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SteveC

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  1. It's unbelievable, isn't it?!? I've known Greg for almost 18 years, and get to watch him perform these miracles on a regular basis. It's freakin' amazing! One of the first ones I got to play around '94 was a sunburst Special with a particularly nasty break. He ended up naming that guitar "Lazarus", and while he didn't take it to the same cosmetic level as his usual work (he fixed it for his own use, not for a customer...), it was solid as hell and sounded great! To this day, one of the best sounding Specials I've ever heard. As for how he learned to do this kind of work, I think it's just years and years of practice, coupled with an innate ability to visualize solutions to seemingly hopeless problems, a talent for shaping wood into unique, precise shapes, familiarity with various adhesives & finishes, and a deep understanding of the various forces acting on the structural parts of a guitar. Before beginning work on a new arrival, he generally puts the patient on his bench for a few days (sometimes longer...) while he works out the repair plan IN HIS HEAD. The first time I saw this, I just thought he was procrastinating (like most of us - just putting off doing things that don't look like much fun!). Not so. He's just figuring out how he'll approach the surgery. From what I've seen, I think it's because there usually isn't a "do-over" opportunity, so it's critical that the plan is good the first time! Once the plan is worked out and actual repair commences, the slowest thing in the process is waiting for glue or finish to dry. He ends up working like a maniac until the instrument is done. From my observations, I think his repair time on things like busted headstocks averages out around 60/40 (60% of the time is working out the repair plan in his head, and the other 40% is the time it actually takes to perform the repair). If you don't count glue or finish drying time, it's probably more like 80/20. I have a 1937 National Duolian resonator that came in to Greg's shop with a particularly bad headstock break (slotted headstock, and not much wood to work with to re-attach it). It is now in great playing condition, and you would really have to know what to look for to figure out that it had once been decapitated. It plays and sounds great, expecially for a 73-year old guitar! Amazing work - Greg, you really need to publish a book! StevieC +
  2. So, uh, Hamer will now be making custom basketball shorts (for the right price, of course!) Sounds like a major shift in strategy! Seriously, the only thing we know for sure at this point is that Hamer has (for now) suspended production of "stock" instrument models, but will make custom orders if the customer agrees to the price Hamer quotes. It appears anything beyond that is just speculation, eh? Since I haven't heard any rumblings about government bailouts for the music industry, I suspect free-market forces will ultimately determine what Hamer produces and what pricing structure the market will accept...irrespective of what we, Hamer or Jol think. In the meantime, I'm just REAL glad I have the Hamers I do, and I hope the guys in CT are able to work something out so they can continue to practice their craft and build quality instruments that the market can accept and afford.
  3. My first Mesa was a .22 Caliber in blonde tolex. Great sounding amp for what it was. I traded it to a friend for a mint '69 Super Reverb a bunch of years ago, because he wanted something easier to lug around. I definitely got the better end of that deal. Then I had a DC-5 wide-body combo. Loved it. In a fit of irrationality, I sold it to get a Nomad 55. Biggest mistake I ever made. The Nomad 55 was nothing but trouble - in and out of the shop (and back to Mesa twice) in the year I had it. Plus, it never sounded as good as the DC-5, to my ears. I wish I had that DC-5 back! Currently, I own a MKIV and a Lonestar Special. Both great amps. I like the MKIV for it's veratility (plus it's the loudest 1-12" combo I've ever heard!). You just have to have a lot of patience to dial in the sounds you want, mostly because several of the controls affect multiple channels. The Lonestar Special is in a league of its own. The cleans are very transparent and "Fendery", and the gains don't have that usual Mesa "honk". The ability to dial each channel in at 5, 15 or 30 watts makes it super flexible. And the 30-watt setting is plenty loud enough for stage volume for the stuff I play. Hearing Poe, Phoenix and others rave about the Road King has got me jonesin' to try one out. A Road King head with the Mesa 2-12" cabinet could end up replacing the MKIV, the Super Reverb, and a couple of other amps I rarely play. The problem is, there's nowhere close to me that stocks the RKII to try out, and that's a lot of cash to lay out without playing it first...
