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The Hagström Viking was the first semi-acoustic guitar manufactured by Hagström. It was originally launched in 1965 and was built until it was discontinued in 1979 a few years before Hagström closed down their manufacturing in Sweden. The Viking is currently being reproduced by the Hagström brand.
 |
| Viking, Viking 12, Viking II DeLuxe, Viking I N | |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Hagström |
| Period | 1965- 1979 |
| Construction | |
| Body type | Hollowbody |
| Neck joint | Set neck H-Expander Truss Rod |
| Scale | 24.75" |
| Woods | |
| Body | Flamed maple and spruce or bound birch |
| Neck | Birch |
| Fretboard | Rosewood or Ebony with Pearl Block or Dot Position Marks |
| Hardware | |
| Bridge | Long Travel Tune-O-Matic with Trapeze tail piece or optional Hagstrom Bigsby vibrato |
| Pickup(s) | Originally two single coils later replaced with two humbuckers |
| Colors available | |
| Natural, Cherry red, Sunburst, Mahogany sunburst, Golden mahogany sunburst, Tobacco sunburst | |
The Hagström Viking was the first semi-acoustic guitar built by the Hagström company. It was launched in 1965 alongside Hagström's new 12-string guitar and two bass guitars. Two years later there was a twelve-string model launched simple called the Viking 12 and the Viking II Deluxe which featured gold plated machine heads and adjustable bridges. In 1967 Hagström player Frank Zappa's "Nifty, Tough & Bitchen" advertising agency was hired to promote the Hagström brand in the USA. This resulted in three print ads: "Nifty", "Long and Slippery", and "Folk Rock is a Drag", and a radio spot: "Long and Slippery".
In 1968 Hagström got much publicity when Elvis Presley played a Hagström Viking at the Elvis Presley Comeback Television Special for N.B.C. in the USA. Al Casey played a Viking II in the orchestra and was asked by producer Bones Howe if Elvis could borrow the guitar for the appearance. According to Elvis's drummer Hal Blaine it was considered a lucky charm by Elvis. To take advantage of this Hagström used pictures of Elvis with the Viking in ads until Elvis's manager advised them not to.
In 1972 the Viking I N replaced the original Viking; it was slightly reworked with two humbuckers replacing the original single-coil pickups and a new headstock called the ducks foot which previously had been used on the Hagström Swede. At the end of 1975 Schaller machine-heads replaced the older Van Ghent. From 1977 to 1978 all guitars featured Schaller machine-head with special butterfly design from Jimmy D´Aquisto. In 1979 the Viking was discontinued and four years later the Hagström plant in Sweden finally closed its doors.
| Viking, Viking DeLuxe, Viking IIP | |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Hagström |
| Period | 2004 – present |
| Construction | |
| Body type | Hollowbody |
| Neck joint | Set neck or Bolt-on with H-Expander Truss Rod |
| Scale | 24.75" |
| Woods | |
| Body | Maple or Basswood |
| Neck | Maple |
| Fretboard | Resinator Fretboard with Pearl Block or Dot Position Marks |
| Hardware | |
| Bridge | Long Travel Tune-O-Matic with Trapeze or Stop Tail Piece |
| Pickup(s) | 2x HJ-50 Humbuckers, Custom 58N (Neck), Custom 58B (Bridge) or 2x H90 Nickel Covered |
| Colors available | |
| Natural, Cream Red, Black Gloss, White, Wild Chery Transparent, Amber Sunburst, Cherry Sunburst, Tobacco Sunburst, Vintage Sunburst, Cosmic Black Burst, Gold Top | |
As of 2004 the Hagström brand has been resurrected and is currently marketing models based on the popular Swedish designs including the Viking. The new lineup is being produced in a dedicated plant in China, and includes four Viking models: the Viking, the Viking DeLuxe, the Super Viking and the Viking IIP. The Viking and Viking DeLuxe are fairly similar while the Viking IIP has several differences to allow a lower price.
In 2008 Dweezil Zappa joins up with Hagström to recreate the ads and to recreate some of his father's music in the "Zappa plays Zappa" tour.
- Elvis Presley - 68 Comeback Special
- Frank Zappa - The Mothers of Invention
- Dweezil Zappa - Zappa plays Zappa
- Pat Smear - Nirvana, Foo Fighters and the Germs
- Uno Svenningsson - (Swedish singer/songwriter)
- Johan Persson - Hovet
- Tim Armstrong - Rancid (band)
- Ginger Wildheart - The Wildhearts, Hey! Hello!, solo, and various side-projects
- Al Muir - Trunkshot
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