Hagstrom Bass Guitars

(Special Bass Pages:   Manfred Graeder   Jon Casselman ) See the other Hagstrom UK Visitors Pages

March 04: Sven Bornemark plays the H8 for us, (mp3 format) - External link to the drum system used
Play it again Sven Credits: Bass recorded in a hurry by Sven Bornemark. Drums by Groove Agent.

NOW SEE THIS LINK - THE SECTION IS FINALLY BEING SPLIT INTO SEPARATE PAGES
(new contributors pictures will be on dedicated pages)

Well here's a favourite from the Hagstrom Bass Camp - Coronado IV:

Thanks Peter (- and Manfred!)

Well Tony from OZ is Gonna be stoking the Bar-HIIBN now!

Hello, Before I sell my beautiful bass - here are the photos of a fantastic Hagstrom HIIBN
from Australia. Its history - I played it in a band in Brisbane Australia.
Now in Sydney, Australia and its up for sale, sadly. Here are the pics for your general pleasure:
Be stoked if they made it onto your site. Tony, Sydney, Australia

In the UK we have a saying, you can wait for hours for a bus,
 - then two come along together...

Back in June 03 Bruce from Ottowa (further up this page) sent pictures of his HIIBN with a mute device.

Asking around at the time to various people... I received a resounding SILENCE. It looked original and quite a useable device, but no records to back it up.

Then within the last month we have had Manfred Graeder's example - with exploded views of the device itself and then Lionel Rochette brings us another! Amazing...

Hi! I found the link to your site through MusicPlayer.com - the LowDown section. I'm happy to contribute to your picture "collection" of Hagstrom axes. I bought this one (s/n 769161) used in 1970 for almost nothing and played with it up to december 2002.

It has the damper at the bridge like Bruce's (from Ottawa) but I removed it many years ago (although I still have it stored somewhere)... I bought myself a five stringer a year ago but still carry my Hag around as a backup to every gig and still play it from time to time.

Having been on the road for that long, I must say it is in pretty good shape. I took a few quick shots a few minutes ago but must admit I didn't take the time to clean it up and everything.

If the shots are not good enough and/or if you want more, drop me an eMail, I'll re-shoot the beast with more care.

Lionel ...forgot to tell, I live in Québec City, Quebec, Canada. Lionel

No problem with your pictures Lionel -
it's a player and you can tell it's been looked after
- finger-marks just prove it's still used!

Yes it does look in really great condition.

As I always say to contributors (and mean it) - Thanks for taking the time - it's appreciated!

Now another from the eclectic side of the family above, the inimitable H8 - and what a perfect example!
Courtesy of a friend of Sven Bornemark...
 

Manfred Graeder answers a many time question regarding the H8 - "what are the string gauges?"
Here's the answer:
E low = .095 E high = .055 A low = .070 A high = .040 D low = .055 D high = .025 G low = .040 G high = .015
Thanks Manfred, now go see his pages...

Also...

Saved from the Dustbin (UK) Trash or Garbage Can (USA) Sop|tunna (Swedish... I think!)

Hello David,

I was wondering if you could possibly help me. I got your email address from the Hagstrom USA site. I noticed that you were able to date Hagstrom instruments.
 

My wife came home with a Hagstrom bass today. (It was thrown in the trash by one of my neighbors who recently began renting and was doing house cleaning)
 

 It seems to be an old bass, but is in very good condition. It has 4 switches (L, H, TONE, MUTE) and one volume knob. It has two pickups. The serial # is 619037.

I play bass, but am totally unfamiliar with Hagstrom instruments. I would appreciate any help you can give me.

Thank You. Cheers, Joe McKasty

Well, apart from tuners, it's a later
Futurama model -
waiting to evolve into the HIIB!

Saturday, November 15, 2003 2:20 AM

To: David Cox at Home

Subject: Re: Hagstrom bass

Hello David, I can't thank you enough for taking the time to educate me regarding the evolution of the Hagstrom solidbody electric bass........

I don't believe I could have received this insightful information, in the manner that you communicated it, anywhere else. I certainly have a better understanding of my new bass, "rescued" from bass oblivion.

Greetings from across the pond, Joe
 

Well, that sort of reply is the only profit from this project. Maybe one day I'll sell things too, but for now life is complicated enough passing enquiries along from those who need to those who do!!!
 

Mind you, if you don't want ANYTHING Hagstrom
- DO let me know!

If you want to see the reply he's referring to, then CLICK HERE, it may be of general interest for a 'round-up' of the early evolution of these Hagstrom bass models.

