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We're at an AirBnb about 30 miles south of La Crosse (home of Dave's first guitar emporium), so a visit is mandatory. My wife is with me this time, but she is aware of why we're there - to swap the Rainsong for something better suited to my hands. Although it's not a done deal, they have a suitable replacement (more on that later). We browsed the main floor but nothing says 'buy me', so we head upstairs to Dave's own stash. It's my 3rd time but her first, and for a non-guitarist she was surprisingly into it. We made a long slow lap around and were starting lap #2 when Tim (yep!) the website photographer strikes up a conversation. Little did we know that that conversation would lead to about a 2 hour guided HANDS-ON tour of Dave's personal gear. That's right - one after another guitars were being pulled down and put in my hands. At first I resisted but my wife chimes in, "When will you ever get another chance?" and with that Les Pauls from '54 thru '60, Strats from '54 thru '64, and Teles from '52 thru I forget were plucked from their perches and placed in my now-sweaty mitts, each with their own tale. Not sure if I was more in awe of holding them or more fascinated with their history. What a trip! The Explorer/Vee/Moderne backstory, the wall of Gretschs, the Gibson Switchmaster, more stuff hidden in the back - and the five Hamers in the corner, including a checkerboard '81 Special and Keef's Belushi Standard (which had an even better story of how it came to Dave). The '54 Tele found caseless in a farmhouse attic and tossed into a dumpster by a clueless renovator, only to be saved by said renovator's brother, had to be my favorite. That guitar was as weathered as you'd expect, and flat out gorgeous. My wife was right - it was an experience I'll never get again, and won't forget for as long as I live. This here doesn't begin to scratch the surface. Holy hell what a day.

Despite having the aggregate gear, talent and work ethic of a legit, gigging band, my current line up won't or can't do legit 3 set-gigs. Instead, we have to settle for 1 set opening slots with other bands, featured set appearances or 3- 4 song sets at open mics. It ain't so bad. True, we don't get paid BUT load in/load out is stupid simple, my gear can be carried in one trip and doesn't break my back, PA & sound is always provided, I am in no danger of forgetting parts to 3 - 8 songs and I'm in and out and home in +/- 1.5 hours and get a full good night's slumber. Win. Did an open mic last night where we followed the house band and got to do 4 songs, all of which featured my C3- Checkered Cali Custom. Behold...

No photos? Dude.

I thought Jim bought new sets of shorts for gigs...

You guys are too slow. 😜 It’s back “on hold”, and you know that us here, we honor our word. In few months it will be gone then, but the good news is that it stays in the family. Cheers! 🍻

Hamer came first. The spirit came out in the early 80s...

I respect your perspective but the person who bought Zorrow’s will have it in his hands within a matter of days or whatever he and @zorrow worked out. It is a beautiful guitar and I think the buyer is a lucky dude.

Looks like someone already has.

Look at the prices of old cameras — Nikons, Leicas, etc. People buy them, collect them, but don’t necessarily use them for photography anymore. I think electric guitars are moving in the same direction. Hamer is gone. These instruments come from a time when people went down to rehearsal or a gig with a six-pack of beer, lit a cigarette, plugged their 100-watt Marshall into the wall socket, cranked it to ten, gave the world a big FUCK YOU, and played power chords while the band went full nuclear behind them. Today, kids plug their tiny headless guitars into a computer, put on headphones, and record a one-minute YouTube clip covering Sweet Child O’ Mine just to get likes. Hamers aren’t made anymore. Just like ’50s cars, they represent an era. Look at the prices of ’70s and ’80s Japanese lawsuit guitars — same thing there. Prices have gone up a lot. A Greco EGF1800 Super Real now sells for over $10,000.

Since December 2025, I have purchased two incredibly impeccable Hamers (Tally and a Monaco2) that were very expensive but worth every penny. Did I pay too much? Maybe, but I don’t think so. One was ANOS and the other was an EXTREMELY rare Hamer. Both New Hartford craftsmanship at its best. I’d do it again tomorrow, they are that good. Only 0006 is safe…

Maybe Robin or Frank could, but I doubt Dave would do anything worthwhile with it.

