BONEDADYO

It could have been white primer. They used that underneath the dayglo colors. In fact, the one I'm working on now had white primer. I just bought another Seymour Duncan Black Back from Ed Roman here in town. Say or think what you want about him, but that's one of the best PU's I've ever used. It's on par with a JB, but more evened out overall. They sing in Hamers. I have 2 SSL's for the neck & middle. I play in 2 different cover bands here in Vegas. We play everything from Rick Springfield to Van Halen...From The Sweet to Hole. I need versitility without being too driven.

And that's why your headstock is still intact LOL! Mine is mahogany... Same on my dayglo.

The guy that had it before me told me he taped off the fretboard to paint it and then left the tape on it for a couple of months, which left a lot of residue on the fingerboard and frets. He took a razor blade and scraped most of the stuff off, but it has all sorts of little hack marks and one noticeable gouge in the wood. And it could use a good fret dress, too. I live about 75 miles from BCR, so taking it to Greg wouldn`t be a major problem. Let me know how your decal comes out, I`ve though a couple of times about trying to find someone to do a stadium logo for it to go over the spots that are missing. I have the gold Schallers, a backplate I got from Alpep years ago, and within a few weeks will be looking for a Floyd for it. I`m not sure what I want to do pick-up wise on it yet, either. http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff129/h...HamerSS1001.jpg http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff129/h...HamerSS1002.jpg http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff129/h...HamerSS1003.jpg http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff129/h...HamerSS1007.jpg http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff129/h...HamerSS1008.jpg http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff129/h...HamerSS1009.jpg Very Nice! I'm sure Greg can fix that up no prob! Is that neck maple?

Yep, exactly. I keep mine off since I use a Tremol-No, but I still have them.

The SS80 is a completely different guitar altogether. For lack of a better description, it's basically an Eddie guitar. It's like a cross between a San Dimas Charvel & an EBMM. Fat neck & flat fretboard, unfinished with jumbo frets. The SS3 was like the SS80 except it had the single coil in the neck position. It's the one on the cover of Guitar World from 89 or 90. Also the Mony Mony video. The cover for the floyd isn't recessed into the body! I though Hamer did that for all their guitars with trems?!? -Austin The first round of SS1's didn't have the route on the back.

They feel basically the same (neck, weight). The SS1 has more to offer sound wise with the middle PU & the 2 toggles, but the SS2 is a rocker! I used to have an interview with SS where he tells the reason for the SS2. The longer horns were for strap balance & he wanted a "stripped down" model for the Whiplash Smile tour. There's not much of a tonal difference with the slant, but then again, I have different pups in each. He must have liked it since the Washburn has em slanted...I also have the SS80. There's more mass on the back end of the SS1. My SS1: Do yourself a favor & send it to Greg! I've done this before, plus I didn't have a lot of money into this guitar. What's wrong with it exactly?

I'll get you some pics tomorrow of the horn strap hole. As far as it being below center...I don't know too much about that. I just thought it was odd that mine was higher than center. I seen a pic of Steve's & his was like that. Thanks for the support...I don't mind the questions. I just picked up the paint today....nitro! Stay tuned!

Well...let me try to answer some of your questions. I'll try to get you measurements as well as pics of the back. Switches were here: Alco switches As far as the decal goes, I'm having it done. If it comes out ok, I'll send you info on that as well. I know a lot of people said they were going to do it, but I've never seen one yet. Here's a pic of the back I had from before:

Here ya go.... I'm 6'1"...Steve Stevens is like, '2"...It looks like a toy or a ukelele on me LOL!

Ok, here's the latest...Been very busy gigging (thank God!) but had some time to continue with the resto. Since my last post, I've spent most of the time getting rid of every little ding (and there were a lot). The headstock face needed to be patched up & leveled due to the bad break. Also, there were some MAJOR dents from improper clamp use by the previous owner. First off, I like to pull most of the dents with a soldering iron & wet rag. From years of auto body work, I prefer to steam them out than slap a bunch of putty (you've seen those cars with a ton of bondo!). There's some dings that you can't steam out, especially when wood is missing! I chose to mount the humbucker directly to the body, so I filled the PU ring holes with super thin pieces of wood & patched them up. I also had to fill in the hole drilled out for a coil tap. I used a dowel for that. I'll be applying sealer this afternoon & prep for paint within the next couple of days. In the meantime, here's a pick of me over the weekend putting my SS2 through the paces: Such a great guitar...it always brings the girlies to their knees!

