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The local MAMAs (Madison Area Music Association) were handed out and our own Atomicwash snagged the "Rock Performer of the Year" award AND Rock/New Wave Song of the Year for the tune “Good Stuff” with his band BingBong. https://www.bingbongband.com/ Congrats, Danny! You just keep piling them up. Nice!

Now that I have #0108, It's time to let go of #0072. No need to be a hoarder. I'm listing it only here first. $3,900 shipped. Buyer pays payment fees, if any. Not looking for trades unless you have a Hamer Triple Threat. I am, I believe, the 2nd owner of this Shishkov DC Semi Hollow. Some mods were made, but all original parts are also included: Pickups changed to Lollar mini firebirds. Original Lollar P90/Staple set w/ cream covers included. Tuners changed to Grover locking, original mini Schallers included. Wraparound bridge changed to Schroeder, original Faber bridge included. It's in excellent shape, frets show no wear and plays and sounds just as you would expect from a Mike Shishkov built guitar. Incudes OHSC and Shishkov swag (stickers, picks and buttons).

Okay, so I bought this guitar from Mike years ago for all the money. It is personally singed by Dave Wintz as "Kizanski" on the back. I lusted after this guitar for what seemed like "years". But it popped up and I got it. Kiz and I struck up a friendship from that point on (first at the RobinLovers Forum). When the Avalon arrived, I sent an email to thank Kiz for the guitar and mentioned that it had really good coil-tap sounds. An e-mail reply simply said, "It has coil taps"? We've had a good time with this over the years and it's time for payback. I bought this Gibson '58 Junior with the humbucker a few years ago. There are five cherry, five harvest yellow (a natural with a yellowish tint) and five TV. I noticed that a guy bought one of them and posted it on a Les Paul forum. I told him I had one and he remarked that he really liked the tapped sound as it was like a weaker P-90. Yup. I didn't know it had a tap for the pickup. What goes around...

HFC tribal elder content ... "two" in the number of Greg Platzer custom built basses and "four" in the number of Carondelet bass pickups in Elwood Francis's growing stable. FYI, outside of being a friend of over 20 years, Greg is Carondelet's biggest volume buyer between pickups in his personal guitars, his custom builds and his repair/upgrade/resto clients' axes. I now wind his Carondelet "Gregbuckers" (his former "Gregwinds" with an added tweak), and while he may be pulling my leg 😉, he tells me my variation is his favorite version to date. Thanks again for everything you do and have done for all'us, Ted.

Just scooped this up at my local store (Manchester Music Mill) 2018 R0 (1960 reissue) really nice flame and weight... slightly slimmer neck than I'm used to but feels and plays great. damn I have some stuff to sell lol pics enjoy. edit: resting comfortably after a pickup swap... Zhangbucker Duanebuckers. (needed a little more "thoooomp" )

Best thing I ever got out of them. 😎👍🏁

Arrived via FedEx yestiddy. As per usual, CME did a stellar job with shipment. Arrived in less than a week, safe and sound. Whoever owned this P-II must have really babied it. Besides the usual wear on the black pickguard, there’s nary a mark on her. The OHSC interior is still bright red with plenty of padding. First thing was to take off the Schaller strap buttons (installed with slot-head wood screws, WTF?) and install some near-OEM, aluminum strap buttons. Stadium logo, all-original electronics. Kahlers get little love here. I get that, but I’ve never had a problem with their flat-mount trems. The models that balance on TOM posts are the ones that I can’t deal with. BITD, I remember the looks on customers’ faces when informed that there had to be a big routing of their LP’s tops for Kahler installation. Ugly, clunky tone-suckers. Plugged her into my Victoria VickyVerb combo with a Ceriatone Centaur pedal. The extra 2-way switch splits the bridge humbucker. The tone control works a little differently that the 1st-Gen Proto. The addition of a neck SC makes this a literal, “do-it-all”, guitar. The bridge HB roars, and the combined/split-coil sounds are all very usable. I’ve stated previously that the Proto series is my fave Hamer original design. If I had to sell all of my guitars and keep only two, it would be these Hamers.

