A question about a guitar

Talk about guitars, amplifiers, effects and other gear
Post Reply
MichaelRobinson
Posts: 2172
Joined: Mon Oct 03, 2011 10:20 pm

A question about a guitar

Post by MichaelRobinson »

Hi

I wonder if anyone can comment this guitar. I'm thinking on it and want to buy it but I don't know much about it.
Comment anyone ?

http://www.thomann.de/se/hagstrom_vikin ... tremar.htm
User avatar
2WheelsOfBlues
Posts: 750
Joined: Sun Nov 28, 2010 10:59 pm

Re: A question about a guitar

Post by 2WheelsOfBlues »

I played only 1 time on a guitar from this brand, and it was a nice tone and good playing.

The poeple in the shop liked olso this brand, i think if she sounds good and it's feeling good in your hands then it must be ok then.

I do not now about the hums....
play guitar like the wind, mysterious but definitely present....
User avatar
VikingBlues
Posts: 4466
Joined: Sat Apr 03, 2010 7:44 pm

Re: A question about a guitar

Post by VikingBlues »

Hi Michael. I haven't played that particular Viking ... but you'll see from Hagstroms page linked below about the Viking there's 8 varieties of it -
http://www.hagstromguitars.eu/index.php ... y&Itemid=6
I have the Viking Deluxe.

As far as I can see the Viking Deluxe and the Viking Deluxe Tremar only differ in the inclusion of the vibrato in the Tremar version.

* Body: Semi-Hollow Contoured Ply Flamed Maple
* Neck: Canadian Hard Maple, set
* Fingerboard: Resinator™ Fretboard with Hagstrom Pearl Block Position Marks / 15 Inch Radius
* Trussrod: H-Expander
* Turning Keys: Hagstrom 18:1 Die Cast
* Scale Length: 24,75“ / 628 mm / Graph Tech™ Black Tusq XL 43mm nut
* Pickups: 2 x Hagstrom HJ-50
* Pickup Selector: 3-Way Toggle 3-Way Toggle Switch
* Bridge: Long Travel Tune-O-Matic w/ Hagstrom Trapeze Tail Piece
* Controls: 2 x Volume 2 x Tone
All the above features are on them both.

I find my Viking Deluxe a very playable guitar and, although it was made in China, it has been well built. I've had it for around three years, I'm it's second owner, and I have had no issues or problems with it. It has the typical characteristics you'd expect from a semi-acoustic for sounds. The pickups are OK - I suspect an upgrade would improve them but that would apply to all guitars in the price range. My version has a trapeze tailpiece and you don't get quite the sustain that you'd get on a solid body standard bridge guitar, but it sings out well enough. I guess I must like it a lot else why would "Viking" become part of my on-line and soundclick name.

I don't know how much of a difference, if any, the vibrato attachment v the trapeze tailpiece would make to the sound / feel / sustain.

The fingerboard although a composite material is very nice to play on. It's supposed to have characteristics similar to ebony but it apparently doesn't have the hot spots and instability that the variations in natural wood can cause.

As far as the question of suitability for blues, although this is the Viking Deluxe version without the vibrato - I'll first hand over to Matt Thorpe (his blues videos of the Viking in action made my mind up about bidding)
Azci7D9pPEQ
Bear in mind Matt Thorpe could probably make any guitar sound good!

This is my Viking Deluxe playing lead in my less skilled hands
http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=11253679
or playing lead in more of a Blues mood
http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=10548679

Hope that helps a bit rather than confuses. Good luck with your search! :thumbsup:
An improv a day keeps the demons at bay!
User avatar
weelie
Posts: 228
Joined: Wed Apr 07, 2010 10:23 am

Re: A question about a guitar

Post by weelie »

I think dolphinstreet and musicradar.com both have very favourable reviews for tremless version. I think Vikings are good quality for the price.
Post Reply