zorrow

That's exactly what I meant.BTW, Kev, I was actually talking about people like you, Frank Aresti, Glen Tipton and other known players that play Hamers because they like them, and not because they get paid to do so.

Well, to me Hamer killed itself, actually. Before Fender, Jol was in his own trip, refusing building many custom models they would have built otherwise. In addition, they had zero marketing, thus zero exposure to the public. They didn't put their guitars in the hands of known players, even if some known players did play Hamer. There was zero advertisement and zero intention to grow. It had become Jol's retirement shop, kind of a hobby that produces some income, but no much more than that. The brand was therefore almost dead already when Fender acquired KMC. That's why their value as an asset to a big corporation like Fender was virtually none when they got bought. In spite of that, we did see some hope when Jol got fired. Some long-gone custom models came back and we were rather happy, weren't we? I don't think it's fair blaming Fender then. IMHO, they did try to give a fresh breath to the Hamer brand (at least, the custom shop got better and more open). But Hamer just had lost too much of their market share and wasn't a clearly profitable investment for Fender anymore. Sad but true.

Rest in peace, Hamer, We dedicate to you this Haiku epitaph. -sadness does get you inspired.

I don't think it's a hiatus at all- I think Fender is in trouble and we'll see more downsizing from them in the very near future. If it was a hiatus, the custom orders would have continued, albeit on an even smaller scale. Hell, even one a year. And even if they were just "cooling" the brand, having those imports being the momentary torch bearers is a baaaaad move. It might be a bad move, but at least it keeps the "Hamer" name around. That's why I actually think this is more a "pause" than a total stop. You know, those Hamer luthiers are awesome builders. If Fender is hundred of orders behind schedule with Charvels and stuff, they better put their workforce in the right place, or else they will have to cope with many angry customers and lower incomes. So, it makes sense putting Hamer on pause until better times, and making the builders (and the tools) to focus on unblocking the production line that is a bigger source of income. Of course, that's pure speculative from my part and, even if it was true, it doesn't guarantee Hamer will survive in the long term. It kinda makes sense though... and also brings me some hope.

Didn't you abandon Hamer for Dean? So yes, I did. Blame me!

I don't want to sound overoptimistic, but the more I think about it, the more I tend to think the "hiatus" word is a keyword here. Times are just hard. Richer people aren't spending much money in high-end guitars anymore, and most kids have no money at all --and frankly, even if they had, they are more interested in trends and coolness than in excellence. It just makes sense then to put the Hamer brand into the freezer, keeping just the import models around in order to not completely erase the brand from the surface of the Earth, and wait for better times. In the meanwhile, the workforce will be used in higher-priority (read "producing more income") tasks. I guess then it's not really dead, just actually put on a hiatus, as Dave mentioned.

She probably meant "underrated", because it's a fact the guy is a monster player. Now I'll have to do my homework with Prince, because I'm also in the "no more than Purple Rain and some few hits" bucket. Thank you for the suggestions!

Hamer had turned into a quite obscure, unknown brand to the average guitarist. It was therefore just a matter of time, though I never thought it was going to be this soon. Nevertheless, it's also true the 99% of us never ordered a new Hamer. That also points to failure in the long term, mostly when your little factory suddenly finds itself under the wing of a corporate giant like Fender. Now, I just hope two things for the future: 1- May Hamer resurrect from its ashes. 2- May I afford some used Hamers I've always wanted. In any case, I guess we'll stick around the HFC to see what will happen in the next 30 years, right? Cheers to you then, guys!

I'm already working on replacing the golden hardware of my red Dean V to chrome, so I can put the Hamer DDs on it without spoiling its look. In fact, I plan to change the pups, the tuners and the bridge very soon. The only point it's not clear yet is the V-plate, which seems to be a bit hard to find -but I'm also working on that with a contact Gene gave me (thanks Gene!) Also, I recently custom-ordered a V that will have single coils on it. It should be ready for the next summer. I won't talk too much about this one though, as it should be a surprise -you guys who already know (you know who you are), please shut up for now!

