paults

As a teaser for the MCCHRIS pictures, here are a couple more from last weekend:

Thanks!!! I had a couple of people on the lookout for hotdogging and grandstanding- LOL!

I'm sure you will - it pretty much plays itself

The shows went great (we set another attendance record in Toledo/Maumee) This guitar is SO much fun to play! Anyone who still on the fence about spending some time with it should get in line for delivery! The neck reminds me of the earliest SG/Les Pauls - which is pretty typical for old Specials. I used a couple "off brand" guitars along with it that don't have shreddish necks, to make transitions painless. The pictures are starting to trickle in - I've been promised many more, and a video or two, as well (I'll post more as they appear). Gig One (Lazy Chameleon, Powell, Ohio): Gig Two (Indian Lake Festival) - friends of the band - stage pictures on the way... GIG THREE (Maumee Summer Festival) A stage eye's view from the Maumee gig:

I just had an idea: Any Northern Ohio/Southern Michigan HFCers in line for the guitar? Or, just come to get a picture with it We are playing the Maumee Summer Fair (a Toledo suburb) on 08/14, It is a fun gig - it looks like this: BUT - If someone else wants it for that weekend, that's OK, too, I can send it

The guitar has safely arrived in Central Ohio.

Don't let svl buy it or he will put a Kahler on it! Fortunately for all involved, my 4-digit Standard already has a Kahler on it, so I won't be pursuing this one.

This weekend, we'll do our best to show the guitar the kind of '80s wretched excess that would make a pirate happy

What a great idea! (Gene- Thanks for letting me know about it! ) Pease add me to the list - I can pass it on to DavidE, or whoever:)

Great photo, you refinished it a cool color. ......John and Monty eventually parted ways and Monty stopped working. John had a small workshop in the city where he continued doing work for me. John did the woodwork on the first 6 or 7 virtuosos! An unsung Hamer Hero. Paul Hamer Paul Hamer Paul... Wow! Thanks for the new info on this. Much appreciated. Steve Matthis actually picked the refin color before I got it from him. Yeah, cool color. May I ask a few more question? I've been a bassist forever it seems but I also play guitar. Because of my really big hands/long reach I especially LOVE the Virtuoso (the design I heard was not especially loved by all at Hamer?) Since you mentioned the Virt....here are mine. I recently let the marble one go. The korina one I think is a prototype...all small dot inlays, deeper scallops, slightly different body bevels? The SN# predates any of the dates of the original run of 10. Some previous owner hacked off some of the upper frets and put a humbucker in it with the pole pieces off. So, I put blade PUP in it so I don't get dropouts on bends w/a 6-way. It's actually my favorite Hamer 6-string I've ever owned. Also...I have a couple Hamers with YOUR SIGNATURE on them under the clearcoats. Any recollections about the axes/owners and why they got signed? The fancy Scepter was made for "George Gryparis" (name on headstock) and your sig in the trem cavity....and the '82 fretless Cruise Bass has "Scooter" on the truss cover, with your (and Jol's) sigs on the back. Last oddball Hamer ID question for the moment.....The Standard 8 pictured (SN0599) has a 4-to-8 headstock conversion that I was told by two different people was done while new at the factory for Jon Brandt...but he was out of CT by the time it was ready and he never picked it up. Supposedly the first long-scale Hamer root-octave bass? True/False/Myth? I was also told that the same "Scooter" guy bought it at the factory after Brandt didn't claim it. My info came from John Tooke, a friend who ordered a number of early custom Hamer basses (Quad 12, B12A, B12S, etc.) -jon/mc2 Scooter was the nick name of a really talented man named Scott Stephenson. He was living in Denver when I first heard from him. He was playing in a locally popular band and previously had toured as a roadie on a world wide Bob Dylan tour. He was always calling with guitar ideas and I believe he worked during the day at a chain of Colorado music stores. I did several guitar clinics out there that Scott helped with, I even went to his apartment one time where he showed me all his guitars. Scott is most famous Hamer-wise for coming up with several guitar ideas that were built including a double neck and a guitar shaped like a saxophone. I always wanted Scott to work for me but I could never afford it. I really admired his musical talents and his big personality, I wonder where he is today? The four string was one that Scott ordered very early on. Scott was very creative, I think he really wanted to be a graphic designer. I still hang from our Christmas tree every year an ornament Scott made out of styrofoam in the shape of a checkerboard standard. I can't say enough about how talented he is. I don't remember the eight string per se, but with that serial number it well may be the first long scale multi-string. It rings a bell with me about the bass staying at the factory and if Scooter ended up with it that is a possibility. The Scepter is one I remember for the color combination, though I do not remember who George is. When someone asked me to sign a guitar when it was being made at the factory I always signed the bottom of the bass pickup route. When I signed guitars on the road I always signed the inside of the back plate. I was never comfortable signing on the front or back of a guitar though I did on occasion when someone was insistent. I remember John Tooke who should have some reliable early information. What is the serial number of the virtuoso! that you think is a prototype? Paul Hamer Thanks for correcting my spelling!!! Paul Hamer Oh yeah...Gracin's WAS spelled that way. huh? Oops....appologies to Pop. The korina Virtuoso was originally sold out of Keller Music in Columbus Ohio. It was one of many Hamer prototypes, one-offs, etc. that graced the showroom there. I didn't buy it at the time, because it wasn't shiny, and didn't have a neck pickup... As an aside, the candy apple red Phantom 12 that one of you ended up with from me came from there, too. About a year after I bought it, the factory called me and offered to buy the 12-string back, or trade me something for it, because they needed one right away for somebody. I was using it for an original music project, so I declined their offer

