At Hagstrom we take every new design challenge as a way to bring our history of innovation and performance to contemporary guitarists in a fresh and exciting way. Sometimes we exceed even our own high expectations. Our Three Kings series is a case in point.
The goal was to take our three most established solid body platforms and create an extraordinary aesthetic to be combined with equally extraordinary performance enhancements. All three models keep essential structural elements that contribute so much towards their overall character and voice. The classic, all-mahogany Swede; the longer scale-length Super Swede with its mahogany/maple body; and the lighter, more lively Ultra Swede all maintain their basic tone-wood infrastructure together with Hagstrom’s signature H-Expander™ truss rod system and Sustain-Block™ tailpiece. Each model sings with the unique voice guitarists have come to expect from Hagstrom.
Darkly mysterious
A decidedly rich, yet unifying aesthetic allows these distinctly different guitars to be considered together as a coherent group. A dark, heraldic motif centered on a raised medallion embedded into the top (see inset below for more about the medallion) is set off by black chrome hardware elements and black pearloid binding. Handsomely tooled knobs, custom-made by Q-Parts® specifically for this project, complete the package. Darkly mysterious and slightly wicked-looking, but with a versatile refinement that will appeal to a wide range of sensibilities, the result is both rich and deep.
Swedish Lundgren Pickups
With such a singular visual impression, we sought to equip these guitars with pickups that were equally extraordinary, and that would expand their sonic profiles into areas not previously touched upon by their conventional counterparts in the Hagstrom range. To accomplish this, we reached out to Swedish pickup master Johan Lundgren. His mission was to design a pair of humbucking pickups that would rock as hard as Hagstrom pickups are known for, but would also offer a level of dynamics and intensity enabling entry into heavier, edgier, more progressive domains. With Lundgren’s history of designing pickups for the likes of Swedish progressive-metal powerhouse bands Meshuggah and GHOST, we felt he would be up to the challenge; and up to it he was. Each of these models is equipped with a Lundgren-designed AlNiCo-2 humbucker in the neck position and AlNiCo-5 humbucker at the bridge. The result covers an immense expressive range; from smooth, warm tones to the kind of attack and intense dynamic output that would satisfy the demands of even the most extreme musical styles.
Cutting Edge Features
Rounding out the compliment of cutting-edge features is a set of Ratio® tuning machines by Graph-Tech®. Each string is mated to a tuning machine with a custom gear ratio so that one turn equals one tone, regardless of the string. Predictable, precise and efficient, Ratio® makes tuning intuitive and natural.
Now, a perfectly reasonable question to ask is how we came to call these special models “Three Kings”. One possibility is a connection with Swedish royal history or with ancient Scandinavian folkore, and, in fact, this would not be too far off the mark. But a much simpler reason they’re called the Three Kings is because there are three of them and, well, … THEY RULE!
You would think guitars like these would come with a hefty premium, but you will be very surprised. Check them out at your local Hagstrom dealer.
* Availability may vary depending on the selection offered in different international markets.
* Availability may vary depending on the selection offered in different international markets.
