Vintage Hagstrom Swede - Stormy Monday improvisation - Matt Thorpe

[TheLordOfEltingville]

One of my regrets is selling my '72 Swede back in the mid-80s. I have yet to see anything with sustain that comes anywhere close to it--a complete dream to play...

[Fr3derick]

Beautiful!! Thanks for sharing:)

Grandma Mary

[Voxman5]

Lovely playing; great phrasing & a very nice guitar. I also liked the tone with your Pod XT- what amp model & effects were you using?

[Blompcube]

brilliant sound - i might be getting my hands on a 1979 super swede. i know i'd be a fool to turn down the opportunity but i may not be able to afford it unfortunately :(

[AliPentland]

I love the original pickups. I find them lush and deep rather than bright.

[aynrandy1]

I got one in 82 perfect condition. I never played it because I was going to use it as a strictly through the board guitar.

Then after getting arrested for disorderly conduct and resisting arrest, my girlfriend raised my bail money of 100 dollars, and I got home and that's what she used to get the 100 bucks. My fucking Swede. I was unhappy to say the least.

I would have prefered a weekend in jail to be sure.

[kingswayguitar]

wow!! give me more!! one of the best versions I've heard. very well timed notes...some just ahead and some just behind the beat - COOL! sorry I didn't read all the posts, but where did you get the background track?

cheers

[martinrking]

Nice guitar, great playing.

[presvis20]

Hey man . Is this a new guitar ? the china made ones? Is it the mahogany colour?

[Mattukgtr]

@presvis20 no it a 'vintage' one as in old it was made in sweden in 1978!

[skipstalforce]

when I grow up i wana play just like you on a guitar just like yours!

[shabbamanuk]

whoa

[1carp]

That sounds wonderful!

[roodbrood]

Very cool,

I just acquired a 1978 Hagstrom hiin. Man what an awsome guitar. :-)  Rock on

[RedRebel8]

Fantastic!!!! Beautiful fluid movement along the neck. Great clarity through each note. No over indulgence - perfect guitar playing.

[TheFelix91]

I could watch this over and over again!!! awesome job!!

[leftylucifer]

Hi. Great blues feeling and nice phrasing! I got the chance to get me an all original '76 lefty Swede one but I find the pickups to be a bit on the bright side. I noticed that you swap the original pickups on yours for Gibson 498T/490R ones. How would you describe the tone of the Gibsons compared to the original Hagström ones? I'd like to swap mine too and sure would like to know from your experience. Thanks!

[Mattukgtr]

@leftylucifer thanks for your comments. The Gibson pickups sound fuller, warmer and are louder or more powerful and so will give better overdrive charactersistics when played through a valve amp than the Hag ones. I agree with your comments that the Hag ones sounded very bright and thin.

[leftylucifer]

@Mattukgtr Many thanks to you for answering me! I'm sure the Swede's gonna sound awesome in my old Garnet Sessionman combo with the Gibson pickups upgrade. Thanks again! Luc

[BrunoFariaTM]

awesome :D

[jolt80]

Great tone!

What settings you were using on the POD XT?

[MrMarquee]

Very sweet bluessound! Good playing! Keep them strings rattling!

[skunkradioDOTnet]

very groovy man!

[efjfolli]

Beutyfull guitar and experimented/talented soloist. ! ***** !

[borbottamela]

compliments sounds very good ... I also have a Hagstrom Swede but I can not play like you :-( but the guitar is really nice and plays very well ... I think it's a great guitar

P.S. sorry for my English I'm Italian

[Hammerhead2905]

The best solo I've heard for that tempo. I'm quite pleased. Nice Vintage Swede. I've got myself one of the few 200 Jimmy "O" by James D'Acquisto. Marvelous for Jazz. Equal, if not better than a Gib's E165. Smooth as silk... Thanks for the video. Very interesting.

[hdansin]

Sweet blues dude, smooth as butter

[donnyrocker1]

I can play this no problem I just need a book to show me the licks, any recomendations?

