6 Artists Who Play HAGSTROM Guitars

Are you a Hagstrom fan? The idiosyncratic Swedish brand has been a quietly confident player on the world’s stage for over a hundred years now. What began as one accordion-loving entrepreneur’s passion became a significant guitar brand, and that’s at least partly down to some of the famous faces who have used them.

That’s what I’m looking at today. Here’s a surprisingly high profile list of the stellar talents who’ve taken a Hagstrom guitar into the studio, onto the stage, and in front of a photographer’s lens, all making history as they did so.

For the full backstory on the brand, please check out my article A Brief History of Hagstrom Guitars, but for the scoop on the famous players, read on!

Does it get more famous than Elvis Aron Presley? The King himself, from Tupelo Mississippi born and raised. Elvis was basically a walking icon, and when he appeared for his 1968 Comeback Special, he did it with a red Hagstrom Viking II. A suitably charismatic looking guitar for the man with the charm, even Baz Luhrmann made sure that his movie prop people secured the correct guitar for the posters and promo of his 2022 Elvis biopic.

A great Swedish guitar for a great Swedish band! ABBA are obviously one of the biggest bands of all time - almost on a par with Elvis for worldwide adulation - and they were Hagstrom users, too.

To be specific, composer, songwriter and guitarist Bjorn Ulveus was the Hagstrom player, using a number of Swede models over the years.

Endlessly creative and endlessly sardonic, American composer and bandleader Frank Zappa was one of the few artists in the world who could play exceedingly complex, unorthodox music and still sell out arenas. Known as a fan of the Gibson SG, Zappa also frequently used Hagstrom guitars throughout the 70s, including several custom made Swede models. Check out the adverts below for some classic Zappa vibes.

Rock chameleon David Bowie seemed to favour guitars that had an artful ‘pawn shop boutique’ aesthetic to them. His signature Supro attests to this, as does the fabulous red Hagstrom he brought (along with an eyepatch) to Top of the Pops. 

Made under the Kent brand, these idiosyncratic Hagstrom electrics were definitely high in kitsch appeal, and would’ve been a familiar sight to many a British and American musician in the 70s.

The ex-Nirvana guitarist and current Foo Fighter certainly knows how to get himself into gigantic bands! Smear (real name Georg Albert Ruthenberg) was also a member of seminal LA punk band The Germs prior to all of this, with none other than Belinda Carlisle on the drums!

Anyway, Smear is a big fan of Hagstrom guitars, and in fact has a particularly cool signature model. A unique looking double cut with pointy horns and a carved top, it’s like a lovely mixture between a Gibson SG, a Yamaha SG and a Hagstrom F200.

Pop-metal horror rock pioneers Ghost have become one of the biggest bands on the planet. With a very strong visual language and a barrel full of undeniably catchy songs, it’s no secret how they got to the top!

During that long climb up to the summit of Mt Rock, Ghost’s anonymous ‘Nameless Ghoul’ guitarists played Hagstrom guitars, earning themselves the signature Fantomen guitars in the process. A chunky, mahogany rock shape not unlike the Gibson RD, the Fantomen has ‘modern classic’ written all over it.

I don’t know about you, but I think that list of artists is pretty incredible! We’re talking about the biggest and most respected bands in the world, over a time zone that spans about 60 years. How many brands outside Fender and Gibson can say that? Ibanez? Only since the 80s, really. Hagstrom are perhaps slightly niche over here, but that’s maybe our loss, given how much the world loves them. 

Have you tried a Hagstrom guitar? If they are good enough for Nirvana, David Bowie and Elvis, then I reckon they are good enough for you and me, right?

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