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The worst hamer usa


pablo

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I have a question in my mind for some month

Like you are the experts in this amazing brand and i have not the answer because i love alllllllllllllll hamer guitar and basses:

What you think is (or was )the worst hamer usa ever made?

Every opinion is very welcome:D

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I like this topic... Let’s play some on the negative side! :) 

Sadly though, I have not enough Hamer USA mileage to generalize to a specific model a couple of particular negative experiences I’ve had —which in addition have much more to do with my personal tastes than with any flaw the involved guitars might have.

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I thought the late period Krokus armed with hamer scarabs was not a great period.     They actually filmed a video in the last few years and was suprised at how good they sounded.   Think the lead guitarist was playing a historic les Paul.   Probably a better band than they are remembered for.    But back then, Even joe Perry looked like a moron on the cover of his “once a rocker always a rocker” phase. 

  That and some of the weak tops of the 1990's...  the tops were not as consistently excellent (IMHO) than what they spoke of  (paying a premium to

sort wood, and send the rest back).   maybe they would have gotten more market share if the had better tops.        

 

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Californians. Worst Hamer ever built  :lol:

In all seriousness, it's stating the obvious but it's a highly subjective topic.  I'm with zorrow in that I just am not well versed enough in all things Hamer to offer a truly informed... or objective opinion.

ETA- Was never fond of the Miller High Life Guitars. Not sure how they play but building more than one guitar of what should have been a novelty item seems dumb.  Not a fan of MHL and advertising it on a guitar is pretty much guaranteed to keep that guitar in the "hell no" file. 

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52 minutes ago, Studio Custom said:

The Standard.  There is nothing original about it, a straight up Gibson copy. 

It may be a copy but most consider it an improvement. The argument could be made that without the Standard and its association with Rick Nielsen, Hamer may have not gotten off the ground.

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There have been some individual Hamers I have not liked.  There is no worst.  Some models have just felt weird, like the TLE's that some people love.  Impact basses and Improvs are not very common, but just because they did not sell well does not mean they are not great.  From an accountant's point of view they might be considered the worst. 

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I'll tolerate any esthetic if the build-quality, details, and tone are there.  Hamers had all of that in every guitar they made.  Some of the 'hair metal' stuff looked pretty bad, but compared to the UTTER CRAP that was on the market at the time, Hamer killed them all.

And as for this "Gibson Copy" crap - let's all remember what Gibson and Fender were cranking-out in the late 1970s.  One could best-describe it as overpriced firewood.  Hamer exists because 'the other guy's' quality was awful. 

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5 minutes ago, Never2Late said:

 

And as for this "Gibson Copy" crap - let's all remember what Gibson and Fender were cranking-out in the late 1970s.  One could best-describe it as overpriced firewood.  Hamer USA existed because 'the other guy's' quality was awful. 

Fixed.  PRS came along a few years later, with his own original design and is still standing, just sayin'.

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I honestly think every model they made was a really good guitar, and "worst" is just a matter of taste, not of being a total turd like a Gibson Sonex. But sure now, if we want worst Hamer guitar qualities...

  • Scarabs are butt-ugly. Scepters almost as bad.
  • The sustainblock vibrato. I think the combination of the headstock angle and the strings not passing straight over the nut, coupled with the basic design, made it a bear to keep in tune
  • Some of the early 80s ones had absurdly small necks.
  • Hameriitis. I know there are many people who think this is overplayed as a complaint, but how the heck can a company beat the handmade drum endlessly and still keep releasing guitars that go foggy where glue meets clearcoat? It's so OBVIOUS a flaw, and sure the wood underneath yada yada, but it should have been nipped in the bud.
  • Funky necks for a period with the early ones. Even later, my Blitz bass had a neck like a Colorado highway, up and down, side to side.

I'm skipping the COMPANY flaws, which have been beaten to death. Just the worst features of the guitars themselves.

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Every sensible person would agree that the worst Hamer of all time was the NEWPROBE with a Tobacco Sunburst finish.  It is the apex of Jol's apparently-drug-addled judgment and laughable over-ambition being haphazardly kluged with a delusion over-estimation of his skill and his bias towards low-rent ostentation.  The wood choices are vulgar.  The finish banal.  The "craftsmanship" has the integrity of a cheap movie set.  WIthout a doubt no self-respecting human being would own one.  As a person lacking in any self-respect, I'd be willing to take one of anybody's hands, even over-valued at the HFC approved price of $350, simply to get this blemish and undoubtedly  "Worst Hamer of All Time" off the streets.

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The Hamer I once had that I least liked was a Mirage II.  I thought that the Wilkinson trem looked kinda out of place with full-sized humbuckers (I woulda preferred a Tune-O-Matic bridge), I didn't care for the Sperzel tuners, and I never could figure out why it needed a volute on the neck/headstock when practically no other Hamer used one.  It just seemed like too much Gibson meets Fender but was neither, and I never could bond with it in spite of the flame Koa top.

On the other hand, I DO like the Mirage I with the sculpted neck heel and single coil-sized pickups, though I never had one of those.

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28 minutes ago, polara said:

 

  • Scarabs are butt-ugly. Scepters almost as bad.
  • The sustainblock vibrato. I think the combination of the headstock angle and the strings not passing straight over the nut, coupled with the basic design, made it a bear to keep in tune
  • Some of the early 80s ones had absurdly small necks.

Yep, Scarabs look ugly to me, as well as Scepters, but I’ve seen and heard people playing them and they sound awesome. I just happen to dislike the shape, that’s all —the same way I love Vees and some people find them ugly, so... :) 

Yes, the sustainblock vibrato was totally crappy as a vibrato unit, but at the same time it was an awesomely-sounding bridge. In fact, one of the best Hamers I’ve ever played had one —and I always used it fixed.

The small necks... yeah. I hate them too. But as @Dana_V says, some just happen to love them.

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5 hours ago, pablo said:

What you think is (or was )the worst hamer usa ever made?

Every opinion is very welcome:D

I am not sure there is a worst, there is a lot of personal preference differences that I like more than other's. 

I think the worst Hamer USA ever made has more to do with business decisions, management and marketing of the company than it does with any one guitar model.   

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I like the Scarab and Scepter shapes.  

The Scarab Bass that passed through my hands was one of the lightest weight basses I ever tried. 

The Scepter not only has a point in its body outline, the body bevels sharpen that point to an actual point.  If you bump into another band member with that point you will hurt them.  You could consider it to be the Hamer of dangerous, pointy guitars.  It is a stage Jart. 

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11 minutes ago, zorrow said:

Yes, the sustainblock vibrato was totally crappy as a vibrato unit, but at the same time it was an awesomely-sounding bridge. In fact, one of the best Hamers I’ve ever played had one —and I always used it fixed.

The small necks... yeah. I hate them too. But as @Dana_V says, some just happen to love them.

I had a 80 special that had sustain block vibrato and the funky locking tuners with the locking screw on top. and the skinny neck and loved it. I still think the old Dimarzio pickups were some of the best sounding pickup's in any guitar I have owned.  

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2 minutes ago, BubbaVO said:

The ones with dead spots on the neck.

Never stumbled upon one like that. 

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