Its a brand new mouse pad, with artwork taken from a 1980s magazine, auctioned by a seller who currently has 70 other music-related mouse pads. Yup, if he doesn't have more at the moment, he has a source.

What's the modern equivalent to those SS1 single coils? I'm sure I used to know.... And...which single coil Duncan is in the '90s Phantoms?

It would be +much+ simpler to drill the holes in the speakzrs .

He, Bizz- Just in case you've never seen the literal version of "Take on Me"....

I've used several other amps over the years in the name of versatility or portability, but I invariably come back to my 50 watt smallbox Marshall Jubilee head. I'm using it with a matching 2-12 slant cab for most indoor gigs, and with a matclhng 4-12 for big stage outdoor gigs. With a G-System for pre and post effects and routing, and a Rocktron Chameleon for the kind of sounds the Marshall's preamp doesn't do, I've got a rig small enough to fit in my Mustang, that's versatile and responsive, with two kitchen sinks full of effects overkill (but it still sounds great with all of them shut off). I've still got a 1-12 Switchblade, but its not been used much since I got the 2-12 Jubilee cab. And, there's always a Powerblock with me, in the event of an issue. Oh, yeah.....there's that 1965 Deluxe Reverb, too : )

A prominent European HFCer, of course. Kidding!!!

Angela said to tell you she's said a prayer for you, too.

Vintage Fenders are adjusted at the other end of the neck. Looking at the truss rod adjusters, they are both "lefty loosey - righty tighty".

If you want a trem, a PRS is the one to get. I had a custom ordered Studio Custom with tremelo, and replaced it with a regular CU22. The five way pickup switch gives me humbucking and single coil tones, too. One of my old Phantoms is my first choice for gigging, but the spare is usually a PRS. So, get a used PRS. One with.......a ding. The typical PRS guy will want nothing to do with it, and the price will reflect it.

I used to have a pair of those '80s Peavey slant 4-12 cabs that were built like vintage Marshall cabs. When I was playing originals, I stacked the cabs, and put two 50 watt Jubilee heads on top. Later, I used them side by side, with a head on each cab for large stage outdoor gigs. Last year, I ran across a slant Jubilee cabinet for .......$400 So, the Peaveys are gone, and I have a silver half stack for when I'm in the mood. But, that would require taking the mini van. I'd rather drive the Mustang (My Switchblade or a Marshall head and a 2-12 fit in it) , and enjoy the ride AND the gig!

It sure would look good on stage with an 80s band....

Speaking of that Jackson, its $150 CHEAPER on eBay. http://cgi.ebay.com/Jackson-USA-Soloist-Sp...1QQcmdZViewItem

It was great to see everyone there- Al, it wasn't the same without you! That Jackson has been coming to the show for years. It was $1100 a few years ago, and was tagged at $1295 this year One thing that still DOES happen at guitar shows is the "killer deal". A buddy of mine bought a pre-serial number Klon yesterday. For $150.

Jemmie, Acoustics are the ones that are loud without an amp but feedback the wrong way when you plug it into a stack. ; )