Mikeod Posted June 12, 2020 Share Posted June 12, 2020 Hi, Mike here new member, newbie player. I wonder if anybody would have any experience with Hagstrom acoustic guitars, especially the Siljan 12 string, or other models. Wondering about tone, intonation and tuning stability. Thanks Sincerely. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted June 12, 2020 Share Posted June 12, 2020 Good afternoon, Mike , and ... Plenty to read and amuse you here, and lots to learn and share. Sorry, no personal experience from having owned any Hagstrom guitars, but from my years in a music shop (in France...), I don't think I'll be much wrong in stating that all their guitars, at any price point, are excellent, and none have any issues regarding tone, intonation nor tuning stability. I'd go further, and say that I'd be very surprised indeed to hear of any make of guitar at the price point of that 12-string that had any issues of the sort. Having said that, acoustic guitars maybe more than others are a very personal choice, and great tone for one person can be dull, or bright, to another. Much depends on how one plays, too (it's all in the fingers, right..?), so it's really down to trying out all sorts of instruments to get some idea of what 'clicks'. If you're after a fine 12-string, that Hagstrom is as good as any other, and better than some, but only you can say if it fits the use you want to put it to. If you're really a 'newbie' player, you'll be rightly spoiling yourself by acquiring one, and any tuning issues will be down to you, not the instrument. Hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezbass Posted June 12, 2020 Share Posted June 12, 2020 Again, no experience with those guitars myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikeod Posted June 16, 2020 Author Share Posted June 16, 2020 On 12/06/2020 at 13:52, Dad3353 said: Good afternoon, Mike , and ... Plenty to read and amuse you here, and lots to learn and share. Sorry, no personal experience from having owned any Hagstrom guitars, but from my years in a music shop (in France...), I don't think I'll be much wrong in stating that all their guitars, at any price point, are excellent, and none have any issues regarding tone, intonation nor tuning stability. I'd go further, and say that I'd be very surprised indeed to hear of any make of guitar at the price point of that 12-string that had any issues of the sort. Having said that, acoustic guitars maybe more than others are a very personal choice, and great tone for one person can be dull, or bright, to another. Much depends on how one plays, too (it's all in the fingers, right..?), so it's really down to trying out all sorts of instruments to get some idea of what 'clicks'. If you're after a fine 12-string, that Hagstrom is as good as any other, and better than some, but only you can say if it fits the use you want to put it to. If you're really a 'newbie' player, you'll be rightly spoiling yourself by acquiring one, and any tuning issues will be down to you, not the instrument. Hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikeod Posted June 16, 2020 Author Share Posted June 16, 2020 Good morning Dad3353. Thank you very much for your very enlightening contribution on my query regarding the Hagstrom Siljan 12. Unfortunately, there are no music stores in Ireland that actually keep any of these models in stock and therefore I cannot try out the guitar before purchasing. Therefore I depend on the specs which the company publish in relation to any model. I also avail of sound advice provided by people like yourself who have worked in the trade. I'm about 90% leaning towards the Hagstrom. Just as a matter of interest, and if you don't mind me asking, what kind of music are you into, and what make of guitar do you play yourself. Bye for now take care and thanks again Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted June 16, 2020 Share Posted June 16, 2020 (edited) 2 hours ago, Mikeod said: ...what kind of music are you into, and what make of guitar do you play yourself... Good afternoon, Mike, and thanks for your comments. Please be aware that I'm officially an 'Old Duffer', with wildly out-dated tastes from the '60s and '70s, so Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Fairport Convention, Joni Mitchell figure high on my list of daily plays. There's more, of course (Schubert..? Bruckner..? Shakti..? It goes on and on and on...). What guitar do I play..? I'm a drummer, with a very fine Camco kit bought new back in the '70s, Paiste and Sabian cymbals..! I also play bass (several, but my prize bass is a Hofner Verithin...) and guitar, with a long list there, too, of instruments, including a couple of Hofner Verithins, A Daisy Rock Retro 12-string, Hofner Comittee; the one I play the most (acoustic...) is a Takamine G220NS, or, electric, a Xaviere XV610 (A Telecaster Thinline clone...). I did have, decades ago now, an acoustic 12-string (a Gibson Hummingbird clone, by Antoria...), but she was unfortunately destroyed in a domestic fire, and so was lost, darn it..! I'm intrigued as to why your attention has gone to this very specific guitar, though. Not because it's not a Good Guitar (because it is...) but rather... Why this one..? I'd say that, if you're 90% convinced, then you're convinced. If you order through a web-site (there are at least two mail-order sources in Ireland, and others elsewhere in the UK or Europe...), you have the option of returning the instrument if, after having it in your hands, it turns out to be a deception. Personally, I think that that's very unlikely, but you have that protection, exactly for this kind of situation. On another note, and concerning 12-string acoustic guitars particularly, it may be worth noting that it's a common ploy to down-tune the guitar by a whole tone, and play with a capo at the second fret, thus retrieving 'standard' tuning. The idea is to reduce the tension or 'pull', of the twelve strings, which, in olden times, could