Interesting story about Elvis. During the '68 TV Special, he saw a musician in the NBC orchestra playing the Hagstrom. Elvis thought it looked really cool (which it did) and he asked if he could borrow it for the special. He plays it a couple of times in the show...
As a Swedish guitar tech I’ve done quite a few of these vintage Vikings, most likely no one sat on their guitar, on the earlier versions of the Hagström Viking the neck block was poorly attached to the back, front and sides of the guitar and as you could tell with a lot of air around it. Therefor they very often collapse sooner rather than later and I’ve also seen ones with the same old “repair” where someone tried to force down and crushed that part of the top next to the pickup. Luckily they started to build them more rigid in the early 70’s. Thanks for another great video, I always recommend your channel to my costumers who wants to learn more about guitar repair. /Niklas Dahre, Malmö Gitarrverkstad
Ted,I always fall asleep on the settee half way through (your voice is a kinda mesmerising therapy) and am awakened by my phone dropping onto my beer belly.I then tend to go to bed and watch the whole thing again,cheers from Manchester,England.
Hagstrøm used to have a factory in Norway as well where they made instruments after the war. I live a couple of hundred meters/feet/thousands from where it was. They made tens of thousands of guitars, you can regularly find simple acoustics at flea markets here. The nicer models don’t show up that often.
Of all your “rescues” that you performed over the years, this one certainly ranks right near the top in terms of results. An absolute tour de force ( with lots of force ).
The Hagstrom is Beautiful and brings back so many memories! Thank You Ted! Our Grade School Music teacher played a Hagstrom Accordion, with Gorgeous Mother of Toilet seat (said as a complement for the beauty!) I traded my families excess hunting Guns for his excess Hagstrom Bass Guitar...My last post about the innovation of Hagstrom left out the felt rings under the volume and tone knobs. My mom was a concert pianist, and as curious hoodlums living in the mountains, discovered colorful FELT inside her piano, to quiet any mechanical movement other than string vibration. The felt keeps out dust and yuck, and 45 years later, I place felt rings under the knobs of my builds and rebuilds. I use felt rings to keep volume and tone knobs quiet and clean. I'm not sure it makes a difference, but I love the added attention to detail and innovation. Thank You Ted!
Have you ever seen a Jolana Tornado? The one they make now is very much like a 335, but the original looks sort of like a semi-acoustic version of Brian May's Red Special! I'd love one of those.
22:50 this is common for these type of instruments. The Japanese makers did this right into the 70's. I usually move the bridge. It will often lead to finish touch ups, plugging holes etc, but it is the only way to make them play in tune. If you can't move the bridge, then another option is to actually move the neck back, depending on pocket fitment of course, and whether it can be hidden easily or not. In this situation that would have been an option since even though there was no overhang from the fretboard, you could have left an overhang from your repair block by shimming out the router bearing. Mods that improve the engineering of an old instrument are fair game I think. For the touch up, try using spirit stain (AKA dye stain) over the shellac. You can brush it on, then leave it, or wipe it, or reapply. You can thin with alcohol if too strong. And it will take to the shellac, but not the existing lacquer, so you don't even have to be that careful with the brush. You can even use spirit stain to tint the shellac in the first place if you want. Great work on the heel block. A real challenge.
Very nice video. Again. I believe Hagström distributed Fender instruments in Scandinavia, way back when. An aquaintance owns an early 60's Fender strat, which has a Hagström sticker/decal on the back of the headstock. Apparently they would put those on the Fenders they sold.
Thank You Ted, You always find the unusual guitars from my formative years. My family moved deep into the mountains of Oregon in the 70's. At age 12, I traded Guns for a Hagstrom bass with accoutrements, pickups and adjustable saddle exactly like this one. I learned the nuances of intonation, saddle and shimming to a playable action, ...using an old phonograph I wired as an amplifier ...thus beginning my life as a "Luthier of Necessity" (smile). I traded the Hagstrom bass for an unplayable electric guitar, and $20. that used to purchase an old acoustic guitar from an old timer that literally played itself! SADLY, I cut off the neck and fingerboard from the old acoustic guitar to build my own Electric guitar. I still have that first electric guitar I made at age 12, but SADLY, after 40 years of Luthiering, I know that I purchased for $20. and cut up a Pre-war Martin D-18...I should have kept the Hagstrom. Thank You for bringing back memories Ted, RESPECT!
Man, Ted, I have to tell you how wonderful your video editing skills are, truly. It's a bear to have to have so much time between "takes." You are a master craftsman by every means.
Fascinating to see when you say enough is enough. Best line was when you added the epoxy putty to those voids as I had just said to myself, just jam some epoxy in there you could spend a week making a plug.
