Biz Prof

A early 80s Gibson Victory MVX....if you can find one.

You did just fine. We are all jealous, I mean, proud of you! ;-)

Gonna have to third that. He busts out with a pretty awesome one at the 16 sec mark of this one. Just don't look if you're annoyed by extreme controls-checking OCD - Austin Great stuff! I wonder if Zakk Wyldle's over the top usage of that wide vibrato was influence by Sykes and also that double picking I can't describe. Sykes used it with taste. where Zak uses it aggressively and obsessively. If you want to see obsessive, watch Ozzie with Wylde playing Bark at the Moon live in 2013. I counted over 20 instances. Maybe brought someone out of retirement? Not to hijack but if anyone wants to see. Still don;t know he did it with his right arm pointing to the sky. Goto 1:05 if you want to get down to it. One time his right hand is pointing to the sky, hope that was a not a live shot. Maybe Sharon was triggering it back stage. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMLwslRNThM&list=RDLMLwslRNThM#t=0 Sheesh....that was rough. Explain to me again how this guy is considered a guitar god?

My first thought. Had to be Don Felder on that part. The other guitar part is 100% Glenn Frey.

I recall a couple of rather wicked pinches in fills on the Eagles' "Already Gone" and Skynyrd's "The Breeze". Not sure which Eagle did that fill, but I think Rossington played that bit for Skynyrd'. Billy Gibbons has so many god ones, I wouldn't know where to begin....LaGrange?

Seems the employees realize the firm is being tarted up for acquisition. Interesting comments about the GC alumni having been recruited to Fender by Thomas. Probably seemed like a logical strategy to him.

Cordoba Music Group....Hmmm.... perhaps they will start shipping Guild guitars in cases covered in soft, Corinthian leather. http://youtu.be/HVELhUyLZGk

Love it. It has that Glenn Tipton, Dave Murray, Jimmy Herring vibe.

Bittersweet. So fitting that the first and last Hamers are burst Standards. Congrats on owning a piece of history.

I'll give you tree-fiddy for it right now! ;-)

I thought about that, Ford dropped Mercury, GM dropped Olds, and Chrysler dropped Plymouth - but those things happened well before two of the three went under. GM dropped Pontiac and Saturn (Pontiac, at the Feds' behest, not by own volition) and retained Chevy, Buick, Cadillac, and GMC...so let's see, they dropped two and kept four. "Over half"? I think Occam's razor applies here. Hamer was a tiny tiny operation and even if margins were huge the cashflow was microscopic. Same for Guild, probably sans margin. Ovation, as mentioned somewhere else in all this, probably has seen the sun set on the viability of USA operations - others figured out how to amplify acoustics in the 30 years since they owned the live performance. Fender's not a niche company, neither is Gibson (nor really PRS), they gotta move volume, for better or worse. I think this was probably a long time coming, regardless of the competitive environment (although the GC situation probably puts a real fine point on it). Contrary to what seems to be the majority opinion, I think Fender did the best they could with Hamer and gave it an honest effort. All the stuff we hated - "no" to any off-mainstream custom order, dropping crown inlay...on whose watch did that happen? Oh, Jol's, right. And who opened the shop back up to "sky's the limit"? Agree that these brands' margins had likely been an issue for years. In relatively large portfolios like we see at FMIC, a small number of boutique brands can be good for the purposes of image...if the consumer can easily connect the boutique brands to the mothership. I'm not sure that connection was ever made in the average consumer's mind in regards to Hamer/Guild/OvationUSA and big brother Fender. The Gretsch brand is so old and legendary that it seems to have a much better of surviving on its own merits, plus the Electromatic import line appears to be a strong seller. GM? I actually include the death of Olds and Hummer in that list, since these were shuttered while GM was suffering sales declines and was largely unprofitable. Perhaps we see it through different lenses, but Pontiac, Saturn, Olds, Hummer--that's half of the domestic GM nameplates in my view. I agree with your position on FMIC's post-Jol attempt to open up the catalog. I often wondered whether FMIC's big move on Hamer would be to relegate the brand to import shredder status (vis-a-vis Gibson and Kramer) or to move production to Corona as the corporations' higher-volume response to Gibson's classic designs. That's what I would have expected from them, but they allowed it continue as a custom shop building low double-digits each year. I am inclined to believe that a business model similar to the operation at Arlington Heights would have been a better fit for the Hamer brand within FMIC. I would like to believe that decisions such as the one from today are preparations to set up the firm for another potential IPO, but my years of observation indicate that they are more deeply concerned about improving its debt/asset ratio and profitability...right now. the timing seems a bit odd and abrupt for it to have been the result of a pensive, cerebral process of analysis. Hope I'm wrong. A successful IPO would help the firm generate some cash and create some breathing room in advance of the impending implosion of Guitar Center et al. I don't look forward to reading about the GC shoe dropping.