Now I've been playing more varied stuff, from Latin to reggae to funk to rock'n'roll and blues, I'm kinda getting bored of my humbuckers. I'm even becoming a tad jealous of the more articulate tone and dynamics that my Strat and Tele fellow bandmates respectively enjoy. And NO. It's not in their fingers. When I play their guitars, I do get what I want to hear: more snap, more attack and more clarity. I still wail on the solo department, but seriously, I might be seeling soon a bunch of Vees to get me a Strat and a Tele. Those ones are the sh*t to me now. I thought I was going to stick to the Vees forever. Boy I was wrong!

Talked to the guy. Hamer-stamped is important to him. Also, if chrome is not available, he would then consider black -it implies "just" changing the tuners and the knobs of his guitar. So, any black Hamer-stamped FR for sale around? Good working condition, please. I don't want to look like an asshole after chanting the HFC glories to an outsider.

F*ck! My wife says he looks like me. And NO. He doesn't!

Hamer stamped? I think this is important to him -have to ask him though.

Ok, will ask him if black is OK -though I'm affraid his answer will be "nope", unless he's willing to replace all the rest of his chrome hardware.

+1 No thanks.

Are the Hamer-licensed Floyd Roses trems hard to find? A friend of mine is looking for a chrome one.

I've hesitated about that one. I used to like Steve Vai a lot, and I actually own all his albums --excepting the last two or three ones. But I don't know why, I just suddenly lost interest on his stuff. Well, maybe it's time for me to go back to it?

I'll get the three of them -"Alive!", "Dressed to Kill" and "Revenge". Let's see how I like KISS then. BTW, I just saw I have "Destroyer" at home. Barely remember it, but I didn't dislike it, if I remember well.

I don't think KISS is a bad band, but always thought they were overrated. But what do I know? I'm from a post-KISS generation. Can someone here point me to a good compilation of theirs, please? Or maybe some of their outstanding albums? I do want to "get" it!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/USA-Hamer-KK-Vector-/140855421963?pt=Guitar&hash=item20cba32c0b No affiliation.

My colleague who likes blues and is a big fan of John Mayer made a compilation for me. I've been listening to it on and off during the weekend. While I haven't retained the song titles yet, I do realize the guy is a really good guitar player. OK, his style is maybe too polished for my tastes, maybe a tad overproduced, maybe not raw enough to be called "blues" and all... but boy you bet the man can play! Well, I do understand his mix of blues with pop and crooner-like ingredients can sound boring and too commercial for some (me included), but there's no way I would disrespect such a great guitarist. I short, I don't like his stuff that much, but there's no doubt he's a hell of a musician. In addition, he has managed to live from his craft. Hats off to him!

I gave it some thought and I retract. I would in fact seriously consider it, if someone proposed me that gig. It is worth just for the exposure and because having that on one's CV would look really outstanding. It's also probable one would end playing with them some Queensryche songs we all love. Yet, I still don't get Rudy's position.

Funny enough, the announcement doesn't say anything about Glen's pedigree. Anyway, that new band won't be Queensryche at all. As some posters said, it's just Tate's new band. The other Queensryche, with Todd La Torre fronting them, is way closer to what Queensryche used to be. Now a little reflection: I know money talks, but I still think they would have had to pay me a lot of money if they wanted me in Tate's new band. I know it's a lot of exposure; but of them all, the case I understand the less is Rudy's. It shouldn't be hard for that guy to score good gigs. I doubt he's in need of more visibility. So, why would one like him accept playing for Tate?

It's quite rocking that line-up. Glen Drover can shred and has played with King Diamond and Megadeth, and also toured with Testament.

Oh! Gaga is wearing a Megadeth T-shirt! Man, I would really love to hang out with her!