[fordgt402]

Wish the f200 models have block inlays,nice playing btw dude

[murta1234]

Where did you get the serial # verified? My stepdad has a hag from the early seventies but i wana figure out the exact year it was made

[fattimebluse]

Wonderful unbelievable sound.

I felt the soul by the bluesy.

The tone is wonderful.

[guitarguy498]

awesome guitar player and guitar! btw my cousin has a white one .

[psychoschna]

hey. i have a '79 super swede! great guitars these hagstroms. what string-gauge are you using?

[toenail663]

I gotta get one of these!! They have a nice bite to them.Please tell what kind of amp you're using.

[borbottante]

Hagstrom swede with wath distorsion? very nice sound..Ts9 ibanez?Your amp is a valve?sorry for my question

[borbottante]

nice sound and good talent!

[diz52nd]

Great soloing

[domvac24]

Success. I sent the serial number to a site out of Sweden dedicated to vintage Hagstoms. My Swede is of the last Swedish produced guitars. Number 89 of 127 produced in 1981. Love this guitar.

[Mattukgtr]

Thanks for the info re the swedish website.

I got mine dated at late 1978 or early 1979which is nice to know it's a little older that I anticipated.

[domvac24]

Hey, Great!!. Ain't it sweet when that happens. I have a Strat that I thought was a 1974 until I checked with Fender and found it's a 1972. I don't mind it being older. I thought my Swede was a 1986, but it turns out to be one of the last Swedish made "81's.

MERRY CHRISTMAS and PLAY ON!!!

[domvac24]

Correction, now that I think about it, I believe the guitar was a bright red cherry color. It was a long time ago. I don't believe that Hagstrom ever produced the Swede in sunburst.

[domvac24]

I remember playing a gig for a Halloween party and this guy was dressed as Kurt Cobain and was dragging this sunburst Hagstrom Swede around and as he got drunk, the guitar got dropped more often. I tried to buy it from him right there, but he said "this guitar is my baby" so I yelled at him "well, stop dropping your baby" Poor abused child. I should've mugged him in the parking lot. He was pissed by then.

[domvac24]

I bought one of these about 20 years ago in a pawn shop. It looks identical to this guitar, but I have been unsuccessful at finding the exact year of manufacture. Does anyone know how I could find out? I have a '72 Strat and was able to find the exact year at Fender's site using the serial # but no luck with the Hagstrom anywhere. By the way, I paid $300.00 for the Strat in '79 and $100.00 for the Hagstrom. I had a sunburst Haggy in the mid 80's but sold it for a Telecaster.

[1010Dally]

nice swede! i got a 1970 hag swede (made in sweden) theyr heavy as hell but play beautifly!!

[comore7]

Really briliant. I love your way of playing

Before I saw this video I was sure to buy the prs tremonty se in a few weeks but since watching I'm not sure which guitar I should buy the prs tremonty se the hagstrome swede or ultra swede

[Mattukgtr]

Don't forget that this is a circa 1981 Hagstrom model Made In Sweden - please check out the performance of the current models as they are made in China. That said my Hagstrom Viking is Chinese and is an excellent guitar.

[echothecrowman]

I am lucky enough to own several American made prs guitars, they are all outstanding in build quality and sound...however, my first prs was the tremonti se, circa 2004, cost me £350...i still have that guitar, the reason being is that it plays and sounds great.

Some of these Hagstroms sound good too...try to get to play both before you decide which is for you.

[TheNeonRabbit]

@comore7 I have a Hag Swede Tremar. I love it. Plays great. Sounds great and stays in tune even with a Bigsby-style whammy bar.

[xpacev2]

hmm, youre really good! easy to tell that youve been playing for quite some time. I would love to play that lick from 0:31-0:34 , its great! surely the lick from 0:24 to 0:26 is borrowed from Jimi Page, no?

[Mattukgtr]

may well be a bit of Jimmy Page in their somewhere. I listened to a lot of JP in my formative years !

[habbit0091]

Is that Swede comparable to one of the recent Super Swede Models?

[Nu18F]

Super Swede is 25.5 scale - mahogany back and neck w/maple top . Swede is all mahogany and 24.75 scale.

