Hagstrom P46 Deluxe Red Sparkle c.1958-59 Vintage Electric Guitar

This is an incredibly rare and historic Hagstrom P46 Deluxe electric guitar in Red Sparkle finish. Hagstrom is a Swedish musical instrument manufacturer founded in 1925, originally producing accordions. In 1983 the company closed its doors after being priced out of the market by cheaper brands being made in Asia. Hagstrom were reluctant to cheapen the brand with poor quality instruments, and decided to close down. In 2004 the brand was revived, producing updated versions of Hagstrom’s original Swedish designs.

The serial number and specification of this instrument indicate its manufacture in 1958-‘59. The first three digits of the serial number show the production run, which for this instrument is 449. This is the first known production run of Hagstrom guitars, starting in 1958 and running into 1959. Brochures and catalogues from the time show the specifications of the instrument, although the construction materials are listed as ‘Best Seasoned Wood’ for the body and ‘Highly Rigid, reinforced by special Swedish alloy bar’ for the neck. The weight of the instrument and areas of the wood which can be seen in small patches of finish damage suggest that Mahogany has been used.

Chrome hardware is fitted, including the original Hagstrom fixed tailpiece, likely non-original TOM style bridge and original Hagstrom sealed tuning machines with translucent buttons. An exceptionally unique pickup and switching system is installed, called the Hagstrom ‘Hi Fi Pickup Chassis’. This comprises four single coil pickups arranged into two pairs, and features push-button controls that produce a wide array of tones without the need for tweaking of the volume/tone controls as would be required with other more conventional designs. Six buttons are featured, with ‘Solo’ designed for a thick solo tone, ‘Acc’ for a softer accompaniment tone, ‘LH’ for both pairs of pickups together, ‘L’ for the neck pickup pair, ‘H’ for the bridge pickup pair and ‘O’ for turning the pickups off. Volume & tone control wheels are also featured, as well as a third wheel which regulates the effect of the selected tne button.

The neck is rather thick, with a profile which could be described as a sizeable ’D’ shape. There is a quite notable flat section to the centre rear which encourages ergonomic thumb positioning for a wide range of playing styles and techniques whilst certainly retaining the character of a late ‘50s instrument. The ‘pearloid’ fingerboard provides a smooth and durable playing surface across the register.

The tone of the Hagstrom P46 Deluxe is both versatile and unique. There is plenty of ‘grunt’ on offer as the pickups are in a humbucking configuration. The ‘Solo’ button certainly provides a powerful output which will work brilliantly for lead lines and solos. The ‘Acc’ button delivers a much smoother and softer sound, perfect for chordal strumming and blending into the mix. The advantage of this system is that rather than using a 5-way switch to select the pickup and then dialling in your tone with volume and tone controls, the buttons allow you to instantly switch between a range of sounds without the need for dialling any controls. This is an incredibly unique vintage instrument which has an important place in the historical development of the electric guitar as a concept and product.