Leaderboard

Added another Hamer to the collection. Smokin' deal at $899. It has definitely been played quite a bit as there are some worn frets along with a few scratches and dings but overall in great shape. Interesting that it has a Drop D tuner because I am finishing up a new song that needs a dropped D for the final riffs. Thankfully, the original tuner was in the case. Took it apart to clean it up and tweak it to my liking. Can't wait to play it at my show tomorrow.

Sort of like a tribute to the original, eh? Except he used black silicone goop to cover the tops of the components to discourage reverse engineering... 😂

I always thought that Vector of Rick's was the coolest V. The Standard headstock on it takes it over the top.

"Meh" RE "God Gave Rock & Roll to You", then and now. I've always thought that song relied too much on musical and lyrical cliches. Heard Argent do it live in 1973 and wasn't moved. Ballard's Swiss cheese Strat was cool, though. But "Hold Your Head Up" was almost everything that "GGR&RTY" wasn't---the earlier song had a nice introductory hook (crescendo organ and a thumping, insistent bass line). The riffs were decent but not overblown, and the song had a sing-along sensibility. The instrumental break was, perhaps as expected, Rod Argent's keyboard which purveyed a slight allusion to Keith Emerson, IMO. Really liked how chorus line creeped in after the organ solo, then Ballard's power chords came smashing back into the mix via the left speaker. The whole tune had an anthemic vibe, and while there were plenty of those types of songs around 50 years ago, this one was, at least for me, one of the more memorable. 3/29 EDITED TO ADD: "Hold Your Head Up" has cowbell!

Every now and again, I teach a music branding class, which I mostly use as an excuse to talk about art vs. commerce and how authenticity isn't a falsifiable concept and thus kind of a silly thing to judge music off of. I also have to teach some more practical stuff, which means a lot of case law as pertains to music IP. The above song is a rare example of a cover getting denied. Under the law, a songwriter only has dibs on the right to be the first person to record a song. After the song is recorded, anyone can cover it, and there is nothing the rights holders can do to stop it. It's called a compulsory license because the copyright holder is "compelled" by the law to grant the license. The rate for the license is also set by congress, which, on traditional media, is around $0.10 per unit last I looked. Rightholders can charge less, but they can't charge more. However, if you make substantial changes to the lyrics, a rightsholder can block your covering it, as that makes it technically a derivative work now rather than a cover. There is a loophole in that loophole for parody. Weird Al doesn't have to get permission, even though he does. Turtles all the way down. Anyway, when Type O initially recorded this, they changed the lyrics a pretty good bit, and it was a bit raunchier. I guess from a mathematical perspective, since the original is squeaky clean to the point of precision banality, it would technically be infinitely more raunchy. As Type O weren't claiming it was a parody, Seals and Crofts blocked it from being included on Bloody Kisses, so Type O had to re-record the vocals so that the lyrics were the same as the original.

https://sfbay.craigslist.org/search/msa?query=Hamer&sort=pricedsc&srchType=T#search=2~gallery~0

Oh boy. Now that I'm the overly-proud owner of a checkerboard guitar strap. I need a checkerboard guitar. And checkerboard shoes, socks, trousers, shirt, tie, sport coat and short-billed cap. And then we get into the checkerboarded greasepaint on hands and neck and face. It's the madness of devout consistency.

I emailed him 2 days ago no response. It would really be nice to own a Crowned and Bound Sunburst. Someday... Someday...

Forward to.1:00. https://youtu.be/P3CnvphQs04?si=t7m2PCo0scsSLFYp

Hamer Custom Shop Vector V #2 Rick Nielsen Signature/Artist Signed Black & White Checkerboard 1983 w/OHSC https://reverb.com/item/95448773?utm_source=android-app&utm_medium=android-share&utm_campaign=listing&utm_content=95448773 It is fun to look at.

I've enjoyed every one of that guy's videos. He does a great job explaining what's going on and every one I've watched wastes zero time in making the point.

Me after clicking @ChugD link: (That is in no way intended as any kind of criticism of the undeniable coolness or value of that guitar.)

