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Vintage Hagstroms

I have one and I love it. On the weightier side but not unmanageable at all. Mine has the original Bi-Sonics and they sound wonderful.
Great neck profile too.

As to the rail (I call it a towel rack), it's there to prevent you from accidentally hitting the sliding volume lever that's in the arc below it.

View attachment 998512
That's a riot. What an amazing bit of over-engineering.
 
This is my 1968 Concord I 'halvakustiska basar'. Refering to 'Hagström gitarrer, the fastest playing neck in the world', from 1965 up to 1971 only 2899 semi-acoustic basses were made by Hagström. The SN of this one starts with 716.
Bought this bass in 2002 and used it in various R&R bands. Missing a volume knob I wrote a letter to Mr Karl E. Hagström in Älvdalen, Sweden. He did send me a knob and a factory inventory sheet with data on this guitar, telling this bass entered the stockroom at june 29th 1968 and left the factory at august 2nd 1968 on its way to Hohner, Hilversum the Netherlands. It's a great bass.

Hagstromrecht.jpg
 
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You are correct Threefold, there were 4 production runs of the H-1-B, here's the run numbers and the qty's produced in each run along with the year of production.

Run 812 - Qty 150 - 1971
Run 836 - Qty 102 - 1971
Run 853 - Qty 200 - 1972
Run 865 - Qty 200 - 1973

TD

Great info TD, thanks! I'm curious as to how many of these would have had the funky black circular knobs with the triangular ridge, or is it possible those were changed too?
 
Hi Thornton
Could you check this serial number please 846 043. I bought this guitar in '73-'74 (ish) and had it for a number of years, sold it to my future brother-in-law who had it for many more years, eventually giving it to my son who a couple of years ago gave it to me...a little rougher for wear, but nice...
 
Hello everybody!



I recently got my hands on a beautiful Hagström HIIBN from a collector here in Sweden. It cost me SEK 11000 (roughly USD 1200), but well worth it considering I’ve wanted one for over 20 years now.

After a quick and minor service – crackling pots and the contactor arm in the plug socket was bent – she’s sounding pretty darn good! Took her to rehersal yesterday and she fits right in with the 60’s/70’s rock we play.



From previous posts in this thread, I conclude she should have been built 1971 or 1972, but if someone can shed light on the exact year, it would be greatly appreciated!



Serial no. 821157 (if I remember correctly)



Best regards,

Jonas

Stockholm, Sweden
HagH2BN.jpg
 
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Hello everybody!

From previous posts in this thread, I conclude she should have been built 1971 or 1972, but if someone can shed light on the exact year, it would be greatly appreciated!

Serial no. 821157 (if I remember correctly)

There's no specific date when production run 821 started and finished other than it did start in 1971 and finished sometime in 1972. Your's was made right in the middle of the run at 157 of 300.

Enjoy.

TD
 
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There's no specific date when production run 821 started and finished other than it did start in 1971 and finished sometime in 1972. Your's was made right in the middle of the run at 157 of 300.

Enjoy.

TD

Wow! What a swift reply! Thank you very much Thornton Davis! :)
well, at least I wasn't very far off in guessing then...

For being 45 years old, the ol' Hag :) is in very good nick! Just a few little dings and scratches, one small intonation screw and one of the nuts on the underside of the bridge is missing, but I'm confident I can find replacements here in Hagström-Country! :)

Once again, thank you for the info!

Best regards,
Jonas
 
Wow! What a swift reply! Thank you very much Thornton Davis! :)
well, at least I wasn't very far off in guessing then...

For being 45 years old, the ol' Hag :) is in very good nick! Just a few little dings and scratches, one small intonation screw and one of the nuts on the underside of the bridge is missing, but I'm confident I can find replacements here in Hagström-Country! :)

Once again, thank you for the info!

Best regards,
Jonas

If you haven't already, visit here for parts. Hagstrom-Vintage-Guitars.se Home Page

TD
 
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If you haven't already, visit here for parts. Hagstrom-Vintage-Guitars.se Home Page

TD

Thanks for the tip! I have been in contact with Janne who runs the site before, as I've been hunting for a HIIB / HIIBN for a few years now. I will definitley get back to him now. Other than some small odd bits, I'm also in need of a hard case to match...

