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Hagstrom 8-string


isaac42

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So, I went to rehearsal, got out the Hag and plugged it in. Didn't work. Played the first half of rehearsal on the bandleader's miniature bass. This thing isn't medium scale, not even short scale. It's tiny! Like 25" scale tiny. I've found that short scale basses tend to be thumpier than longer scale basses, and this one is no exception. Very thumpy. Not really my style.

 

During our break, I looked more closely at the Hag. It seems that the volume pot is hinky. I wiggled it around and occasionally got some sound, After a while, I got it to stay on consistently, so I played it for the second half.

 

It's a different sound, that's for sure. With the octave string, it's fuller sounding while at the same time not as solid. On some songs it sounded good, others, not so much. On Hotel California, it sounded a bit weak for most of the song, but perfect on the end. In most cases, it sounded better played with a pick. The songs where it wounded better with fingers might have sounded better with a four-string. I thought it sounded really good on Mark Antony's I Need To Know.

 

Bottom line, it's an interesting instrument, but definitely not right for every song. Harder to play than I would have thought. That second string adds a fair amount of pushback on the finger. The pair is just harder to push down than a single string, and finger placement needs to be more precise as well. But it was fun to play. I'll take it apart, clean it up, replace the pot, and maybe we'll find a place to use it.

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