[jnapruitt]

Very nice playing. Tasteful. Killer tone. I play, among other guitars, a Hagstrom Ultra Swede through a POD XT Live into a tube stage rig. I just ordered a new Goldtop Swede. Enjoyed your playing.. keep em' coming!

[MPLFoster]

wicked awesome!

[EricWW2]

Nice Guitar!

[billjoe534]

amazing tone

[W00zi3]

nice tone, I own already 2 hagstroms, one select super swede and one with which I recorded a lil riff, check out my vids ;)

[naveed211]

nice playing, nice guitar, nice tone.

those PODXT's are the truth if you know how to use them. and you do.

[flaloser]

Hagstroms are excellent guitars

they should be world known like some other brands I ALWAYS see.

nice pickin

[spicbuddha]

nice original Hag! I got one of the new ones, I was thinking of taking the PUps out of a Les Paul as well, you convinced me!

[Alex1710XVII]

Nice playing, very relaxing.

And hey, I will have similar guitar in two months :-D

But mine will be black and lefthand.

I like Hagstrom very much, the trader totally convinced me, I didn´t even know that brand before I entered that shop but it got me. I think that´s even better than Gibson and in my opinion, you pay a lot of money for having a Gibson-logo on your guitar, being worth nothing. And of course the two three-way-togglers are totally awesome. No Gibson-guitar has them.

[jks2]

are those pickups (with removed caps) stock?

[Mattukgtr]

As I said in the description these are the Gibson pickups from my Les Paul. I removed the chrome covers so the pickups would fit the hagstrom's non standard pup surrounds

[kalox007]

Excellent performance and sound. All the best

[djbro16]

pretty close to a les paul.. nice and rich,.. I'm gonna have to try one out

[PetieFr]

what amp are you using?

[Mattukgtr]

It's actually recorded direct to my mixer using a Line6PODxt - The POD amp settings are allegedly Marshall Plexi through a 4x12 with greenbacks!

[tims18]

wow, I didn't realise the POD xt could sound so good

[volkhead247]

you making me shead a tear!!! awsome bud, i think im going to drink a morning beer now.

[jeffroq]

Top playing Matt

I love the way it looks like you are flippin the middle finger when you bend up with your 3rd finger :) Awesome!!

[jstuka1234]

sounds great!

[ekserchina]

That was great. I'm buying myself a reeissue model by Hagstrom. It's the Select Swede that I'm getting. Basically same guitar as this except it's made in China and it has maple quilted top, mahagony body. I hesitated when I heard 'China' but I'm giving it a go especially because I own a 'jay turser' made in china and the jay turser sounds better than any epiphone I've played. Even the high end ones. I'm sure I'll be happy. It's a beautiful guitar. Your guitar is amazing man.

[KutWrite]

Excellent! Thanks for adding stereo capability.

[kalox007]

Great performance. Congratulations

All the best

[JayGreenly]

Is that a super swede or a regular swede? The pickups have me confused as well since there are no covers. Thanks, I've subscribed, really enjoying you vids!

[Mattukgtr]

"Stormy Monday played on my old 1981 Hagstrom Swede guitar. This guitar has the 498T/490R pickups from my Les Paul."

Its a regular Swede - had ro remove the Gibson pickup covers so they would fit in the housings.

[JayGreenly]

Tsandard Paul pickups! Really? Well they suit your playing. Thats is a beautiful sound and you have going.

[dmxguitarra]

I congratulate you on your interpretation and excellent sound, very similar to the vox VikingII that I use and I hope that more crashes and videos can enjoy all the good we like to do .. Greetings Music

[dmxguitarra]

estraordinario could teach more guitar amp and tell me that you use, musical greetings and congratulations

[79dan]

what scale do you use?

[Mattukgtr]

I don't know anything about scale naming conventions I didn't learn that way - sorry

[tattooabilly]

Beautiful song. Well done!

[Halrath65]

Amazing guitar skills man, I was wondering where you got the backing track for that song, I have looked everywhere for it and I haven't had any luck finding it.

