Jump to content
Hamer Fan Club Message Center

NGD- It Ain't No Cali, That's fer Sure.


Recommended Posts

Got a raging case of GAS for one of these despite having had a tepid response to the Indo-made version. I mean, it's the 30th Anniv. model!  Made in Japan!  All that added cost, case candy/specialty commemorative swag has gotta translate into more mojo & awesomeness from the guitar, right?? :rolleyes:

All kidding aside, it's a decent ride and maybe after some serious set up, it'll be up to my expectations (feels funny saying that given my level of suckitude). But it ain't no Cali LE, that's for damned certain!

PS- I know what's partially to blame for Vai's less than stellar guitar tone. Evo's- Yuck. Basswood body- Double yuck.

image.png

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That blade switch has gotta go.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 minutes ago, cmatthes said:

That blade switch has gotta go.

I've taught you well. It is time for you to leave the temple. :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

a. Always loved the looks of the Ibanez shredders.

b. Always hated the necks of the Ibanez shredders.

Unfortunately, in my world b. > a.   :lol:

Glad it works for you.  I think they're fantastic looking guitars.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

21 minutes ago, scottcald said:

So what are you doing to it?  Clearly, the color is satisfactory.  :lol:

Black polka dots.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 minutes ago, velorush said:

a. Always loved the looks of the Ibanez shredders.

b. Always hated the necks of the Ibanez shredders.

Unfortunately, in my world b. > a.   :lol:

Glad it works for you.  I think they're fantastic looking guitars.  

a. never was  a big fan of the look of Ibby shredder head stocks

b. this neck is surprisingly meaty compared to the thin Wizard and Wizard 2's (or maybe my memory is going- it was a long time ago I had those RG's)

c. Green guitars > a. &  b. 

Thanks!

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 minutes ago, cmatthes said:

Black polka dots.

 

Ouch. But no. If I bond with it, I'll order a custom spec-ed replacement pick guard with 2H and a toggle switch. Couple o' solders here and there and she'll be as sound as a pound. AND I can revert it back to to stock for selling it off should that day come. Now what to do about that trem system... :lol:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nice - I had #99 out of the original run but sold it to fund the house.  Got to keep a couple others though including an original multicolor UV7.  I played Jems long before I discovered California's, and still prefer the Jems even though the Cali's are so much better (then again, I prefer teles over everything so what do I know lol). Cool score!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, stonge said:

Nice - I had #99 out of the original run but sold it to fund the house.  Got to keep a couple others though including an original multicolor UV7.  I played Jems long before I discovered California's, and still prefer the Jems even though the Cali's are so much better (then again, I prefer teles over everything so what do I know lol). Cool score!

It's fair to say I wanted a JEM long before I wanted a Cali as I knew of JEMs well before I knew about Cali's, especially given the promotion and publicity JEMs got over Cali's. You couldn't hardly open a GFTPM,  Guitar World or Guitar Player and not see either an ad and/or an article/feature about JEMs, largely thanks to Vai and Ibby's aggressive (by comparison) ad campaigns. Cali's never had a dedicated, heavy hitter endorser. Not like Vai.

Despite that, I'm very satisfied in my opinion that Cali's are superior in almost every way to the JEM. Yeah, a lot of subjective preferences as well as longer time playing Cali's in that statement but there are key points to consider: Superior tone woods- Cali's 'hog, flame maple and alder bodies kick the snot outta basswood IMO. Neck profile on a Cali is easier on the hands in my experience - admittedly subjective, too. Ibby's staunch refusal to allowing custom orders by us non-guitar- god-peons also lands them trailing Hamer's willingness to customize for whomever had the $$$. Cali head stock kicked the shit outta the Ibby 6 in line. Evo p'ups? Shee-ooot. While Cali's had quite an array of p'ups over the years and across versions, the PATB-1 stands out as superior to the Evo's and even the Evo 2's. And lastly, Despite the Edge's game changing modifications to the Floyd, it still suffered from some issues (those plastic bushings on the push-in arm always were wearing out and were a bitch to replace) that made it, IMO,  inferior to the later model Schaller with hardened steel inserts for both saddle screw holes and knife edges.

