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a { text-decoration: none; color: #464feb; } tr th, tr td { border: 1px solid #e6e6e6; } tr th { background-color: #f5f5f5; } Hello everyone, I wanted to provide an update on the recent interruption and the work that has been taking place behind the scenes. Over the past several days, the site has been operating in a restricted access mode while I worked through a security review, cleanup, and infrastructure recovery process. As part of that work, a number of outdated components, unused software, and legacy items were removed, security controls were strengthened, and the server environment was rebuilt and tested. The good news is that the core site, forums, content, and member data remain intact, and the site is steadily returning to normal operation. What Happened? The server showed signs of unauthorized activity that required a thorough investigation and cleanup process. Out of an abundance of caution, access was restricted while the environment was reviewed, repaired, and hardened. At this time there is no evidence that forum content, member posts, or historical discussion data were lost. What Was Done? Among other things: Security controls were strengthened. Several unused or outdated components were removed. Legacy software that was no longer needed was eliminated. WordPress and related components were updated and cleaned up. Additional monitoring and alerting were put in place. The server environment was rebuilt and tested in a restricted-access mode before returning to service. What You May Notice Over the next several days you may notice: Minor visual changes on portions of the site. Navigation or menu updates. Theme/layout adjustments. Temporary issues with less frequently used features as they are tested and restored. Occasional maintenance windows. If you see anything that looks broken, missing, or unusual, please report it rather than assuming someone else already has. What To Watch For Please let me know if you encounter any of the following: Login problems. Missing pages or content. Broken links. Missing images or attachments. Forum posting problems. Account permission issues. Unexpected redirects. Anything that simply "doesn't look right." The more specific the report, the faster I can investigate. Thank You I know interruptions and maintenance periods can be frustrating. I appreciate everyone's patience while I worked through this process. The goal has been to make sure the site remains available, secure, and reliable for the long term. Thank you for sticking with HamerFanClub. — Ted

Not just you. I emailed Ted, he had to address security issues. We are fortunate to have him taking care of this board! Thanks @hikarateboy

I had one of these briefly around 1980. I was 17 or 18. I saw it in a local pawn shop and traded an Electra Tele and $100 for it. It even came with a Gibson case. I told a friend at school that I got a Les Paul for $300. He made fun of me after seeing it and said, "That's The Paul, not Les Paul." I didn't care because I plugged it into my Peavey Classic 50 into a Marshall 4x12 and it was glorious. It also was the first time I played along with a record with success. The song was, "Hey Hey, My My," or whatever it's called on, "Rust Never Sleeps," or, "Live Rust." Can't remember. I had them both. My mom quickly came in and shut me down. Said it was too loud. I was like, "Goddammit mom!" and stormed out of the house. There was something magical, maybe Majik, about that guitar. Something that made me actually play a song. But, I was talked out of it in short order from a owner of a small, local shop. He offered me up a brand new Aria Pro II "Les Paul" in cherry burst with gold hardware. He said it was a much better guitar than Gibson. So I did it and could never bond with that guitar. I don't know if I ever tried to play, "Hey, Hey, My, My," again. I happened to be in the same shop Friday where I bought my LPC/SG a few months ago and saw it as soon as I walked in the door. My heart skipped a few beats and I picked it up straight away. Man, it felt like a long lost friend. Felt just like I remembered. I looked and by gosh, no one had swapped out the pickups in 46 years. The original T-tops were there. Plugged it in, all electronics worked. Action was reasonable, I like it really low so it wasn't that but nice. It's quite clean with a few scars but not like you'd expect. Got it home, stripped it down, oiled the fretboard, adjusted the truss rod, changed the bridge because the original had collapsed a fraction, strung her up with .09s, set the action at 2/64" at the 12th fret and ironically, she played. I realized just how I have missed an ebony board on a Les Paul. So I plugged her into the DenHer Deluxe I bought from @Dutchman with a little overdrive in front and next thing I knew it was 10:30 and thought I better shut it down for fear of the neighbors calling or banging on the door. Absolute insanely good player and sounding. It is just a different beast from everything else. The neck profile just fits my hand. And like I said, ebony. I also like the, "No Fret," frets as they were called. I think that's what they were called. Very low frets. She's a 1980 Firebrand LP, same guitar as the The Paul I had back when but a "fire branded Gibson" logo instead of the silkscreen. Nice walnut with no breaks or repairs.

Thank you for putting up with the technical issues. Thank you for giving us wisecrackers a place to play.