Fender can merge their lips to my aged saggy ass, as far as I'm concerned. They'll never get another penny of my money. Nothing has changed that opinion since 2012.

Good for you! I am amazed at how comfortable we've become with foregoing life in the interest of documenting it. How much are we missing solely in the interest of saving some visual record no one will likely ever care about or revisit? This entire concept first occurred to me when in 2014 I took my daughter to see Rush (Clockwork Angels tour). Most of the place was watching the entire concert through their phones. Have you watched any of the fan footage of any concert on YouTube? Is that really worth foregoing the experience? Any experience? So good for you! Congratulations - you experienced life!

Go Find Another One

Go fuck an orangutan? Good fun and optimism? Get funky around Ontario?

Bad form 😒

How much for just one?

THAT! Needs absolutely nothing! Perfect! Seriously, a Sustain Block Blitz. Awesome! Dibs!

Changing "Short" to "Brief" is even worse for those of us who misread and think it's about stage attire.

And some of us get priced out. OR our desires change. I lost track. I think I have owned close to 100 Hamers over the years. Including at least one of most of the "limited editions". At one point, I know I had around 60. I think I have 7 now. One has been listed for sale at what I think is a very reasonable price. Some bites, no follow-through. No big deal. Two others (unique Duo-Tones) that I have been offered what I believe to be above market prices, but I do not wish to sell. The others I am not motivated to sell. Of those I have passed along, all (or virtually all) could be sold for more now than then. Such is life. Same as all those vintage Gibsons I sold a few decades back. My faves HAVE changed. And there are some great options today for those who want a great playing and sounding guitar at a price comparable to some of the "vintage" pieces. As but one example, a couple Suhrs I picked up in recent months (2 new, 2 used) were very reasonably priced and arguably better than some of my former (or even current) Hamers. And not higher than many current ASKING prices for Hamers. Is that MY taste or just the market? And how many of the subject asking prices make sense for PLAYERS as opposed to collectors? Not that I MIGHT not ever buy another Hamer. I would certainly buy back some that I have sold IF the price as very right. But to pay a premium price for something when my current choices for playing out are something different.....Highly illogical. Even if my ears are not pointed. 😉

... at least at my home: Recently I discovered this beautiful neon sign (not LED!). I suspect that it is from the 80s or 90s. I even had to buy a step-down transformer to be able to use it. Amazing that it survived all these years unharmed. With more than 40 Hamer guitars in my collection, it seemed to me to be the cherry on top. I hope you like it too.

I think the primary problem is over seventy years of failure to defend. It would be difficult to argue sudden harm when you've been letting it go for the better part of a century.

Nope but our vocalist does wear shorts to most of our appearances. The HFC Attire Police have not yet shown up to make arrests or write tickets.

Ha, That use to be my Chandler explorer!! I am away right now, but I can see if I have the old case I use to carry it around in. Peter

That was the deal of the year. People who don't know Hamer often thinks that these are cheap import pickups. The 10K Slammer version is one of the best hot paf's Dimarzio ever made.

Found a former post on these

I had a white one with a trem on it, bought it used at a local music store for $ 500.00. Definitely NOT a Hamer Sunburst of which I have owned 2 of.

Nope.

Let us know when you get that Shishkov how much it cost! arniez

1) Read the forum rules 2) GFAO

Some people aren't true Hamer Fans and have lost money on investments instead of playing their guitars.

Well, we had a great visit with my long time friend. He did buy the IC chips and MOST the other parts but we couldn't buy the few he didn't have from an electronics store because they were closed. Yes, apparently they still have those at least in silicone valley (and I'm not talking the San Fernando Valley, as if!!) We did play guitar, drink beer and go on a nice motorcycle ride so all was not lost! I got to ride his Triumph Speed Twin 1200 which was nice but smaller than I thought. I'm 5-11 but felt cramped. I hadn't ridden for maybe 5 years after selling my Ducati Monster. I took care of my mom back then during her last years so my riding time stopped. I found it hard to believe it had been 5 years! Will be getting something new fairly soon. He also gave me an EVM 12L speaker in great shape which will replace the Celestion 12T-75 in my Canadian Thiele Cab. That's what those were built around as I understand it. Someone had given it to him and he gave it to me. Score! Anyone here make that circuit?

