This body is hollow! Hagström Alvar Review

[@TyRobertsmedia]

I have a Hagström Suede, which is a great vintage toned "les Paul" type guitar for way less money. The fingerboard material is a high-pressure laminate made from thin layers of black paper and phenolic, similar look and feeling to ebony.

[@TheMrturn1]

I thought it was thin birch and resin, layered and compressed. Thomas Turling from Hag let it slip during a promo.

[@larslarsman]

June 2, 2022. Swedes experts in wood technology. Swedish wooden cross country skis of the 1970's instead of steel edges had hard wooden laminate edges called Lignostone - "It consists of red beech veneers, which are joined together with thermosetting synthetic resins under high pressure and heat."

[@deanmlshredder]

Funny when you read the copy on their website they try to make it sound like this is an upgrade over ebony rather than an extreme cost cutting measure to maximise profits.

[@fraenkiboii]

Oh man this video made my day. Simply because I got another peak preview of "locked in"

[@STRSHADOW]

Oh my I need this song in my life! Great video!

[@terryhimes5052]

I Love the Jazz Style Demo. I always prefer a Clean sound Demo to an overdrive Demo. I want to hear what the Guitar sounds like on its own. Their are a thousand Pedals out there to make any Guitar sound like Whatever! Just my Opinion.

[@nelsonc6173]

so true so true.

[@moshebriggs3080]

I know I'm pretty off topic but do anybody know a good site to stream new tv shows online ?

[@brentleyryland9689]

@Moshe Briggs i dunno I'd suggest Flixportal. Just google after it:) -brentley

[@moshebriggs3080]

@Brentley Ryland thanks, signed up and it seems to work :) Appreciate it !!

[@brentleyryland9689]

@Moshe Briggs glad I could help :)

[@hubieh3374]

They (Hagstrom) have used "resonator" fretboard as long as I can remember..

[@FachryZulfikar]

Resinator™ as they said on their website. or what Gibson said as a Richlite.

[@joakimengstrom4924]

Since they came back in the 00s yes. they did guitars from the 50s to 81 before that.

[@GlennMichaelThompson]

@@joakimengstrom4924, @Fachry Zulficar True! I owned and played 2 Hagström Swede guitars made in the 1970's and the fingerboards were ebony. Also owned a double cutaway Hagström wich also had an ebony board and a bass with a rosewood fingerboard. Now I own 2 Hagström guitars, a Swede and an HL500 hollowbody with a floating mini humbucker. They both have resinator fingerboards which feel fine and very much like ebony. Great guitars for the prices.

[@joakimengstrom4924]

@@GlennMichaelThompson yes haha , im playing a 1974 hagström HIIN as we speak.

[@TheMrturn1]

They've only started with composites since the incarnation of the "new" Hagstrom in the mid 2000's. Prior to that it was Brazilian rosewood and ebony boards. I've got two HIIN OT from 1972 and both have Brazilian boards, like my 75 Viking 1N. I've got a 1973 Swede and 80 Super Swede and those are ebony. On the other hand I've got a modern Northen Super Swede, and the 3 x P90s Tremar Super (2014) and these two are Resonator. All very good guitars.

[@nbsmusicstudio4352]

Hagstrom makes beautiful semi hollow guitars! Well made, play well and sound excellent. I've played both the Viking and Alvar and can't decide which to buy. They have a similar feel and vibe to Dots and 339s, but they sound less muddy: slightly more open to my ears. I think the aesthetic is better, as well. Great review, thanks!! Excellent opening song, too!!

[@LightwaySolutions]

Which one did you go with?

[@leightnite3056]

Lovin this tune! Keep goin this direction, Great voc's as well!

[@charlesflint9048]

I love that green solid body Hagstrom in the background.😊

[@1301markus]

I have a Northen Swede and a Super Swede and I'm very happy with these guitars. This would be a nice upgrade to my Ibanez AS53. But I have to wait till my wife forgot the last guitar purchase ;-)

[@mikemullen1413]

Where do you hide all your guitars??

[@1301markus]

@@mikemullen1413 I do not hide them. My wife doesn't count them. Even I don't know who many there are (right now) ;-) The problem is, when a driver brings a packet with the sitze of 1,5m length. ;-( You always need one guitar more ;-)

[@jonathanhudak2059]

EytscPi42, thank you for this very thorough and excellent review of this cool guitar! I just tried one out today in the LGS. Before today I had never seen one but I remember the Hagstrom name. I didn't have time to plug it in I just played it unplugged. Other than it going out of tune on a couple of the strings a couple of times I liked it. I liked the design and ergonomics of it and now I think I will consider one of these for a semi-hollow body style electric guitar. Once again great review and nice playing you did on this video! I like how you did different styles of music on it.

[@keshin_martin]

I think the biggest thing going for this and the Viking (for me) is that they have the Les Paul layout for the electronics. For someone who plays LPs and is looking to get into Semi-Hollows, this guitar sounds golden

[@jopa3705]

Ausome demo! Great playing especially at 19:17 Nice guitar!