 

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

28 minutes ago, diablo175 said:

It's fair to say I wanted a JEM long before I wanted a Cali as I knew of JEMs well before I knew about Cali's, especially given the promotion and publicity JEMs got over Cali's. You couldn't hardly open a GFTPM,  Guitar World or Guitar Player and not see either an ad and/or an article/feature about JEMs, largely thanks to Vai and Ibby's aggressive (by comparison) ad campaigns. Cali's never had a dedicated, heavy hitter endorser. Not like Vai.

Despite that, I'm very satisfied in my opinion that Cali's are superior in almost every way to the JEM. Yeah, a lot of subjective preferences as well as longer time playing Cali's in that statement but there are key points to consider: Superior tone woods- Cali's 'hog, flame maple and alder bodies kick the snot outta basswood IMO. Neck profile on a Cali is easier on the hands in my experience - admittedly subjective, too. Ibby's staunch refusal to allowing custom orders by us non-guitar- god-peons also lands them trailing Hamer's willingness to customize for whomever had the $$$. Cali head stock kicked the shit outta the Ibby 6 in line. Evo p'ups? Shee-ooot. While Cali's had quite an array of p'ups over the years and across versions, the PATB-1 stands out as superior to the Evo's and even the Evo 2's. And lastly, Despite the Edge's game changing modifications to the Floyd, it still suffered from some issues (those plastic bushings on the push-in arm always were wearing out and were a bitch to replace) that made it, IMO,  inferior to the later model Schaller with hardened steel inserts for both saddle screw holes and knife edges.

I have to agree with just about every point you made comparing Cali's to the Jem's; the only thing better about the Ibanez was the marketing and the fact that they signed just about everybody in that era lol.  Even my dot-neck mahogany board Cali's were better in just about every category than any Ibanez (save one) that I ever played.  Don't know why I still just prefer the Ibanez, other than it is what I am used to.  Then again, I prefer my Jackon RR-1 to every setneck Cali I've ever owned or played (3 or 4 so far) so maybe I'm just not a Cali guy lol.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

36 minutes ago, black magic said:

I always wanted to love Ibanez shredders too. Love the looks, too many pickups and can`t play the Wizard neck. The Wizard II neck wasn`t horrible but still a bit too thin. Well made guitars though and look great!!

I had a red RG550 (I think) that was my main ax in '90 - '91. Even with the stock pickups, it kicked some serious ass.  Loved that ax. I think I sold it or traded it for a Jackson RR. I jammed with a very talented bassist and drummer in the summer of '91 and we created some really great stuff. That ax could be heard all over the live recordings we made of our jam sessions that summer. Oddly enough, I haven't been able to recapture that magic via any of the Ibbys I've had since. And I've had more than a few. ;)  This was right around the time I discovered, among others, the mighty Hamer Diablo.  Been a mostly-Hamer man ever since.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I had a black/maple RG-550 autographed by Vai back in the very early '90s.  Funny story about how I won it, but it was a REALLY cool guitar - played like a dream.  The weak spot was definitely the stock bridge humbucker.  It wasn't awful beyond belief, but kind of plinky and sterile when clean.  I still remember exactly what that guitar felt and smelled like, as odd as that sounds.  I ditched it a few years later as a partial trade for one of the first '95 Standard reissues when they came out.

 

WZBH - Worst Guitarist Winner.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If it works for you, play it until it falls apart. It is a guitar tailored to a specific person, so not everyone is going to like it. Vai also uses a pretty specific setup, and the pickups are designed to work with that, and his playing style.

That said, the Dimarzio IBZ pickups that Ibanez used in their RG Prestige line for years were always kinda "meh". They were not horrible pickups, but they weren't the same class as the tone Zone and Air Norton they use now. But, I think Ibanez was going for a specific sound, and I guess those pickups fit the bill.