pull enough, over time, to buckle the sounding-board slightly, pulling the bridge up. It's less of an issue on correctly-luthiered modern instruments, but could be considered, and would surprise no-one to see it played that way.Just sayin'. Anyway, hope this helps, even if only a little; I'd like to know how this plays out, and what you finally acquire. Meanwhile... Keep well, stay safe Douglas Edited June 16, 2020 by Dad3353 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikeod Posted June 17, 2020 Author Share Posted June 17, 2020 Good morning Douglas from an old fogie to an old duffer (be 71 in July) and thanks for another very informative contribution to my 12-string saga. I must also congratulate you on an excellent and eclectic taste in music, similar to my own. I’m also a percussionist, Bodhran being my main instrument, and Irish Trad music being my first love. After that I love Brazilian MPB, Jazz, folk, rock along with a few others thrown in for good measure. I took up the guitar last year, mainly because having written numerous songs in several styles, I found myself with no one to back me singing them and this became even more pronounced during the Coved lockdown. I have always liked the sound of 12 string guitars, especially when used ion Irish music and songs along with the use by groups such as America on their numerous albums I have read a number of scary stories regarding the stress that 12 strings place upon the body and neck of guitars which are essentially designed for 6 strings. Then I came upon the Haustrum Silgan 12 string and upon further investigation, discovered that Hagstrom guitars are fitted with a, H-Expander Truss Rod, which the company claim is way better than a round truss rod, and theirs will prevent any neck from bending, but also from twisting. Which in my amateurish opinion, seems a great additive to any 12 string. The only shop dealing in the Hagstrom 12 in Ireland is situated in Dublin, and they don’t keep any of this model in store but would have to order one in from the supplier. Now here’s the deal, I would have to make a down payment of E300, half the price of the guitar. However, and here’s the catch, when I go and try out the guitar, supposing I actually don’t like it, then I either forfeit my deposit or else cough up another E300, and purchase a guitar that I don’t particularly like. Hobsons Choice in my case, but the shop can’t lose either way, not that either party should be out of pocket. In my opinion, if any retailer is going to advertise any item on its website, then they should have at least one in store so people can at least see what they are buying, the onus here should be on the wholesaler and retailer. I would appreciate if you would send me the names of the mail order companies in Ireland that sell Hagstroms. In that respect, and something that I find slightly strange is the fact that the Hagstrom company themselves don’t seem to stock any of these guitars, and furthermore, it’s rathe difficult to find stockists, even in Sweden. This may tie in with one review which claims that Hagstrom sold on the brand name to a Chinese company who now manufacture and distribute the guitars, nothing strange in that, almost everything these days seems to be made in China these days, that is where my Eastman was made and I’m happy enough with that, touch wood. As regards tuning down, well funnily enough, most of the trad guitarists do use DADGAD tuning, it really suits the trad and folk music especially when backing songs. But to tune down and then place a capo at the first fret in order to use standard tuning means that a capo always has to be on the first, and if I wanted to capo up, then a second capo would need to be placed at the appropriate fret. To be honest with you I’d prefer to avoid using capos altogether if I could manage it, if not, then one would be enough for me. (getting cocky now) I have always been interested in drums especially the old Ludwig and Gretsch, Silvertone played by the old great jazz drummers, and later I’ll check out the Camco kits. Just as a matter of interest, I am listening to a cd of Chris Wood, called Albion, an anthology, brilliant songs and tunes by Chris, Andy Cutting on Accordion along with Karen Tweed. Some years back, I was lucky enough to catch Chris live at a recital he gave at the WORLD Music Centre at ULH. I would be very grateful for any further information regarding my quest that you may come across through the grapevine. Thanks again bye for now and stay safe and well, and keep on rockin in the free world. Mike P.S, sorry for such a long winded reply Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted June 17, 2020 Share Posted June 17, 2020 @Mike... Gear4Music have this model in stock right now, and could, presumably, send it to you in Ireland. Here's a link ... Gear4Music ... CandyAppleRed Guitars in Ireland offer it on their website, here ... CandyAppleRed ... ... as do Music Minds ... Music Minds ... Any use to you..? I didn't understand the use of a capo to raise 'dropped D' to standard tuning, and I reckon it'd be a pig to tune a 12-string down, then back up, between songs. It'd have to be either in open tuning or standard, I'd suggest, to be practical 'live'. Either way, tuning down a tone and a capo at 2nd fret would work, but I agree that it's always better to play without any accessories if possible. I have to stop now, but keep posting as this goes forward, the more long-winded the better..! Meanwhile... Keep well, stay safe Douglas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikeod Posted June 18, 2020 Author Share Posted June 18, 2020 Hi Douglas. Thanks again for your help. I have visited the Irish companies sites, but I thought that you may have been aware of some others.. I have purchased from Gear4Music before, found it good Take care and sh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted June 18, 2020 Share Posted June 18, 2020 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
