more... Gear • Gear Blog • April 2013 • Guitars • Solidbody • Humbucker-equipped • Trash or Treasure • LP-Style • Solidbody • Hagstrom
With a design reminiscent of a Gibson LesPaul, the Swedish-made Hagstrom Super Swedewas introduced circa 1977 and had a productionrun of just about five years.
Locatedat the guitar’s output jack, the serial numberindicates that this particular Super Swede couldbe one of the last built in Älvdalen, Sweden.
Retro-Rama: 1973 Hagstrom Swede HAGSTROM WAS FOUNDED IN ALVDALEN, SWEDEN IN THE 1920S by 19-year-old Albin Hagstrom. The company initially specialized in making accordions, and business grew steadily through the ’30s and ’40s, despite the economic turmoil of World War II.
With a design reminiscent of a Gibson LesPaul, the Swedish-made Hagstrom Super Swedewas introduced circa 1977 and had a productionrun of just about five years.
Locatedat the guitar’s output jack, the serial numberindicates that this particular Super Swede couldbe one of the last built in Älvdalen, Sweden.
Hi Zach,
I own a vintage Hagstrom Super Swedewith a serial number of 53 078140.I’ve played and displayed this guitar inmy home ever since I bought it back inthe mid-’80s. I read that these modelswere available in mahogany and maple,and I think mine has a maple top, butI’m not sure. It has a beautiful sunburstfinish and I love this guitar—I’m justhoping to get more information on itand the company. There are sites forHagstrom information out there, butthe Super Swede is not mentioned asmuch as the company’s surf-style guitarsthat were produced earlier.
Thanks!
Leonard in Vancouver, BritishColumbia
I own a vintage Hagstrom Super Swedewith a serial number of 53 078140.I’ve played and displayed this guitar inmy home ever since I bought it back inthe mid-’80s. I read that these modelswere available in mahogany and maple,and I think mine has a maple top, butI’m not sure. It has a beautiful sunburstfinish and I love this guitar—I’m justhoping to get more information on itand the company. There are sites forHagstrom information out there, butthe Super Swede is not mentioned asmuch as the company’s surf-style guitarsthat were produced earlier.
Thanks!
Leonard in Vancouver, BritishColumbia
Hi Leonard,
Let’s begin with a little history. AlbinHagström of Älvdalen, Sweden, began hiscareer selling German accordions, foundingHagstrom in 1921 and incorporating in1926. By 1932, the company had establishedits own production facility, and in 1936, thefirst of many attempts to set up distributionin America with a sales office in New Yorkwas made. Because of World War II, however,a U.S. sales office wasn’t actually in placeuntil 1946, and it only lasted until 1949.Hagstrom began producing electric guitars in1958, and at first, these guitars were importedinto the U.S. by the Hershman MusicalInstrument Company in New York, andlabeled under the Goya brand name.
Let’s begin with a little history. AlbinHagström of Älvdalen, Sweden, began hiscareer selling German accordions, foundingHagstrom in 1921 and incorporating in1926. By 1932, the company had establishedits own production facility, and in 1936, thefirst of many attempts to set up distributionin America with a sales office in New Yorkwas made. Because of World War II, however,a U.S. sales office wasn’t actually in placeuntil 1946, and it only lasted until 1949.Hagstrom began producing electric guitars in1958, and at first, these guitars were importedinto the U.S. by the Hershman MusicalInstrument Company in New York, andlabeled under the Goya brand name.
Hagstrom-branded instruments startedappearing in the U.S. around 1962, with a fullyexpanded lineup of guitars and basses showingup by the mid-1960s. Initially, Hagstromguitars were visibly influenced by the pearloidfinish of the accordions the company producedfor so many years, but their guitars becamemore traditional-looking as time progressed. Agood example is the James D’Aquisto-designedHagstrom Jimmy, released in 1969.
With the introduction of their pioneering“H” Expander-Stretcher truss rod,Hagstrom was also known for innovation.This was further evidenced with the SwedePatch 2000—the first guitar with a built-insynthesizer—and the Hagstrom H8, an8-string bass with four sets of string pairs.
Unlike the many other guitar manufacturersthat moved production to Asia in the1970s, Hagstrom continued to produce theirguitars in Sweden. By 1983, however, theycould no longer compete with all the Asian-madeguitars on the market, so Hagstromexperimented with having a few prototypeinstruments built in Japan. The quality ofthe prototypes was not on par with theirSwedish-made counterparts, so instead ofcompromising the Hagstrom brand, thecompany discontinued guitar operationaltogether. Hagstrom continued to buildaccordions, and still does today. In 2005,the Hagstrom trademark for guitars wasrevived for a line of guitars built in China,styled mostly after the popular Hagstromsof the 1960s and 1970s. Today, Hagstromis distributed in the states by U.S. MusicCorporation in Buffalo Grove, Illinois.