Edit: Sold, thanks everyone

My pronouns are him/haul.

Got a new Sunburst-family member from a very nice guy in Freiburg, Germany: 9 1372 She got a very flat sustain bridge - never seen. Does somebody can help me with informations about it: why? advantages? disadvantages? The highest Ser. Nr. 9 1372 is on the right

Okay, kinda me onstage, but it's the closest I'll get to being on stage on Hollywood's Sunset Strip at my age. And in the hands of my good pal Scott, who doubles as a Carondelet artist, playing one of my favorite rock songs of the 1980s. Scroll down for raw, unedited and righteous audio.

Thanks @WorstBandName for the indestructible packing and overnight UPS shipping 🤣 Started to post this yesterday but waited until I could get a pic.

I have been eying one of these for quite awhile but the new price was too steep for me. I saw this used one for sale on Reverb posted by The Tone Shop in Addison, TX. As luck would have it, I landed a small job in Ft Worth and went up yesterday to do the work. We finished up early so I had time to head over and check it out. Needless to say, it sounds fantastic so I brought it home. An additional plus was that Blues badass, Pat Boyack, works there so I was treated to several hilarious stories about his time in Phoenix when he played for a mutual friend out there. I played the amp for a couple of hours last night and I am so happy I made the purchase. I can't wait to gig with it.

These guys lit it up with a little Hamer help. Released 9/1/1978

I finally got around to changing out some of the gold hardware on the Artist Custom. I replaced the tuning buttons with rosewood and the stock Duncan pickups with a traditional Hamer combo of double cream at the bridge and zebra at the neck. The pickups are Wolfe Tone Marshallheads. I also replaced the cracked control knobs with a fresh set and added a TonePros bridge and tailpiece. It's still more bling than I usually go for, but no longer has that Mr. T in a tux vibe. I had some time to turn it up through my Marshall Studio Vintage 20 and Vox AC15. It was glorious.

Here's what I wrote about it, should anyone want to endure a long post:

I admit it -it was me. I was randomly checking the DGS Just-In page and spotted it Thursday night. It must have been within a couple of hours of when they posted the photos and description. I made the 7 hour round trip to LaCrosse yesterday to pick it up. It's probably the most highly figured top I've seen on a Hamer (which is saying a lot) but the website photos might have been just a wee bit enhanced, Or the lighting was particularly heavy with contrast dust that day. It is unquestionably a beautiful guitar, in near mint condition at a great price. I'm happy. I'll need to do a few mods to address the abundance of gold hardware though.

If you’re in or near the greater Chicago area this weekend, check this out! Paul Hamer’s latest creations will be there…

Contract signed last week. Same format as Bakersfield Guitars, The Bass Space, etc. 8 1/2" X 11" softcover, estimated photo count = over 400....but this ain't no coffee table book; it's a history book with color pictures. Target price = $29.95 again but paper prices have gone up, so it may be a bit higher. My publisher uses American printers. And A LUTHIER'S LIFE: The Guitar Odyssey of Roger Fritz has the same format, and it'll be out in about a month. Premier book signing sponsored by the Mobile Arts Council on 20 OCT 23. Another signing at Page & Palette bookstore in Fairhope (Alabama) on 17 NOV. Roger's shop is located in that community, and there's still hippies to be found in Fairhope.

It would be an all-time understatement to say I've never been a Jimmy Buffett fan. As such, I was not enthused about being assigned to review his show during my summer internship at The Milwaukee Journal in 1989. But I did what few critics are capable of: I made it less about me and more about the people who are into it. One of the few times in my life when I displayed some actual professionalism. And yes, I know I got a song title wrong. Google didn't exist back then. I blame the copy desk for not fixing it.

