Hagstrom Viking Encore in Cherry & Black

[@bassthing68]

Thanks for this Jock. I appreciate you sent the Viking bass back to GC eventually but you did a terrific job of demoing it and showing it off.

[@garyroberts-spinoutuk4874]

Thanks from the UK

[@ben31584]

Dude, I've owned this Model for nine years now. I put flatwounds on it, have not had to tune it for at least two years. Seriously. It just stays in tune. The mechanics are awesome. I even contacted Hagstrom, to tell them how happy I was with their product.

[@SirSelby]

If you haven’t tuned a bass for two years, then you have a bad ear and are playing out of tune. There’s simply no way that *any* bass would stay in tune for two years. 😂 Absolutely absurd.

[@ben31584]

@@SirSelby Ever heard of a tuner? Its a little device, that tells you if your instrument is in tune. Look it up sometime. Also, there are these things called bands. Those are groups of people, trying to make music together. Now, if your bass is not be tuned correctly you would recognize it very quickly, as would I and the rest of the people playing with me. Btw I did not write, that i have not tuned a bass in years, I ust said that this bass keeps staying in tune, since PRJock seemed to have an issue with it.

[@SirSelby]

@@ben31584 You said you didn’t have to tune it in two years. This means you never had to turn the tuning pegs at all within a two year span, which is outlandish. By the way, the “a bass” in my initial comment was referring to this specific bass in question (“a” was used instead of “that” due to the fact that this would apply to *any* bass).

[@SirSelby]

My point is that a bass with strings that are under tension will not stay totally in tune for two years without some adjustments. This applies no matter how good or bad the bass in question is, because the string itself will undergo some level of fluctuating expansion and contraction regardless of the instrument.

[@ben31584]

@@SirSelby Put flatwounds on it nine years ago. Never changed them. Works fine.

[@juliensanchez8770]

Thank you so much for the review !! I'm wondering about buying one of those since yesterday, so I'm glad I find your video. I really like how it sound, but still need to try it by my own. Good luck with your channel, I'll check out your work !

[@progrockjock]

Thank you very much! The Hagstrom Viking is a very fun bass to play and I love the look of it, but now that I own it, I keep wondering what the Startfire is like. The lowend lobster's review of this bass is rather compelling.

[@VeitLehmann]

Thanks so much for the demo, there's not a lot out there for the Viking! And regarding what you said in the end: I agree 100%! There's no bass that can cover 100% of my needs, but I have one that covers 95%. In my case, that's a Clover Apeiron H.5 - a modern 5-string Jazz Bass, active/passive, with a splittable MM-style bridge pickup (on steroids, it has Delano TheHybrid electronics). Then there's a P-style bass, an Aria RSB Standard with flatwounds, which works great in maybe 70% of occasions. My third bass is a fretless which I rarely use, but when I need it, I'm really happy to have it! Now I want to complete my collection with a nice semi-hollow short scale, maybe a Viking or something similar, maybe a nice old bass, but not a collector's vintage bass. I don't want to spend more than 500 bucks on it. Setting limits and controlling your GAS impulse is really important.

[@progrockjock]

You're welcome. The Clover Aperion looks like a solid bass! It reminds me of the Michael Kelly Element 5 but the Clover looks to have way better pickups. I don't think Aria makes a bad bass. I always liked the Aria Pro 2. Speaking of GAS, I just sold another instrument today. I also want a semi-hollow to finish my collection. I bought a different Viking but ended up returning it due to poor quality. Never hesitate to return an instrument if you can and you're not happy with it. It will probably be the Ibanez AGB200 if I can grab it for under $500.

[@VeitLehmann]

@@progrockjock The German-made Clovers are comparable to Sandberg, the new ones made in the Czech Republic (Clover shut down and sold their name) have much cheaper parts, so I'm lucky to still have an old one. My Aria is an old MIJ one from the early 80s, it's the most basic model, but that's also exactly what I wanted. With the fretless I was also lucky as f..., it's an Esh Sovereign, with very special electronics: 2 Kent Armstrong J-style single-coils operated by a 4-way switch (also allowing series), and a piezo in the bridge which can be added, and a passive tone blend. All that combined with beautiful wood (ash/walnut burl body, 3-piece maple neck and ebony fretboard). Sadly, Esh had the same destiny as Clover, shut down and sold their name to the same Czech company. But the new ones actually seem pretty decent, they managed to keep the original spirit. The AGB200 looks very interesting! Pretty compact, and Ibanez instruments are usually well built. Not sure about the pickups though... I'd love to try one! And I really have to find a Viking to try because a used one in great condition just popped up for 400 bucks. On paper this would be exactly what I'm looking for. And even though I was really lucky with my blind purchases in the recent years, I'd rather try before buying now.