Thanks! Kim K found 1 last 2 way for me..Thanks Kim! But I did find a site that had a lot of Alco switches on there. I'll try to find the link & post it. I guess I should add what came with it & what I replaced. It had the original 3 way Alco, but not the 2 way. Got a correct pair of vol/tone knobs from Serial (thanks!), and removed the coil tap switch that was drilled into the body (ARGHH!). I'll still do the tap, but with a push/pull pot. Pots were original. Pup's were a little hot for my taste...will be installing Seymour Duncan Black Back humbucker & 2 SSL's.

One vote here for zebra. What year is that model, BTW? 1985. I already have one that's cracked dayglo, so this one won't be zebra. What I have in mind is pretty cool...wait & see!

Thanks! I do have a logo for it. I also like the mahagony look, but I've got something special in mind for the finish!

Ok, so I purchased this 85 SS1 off of ebay with the OHSC for dirt cheap...headstock repair, few mods, etc. The pro's were: it was a pretty early model & was fairly complete, plus crown inlays on a rosewood board! Strap button was on the horn & the rear button was off center, closer to the top. I've seen this on the real early ones. Floyd was complete & in great shape. However, when it arrived, the headstock repair broke again during shipping. Sooo, I decided to do things myself & do it right! Here's the auction pics: Cleaned the break really good as well as the truss rod (was not removed or protected by the last guy...ARGHHHH!), used titebond (with a syringe) & clamped for 3 days. Truss rod safe & fuctional! Removed clamps, cleaned area, stronger than wood! Finish completely stripped (beautiful honduras mahogany!). Now time to fill dings, patch up the hole drilled for the coil tap & prep for paint! To be continued...

DINGDINGDING! We have a winner. No one needs to post anything else now, this thread is over!

I know I'm about to piss off a lot of Ace fans, but...... First off, let me start by saying that I am a huge Ace fan. Just like many others in my generation, Ace influenced me quite a bit. He may not have been the greatest, but what he did he did well. But what I watched on those reuinion gigs was an Ace who is only a shell of what he once was. I was actually embarrased at his solos. WTF??!! It seems as if he tanked almost every solo at the TS show. I guess I would be more satisfied with the explanation that drugs & alcohol have caused brain to muscle damage. But the alternative is that this is someone who was satisfied with what he got, abused it, then got lazy with his playing and just stopped giving a damn. If that's the case, then I have really lost respect for him. I know that Gene & Paul are clearly about the money...and I was never a fan of the Bruce Kulick era. But they did become better singers/musicians. They tried to better themselves. And it did show. But that was not KISS to me. I seen them live on the reunion and "farewell" tour with Ace & Peter. I was hearing some bum notes, but It was also VERY loud & I was just happy to see them back together. But watching these DVDs really reminded me about the bashing that Gene & Paul have said about Ace, which I don't like either. But to have a second chance like they ALL did & then to have a piss poor attitude, as well as playing lousy... I just don't know! It's funny, I seen Frampton a few months back 2 nights in a row. The first show, he was SMOKIN! Completely blew me away! Second night, he was in a bad mood but still played his ass off. These were both VERY small venues for a guy, who at one time, was selling out stadiums around the country. My point? Here's a guy that's approx. the same age as Ace, playing his heart out to about 900 people around a pool. Ace is selling out large venues AGAIN, and doesn't care. It's just good enough. There are guys who just get better & better with age, because they love their instrument. Plain & simple. I just wish Ace would have been one of them. Just an opinion. One last quick note. What really made it painfull was watching the Coventry show (earliest recorded KISS performance). Here was a VERY young Ace playing loud, mean & lean! I wonder what he would have been if he continued to grow as a player & kept his heart in it... That's the sad part.

Framptons 3 PU 1954 LP custom hands down. As a kid, I studied every single detail, curve, & knob on that album! Now I own one....

Billy Idol w/ Steve Stevens doing Rebel Yell Eddie Van Halen w/ G.E. Smith The Power Station (one of the few live performances they did with Robert Palmer)

I'm 38 and I'm the youngest in my band. And these are the finest players I've ever played with. I was a smokin teen, but I'm far more experienced now. I'm doing a broad range of stuff more easily now than I ever would of back then. I also think it's a helluva way to keep yourself fit, healthy & the best you can look at your age. I'm not getting up there and look like an accountant (not that there's anything wrong with that!) or some slob. I have a 17 year old daughter and most people think we're siblings. It's funny how many guys her age that she knows who play like a lot of the same players that I did when I was their age! Back when guitar heros were just that! Hey look at George Lynch! He got buff after 40! Art