Again as a repair guy and builder, I must say you set the very high bar for us. I say a generous thank you, especially for making me better at the crafts. "Mike"
I own 5 guitars, and my 1972 Hagstrom Swede electric is my favorite. It was a gift from a friend who had it for 20 years and never played it. It’s nearly all original. The neck is fantastic, the action and frets are low with no buzz and the pick-ups just rip. Solid mahogany throughout and made in Sweden (along with “Swedish steel hardware”). I’ve been very tempted to try and buy another vintage one as it’s such a great guitar. I have no idea whether the newer ones that are made in the far east are any good, but the Swedes sure knew how to make a great guitar.
I've got one of the recent Far East made basses, the eight string that has them in four courses like a twelve string guitar. Very heavy, which I guess it needs to be with all that hardware and string tension, but its construction is flawless and the neck very comfortable. They still use their unusual neck reinforcement, so these new models still have desirable features from the old ones.
I view Pots as a maintenance piece. No need to try and revive a dead or dying pot if you want a playable guitar. Maybe keep them inside of the case if someone is really worried.
Wow. The fret inlays with slightly round corners and the color of the fretboard wood..together it just looks icredible..never seen anything like that before..thats a cool guitar.
Some historical contribution: here in Brazil some brands had their first electric guitar models too in the fifties final part. Such as Giannini and Del Vecchio. Veeeery hard to find, but some of these guitars are alive up until today.
For my 14th birthday (1983) my parents bought me a used 1969 Hagstrom Viking I and a Sunn Alpha 115 amplifier. Mind you I was trying to learn hard rock songs from AC/DC, Aerosmith etc on this rig lol. I don't have to tell you how those single coil pickups in a hollow body guitar behaved with the gain cranked on that amp. I ended up trading it off for a Hohner strat style guitar with humbuckers and a double locking Kahler. Of course years later I regret ever parting with that Hagstrom, it was in immaculate shape and had a real nice tone for rockabilly and and classic clean sounds.
We've witnessed a guitar miracle. I don't know how many luthier's could put this Humpty Dumpty back together, but this guitar is very lucky to have found Ted.
Wonderful content. Your verbal descriptions are utterly on point, from jokes to facts. Your description of the neck pocket was really helpful in understanding the break on this end.
My old man was a Customs officer in Liverpool, he had friends in the Merchant Navy who would bring him Fender Guitars and Amps back from the US. He was a Fender fan boy and was a serious Shadows fan. He was a right handed player, I'm a Southpaw. All my Dad's collection i have to play upside down. Their heirlooms for my kids now the only one i play regular is a Bass 6, great fun. I use the Amps to. Thanks Ted, more knowledge gained.
I have a '65 Cherry model of this very same guitar, only the bridge issue has been addressed and the string length and saddle depths compensated for. It is a wonderful and very good looking guitar. I also have a couple of very nice Gibson ES 330s (also from the 60s), but no word of a lie, I prefer the Hagstrom. Its feel, tone and warmth are just that bit...well, 'more'.
That old Hagstrom have cool vibes,had a Viking I from 67 and 3 solid body,68/71,and they all had a VERY slim and narrow neck,except one of the solids,the 71 with a glued in neck,heavy,humbucker,and I did not like the tone and feel.The other ones(all bolt on,single coil) were great guitars,but they all had the same issue:The neck had a weak spot around 3./4th fret where the neck came up,and this got worse,up, to the point where playing wasn`t fun anymore,the whole neck felt "fragile".Brought my favourite to a luthier/repair guy who did a refret to straighten the fingerboard,but that did not solve the problem.Always wondered if the trussrod ended at the third fret,these necks were soo slim...
Great job on the repair.👍. I think the felt under the knob is to prevent the player from accidentally lowering the volume when playing. I have a guitar at home that this happens to. And that’s the fix. 😊
I always get a laugh out of his color matching. Maybe it's just me and I' not good at it, but his work is unreal how close he always gets it. Even in instances that seem impossible he gets it close.
Not only Hagstrom, Hofner and Italian producers in that time period. Electric guitars were also bulit in former Czechoslovakia as well, first solid body electric "Jolana Grazioso" was produced since 1955. EDIT Ahh you metioned it later, good job :-)
Flavor Jimenez playing accordion with Ry Cooder is quite a treat; and also, Richard Thompson with John Kirkpatrick. Sonny Landreth played with Clifton Chenier before joining up with John Hiatt and becoming a slide guitar maestro...
Years ago I found a Hagstrom hollow body bass at a garage sale. I think it dates from 1972. Someone had chopped a hole in it and stuck in a Humbucker (?) which was totally dead. I managed to fill the hole with the back of busted classical guitar - a fairly close match - and rewired the old electronics. Then I took it to someone who knew what they were doing to replace the broken nut and put in a massive shim. It plays okay. Nice to see another Hagstom resurrected. Thanks!
