Since this was a little bit of an impulse buy, I've been doing some studying while waiting for FedEx to show up with my new guitar...
I'm pretty sure this Reverb listing was mis-labeled, and that this is a standard Viking and not the Super Viking that it was described to be. What got me looking in more detail was the double block inlay on the 12th fret. That's a feature of the standard Viking, as pictured on Hagstrom's website. The Super Viking has a single block inlay on the 12th fret. And the truss rod cover just says "Viking" on it, while it looks like the Super Viking says, unsurprisingly, "Super Viking" on it. The Super on their website has a white pick guard and nickel knobs with an H engraved on them. The standard Viking (and my guitar) have a black pick guard and amp-style plastic knobs.
The only bummer would be that the Super has push/pull tone pots that split the coils of both pickups independently. The Viking does not. I mean, that's not a big loss since I'd rarely if ever use it (coil splits just never seem to sound all that good to me). That, and the Viking is a Gibson-style scale length of 24.75" while the Super is a Fender-style scale of 25.5". Since I was looking for an ES-335 knockoff, the shorter scale length is fine with me...it's just not what I thought I was getting.
I can't tell if there is a legit pricing difference that I should be upset about. It seems that since the reboot of the Hagstrom brand in 2004 (the original Swedish brand was retired in 1983), they've been a little secretive about serial numbers and any sort of history on what models had what features in which years. Plus, all of the recent supply chain issues all over the world have made scarcity affect retail and used prices so much that I can't tell what a Viking is worth, or what a Super Viking is worth. MF/GC sells the Viking (with dot inlays...no idea if that's older or newer than mine) for something like $1150, and the Super Viking for $1250 (although they don't offer it in Wild Cherry). But I can't tell if those are legit retail prices or if they're inflated due to shortages. Prices are all over the place.
Once it shows up, I'll see if the pots are push/pull and I'll measure the scale length. Things that a less impulsive buyer would have asked before the sale. Honestly I won't be too upset if it's one or the other. But I'd like to let the seller know that their listing for this and several others like it are incorrect. That's a good way to get booted off of Reverb. Maybe they'll throw me a bone.
NGOTWD
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CrowsofFritz
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Re: NGOTWD
So when are you getting this, Tad?
“Naaaaaaaaaah man. I ain’t touching that mic. That thing’s expensive!”
Re: NGOTWD
It's due to show up Sunday, weather permitting. I figure I'll take it out of the box, do any validation that I can on which model it is, play it for a while, and if I like it I'll just let the shop know that this and other listings of theirs are incorrect. If I don't like it, I'll return it since it wasn't what was described in the listing.
Re: NGOTWD
Status update: It's awesome. It's everything I hoped it would be. I'm elated!
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CrowsofFritz
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Re: NGOTWD
Gotta post some toans in the new toan thread now
Glad it’s worked out for you!
“Naaaaaaaaaah man. I ain’t touching that mic. That thing’s expensive!”
Re: NGOTWD
CrowsofFritz wrote: ↑Tue Oct 19, 2021 2:35 am Gotta post some toans in the new toan thread now
Glad it’s worked out for you!
Thanks fellas
It turned out to be a standard Viking. And now that I've played it, I think it's the right one for me. The 24.75" scale length is more comfortable for me than the 25.5" would have been.
I was a little scared of what an unabashedly Made In China instrument would be like, but I'm very surprised at how good it looks, feels, and plays. The fit and finish is nearly perfect. The b-stock blemish is a hazy area in the clear coat on the face of the headstock, but otherwise it's pristine. Frets are smooth and polished, the binding is all perfect, and the finish is really impressive.
The only noticeably cheap hardware on it is the 3-way toggle. The volume/tone knobs are all pleasantly resistant and operate smoothly, the tuning pegs feel good, so far it's held tune well in-between songs (not so much in-between sessions), and the action and intonation are spot-on. I was mild about the pickups at first, but after putting in more hours on it yesterday, I'm actually impressed by them.
I shot a video while I unboxed and played it, but I wanted to sleep on it before publishing it. It's a below-average tone demo, and probably an incomplete look at the instrument itself. I'll see how I feel about it as I take another pass at the edit later today.
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CrowsofFritz
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Re: NGOTWD
Change usually takes a bit of time to open up to. I remember I owned an Epiphone LP that I loved and then got my Fender strat. Didn’t like the neck as much the first 10 minutes. Another 5 minutes go by and I tell my dad I actually like them equally. Another 5 minutes go by and I tell him I actually like it more. He was confused lol.Tadpui wrote: ↑Tue Oct 19, 2021 1:14 pmCrowsofFritz wrote: ↑Tue Oct 19, 2021 2:35 am Gotta post some toans in the new toan thread now
Glad it’s worked out for you!I was mild about the pickups at first, but after putting in more hours on it yesterday, I'm actually impressed by them.
“Naaaaaaaaaah man. I ain’t touching that mic. That thing’s expensive!”
Re: NGOTWD
Tjats great tad. Looking forward to seeing the video and hearing how this sounds.
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CrowsofFritz
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- Joined: Mon Apr 23, 2018 1:02 pm
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Re: NGOTWD
“Naaaaaaaaaah man. I ain’t touching that mic. That thing’s expensive!”