1996 Hamer USA Artist Wraptail I bought this beautiful guitar approximately two years ago from Forum Member VincentYGB. Selling because I have a catastrophic auto repair that I need to raise funds for. (Will also be listing several other guitars - please wait for the postings before inquiring.) I would like to move this fast as I have a surgery coming up in the next few weeks. Stunning book-matched solid maple flame top on this sunburst beauty. Double cut away mahogany body with sound chamber and f-hole. 22 fret mahogany neck with Schallar tuners. Gorgeous tight-grained dark rosewood neck with low action. Upgraded TV Jones pickups- a Classic at the neck and Classic Plus at the bridge that walk all over the Duncans that came stock. A stellar Pigtail aluminum tailpiece replaces the iffy Wilkinson. Some typical small "hameritis" milky spots in a few locations under the clear coat with the only larger area on the back of the neck (pic). And some on the sides of the fretboard where a small amount of the clearcoat appears to be peeling. No cracks or other issues. Plays superb and a lightweight at 7 lbs 3 oz. OHSC included. Shipping to continental USA only. PP FF or you pay the fees $1,499 + $100 Shipping OBO

Yeah, a shame he was known for Margaritaville and Cheeseburger, when he actually wrote some damn good lyrics. RIP, sir.

Another with the Shishkovs....

Ron is no longer with Fender. He's starting up his company again and the cheapest set neck guitar is over 10K. There's already a bunch of folks on the list. So, I thought this would be a great investment. Black Limba one piece body and one piece neck. Nice top too.

Very sorry to hear that. @Kurt L facilitated the purchase of my first Tally when it popped up for sale in the Austin area where he worked. If memory serves he worked for a TV affiliate there. Always very kind and pleasant in our interactions both on and off the board. He was a Dead Head but we should try to remember him fondly anyway.

There was one (or was it FIVE?) Special in 1981 that I can recall that got a lot of looks:

2006 Hamer USA Artist Custom It pains me to do this, and I said I would never part with it, but I'm selling my most prized guitar because I have a catastrophic auto repair that I need to raise funds for. (Will also be listing several other guitars - please wait for the postings before inquiring.) I bought this beautiful guitar off the forum many years ago, and have kept it in excellent condition, rarely taking it out of it's case. I would like to move this fast as I have a surgery coming up in the next few weeks, and not sure if I'll be able to pack it as well as I can right now. Buyer must agree to give me first dibs to purchase it back if they should ever decide to sell. 🙂 Excellent condition! Stunning book-matched '59 burst flame top. I had the pickups changed from the '59 / JB to a Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates in the Neck and a Seymour Duncan SH-6 in the bridge. No signs of "Hameritis" anywhere that I can tell. 9.8 lbs of pure RAWK on my cheapo postage scale, so probably slightly higher. Comes with Certificate and OHSC. Sorry, original pups are long gone. If you have no desire for the current pups, maybe we can work a deal where I keep them as this is my preferred combination, but I have nothing at the moment to replace them with. Much better looking in person, than in my pics. Neck Dimensions: Depth at 1st Fret: .859 ish Depth at 3rd Fret: .853 ish Depth at 12th Fret: .912 ish Nut Width: 1.685 ish Yes! 3rd fret depth is slightly thinner than 1st fret depth. Shipping to continental USA only. PP FF or you pay the fees $4,850 Shipped OBO If that is out of line for pricing, please let me know.

Back in 1999 I wrote a freelance piece for Guild Gallery about that company's new version of the S-100 Polara, considered by many folks (then and now) to be a copy of a Gibson SG. When I wrote the article, Fender owned Guild. And the S-100 was the first guitar I gigged with regularly (post college), so I got to know the feel of the neck, and got comfortable with it. The text of the article ain't no hype about a neck feeling familiar on the other two S-100s I've owned, and one wonders if it holds up for other players and other brands and models. With me, it was about a quarter century between the cherry one and the pawn shop natural guitar, and the brand new white one was pleasure to play as well. Here's the article; enjoy. Also posting a couple of 1973 pics. The primeval collection pic has been posted here before but it includes the '70 S-100 with the Hagstrom vibrato. Those were kinda rare. And that color performance photo was taken just before Christmas in '73....Jeezus, that was 50 years ago!

I've got one... excellent guitars!👍

Ad link. "This beauty is back up for sale after an in-store buyer him/hauled for to long." That sentence gave me an aneurysm but it's an interesting piece.