The Dual Sound Supro I rewired had hum cancelling dummy coils inside each of the pickup covers. It is likely someone added those after the fact, and they do work really well.
My first electric back in Sweden in '76 was a first gen '65 Viking I. The first batch models can be identified by the decal headstock logo and non-badged tail-piece. Supposedly only about 400 were built in that configuration. I played it through a '64 Selmer Treble 'n Bass paired with a Löfving 15" cab.
Worked on a friend’s Selmer amp a few years ago, I think it was a treble & bass? Twin 12 with that Magic Eye tremolo tube in the front. Really cool sounding amp.
@@tiki_trash Wish I still had it. Basically a bassman clone. Would have been perfect for the music I enjoy playing now. My musical tastes ran a bit more rowdy back in the 70's and I replaced it with a '75 Orange OR120 and a 4x12 Laney cab.
I was hoping for a deeper dive into this one, Ted. Thank you. I enjoy all of your videos! eta - I meant the black one. The Hagstrom is awesome, though!
Must remind you there was Czechoslovakian company called Resonet, later called Neoton later named Jolana that was making electric guitars since early 50s for lap steels, Resonet Grazioso, 3 pickup solidbody Strat influenced guitar, since 1956 that was also imported to UK, most notable player was George Harrison on early Beatles recordings, that is that Futurama he played. Only Resonet and Hagstrom made Futurama wrom what I saw. But yes, not many more I’m sure.
I had a friend that was teaching English in Prague for a couple of years. He brought back a Jolana thinline archtop. It seemed to be on the same quality level as a 60s Kay or Harmony.
Hey, cool! I have a Hagstrom Classical from about '67 or so, before they sold out. Great guitar, still plays perfect. Not fancy, but very nicely made and sounds amazing.
My #3 bass is a 1966 Hagstrom F400 a/k/a H II B. It's on its second neck (they tend to crack right down the middle, despite that H-shaped aluminum extrusion embedded in them). Although I love the light weight and 32" scale neck, I tend to think of it as too fragile to gig, on the other hand (here comes obligatory Canadian content) I've seen pictures of Neil Young rocking a similar vintage H II guitar. Beautiful work as always, Ted - you keep fixin' 'em and we'll keep breaking 'em.
I had the same bass long ago. My first electric bass... good to learn on, but the sound was definitely not beefy. Narrow string spacing, non-adjustable wooden bridge/saddle. I sold it to a friend's younger brother and bought a Rickenbacker 4001.
You say it was impossible to find a Fender in the UK in the '50s, and that makes it sound like they were prohibitively expensive to import or something. But the reality is that the UK Board of Trade had banned the import of stringed instruments (amongst other things) from the US. So there was no amount of money that you could pay to go to a store and buy a new Fender or Gibson or Gretsch. This ban was finally lifted in June 1959.
I throwaway vintage pots all the time, you can’t even see them after they’re installed and you can’t even notice them affect tone if they’re installed properly.
This channel has quickly become one of my favorite channels to watch ... such knowledge and detail! I have been playing guitar professionally for longer than I'd like to admit and have learned so much from your channel.I am not a luthier and only do minor tech work on my guitars ( set-ups, electrical mods etc. ). I'm sure these videos are an inspiration to young and or aspiring luthiers everywhere. God Bless ! I hope you continue to put out this excellent content for many years to come! Thank You!
My mom had a Hagstrom guitar from around 1965, and it looks just like this Viking II. I never knew the model name, but comparing the features, it must be a Viking II. She passed away many years ago and I inherited the guitar. Unfortunately, I don't know how to play. Ted, thank you for posting this repair on your channel. I have been hopeful, since I first found you channel, that you would eventually feature a Hagstrom.
Tom. I have to say thank you. I discovered your show about a month ago now, and have watched several episodes, past and present. But about a year ago I wanted to revive a 15 yr old acoustic guitar laying around the house, by replacing the crumbling nut and bridge. I just picked it up the other night and noticed a bad buzzing from the D string. Using all the knowledge I've acquired from your informative show, I was able to isolate the problem to the way I previously cut the bridge. Thank you so much for your help.
Loved the video, just like all your other videos. That Hagstrom brings back memories from that time when I was just starting to play in bands... Never got one, they were out of my reach, I'm afraid.
You never cease to amaze me. To methodically dissect each area on of this neck area layer by layer was a work of art. I'd love to know what happened to mangle this neck joint area. Beautiful work Ted. Thankyou for taking us along for the ride.
That multipole switch appears to have been high quality and silver plated, and the black spots are silver tarnish. Which is a dandy insulator. You can clean them easily with a few drops of liquid silver polish solution from the supermarket (_not_ the paste stuff, the liquid stuff). Of course they will tarnish again in a while, depending on climate. Those felt washers under the knobs were common on better radios from the 1930s and early 1940s. They kept dirt out from under the knob and potentially getting into the grease on the pot shaft if it leaked upward. They also gave the knob a smooth consistent feel, as though you were turning something of substance rather than a a spindly little pot shaft. We're used to spindly pot shafts these days, so the felts feel strange to us.
