Hagstrom Super Viking Trans Brown (Artist Project)

This classy Trans Brown Super Viking comes from the new Hagstrom "Artist Project" series. A unique line of guitars designed in collaboration with professional Hagstrom Artists. The Hagstrom Super Viking Trans Brown is the creation of Justin York from Paramore and has some very unique features that sets it apart from any other Hagstrom Super Viking. Justin requested an Ultra-Thin 17mm neck profile, which along with the flat 15" radius fingerboard makes this guitar play like lightening! The longer 25.5" scale of the Super Viking gives it a tighter more focused tone. A great combination of a bridge humbucker with coil tap and a P90 in the neck position give this Super Viking a broad tonal range. We also love the bass-cut controls which have been employed instead of traditional tone controls. Pop in to Merchant City Music in Glasgow and demo one of these semi-acoustic guitars for yourself. If buying online we'll make sure you get a perfectly setup example safely delivered to your door. We ship fast across the UK and Europe.

Hagstrom Super Viking Trans Brown (Artist Project)

In 2012 Justin York purchased a Hagstrom Viking to use on tour with Paramore, and the rest of the story is history. He has since become a true partner and friend to Hagstrom. When Paramore was preparing for extensive international touring to support their recent album, they began discussions about what an ideal set of touring guitars might be for him. After more than one year of collaboration, the result is a pair of Vikings that Hagstrom is proud to introduce to guitarists worldwide.

This Super Viking has a rich and classic vibe

Justin wanted his Super Viking to exude a rich, classic vibe. They developed a warm, transparent brown finish which they applied to maple specially selected for an interesting and more prominent grain. The result is gorgeous, with the rich brown finish highlighting fascinating grain patterns, making each instrument visually unique. Vintage-style "witch hat" knobs, same as used on the RetroScape models, complete the vintage vibe this guitar oozes. The Super Viking's 25.5" (648mm) scale length adds some extra snap and articulation to each note, and Justin requested an "Ultra-Thin" 17mm neck profile to match a vintage (c. 1965) Viking model in his Hagstrom collection.

A Hagstrom Custom 58 humbucking pickup in the bridge position provides classic rock tones. Justin chose Hagstrom's "P-Urified" P90 humbucker-sized pickup for the neck position which exhibits that classic warm, round sound; tonal magic happens when this pickup interacts with our custom tone control and the P90 ranges to an astonishingly clear and pristine single-coil clarity. Individual coil-split is available for the Custom 58 via the push/pull tone control, providing an even more expansive sonic palette.

Finally, a useable tone control: the "bass-cut"
The tone control is often a source of frustration for guitarists. This is because the design has historically been based on a passive treble-cut concept. The complete tonal spectrum is passed through the circuit when the control is fully open, and as it's dialled down treble frequencies are eliminated. Many guitarists find this approach unusable, since the tone often becomes muddy and excessively “dark” as the treble component is eliminated. Working with Justin, Hagstrom have developed a tone control which does the exact opposite.

Instead of filtering treble frequencies, they filter the bass as the control is cut. The full treble spectrum is always available, and the tone control performs a bass-cut function. Justin finds this is much more useable on stage, and we think all Hagstrom guitarists will too!