Hagstrom Retroscape H8 Electric Bass, 8-String

Hagstrom's US distributor brought the idea of an 8-string bass to them in 1967. At that time, the only other company producing an 8-string bass was Rickenbacker, but these were custom-order instruments; thus, Hagstrom became the first manufacturer to serial produce an 8-string bass, bringing this unique instrument to a much wider audience. Before too long bassist Noel Redding of the Jimi Hendrix Experience discovered it, and its unique sound can be heard on the The Jimi Hendrix Experience album "Axis: Bold as Love" (check out the track "Spanish Castle Magic" where the H8 really shines). In fact, Jimi Hendrix himself was a fan of the instrument and used it in various sessions over a period of several years; he owned the sixth H8 ever produced. Motorhead's Lemmy Kilmister also showed up from time-to-time playing an H8.

Hagstrom went to great lengths to ensure that their H8II is a faithful re-creation of this historic instrument in Hagstrom's legacy. A double cutaway mahogany body is bolted to a Canadian Maple neck supported with Hagstrom's H-Expander(R) truss-rod. The H8II features a short 30.75" (781mm) scale length with a dot-inlaid Resinator(R) fingerboard. Pickups are Hagstrom's DynaRail Humbuckers with an additional coil-split feature activated by a push/pull switch built into the volume control.