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How'd you get into Hamer?


soli'd

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I was familiar with them from Cheap Trick but I also went to college and was then an FM radio DJ in a town with one of the very first few Hamer dealers, Six String Sales in Rochester, NY.  I was also playing the club circuit at the time, so very early Hamers were about town.

When I was recording my first album in the late 70s, I let a good friend come in and guest on the guitar solo for one song. He hauled in his two Hamer Standards and a Les Paul.  The Hamer Standards were a black one in the SN030 range and a natural one SN071, that he sold me around 10 years back.

By 1980 I was playing 8-string basses exclusively (Hagstroms) and eventually switched to short-scale Hamers and Kramers.

 

 

 

 

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3 hours ago, bondedbybrick said:

Saw Jethro Tull back in the late 70's and Martin Barre was playing his black, bound and crowned Sunburst.   'Nuff said!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                                                  THIS ^^^^^^^ and I swore one day I'd own one! Martin................................................................................. God he is such a great player!

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58 minutes ago, GuitarGuy65 said:

Cheap Trick for sure...  The Budokan album had all those sweet photos of the first Standard and Tom's killer basses, and when Enola made an appearance on the back cover of Dream Police I was a goner.  There was a music store in the Denver area called ProSound and they carried Hamers starting in the late 1970's and I recall getting a bunch of literature from them that I still have stashed somewhere. 

I bought my first electric guitar at ProSound in Aurora in 1990.  A MIJ Fender 62RI strat that I still have and play regularly.

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I remember seeing various ads in Guitar World, etc. but never saw them in the wild, so to speak. One of the better high school aged bands around town had a guitarist with a black, bound Sunburst. Looked sweet, sounded great. 

Later in highschool I did a co-op placement at a studio and a guy who called himself “Hamerman” had a project we worked on. He had a rack ful of Calis. (‘98 or so)

That was my total experience until the company my dad worked for got bought by Kaman and he told me about their musical instrument department and the discounts available to him. I flip/flopped between a Standard Custom and Studio Custom. Ordered a Studio Custom in Aztec Gold and received  one in 59 Burst (6 months later). Didn’t care about the difference :). That was 2005. 

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Needed a backup for my LP and my buddy who worked at a music store shows up with the first Hamer I ever encountered:

DSCN5764.JPG

That was in 1987. She's an ugly little spud being all gray like that, but the Junior shape and the way it played (not to mention the $200 price tag) sold me straight away. It wasn't long before the LP was the backup. It's an '81 and I still have it, but the smaller neck means it doesn't get used enough. It was probably 10 years before I got another, then found you enablers and all hell broke loose.

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I was expecting someone here to write their (true story) about how:

"I just had 350$ and needed a guitar badly for a gig."

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I remember seeing a very early ad for Hamer in the back of '70s Guitar Player mags.  It was just a small black & white of Rick Nielsen making a funny face and playing something that looked like an Explorer with a sunburst maple top, like a Les Paul.  It was only a single column wide  and about 3" high.  The Hamer name must have been there, but it mostly just said Cheap Trick Cheap Trick Cheap Trick Cheap Trick Cheap Trick Cheap Trick, and left me thinking, "What the hell is Cheap Trick?".

Then "Heaven Tonight" hit big, and we finally heard about Cheap Trick in Philly.  I saw them opening at the Spectrum and blow the headliners off the stage.  Nielsen mostly played the Zandard that night, and at about the same time, we saw this more-explanatory ad in the mags.

s-l300.jpg

I was sold, but we didn't really see Hamers in Philly in those days. When I wanted something pointy a few years later, I ended up with a Dean V.  Then I became a Tele guy, playing a Schecter PT and various Fenders.  The dream of owning a Hamer went unfulfilled for over 30 years.

Another ad that made a lasting impression on me was this one:

$T2eC16dHJH8E9qSEW9VmBRU2zlhOg!~~60_3.JP

So, when I came across a used orange Slammer Series "Sunburst"  in my local store a few years ago, I couldn't resist its $200 price tag.  I never really bonded with it and the color was wrong; I wanted a red one.  I failed to convince Gene to sell me the one he has stashed away, so when I found a red one on Reverb a year or so ago, also for $200, I switched.  Is it a Zandard?  No.  Is it even a 4-digit red Sunburst?  No, but it's a great guitar and from 10 feet away you can read the word "HAMER" on the peghead, but you can't read the words "Slammer Series".    Couple of Gravelins and some real Schallers and it's close enough for me.

I also have poster-sized reprints of both of those ads in my family room.

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Back in 1978 I had just started playing electric guitar, and I had a cheap Japanese strat copy, and then I read a review of the Hamer Sunburst in a Dutch  music magazine.

This review was glowing, and only positive things were said about that guitar.

In that tine I used top go to concerts of Dutch bands quite often and I saw and heard these Sunbursts quite often and liked it.

Also in the music shop I frequented there was one hanging on the wall. There also was a (probably Norlin-era) black Gibson Les Paul custom.