The Les Paul-influenced Swede wasfirst introduced in 1970, while the higher-endSuper Swede (originally called theSwede DeLuxe) was introduced circa 1977.Hagstrom catalogs are quite vague regardingspecifications, but the main difference betweenthe two is that the Super Swede boasts a setneck, while the regular Swede has a bolt-on.Another difference between the two is that theSwede has two 3-way switches. Separated bythe neck and located in the upper bouts, oneis a traditional pickup switch while the otheris a 3-way tone switch. The Super Swede isabsent of this tone switch, but does have a coiltap mini-switch near the knobs. It also appearsthat the Super Swedes featured maple topsfor select finishes, including golden sunburst,wine red, and tobacco brown. Keep in mindthat there are a few different variations of theSwede and Super Swede with different bodysizes and pickups/electronics.
According to the serial number, your guitarwas the 140th guitar built from batch 078.The “53” appeared before all Hagstrom serialnumbers beginning in the early 1970s, simplyto help with bookkeeping. I found out thatbatch 076 was produced around 1980, so it’spossible that your Super Swede could be oneof the last produced in Älvdalen. Hagstrommanufactured a total of about 1,500 SuperSwedes before the company shut down.
Other nice features of your Super Swedeinclude the ebony fretboard with pearl-blockinlays and the pair of humbuckers with individualvolume and tone knobs. In excellentcondition, your Super Swede is worth between$1,400 and $1,750. According to sources,some Super Swedes were custom finished andhave become very collectible. Since the SuperSwede was only produced for about five years,it is certainly one of the more rare Hagstromguitars out there. Definitely a treasure!
Zachary R. Fjestadis author of Blue Book ofAcoustic Guitars, Blue Bookof Electric Guitars, and BlueBook of Guitar Amplifiers.For more information, visitbluebookinc.com or emailZach at [email protected].It's been a little while since the the last Ask Reverb post, but that doesn't the cool guitars have stopped rolling in. Today we're looking at a hot pink Kubicki bass, a '70s Hagstrom, and Giannini Craviola.
Got gear questions of your own? Send them over to Ask Reverb with pictures and we'll try to get them up in the next Ask Reverb post.
Hello,
I have a 1989 Fender Custom Shop Kubicki X-Factor in excellent condition. It is a 24 year old instrument with some normal fading of the maple neck and slight cracking in the paint. It's what I've been told is a rare Raspberry color (guess it doesn't matter if it's rare, you either like it or you don't). What's it worth? -- Kevin
Hi Kevin,
Thanks for sharing. As you may know the Kubicki Factor basses were originally built independently by Phil Kubicki, but a licensing agreement with Fender shifted production to the Custom Shop between 1988 and about 1992. Kubicki actually had an older relationship with Fender, having worked under Roger Rossmeisl in the Fender acoustic division in the '60s before starting his own shop.
Now there is definitely a wide price range for these resale, and you see them go from around $1700 to upwards of $2800 in really mint condition. Since yours is a rarer finish, I think a good asking price would be in the $2500 range. Sadly, Phil Kubicki passed away earlier this year, but that has sparked something of a growing interest in his work.
Hello
I was curious of the value of my Hag? I did some minor cosmetic mods to it but saved all original parts so one can bring it back to original. The condition of this instrument is good to very good. Purchased from the original owner. Thanks!
Hello,
Thanks for reaching out. Usually a '70s Swede will sell for around $800 to $1000 if it's in really great condition. Some minor mods will decrease the value a bit, but if its reversible, probably not too much. You might consider trying to revert the guitar back to its original specs prior to selling it. If you go that route, I'd recommend having it done by a pro and getting a setup while you're at it. That way you can throw a 'recently setup by a pro' in your listing.
Hello
I have a vintage Craviola that I am interested in getting a little more information about. Do you have any idea of what it is worth? I've seen them online for almost 2K. The inside of the guitar has Model Crav 6N. Tranquillo Giannini S.A. Made in Brazil-- Josh
Hi Josh,
Oh man, I've always wanted to play one of these! Usually you see older model Giannini's selling for just around $400 to $500. I really dig the multi-colored wood on the back of yours, which could increase your asking price a tad. I believe the higher-priced examples you have seen are more recent productions that other companies have put out. Given the model number on yours though, this is definitely from the '70s so will likely stick in the lower range.
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