Hagstrom VIK-GJY Justin York Viking Electric Guitar. Gold Top

Hagstrom Viking Gold Top

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, we 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 Viking 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 our classic Viking semi-hollow platform to which a classic vintage-style gold finish is applied. Justin loves Hagstrom’s thinner neck profiles, so we developed our “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 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 dialed 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 we have developed a tone control which does the exact opposite.

Instead of filtering treble frequencies, we 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.

Body

• Material: Ply Maple
• Top: Contoured
• Style: Semi-Hollow Double Cutaway
• Binding: Multi-Ply

Neck

• Joint: Set Neck
• Material: Canadian Hard Maple
• Profile: Ultra-Thin 17mm
• Mortise and Long Tenon Neck Joint
• Truss Rod: H-Expander™

Fingerboard/Nut

• Material: Resinator™
• Radius: 15"
• Inlays: Pearloid Block
• Frets: 22 Medium Jumbo
• Scale Length: 24.75" (628 mm)
• Nut: GraphTech Black Tusq
• Nut Width: 43 mm

Electronics

• Bridge Pickup: Hagstrom ‘58 Custom Humbucker
• Neck Pickup: Hagstrom HJ-50 Humbucker
• Pickup Selector: 3-Way Toggle Switch
• Controls: 2 x Volume / 2 x Tone with Push/Pull Coil Splits
• Custom Bass-Cut Tone Circuit

Parts

• Bridge: Long-Throw Tune-O-Matic Bridge with Stop Tail Piece
• Tuning Keys: Hagstrom Design 18:1