Hagstrom’s greatest international success came in the late 1960s, when the brand became synonymous with fast, thin necks. But, as this 1959 model P46 Deluxe shows, Hagstrom guitars had been attracting attention with innovative designs as well as flashy looks since the Swedish company entered the guitar market in 1958.

The sparkle finish and pearloid fingerboard of the P46 were standard ornamentation elements found on accordions, and Hagstrom had, in fact, started out as an accordion company, founded in 1921 in Älvdalen, Sweden, by Albin Hagstrom. The pushbutton controls of the P46 were also inspired by accordion designs, and they activated different electronic circuits as well as pickup combinations. With the use of roller controls for tone and volume, Hagstrom eliminated standard control knobs altogether from the P46.

The Les Paul-inspired single-cutaway body gave way in the 1960s to Hagstroms (marketed in the UK under the Futurama brand) with a Stratocaster body shape and a unique, vinyl-covered back. The company fell victim to inexpensive Asian imports in the 1980s.