope you find a Viking. 

AstonB

earwighoney said:

I've got an old HIIN which is in a wreck of a condition, needs a lot of work but when it was up and running it was a fun guitar.  

The old Swedish ones are superb guitars.  

Good luck to the OP, I hope you find a Viking. 

How old is it?

About the old Swedish ones, you hear mixed opinions on that. Many say they were not very good and the new ones are way better built and improved in the tech.

AstonB

Been looking up and down and not much to be found. Not on youtube not on forums unfortunately. 

NelsonP

I had a Hagstrom viking justin york gold top. Fabulous looking thing with coil tappable pickups. The tone controls were wired to cut bass, rather than treble (this is specific to that model, regular vikings have regular tone controls I think).

Neck was modern feeling, relatively thin and flat. Board was composite but felt and looked great.

Pickups were paf style but had their own voice.

Overall I really liked it. It played beautifully and had some very cool and unusual bits like the tuners. The only thing I didn't like is that it suffered from neck dive, so eventually I sold it on.

AstonB

NelsonP said:

I had a Hagstrom viking justin york gold top. Fabulous looking thing with coil tappable pickups. The tone controls were wired to cut bass, rather than treble (this is specific to that model, regular vikings have regular tone controls I think).

Neck was modern feeling, relatively thin and flat. Board was composite but felt and looked great.

Pickups were paf style but had their own voice.

Overall I really liked it. It played beautifully and had some very cool and unusual bits like the tuners. The only thing I didn't like is that it suffered from neck dive, so eventually I sold it on.

Nice! Really stands out. How old was it? What do you think of the fit and finish plus build quality compared to other brands you have owned?

birtner

AstonB said:

birtner said:

Gigged one for a few years back in the day. Slim neck, decent pick ups, looked cool and sustained for days. Needed a set up but was a decent guitar. 

Nice. Was it the Viking II or IIP? Was it your only Hagstrom Viking? Do you know how they compare to the newer Vikings in terms of build quality and finish?

Hey, it was just a Viking )I didn’t even know there were version models) and was my only viking. I also had a swede which was really good too. One of the switches went on it but I was pretty hard on the thing. Good guitars but would need to be prepared to set it up. Not saying it would need a set up but like any guitar that price it can be a lottery if buying unseen. When I played that brand they were better than the epiphone equivalent by a mile but couldn’t speak of the quality today. I would imagine both brands have moved on 

NelsonP

AstonB said:

NelsonP said:

I had a Hagstrom viking justin york gold top. Fabulous looking thing with coil tappable pickups. The tone controls were wired to cut bass, rather than treble (this is specific to that model, regular vikings have regular tone controls I think).

Neck was modern feeling, relatively thin and flat. Board was composite but felt and looked great.

Pickups were paf style but had their own voice.

Overall I really liked it. It played beautifully and had some very cool and unusual bits like the tuners. The only thing I didn't like is that it suffered from neck dive, so eventually I sold it on.

Nice! Really stands out. How old was it? What do you think of the fit and finish plus build quality compared to other brands you have owned?

I bought it second hand but it was in as new condition. Quality very good, in line with other similarly priced guitars like my MIM tele deluxe. Think I paid around £500 for it.

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