Both of these guitars I never touched as they were much too expensive for me (about 10 times the price of my Japanese guitar), but I have admired them with my tongue probably hanging out of my mouth.

Later I bought an Ibanez Studio 300NT and played that for years and years.

 

In 1991 my interest in USA Hamer guitars was reignited when I saw the TV-yellow Special with P-90's. However although I should have, I never bought one.

 

Then fast forward to 2002, a couple of years after I had sold my Ibanez and was playing a Chinese Squier stratocaster, I found a brand-new 2002 USA Hamer Studio P-90 and bought that via the internet for a very reasonable price. I still regret having sold that guitar later one, but have owned a number of USA Hamers since then incl 2 Sunbursts (dotted necks from 1979 and 1980), Standard, Daytona's, T-51, Newport. At this moment I own 2 Talladega's, a 2008 Black Transparent and a 2007 Aztec Gold (with bound fingerboard). The AG one still has the original SD Double-D pickups, the BT has Kinman P90-buckers. Great pickups that distort somewhat faster than the Double-D's, but on comparison the difference is not even that big.

 

Enjoy your USA Hamers and enjoy the HFC!

 

Gabe :)

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Back in 1996, my fiance (now wife) insisted that if she got an engagement ring, I needed to get something cool too.  We're both amateur musicians, so she suggested a guitar.  A buddy of mine was working at a local music store, so we went in and tried a bunch of stuff out.  Fell in love with a Daytona, looked up a her and said, "Buy me this."  She said, "OK" and I joined the cult of Hamer.  Still have both :)

PeaveyEVH001.jpg   

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I started on a 1976 Explorer in the late 70s....I thought Enola and all Standards (and Destroers too) were Explorers at first, then my young self got hip to Hamer. I never thought I’d be able to afford one. Lived all over the nation and rarely saw them except in the occasional store or magazine....or MTV!

Fast forward to the 21at century.... I am back playing electric with a vengeance and need a double bucker guitar...the Ric 650 I was rocking alongside my Strat and Tele was really good, but I wanted something Gibsonesque.....then I remembered Hamer and started researching...that led me here which led me to my Artist Korina in my avatar that I bought from miragejake.

I literally wore the frets right off that one.  After that one the Hamers just kept coming....that said I am down to 2 Hamers right now...the Artist and the Newport. The Shish made a couple others disappear.

 

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I used to work in a restaurant in Olympia, WA in my teens. We always had 99.9 KISW playing over the radio in the kitchen (I was dishwashing at the time). Late one night while closing Hocus Pocus came on the radio. It was Gary Hoey's rendition of it. I thought it was pretty cool. Never heard of Gary Hoey until then. A few days later in a music store I saw his album there so I bought it. IIRC, inside the album cover there were these pics of different Hamers like a Daytona and I think a Studio which was the first time I'd seen a Hamer or heard of Hamer. A few weeks later I discovered a music store by Tacoma Mall and there was a wall full of Hamer USA guitars. I started playing them and instantly wanted one. Couldn't afford any at the time but I did get an import Slammer Series Cali which played quite well and sometimes took the place of a Vandenberg I had. My first USA Hamer was a butchered Vintage S I got off EBay which was followed by a bunch more Hamers after that. I don't think I'll ever be without a Hamer.

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Copied and pasted from an old thread:

I was working at Ward-Brodt Music in Madison, WI in 1978. Ward-Brodt was one of the first retail Hamer dealers, possibly the second after Pastore.

We had four Sunbusts in stock and they were the best guitars in the store. I remember that the Hamers were selling for more than our new Les Pauls. $700 for the dot necks and an extra $50 for the bound and crowned model. Response was split. The hard core Gibson players turned up their noses at the upstart Hamers. Others recognized that these new contenders were a notch above what Gibson was putting out.

I claimed a bound and crowned Sunburst immediately and it replaced a '74 SG Custom as my go-to guitar.

1085024311713_Me_w_Sunburst_79.JPG

Unfortunately, My Sunburst was one of the early 1 piece neck versions that developed a fatal twist. Frank Untermeyer graciously offered me full retail credit on anything I wanted as a replacement. I chose a cutom ordered black Standard:

1072511066564_Hamer_Standard_79.JPG

The Standard survived a broken headstock and served me well for about five years. I eventually sold it and switched to a series of Specials through the end of the 80s.

 
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    23 minutes ago, BadgerDave said:

    I was working at Ward-Brodt Music in Madison, WI in 1978.

    Do you remember a salesman named Tim? I bought my LP from him in Nov/Dec '78.

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    20 minutes ago, hamerhead said:

    Do you remember a salesman named Tim? I bought my LP from him in Nov/Dec '78.

    The combo department manager was Josh Blacker.  Randy Green and I were the guitar and bass sales salesforce. I think the drum department manager's name was Tim.  Nice guy.

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    On 2/16/2018 at 6:39 PM, LefThanDed said:

    17825.jpg

     I bought my first Hamer from that guy...in the place where the cool man thrived.  A Ferrari Red Checkerboard logo Special with a Floyd Rose...I would have died for the SMG Electraglide that I watched him unpack, but that was so far beyond my still-teenaged budget.  

