Steve Haynie

I will be in Raleigh on Saturday and part of Sunday for a group meeting. If anyone wants to say hello in person let me know.

This is happening locally, but the guitars are going to be closer to $600. The quality of the bodies and necks has to be something someone would want for a custom build. Upgraded hardware and electronics options add to the price. The customer will get something better than a typical low-end import, but the price is going to be close to mid-range guitars that are already out there. The fact that a customer gets to choose the options is going to be what sells the guitar. Bringing this into an eBay context, giving the customer choices in guitar features really does not work out so well with eBay. Some sellers offer to give color or size choices on clothing, but for the multiple features of guitar components a deal needs to be done in person with everything there for the customer to see and try out.

eBay has been the way to try out a lot of pedals that are not for sale locally. Buy it, try it, flip it, and then know what the pedal in the magazine or on the message board is all about. Sometimes you make money, sometimes you lose. Usually its a loss because of shipping costs. Western Union was the alternative to PayPal that a Mexican buyer used. He paid them to mail me a money order. A local Western Union location can cash their money orders, but I just deposited it. As for the original question about whether or not eBay has lost its sparkle, it certainly has this year. My auctions used to always start at a penny, but this year they have been getting reserve prices. There have been too many "good deals" for buyers this year.

No. It's a shitty Hamer logo. If it had been the official logo it would not be so shitty. That logo design looks like a 60's and 70's design.

Not knowing everything about Hamer history, my best effort is only a guess. In the early flyers shown in Paul Hamer's slide show there was use of the Bookman Bold Italic font. It could be assumed that the Hamer logo came about that way and only in that font. The early "The Ultimate" T-shirts had the same font. Because the logo you posted has a different font, it makes it seem less likely to be official.

If Brooks is in the hospital someone needs to get him a laptop so he can get on the board and read all of this. There is a limit to how much TV you can watch in a hospital bed.

GTX and Hamer are not related.

Chris, I meant to ask earlier. What model is the "Max"? Sorry for a stupid question, I just wasn't sure what model Hamer bass this is. Thanks for any info! The Chaparral Max Bass had an ebony board w/boomers on a set neck. I have the same thing with rosewood and dots.

I just saw KISS. Am I supposed to die now?

Portnoy's letter is sort of like someone saying he had a good marriage for 25 years, but now that he has gone out with other women he feels like a new man. Rod Morgenstein recorded an album with Jordan Rudess and has the Dregs/Steve Morse Band credentials. Maybe he can join Dream Theater.

Years ago my father had a Mobil service station. When changing valve cover gaskets you could see the differences in oil. Mobil and Havoline left the valve covers looking clean with no more than a light golden color. Quaker State would leave thick sludge inside the valve covers. That was in the 70's and early 80's. Now that 30 years have passed you cannot really go by what those oils used to be like. What you can do is find someone who works on cars and ask what they see inside different cars when they know what kind of oil was used regularly. My cars get Castrol and the oil is changed regularly.

Jackson or B.C. Rich-- Are you more into the hair or into the metal?

Flight information is what we need to know. How early do we arrive? How late do we leave?

Yeah. Was Hamer not trying to shed its "metal guitar" image since the move to Connecticut? A Scepter or a Scarab really scream "METAL!" at first sight. Early Dean endorsers included Kansas and The Doobie Brothers. B.C. Rich came up with some designs that can only be used in metal. Not just metal, but death metal and beyond. The blackest, darkest, most woeful metal needs B.C. Rich! They could use Satan as their "biggest" endorser.

About 30 years ago a Hamer Standard was made for Dave Hlubek of Molly Hatchet. It had the Confederate battle flag design. When I met Dave about 10 years ago he said his son owned that guitar. Considering how many of his other guitars got away from him, it is sort of good knowing that guitar is close by. Hopefully the son knows better than to let it back into Dad's hands again or it may disappear. As far as I know, Duane Roland had his Hamers up to the day he died.

Specifics can come later, but do we arrive early on Friday and leave late on Saturday? Will Friday just be an evening get together or a full day? Can you give a schedule so we can book flights?

The best sounding acoustics I heard have had either a great tone or a great player finding great tones. By that I mean that some of them jumped out with a sound like magic as the guitar was toyed with in a store while others just sounded great because someone had a playing style that brought out the best in what they had in their hands. The Martin Golden Era line has different bracing that makes them sound better than their modern counterparts. They sound significantly better and list for an extra $1000, too. There are sizes other than dreadnoughts in the Golden Era series. Trying a 50's Martin OO changed my opinion of smaller bodied guitars. It was great. Someone around here who was/is a Michael Hedges devotee played a large bodied Lowden that was supremely beautiful sounding. I have heard a high dollar Breedlove that sounded worth the bucks. Way back when the local store sold Bourgeois they were extremely expensive and also magical sounding. They had a "belly" on the tops that was supposed to be a normal part of the design. One guy who was more of a country and bluegrass player had half a dozen high end acoustics and felt that the Bourgeois was the best sounding of them all. Of all the brands mentioned above, you should be able to find one used for $3000 or less. As everyone mentions, different woods and designs make these guitars suitable to different tonal ranges. As Jonathan asks, what are you planning on playing? You might find that an Ovation long neck is going to suit you best.

Whoooaah, mannn! That is one heck of a lot of scrolling down to get to your band. You got my vote, but dude your band is screwed! You reeaally need to be closer to the top of the page.

Is Paul Hamer going to be speaking to us on both days? Are we going to gather together on Friday during the day or in the evening? What kind of schedule do you have in mind? Right now is the time to look into plane tickets versus driving 14 hours each way. If there is going to be a long drive there just needs to be more stops along the way. Two nights in a hotel or just one is a question a lot of us need to answer. The big thing I have to work out is how to handle closing my office for a few days or paying someone to work for me while I am gone.

His presence affected this message board in a positive way.

Cheap Trick is having a Memorial Day sale in the online store through Monday. Some items are 60% off. I found a long sleeve t-shirt for $14.00 and some of the CD's are marked down, too.

Dax Nielsen on drums? How many songs did he play? How long was the whole show?

Riot (not Quiet Riot) was a great band from the end of the 70's right before the explosion of hair bands in the early 80's. It was probably Mark Reale's thinning hair that kept that band from getting the promotion they deserved.

If Steve Stevens could talk to us about his days as a Hamer player it would be killer.

Avoid the last weekend of the month, please.