mirrorimij

Bids were retracted. Explanation is that the seller changed the description and one person entered the wrong amount. Click on the bid history. Not sure if that is the actual reason as I don't see anything in his revision that would send up an additional red flag.

I'm really saddened to hear that. It is the end of an era. I wonder how this will affect the guys that are left? Jol did his best to make that place a shop (instead of a factory). I hope that continues for the sake of the other guys. I'd like to see the company privately held again. I'm sure we haven't seen the last of him. Good luck to you if you are reading this.

I can't speak for anyone regarding that photo session but I think it's a stretch to think they were trying to conceal it. The headstock DID change right around that time (92 or 93). It was right around the time they changed from the traditional bell shaped truss rod cover. I don't know what the reasons were for changing it (I think it had something to do with Gibson but I can't remember for certain). IIRC, it took about a day to make the changeover. If they wanted to change it- they would (and could very easily). They chose to dress it up. edited to add that there are some custom ordered Hamers with different 3 x 3 headstock shapes and logo placement out there. I remember one that had the logo across the tip (like a Gibson). To me, it didn't look right at all.

I think Hamer doesn't get a lot of love because they have done a poor job of educating the customer as to why their stuff is a better alternative. Most of us die hard fans probably know a little bit about guitar construction and vintage guitars (and why they were considered better than the stuff from the 70's). To the average Joe that doesn't know (or want to know) about that stuff, Hamer will be a knockoff brand that will never have the name recognition or resale value of its Gibby counterpart. That's a tough sell. Very sad but I think it's true. I'm a huge fan of the 90's "Modern Vintage" era Hamers. I agree that some of those headstocks were no oil painting but I was willing to overlook that because you got so much more for your money in every other aspect of the guitar. Now that they are charging more money - I think people want it all, top notch quality (which they have), bragging rights (I don't think the average Gear Pager considers a Hamer in the same vein as a Huber, Gustavsson, etc) and the ability to get EXACTLY what you want in a custom order. Some of those PRS Private Stock guitars are monstrosities, but the guy that opened his wallet and spec'd it out doesn't think so. So , currently they are not a factory built "bang for the buck" instrument because they have priced themselves out of that market. The "bang for the buck" Hamers are readily available for cheap on the used market and will get you 95% of what you would get in a new one at a fraction of the cost. They are not a Master Built or Private Stock instrument (even though they are the same or better quality) because they won't build stuff like this So, what are they and what do they want to be?

The height of production was in the mid 90's- not the 80's.

I think they clean up nicely with binding, pearl logo, etc. This one looks like a piece of jewelry.

Judging by some the Gear Page guys, Hamer is doing themselves a disservice by putting out a finish that shows some depth. If it looks thick it must be thick (and must sound like my poly incrusted Strat). I feel like taking a cabinet scraper to that guys finish just to prove a point.

+1

Well said Chris. I recently saw a post on another forum were someone was showing off a new PRS/Guitar Center exclusive run. IIRC, they paid $3500+ for it. The wood looked terrible. The top was nice but the mahogany looked like it would have made a nice shipping skid. I know for a fact that it would have never made it upstairs in New Hartford.

There isn't 10 people there and Kaman isn't independent. Don't rely on Wiki.

Keep safe and thanks for letting us know you are ok.

Howlin' Wolf

I apologize in advance for another speculative post (I said I wasn't going to do that). I think the price has to be high enough to cover the opportunity cost of what can't/won't get built in lieu of the custom Hamer. I don't think the Hamer staff is sitting around doing nothing and patiently waiting for our order. They are probably off working on other projects. If someone needs to break away from working on BRAND X to build a custom Hamer, it means some units of BRAND X don't get built. You lose all economies of scale if your custom requires new tooling, programming of the CNC, etc. It will require time (sometimes a LOT of time). If one custom Hamer means 10 units of BRAND X don't ship the one Hamer has to have as much profit in it as those other 10 units. Even though the Hamer pricing may seem out of whack to some of us they probably have to charge those prices to avoid leaving money on the table.

+1

The USA Guild's are now produced in the same facility that houses Hamer USA. In fact, some of the Hamer boys are helping out with the transition and that may be contributing to this. There is only so much talent to go around and that talent might be focused on Guild right now instead of Hamer USA. These rumors of Hamer USA closing, getting bought out, etc existed long before Fender owned them. Until we hear something from Hamer I'm inclined to believe this is a temporary shift in focus. I bet once the warehouse is cleared out and Guild is up and running it will be business as usual. edited to add - If these rumors are coming from sales reps on the street take it with a grain (block) of salt. I've been in that position. Usually they are too far removed to know what is really going on.

Yup. Can someone direct me to the post from Greg? I thought Greg's news was about Hamer's participation at the NAMM show. I can't find that thread anymore.

Have any of the dealers here heard anything? Seems premature (almost irresponsible) to post that without an official announcement. Not that it matters but I disagree with several of the "thoughts" listed. Has anyone heard if the import line has been discontinued? My local dealer told me that a sales rep told him they were not building any more imports. I haven't heard or seen that anywhere else. edited to add that I was referring to the leftyfrets thread in my second sentence. I didn't mean Thundersteel's post was premature or irresponsible.

It must have been a custom order as the trem and switch layout were not standard for that model. The only set necks that had the wilky trem as standard equipment were the Mirage and Mirage II.

RIP Les.

Sustain block.

The first two T51 prototypes. Mine (#2 prototype formerly owned by Bill Kaman) is on the right and Dave B from Hamer owns #1 on the left (formerly owned by Frank Untermyer). I believe Dave's was the one used in the Modern Vintage ads.

Its a 2006. Must be cleaning out the warehouse.

What is the first digit of the serial number? If that TV yellow one you are selling is from the first run (and I think it is) it should be a 1999 or early 2000. All of the guitar bodies in the TV yellow run came from the same slab of mahogany. The neck should be thicker than an early 90's Special. Mine is from the second run (the Cherry ones) and the neck is a baseball bat. $1500 is a very fair price for that guitar. I wouldn't sell mine for twice that. Good luck with the sale.

I believe it was sometime around 1999 - it was after the move to New Hartford if I recall correctly. The original 4-digit run stopped by '85, and there were a small handful of custom orders done after that and before the "reissue" in 1995. I ordered one that arrived in '91 with a veneer top, but it was a slightly thicker veneer than on other 4-digit Standards I've owned. I also bought one of the first '95s off the line, and the top was the same as on my '91. In '99, Jol mentioned that the tops on Standards were being done differently - an actual 1/4" maple top was glued on to the mahogany back and then milled down to spec. I've been playing my '08 Standard a lot lately, so it's out on a stand - I'll check that out tonight and see if I can get a better idea of the final thickness on the current ones. That sounds about right Chris. I left in July 2000 and the change had been in place for awhile. I believe the top thickness spec is .100" (slightly under 1/8 inch).