Basswood is nice enough for Petrucci to keep using it on his JP models, so It can't be all bad. Its' also a popular material to use when laminating maple, because it takes the glue well. The only down side is that it's kinda soft, and not great looking like alder or ash.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, diablo175 said:

PS- I know what's partially to blame for Vai's less than stellar guitar tone. Evo's- Yuck. Basswood body- Double yuck.

image.png

Flip it. You already hate the electronics, body wood and tremolo. Why put a bunch of work/gelt into something that ain't there in the first place?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, cmatthes said:

I had a black/maple RG-550 autographed by Vai back in the very early '90s.  Funny story about how I won it, but it was a REALLY cool guitar - played like a dream.  The weak spot was definitely the stock bridge humbucker.  It wasn't awful beyond belief, but kind of plinky and sterile when clean.  I still remember exactly what that guitar felt and smelled like, as odd as that sounds.  I ditched it a few years later as a partial trade for one of the first '95 Standard reissues when they came out.

 

WZBH - Worst Guitarist Winner.jpg

I notice you weren't the worst, but Worse Guitarist.  Worse than what?  :lol:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My RG550.  First guitar I bought with my own money new in 1987.   I like the neck as something different than other guitars I have.

I hated the original pickups.  I was on an EMG kick back then, so I replaced them with an 85, SA, and an 89 at the bridge with a coil split.  At someone's suggestion here, they currently house DiMarzio Air Classics and a DiMarzio single coil.  I thought it did well with the EMGs, I'm just off that train now.    

RG550.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, scottcald said:

I notice you weren't the worst, but Worse Guitarist.  Worse than what?  :lol:

If my playing was worse than the editing for the local beach rag, it would have been THE WORST.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oh man, I love this thread!

I bought my first Cali after searching for the best guitar I could find (in Spokane, WA) for over 3 months.  I got a touring gig after that and needed a backup guitar and got a steal on a used RG 560 which killed as a player and it sounded great, but different than the Cali.

Much later I auditioned for a slot in a metal band (definitely not fashionable at the time) using my Cali.  After a while I noticed that my bandmates reacted a little negatively whenever I switched over to the 560 - which surprised me.  I thought it had the juice.  But the drummer and the bass player told me that the Ibanez was "okay", but the Hamer was so much better that it just screamed "metal".

I gave the Ibanez to my brother.  I miss it occasionally for certain things, but the Cali keeps killing.

Stonge, you played set-neck Calis?  Mine are all bolt-on (which I very strongly prefer).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, essgee said:

Stonge, you played set-neck Calis?  Mine are all bolt-on (which I very strongly prefer).

The set-neck Cali's are a little harder to find than the bolt-on versions; I'd guess it's because 1) Hamer didn't make as many, or 2) folks who find them don't give them up, or 3) both reasons.  AFAIK Hamer didn't make any neck-thru Cali's (I think the only neck-thru Hamers made might have been a couple of 5-string Impact basses iirc, but I'd defer to other folks who might know more on that topic). 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, stonge said:

 AFAIK Hamer didn't make any neck-thru Cali's

Correct.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not a fan of bleh basswood supporting Dimarzios. "Bleh" meaning BW seems to have a flat EQ curve and no real character of its own. I think the reason it took off so to speak was because Ibanez had an overflowing roster of endorsees, so many, many popular names, and basswood was the canvas for everything Ibanez made, so "it must be good," in the minds of the masses. Mix in the era of big ass refrigerator racks and Bradshaw systems in both the studio and on stage ... a flat EQ curve wood seems to me would be kinda better if you're relying on so much shit coloring your tone in the first place. I remember my wallet shuddering when the first white Jems came out and it was announced they were alder/ebony. Sure enough, the first one I played was magical for my tastes compared to its predecessors.

All that being said, I loved the Jems and early RGs from day one and if they were alder straight out of the gate, I'd probably STILL be playing a debut-era Jem and probably the old root beer one at that. I liked the long no-knuckle-cut monkey grip and the non-neon colors actually. And the pink Dimarzios would have been cast aside for black Duncans. I ought to build a clone of what I just described.

052f92758abbe7e60a857f1783f85be2.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...