cmatthes

Hamer offered that as a finish option once they did away with dealer exclusive finishes well over a decade ago.

Let's stop with the comparisons. Mike hasn't even finished his first guitar in his new venture and people are dissecting things at an unbelievable pace. Hamer shut their doors a few years ago, and EVERYTHING they had built for the few years before that were purely custom orders. Hamer also had increased prices several times a year for all of the '00s, which, coupled with a global economic downturn that truly changed the buying habits of the majority of the population had more than a crimp in Hamer sales. Ask any seller of luxury items how many orders they've been filling since 2007 v. the decade before that. Trying to create a top quality alternative that is also affordable is a tricky balance. For now, the only way that's even possible is by going direct and not having a dealer network in place (which would raise prices by 20-50% to the purchaser, thus cutting out a large audience initially). Mike plans to do what he can to provide an affordable custom alternative, but ultimately, demand and cost will dictate the eventual price point. The bottom line is, let's just cap these kind of speculative threads for now. Mike will surely be forging his own identity and making his own unique stamp on the guitars he builds. Why don't we let him do that without picking it apart and analyzing things to death before the first neck is set? Let's just be happy that we actually have a custom builder of Mike's incredible talent and vision (not to mention history) available as an option. That alone is exciting and wonderful, and I am certain that patience here will be rewarded. It's fantastic that there is such a great buzz around Mike's new venture, but let's hold our breath, and let the book get written before everybody starts asking for the CliffsNotes!

HRR - these are all questions Mike will answer when he actually has such things decided. It is simply not appropriate to put the cart before the horse. Right now, although he plans to build basses eventually if he gets an actual order and once he has opened up for those orders, asking such questions at this early stage probably can't be answered. As has been said before, let's give him some room and time to consider what designs he will be doing. On a custom basis, it's an extremely wide canvas...please try to remember, Mike isn't building Hamers - he will be building Shishkov Guitars. Regarding the logo, Polara is right on - I can think of a half dozen guitar companies that have used that exact font over the last few decades, and still see it all the time on signs and other business logos.

A lot of those questions are not appropriately answered at this time, and speculation doesn't help right now. Give Mike a little breathing room - he'll have plenty of answers once he finalizes some designs, prototypes and finishes the first builds.

Where are you seeing that? It's just regular old fingerboard binding.

Yep. Mike is focusing on finishing up some shop stuff and getting started on the first run. A little patience will go a long way...

Trust us...you don't!

To those who ponied up for the initial run, this shouldn't be a concern. Read the email you got from Mike...

It would be more cost effective to start with a few mahogany boards.

Unfortunately, not really. The actual pricing is still being worked out, and a lot of that will probably have to do with how the initial run goes. The cost (after the first ones) will be more than the initial offering price was, for sure (it will have to be!), but also still affordable.

More details will be forthcoming. A little patience will go a long way. Keep in mind that he is still finalizing a lot of things right now, including the setup of his shop. It would probably be better to keep the speculation down here for many reasons. Sometimes it is better to sit back and watch the artist create...

Awesome!!!!!!

Yes. There is a draft form of that, which will be tweaked as final cost figures come in from suppliers, etc. The initial Custom Order page was more of a placeholder, not a specific, all-inclusive listing. Mike will have that all locked down well before things truly open up for other orders.

Wow. Again.

** PLEASE NOTE!! ** Mike is still in the process of setting up his shop, getting some new equipment in place, and working out the details of his new business venture. In addition to that, he is a bit swamped with the HUGE tidal wave of orders and quote requests that poured in over just the first few hours and days. He's going to be replying to people individually and in turn, but please understand that this will take some time as he sifts through everything on his plate right now. Your patience is requested (and appreciated!) as he tackles this task. The intent of the initial run and opening the site was to get some early orders and deposits in so that he could start production in the next few weeks/month and get ramped up. The feedback has been fantastic, and very inspirational, however, Mike wants to assure that every order gets the attention it deserves. Please note that the first priority will be working through and completing the initial run, and then Mike will be taking on some custom order work and most likely, original designs in the very near future. Stick around - great stuff ahead over the coming months as things continue to take shape!

Exactly. That's why anything that deviated from the basic platform too far was pushed to later or as a "custom" basis. There is an enormous amount of time required for any scratch build v. a repeatable design, so I'd expect that Mike will have to prioritize based on this as well.

He's a MACHINE!!!

The CLASSIC look!!

Ha! I've just got to make a little room and focus on the projects I've got going. I've come to the realization that a lot of the cool stuff I've accumulated over the years would be better off in the hands of somebody who has the time to finish it! More stuff will be added, if any interest...

The official finish color of the Standard on the cover of the book is " '17 Burst".

Alright - I'll add some REAL Korina to the mix tonight if anybody's interested. I've got a rough cut out beautifully matched Korina body traced off of my 4-digit Standard and also a quilt maple billet that would fit to top it off, and a stupidly lightweight Korina Tele Thinline body with a maple top that'll appear in this space later. Prices & Pics will follow ASAP...

The initial run sold out right away, but Mike will be opening up for individual orders once he can come up for air!

Sorry, Brian - I knew you just HAD to push the envelope!

The bugs are being worked out now. PLEASE DO NOT post Mike's Paypal address here (or anywhere)!!!