Post by solderburn on Nov 24, 2019 2:38:10 GMT -5
I got this guitar about a month ago and have been doing some minor work on it since i got it. I found it new for a very good price online so i couldn't resist. How many guitars do i need? The answer is always the same... "just one more!" of course. I learned that saying from my tour guide when i took the Fender factory tour in Corona a few years ago.
So, this Hagstrom H3 "Retroscape" is made in China and it's quality is comparable to the Squier "Vintage Modified" line, which is pretty good, but i'm glad i didn't pay full market value as I would've felt a bit ripped off. Frets look like coppernickel if i had to guess, the bridge rocks back and forth a little when i use the whammy bar (not designed to be a floating bridge). One of the bridge saddles was rattling until i put some glue around it. The original spring in the vibrato assembly was way too stiff even at it's most slackened setting. The little bar that the whammy bar affixes to had a bit of play in it and that really annoyed me. Cosmetically it only has one very small dot in the white paint that took me until today to notice in the right light. Though overall it's a good guitar. Every guitar I've ever owned always needs a little work to make it to my liking. Truss rod cover was rattling and attached with only one screw and actually doesn't even cover the truss rod cavity all the way, but you'd have to look for that issue, and the cover is made out of super thin cheap plastic. Whatever.
Things that I like about the guitar are: The body shape reminds me a bit of an SG and Strat. The switching system, i dig the vintage layout and the ability to get all the combinations. The tone cuts and boosts are also cool. The volume has a bleed circuit and it works nicely. The Tusq material nut was cut well and functions as it should. The tuners have a good feel, smooth. No string trees for the strings to bind up on. The headstock is slightly angled back similar to my Brian May signature model, good design and function for vibrato use. The neck radius if relatively flat, i think it's 14inch iirc. The overall contour of the neck is fairly vintage accurate and I find it comfortable. The ceramic pick-ups sound punchy and are wired in parallel configuration although the specs on some websites say they're wired in series, which i thought was peculiar. So after some tests I assume they're wired in parallel because they sound like it, and to confirm i measured the ohms resistance and the readings get lower as i engage more pick ups. Bridge is 5.4, middle is 5.24, neck is 5.3. All pick ups on is 1.78. If they were wired in series then i'd assume they would add up to be a higher number with each additional pick up engaged. This is something i learned from this website when i built that Musguar project. Maybe in the future i will get the balls to try and give it an optional series mod.
It originally came with a black pickguard but i thought it looked boring so had a seller online make a new one for me. He forgot to countersink the screw holes, so it was a good excuse for me to buy some specialty countersink bits and finish it myself, it was kinda fun. Some other minor mods: Changed the spring in the vibrato to one with less tension. I originally swapped the original for a Squier Jaguar spring, but then i got a Reverend "Soft touch" spring that was slightly softer than the Jaguar spring. It's still a little too stiff for my liking, maybe I'll clip off a small portion of the spring if i decide to need it to be softer. the original spring was ridiculous, the whole guitar would move up and down when I'd try to use the vibrato, even at the loosest setting. I put "Big Bends Nut Sauce" anywhere i could. I know the name is atrocious, but the stuff works. I put white vinyl tape on the truss rod cover and on the pickups so they matched the white color scheme. I also got a white volume knob. There were a few other things i did but this review is getting long enough so i'll shut up now.
Here are some pics...
So, this Hagstrom H3 "Retroscape" is made in China and it's quality is comparable to the Squier "Vintage Modified" line, which is pretty good, but i'm glad i didn't pay full market value as I would've felt a bit ripped off. Frets look like coppernickel if i had to guess, the bridge rocks back and forth a little when i use the whammy bar (not designed to be a floating bridge). One of the bridge saddles was rattling until i put some glue around it. The original spring in the vibrato assembly was way too stiff even at it's most slackened setting. The little bar that the whammy bar affixes to had a bit of play in it and that really annoyed me. Cosmetically it only has one very small dot in the white paint that took me until today to notice in the right light. Though overall it's a good guitar. Every guitar I've ever owned always needs a little work to make it to my liking. Truss rod cover was rattling and attached with only one screw and actually doesn't even cover the truss rod cavity all the way, but you'd have to look for that issue, and the cover is made out of super thin cheap plastic. Whatever.
Things that I like about the guitar are: The body shape reminds me a bit of an SG and Strat. The switching system, i dig the vintage layout and the ability to get all the combinations. The tone cuts and boosts are also cool. The volume has a bleed circuit and it works nicely. The Tusq material nut was cut well and functions as it should. The tuners have a good feel, smooth. No string trees for the strings to bind up on. The headstock is slightly angled back similar to my Brian May signature model, good design and function for vibrato use. The neck radius if relatively flat, i think it's 14inch iirc. The overall contour of the neck is fairly vintage accurate and I find it comfortable. The ceramic pick-ups sound punchy and are wired in parallel configuration although the specs on some websites say they're wired in series, which i thought was peculiar. So after some tests I assume they're wired in parallel because they sound like it, and to confirm i measured the ohms resistance and the readings get lower as i engage more pick ups. Bridge is 5.4, middle is 5.24, neck is 5.3. All pick ups on is 1.78. If they were wired in series then i'd assume they would add up to be a higher number with each additional pick up engaged. This is something i learned from this website when i built that Musguar project. Maybe in the future i will get the balls to try and give it an optional series mod.
It originally came with a black pickguard but i thought it looked boring so had a seller online make a new one for me. He forgot to countersink the screw holes, so it was a good excuse for me to buy some specialty countersink bits and finish it myself, it was kinda fun. Some other minor mods: Changed the spring in the vibrato to one with less tension. I originally swapped the original for a Squier Jaguar spring, but then i got a Reverend "Soft touch" spring that was slightly softer than the Jaguar spring. It's still a little too stiff for my liking, maybe I'll clip off a small portion of the spring if i decide to need it to be softer. the original spring was ridiculous, the whole guitar would move up and down when I'd try to use the vibrato, even at the loosest setting. I put "Big Bends Nut Sauce" anywhere i could. I know the name is atrocious, but the stuff works. I put white vinyl tape on the truss rod cover and on the pickups so they matched the white color scheme. I also got a white volume knob. There were a few other things i did but this review is getting long enough so i'll shut up now.
Here are some pics...