Hagstrom Viking Gold Top (Artist Project)

This striking Gold Top Viking comes from the new Hagstrom "Artist Project" series. A unique line of guitars designed in collaboration with professional Hagstrom Artists. This Hagstrom Viking Gold Top is the creation of Justin York from Paramore and has some very unique features that sets it apart from any other Hagstrom Viking. Justin requested an Ultra-Thin 17mm neck profile, which along with the flat 15" radius fingerboard makes this guitar play like lightening! A great combination of pickups with coil taps gives this Gold Top Viking a broad tonal range. We also love the bass-cut controls which have been employed instead of traditional tone controls. Pop in to Merchant City Music in Glasgow and demo one of these semi-acoustic guitars for yourself. If buying online we'll make sure you get a perfectly setup example safely delivered to your door. We ship fast across the UK and Europe.

Hagstrom Viking Gold Top (Artist Project)

In 2012 Justin York purchased a Hagstrom Viking to use on tour with Paramore, and the rest of the story is history. He has since become a true partner and friend to Hagstrom. When Paramore was preparing for extensive international touring to support their recent album, they began discussions about what an ideal set of touring guitars might be for him. After more than one year of collaboration, the result is a pair of Vikings that Hagstrom is proud to introduce to guitarists worldwide.

The Hagstrom Viking Gold Top has a broad tonal range

As primary touring guitarist for Paramore, Justin's role is to provide the supporting foundation of the band's guitar sounds for each song. A band with a rich history like Paramore requires a broad range of guitar styles and textures. So, one of our main objectives was to create instruments with a broad tonal range easily accessible during a stage performance, a task Hagstrom is more than equal to.

Justin's Viking Gold Top starts with the classic Viking semi-hollow platform to which a classic vintage-style gold finish is applied. Justin loves Hagstrom's thinner neck profiles, so they developed their "Ultra-Thin", 17mm neck profile for his guitars. Vintage-style "witch hat" knobs, same as used on the RetroScape models, complete the "vintage vibe" this guitar oozes. A Hagstrom Custom 58 humbucking pickup in the bridge position provides classic rock tones, and when Justin wants to go slightly softer the HJ-50 humbucker in the neck position gets him there in smooth, elegant style. Individual coil-split is available via push/pull tone controls providing an expansive sonic palette.

Finally, a useable tone control: the "bass-cut"
The tone control is often a source of frustration for guitarists. This is because the design has historically been based on a passive treble-cut concept. The complete tonal spectrum is passed through the circuit when the control is fully open, and as it's dialled down treble frequencies are eliminated. Many guitarists find this approach unusable, since the tone often becomes muddy and excessively “dark” as the treble component is eliminated. Working with Justin, Hagstrom have developed a tone control which does the exact opposite.

Instead of filtering treble frequencies, they filter the bass as the control is cut. The full treble spectrum is always available, and the tone control performs a bass-cut function. Justin finds this is much more useable on stage, and we think all Hagstrom guitarists will too!