tobereeno

HFC vets have seen/heard about this guitar ad nauseum, but for newer folks...aw hell, I just like talking about my baby I submit my 1992 Californian doubleneck that's not exactly a Californian, with 24 frets and custom pickup layout. It came with EMG 89s, but Seymour Duncans just sound a whole lot better. Sustainiac was added a couple years ago. It's not the flashiest Hamer, but like so many in this thread, it is unique. And, to me at least, it is the best goddamned guitar on earth

I love tweaking my guitars until they feel uniquely mine. I love soldering. And there you go - no stock pickups. Well, except Hamer basses. Every one I've had, had EMGs. And I really, really like the bass tone from EMGs. The Cali doubleneck has been gutted so many times, most recently 2-3 years ago when it got a Sustainiac circuit, and them new-fangled Duncan pots that let you swap pickups with just a screwdriver. Which is ironic, because after the toughest wiring job I've ever done, I don't quite feel like ever opening up those cavities. Ever.

there's something magical about these picks. I'm very, very picky about pick material and flex characteristics. but somehow, these V-picks manage to strum chords fluidly without flexing at all, yet they're stiff enough for good solo work. if I could manage to never lose them, a dozen would last a decade easily.

I'm going to have to reload on V-picks soon. Not that they wore out (these things last forever) but they are INVISIBLE and are hard to find

I need one of those with a set neck!! $2500 is perfectly reasonable for such magnificence!

similarly to the above - Virtuoso 26.25" scale gets 10s. I'm scared to put 11s on that long noodle neck; different brands of 10s require a couple days for the neck to settle in as it is!

I've been using 11s for 15 years. I can't imagine playing without that tonal meat under my fingers.

I liked my Snark, until it broke. I found that to be very irritating for some reason. I got a Peterson. It's extremely accurate, but if you're OCD this isn't necessarily good. There's good enough, and there's dead nuts accurate, and your bandmates will kill you as you patiently zero in on that absolutely perfect tuning for 15 minutes Joking aside, the best thing I like is the "sweetened" tunings, particularly the one for 12 string octaves. It really brings the jangle to life.

my #1, for 14 years, 7 months, and 3 days. so far, that is.

fully playable could mean a lot of things. my Cali doubleneck was perfectly fine as I got it, but I don't even know how much I've sunk into it over the years, but the added expenses makes it by far my most "expensive" guitar - several complete pickup swaps, added sustainiac, added Floyd Pro bridge, went through some experimenting with the nut before deciding that I'm not going to find any improvement over a standard Floyd locking nut...and every guitar I own gets Sperzels, no exceptions.

Seventeen is the only cheezy song. If you see Winger live this fall, all those old songs are going to stand out better than you remember them. When this thread started earlier this afternoon it was odd how no one mentioned Glenn Hughes right from the start. I'm going to have to try to see them. And I like the song Seventeen - I've tried to learn the solo and it's beyond me.

another vote for Kip Winger. Cheezy 80s image notwithstanding, talent is talent.

Centauras have giant frets. I ended up swapping the neck for a Californian neck and it's perfect. I love the sound of a JB in an alder body. For all-round use though, I think it's nearly impossible to beat the mahogany bodied setneck format - either Chap or Cali. You get the basic design of a fast playing superstrat, but the wood lends itself to more flexible tonal possibilities if you choose the right pickups. After using very hot pickups for years, my main player (Cali doubleneck) got lower gain pickups and it sounds just right.

perhaps not coincidentally, my most expensive Hamers all have reverse, straight pull, tilted headstocks (FB-style). if I come across one, I'll buy it.

shouldn't be too hard to put that tone knob back in.

wow. growing up in Toledo, I don't ever recall any festival being that awesome!

original owner! wow, how often does that happen nowadays?? very cool

very unsure if I can make it this year...bummed as I know the White Lion version of Radar Love inside and out. Y'all have to admit, Vito Bratta's playing on their cover is awesome!

Jenny actually has rather particular tastes, more so than I do. She likes Firebirds, of which I have none but she has two Mandobirds. She thinks F-holes are pretty and likes nearly every archtop guitar she's seen. Fireglo Rickenbackers ALWAYS catch her eye. If she thinks a guitar I'm looking at is ugly or the "wrong" color, she'll say so - thumbs down to the Impact bass. The upside is that if she digs it, she'll encourage me to get it. She especially likes my two TLEs and is a big fan of boomerang inlays. Amps? They're just big black boxes to her

none more black

their website says "Jim Marshall OBE", so I guess at some point he did get his knighthood. And rightly so!

yeah, I can see myself buying one. However, I do agree that a full stack fridge would be more useful, awesome, and more likely to find a place in my home. Top cab for the fridge, bottom cab for the freezer.

seriously! Marshall amps drive the sound of a massive portion of rock and roll; some might even say definitively. If that's not a contribution to culture on a macro scale, I don't know what is!

I remember that! Just signing things and had this great genuine smile on his face the whole time. I've gotten my best sounds out of Marshalls. Not the most exotic choice, but that crunch is just so musical. I absolutely love the variable circuit designs that Mesa Boogie does, but I just cannot get my sound out of them, and I've tried most of them. In going back to actual amps, I've chosen Marshalls - Haze 40 combo, and 2x10 bass combo. The blend feature on that really works; previous Marshall bass amps weren't so good. And the very best experience I've had with tube dynamics and organic response was with a guitar, cable, and a Bluesbreaker. Utterly musical.

stunning guitar, just stunning!! I've long felt that cocobolo is by far the sexiest fingerboard wood in existence. Ten years ago or so I asked Hamer if they'd use it; their answer was "well, maybe, but we won't warranty it if we did". Maybe after the exotic-wood Chaparral that was recently done, they might reconsider....?