Hagstrom Super Swede!

It has arrived! I cannot recommend this guitar enough if you're thinking of going the Les Paul route. Very solid, well-built, booming tone, absolutely gorgeous, weighs a ton and the best part is it costs about half of an entry-level Les Paul. If you're thinking of getting a studio Les, stop what you're doing and buy this. It's better. The big differences are the longer scale neck, comparable to a stratocaster, and i'm really glad i went this route (the Swede has the same scale). On strats i find the nut-end of the neck a little difficult to deal with, but not so with the Hagstrom. The neck sits at an angle to the body like the Les Paul and has that super low action, where you think of playing the guitar and it just chimes.

It also has a coil tap, which at first i could care less about, but after i heard it, I was blown away. I'm not a fan of one guitar sounding like two, but clicking on the single-coil state in mid position sounds country as hell, even more twangy that the strat in any position, and not a cheap twang. Sustain, for those who care (i don't really) is endless. Each string is thread through a solid brass block at the bridge the size of pool chalks.



On the downside, and this is minor. The knobs on the tuning pegs are chrome painted plastic, ewwwww. It's the one thing i've noticed that screams MADE IN CHINA as the sticker on the back indicates. I've looked at Hagstroms before, and that sticker is daunting for sure. Trust me, this does not sound or feel like junk, and it can be had for $400-$500. Don't pay $700 as advertised. You can find it new for less.

I also want to add something to the blog i couldn't find out online: Does this guitar fit in a stratocaster case? NO it does not. Due to tilt of the neck (strats are straight), it might fit in a Les Paul case, but i can't verify that. The neck is longer which might not work. I'm just going to buy the default Hagstrom case.



Serial # = M09100810

Stray Strat Strut. Shielding a Stratocaster

I found this shielding method to work with varying results on stratocasters. First I want to recommend if you have the option of using copper foil tape instead of aluminum foil tape, do so. Soldering aluminum is a real chore. It can be done, but it almost requires voodoo and some harry potter magic to finally make a weld take. Copper is a blessing and and your soldering will take in one shot, instead of looking like balls of mercury rolling over the surface. The other problem with soldering on the backside of a pickguard is if you spend too much time soldering a spot, it will discolor the gloss on the face of the pickguard. That being said, fender uses aluminum.

As you switch through your pickup selectors on a strat, especially on poorly shielded ones (you shall see), it goes BZZZZ (-_-) BZZZZZ (-_-) BZZZZZZ!!! Single coils buzz (hum), but with better shielding it's a lot less. I got to screw around with the guitar for a couple days now, and i will attest this HAS reduced the amount of hum the thing makes.

First, let's see what Fender does with a basic MIM pickguard.



Only over the volume and tone pots. nowhere else. Solution- foil tape over all of it and connect the foil with electrical solder. Didn't take a photo of the final pickguard, but you can imagine. Next. .



Fender used masking tape to bind the wires. It's a good measure to replace that with electrical tape. Next. . .



Shield the entire body cavity, again connecting all the foil with solder and allowing the foil to overlap the body so it connects to the pickguard. ALUMINUM IS A BITCH TO SOLDER so you're better off using copper foil, which is what's recommended. I ordered some. I couldn't find copper foil tape at Home Depot Next. . .



On the volume pot is a collection of ground leads. The one i'm interested in has a ground wire going back to the spring claw on the other side of the body. Solder a piece of wire that (in this photo it's the lowest weld on that volume pot), and then. . .



Run that new ground wire out of the body cavity to connect with the pickguard when it's put back in place. The whole thing becomes a big grounded metal box.

Additionally, here's another thing i thought made sense. . .



I had to buy these on e-bay (again, home depot doesn't give a crap about you and your guitar). Surgical rubber tubing to replace the metal mounting springs on your pickups. Theres a lot of strat voodoo going around that the springs interfere with the sound and the rubber won't, because its little vibrating metal springs. I also noticed the mount seemed sturdier.

And now for one more bonus. You can age the plastic parts by boiling them in coffee/tea. I dumped some old coffee and a bag of earl grey tea in a pot and boiled it on the stove. The parts simmered for roughly 5 minutes for light browning.



The strat is kickin'. I recommend getting a cheap standard and shielding it. Additionally, i'd like to know if more care is put into the shielding on an American Standard Stratocaster. This is an easy upgrade to make.

Fuggit

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