I first started playing guitar in early 79. I was taking lessons at the House of Guitars in Rochester New York. They had a small stage jammed packed with amps for sale and I was in the corner with my guitar teacher playing the absolutely worse sounding guitar music you can imagine. And standing right next to me was Molly Hatchet waiting to sign autographs. I was mortified.

Love him or hate him, he made a lot of people happy. His Margaritaville margarita-making machine sits on my counter, sadly wasting away making more smoothies than cocktails. In his honor, I'm going to change that today. R.I.P. Mr. Buffett.

I had a TV Jones Power Tron Plus bridge pup (Billy Gibbons signature pickup) in a Gibson Midtown that sounded fantastic, somewhere between a Powertron and a hot P90. They come in humbucker size too.

Hard to go wrong with one of Ron Thorn's creations. I reckon I am not a future customer if we are now talking 5 figures and a waiting list. I let a pair get away, but think I will keep these three. The "Falling Leaf" one sports a Brazilian neck. One of 5 he made. He had enough of that special finish left over that he made one more......Incredible build with one piece quilted top and "ultimate" details over a korina body and neck. They both have great ThroBak pickup sets. The blue one was another later limited edition with 3 TV Jones pickups. Glad I got them all before prices went through the roof. Probably should have kept the Grantura, but I had another semi-hollow I liked better.

I wouldn't be, “wistful”, either. I’d be PISSED!! Fedora? Check. Ill-fitting shorts? Check. “Dad-calves.” Check. Drooping knee-socks? Check. Emasculating, baby-blue running shoes? Check. C’mon, you Facebook nerds. Someone offer this wonk a good amount for this Robin and release it from his clutches!!!

I swapped out my Ruby superstrat's OEM Floyd block for a brass block a few years ago after reading about brass blocks here and everywhere else ad nauseum. My guitar sounded fine to me, OEM Floyds had worked just fine for me for decades as well. I mainly wanted to test if the steel vs. brass was for real or all smoke and mirrors, and I wanted to be able to opine with clients based on personal experience versus regurgitating what "experts" posted online. I found the brass warmed up things in general but especially the guitar's high end, preserving good treble while taming icy, brittle highs. Harmonic content and especially decay of notes sweetened as well. The changes were subtle but prevalent - kind of like the difference between a pro engineer's mixing a song perfectly, and then the same song when it comes back from being mastered is subtly yet somehow even better. Many experiments with many clients' guitars later, I've drawn the conclusions brass can make a good guitar better and a great guitar greater. Considering how affordably brass replacement blocks can be sourced, I think you'd be hard pressed to find an upgrade part for a trem-equipped guitar with a better ROI. FWIW, the Gotoh 1996T and 510T, my personal faves for shop builds, come standard with brass blocks.

You could put your weed in there…or a snack for later…or an action figure. I had this problem once, and I went with Ultraman. But I have a pickguard on standby in case I get tired of him.

Found this in the large stash of digipics on cloud today. Picture taken 10 years ago. Still here, still played, still gorgeous.

That is one of the saddest things I've ever read.

Better, from every square mm of wood, components and craftsmanship, to the skillsets, knowledge and experience of the primary collaborators (Grover Jackson, Stike and myself). Less than $4K

But Hocus Pocus isn't quite an instrumental, is it? Yodeo da dodeo da dodeo da dodeo da dodeo da dodeo da doh bop bah Yodeo da dodeo da dodeo da dodeo da dodeo da dodeo da doh bop bah Ahhhhhh-aaahhhh-aaaaaa-aaaaAAA Ohhhhhh-ooohhh-oooooo-oooOOO And the chipmunk-gibberish part - and, of course, the whistling. 😆

It now joins my '96 Artist Custom I've had since 2001 and the Mirage II I picked up last year from another HFCer. (The Artist Custom was effectively the only electric I owned for all those years until I got the Mirage, having abandoned my cheap starter guitar after I upgraded to the Hamer.) I'm a happy man; swapping between the two Artists is easy, with the humbuckers and the P-90s providing different tonal options, and the Mirage (with its longer scale) stays tuned down a half step. Giving the new guitar some love the week after I got it: