BadgerDave

No way I can miss this. I suspect McChris and I will be carpooling. Should be room for 1 or 2 more from the Chicago area, Rockford, Madison or points along the route.

The green collection. Fairly rare translucent green and metallic green 90's Specials and the one I wish I still had - an '82 trans green that I actually bought for $350.00. In 1999.

For me, the one song that absolutely epitomises "real country" is: Cold, Grey Tomb of Stone by Hank Williams, performed here by Hank III. I never listened to country until I got a gig as the bass player in a wedding band in the 80's. I had to learn a lot of then-popular music by Waylon, Willie David Allen Coe, Johnny Paycheck, etc. I remember listening to "Montgomery in the Rain" by Hank Jr. and being amazed by how great a song it was. From there, I started listening to some of the older stuff like Faron Young, Ernest Tubb, Buck Owens and Hank Snow. Seriously good music! And if you ever get a chance to see Dwight Yoakam live - JUMP!

Hope it's a false alarm, buddy. But if not, do what it takes to beat it into submission. I'm thinking positive thoughts.

Wow, thanks guys. I'm blushing!

I was referring to the 12 string version, of which 99% were natural birdseye. I bought and sold one in virtually unplayed condition w/ OHSC 2 years ago for $1K. $1,400.00 might be little high, but you're not likely to find another for sale soon. The guitar is certainly WORTH $1,400.00.

$1,000.00 to $1,200.00 was the range a while back, but I haven't seen any for sale recently. Prices in general have gone up on most Hamers.

Take your pick from almost any Drive By Truckers effort. "Tornados and Daddy's Cup" are among my favorites, but there are many, many more.

"Grandma's Feather Bed" What else needs to be said?

With my favorite L.A. celebrity:

Those of us "of a a certain age" will remember the golden era of Kustom amps and P.A. systems. Part crack-your-eardrums solid state nirvana and part hot rod upholstery. Sparkle tuck 'n roll is back:

5 pages in and only one passing mention of Carol Kaye? Unless the definition of "best" equals fastest, or most notes played per second, I'd put her at the top of my list based on the sheer number of classic recordings she played on. Everything from the Electric Prunes and Zappa to the Beach Boys, Monkees, Ike&Tina, and (subject to debate) many of the Motown classics attributed to James Jamerson. To say nothing of the hundreds of TV and film score credits and the small library of instructional books she's written. Of course, I'm not a fan of "lead bass" playing, so my choices are players who hold down the pocket and compliment the song. Carol is first, SirPaul second because he reinvented the role of the bass in a small combo setting and played some of the most imaginative and melodic bass lines I've heard. Next are players that tend not to stand out because they play for the song - guys like Roscoe Beck and Dusty Hill. I'll throw in Greg Lake as my token "prog rock" choice 'cause (IMO) he was as talented as OX, Squire, et al, but understood that, like the drums, bass should never be a solo instrument. :angry:

Hamer ads currently appear in every issue of Fretboard Journal, Guitar Player, Guitarist, Guitar & Bass and Vintage Guitar. Those are just the magazines I see, I'm sure there are more. In short, Hamer guitars are everywhere in the guitar mags in 2008. Are these the glory years?

My 2 cents. It's an interesting guitar that belongs to someone else. I have no opinion on what he should do with it. It is completely his decision. The guitar is not HFC communal property and, while everyone is entitled to an opinion (and to voice it), this has been discussed ad nauseum. As a courtesy to the owner, whom we can all thank for the availbility of this forum, I suggest we back off. If any thing changes, I'm sure he will announce it here. If not, so be it. Now let's start a thread about raffling off one of your guitars!

I have to say, that wasn't bad. Except for the parts where he was singing.

Mayer is one of a small handfull of musicians that I actively dislike. Others include Kenny G. and, of course, Dave Matthews. The common denominator is that, while all three have technical ability, none of them use it in a creative or challenging way. There is no "soul" in their music. They don't offer anything that causes you to perk up your ears and say, "That's interesting". Pleasant, yes, good dinner music, yes. Nice to have on in the background, OK. Of course, that's true of many other musicians as well. In fact, the entire pop, light jazz, easy listening, MOR, AOL, modern country, etc. formats are comprised of similar acts. So why does Mayer piss me off every time I hear his name? Because: a. he oozes affectation and b. he's a smug. pretentious smarmy little bastard. Here's a perfect comparison. Listen to just about anything written and recorded by Richard Thompson. Note the singing. Note the guitar playing. Then listen to anything by John Mayer. Most of us would agree that Mayer is a technically better vocalist and his guitar playing is "better" in terms of playing the expected notes and patterns. But listen to the lyrics and how the singing and playing fit the song. With Meyer you get cliches and syrupy pablum. With Thompson you get irony, dry humor, creativity and a mastery at hitting exactly the right "off" note to make you go "Damn!" Meyer has never, ever made me go "Damn!" Another comparison. JM is fast food. Serves a purpose, takes no effort and leaves you with a sort of greasy, queasy feeling after.

I get FedEx and UPS boxes intended for my neighbors pretty regularly. 982 looks a lot like 962 on those little bar code labels. I've caught a few as I was about to open them. Why not cut the neighbors some slack instead of automatically assuming that they intended to steal your guitar? When a delivery comes to your door how much time do you spend studying the address label? Especially around the Holidays, it's common to get deliveries that you don't expect. In any event, that's a gorgeous guitar - congratulations!

At the top end of your price range you can find a wide variety of used high-quality guitars. IMO, with non-mass produced acoustics, you get much better quality, sound and playability as you move up the price scale, at least to a point. If I was looking to spend $2K on an acoustic, I wouldn't even think of buying new. The $2K you spend today will most likely leave you with a guitar that you could have bought used, in near mint condition, for $1,200. Similarly, you can get a guitar that sells (street price) for $3K for under $2K pretty easily. You can buy a used Breedlove master class guitar for $2,000.00. Or a high-end used Taylor. Martin, Larrivee, Lowden, etc. Greg has had a used Santa Cruz on his website for a while that looks like a great bargain. Your price point is right at the break between "really good" and "exceptional". Based on the guitars that I've played, there is a significant difference in guitars that retail above $3,000.00 or so. Why not let someone else take the depreciation hit and get a much better instrument for the money?

The guitar in my photo is a Newport 12 string. The finish is the regular natural - no toner.

I'm partial to trans purple, but natural is nice, too.

And Dave, remember to bring your strap this time

Ouch! Probably just a severe case of crotchety old-fartism, but I've never warmed up to the victory inlays. The only exception would be upside-down victories on a Vector, but the answer has been no to that one so far.

Gone but not forgotten: Still in the stable:

Wow! Love the top and finish on yours, David. Very "old school elegant". Letting the cat out of the bag on the stealth comments by McChris, I did some work on his CE-22 last week, including a pickup and wiring swap. Turns out the mounting tabs on the pickups he bought had been drilled out, necessitating an alternate mounting technique. I went with the EVH "bolt 'em to the wood" approach, using springs and foam under the pickups. I drilled out the mounting holes on the mounting rings so you can slip a small screwdriver through to adjust the pickup height. Chris declined the switch to black mounting rings, but he's wrong. Judge for yourself:

I picked up the McCarty this morning. Turns ot it's Raspberry. But it's the darkest shade of that color I've seen. Looks very similar to a purple PRS I once owned. No masked binding and virtually mint condition. I'll post a photo. i haven't had a chnce to plug it in, but I'm very pleased so far.