Tobias Fingal from Sweden brings us this super old Kent PB24-BG from 1962

Lovely condition!

A Labour of Love!
From: Chris deGruyter  Monday, October 20, 2003 -

Hey, I own a '77 Fretless Jazzbass, which I got from a friend for free! When I met with it, it was in poor shape, with no chrome canopies, a big shiny dog sticker on the pickguard, and was sorely in need of moisture on the solid ebony fingerboard. The finish was destroyed and the headstock decal was half missing. A total mess. I spent 6 months and $700 US on repairs and parts; 12 hours a day micro-meshing the pickguard to remove all the scratches, and tracking down the canopies and decals from Sweden. Now, it looks like this:

It looks 100% better, and plays like a champ. It is undoubtedly my finest piece. The serial number is: 53 988037.

Such admirable dedication of a very fine and very well respected model.
Superb!

Dean Ward brings us his cherished Futurama (not just Selmer's brand but the listed Hagstrom Futurama model)

Having said that, it says Fender JAZZ in the headstock...

Hi I have an old Futurama Bass (I only found out by looking at these pages that it is, indeed a Futurama) I bought it when I was 12 years old (thirty years ago) from a friend of mine for the princely sum of twenty-seven English Pounds. Unfortunately, he had rubbed the name off the headstock and replaced it with a Fender logo.

Would you happen to know where I could buy a Futurama Logo to bring the Guitar back to it's origins? He also sanded the Ice Blue colour off the guitar and polished up the wood. The model number on the back is 546177 It looks and still plays beautifully although I now use a Hofner Violin Bass and a Dean Active bass at my gigs. The Futurama still has a pride of place at home. (Well, he's been bidding for a decal since a tip off the old ...BAY - so don't spoil his quest eh?)

Hi Dean, Your model was indeed the Futurama model, yours made in 1963. It was the next step on from the PB-24-G, and production was split between Hagstrom Futurama and the Kent brand (only in the USA). At this time Hagstrom were building their reputation well internationally, and even though the name Futurama was a brand well known in the UK, on these the model still mainly had a “Hagstrom” headstock decal. There may have been some with a Futurama decal just for Selmer to distribute, but by now Hagstrom had established their own name.

The most popular colours were red and white, although I can’t tell you how many of each, I can tell you the total recoded production of this model was 1,999 in any headstock badge. (150 were badged Kent). The model then changed to a new Futurama model, soon to be known as the H1B, as Hagstrom phased out the connection to the brand-name.

Now, how about the decal… you could of course choose Futurama, Hagstrom or Kent. The choice is yours, but where to find them? Hagstrom ones do come up on eBay from time to time. Most decals are a standard “Waterslide” principle for these, so any you may see will be right, although you may have to dispense with a suffix of “III” or “Scandi” or whatever from other models. There were also solid decals on some models but none were used on yours, so any Hagstrom logo waterslide will be right. The only way you are likely to get a Futurama decal is to create your own waterslide on the computer – it can be done with a good scanned image.

As for Kent, they have become cheapened over time (despite the David Bowie connection) as so many far east makers got involved in various production models over the years after. The choice is yours, but if it was mine I’d put Hagstrom on it, and maybe even think about a red body job – it looks in great working order! I don’t normally suggest re-painting, as I love natural wood myself. But these models were not produced in natural colour (as far as I have ever seen), and the finish looks really solid, ready to do? The method uses colours and polyester lacquer in wet layers – at least 12 coats, which form a very smooth yet tactile solid finish, quite unlike some of the dull finishes found with other brands – even today.

I’m glad you appreciate your little bit of history. There are few around these days; even fewer that are not just a mess of dings and scratches! The pickups on these are quite elderly, being designed in the mid fifties, and produced – as all Hagstrom pickups – right there in Sweden. These pickups are exactly the same as the ones put into the original 1958 glitter guitars. Shortly after this, they changed to an improved moderately higher output, until around 70 when the humbuckers became more popular.

May 03 brings us Drew Sherman from "Speed Limit"

(Hey, there is no limit on a Hag)

Here is a picture of me and my Hagstrom bass. It is a model II BN, same one pictured in the photos from Edmonton Canada. Just some side info: I am 16 and mainly play jazz on the bass but I am in a band called Speed Limit (visit www.aspeedlimit.com for more pics). Overall I think the hagstrom neck is by far the fastest and easiest playing neck in the world and I have played on a lot such as: Steinberger basses, Dearmond Ashbory, Fender P and jazz, knockoff fenders, Gibson hollowbodies. I would rate my experience with Hagstroms a 10 out of 10! Too bad they stopped production. Thanks Drew Sherman

June 03 brings us an interesting bass base (yes you heard right).
Bruce from Ottawa, Canada adds to the above with
a version which appears to have a damper/mute unit.