[@progrockjock]

@@VeitLehmann I think $400 is the sweet spot for a Viking. The one I bought was made in China and had some issues with the selector switch. I really enjoyed the way it played and sounded. Just didn't have confidence in that switch. Speaking of fretless, I love my Pedulla Buzz but they also suffered the same fate minus selling to another builder. This, of course, drove the value up. The AGB200 is fun to play and sounds decent too. I posted a video about it but didn't put in enough time.

[@VeitLehmann]

@@progrockjock I just pulled the trigger, but not for the Viking. I just snagged an Epiphone Rumblekat - awesome bass! I also tried a Viking before. Sound and build quality was there, and it looked great and had a great feeling neck profile. But it was so heavy and neck-diving... The Rumblekat is also slightly neck-heavy (like every bass with that shape), but it's much lighter and more compact (I guess similar to the AGB200). And it sounds just awesome, a bit like a Höfner, but with more sustain and stronger fundamentals. I couldn't be happier!

[@progrockjock]

Congratulations! That's a great looking bass! I have a Jack Cassidy video coming but I've never played the Rumblekat.

[@petestaint8312]

Killer demo! 👍

[@progrockjock]

Thank you!...are you a Mr. Show fan too??

[@TheNeonRabbit]

Check the intonation. If the scale length is off a bit it's VERY easily fixed. I've found Hagstroms to be the best there is for tuning stability because of their H-Expander truss rod system. It's basically an I-beam with a channel running through it for the truss rod. I've literally ditched my Gibson Les Pauls in favor of Hagstrom Swedes.

[@TheMKEWERBY]

You know, Jock, I demoed a bass just like this today & it didn't seem to have these tuning issues. This is a Chinese-made version like that one, right? It's not the Swedish Northern Series. With the Super Swede Model, that's ABBA's Rutger Gunnarson's brand.

[@progrockjock]

Yes, it's a Chinese version and I was actually willing to keep the one I purchased but when the guy at GC suggested I return it, I felt like he knew something about it I didn't know. You can pick them up for around $500 these days but I think I prefer the Epiphone Jack Casady. I'm a fan of Viking's look over nearly every other semi-hollow out there and I'm also a fan of Gunnarsson. May he rest in peace.

[@philosophicallyspeaking6463]

There are no mechanical problems (assuming a single faulty tuner which would effect all strings as the offending string repeatedly flattened) that would causes an instrument to go differentially out of tune, except a loose tail piece or a floating bridge that sticks. Its more likely a structural problems, like a weak or poorly fitted neck joint that is giving or twisting in its pocket, or a top that flexes. One would transfer tuning shifts from upper to lower strings as it was caused to shift back and forth while the other would eventually bottom out and stabilize until the next string change or a strong atmospheric change.

[@kevmac1230]

Do you think these flaws are inherent or can one be found ready to gig with?

[@progrockjock]

I think you can find a good one out there for under $500 but that toggle switch is an issue.

[@victorwong9622]

Nice playing. Wondering if you’ve ever played a Guild Starfire for comparison?

[@progrockjock]

That's a great question. I have played one but I didn't post a video covering it. I thought it was pretty cool. I'm long overdue for another semi-hollow bass showdown with Guild, Hagstrom, Ibanez, Gretsch and Gibson.

[@victorwong9622]

Despite your comments, the bass sounded great nevertheless so I pulled the trigger on one!

[@progrockjock]

@@victorwong9622 I don't think you'll be sorry. They are a blast to play and they sound great. My only gripe was the selector dial. I only had the Viking bass for 5 days but I actually kind of miss it. Enjoy that bass, man!

[@victorwong9622]

@@progrockjock We need that semi-hollow showdown, thanks!

[@victorwong9622]

Out of curiosity, any recollection of dimensions/weight of Viking vs Starfire?