zorrow

Great man. If you love me in spite of any look-related issue, that's actually true love!

I saw in the FS sale some people saying the Monaco was an ugly model. I personally think the contrary, but well... that's what tastes are for. Anyway, the comment got me thinking about the ugliest Hamer model I've ever seen. I'm coming with one strong candidate: The Blitz with paddle headstock: What's yours?

Looks great, but I'm just getting used to it. It still feels "weird".

I tried some guitars with them at the Montreal Guitar Show this year. Cannot say I hated them, but I didn't feel anything special about them.

A Slammer Series Centaura could do it for me... or maybe an Epi Flying V -those white ones which came out not so long ago are amazing players.

Those Junior XT's speak to me... but my wife would YELL at me if I get one.

Rawking! Cool!

My perception is that higher tension implies a more "focused" tone; while lower tension implies a more "open" tone. That's why I try to use the lightest gauge I can tolerate for the three higher strings, in order to keep a certain "vocal quality" in my lead tone; while for the three lower strings I favor "tightness" and focus, so a heavier gauge does the trick. I guess then that "openness" I perceive (meaning nasal and/or vocal overtones) is the effect of odd harmonics, right? BTW, I use metal and glass picks, by Dugain, as well as 3 mm Big Stubby picks. That's absolutely a factor to get a very sharp attack, which is a key ingredient of my tone.

That's very interesting and seems very well-founded. However, Brian May uses very light gauge for a 24" scale (.009 .011 .016 .024 .032 .042); Yngwie uses 0.08, 0.11, 0.14, 0.22, 0.34, 0.46 (very light for me, and in addition he tunes to E-flat); George Lynch uses standard 0.09's, as well as Michael Schenker; Billy Gibbons uses 0.08 and I've even heard that he has used 0.07... And it's funny all those guys I just mentioned above are for me THE references when I talk about tone. Hypothesis: Maybe odd order harmonics can color your tone in a way that it can also improve?

Thanks a lot for that link! Not for me, but some fellow players sometimes ask me what I would recommend that wouldn't be "too much" -as if I knew! I guess suggesting them to try those you just mentioned would be a safe answer.

I use quite heavy strings: 11-15-20-36-46-58 for D tuning, and 10-13-17-32-42-54 for standard tuning. It's hard to say what's "too much", as it depends on the player, of course. In my own case, I settled to heavy gauge strings because I like the lower register to sound tight, and more tension allows me to tremolo-pick with more articulation -hate flabby lows. I also tend to press on the frets too much, as if I was struggling with the neck. Heavy gauges thus compensate for my lack of technique, by creating the resistance I need to counter-balance the exaggerated strength I put into it. The problems I've found: one, it's harder to have a "light touch"; two, your truss-rod needs to be re-adjusted, as you add a lot of extra tension; three, your fellow guitar players will hate to play your guitar, as they wouldn't be able to play it properly; four, some chords become very hard to play; five, it might cause some extra buzzing, which you'll have to fix; six, you'll need to get used to it, as the strings do feel "thicker"; seven, your tone will change, but it's a myth it will "improve" -that depends on your tastes, your fingers... and on your beliefs; eight, you'll have to file wider slots in your nut, which will spoil an easy rollback, if you ever don't like it; nine, more tension means your tuners should be able to handle it, so you better get some locking tuners -besides using nut sauce; ten, your fingers and wrist will suffer more -you'll need to warm up properly and keep an eye on signals of muscular/tendon strain... and so on. Hope this helped!

I also have Manlius and they are awesome, but I couldn't resist to the temptation of trying the Tyrant.

My DMT Tyrant pup is on the way -your fault, Kev!

DMD Amott signature pups are available, yes. This is the model: http://www.deanguitars.com/dmt_tyrant.php. They can be purchased on eBay, for example: http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-DMT-MICHAEL-AM...#ht_3593wt_1344. And yes, there's no modern player closer to Schenker than Michael Amott. That's exactly why I'm such a big fan of him: because Michael Schenker also is one of my biggest inspirations.

I am a big fan of Michael Amott's tone. He gets a very dramatic, expressive voice on his leads, while his rhythmic tone remains punchy and full of attack. I guess then you can't go wrong with one of his signature pups. Actually, I was thinking about getting a pair of them not so long ago, so your post is reactivating my GAS. Should I thank you now, Kev?

This might be interesting to you -located in Europe: http://www.hamerfanclub.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=50276.

Vai is the best. Ever. Period. Congrats to your son!

You're in the Navy too, so... a colleague? Man, that sucks!

Epic! Congrats to all. +1 and +1

This place is f@#$ng awesome, isn't it? And Gene is da man. Hats off!

...and with as many options as you might wish, almost like in the eighties. In short, why complaining? Jol's moving on, Hamer's moving on... and so we all should!

+1

Six years ago, I must add. Hope you guys will work it out. BTW, the guitar looks amazing and the grain is awesome.

It is what it is --it looks great to me, BTW. Now an anecdote related to this: I went to the last Montreal Guitar Show and tried every single guitar available. Many of them were true works of art, but just two of them really impressed me about their playability and tone. So, who cares if Jol is no longer targeting our niche market? I personally got over it already. Now it's good for him... and also good for us. Can we ask for a better outcome?

Four come quickly to my mind: 1- "Anna", performed by The Beatles: . This one was actually written and previously performed by Arthur Alexander, but the Beatles made a huge hit out of it.2- "The Great Pretender", performed by Freddie Mercury: . IMHO, The Platters' version pales in front of the flamboyant performance and mannerisms of "Sir Gaga". 3- "The Ripper", performed by Mercyful Fate: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6-E_qBHXBQ. It sounds to me way more menacing than the original by Judas Priest, in spite of it being already a classic. King Diamond delivers with his pitchy-but-still-cool vocals. In addition, the guitar tones of both Denner and Sherman absolutely rock. 4- "Whiter Shadeof Pale", performed by Michael Schenker: . I don't dare to say it's better than the original, but I simply LOVE this guitar-oriented arrangement and Michael's fills. It also sounds to me quite "Queen-ish", and Queen is my favorite band, so... Well, hope you enjoy all of them as much as I do.