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90s USA B12L basses - fake? wtf??


tobereeno

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Someone at a music store told me that Hamer did not make B12L Chap 12 string basses in the 90s. I said au contraire buddy, I've got a '94 sitting at home, and it's definitely a USA. It's the little things - the truss rods, the screws holding the back plate in, the soldering...I've been poking around Hamers for nearly 20 years now (jesus, I remember most of y'all way back in the late 90s!! where the fuck did the time go???) I think I know a USA Hamer when I see one.

Guy says he's the store's appraiser and said nope, you've got a fake. Someone back me up here; I'm too old to give a shit about ignorant folk 99% of the time, but this one just kinda stuck in my craw.

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Considering Hamer made their first 12-er bass in the late 70s, and considering all the bizarro custom and one-off shit we've seen show up on this board over the past 20 years, tobe, I would have told the guy he needs to better appraise his knowledge of Hamer guitars in general and that the rule of thumb from day one is there haven't been too many rules since day one.

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They started making the USA B-12L in 1992.

The CH-12 (Korean) was started in 1999.

BOTH clearly in the 1990s, by my estimation.

Oh, it's also clearly pictured and described in the 1992 catalog and pricelist, and there's a HamerTone article where Jol discusses it...not to mention that Dug Pinnick used them extensively during that era (as did others).  I first played one in 1993, about a month before I got married, and have a pic around somewhere.

But by all means, I'll defer to the superior knowledge of some random store appraisal guy!  :D

 

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3 hours ago, cmatthes said:

They started making the USA B-12L in 1992.

The CH-12 (Korean) was started in 1999.

BOTH clearly in the 1990s, by my estimation.

Oh, it's also clearly pictured and described in the 1992 catalog and pricelist, and there's a HamerTone article where Jol discusses it...not to mention that Dug Pinnick used them extensively during that era (as did others).  I first played one in 1993, about a month before I got married, and have a pic around somewhere.

But by all means, I'll defer to the superior knowledge of some random store appraisal guy!  :D

 

1999 - that's the year I was trying to remember. What I didn't know...the 34" scale 12 string bass didn't debut until '92??

I've played a CH-12 in a music store. Not bad and definitely usable, but any of us here could tell the difference blindfolded, without even plugging in, even with both instruments set up with the same string gauges and actions set identically. To be honest, as I was trying to save money (always a futile effort but one can keep trying), and I was painfully missing the B12S I had sold and dropped off at the HFC Chicago jam in 2011, I was shopping around for a CH-12 when my B12L showed up on eBay for a steal. Six years later I still can't figure out why the seller let it go at a sub-$1k price; it's dead mint and is probably the best preserved example in my instrument stash of an Arlington Heights Hamer in practically new condition.

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SOMEday, I'll have an 8 or 12 Hamer.

 

Back in 2000-ish, I had tinkered with a white Import 12 that the Kaman rep had left at the store I was working at at the time, but just wasn't feeling it.   Sure wish I would have made it more of a priority gear wise at the time, lol!!  

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2 hours ago, Steve Haynie said:

I would love to get the guy to appraise my 8 string Chaparral Bass that I got in 1995. 

Fake.

Copy.

Not real!

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