These are the only reasons to shutter underperforming brands? You're gonna get sold, OR you're going bankrupt? Is that in your curricula? Absent a specific context, no, those aren't the only reasons. Given the continuing trend of private equity acquisitions, the similarities of FMIC's situation to firms in like competitive environments, and individual firm characteristics (heavily dependent upon a single retailer); yes, these would serve as leading indicators of a potential sale or a firming up of the store to appease creditors. In such cases, underperforming brands are easily lopped off. It's not entirely dissimilar from GM's decisions to shutter over half its brands since teetering on the brink of bankruptcy.Reading day is tomorrow....Exam is on Friday. Good luck. ;-)

Condolences to the entire New Hartford crew. This reeks of the type of business decision that will lead to one of two outcomes for FMIC: 1. Glossing up the balance sheet in advance of a sale of the entity. 2. Shedding all low-margin/unprofitable parts of the entity in order to prepare for a last-ditch effort to avoid bankruptcy. Hamer was always, at its core, a low-production, high-build-quality shop (New Hartford took it fully into McInturff-style custom shop status) that dared do both Gibson better than Nashville ever could and original designs that have carved enduring niches. This, my friends, is NOT FMIC's forte and makes me even more curious why they purchased the stable of brands from Kaman if they weren't prepared to run them based on their small-shop culture. They might have failed on their own, but then, they would have done so doing it their way. Speaking of Terry McInturff, I wonder if he has enough business to entertain a move of any of you guys down here to central NC?

Love it....I'm envious! So.... What p'ups will you use?

That is a great idea that would help to bring the price down on this end. When I was actually a working guitarist in the late 80s/early 90s, a P90 Hamer Special was the only USA-made new guitar I could afford. The reason I wanted a Hamer so badly is that of all the ones I'd test driven, I'd not come across a single dog. The neck joints were rock solid, the woodwork true, and the fretwork flawless. That was much more important to me than bling, although I'd have taken a Standard at the same price in a heartbeat. A real WMG needs to be what I've just described: solid construction, attention to functional details, good components, and little/no bling. Although they look a little odd, I do think that the SD P-Rails offer serious versatility for the "working man". If you wanted to stretch the concept within the boundaries of reason, one might copy Reverend's model of a set neck vs. bolt-on versions of the same basic design. Set neck versions could use the Gibson scale, while the bolt-on versions could employ the 25.5" scale. Just a thought.

Every MM I've ever played was on par with top-shelf, low-production brands like Anderson, Suhr, Hamer, etc. Excellent attention to detail. As far as a Silhouette goes, I like this one: And the guitar looks nice, as well.

Sounds like Mike's Bassmans are modded. My old Bassman head cannot get that sound, even with a P90-equipped guitar up front and pushing a Marshall 4x12. Nice sound, but not exactly "just add water". Wonder if this mod has been published for DIYers.

.......... Point is, you're right. He relied on the amp for the dirt. And what a tone it was. I got caught up in the medal pedal wars in the day. I have been using computer amp sims, and they can replicate most FX pedals well, just not the overdrive of a cranked amp, not even close. I now use the overdrive of a real amp and the effects of the computer to get a good sound you can easily record. Yep. If any of the uninitiated wish to hear the full potential of a cranked four-holer or a nice JMP should listen to "Back in Black" followed by Def Leppard's "High 'n Dry". Mutt produced both albums and one can easily hear his penchant for the JMP tone during that era. I lust for that medium-gain, honky, boingy sound. Righteous....and it really only comes from a cranked EL 34 power section with a goosed preamp.

Lately, I have been using this into a '75 MusicMan HD 130, so....I guess that would be a tally mark for FX.

Lately, it would be this, so....I guess that would be a tally mark for FX. Sorry...see below.

Yes, but then there are a variety of Angus tones across the AC-DC anthology. His early tone, to me, was a little too boxy and thin sounding (TNT). The Mutt Lange albums have a decidedly richer, thicker, honkier JMP tone. The later 80s and 90s albums sounded more like a straight, cranked plexi....thinner and cleaner than a JMP, but powerful. Point is, you're right. He relied on the amp for the dirt.

My God, Maiden was incredibly tight back then. It says a lot about the impact of high-dollar studio production that Maiden's early live sound was nearly identical to their frugally-produced studio recordings. They have always been the consummate live band and their chops are solid on this vid from '82. Thanks for posting it.

MusicMan HD130 212, set at half-power and fronted by a Chandler Tube Driver rack mount.

Standard headstock is a brilliant idea. Kind of like that powder blue one-off Kramer that Billy Squier played for a short while back in the 80s.

Standard headstock is a brilliant idea. Kind of like that powder blue one-off Kramer that Billy Squier played for a short while back in the 80s.