Hagstrom

Does anyone have any experience with Hagstrom guitars, more specifically the Viking and Viking P, I'm looking for a semi hollow body and I've seen really good reviews, My first choice is a Guild Starfire IV but the Hagstrom caught my eye but they are pretty hard to find and no small shops carry them, the only one I've seen was a Swede at a Guitar Center, I'm looking for something that can give me really mellow rhythm tones without getting muddy

I have tried a lot of the current production import 335 style guitars and I gotta tell you I am not impressed with almost ANY of them.... the Viking was a serious let down, everything about it felt cheap and the fit and finish are pretty run of the mill Chinese junk....

if I were buying a new import 335 clone I would go Eastman, they are the only ones, epiphones included, that feel like real guitars to me.... play an Eastman next to a Viking, current Guild starfire, an epi 335pto and anything else out there and you will see what I mean

I will say that the new gretsch electromatics are generally very good compared to the competition, but they're kinda their own thing whereas all the guitars I already mentioned sit squarely in the 335 camp tonally

have you looked at vintage lawsuit guitars? I love my Yamaha and I only paid like 700 for it.... pretty universally great 335 rip-offs.... if you wanna spend more you can get some really great stuff, but then you're pulling into Gibson price ranges

YMMV though, just saying, not too knocked out by affordable semis these days.... which is funny because the import solidbodies these companies are cranking out are universally decent

I was surprised recently to see a Gretsch in a pawn shop the other day with painted on f-holes. Of all the companies you do not expect to fake it...

I really liked the Guild i played at CME one of the best non vintage guitars I've played but i haven't played any other clones than a few epiphone dots and 335's and some really bad ibanez artists which felt cheap and were really muddy

i haven't played any Yamahas or eastmans but ill keep my eyes out for them i know yamaha have some really good guitars and my local shop stocks them. and i like the solid body electromatics its just the gretsch pickups are so unique they kinda stray fro what I'm after.

I've looked at few lawsuit guitars and the ones I've seen I've read about a tone of issues but i haven't gotten my hands on anything like an old harmony, with me on a students budget tho i get limited and i don't have the patience to save up for a year and a half for a gibson

actually that's normal on some of the Chet Atkins models, expensive vintage examples were like that too.... Chet's specs, they thought it would reduce feedback without having to resort to a center block like a 335.... believe it or not, all the Chet models George Harrison played with the Beatles had painted on F-Holes

Gretsch actually stayed away from center-blocked,335 type guitars until a few years ago when they released some blocked electromatics

i played one that had them painted on it wasn't bad but the painted f holes were turn off

It was a Chet actually.

Exactly my thoughts! I had a bass player that had an f-hole bass that squealed with feedback for the whole show for the only gig he used it on, but it's like painting on a bigsby!

i played one that had them painted on it wasn't bad but the painted f holes were turn off

that's just the spec for some of the signature models, its definitely weird, but you're talking about a company that did drum wrap tops on the Duo Jet and the silly wester stuff like the G brand and the belt buckle soldered to the trapeze tailpieces LOL

most Gretsches are outrageous cosmetically and you learn to embrace it or you lump it....

I had a bass player that had an f-hole bass that squealed with feedback for the whole show

honestly, the lack of f-holes doesn't work well at reducing feedback, it just changes the way the guitar feeds back.... go figure! now, on the BB King 355 the omission of F-Holes really helps the feedback in conjunction with the center block and as you can hear from BB, Lucille models retain the signature ES thinline series sound

i really like gretsch's sparkle tops and stuff like cadillac and georgia green I'm just not huge on them they have some models i like but overall just not my style cosmetically but they sound incredible

If I can afford a gretsch, I can afford a gaudy bling'ed out glitter green gretsch with f- holes and a bigsby and leather and those trapezoid tuners and a BIIIG head.

i really like gretsch's sparkle tops and stuff like cadillac and georgia green

I had a caddy green duo jet for years

my dream gretsch is a Duo Jet double cut and idk the color i just want a dark sparkle and all silver hard ware, i just want that 60's classic rock n roll machine thats got bling but still understated

https://au.pinterest.com/pin/435652963935778636/

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0332/7621/products/4_bb37bcf6-0d53-447c-8bce-9d99ab140d79.jpg?v=1486199911

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/9c/dc/b9/9cdcb9a4fb6d6cfeaa05064d5b46e6a6.jpg

that one in the link is about as perfect as perfect can get

actually three there, only one picture displayed though

i only saw the green sparkle and surf green

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwid-q-5iaTSAhWP14MKHf1UABEQjRwIBw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnoxianquest.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F11%2Fjack-whites-triple-green-machine.html&bvm=bv.147448319,d.amc&psig=AFQjCNHECS7P2PQytq1kKxebJwQclA05hA&ust=1487865563811161

jack whites gretsch collection is something of legends tho

https://au.pinterest.com/pin/435652963935778636/

seeing all the surf greens and bright blues makes me want to take out a loan and get a gretsch now