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With a design reminiscent of a Gibson LesPaul, the Swedish-made Hagstrom Super Swedewas introduced circa 1977 and had a productionrun of just about five years. Locatedat the guitar’s output jack, the serial numberindicates that this particular Super Swede couldbe one of the last built in Älvdalen, Sweden.
Hi Zach,
I own a vintage Hagstrom Super Swedewith a serial number of 53 078140.I’ve played and displayed this guitar inmy home ever since I bought it back inthe mid-’80s. I read that these modelswere available in mahogany and maple,and I think mine has a maple top, butI’m not sure. It has a beautiful sunburstfinish and I love this guitar—I’m justhoping to get more information on itand the company. There are sites forHagstrom information out there, butthe Super Swede is not mentioned asmuch as the company’s surf-style guitarsthat were produced earlier. Thanks! Leonard in Vancouver, BritishColumbia
Hi Leonard,
Let’s begin with a little history. AlbinHagström of Älvdalen, Sweden, began hiscareer selling German accordions, foundingHagstrom in 1921 and incorporating in1926. By 1932, the company had establishedits own production facility, and in 1936, thefirst of many attempts to set up distributionin America with a sales office in New Yorkwas made. Because of World War II, however,a U.S. sales office wasn’t actually in placeuntil 1946, and it only lasted until 1949.Hagstrom began producing electric guitars in1958, and at first, these guitars were importedinto the U.S. by the Hershman MusicalInstrument Company in New York, andlabeled under the Goya brand name.
Hagstrom-branded instruments startedappearing in the U.S. around 1962, with a fullyexpanded lineup of guitars and basses showingup by the mid-1960s. Initially, Hagstromguitars were visibly influenced by the pearloidfinish of the accordions the company producedfor so many years, but their guitars becamemore traditional-looking as time progressed. Agood example is the James D’Aquisto-designedHagstrom Jimmy, released in 1969.
With the introduction of their pioneering“H” Expander-Stretcher truss rod,Hagstrom was also known for innovation.This was further evidenced with the SwedePatch 2000—the first guitar with a built-insynthesizer—and the Hagstrom H8, an8-string bass with four sets of string pairs.
Hagstrom Serial Number Book Free
Unlike the many other guitar manufacturersthat moved production to Asia in the1970s, Hagstrom continued to produce theirguitars in Sweden. By 1983, however, theycould no longer compete with all the Asian-madeguitars on the market, so Hagstromexperimented with having a few prototypeinstruments built in Japan. The quality ofthe prototypes was not on par with theirSwedish-made counterparts, so instead ofcompromising the Hagstrom brand, thecompany discontinued guitar operationaltogether. Hagstrom continued to buildaccordions, and still does today. In 2005,the Hagstrom trademark for guitars wasrevived for a line of guitars built in China,styled mostly after the popular Hagstromsof the 1960s and 1970s. Today, Hagstromis distributed in the states by U.S. MusicCorporation in Buffalo Grove, Illinois.
The Les Paul-influenced Swede wasfirst introduced in 1970, while the higher-endSuper Swede (originally called theSwede DeLuxe) was introduced circa 1977.Hagstrom catalogs are quite vague regardingspecifications, but the main difference betweenthe two is that the Super Swede boasts a setneck, while the regular Swede has a bolt-on.Another difference between the two is that theSwede has two 3-way switches. Separated bythe neck and located in the upper bouts, oneis a traditional pickup switch while the otheris a 3-way tone switch. The Super Swede isabsent of this tone switch, but does have a coiltap mini-switch near the knobs. It also appearsthat the Super Swedes featured maple topsfor select finishes, including golden sunburst,wine red, and tobacco brown. Keep in mindthat there are a few different variations of theSwede and Super Swede with different bodysizes and pickups/electronics.
According to the serial number, your guitarwas the 140th guitar built from batch 078.The “53” appeared before all Hagstrom serialnumbers beginning in the early 1970s, simplyto help with bookkeeping. I found out thatbatch 076 was produced around 1980, so it’spossible that your Super Swede could be oneof the last produced in Älvdalen. Hagstrommanufactured a total of about 1,500 SuperSwedes before the company shut down.
Other nice features of your Super Swedeinclude the ebony fretboard with pearl-blockinlays and the pair of humbuckers with individualvolume and tone knobs. In excellentcondition, your Super Swede is worth between$1,400 and $1,750. According to sources,some Super Swedes were custom finished andhave become very collectible. Since the SuperSwede was only produced for about five years,it is certainly one of the more rare Hagstromguitars out there. Definitely a treasure!
Zachary R. Fjestad
Hagstrom Serial Number Book 1is author ofHagstrom Serial Number BooksBlue Book ofAcoustic Guitars, Blue Bookof Electric Guitars, and BlueBook of Guitar Amplifiers.For more information, visitbluebookinc.com or emailZach at [email protected].Comments are closed.
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