REVIEWED
Hagstrom Swede SE P-90
HAGSTROM Swede SE P-90
This retro-style Chinese-made version of the classic Scandinavian solid body offers a distinctive single coil snap...
Words: Tim Slater
The Hagstrom Swede’s elegant pseudo-gothic flourishes offer a viable alternative to the well loved Gibson Les Paul template. Like the majority of modern Hagstrom guitars the Swede SE P-90 is Chinese-made but the specifications are still approved and signed-off by company founder Karl Erik Hagstrom, who continues to set the bar impressively high in terms of build quality and specifications.
Construction
The Swede P-90 boasts immaculate inlay work and the gorgeous dark tobacco sunburst finish on our review model does a great job of showing off the subtle flame maple veneer overlaying the guitar’s 10mm mahogany cap. The polyester lacquer adds a lustrous sheen that is guaranteed not to dull or crack with age, which might not be to everyone’s taste if you prefer the
HAGSTROM Swede SE P-90
SRP £525.96
All prices include VAT CONT
ACT
Rosetti Ltd. T:
W: 01376 550033
www.rosetti.co.uk 24 3pickup
faster natural aging effect of nitro cellulose finishes but a poly finish’s impressive resistance to the dinks and knocks still shouldn’t be overlooked. With mahogany forming the main body mass it is almost inevitable that the Swede will generate the abundant resonance and sustain that is the hallmark of the classic single cutaway design, along with all of the attendant weight! A small ribcage chamfer on the rear of the solid mahogany body makes one concession to player comfort but at around 4 kilos (approximately 7.5lbs) the Swede P-90 SE is no featherweight. Of course, most guitarists who regularly play this style of instrument would probably agree that the weight is something that goes with the territory, just sort yourself out with a well-padded guitar strap to help your shoulder absorb the load and you’re in business! The set mahogany neck features an unusual fingerboard made from a composite material that Hagstrom call ‘Resinator Wood’. Hagstrom claim that this material conveys a virtually identical feel and tone to ebony and in some respects this claim rings true. This fingerboard indeed reflects ebony’s sleek ultra- hard feel, although to our ears the higher frequencies sound a little less brash compared to ebony, which can sometimes feel a tad stiff beside the warmer and more forgiving tone of a rosewood ‘board. A low friction top-nut helps to complete the picture at the top end and, teamed with
the three-a-side enclosed tuners with their Art Deco keys, the Swede SE P-90 is a very stable and stylish looking axe.
Sounds
Whilst the twin P-90 single coil pickups are obviously responsible for literally setting the guitar’s overall tone, the unusual tailpiece also plays an active role in contributing to its plentiful natural sustain. A heavy-duty but otherwise fairly conventional Tun-O-Matic style bridge is mated with a tailpiece comprising six individual chrome- plated solid brass blocks that are mounted directly onto the guitar’s top. Unlike a standard Tun-O-Matic tailpiece that can be adjusted so that it either enjoys direct contact with the guitar’s top or floats slightly above, the Hagstrom Stringblocks divert string energy directly down into the guitar’s body to encourage a maximum amount of sustain. This feature seems proved by the Swede’s impressive acoustic resonance, which translates pretty faithfully once the guitar is plugged in. The twin P-90 single pickups are easily characterised by the wide contrast between the bridge pickup’s piercing bite and the neck unit’s rounder warmer delivery, plus the lovely hollow jangle when both pickups are on together. In contrast to the neck pickup’s fulsome roundness the bridge P-90’s nasal honk perhaps sounds less forgiving, at least on clean tones. With a healthy dollop of overdrive in the
mix, however, the bridge pickup fattens up enough to make a more than worthy balance against its darker sounding counterpart. Whilst out-and-out metal mayhem
is probably not on the menu the SE P-90 nevertheless makes a fantastic tool for classic rock, muscular blues/ rock and especially jazz. This guitar feels incredibly versatile; what you put into it will generally come out sounding more or less exactly how you imagine it would, the P-90s ability to blend in so seamlessly with their musical surroundings being particularly impressive. PM
SHOULD I BUY ONE?
If you are into blues, jazz or even a bit of old school rockabilly then the Swede SE P-90 is a more than capable tool. It conveys plenty of the class and kudos associated with the timeless single cutaway design, plus the twin P-90 pickups add an extra pinch of colour to your tonal landscape. Weighing its impressive specs against what is still a very competitive price; this Hagstrom feels like incredibly good value for money and if we were in the market for a new guitar this would be close to the top of our shopping list.
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