Ultra Bass? (1982 prototype)...and more prototypes below it
(These are not part of the UK collection)

Well we've heard about those Japanese missing links "The Ultra Swede" - well here's one more Japanese offering from 1982. I've dubbed this the Ultra Bass purely because of the Ultra Swede name, I have no idea if it had an official name in the prototype stage...

Many thanks to Josef from Stuttgart for providing the pictures and information. This instrument already features on a well known website in Sweden (The Hagstrom Pages) so of course I will not duplicate the story shown there.

Suffice to say this is another example of the Japanese offering to Hagstrom in 1982, which was not taken forward to full production, one of the "final paragraphs" in the "final chapter" of the original story...

Any way you look at it, the only thing Hagstrom is the logo, yet those who've played say it's a good bass...

More Information and story of it's original discovery when Hagstrom's Canadian distributor ARC closed:  http://hem.passagen.se/awe/hagstromenjpb.htm?k
* These photos kindly supplied by Josef from Stuttgart

Next we have a small selection of other prototype pictures from this time

Many thought the Ultra Swede was the only Prototype Guitar, and the Basses above were the only departure. Clearly there were guitar models too, and here are some pictures to prove it...

...just checked-out your site and am providing a photo of a Hagstrom prototype I currently own. I bought it in Montreal around 1995, secondhand. In 2004 I was at a band practice and an employee of the Montreal distributor for Hagstrom saw it and subsequently confirmed it was a prototype made in Japan in the 1980's for Hagstrom. Apparently only 2 dozen or so were made.
Jim Bryan, Canada.

Craig Strong bought his from Long & Mcquade in Winnipeg Canada around 1983

This may well be unique, for as you see, there were a number of offerings from the Japanese company. As we know none of these went into production, virtually all of them going to Canada, via ARC. Most also stayed locked away until ARC went out of business.
Many thanks to Craig for these pictures

There is also the infamous Ultra Swede

Read more on this part of the story

Did you know that the Canadian Distributor was actually
instrumental in these Japanese offerings being put forward?
There's a twist on the story!

So, what REALLY comes after those original models we know and love?

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