crunchee

Ah, now it makes sense to me! I just would've never expected them on a Studio with that type of mounting.

Yes, I was aware about that. What I still don't know is if the plate style mountings on this particular guitar have the same screw hole pattern and footprint as a standard Humbucker mounting ring. If you look at the photos of this guitar from the side, the pickup mounting appears to be almost flush to the top--it isn't the same size as those found on Eclipses (which are Firebird style minibuckers anyway), but very similar in design to those mounting rings found on the Eclipse. They definitely DON'T look like standard Humbucker mounting rings to me. I'm not currently in the market for this particular guitar, but I AM curious to find out if the mountings can be changed for the standard plastic types without boogering the guitar, especially if I (or anybody else) run into something similar to this again. I'm not concerned about how the pickup fits into the mounting brackets, but how the brackets are mounted on the guitar itself. Apologies if my initial inquiry was too vague or unclear. Agreed about it being a looker, though! Nice top!

No affiliation, but this caught my eye--the seller says nothing about the Phat Cats being on the guitar (they look like Phat Cats to me, anyway). Just curious, does anybody know if the plate style mountings for these pickups are the same size and same screw mounting spacing as the standard Humbucker pickup rings? Edited to add the link. Doh! http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...e=STRK:MEWAX:IT

Ummmm...what were we talking about? Oh yeah...really strong work, Greg! Looking forward to your next progress report!

+1 here. My thought exactly. Cross-reference Guitar Aficionado. +1 here as well. I'm a firm believer in the 'Law of Diminishing Returns'.

Holy Crap!

That's really cool, very New Wave looking, somebody's gonna be a happy new owner--I wish I still looked that good after 25+ years!

Anything that's considered as a huge steal for tree fitty. I used to run into this question a lot at music stores: Music Store Dude: 'See anything you can't live without?' Me: 'I've got too much stuff that I can't live WITH.'

I'm definitely no expert, but this online article might be helpful, even though it pertains to Gibson colors: http://home.provide.net/~cfh/gibsonc.html It may be a case of the clear coat yellowing, this article mentions that blue (base color) + yellow (yellowed clearcoat) = green. Hope this helps!

Here's a real USA SC that went for a similar price: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...e=STRK:MEWNX:IT

The frets look a bit small, but they're exactly the same as all my other Hamers (I am the original owner). I think it was just weird outdoor lighting that day.

This looks like a early Studio, though the headstock says Special: http://cgi.ebay.com/USA-Hamer-Archtop-Spec...%3A1%7C294%3A50 Here's a Studio with a label: http://cgi.ebay.com/Hamer-USA-1996-Studio-...%3A1%7C294%3A50 I have no affiliation with either, BTW.

Classic! Obviously Salesguy Dude thought eye candy trumps all. Maybe you should go back and 'educate' him. But DON'T bring the FM back, and make sure you keep the receipt!

You'd think the "usa" part on the headstock would be a decent clue it isn't an import... Hmmm...that probably says volumes about GC, you'd think somebody there would know something beyond recent catalogs and guitar mags. Don't they have a database of some sort for buying and selling used gear? I haven't been in a GC in a while, but I remember that it looked like each used item had it's own description/name, barcode and item number as well as price, I don't think they just do this arbitrarily. But then again, maybe they do! Those medium-sized mid '90's necks are my fave for Hamers!

Nice! I'll give you the traditional tree-fitty for it... That had to be a MASSIVE screw-up on the store's part, if this is on the level. I can't believe that any guitar store could be THAT clueless nowadays!

+1! I once had a '93 TV Yellow Special that didn't have the 'Special' moniker on the headstock, and it was a skinny neck/mini Schaller tuner version--but I HAVE seen Specials with it, from that time frame too. I once had a '92 USA Sunburst Archtop (now the Studio Custom, I think) that had the 'Sunburst' name on the headstock, and I think I have seen early 90's versions of the USA Studio that had that name on the headstock, too. Cruise Basses used to have this as well, but I think this pretty much all went away by '93 or '94 (except for the 25th Anniversary model). I'm not including the Sunbursts from the late '70's/early '80's, I count those as their own animal.

OK, so that's a prawn. So what's pron?

What's pron?

+1. This sounds like a really low price, I wouldn't jump on it without 'due diligence'. Current bank rates on currency are roughly US $1.00 = Can $ 1.18. Up until a few months ago, it was about dead even!

Yeah, I kinda got that feeling when I got his answer about the weight, he mentioned that there was 'lots of interest' but funnily enough he didn't give me any details about weight--and he still hasn't. Seems like I got my answer here. It seems like he's trying to sell the sizzle as much as the steak here, maybe more so.

Hamerica: Whomever can find the Smilie where he is beating his head against the wall, if they will kindly place that on this post and just mention the word "Thunderbolt", and do so about a dozen times, it will appropriately represent the number of times I have asked Hamer to build this guitar for me. There have been other HFC'rs request the same and the end results have been the same. One or two HFC'rs have had thunderbolts custom made but I don't recall who did them and maybe they will be kind enough to PM you with he information. I was having a really good year up until I read this post. I am sure that more than one dealer has asked Hamer to do a run of ten and it has been declined. Crunchee, good luck on your quest. As far as an HFC or any other limited run, I really liked the Zandards. A match set would be nice. Oh I don't know say something like Vee and a Standard in Dark burst with an L5 fingerboard and boomers? Triple Pickups might be nice. Five or seven ply binding. As long as were dreaming, I would like for it to be something that speaks to Hamers Heritage. I thought it was a real shame that Judas Priest had a set from Gibson and not Hamer. There are some great examples of things that were cool but done just once. In some cases, I think that should be that way. Its always nice too dream and sometimes its great that dreams come true. Hamerica Thanks, Hamerica! It's on my wish list, but it's not a quest--yet. I'd be open to a HFC Zandard, too. But from what was already discussed on the 'Custom Order' thread, it seems to be all up to Hamer. I hope they reconsider their policies.

After reading the other 'Custom Order' thread, I'm not convinced that Hamer would do anything worthwhile for $5K each for a run of 10 or 12 or whatever. I'm not looking to spend that much green for a simple tweak or two here and there on a pre-existing model guitar. Of course, if they do a T-Bolt, I might be interested.

I emailed the seller for a weight, he said he'd try to find out and get back to me. That was a couple of days ago, no news yet.

All of the above are good. I'd go for a Music Man, as they're sturdy and hold value well. I've heard old tube Traynors are good as well. As for me, I play mostly Fender Blackface amps, Bassman heads particularly. I recommend 'em, but I got mine well over 10 years ago, when finding one for well under $500 wasn't unusual. I can't say that now, plus you need a speaker cab for them, too. Maybe a used Fender tube amp of recent make or a RI might be something you can use as well, if you're looking strictly at tubes.

As far as having "another" Tbolt built, the origin of that guitar has been denied before by some people in New Hartford, but it is the real deal. I don't think that's one you'll see rolling out to a dealer from CT any time soon...or ever. A few have suggested that before as well. Well, here's an opportunity for Hamer to do it right, and REALLY make a statement! I can't think of anything that would be MORE unique than a HFC T-Bolt. I don't want to see a HFC model based on what's already been done (for a dealer? C'mon!!), like the aforementioned Vector, or any simple variants of a production model, past or present.