I consider myself lucky to live in Stockholm where there are so many good guitar-stores, who are run by true enthusiasts!
If anyone of you should happen to pass by, don't miss "Halkans Rockhouse" (Invalid Link Removed) or "Hellstone Music", it's like heaven (dispite the name) for appriciators of vintage instruments - At Hellstone they've even decorated the roof with Hagström-guitars! (See some photos here: Sweden July 2005)

Best regards,
Jonas
 
Hey all! Haven't posted here in a while, but I just purchased a vintage fretless Hagstrom Jazz/Scan bass from Reverb and thought I'd share. Edit: better pictures!

Serial number is 53 988015 and based on looks, I'm thinking it's an early 70's Jazz bass model. Any ideas?

It came with the bridge cover, but I took that off already to give me more playing room. The bass is in great condition and plays and sounds excellent! Looking forward to spending more time with it tonight and this weekend.

The pickguard is cracked under the tone knob. I'd consider having a new pickguard made--any recommendations? It may be easiest to send the guard into a specialist and have a new one molded. Also, any recommendations as to how to trace down the top thumb rest? I don't need one from Hagstrom by any means, but the Fender ones I've seen online look to be a bit too short for the screw holes.

IMG-5457.JPG
IMG-5458.JPG
IMG-5460.JPG
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Serial number is 53 988015 and based on looks, I'm thinking it's an early 70's Jazz bass model. Any ideas?

These were built from around '73 to '79 or so. The earliest ones are labeled "Jazz". They are quite uncommon in the U.S. especially in fretless guise. BTW, the knobs on yours have been swapped but it's not a big deal unless you're a diehard Hagstrom collector.

I owned its identical twin in the '80s and it was likely the heaviest bass I've ever come across, but the sound and most noticeably sustain were out of this world.

Play it in good health and enjoy.
 
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These were built from around '73 to '79 or so. The earliest ones are labeled "Jazz". They are quite uncommon in the U.S. especially in fretless guise. BTW, the knobs on yours have been swapped but it's not a big deal unless you're a diehard Hagstrom collector.

I owned its identical twin in the '80s and it was likely the heaviest bass I've ever come across, but the sound and most noticeably sustain were out of this world.

Play it in good health and enjoy.

Thank you! Good to know, I'll have to find a serial number tracker to pinpoint the exact year. The seller wasn't sure beyond "mid 70's".

Yep, the knobs are definitely aftermarket and I'm okay with that--I'm a player, not a collector. I already ordered some Schaller knobs a la the below to replace them. Not the same as the originals of course, but closer in looks. The pickups are aftermarket too--they look to be standard Jazz bass pickups, whereas the originals were ovular single coils without the protruding plastic on each side to house the screws.

Heavy, but not too bad! 10 pounds I'd say and I generally prefer ~9 pound basses, so I don't mind.

upload_2020-4-30_17-51-25.jpeg
 
Hey all! Haven't posted here in a while, but I just purchased a vintage fretless Hagstrom Jazz/Scan bass from Reverb and thought I'd share. Edit: better pictures!

Serial number is 53 988015 and based on looks, I'm thinking it's an early 70's Jazz bass model. Any ideas?

It came with the bridge cover, but I took that off already to give me more playing room. The bass is in great condition and plays and sounds excellent! Looking forward to spending more time with it tonight and this weekend.

The pickguard is cracked under the tone knob. I'd consider having a new pickguard made--any recommendations? It may be easiest to send the guard into a specialist and have a new one molded. Also, any recommendations as to how to trace down the top thumb rest? I don't need one from Hagstrom by any means, but the Fender ones I've seen online look to be a bit too short for the screw holes.

This bass is indeed a Hagstrom "Jazzbass". Production records show it as having been made in 1977 in production run 988 which produced 75 of them. This one was the 15th Jazzbass made in that run.

This model was renamed Scanbass after Fender threatened litigation against Hagstrom claiming they owned the rights to the name "Jazz Bass" back then.

TD
 
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