Thundersteel

According to the Tacoma Guitar Forum, the Tacoma factory closed in early 2009. As far as their website goes, those pics haven't changed all year! This is from a post over there: I sent an e-mail to Jason Padgitt of Fender stating this: "Is there any plans to restart the Tacoma line of guitars? I have recently found this brand and have scooped up what I could find left of "new" wing series instruments. I am very impressed with their sound and have shown my Thunderchief to musicians that could not believe the volume and tone that it puts out. I feel that it would be a real shame just to kill the brand. Any comments would be greatly appreciated. I know that a while ago that you told a reporter that the Tacoma name would live on" and I hope that is still true. His response is as follows: Hi Jeff – While there are no immediate plans to resume production at the moment, the brand does still exist and future production is certainly a possibility. I appreciate your comments about the quality of the products and will pass those onto the folks responsible for development of the Tacoma products. With best regards, Jason Padgitt

I didn't know that. Still, to me, a Guild isn't a "real" Guild unless it was made in Westerly, RI.

I respectfully disagree. What about Fender's acquisition of Tacoma Guitars? Sure, they made Guild guitars for awhile, but now they don't even exist! What happened to Guild? They are made in China now! To me, Fender takes companies that were great and destroyed them. I hope the same thing doesn't happen to Hamer!

I wasn't sure about the authenticity of the source, so that's why I posted it here--to get the facts. Maybe an official announcement will be out soon.

I don't know if this is old news or not, but this was posted recently on leftyfrets.net by DHR music, a Hamer dealer http://www.leftyfrets.net/showthread.php?t=2789 >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Important News From Hamer Guitars ! To current or prospective Hamer Owners : We just received some important news from Hamer. Effective immediately, Hamer will become a custom shop exclusively. What are the implications of these actions ? I've spent a lot of time analyzing the consequences since DHR is an authorized Hamer Dealer. For what it is worth, my conclusion of this devlopment is primarily, if not entirely, a positive. These are my thoughts : 1) First of all, I must applaud Hamer (Fender) for this move, although it should have been initiated a while ago. 2) This initiative will enhance Hamer's reputation and desirability in the marketplace for two reasons : a )Becoming an exclusively build vs. order guitar maker transforms Hamer into one of the elite- names that come to mind are Hahn, Beard, Griffin, Nik Huber, New Orleans, etc. b)When the overhang is absorbed into the market, aftermarket prices should firm up quite a bit. In the case of LH Hamer instruments, the firming effect should be more pronounced owing to the relative scarity. As far as I know, DHR is the only LH dealer with any meaningful inventory. 3) Most buyers do not want to wait 6-12 months for a custom ordered guitar, so as the word gets out, we should see supply fall and demand increase. 4) Assuming nothing else changes, a likely future development would be an increased focus on product enhancement and innovation resulting in more expensive lines. Eventually,this could lead to overall price increases. 5)The most extreme outcome would be Fender deciding to eliminate the Hamer line completely. While I think this is quite unlikely, ultimately, Fender may be forced to do this to conserve cash. I for one would hate to see this happen as Hamer is one of the most innovative and highest quality makers. I would think the current Hamer owners would benefit economically over time, however, I dont think any of us want to make money this way. 6) I understand that the Company was able to transfer most it not all of their luthiers to other divisions within Fender. While I do not know the entire impact on Hamer employees, on the surface, this shows the company's commitment to its stakeholders -another positive reflection on Hamer's management. 7) Hamer is/was a very lefty friendly maker- 100% of their models are available with no upcharge. We all know that this is quite costly, however, the committment to lefties has been unwavering.

Marshall DSL 50--go for it!!

I received mine yesterday. The guitar hasn't come yet...

They screwed me out of $30--twice. I'll never use them again.

Because they are the same people that made the great Gibson Les Pauls of the 1950s, they are continuing The Heritage of great guitar making. The early Gibsons had "The Gibson" on the headstock as well.

PM sent.

They were only closed for a couple months for a reorganization. They are back in business now!