Similar basses. Which one?

[Pauly 4001]

I would choose the Hagstrom. They make beautiful instruments and that is a wonderful looking example. I don't know about the balance but pretty sure you could find a strap to make it work. That body shape does tend to neck dive.

Hagstrom by a mile. It's gonna play amazingly and those tuners are absolutely sick. Hagstrom makes great basses

Dunable but mostly because I'm more familiar with their products and live driving distance from the Los Angeles headquarters.

I wonder if folks praising Hagstrom basses have played both the current Chinese made instruments or are basing their decisions on having played the Swedish made models years ago.
I own and love a 70s Swede Bass and must confess I've never played the new ones but have heard about rough frets and lower standards on construction and materials on the new Chinese instruments. It's not the same company in some ways and you couldn't expect it to be.

 

[mikewalker]

I am a huge fan of the 70s Hags, but I have found the modern ones are really disappointing in many ways

 

[shirojiro]

I'd have the same reservations about ergonomics as others mentioned.
I also tend to prefer three knobs versus four, but it depends on what the setup is.

Cool looking basses.

I got the Fender Aerodyne Precision in white for that white with black binding vibe.

 

[DaveParker39]

I'd go with the Dunable but only because their products seem pretty consistently good.

 

[cornfarmer]

Tough call. Dunable is 35" scale, the Hag is 34". Hag has an active circuit with EQ/blend etc.

For me it would boil down to how good the neck was and the weight. I owned a Gibson RD Artist w/ the Moog circuit for a minute. That thing was near unwieldy, and the neck was about as baseball bat as you can get. I also had a Thunderclapper built by Sacha Dunable himself and that was a great bass too. That was 10+ years ago when he was barely starting out, but he was a solid dude to work with. I'd love to try out the Hag, but I know the Dunable will play great.

 

[konoyaro]

If choosing simply based on aesthetics, the Hagstrom would be the easy choice IMHO.

 

[Underitall]

I thought this may be a fun thread. It's neat that they are so similar in appearance, and supposedly build quality. I can't purchase either at $1,500, but I realized I would have a struggle to pick one over the other, and I thought I would share it on here and see what you guys thought.

 

[Underitall]

Someone posted that the Dunable looks like it has a aftermarket neck and headstock slapped on. After looking again, I see what they mean. It's funny the body has so much attention to contouring and pickguard appearance, yet the headstock literally looks like something off a $180 Amazon bass

 

[Metal Sombreros]

Hag basses are cool but that model can be HEAVY

 

[Gaolee]

You slackers! Both! Sheesh. This place isn't about good advice. It's about enabling.

That said, if I could combine bits of each of them into one bass guitar, it would be ideal.

 

[BassBrass]

I thought this may be a fun thread. It's neat that they are so similar in appearance, and supposedly build quality. I can't purchase either at $1,500, but I realized I would have a struggle to pick one over the other, and I thought I would share it on here and see what you guys thought.

a cheaper used option is at GC Modesto, (sorry 5 st. but a 4 must exist) actually the first time I saw a similar shape was the LTD Stream. It Sounded pretty good.

Esp LTD STREAM 205 Satin Black Electric Bass Guitar​

 

[Underitall]

I doubt I'll ever get to own one. I'm not going to play around, I like it because the band Ghost made it look way too cool. I also like the way they sound on recordings I've researched. But like I said, I won't play around, the look is what gets me. I like it for some reason. If I ever did get one, at least I'd be sitting on the couch with it. I'm too old to play out and feel good when I get home later.

 

[Underitall]

If I were to sell a kidney, there's a Wattplower ll that's screaming my name, for the same price. Everyone's coin purse is a different size, and $1,500 is "king in the castle" territory for me, Ha!

 

[zerocrossing]

I like the Hagstrom.
Am I missing something? I see 4 strings in both pictures.

That's what I see too. I counted twice to make sure I wasn't hallucinating. I'd also pick the Hagstrom, because I love a clean modern look. I was looking at a Birdsong Fusion and I loved the body shape and the general look, but it had this weird curvy pick guard that kind of ruined the whole thing.

 

[Pep]

Have you played either of these? With that neck strap pin location and bridge being a fair way into the body, reach to first position is gonna be a stretch and I'd worry about neck dive.

(Metaphorical) gun to my head I'd go with the Hagstrom because it's a 5.

Hagstrom . . . . . . and it's a 4, not a 5.

 

[cornfarmer]

Also ESP / Edwards made a copy for some Japanese band called Dir En Gray(?)

https://www.ebay.com/itm/198493093127?loc_physical_ms=&loc_interest_ms=&mkcid=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-53200-19255-0&campid=5339157105&toolid=10001&customid=1a02w0vukl3e

 

[crazycloud]

Hagstrom . . . . . . and it's a 4, not a 5.

Because the OP was edited.

 

[Underitall]

I was waiting for this... I was enjoying the humor too much to say anything.
When I posted the OP, I realized I accidentally loaded a 5 string photo. So I quickly swapped the photo for a 4 string.

 

[2saddleslab]

Neither due to the ergonomics. But as others have said between those two, the Hagstom due to the cool tuners & headstock.

Owned a Swede back in the 80's and it was a solid well made bass. The short scale was not good for my large hands though.

 

[jd56hawk]

I like the Hagstrom, but isn't the Dunable the better bass?