cmatthes

Well, I DID want that one, but now, it apparently no longer plays like buttah. Whatever "buttah" is.

...or it's really a Kramer.

^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ Maybe SAAB would be a better parallel?

^ ^ ^ ^ ^ That last line sums up one of the most obvious problems I've been seeing in the last few years with the changing guitar industry.

Good lord, those damned things are FUG-LEEEEE!

It's been all in the last few days. Something screwy with DreamHost, probably.

Sonny (tonewise) could crush most mere mortals playing a WalMart First Act through an iPod.

I remember that one vividly!

This may be one of mine too!

Definitely!

http://ultimateclassicrock.com/mastodons-brent-hinds-on-santanas-smooth-like-someone-taking-a-carrot-peeler-and-gouging-it-into-your-ears/

A little! Actually, the Tobacco Sunburst one in that pic belonged to Serial - I still have that Cherry Sunburst one, but it looks a little different these days. We bought those at the same time from proceeds from slave labor at our local McD's in high school. Twenty-five years after that pic was taken, that one Les Paul is the only one still kicking around.

Nice!

Well, SVTs ARE between 85-90 lbs, but with all the extra bottom rawk they contain, there's at least another 50-60 lbs every time you pick one up.

Pic is from '87 - I got this '83 Special a few years before: (Tobacco SB LP Custom and Yellow '85 Tokai belonged to Serial, the others were mine)

Stike has a Gibson Vee, a 4-digit Standard, and another silly project of mine down in NC right now. I know that at least one of them is slated for 2013 completion, and one is waiting for Stike to just get nuts enough to want to tackle. We have an understanding that when the time is right, it'll be right, but not before! I also have a "stealth" project (Hamer content) getting worked on and then have a couple partsocaster things that I'm either going to finally get together or jettison. At least one of those is just way too cool to part with at this point. I think I'll probably shed more stuff in 2013 than I acquire - that's the plan as of today, anyway.

Okay Mitch...let me get a ruling here: What about if I don't buy any "new" or "used" guitars, but have a number of existing projects completed, thus resulting in newly playable/reconfigured guitars? I can definitely sign under those terms.

You can't make me sign this.

That is so perfect it should be my new sig line. Lets review. A lot of people pissed and moaned that Hamer/Jol wouldn't build this or that. Jol was shown the door. Frank U took the reigns and implemented a field of dreams approach (if we build it they will come) and only a few people actually opened up their wallets. One Thunderbolt was built. ONE. A handful of shredders made it out the door (Chapps, Calis, SS models, etc) even though many people talked like a hundred orders would come in if they agreed to build them. Jol knew what he was talking about when he said at an HFC open house that he wouldn't consider reissuing a model until the used price approached the price of what a new one would cost (I'm paraphrasing). Why would they put Guild and the Fender Acoustic Custom shop on the backburner to keep Hamer alive? It will probably take another year just to complete the orders in house. All efficiencies of manufacturing are gone in their current approach to building ( a few hours a week here and there). It is doubtful that they were even profitable with Hamer in their recent state even though the prices have skyrocketed. Besides that, many unfinished guitars (not custom orders) were left to rot because no one wanted them. It seemed that people only wanted to buy used. Now its your only option and those prices have remained stable. That shows how much demand there is for a USA Hamer. RIP Hamer- the best damn guitar no one ever heard of. Agreed. I did my best to support the brand - I ordered 5 custom orders from Hamer over the last decade or so. it would have been (at least) 6, but one order I placed annually since 1999 got shot down every time. Unfortunately, when it finally DID get approved, it was more than I could afford, even if I stripped it down. Pricing increased well beyond my ability to justify the purchase, and it well more than doubled what I could/would pay for that guitar - most of that price increase came over a 2 year period too. When it came to a "do or die" situation in August, what had formerly been my disposable income that could have been put toward a custom order had to go to my son's first college tuition payment. That's a no-brainer. The economy also changed dramatically in 2008, so many prospective buyers either weren't in a position to order an expensive luxury item like a custom guitar, or they couldn't sell other guitars in order to generate cash for an order. Overall consumer buying habits have also changed dramatically in the last 4-5 years. I was looking for any way possible to justify ordering another Hamer, but in the end, I just couldn't do it. Believe me, I tried!

Enough, gang. Play nice now...

I don't think I'm out of line by mentioning that those "affluent generation's males" enamored with the tones of certain particular players probably wouldn't be able to nail them with or without an $85k amp. As silly as it may sound to some, tone is still (yes, Virginia), in the fingers.

I think the question here (at least for me) is, WHY would you want that tone?

I have a Westerly made Guild. A fine, beautiful guitar that I will never part with, but I am not kidding when I say that the New Hartford equivalents kick the crap out of it - I've compared mine to 5-6 NH Guilds, in hand. Guild guitars' quality are better than ever under FMIC. Would love to see them bring Hamer back at some point...

Sandler is a world class DICK. I wouldn't buy anything from him. Ever.