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Tech/Features You Wish Hamer Had


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1 hour ago, kizanski said:

Because I owned one... and a Huber Dolfin at the same time.
Honestly, I have nothing against the guitar, but more that it was Jol's dream and that was the best that he could do: a Huber knock off.
And I truly believe that was the straw that broke the camel's back and got him fired.

FWIW, I had three Talladega Pros, once acquired new, two used. All three were great instruments. In a vacuum, one of the better models Hamer made. IMO, of course.

My experience, like Kiz, is that I acquired a Dolphin (and for a lower price than 2 of the 3 Tallys, mind you). "Ol' Blue" is still my Numero Uno, 6 years later. As much as I liked the Talladegas, they just came up a bit short when measured against the "original". I have yet to find another guitar that "fits me" better. Though I will quickly add that I have not had a Shishkov in my sweaty little hands. Yet.

Agreed completely re the Krautster.

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I would rather they had kept on making boomer'd Calis and other super strat type shred guitars. The shred guitars they made in the 80's and early 90's were the best I've played, and the boomers were crazy cool looking inlays....I honestly think if they kept making those shred guitars we'd be discussing what they could do now and not what they could've done if they had lasted a bit longer. Giving up on the super strat paradigm wasn't a wise decision IMHO.

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And (if I can say so myself) the following. As they say, we could talk......

 

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3 hours ago, jim777 said:

I would rather they had kept on making boomer'd Calis and other super strat type shred guitars. The shred guitars they made in the 80's and early 90's were the best I've played, and the boomers were crazy cool looking inlays....I honestly think if they kept making those shred guitars we'd be discussing what they could do now and not what they could've done if they had lasted a bit longer. Giving up on the super strat paradigm wasn't a wise decision IMHO.

No idea if this is true but I tend to think it is. I'm not saying don't stake new turf with the models they came up with but I never saw a reason to stop making the older models that put them on the map. I understand that Fender owning them and Jackson at the same time complicated things but despite what Fender thought about not needing to have two different companies with super Strat offerings I never considered them interchangeable and feel that decision hurt Hamer without really helping Jackson.

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6 hours ago, jim777 said:

I would rather they had kept on making boomer'd Calis and other super strat type shred guitars. The shred guitars they made in the 80's and early 90's were the best I've played, and the boomers were crazy cool looking inlays....I honestly think if they kept making those shred guitars we'd be discussing what they could do now and not what they could've done if they had lasted a bit longer. Giving up on the super strat paradigm wasn't a wise decision IMHO.

Well, I can't argue with that notion 😄 though I have nothing to support the contention that Hamer would still be going strong if they had. A number of different factors that were in play at the same time when FMIC shut 'em down. I still don't know the complete story.

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20 hours ago, HAMERMAN said:

No idea if this is true but I tend to think it is. I'm not saying don't stake new turf with the models they came up with but I never saw a reason to stop making the older models that put them on the map. I understand that Fender owning them and Jackson at the same time complicated things but despite what Fender thought about not needing to have two different companies with super Strat offerings I never considered them interchangeable and feel that decision hurt Hamer without really helping Jackson.

One conclusion that can be factually supported is that during the mid '90s, Hamer was successfully crafting four platforms of guitars: those similar to Gibson designs (e.g., Archtop, Studio, Special, Standard), those similar to Fender designs (e.g., Daytona, T-51), superstrats (e.g., Cali, Diablo, Centaura, Vintage S), and what could only be labeled true originals (e.g., Phantom, Eclipse, Mirage, DuoTone).  They were so damn good, I am not sure there was anything outside of their capabilities. Compare to Gibson, which never really got traction with its superstrat designs or anything bolt-on, and to Fender, which failed to catch fire with its Gibson-style designs or several botched attempts at superstrats. 

Now, this is not to imply that Hamer was profitable producing such a wide range, but with all of the tooling and expertise, they damn sure could have kept producing superstrats under FMIC, at least in low numbers. 

 

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Companies like Suhr are still popping up and making their name and living by making super strats. It's a style people want and have wanted since they first popped up in the early 80's. I've been playing them almost exclusively since the late 80's and the Hamers were better than anything by ESP, Ibanez, or Jackson. And a lot of the Ibanez and Jackson guitars were (and still are) excellent. But I guess it is a bit of beating a dead horse :( But I'm older with more money now, and if I could order a custom Cali like one of Vernon Reid's today I absolutely would!

So, on topic, I like stainless frets. I don't really hear much difference but I like the feel of them. I can't tell a difference in feel in a guitar from titanium rods or 5 piece necks over one or three piece necks, so no real opinion there. I have an old Charvel neck on my Strat that I put an Earvana nut on back when they were a thing, and I really like that as well.

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On 6/11/2018 at 7:44 AM, Jeff R said:

I'd revise that personally and say offer a SS option.  SS is FAR from the alpha-omega of the fret world and it is not all it's cracked up to be, HEL/Shane and I have had discussions about this. Away from the pro of extended wear, which we all agree upon ... consider you don't find SS on acoustics or nice jazz boxes due to its hollow plinkyness in clean playing situations, that alone would have likely made Hamer's decision makers spike it. And the literal noise of strings banging/"tink-tink-tinking" into/against SS frets by heavier hands/fingers at hobbyist/bedroom bandit volumes (which happens to be a significant segment of the guys on this board) ... would have made many around here scoff at SS after the fact. I was talking with Shane recently about me offering SS as an refret option (he already does, I've been putting it off) and I think he and I share the opinion that SS only really makes sense if you are a consistently high-gain, performance-volume player. I'll add that it's also an option if you are meticulous (my polite way of saying borderline OCD or anal retentive) about ZERO fret wear.

Oh my God. Finally an intelligent response I can use against Carvin/Kiesel fanbois who say that any guitar without SS or Evo frets is total crap. Somehow Nut material makes a huge difference in sound, but frets don't....

Also, like others, I don't see why the Super Strat idea was ditched, or even the regular strat idea. There are many companies making top notch Strat and tele type guitars, and doing just fine.  Pretty much all of the big companies (even PRS now) have a Strat type guitar.  As much as Jol helped make Hamer what it was, he also helped put the nails in the coffin with his decisions.

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