I was on a transatlantic flight to Atlanta in 2015. On the plane I saw a movie called G.A.S. It was actor and musicians Kevin Bacon that hosted the documentary on – Guitar Acquisition Syndrome. Yes. Considered a disease by those affected by it. Kevin was for sure.
I have a new axe in the studio. Well, two actually. But G.A.S? No, I don’t think so. I’m much less afflicted by it than Stefan Hedenström in the band FW&M (Forsberg Wilson & Muller). But I do have a lot of gear. Apart from most “G.A.S:ers” my gear is all new, from 2010 and forward, no vintage guitars or basses. And there are no collectables in my collection. I use them all even though some are back up instruments ….. if something fails. And I have 3 Hagström HB4 basses. But it’s the best bass ever built I think and it’s out of production. So I keep my three babies alive. Nothing is really expensive either. I found gear I like and that works for me. So G.A.S? No. Definitely not.
My two new axes are twins. Playing with FW&M I used an acoustic Yamaha APX 700. It’s a bit trebly acoustic steel string but when plugged in it has a wonderful sound. You can hear it on several Gus recordings. The guys in the band though, thought it had a little too thin sound for our stage performance. So, I went out looking for a guitar that was much like playing the acoustic steel strings. I’m so used to them that my left hand grip is quite firm. The acoustics have a much higher string tension than regular electrics. So when playing electrics I go out of tune just by pressing to hard.
Hagström, my brand of choice, had just showed the new Super Viking guitar on the Frankfurt Musik Messe. It was a semi hollow electric with slightly longer (25,5’ scale) strings which makes string tension higher. And with a heavy gauge string set it would probably be a lot like the acoustics. So, I tried and it was. Even the neck profile was perfect. Ohh, I just love the Hagströms. They do everything right all the time. Although they took the HB 4 out of production. But I can live with that.
So I got a orange one to try. I loved it. Not so bulky to play as my former semi hollow basses or acoustic guitars, very nice neck and a string tension matching my grip. And the sound was much bolder and deeper than the Yamahas so even the band likes it. Perfect! Since I play some songs in D# tuning to fit my voice limitations rather than the standard E tuning for guitars ……. I needed two. An E tuned and one in D#. So, I added a red one too.
/ Happy but G.A.S free Gus