    I caught the Hamer bug when I saw this guitar...

     

    0000 1.jpg

     

    But seeing this one on the back of "Dream Police" the day it was released, cemented my love for the brand.

     

    RN CHEX 2014.jpg

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    I haven't played any Hamer when I really wanted one. I was into the big two, Gibson and Fender. But in mid-80's I got into more (then) modern guitars, Floyd Rose trems and such. Hamer did such a fantastic blend of vintage-style shapes and modern features. And they did great advertising, as these were responsible to get me into their guitars (and basses). When the Steve Stevens was first advertised I knew I had to have that guitar. I was aware of the Hamer brand since 1982 and I kind of liked the Cruise Bass that has been advertised in the german music magazines a bit. They used the same hardware as Gibson and Fender (Schaller) and Dimarzio pickups also had a big name. My first Hamer still had to wait a bit though. But the wait was worth it.

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    Remember from the ads in the 70s, 80s and never had the curiosity to not dream about the big 2....and then, in 2000s, I received in a trade a Korina Artist.....then I was lost....

    I do not dream about the big 2 but still have my main Artist (now jazzburst maple/mahogany iso korina).

    My second artist is still in the hands of Daniel in Germany....but this can wait a bit :)

    And this community from nice guitars to nice people around worldwide (without any troll....) which is on the Internet today a great plus

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    I became aware of Hamer very early on (1975? 1976?) when what had to be a 4-digit Standard walked into the studio in Chicago where I worked.  It was a borrowed one in the hands of Bruce Gaitsch, session musician and guitarist to several successful bands of the era.  No idea of the S/N.  I saw the flametop and binding and it just looked like what an Explorer wanted to be when it grew up.  Bruce filled me in on what it was and such parts of the Hamer story as he knew.  He also suggested that I might see more of them at Jim Beech's store.  I went out there and didn't see any, but Jim showed me a couple of prints from what I assume was Enola's first glamor photo shoot.

    But I was an impoverished studio go-fer and a purchase wasn't going to happen.  For the next 18 years or so, lack of distribution on Hamer's part or lack of cash on mine kept us separated.  In 1994 I was delighted to find that the primarily folkie music store down the street had a bunch of Hamers in stock.  And I was a step or two up from my typically skint situation.  A Special FM followed me home.  About that same time a friend who owned a music store bought out a bunch of stock from a folded music store in North Carolina (?) . Which caused a P-90 goldtop, a Mirage 1 and an Eclipse to follow me home in short order.  So, 18 years of unrequited love but it all worked out in the end.

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    In junior high there were pictures of Cheap Trick in Creem Magazine all the time.  So, Hamer was in my face every issue.  Seeing Molly Hatchet in 1979 up meant seeing Hamers on stage.  Hamers were on sale at the store where I got my Rickenbacker bass in early 1980.  A friend got one when we were in high school and let me try it out.  I liked it, but it was 1993 until I officially owned a Hamer. 

    The funny thing about Hamer guitars is that they multiply like tribbles. 

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    1999.. I was looking to buy a ES335. Went to a local music store - tried several. None were satisfying, but they had a 96 Artist on the wall - tried that one and it felt like it was made for me. Bought it for a discounted price because they had it for several years and it showed some hameritis. Never heard of Hamer as a brand before. Wrote a letter to the factory to ask for some more info and got a extensive reply with catalogs. They also asked if I knew something about distributers over here. I brought them in contact with a guy in Belgium who effectively started distributing them over here. 

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    There was a real hip mom and pop guitar shop in my town.  It was a small place

    and the owner didn't handle Gibby or Fender, I assume because of the prohibitive

    buy in.  I wound up getting to check out some non-traditional stuff due to this.

    I was aware of Cheap Trick and it was around that time--late 70s--that the

    local shop started carrying Hamers.  His other fave line was Guild.  It's been so

    long now, I can't remember what my first Hamer was!  Could have been a Special

    or maybe my '85 Vector KK--which I still have...

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    Walked into a music shop in 1990 where my buddy worked. I was looking to refret my Kramer. He suggested I just buy a new guitar and brought out a seafoam green guitar with maple fretboard and it had 27 frets (not that I knew what to do with those extra frets, but it looked so cool)... Plus, being a good friend, he gave it to me at their cost, plus an extra $40 so the owner made something on it, so I got it new for $740. Up till then, I had never heard of Hamer. 

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    Same as everyone my age. Saw them on the Cheap Trick at the Budokan and Heaven Tonight album art, and then seeing photos of James Honeyman-Scott and Andy Summers sealed the deal in my mind that all the cool kids played Hamers. I didn't actually TOUCH one 'til about 1987, when we were playing a gig in Jacksonville and went into a pawn shop, where there was a Cruisebass for (wait for it) $350. At that time it might as well have been $35,000 but it felt great and I kept the brand on my "someday I want one" list.

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