1966 Hagstrom Coronado IV

Have a look at the Hagstrom Coronado IV in the 1966 Hagstrom catalogue

The Hagstrom Coronado was a medium-scale (32") bass guitar made in Sweden between 1963 and 1970. It had a rosewood SPEED-O-MATIC fingerboard, mahogany body and bolt-on mahogany neck. Also available in Red Sunburst, this particular bass is finished in in Mahogany Sunburst.

This bass is from batch 658; the sixth of seven batches, and is typical of a late sixties Hagstrom Coronado. Note that earlier batches designated this model as Coronado, or Coronado I; but by 1965 it was dubbed Coronado IV (in contrast to the six stringed version, Coronado VI). Gone are the Hagstrom Bi-Sonics, in favour of these smaller single coil pickups, and the tall finger rest 'posts' replace the rail of earlier versions.

The older Bi-Sonic pickups had a great reputation, but Bi-sonics or not, this is a great sounding bass. The combination of medium scale, and Hagstrom's famous fast neck make it a lot of fun to play. The main downside to these bases is that the switches can be somewhat unreliable, sometimes sticking, especially if left unused for long periods. Check out the soundclips of this Coronado, through various vintage amplifiers.

Actually this bass is pretty heavy, weighing in at 5.1kg! But there is some variance - the 1964 bass also shown on this site (here) was a whole kilogram lighter, at just 4.1kg.

A closer look at a '66 Hagstrom Coronado IV

The Hagstrom Coronado was equipped with two single-coil Hagstrom pickups. These units were smaller than the older Bi-sonics, and without adjustable pole pieces, but still great sounding pickups.

Finger rests did change over the course of production of the Hagstrom Coronado; in this incarnation, it has two metallic finger rests above and below the neck pickup.

All electronics and controls are scratchplate-mounted. The positioning of the volume control is quite convenient for easy adjustment whilst playing.

Hagstrom adjustable compensating bass bridge. These bridge units were also used by other makers, most notably Guild in the USA.

The controls and output jack. An on/off switch (1 and 2) for each pickup, and two tone controls. The output is mounted onto the scratchplate. Older Coronados had a moulded scratchplate with the jack socket embedded within the guard, and switches numbered 1-4. Compare with a 1964 Hagstrom Coronado IV.

The volume control fitted to the Hagstrom Coronado basses was a slider, rather than a typical rotary control - "for fast adjustments"

Serial numbers were stamped into the neckplate. The first three digits designate this as from batch 658.

Close up of the Hagstrom logo on the guitar body.

Hagstrom Coronado headstock. The logo is a decal and reads 'Coronado IV made by A.B. Albin Hagstrom, Alvdalen, Sweden PAT 171469 190125'

Reverse headstock with open gear tuning keys.

The controls of the Coronado IV are quite simple - but this is in part because of the switches are enclosed as a separate unit. Quite a few Coronados come up with this replaced; unlike a regular potentiometer, direct replacement switch units are not readily available.