Painstaking and meticulous work. Great job Ted. And I thought the Univox hollowbody bass I worked on a while ago was bad! I believe Hagstrom also made the pickups Guild used on the original Starfire basses as well as some of the bridges and tuning keys Guild used during that era.
Some of us rather ham handed players like felt washers under our control knobs. The tiny bit of gentle friction it provides, at least gives us confidence we don't inadvertently turn a knob while using another control. For instance l always put a felt washer under the volume knob of a Tele. A couple times l bumped the volume when switching pickups. It got me kinda trigger-shy and distracted. The felt washer just gives me a bit of peace of mind...
Yes. I understand it's a Strat thing too, whereas the vol. knob is positioned in a poor place for an active picking hand. (This I've read about. Never had a Strat. Many Gibsons, though!)
An early European electric you didn't mention was Jolana of Czechoslovakia, with the first lap-steel model released in 1954 (Akord) and the first electro-spanish released in 1959 (Neoton). Jolana also made some of the Futurama strat-clones you mentioned.
A few years ago I had a chance to bid on a lovely green Hagstrom Viking with an original case at a local auction, but unfortunately it went out of my price range. They're gorgeous guitars, even more so in person.
Hagstrom had some sort of relationship with Guild in the early/mid 60s. You'll find those fiddly bridges on some 60s Guild electrics. Hagstrom also built Guild amps from that period. That was when Europe was 𝙩𝙝𝙚 place to find cheap labor, before Japan. I've also heard (but can't verify) that Guild wanted to outsource the building of their second gen Starfire bodies and necks to Hagstrom, but their business relationship fell apart before that came to fruition. This might be why the Viking's bodies are the same as Starfires and not copies of 335s. I do know for sure that James D'Aquisto shipped some of the "Jimmy" model bodies and necks back to the U.S. for his own use in the very late 60s after Hagstrom commissioned him to design a jazz guitar for them. The story goes that the necks were lost in shipping, but some early high dollar 70s D'Aquistos have the Hagstrom made, birch ply bodies.
Interesting story about Elvis. During the '68 TV Special, he saw a musician in the NBC orchestra playing the Hagstrom. Elvis thought it looked really cool (which it did) and he asked if he could borrow it for the special. He plays it a couple of times in the show...
As a Swedish guitar tech I’ve done quite a few of these vintage Vikings, most likely no one sat on their guitar, on the earlier versions of the Hagström Viking the neck block was poorly attached to the back, front and sides of the guitar and as you could tell with a lot of air around it.
Therefor they very often collapse sooner rather than later and I’ve also seen ones with the same old “repair” where someone tried to force down and crushed that part of the top next to the pickup.
Luckily they started to build them more rigid in the early 70’s.
Thanks for another great video, I always recommend your channel to my costumers who wants to learn more about guitar repair.
/Niklas Dahre, Malmö Gitarrverkstad
Ted,I always fall asleep on the settee half way through (your voice is a kinda mesmerising therapy) and am awakened by my phone dropping onto my beer belly.I then tend to go to bed and watch the whole thing again,cheers from Manchester,England.
Manchester England too, for me
@@steveblease /Marin…
Hagstrøm used to have a factory in Norway as well where they made instruments after the war. I live a couple of hundred meters/feet/thousands from where it was. They made tens of thousands of guitars, you can regularly find simple acoustics at flea markets here. The nicer models don’t show up that often.
Veldig kult! Hvilken by i Norge?
Hagstroms are cool
A closer relationship would be meters/yards. Not sure what you mean by "thousands".
I was going to buy one of those Norwegian Hagstrom guitars once - but I couldn’t a-fjord it!
@@hotrodjones74 I Oslo, på Ammerud
Of all your “rescues” that you performed over the years, this one certainly ranks right near the top in terms of results. An absolute tour de force ( with lots of force ).
Why does this guitar keep getting sat on?
The Hagstrom is Beautiful and brings back so many memories! Thank You Ted! Our Grade School Music teacher played a Hagstrom Accordion, with Gorgeous Mother of Toilet seat (said as a complement for the beauty!) I traded my families excess hunting Guns for his excess Hagstrom Bass Guitar...My last post about the innovation of Hagstrom left out the felt rings under the volume and tone knobs. My mom was a concert pianist, and as curious hoodlums living in the mountains, discovered colorful FELT inside her piano, to quiet any mechanical movement other than string vibration. The felt keeps out dust and yuck, and 45 years later, I place felt rings under the knobs of my builds and rebuilds. I use felt rings to keep volume and tone knobs quiet and clean. I'm not sure it makes a difference, but I love the added attention to detail and innovation. Thank You Ted!