[kalox007]

Great performance!

[Spocksbrother]

is the 490r a good jazz pickup? can you hook it up to a 5 way switch?

[belipo]

you have a nice guitar sir

[GuggenheimRadio]

that is quite a wicked guitar. This may seem like a random question but what kind of capacitors did vintage Hagstroms use?

[swoopdog54]

Matt, great tone and chops man. I thought I heard a bit of Mark Knopfler in the mix too. Good job!

[JEJ0090]

how do the original hag pickups sound?

[Mattukgtr]

I found them to be rather weak especially the bridge. Not long after I had the guitar I changed the bridge pickup for a DiMarzio SDHB which was awsome. that pickup now on my Gib LP.

[ExtremeXer]

Is Hagström Les Paul from 60's-70's good?. I found it in Flea Market. It was Red and nice.

[Anderselectro]

Wonderful tone, I agree with the guy that stated that you would sound great on any guitar having heart and fingers for some amizing blues. Still I vote for this combination. Those great pickups on a late vintage Swede should make for awesome tone if treated right as in your case. The Viking deluxe in your hands was a revelation. Stock pickups on a laminated top and that tone!!! (Well done Hagstrom)

All truly enjoyable! Keep sending us videos!

Anders

[kissochbajslovski]

Lovely! What amp are you using mate?

[Mattukgtr]

It's actually recorded direct to my mixer using a Line6PODxt - The POD amp settings are allegedly Marshall Plexi through a 4x12 with greenbacks!

[deepblues108]

Great playing and great tone. Love the sound of those pickups, do you know what kind of capacitors are in that guitar?

[out99990]

Hey Mattukgtr, Thanks in large part to your video, i pulled the trigger on a lefty Hagstrom Swede and i'm so stoked!!! I actually like this better than the two Gibson Les Pauls that i've owned over the last 30 years. Funny you should mention Tokai-i'm in the middle of getting my money back from a U.K. distributor due to a year and 3 months of no-show from Tokai. They don't sell in the states and overseas custom orders are dicey. However, Richtone Music (in U.K.) has been awesome.

[supraman320]

i love your sound man, what kind of amp is this through?

[Mattukgtr]

It's actually recorded direct to my mixer using a Line6PODxt - The POD amp settings are allegedly Marshall Plexi through a 4x12 with greenbacks!

[Brennrullen]

If you ever gonna buy a hagström, buy the newones. Those who are produced in China. Thay are FASTER to play than the Gibson Les Paul. And it is MUTCH cheaper.

[Mattukgtr]

I did buy a new Hagstrom - check out my other videos of the Viking Deluxe. Also have a look at the Tokai. Jap models quality better than Hagstrom!

[out99990]

BRAVO!!!! Me wants one of those hagstroms. Did you have the pick-up "split" for this tune? Again-excellent axe work brother, well done.

[OneLoveJK]

Those pickups sure sound better in the Hagstrom than they do in the Gibby. Never liked them until now.

Great playing, sir, I have the reissue Hagstrom Select Ultra Swede. Solid, solid guitar.

[Ulrick26]

i've an Ultra Swede, Ultar lux serie, black.

Seriously, it Rocks !, an awesome sound, and an amazing weight...

20/20

[drmathdestruction]

a few months ago i bought a swede too and it's fucking awesome!

[Mattukgtr]

yes I'm looking at getting one of the current re-issue models the one in the video was new in 1981 approx.

[drmathdestruction]

well certainly take a look at the ultra swede too! i just played it this afternoon at a friend's house and it's also a great guitar!

[ingeewung]

im looking at a couple ofreissues at the moment but in one shop the pickup at the neck was dead and at the other shop the bottom switch was duff, it doesnt inspire my confidence in the workmanship

[Mattukgtr]

Surprising as new stock comes in through Hagstrom UK who quality check the guitars and set them up before shipping them out. My Viking came with a card signed by the guy who set it up and checked it.

[Ulrick26]

Very Nice dude !

[petecatz]

Nice vintage Hagsrtom Swede! Cool riffs!