Some of us need to collab and write the "Askin' Ain't Gettin' " (Theme from Reverb) song.

Anderson is as much of a "humbler" as Danny Gatton, Roy Clark and Roy Buchanan were. Highlight of the first guitar show I ever worked for VG Magazine (Atlanta 1990) was a jam session with Steve Morse, Jeff Berlin and Anderson. He's one of Kentucky's best kept secrets

Great post and pics even though I clicked the thread title thinking it would be about a band called "Short Sets." 🤫

Aside from Standards and a subset of the Calis, most nice Hamers are going up but they're not eclipsing what a new LP standard costs. At least they don't seem to be selling at the huge asking prices. Its likely there are some Hamer collectors slowly liquidating collections through stores and that's why a place like El Diablo seems to list a new $8000 Hamer every month. There are a decent number of bargains out there. A crazy quilt top Sunburst sold for $1000 on Reverb yesterday. I didn't buy it because it seemed to low to be real. Also it had gold hardware/

Hold the emotion and let the market work. It will... IF allowed to. And rate swaps - vilified by an ignorant media with absolutely no understanding of how credit markets work, attempting to establish a "them" bad guy - were and are an excellent tool for managing rate risk.

I'd buy it, except I would need six... One for each day of the week. With Sundays off. Linky

It won't last no time at that price!

Well that was fun watching Billy Corgan interview himself. RIP, JD. you were responsible for much of the soundtrack of my youth, and hence my life.

I guess we all have stories of builders that do a better job (YMMV) of building vintage style guitars than the typical mass produced ones cranked out by Fender. Applies to Gibson too, of course. Not that the original designs are not "classic" and game changers in their time. But some things can be improved. Needs of players do change. I appreciate builders who recognize the original designs but put efforts into attention to detail to make them as good as they can be. (I know the ones I like). Assembly lines cranking them out in huge volumes do not have that luxury. Leo famously laughed when asked about the quality control that made those 50s Strats so desirable. "You must have been very careful about matching those 3 pickups!" "Hell no, our gals grabbed three out of a huge pickle barrel, screwed them on and passed it on down the line". FWIW, I understand that many old "vintage" models were destroyed intentionally.....If you sent one back to Fender to be refinished, they simply built you a new one in the desired finish. It was cheaper than taking one apart and redoing it. And that was when (IIRC) the music store that told me that was offering brand new Strats for $269. Leo knew, to the penny, the material cost of building one.....A friend of his back in the day quoted Leo to me....."$36.59"....I may have the exact number wrong after all these years, but it was right around that amount. Of course, in those days, the music stores I went to MIGHT have 1 or 2 in stock, not a whole store room full......

As we're walking out I say to Diane, "We didn't get any pictures!" I was so jaw-dropped at what just happened that it never even crossed my mind. In my defense though, I took about a thousand the first time I was there. An interesting bit of Hamer history that I never knew: Dave had 25 Sustain Block Artists (in '59 burst) made to commemorate his first 25 years in business. I don't recall ever seeing or hearing of such an animal. This is according to Tim the Photographer, who apparently has a long history with Dave and the shop. Anybody here familiar with those?

I found this Gibson Spirit : https://www.kleinanzeigen.de/s-anzeige/gibson-spirit-e-gitarre-80er-jahre-original-zustand-sunburst/3404257650-74-8126?utm_source=copyToPasteboard&utm_campaign=socialbuttons&utm_medium=social&utm_content=app_ios This is Hamer‘s Sunburst origin, isn‘t it? I get identical GAS symptoms!

Friends growing up were huge Scorpions fans and had all of the important vinyl. Even as a young boy seeing that for the first time, I found it disturbing.

Hang on, gotta figure answer out. edit: i think i got it - grumpy f’ing a$#hole online

Reminds me of my Blitz that I bought a while ago https://imgur.com/a/EpMu8UV#8IE0bHk

The world has gone mad!!!