  4. I've only ever played one - it was a Strat-style, about 5 years ago or so. IMHO, the build quality, feel & sound were tremendous. Definitely in the same "boutique-quality" league as my Anderson. I would imagine the Suhr's are also priced somewhat like Anderson's (higher than one would expect for a bolt-neck Strat/Tele style guitar). But, if they are all like the one I played, the higher price gets you a guitar with meticulous build quality.
  5. I have a Hollow Drop Top Classic, and IMHO it absolutely smokes every other bolt-neck I've ever owned or played. Flawless finish, tremendous fretwork (no buzzes anywhere, ever), nice open ringing acoustic tone, great pickups, great whammy. Not cheap, but for my $$, worth it. I own several other bolt-neck guitars, but they all fall short of the Anderson when you get right down to it (but they're also all more affordable than the Anderson!) Your mileage may vary.
  6. Happy Birthday elduave! You are not old. It only feels that way sometimes. Have a great one! StevieC
  7. Kiz, Can you look at the link you provided to make sure it's still working? My browser just times out on the link so I can't see what you've got for sale... Thanks, StevieC
  8. Bill, My condolences and best wishes to you and your family. It's a passage we all must go through - keep only your fondest memories of your Mom and know that she's not suffering any more. StevieC
  9. I would vote for pulling "personal attack" posts. It would force those kinds of disputes or differences to be handled somewhere off the board. Just my .02
  10. Mark, Just got in the office and read your GREAT news! I am very happy our prayers were answered and you can relax at least a little bit - next time you see your son, be sure to give him a big hug from all of us here at the HFC! StevieC
  11. Bruce - I agree. The last more-or-less formal communication from Hamer was the cancellation of the "annual" factory tour, ostensibly because there were too many "dealer-specific, custom" guitars they wanted to keep anone from seeing before the dealers got them. Wooooooooo! Secrets! Bullshit. Any guitars in progress in June (when the announcement was made) would certainly be out of production before the October tour. And, why not let Hamer's biggest fans see the cool new custom stuff they could order from dealers? I would think Hamer would WANT to do that! There were obviously other reasons that Hamer didn't want to disclose. Internal issues, dealer issues, other issues we don't know about, who knows?.... Like many in this forum, I have purchased many Hamer guitars over the past 10 years. I really feel deceived and betrayed by this lack of candor / communication. I used to purchase between 3 and 6 new Hamer guitars per year, every year. I now have not purchased a Hamer guitar (new or used) in over a year, and am not sure whether I will ever purchase another one. No knock against the guitars (they are tremendous). The fact is that there are a number of other very high-quality makers at or near Hamer's price points, who will communicate honestly, openly and freely with their customers and prospective customers. None of this "factory/dealer secrets" crap. (We'll tell dealer A that we won't make a certain guitar, then we'll go ahead and make it for dealer B. We'll charge one dealer a big upcharge for a certain feature, then we'll later make it a standard feature available to all dealers for no additional charge. Etc. The regulars here know exactly what I'm talking about, as the list of examples goes back at least to 1997.) I believe Hamer may be sending us the message they intend to send us. It just hurts to hear it. Rant over. StevieC
  12. I don't pretend to understand the technical details concerning biasing / matching tubes, etc. It just seems curious to me that a number of acknowledged experts in building great tube amps can have such definitive yet in many cases opposing opinions concerning this stuff. Hard for us mortals to know who to believe... Probably the best thing is to pick a specific amp maker you like, then listen to that maker (and ONLY that maker) when making any decisions concerning the proper setup and maintenance of that maker's amps (and ONLY that maker's amps). If you ARE the amp maker, then just pick a set of opinions/observations you like and go with it. Disclaimer: this opinion is worth exactly what you paid for it.
  13. Oh Yeah, my current white HFC shirts are about to become polishing cloths or dust rags (they're pretty worn out). I'm in for a few new white HFC shirts in XL too if you decide to do a run of white ones...
  14. Greg, How did you get Hamer to do those "tree graphics" over the flame on the last photo? Guitarseh - VERY cool guitar!!! To quote ND: "Luckyyyy..." Some of you know what I'm talkin' about! StevieC
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