Hagström ultra max satin black
Longer sustain and a round attack are some of the sonic characteristics the H-Expander™ adds to the tonal essence of Hagstrom.
Machine Heads
Hagstrom models use 18:1 or 15:1 gear ratio machine heads based on our own designs to insure accurate tuning. Resinator™ wood has an articulate sound similar to high quality ebony, but without any of the problems associated with ebony.
Scale
Many singlecuts follow the Les Paul tradition of a shorter scale length, but the Ultra Max’s 25.5” scale means down-tuning and convincing single-coil tones are within easy reach.
3. If you’re looking for a do-it-all singlecut that won’t curve your spine, put the Ultra Max on your ‘must try’ list.
Specs
- PRICE: $799.99, £685
- BODY: Mahogany
- NECK: Maple
- SCALE: 648mm (25.5”)
- FINGERBOARD: Resinator
- FRETS: 22
- PICKUPS: 2 x Custom 60 Alnico-5 Humbuckers
- CONTROLS: 1 x Tone Control with Push-Pull Coil Split, 3-Way Toggle Switch
- HARDWARE: Brushed Aluminum
- LEFT-HANDED: No
- CASE: Hard case or padded gig bag
- FINISH: Cosmic Black Burst, Black Satin, Fall Sky Satin, Milky Mandarin Satin
For more information, head to Hagstrom Guitars.
Stuart has been working for guitar publications since 2008, beginning his career as Reviews Editor for Total Guitar before becoming Editor for six years.
Where to buy it?
I’ll tell you how this post is built. With its longer 25.50” scale length the Ultra Max handles drop tunings with ease, where players looking for a slightly slimmed body with a searing tone will have found their long-term mate.
The Ultra Max is available in three striking gloss finishes: Dark Storm Burst,Golden Eagle Burst and the newly added Mystique Burst.
The most surprising aspect of these instruments will be their shockingly reasonable price. These are Hagstrom through and through, and built to be driven long and hard.
The H-Expander™ truss rod not only provides ultimate neck stability, but it also contributes to Hagstrom’s unique tone. It’s single Master Tone also features a dual coil split, using its push/pull tone configuration to allow for players to switch from “Full Humbucker Tilt” to “Spanky Single Coil Clean” in a heartbeat.
Drop Tunings, Flexibilty and Playability
The Ultra Max combines all of the power, long sustain, clarity and attack, as found with the “Ultra Swede”, yet offers players a fresh tonal pallet with additional flexibility and comfortable playability with its compact body.
Coil-split
The Ultra Max’s tone control doubles as a master push/pull coil split, and the resulting tones are among the most convincing we’ve tried in recent times.
2. Like our H-Expander™ truss rod, Resinator™ wood is a major contributor to the distinctive “Hagstrom tone”.
Sustain Block Tailpiece
Hagstrom’s unique Sustain Block Tailpiece™ was the result of design work starting in 1976 and made its first appearance on Swede and Super Swede guitars produced in 1978.
It provides a stable and clear tone, and also adds higher overtones and harmonics which uniquely detail each note. Plenty of guitars come with a coil split, but few manage to pull off single-coil sounds as convincingly.
That said, the Ultra Max is not without its quirks. Each pickup is controlled with its own independent Volume pot featuring our standard R/C circuit on each potentiometer, to help focus on its cleaner tones with a slight turn of the pot.
First I list the features of the Hagstrom Ultra Max Black Satin guitar. Experience the new Hagstrom Ultra Max at your Hagstrom dealer.
Benefits
H-Expander
All Hagstrom electric guitars and basses include our patented H-Expander™ truss rod. Our review model is supplied in a satin Cosmic Black Burst which resembles a cross between a modern, sleek Silverburst, and the more green-hued look of an aged Silverburst finish.
It’s single Master Tone also features a dual coil split, using its push/pull tone configuration to allow for players to switch from “Full Humbucker Tilt” to “Spanky Single Coil Clean” in a heartbeat.
Drop Tunings, Flexibilty and Playability
The Ultra Max combines all of the power, long sustain, clarity and attack, as found with the “Ultra Swede”, yet offers players a fresh tonal pallet with additional flexibility and comfortable playability with its compact body.
It provides a stable and clear tone, and also adds higher overtones and harmonics which uniquely detail each note. If you have any problems, they take care of everything.
View Price at Thomann
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Posted by Jaime Echagüe
in Electric guitars
Hagstrom Ultra Max
Exceptional high gloss looks meet a great feel and a range of stage-ready sounds.
Exceptional high gloss looks meet a great feel and a range of stage-ready sounds.
Hagstrom Ultra Max
The Ultra Max shares the same small body concept of the Ultra Swede, yet with a slightly larger proportioned mahogany body topped with a thick custom carved flame maple top.
The blocks are detached from one another to reduce interference between the strings, maximizing each string’s unique contribution.
Specs
| Body | Mahogany |
|---|---|
| Top | Maple |
| Style | Single Cutaway |
| Neck | Mahogany, Set Neck, long Mortise&Tenon neck joint |
| Trussrod | H-Expander™ |
| Fingerboard | Resinator™ |
| Scale Length | 25.50" (648 mm) |
| Radius | 15" |
| Inlays | Pearloid Block |
| Frets | 22 Medium Jumbo |
| Nut | GraphTech Black Tusq XL |
| Nut Width | 43 mm |
| Pickups | 2 x Custom 60 AlNiCo Humbucker |
| Controls | Controls |
| Bridge | Longtravel T-O-M with Hagstrom Stop Tailpiece and 6 individual brass tailpieces |
| Tuning Keys | Hagstrom Design 15:1 |
| Strings | D'Addario (10-46) |
| Optional Case | C-53 |
| Optional Gigbag | E-20 |
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Hagstrom Ultra Max review
It’s been 15 years since Swedish guitar manufacturer Hagstrom was revived, and the brand shows no sign of slowing down.
Since Hag’s second coming, we’ve grown familiar with a number of features that are unique to one of the 1970s best-loved guitar companies: the Resinator fingerboard (made of wood composite for consistency), the H-Expander truss rod (allowing for a thinner, yet stable neck), Sustain Block Tailpiece (individual brass terminators to bulk-up string resonance) and well as those signature 18:1 machine heads.
These features form the basis of many Hagstrom guitars, but rather than simply reissuing the vintage models of yore, Hagstrom has also introduced a number of new guitars in the last few years.
It feels slimmer than a Les Paul, without feeling svelte, not a million miles away from some LTD EC models
The Ultra Max is an interesting mix of guitar standards.