Yeah, I sat the guitar down to work a deal with the owner and turned my back on the guitar. A guy came and picked it up and started to play it. I got the guitar for $1k and handed him the cash. Looked for my new guitar and saw the guy playing it. I didn't mind so I went over and watched him for a bit. He said T-tops were his favorite pickups and he was going to buy the guitar, take out the pickups, and sell the guitar back to the shop. I told him better luck next time and wheeled on out of there with my 1980 The Paul. I did think about putting the T-tops in the LPC/SG on the trip home but there's no way I'm touching that after the Friday night blowout in my music room. I have thought about this guitar off and on over the years. Looked a time or three for them on e-Bay as well. This is what I remember and I'm keeping it that way.

....or did everything go away for a few days?

I'm not saying they did...but I'm not saying they DIDN'T...

And here I thought the Russians had sent their AI force to remove all traces if Hamer from the interwebs. Thank you Ted, for keeping us safe.

Your diligence is deeply appreciated, Ted.

Over and above, Ted. Thanks.

You the Man Ted! Thanks for all you do to keep this place alive.

Thanks for all you do, Ted. I'm just going to say it was Fender CEO looking to sue over the Daytona. 😄

Thanks so much, Ted.

After a weeks time, I can honestly say that I could actually live without the HFC. But it don’t mean I wanna live like that…

Looks great, and informative... thank you! 👌

This guitar or one similar appeared on EBay a few years back. String tree added ( of fuggin course) https://reverb.com/item/94164816-hamer-usa-daytona-guitar-s-style-with-case-black-maple-neck

Thank you Ted. In the immortal words of Ms. Mitchell: "Don't it always seem to go, that you don't know what you've got till it's gone"

As always, Ted, you totally rule!

The debt we owe is millions of happy meals.... Thanks

The Gretsch Electromatic hard case, just a bit 'sloppy', but the best fit I've found so far. Unfortunately not cheap, best to buy a used Electromatic with hard case and resell just the guitar

"I gotta do my wuuhk," (Ted)

Not just you

There is a Wordpress issue documented that hit my little reflexology pages as well the other day. It‘s a managed service and they had provided steps to solve the issues. I followed all, but the server seemed still showing unwanted activities. After a few days, I had been offered to play in an older but clean backup that was not available to me by service. Seems to be fine by now. I have had this kind of issues several times in my IT life. Always a hassle of work. In one case I reprogrammed an open source software -phpNuke- myself to make sure doors are closed. I can imagine your job, Ted. These issues always happen when not needed i.e. around Christmas/New Year. A big thank you is not enough, to say it really. I truly hope you are almost through it.

They sure tried, but we are not out of the woods yet. Been watching all night and so far so good. Lets hope they got bored and went home. Keep your eyes peeled for weirdness and let me know right away if you see anything

I should have brought them out earlier when lighting was better, maybe tomorrow evening, some lighting editing (courtesy of FastStone) will have to do

Well, it's a 1996, not a 2006. Elduave and I checked it out at Atomic - it's not bad, despite some changed parts. The Hardtail is kinda cool and rare if you dig that. It's also not a brick, like some of the earlier Daytonas were. I'm still planning to swing by Atomic tomorrow at some point to just stop by and see what's new.

The ebony ‘board The Paul (especially before Gibson added the “Firebrand” moniker) is my favorite LP variant. I still play both a ‘78 walnut with T-tops and a ‘79 mahogany. Other than butterscotch Teles, they’re the only guitars I’d sub for an oar to navigate through rapids and then bring on stage for work. They do vary, though: most are around 8 lbs but I once snared a sustain-monster ‘80 that weighed close to 11 lbs. Congrats!

Even though I have the Mini Deja-Vibe on my Uli/Trower board…

Ump DAT, bruv. There are so many better options out there at half the price.

The Darkness

I let mine go and after 2 hi-end Les Pauls I want my "The Paul" back!!! I thought I had to have a "better" LP. Sometimes you gotta learn the hard way. Mine was a '79. I'm glad you're digging that amp! I built 2 and kept one, which is now my primary gigging amp. The Bandmaster it replaced just sit's now, waiting for a big stage. I don't know if that'll ever happen tho...

I saw that, it’s dope. Somebody Git!

Great snag, Saul! Those pickups are worth up to 1K a pair on their own! One of those could be contemplated as the rhythm pickup for your SG custom! Rock on!

We could maybe start an off-site support group. You know, for when the usual fix isn't available.