Do you think they'll take a 2nd party, out of State paycheck?? Bad ass but $30k?!?

At a Zombies concert in Atlanta Rod Argent went on a short rant about KISS changing the lyrics to God Gave Rock and Roll to You, renaming it God Gave Rock and Roll to You II. Petra also did a version with different lyrics, but they did not have a hit on the radio or MTV. Rod should have been happy that the song was making money. It certainly would bring some interest to the original version. Russ Ballard wrote the song, and he could have blocked the song being altered. KISS made him money when Ace Frehley covered New York Groove.

They May Never Pass This Way Again

My thoughts too. the legs on the 8 pin sockets I had were pretty short. not sure you could get a good solder on whats left. I considered it. if I had another, I would splay out the legs and solder jumper wires to the terminals, then cover them with epoxy. Steel Stick type stuff, like dough when mixed. not liquid that might get in the sockets. and yeah, the 1k replaced with a pot was on my list as well. I'm thinkin 2k. I'll see what I have as for it being $5.... no. not unless you have leftovers. the chip is $10 to start with. and you don't need to use those 600 volt rated yellow caps either (couple 3 or 4 bucks each)

Lightly used Carr Lincoln combo amp in near mint condition. Design based on a 60's Vox AC10. I can't find a blemish on it. No issues. The speaker is a Celestion Neo V-Type. This speaker is a great match for the Lincoln. The amp weighs in at a very reasonable 37lbs. If the Neo speaker is not your thing, I'll take $100 off and ship the amp with no speaker. I replaced the grill cloth in a sharp oxblood with gold pinstripes - Very attractive next to the black tolex. Lot's of great online reviews from Vintage Guitar and Premier Guitar to name a couple. This sale includes the original footswitch and a nice padded Carr cover. $1600 PP no fees ($1650 PP with fees) plus actual shipping. For more photos, email me: atomicwash AT yah** dot com

Rest Well Noble Warrior of Rock N Roll! I forget some of the Manowar catalog but what is that long epic one Into Glory Ride? If someone can post it that would be great

Aw, crap. One of my all-time faves. Dictators: Too ahead of their time Manowar: Talk about commitment to a bit! Killer metal with a stupidly OTT image. MWK: "If ya lost some weight, ya might get LAID!" Wisdom for the ages. RIP, Ross.

There's one in Chico I keep not driving out to get: https://chico.craigslist.org/msg/d/chico-80s-hammer-guitar/7917988800.html#

Some dude about a week and a half ago posted on some FB Cheap Trick pages that he located “the eye.” The eye was a stage backdrop spotlight from the 1981 All Shook Up tour. I saw it in January ‘81. Anyway, he posted that he returned the eye to Rick Nielsen who gave him a signed checkerboard Hamer V. Bet you he’s trying to make $30K for locating the eye or he sold it underestimating its potential value and somebody else is trying to do it. $30K either way is still arguably and probably too much.

One man’s wet dream is another man’s abomination. I’m in the latter camp on this one. Still a cool and unique piece of Hamer history.

Factory checkerboard with Rick's permission to sell is rare within the context of Hamer.

Uncle Larry sells nice guitars. I imagine this is a keeper. 3k.

there's a lot of wisdom in this post! I'm a dinosaur so I still buy CDs, and I always force myself to listen through the whole CD no less than twice before I toss it on the "never again" pile. Like you, I learned that not everything is something that I'll love immediately. I'm more a creature of habit who doesn't tend to like new things. I prefer familiar things. When I get a new album, more often than not, it's not necessarily what I expected, so there's always that period of regret or buyer's remorse. Many, many times, by the time I got to the end of the 2nd listen, I would have a different perspective on the music, and usually for the better. I noticed the same thing here with this band as I became more familiar with the music through a few of the videos that I've watched about it.

I don't have a pic of me with the guitar, to my surprise. If you have Instagram, this is from December. https://www.instagram.com/reel/DR4t1FGDs0b/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

That's where I ended up with it. I like Secret Chiefs 3 and Mr. Bungle, so liking outside music isn't outside of my wheelhouse. Disco Volante is one of my favorite albums, and I imagine most people here would call that shit. However, this struck me more in the way folks like Tim Henson or Tosin Abasi do initially. I can look at that and appreciate that it is very hard and that it clearly takes talent. Then usually I lose interest very quickly after a listen or two because it's more interesting as a novelty and a skills exhibition than it is as a piece of popular music. But this - I found myself listening to it more and more. After your ear adjusts to it a bit, some of these songs are just straight up bangers as far as I'm concerned. The novelty is only a small part to my ear, and for me, that wearing off led to recognizing I genuinely enjoy the songs. I remember when music wasn't like oxygen back in the days of physical media and if you bought something you didn't like initially, your choice was to either sit with it or just listen to old stuff you already have until you built up enough yard-mowing money to go buy something new. Most of my favorite albums were stuff I thought was pretty bad the first time I listened to it. I won't lump everyone into this category - I can genuinely understand why someone would listen and say "this is not for me," but I do also think that a lot of us have forgotten what it is like to encounter something we didn't expect and have to digest it for a bit before really knowing what we think of it because it is so easy to move on to the next song these days. There's also a psychological phenomenon known as "reactance" that can be hard to overcome. Many of us, myself included, naturally hate anything that seems to be getting a buzz. Nothing makes me irrationally decide to never give a band a chance more than a bunch of people telling me that I have to like them. "Fuck you! I'll listen to whatever I want, hipster trash!" Luckily, these guys were already on my radar in passing, so I was able to choke that emotion down.

I couldn't stand it the first time I heard it. Sounded like out of tune noise. But, as more of the youtubers that I watch kept analyzing it, I found that it was starting to grow on me... or wear me down. I'm still not sure which, but I dislike it way less than I did a week ago. It's interesting, it's different, and it's of a high quality. I'm not sure I'm ready to buy the album and put it on repeat, but I'm starting to find myself enjoying it in short bursts.

Last Saturday @Sentinel came over from Sweden to Germany for a few days again, attending for one of his composed classical pieces played by the local orchestra Quint-Essenz (https://fridolin-ev.de/quintessenz/). The orchestra has recurringly chosen his pieces, this one for the 2nd time. It is always very nice to meet him again. There is so much to talk about music and life anytime we meet. Thankfully he bought my book "Hand-Reflexology - Practice -", personally signed of course. 😉 I think we have met four or five times in 6 years, having developed a nice friendship over the years. A good breakfast starts a great day. The concert was overwhelming. Many thanks for your compositions, Sentinel. Thanks HFC for bringing people together. There is nothing more worth than that. Keep doing so.

My band--Mother Nature--played there quarterly from '93-'95. Great venue. Yoooge house PA.

Looks like a '93:

He has owned a ton of gear through the years. All the most amazing stuff but...................he usually hangs on to it for a while, some longer than others but then he flips them, no matter what it is. Think he still has his 70's Gibson Les Paul which was one of the first if not the first guitar he owned. That is a nice Hamer Sunburst, not mint by any means at 3k, whew how times have changed. He had a very rare Black 3 pickup SG Custom that I would have loved to owned.

The hometown boy from Fayette-nam, NC. He plays pretty well, you know. Might actually make a career out of it. First time I ever saw him play was with Col. Bruce Hampton and Aquarium Rescue Unit at The Attic in Greenville, which was my band's home base. Jimmy on the right, playing a Strat. Oteil Burbridge on the left, playing lines that would have made Jaco smile. Bruce in the middle, playing the "meh-DOO-lah OB-lon-GAH-tah". IYKYK.

Thank you, @topekatj! It was good of you to donate the strap for the HFC cause. I hear my guitars arguing over which one gets to try it on first. They can be such nasty mofos.

Cool post Saul, thanks for sharing... I must admit, of all the things that have gone by the wayside, I miss Radio Shack the most... though I know you can buy everything online, there's just something about being able to walk into a brick and mortar with a list to hand pick your components 😪