George Harrison had a Jolana (a Czechoslovakian guitar) marketed in the UK as Futurama
Have you ever seen a Jolana Tornado? The one they make now is very much like a 335, but the original looks sort of like a semi-acoustic version of Brian May's Red Special! I'd love one of those.
22:50 this is common for these type of instruments. The Japanese makers did this right into the 70's. I usually move the bridge. It will often lead to finish touch ups, plugging holes etc, but it is the only way to make them play in tune. If you can't move the bridge, then another option is to actually move the neck back, depending on pocket fitment of course, and whether it can be hidden easily or not. In this situation that would have been an option since even though there was no overhang from the fretboard, you could have left an overhang from your repair block by shimming out the router bearing. Mods that improve the engineering of an old instrument are fair game I think.
For the touch up, try using spirit stain (AKA dye stain) over the shellac. You can brush it on, then leave it, or wipe it, or reapply. You can thin with alcohol if too strong. And it will take to the shellac, but not the existing lacquer, so you don't even have to be that careful with the brush. You can even use spirit stain to tint the shellac in the first place if you want.
Great work on the heel block. A real challenge.
"Luckily there were good spots to introduce the blade". That's rock lyricism right there.
Another beautiful repair, beautifully presented. Hagstrom make a signature model in your honor, the Viking II twoodford 😅
Very nice video. Again.
I believe Hagström distributed Fender instruments in Scandinavia, way back when. An aquaintance owns an early 60's Fender strat, which has a Hagström sticker/decal on the back of the headstock. Apparently they would put those on the Fenders they sold.
Thank You Ted, You always find the unusual guitars from my formative years. My family moved deep into the mountains of Oregon in the 70's. At age 12, I traded Guns for a Hagstrom bass with accoutrements, pickups and adjustable saddle exactly like this one. I learned the nuances of intonation, saddle and shimming to a playable action, ...using an old phonograph I wired as an amplifier ...thus beginning my life as a "Luthier of Necessity" (smile). I traded the Hagstrom bass for an unplayable electric guitar, and $20. that used to purchase an old acoustic guitar from an old timer that literally played itself! SADLY, I cut off the neck and fingerboard from the old acoustic guitar to build my own Electric guitar. I still have that first electric guitar I made at age 12, but SADLY, after 40 years of Luthiering, I know that I purchased for $20. and cut up a Pre-war Martin D-18...I should have kept the Hagstrom. Thank You for bringing back memories Ted, RESPECT!
Man, Ted, I have to tell you how wonderful your video editing skills are, truly. It's a bear to have to have so much time between "takes." You are a master craftsman by every means.
I have one of those hagstrom pickups mounted in a Starcaster. Sounds loud and beefy. Thanks for solving the mystery for me. ❤
Fascinating to see when you say enough is enough. Best line was when you added the epoxy putty to those voids as I had just said to myself, just jam some epoxy in there you could spend a week making a plug.
Again as a repair guy and builder, I must say you set the very high bar for us. I say a generous thank you, especially for making me better at the crafts. "Mike"
I really look forward to your weekly posts and love the history lessons on the manufacturers 🙂
Me too.
This should surely brighten my day
I own 5 guitars, and my 1972 Hagstrom Swede electric is my favorite. It was a gift from a friend who had it for 20 years and never played it. It’s nearly all original. The neck is fantastic, the action and frets are low with no buzz and the pick-ups just rip. Solid mahogany throughout and made in Sweden (along with “Swedish steel hardware”). I’ve been very tempted to try and buy another vintage one as it’s such a great guitar. I have no idea whether the newer ones that are made in the far east are any good, but the Swedes sure knew how to make a great guitar.
I've got one of the recent Far East made basses, the eight string that has them in four courses like a twelve string guitar. Very heavy, which I guess it needs to be with all that hardware and string tension, but its construction is flawless and the neck very comfortable. They still use their unusual neck reinforcement, so these new models still have desirable features from the old ones.
a total horror story of a repair! But the master did it! AMAZING WORK TED! THANK YOU!
I view Pots as a maintenance piece. No need to try and revive a dead or dying pot if you want a playable guitar. Maybe keep them inside of the case if someone is really worried.
Wow. The fret inlays with slightly round corners and the color of the fretboard wood..together it just looks icredible..never seen anything like that before..thats a cool guitar.
Who ever loves that guitar found the right guy to save it.
👍👍👍🤔🤔🤔😜😜😜🐒🐒🐒😎😎😎
My heart just fell looking at the damage but little by little he gets it back in order.
Some historical contribution: here in Brazil some brands had their first electric guitar models too in the fifties final part. Such as Giannini and Del Vecchio. Veeeery hard to find, but some of these guitars are alive up until today.
"A gentleman is someone who can play the accordion but doesn't."
Tom Waits
For my 14th birthday (1983) my parents bought me a used 1969 Hagstrom Viking I and a Sunn Alpha 115 amplifier. Mind you I was trying to learn hard rock songs from AC/DC, Aerosmith etc on this rig lol. I don't have to tell you how those single coil pickups in a hollow body guitar behaved with the gain cranked on that amp. I ended up trading it off for a Hohner strat style guitar with humbuckers and a double locking Kahler. Of course years later I regret ever parting with that Hagstrom, it was in immaculate shape and had a real nice tone for rockabilly and and classic clean sounds.
Such is life. Let it flow through you as you you have not lost anything but are about to receive everything.
I know you don’t read these comments and you don’t like praise, but I love your work.
We've witnessed a guitar miracle. I don't know how many luthier's could put this Humpty Dumpty back together, but this guitar is very lucky to have found Ted.
Wonderful content. Your verbal descriptions are utterly on point, from jokes to facts. Your description of the neck pocket was really helpful in understanding the break on this end.
My old man was a Customs officer in Liverpool, he had friends in the Merchant Navy who would bring him Fender Guitars and Amps back from the US. He was a Fender fan boy and was a serious Shadows fan. He was a right handed player, I'm a Southpaw. All my Dad's collection i have to play upside down. Their heirlooms for my kids now the only one i play regular is a Bass 6, great fun. I use the Amps to. Thanks Ted, more knowledge gained.
Trombone player here. I added my own deflating trombone sound when you said that, as I watch your videos while practicing 😅
I have a '65 Cherry model of this very same guitar, only the bridge issue has been addressed and the string length and saddle depths compensated for. It is a wonderful and very good looking guitar. I also have a couple of very nice Gibson ES 330s (also from the 60s), but no word of a lie, I prefer the Hagstrom. Its feel, tone and warmth are just that bit...well, 'more'.
That old Hagstrom have cool vibes,had a Viking I from 67 and 3 solid body,68/71,and they all had a VERY slim and narrow neck,except one of the solids,the 71 with a glued in neck,heavy,humbucker,and I did not like the tone and feel.The other ones(all bolt on,single coil) were great guitars,but they all had the same issue:The neck had a weak spot around 3./4th fret where the neck came up,and this got worse,up, to the point where playing wasn`t fun anymore,the whole neck felt "fragile".Brought my favourite to a luthier/repair guy who did a refret to straighten the fingerboard,but that did not solve the problem.Always wondered if the trussrod ended at the third fret,these necks were soo slim...
Great job on the repair.👍. I think the felt under the knob is to prevent the player from accidentally lowering the volume when playing. I have a guitar at home that this happens to. And that’s the fix. 😊
I always get a laugh out of his color matching. Maybe it's just me and I' not good at it, but his work is unreal how close he always gets it. Even in instances that seem impossible he gets it close.
That’s truly something else. Your tenacity is only bettered by your patience. Well done, sir.
I think those felt washers were common on old radios, and you can still get brown ones for restoration. That was a good fix on a tough repair.
Yup, they were used to keep dust and grit from getting into the pot shafts. You sometimes see them on old Rickenbacker lap steels, iirc.
A local musician that uses Hagstroms is Johnny Fox from the Standstills. They have a really good sound.
Not only Hagstrom, Hofner and Italian producers in that time period. Electric guitars were also bulit in former Czechoslovakia as well, first solid body electric "Jolana Grazioso" was produced since 1955. EDIT Ahh you metioned it later, good job :-)
What a mess! Nice save! I don't think I would have attempted it myself. You're the man Ted !
Ted: "People used to listen to accordion music unironically."
TMBG Fans: You just crushed the birdhouse in my soul, Ted...
Flavor Jimenez playing accordion with Ry Cooder is quite a treat; and also, Richard Thompson with John Kirkpatrick. Sonny Landreth played with Clifton Chenier before joining up with John Hiatt and becoming a slide guitar maestro...
Years ago I found a Hagstrom hollow body bass at a garage sale. I think it dates from 1972. Someone had chopped a hole in it and stuck in a Humbucker (?) which was totally dead. I managed to fill the hole with the back of busted classical guitar - a fairly close match - and rewired the old electronics. Then I took it to someone who knew what they were doing to replace the broken nut and put in a massive shim. It plays okay. Nice to see another Hagstom resurrected. Thanks!
I'm sure 99% of other luthiers would have taken one look at that and gone nope! An amazing repair on a very cool guitar
This Hagstrom is really cool guitar, nice repair.
The knurling on the pickup selector is really cool.
Well hey there gang! Love your content. Greetings from Scotland
Another fascinating and masterful resuscitation! Thank you.
The Dual Sound Supro I rewired had hum cancelling dummy coils inside each of the pickup covers. It is likely someone added those after the fact, and they do work really well.
Great repair choices on a hard repair, one of my favs!
For a second I thought we were going to hear the dulcet tones of BTO, which Ted should have heard a few thousand times due to Canadian content laws...
My first electric back in Sweden in '76 was a first gen '65 Viking I. The first batch models can be identified by the decal headstock logo and non-badged tail-piece. Supposedly only about 400 were built in that configuration. I played it through a '64 Selmer Treble 'n Bass paired with a Löfving 15" cab.
How did you like your Selmer amp? Stuff like that is very rare here in the States.
Worked on a friend’s Selmer amp a few years ago, I think it was a treble & bass? Twin 12 with that Magic Eye tremolo tube in the front. Really cool sounding amp.
@@JasDarc Nice, I have a bunch of Selmer and Watkins schematics I've downloaded. It's tempting me to build one of them.
@@tiki_trash Wish I still had it. Basically a bassman clone. Would have been perfect for the music I enjoy playing now. My musical tastes ran a bit more rowdy back in the 70's and I replaced it with a '75 Orange OR120 and a 4x12 Laney cab.
@@andersf324 Cool, I've often looked at the schematics and thought it might be something I'd like to build.
I was hoping for a deeper dive into this one, Ted. Thank you. I enjoy all of your videos!
eta - I meant the black one. The Hagstrom is awesome, though!
I think the Hagstrom Viking 1 had a three a side headstock, and the tuning keys were viking-sail shaped which is a nice touch.
As always, quite simply a craftsman at work. A delight to watch. Thank you.
In the early years of Kansas, Kerry Livgren played a Hagstrom Swede.
Thanks for letting us watch you do another well done repair. Have a nice day Ted
Must remind you there was Czechoslovakian company called Resonet, later called Neoton later named Jolana that was making electric guitars since early 50s for lap steels, Resonet Grazioso, 3 pickup solidbody Strat influenced guitar, since 1956 that was also imported to UK, most notable player was George Harrison on early Beatles recordings, that is that Futurama he played. Only Resonet and Hagstrom made Futurama wrom what I saw. But yes, not many more I’m sure.
I had a friend that was teaching English in Prague for a couple of years. He brought back a Jolana thinline archtop. It seemed to be on the same quality level as a 60s Kay or Harmony.
This was a very very smart repair. Great job as always.
Hey, cool! I have a Hagstrom Classical from about '67 or so, before they sold out. Great guitar, still plays perfect. Not fancy, but very nicely made and sounds amazing.
My #3 bass is a 1966 Hagstrom F400 a/k/a H II B. It's on its second neck (they tend to crack right down the middle, despite that H-shaped aluminum extrusion embedded in them). Although I love the light weight and 32" scale neck, I tend to think of it as too fragile to gig, on the other hand (here comes obligatory Canadian content) I've seen pictures of Neil Young rocking a similar vintage H II guitar. Beautiful work as always, Ted - you keep fixin' 'em and we'll keep breaking 'em.
I had the same bass long ago. My first electric bass... good to learn on, but the sound was definitely not beefy. Narrow string spacing, non-adjustable wooden bridge/saddle. I sold it to a friend's younger brother and bought a Rickenbacker 4001.
You say it was impossible to find a Fender in the UK in the '50s, and that makes it sound like they were prohibitively expensive to import or something. But the reality is that the UK Board of Trade had banned the import of stringed instruments (amongst other things) from the US. So there was no amount of money that you could pay to go to a store and buy a new Fender or Gibson or Gretsch. This ban was finally lifted in June 1959.
Wow. Your skills never fail to amaze me, Ted. Thanks for the video. And for saving that beautiful Hagstrom! 👍
I throwaway vintage pots all the time, you can’t even see them after they’re installed and you can’t even notice them affect tone if they’re installed properly.
Favorite part of Sunday!
Beautiful repairs as usual Ted, your channel is certainly one of my favorites.
Amazing. Once again you have outdone yourself.
Wow... that sounds pretty darn good. I'm glad the owner brought it to you.
Nice one once again! Love this channel. Big thanx!!
All is amazing thanks! On holiday in Madeira catching up with your content. Always need a hit 😀
I am continually amazed at what you can do!
Couple of great pieces of history there! Thank You Ted!
❤ from James Bay :)
You really are a master tech at repair, some would say even a wizard, I had no idea how you would tackle that mess, but the results are amazing.
You know how you can tell that Ted's cool? He introduces Pat Smear as a member of the Germs.
Ted, that grafting process was beautifully done.