Don't hold back. Tell us more.

August 22 and 23 (load-in = August 21) Acworth Community Center--Logan Farms 4361 Cherokee St. Acworth GA 30101

You would hate sitting near me when I'm working. I smash the shit out of the keyboard when I'm wound up and writing Ben-appropriate replied to certain emails I receive...

Hamer USA Sunburst Archtop. Got it from the factory when I have a B endorsement with these guys. I am the only owner of this great playing and sounding guitar. Seymour Duncan JB in the bridge and a 59 in the neck from the factory. Asking for $2300 includes shipping and PayPal fees.

Beautiful burst! Love my '19. IMO Gibson really got their act together on these. If you check used prices, this is quite a deal even before upgrades. No way I'd take that for mine.

Only the first few/earliest 4-digits. By the time the Sunbursts were in production, those were long gone, despite decades of dealer and internet rumors and misinformation! It's always possible that somebody put a set of real PAFs into their Hamer after the fact, but...WHY?

One of the most difficult things in dealing with cancer is the mental wear and tear it puts on your psyche. It's hard to remain positive, when the medical types are telling you that the percentages are not in your favor. I've had friends that beat Stage 3 and Stage 4 cancers, but none of them didn't "give up" at one point or another. I hope everyone's responses help him with his fight. I pray for healing and peace. Sorry. I know. No religion. Fuck that. I'm praying for him...

UPDATE: I just got off the phone with @Mobster, who had just been chatting with Rechts via Facebook Messenger and passed this info to me, so I'm passing it onto you all. It seems that Jay is sans phone since his last visit to the hospital and they lost it for him. I joked that in the countless number of Jay Toland disappearances over the years, we finally have one that can be explained. Jay is headed to the hospital tomorrow for treatment and is suddenly using language related to "beating this," which is music to his friends' ears. Certainly more so than his guitar playing. I KEEED! I've never heard him play! He has been living in a hotel in Boca and since he doesn't have a phone, all of his communication has been via fb messenger or the hotel room phone. So he's going to spend his birthday in the hospital. "Juneteenth," he said. "A National holiday," for which he is taking full credit. Please know that he can read these posts, so wish the original motherfucker a happy birthday tomorrow. I mean come on. He got you the day off.

Just communicated with Jay via "Bookface". I've lost both my parents the last six months, so I'm numb to grief at this point...but this type of thing hits you square in the chest. If he had lived local to me, we absolutely would be close friends and would give each other shit on a daily basis. I told him when the time comes to (like a Pirate) give no quarter and accept no quarter.

I was gone all day, then I check in and read this. Rechts definitely was never forgotten around here. He never will be, either.

Terrible news to hear. Had more than a few good laughs thanks to you sir. Comfort and a surrounding of good love as you exit this plane. 💔❤️‍🩹❤️

I was a lurker to the very early board and finally joined in around 2004. I always enjoyed what the board was. I tossed in a few photoshops here and there but I was limited in the base knowledge from the earliest versions of the HFC. I knew some but not all. but I was an outsider in the south far away from the hub of activity as it were. Ed was a master in my opinion. There are others from that time I truly appreciated their wit and knowledge and fuck you ability. Matt B gave an epic example of a response to a Waterloo speech. I did join the "other board" for a while. I do understand why the HFC tightened the rules. Other boards at that time also started too. We all try to mature... or manure. Any way Ed. your posts were fucking legendary. and perfect for the time. Your time on our sphere was special and appreciated.

News I hate to read. I'm way too much of a newcomer to fully appreciate the OG days - looking back, it kind of seems like a place where the smoke was clearing from some major fracas when it turned up as I was researching a recent guitar purchase and decided to start following the current threads rather than just the posts that Google presented to me. I knew I had missed out on some shit, and I also knew that there were some tight bonds among the folks here. Nicely done, Kizanski. And Ed/Jay, know that you have made a mark on this world, and that's not something the great majority do. Go in peace.

Guilty! 😂 The early times *were* great! This news saddens me greatly. "Deserved" or not, I hated it when he was put on exile. I always looked forward to Jay's posts, sometimes they would be the highlight of my day... If he happened to like or quote one of my posts, I felt like I had accomplished something. 🙂 Is anyone in contact with Turdus? He's probably aware, he and Ed (Jay) I think were/are pretty tight. Ed/Jay, if you see this, Godspeed brother. Just know that you were the source of MANY laughs and screen-cleanings! Prayers are with you.