Most people (including Bruce) use the heal of the hand when the effect is needed, so what about this then. I've seen less original looking setups to this before, could this be a real Hagstrom version? We intend to find out...
Here is his HIIBN from a batch made in 1969-70

Hi Dave This is the second of two emails. This one is re the unique bridge on my Hag bass. A full front, a head shot, a top view of the bridge, an angled view, the serial number, the body front and close up of the bridge. I took several other shots but to save time I have selected the ones that give the most detail. The bridge has some very minor pitting in the chrome but what you see on the finish is mostly some light dust.

Some of the pictures attached to the icons below are BIG
just so you get a detailed view of that damper...

Thank you very much Bruce, for taking the time and trouble, now we must get a consensus for you on this version!

  John from TROUBLEMAN (based in Brussels, Belgium)
shares with us his really cool coloured Concord.
- I'm also very pleased hearing that it is in regular use
Couldn't find a website to link though - so let me know John

hello, this my concord bass i play every week gigs with this bass!!!
john from brussel TROUBLEMAN bassist

What a great colouring - that is Gorgeous!

This one 647646 from the first batch (1965-67)

How would you like to try these out?
Thought so, click any icon picture to get to a great page from Manfred Graeder

There's a good story in store too!

Inspired by Manfred's collection I am glad to have found this Gem in the Liverpool area of the UK.
Call me mad, but being a bit of a Beatles fanatic I have this soft spot for anything from the old Mersey-beat area
even though the fab four may never have even heard of Hagstrom till Paul had spread his Wings...

Gary Engelmann brings us one of the first basses made by Hagstrom (for Goya)

PLEASE CLICK THE PICTURE - IT'S REALLY WORTH THE VISIT

Subject: Goya/Hagstrom Bass:

I have a Goya Bass that is the Red Sparkle Pearloid construction identical to the Goya six-string on your site. Some sources tell me they have seen the guitars but no bass, can you send any light on this instrument?

I have owned it for over 30 years now. I have seen one picture of a Hagstrom bass of similar construction. Any information would be appreciated. Thanks. Gary Engelmann.

THIS IS THE FINEST CONDITION EXAMPLE I HAVE SEEN TO DATE
AS WELL AS ONE OF THE EARLIEST EVER MADE!

Go to the page to see this one - The best I've seen!

Mike Knowler from Edmonton, Canada has been a regular communicator to the site over time,
and here are two mighty fine examples of his quality collection!

First the HIB

Well, my " Holy Grail " of Hagstrom Basses has arrived in the form of a 1973 Sunburst H 1 B. I finally had the chance to " Put it to the Test ", last Night in an Open Stage Jam. I had had the H 1 B in the Shop for some minor Service/Repair work. Then, I greased the Tuning Gears, applied Fingerboard Oil to the Frets, and put on a new Set of D'Addario EXL-170M Medium Scale Soft Gauge Bass Strings. The Result: Voila ! Magic ! Sounds Clear, Crisp, Bright, Warm, & Alive.... better than my 71' CherryBurst H II B N. At least, very different. 
 

Then the HIIBN

The H II B N is slightly better in the Playability Department, and is probably better looking, but that is an Individual thing. My H II B N is a 9.5 out of 10 Condition-Wise, versus 8 out of 10 for my H 1 B. With this new revelation in my H 1 B ( the first Bass I owned from 73'-79'), I am now wondering what to do with the H II B N. I am not a Collector: If I don't play em' , I don't keep em'.

Thanks Mike for the photo's and the insight!

From: Jan en Corry Wouters  from Holland
Saturday, November 30, 2002 11:56 AM Subject: hagstrom concord I
 This is my sunburst Hagstrom Concord I bass. It was shipped from the Hagstrom factory Sweden at the second of august 1968 to Hohner Hilversum in Holland. It's a great bass in a very good condition.

Thanks very much Jan. These are such gorgeous bass guitars - this one looks to have a superb woodgrain to it too. You lucky guy!  I love the picture setting - shows it off really well.

3rd January 2003 Jan provided two extra pics and much appreciated they are - see below:

I’m pleased to be able to send my contribution to this wonderful Hagstrom site. The first picture is me at home playing my Hagstrom Concord bass (1968). I play it through an all tube (6V6) Fender Bassman 20 amp (1981). The second picture is a rock and roll gig in November 2002 at Voorschoten – Holland. We do rock and roll standards, both vocal and instrumental. This time I play the Hagstrom Concord through a Fender Bassman 10 combo. It are these guys who keep saying I should bring my Hagstrom to rehearsals and gigs and leave my Fender bass home. They too love the sound of this Concord. I purchased this bass at the 2002 autumn Vintage Guitar Fair at Veenendaal – Holland. Actually I was looking for a Fender Coronado II. I think they are very hard to find up here in Holland. Reading reviews I learned they are prone to feedback due to the lack of a sustain block. Then I saw the Hagstrom beauty, put away in a small corner off the Fair house. I melted right away. And yes, it had a sustain block! No regrets, you can bet on that! Thanks to Mr. Karl E. Hagström for sending me the missing knob!! A real nice gentleman who gave me lots of additional information on this Hagstrom Bass.


Way to go Jan - Happy New Year, and welcome to the club of discerning Hagstrom players!!

Then in December 2004 Jan is Back with a couple of additions (you can see the other - a Futurama III here)
Here we see his great HIIB - a nice early one too, although its looking in great condition!

In November 2004 the Hagstrom IIB showed up for sale in Belgium on the internet. The ad was first sighted by the drummer of Talk to the Cat (www.talktothecat.nl), the band I play bass in nowadays. Left the R&R band. Too loud for my ears. This drummer is a collector of Gretsch drums and knows about my love for Hagstrom. I didn’t pay it much attention; the price was too high in my opinion. Later I noticed the seller lowered the price and I got interested. In the end I made an appointment and drove to Geerle, Belgium. A village near the Dutch border. Very nice chap. This Hagstrom was in pretty good shape and we made the deal. The serial number on this sunburst IIB is 654018. Which makes it one of the first IIB’s to appear. Looking at the features I think it’s a transition model (like so many Hagstroms are), it’s got the oval pickups and the aluminium control plate. I’ve seen a Hagstrom Deluxe and a Futurame Nya (619) just like this IIB. The only non-Hagstrom feature on this bass is the potentiometer. I will try to get me a genuine one. The only thing I did was cleaning it, put new strings on (the right way!!!) and lowered the action. Ready to rock!

What a find eh Jan? Great to see you have an eye for the detail too!

Here we have Steve Hansen's first contribution - The Hagstrom H1B.

 
A gorgeous ruddy colour at the horns makes for an interesting sunburst.
Serial # 853085 makes this a 1972 example. One of a batch run of 200.
Did you notice the rectangular neck plate... What? Yes... so, who knows why?
an ordering mistake by the parts buyer, stock problem at the suppier?
One thing though, if you take the neck off you'll see three holes there too!

My own Coronado VI - 1963 Six string Bass (UK Futurama)

Click will take you to the dedicated page on this site

Jon Casselman has brought us a variety of superb pictures and information,
now brought together on one page - click any icon picture below...

to go to his page

The VERY FIRST Synthesized Guitar was made by Hagstrom

"Attached are a few pictures of an interesting Hagstrom Swede Bass guitar with the Patch 2000 synthesizer interface. This is a rather unique package and was sold in the USA by Ampeg. The bass is wired inside the neck to cause an effective switch closure when a string is fretted. The lowest string, highest fret is the synth note pitch, when multiple strings are fretted. It functions as a standard magnetic output instrument also. Both functions are separate and can be simultaneous."  (Gary Denes - denlogar@ncweb.com  June 2001) - ED: Exceptional stuff.

Click small pics... for bigger pics!

Get more info on Patch 2000 via my History page
and all the Swedes via my Electrics page

Hagstrom Fretless Scanbass - Originally the partner to the Futurama / Coronado (further up this page)

This was the the one I passed on after playing - no nothing wrong - I just couldn't afford both!

Martin, the second owner is 21 years old, works as a sound-technician and producer in Gothenburg, Sweden. Mostly into pop music. He of course plays guitar, but has been playing bass since he was 13. "As everyone else I spend my time looking for interesting Hagstroms in my spare time".

Interesting indeed - just glad I got to play it back end of last year before it went 'home again'
This guitar was purchased new when "Wes" by then a guitar string supplier, went to the Hagstrom factory,
saw this guitar in the reception area, bought it before he left again that early 70's day!
See the CoronadoVI page for more on this

Here's a rather nice HIIBN from 1973-4
(Courtesy of Ayri from Canada)

Some unusual things crop up from time to time. This is surely one of them. The general consensus around sites and contacts, leads us to believe this is a Hagstrom Neck looking for a Concorde Deluxe Body...

But if the owner loves it, plays it, polishes it... I'm not about to argue!

Thanks Winston - March 2002

"I stumbled on your website while I was looking for info on the bass that's pictured in the enclosed attachment. Do you have any info about it? I got it about 5 years ago, for $100. It plays great, and hasn't had to have any work done on it so far, aside from replacing the roundwound strings with flatwounds. If you know any more about it, drop me an email. Thanks, Winston"

This HIIBN from California looks in mighty fine condition too!

From: Charlene [xxxxxxxxx@cogeco.ca] Sent: Thursday, May 09, 2002 6:54 AM
To: webstrom Subject: Another pic for your collection

Hi: Don't know much 'bout this bass - I got it in college in '82 for $100 w/case and I fell in love with the hagstrom action. I haven't found another one like it in all my searches, the closest one I've found to
date is an 8 string model.     Looks to be in great condition - a sign of an appreciative owner. Thanks!

May 17th 2002
Hi there, It's nice to see Hagstrom getting some well deserved attention. I bought my HIIB bass used in the early 1970s, and have played that ever since. I wouldn't trade it for (almost) anything. I'm not sure of the model number but I think the bass is from ca. 1966. It's serial number is 700753. The live photo is from 1977, the close-ups are from today. Roger Stomperud

NICE ONE!
Love the action shot!

Tomas Berg from Mölnbo Sweden sent this gorgeous Deluxe Bass from 1961.
It looks in super condition, and see how it sparkles in the sunlight!

This was the very first year Hagström made basses.
The first batch was 150 in qty. The second batch was 188.
This was the 21st one from that second batch.
Thank you Tomas!

Hi David Thanks for the information about my bass. Yes I still play the bass. Unfortunally it seems that the bass is not strictly original. The bridge is probably changed in the early 60´s.The bridge on the bass now is the same as Hagström used on their "Batman" model.The work seems to be professional, it´s not anyone who´s been sitting at home with a drill and a screwdriver. I bought the bass in 1978 from a friend for 100 Swedish crowns. That should be about £6.50. I know the history of the bass back to 1965. It was sold at " falu instrumentverkstad" in Falun Sweden. Not very far away from Älvdalen.The instrument is in good condition and in perfect tune all along the neck. That´s probably because of the better bridge. When I started to play in rocknrollbands in the late 70´s Hagström wasn´t the bass to have. It simply wasn´t cool enough.´The only cool bass was the Fender. I once was sacked from a band because the others thought my bass was ridicolous:-) Regards Tomas   (27th May 2002)          
ED: Now how much was that one on e-bay recently????

How about these two early HagIB's - It must be closest they've been since about '65 or '66!!!

Both Home to Roost at Hagstrom UK!

At Last we have an H8 Bass that gets played for real - not just an E-bay traveller!
Henry Telstar from The Netherlands-stranded in Belgium a long time ago(!)-found us at last, and would like to share the deal with us

Sent: Thursday, October 17, 2002 3:59 PM Subject: Hag bass!
Hi - I'm awfully sorry it took me so long to stumble on your grrreat site - I'd like to add my bit to the Hag story. I own a lovely 8 string bass (#727236 ) - and use it extensively for live and studio work alongside a cheapo Squire Jazz bass, a vintage Ampeg AEB-1 (woopeee!) and a vicious 78 Mustang bass. I've included some lousy pix, and if you could add a link to our web site at http://listen.to/telstar  I would be much obliged! There are lots of pix and reports of gigs and interesting guitars and stuff we meet along the way... ... keep up the good work!
- Henry Telstar (aka Pip Vreede)

Well great Pix - thanks!   The link - just Click and you're virtually there!
PS - That's what we like most of all - live Hagstroms!
You can find an H8 Advert (January 1968) HERE

As with my own Concord Deluxe - Here's another mighty fine example
from the 733xxx batch (not listed in the blue book).
So they certainly spread far and wide once they left Sweden... Incidentally it comes from 1968.

CATALOGUES MENU

Special Bass Pages:   Manfred Graeder   Jon Casselman

Anyone with Hagstrom photo's is very welcome.
Send them to me for posting. There's an e-mail link on virtually every page of the site!
A story isn't absolutely necessary, but adds a little bit of what we like to add to this site
- Appreciation and the appreciators!
So bung a pic of you too along with it.... Hell, past and present...
stage photo's...you, the dog and the Hag... It's up to you!

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