[@HackerHaus]

I’ve wanted one since I first saw this review. Just found one for $500 (US) on Reverb. Waiting for delivery now!

[@jonathanhudak2059]

HackerHaus did you get your Hagstrom yet? If so how do you like it? Hope to hear from you...

[@HackerHaus]

Jonathan, I did get the Alvar and it sounds great. The fret ends are sharp as hell, though, so I’m going to need to get them smoothed down.

[@jonathanhudak2059]

HackerHaus thank you. Glad you got it! Sorry to hear about your frets though! :-( what color did you get? I like the red the best. If I get one hopefully the frets will be okay

[@HackerHaus]

Red all the way! Although... I kinda want the white one now, too.

[@nelsonc6173]

@@HackerHaus Just got the white one. I wouldn't bother. The color is off white, almost almond color. Really strange. Plus my fret ends were sharp as knives. I had a chip in the headstock and the tuners were awful. The Tuner for the A string was weird and wouldn't tune properly. Ended up returning mine. Disappointed cause I loved the way the neck felt and played.

[@hyperspacey]

Random belated comment on a multi-year-old video: I got one of these as it's extremely hard to get left-handed, small-body semi-hollow guitars. The one I got needed a fret dressing so the nut could be filed down, it was so high it'd pull a quarter-tone sharp out of the box and the frets were all over the place, and I needed the distributor to send me a replacement bridge as all the saddle screws were seized on the original one, which was an added cost (thanks to my local luthier for handling all that for me). Saying that, the only similar guitar I've seen is five times the price of the Alvar plus all the extra work, when it even shows up on sale, so I shouldn't complain- just maybe put some money aside for some additional work on the guitar as QC on these may be a little variable.

[@nelsonc6173]

As always great vids! always informative and entertaining! Thanks! Love the Hagstrom guitars and their look! Gonna have to try one!

[@guittarwizzrd]

Those black spirit 200 are awesome little amps especially for going direct with the cab simulation and have went to it more over the last couple of years over my tube amps but I'm afraid I'm going to have to let mine go . I have to get a synergy system now it's just deciding to go with a rack or the 50 watt head . Thank you for all of your reviews over the years , you're the man .

[@AvelinaDeMoray]

Hey there! I'm just about to. Purchase this guitar after watching your review several times now over the past week. Can you tell where where that awesome wooden guitar stand that holds the blue hagstrom is from please??

[@EytschPi42]

Bulldog Music Gear

[@REX-ks1os]

First! GREAT SONG GUYS! Ok Hagstrom guitars are really great, when i needed a new jazz box that would also be versatile for other forms of music i wound up choosing a Hagstrom HJ500 hollow body originally designed by Jimmy D’Aquisto. Really it is based on a Gibson.L5 only using maple on the HJ500 .On the HJ550 they use mahogany so it gets more the warm gibson tone while the HJ500 sounds more like a Guild of the same build type. The thing is most of the upper realm Hagstrom's play very smoothly, very low action if you want and sounds great, stays in tune for ever one thing is that though the pickups are ok i did put a set of seymour Duncan 59's which made the guitars sound improve a whole lot. Every one should have at least one hagstrom in there arsenal.

[@jonathanhudak2059]

I also like how they rounded off the corners of the Fret markers and did the Double Split one at the 12th position... :-)

[@friedhelm5845]

4:33 Nice guitar moves, sweet dog!

[@aflightofgiants2000]

Being a semi-hollow, how does the Alvar handle high gain amps and tones?

[@damianrjames]

That heil bit was hilarious!

[@AngelMartinez-qs3cf]

Great demo! In what album is that song locked in.

[@EytschPi42]

not released yet

[@AngelMartinez-qs3cf]

@@EytschPi42 Thank you. Beautiful song! Just discovered this group because of this video. Thank you for posting it.

[@samuellee3507]

Why can't I find that Locked In song anywhere else? Sounds really nice. Still unreleased?

[@jacobbockover1628]

I had a super swede for a bit and it had a repaired break. I really like the resinator fretboard and the radius was very flat i am looking for a small semi hallow and its that the esp ltd xtone ps 1000 the prs se zach myers and the DaGelico dc mini. Im more leaning to the true semi hallow options

[@tonehammer7276]

Just to let you know...Resinator is the same as Richlite. Im a big Hagstrom fan...currently my favourite affordable guitars!

[@danbaron2561]

I can't understand it, I have a black one coming today. Why didn't you say which color is best, red, white, or black??!!!!

[@MutethatBozo]

I noticed that the fun warning at the beginning of the videos has disappeared, but I'm gonna assume that fun is still okay, anyways. That is a nice sounding guitar, and the Hogwarts badge really puts it over the top. Animals at the end! Peace :)

[@andrewmuelleranantababaji8073]

What drum program did you use on song ? Nice you did with most Hagstim models

[@EytschPi42]

BFD3

[@andrewmuelleranantababaji8073]

Reply acting strange but was trying to comment just ordered Hag Alvar cherry red thanks to you.

