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!

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!

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!

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!

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

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!

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!

H8 Bass Visitors now on a separate page

Then in December 2004 Jan is Back (See Concord Bass) 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!

...and when you've finished , how about a nice You Tube vid
of The Bird and The Bee using a H-IIB (from the Jay Leno show)...
 
(external link)