This channel has quickly become one of my favorite channels to watch ... such knowledge and detail! I have been playing guitar professionally for longer than I'd like to admit and have learned so much from your channel.I am not a luthier and only do minor tech work on my guitars ( set-ups, electrical mods etc. ). I'm sure these videos are an inspiration to young and or aspiring luthiers everywhere. God Bless ! I hope you continue to put out this excellent content for many years to come! Thank You!
Great post, brought that old guitar back to life… Good stuff! 😎👍
My mom had a Hagstrom guitar from around 1965, and it looks just like this Viking II. I never knew the model name, but comparing the features, it must be a Viking II. She passed away many years ago and I inherited the guitar. Unfortunately, I don't know how to play. Ted, thank you for posting this repair on your channel. I have been hopeful, since I first found you channel, that you would eventually feature a Hagstrom.
Tom. I have to say thank you. I discovered your show about a month ago now, and have watched several episodes, past and present. But about a year ago I wanted to revive a 15 yr old acoustic guitar laying around the house, by replacing the crumbling nut and bridge. I just picked it up the other night and noticed a bad buzzing from the D string. Using all the knowledge I've acquired from your informative show, I was able to isolate the problem to the way I previously cut the bridge. Thank you so much for your help.
Masterful work, as usual.
Wow. That is some very patient and considered work 👌🏼
nearly bought a viking the other week, a PRS semi hollow 227 was purchased instead, still very grateful for this video... as with all of them
Loved the video, just like all your other videos. That Hagstrom brings back memories from that time when I was just starting to play in bands... Never got one, they were out of my reach, I'm afraid.
You never cease to amaze me. To methodically dissect each area on of this neck area layer by layer was a work of art. I'd love to know what happened to mangle this neck joint area. Beautiful work Ted. Thankyou for taking us along for the ride.
"I think that's sufficient"... I think it's masterful and wished everyone thought work like that neck pocket repair was just sufficient"
Awesome repair job.
Great job! Love your content.
Excellent work.
Cheers!
Loves Oxford lacquer! Had really good results.
Great work. Thanks!
That multipole switch appears to have been high quality and silver plated, and the black spots are silver tarnish. Which is a dandy insulator. You can clean them easily with a few drops of liquid silver polish solution from the supermarket (_not_ the paste stuff, the liquid stuff). Of course they will tarnish again in a while, depending on climate.
Those felt washers under the knobs were common on better radios from the 1930s and early 1940s. They kept dirt out from under the knob and potentially getting into the grease on the pot shaft if it leaked upward. They also gave the knob a smooth consistent feel, as though you were turning something of substance rather than a a spindly little pot shaft. We're used to spindly pot shafts these days, so the felts feel strange to us.
Painstaking and meticulous work. Great job Ted. And I thought the Univox hollowbody bass I worked on a while ago was bad!
I believe Hagstrom also made the pickups Guild used on the original Starfire basses as well as some of the bridges and tuning keys Guild used during that era.
The modern version of this guitar is well thought of.
Bless you for doing this. For I sure as hell wouldn't want to.
It was a mess,now it isn't, fabulous work.
Some of us rather ham handed players like felt washers under our control knobs. The tiny bit of gentle friction it provides, at least gives us confidence we don't inadvertently turn a knob while using another control. For instance l always put a felt washer under the volume knob of a Tele. A couple times l bumped the volume when switching pickups. It got me kinda trigger-shy and distracted. The felt washer just gives me a bit of peace of mind...
Yes. I understand it's a Strat thing too, whereas the vol. knob is positioned in a poor place for an active picking hand. (This I've read about. Never had a Strat. Many Gibsons, though!)
An early European electric you didn't mention was Jolana of Czechoslovakia, with the first lap-steel model released in 1954 (Akord) and the first electro-spanish released in 1959 (Neoton). Jolana also made some of the Futurama strat-clones you mentioned.
Another great video Ted!
A few years ago I had a chance to bid on a lovely green Hagstrom Viking with an original case at a local auction, but unfortunately it went out of my price range. They're gorgeous guitars, even more so in person.
Hagstrom had some sort of relationship with Guild in the early/mid 60s. You'll find those fiddly bridges on some 60s Guild electrics. Hagstrom also built Guild amps from that period. That was when Europe was 𝙩𝙝𝙚 place to find cheap labor, before Japan. I've also heard (but can't verify) that Guild wanted to outsource the building of their second gen Starfire bodies and necks to Hagstrom, but their business relationship fell apart before that came to fruition. This might be why the Viking's bodies are the same as Starfires and not copies of 335s. I do know for sure that James D'Aquisto shipped some of the "Jimmy" model bodies and necks back to the U.S. for his own use in the very late 60s after Hagstrom commissioned him to design a jazz guitar for them. The story goes that the necks were lost in shipping, but some early high dollar 70s D'Aquistos have the Hagstrom made, birch ply bodies.
I wanna hear more of that last sample you played. Sounds nice.