[@alastor1052]

I have an ultra max which I bought for a suprisingly low price. Best deal ever. Nice and versatile for not a lot of money

[@heaven9127]

Great tones! Personally I like it better the Eastman semi-acoustics. HAGSTROM ALL THE WAY!

[@Adrianzz356]

Great video! I'm currently in the market for a semi-hollow guitar, trying to choose between this one and the ibanez as93fm. I'm more intrigued by this guitar but also a little worried how much of the "hollowness" you sacrifice in the tone with the smaller body size compared to the standard 335 body size. If anyone has any input on this i would be very grateful! Mainly going to use it for clean jazz tones.

[@amain325]

Get the Hagstrom Viking. It's a full size. Mine plays and sounds great, it's my #1 gigging guitar. I'm sure the Alvar is great also but like you, I prefer the full size to the smaller. It just looks better on me and I'm average size. On a big guy the smaller guitar would look even smaller. Just like the Gibson ES-335 looks right while the ES-339 just looks too small.

[@mervolicious]

Whoever complained about CLC as produced track samples has no taste whatsoever. The Hagström family works well with this kind of music and all models look stunning. If I didn't have LPs, STs and semi-hollows already, I'd get all of them as an affordable replacement for my Düsenberg GAS. They somehow feature the same vibe for me. Thanks for this series, Henning.

[@rhykko77]

Beautiful ending song !

[@chrislanners7080]

Geiles video 👌🏼

[@rickvickery2816]

You had me at Hagstrom … and then you said Alvar … I`m already stuffing $20s in my sock drawer for one of these beauties (I prefer the black one but the red is pretty sharp looking too) … on another note, what is that wooden guitar stand in the video?

[@EytschPi42]

Bulldog Music Gear

[@andon5150]

Hey Henning, not sure how it sounds in your studio but over here this thing really sounds great with the Marshalls, especially with the JCM800 to be honest. This is a great guitar, I know the Hagstrom cheaper models are made in Asia, can you confirm if it's in China specifically? Also, do you know if they still produce other models in Europe? Thanks for another great review, cheers!

[@DMSProduktions]

100% CHINA!

[@billrand4138]

the northern series is made in easten europe and the pickups are swedish made

[@DMSProduktions]

@@billrand4138 Nice to hear! Built by committee!

[@kevinmusso2397]

Damn! Dude can sing - who is he?

[@PooNinja]

It’s pretty but I just can’t get in the hollow bodies? Maybe it’s because I don’t fit in the F holes That sounds worse than l ment it now that I read it

[@fatso2894]

This or an Ibanez am?

[@fatso2894]

@@Memento.Mori.8 Wow, I didn't remember writing this. I have an answer though: the most easier to play. In this price segment, even an epi 335/339 will do the job, for me at least, since I don't really like the Gibson counterpart's tone, too compressed imo

[@dugbert5]

How would you compare this to an Epi Casino Coupe?

[@EytschPi42]

no idea... haven't played one yet

[@thedondeluxe6941]

I have a Casino Coupe. Great guitar! But it's a lot more vintage sounding than the Hagström because of the P-90 pickups. The Hagström is probably very similar to the Epiphone ES-339.

[@AlbusBand]

“And the guitar is 24.75....” 👏👏👏

[@nelsonc6173]

Got this in white. Was really disappointed because it played awesome with a sweet neck that played fast. But my guitar came with a slight chip in the head stock and the paint finish was awful...I got the white, Swedish Frost, and the paint job was uneven to the point where it didn't even look white...it looked off white almost like a almond color. Plus the paint around the F holes were sloppy and unfinished. Looked terrible. And the fret ends were as sharp as knives???? WTF? I never seen anything like that? And the tuner for the A string was weird and wouldn't tune properly...overall the tuners felt really cheap. Ended up returning it. Just wasn't worth keeping. Very disappointed. If you're interested in getting a smaller size semi hollow like this, get the D'angelico Mini DC. Better quality overall for the same money

[@MrsHopeunseen]

I had the same issue with the frets, also Swedish Frost. It's the first Hagstrom I've ever had to get set up -- and got the frets dressed up a bit as well. A local guy did the work for about US$50 for me, so it was worth it. The guitar's perfect now, but I'm with you. It was very un-Hagstrom like.

[@timokakoun4367]

The Alvar makes me want to cheat on my Ltd. Dark King Swede ... haaaaach ...

[@GraphTechGuitarLabs]

:D :D

[@mikemullen1413]

Are they made in country that created Covid??

[@deaddoll1361]

Mike Moron

[@hutzleputz]

Hi - thanks for this video. I think, I'll try this one as my next guitar. What I need, would be a tip for a nice litlle amp, which I can use in a rented flat. And maybe it could be a little louder, when the housemates are gone...

[@nutsocket]

great demo