Bob P

My condolences.

The serial numbers are stamped after the necks have been fretted and carved/prior to going into the spray booth (in other words- WAY before the guitars are assembled). Morningstar/Silentman- regarding the Cali assembled in 1997, I would guess that is a bolt on...Is that true???

Jonathan, With all due respect- who will inspect/control the quality and why isn't Costco listed as an authorized dealer (I also think they are advertising below MAP pricing). That, coupled with the fact that the Gibson warranty may not apply sends up a big red flag in my book. FWIW, I am a Costco member and think the quality of their stuff is great. Gibson.....not so much.

I would bet those are returns and/or B stock. Since Gibson no longer stamps inferior instruments as seconds I would bet the alternative to selling them at Costco is to throw them in the dumpster. It also appears that the guitars might not come with the Gibson warranty (not that that's worth anything anyway). They are covered under the Costco warranty. Would be sad if these were the Musicians Fiend/ Guitar Center rejects.

I absolutely agree with with JES1680. I also hope that my previous post didn't offend anyone as I was reacting to a very specific situation I encountered a few weeks ago. I was at Fabtech in Chicago (manufacturers equivalent to the NAMM show) and talking to a salesman that very casually remarked that Katrina "almost made up" for the business he lost due to 9-11. I tell you it took a lot for me to walk away from that without knocking his teeth out. It just disgusts me when events like a natural disaster, terrorist attack, etc only equate to dollars and cents for some people. I guess my reaction to Gibson's guitar was largely based on that. I just find it hard to believe that they released that guitar because they really care- seems more like marketing hype. In any event any act that helps those affected by Katrina is a good thing. I hope Gibson is able to contribute a lot. As a side note, some of the bodies and necks I've seen on recent Les Pauls would have been better off going to Habitat for Humanity to help build a deck for a house destroyed by Katrina- LOL.

I'm not sure if this post I am quoting is serious or not, so..... I feel obligated to tell what I know about this situation. I've been selling machine tools for 5-1/2 years (mostly CNC routers, lathes, machining centers, etc). My territory is New England but I am in touch with people selling near New Orleans on almost a daily basis. The salesman I know are cleaning up by re-selling equipment down there at FULL LIST price (with the appropriate commissions). It should all be covered by insurance companies. I am not saying this is right, I am merely pointing out that a lot of people are making MILLIONS on this tragedy. The machine manufacturers/importers have essentially doubled their orders there without ANYONE questioning them. Shouldn't the people that are making unexpected profit be called to task to help rebuild FIRST. Why would you (or anyone) expect a small guitar company that has nothing to do with the area to donate to this? I don't mean to start a $h!tstorm but IMO, Hamer is way down on my list of people that SHOULD be expected to donate. AFAIC, Gibshit would build a guitar to commomerate 2 Pacs demise if they thought they could make money at it.

Salem, When the time comes I'll give you three fifty for that tweed Deluxe....... Bob

I also modified the original CAD drawing of the Vector. Mine was a bit different from the cherry one pictured above because I did not extend the point on the bass side of the body. It was essentially a V with one horn flipped 180 degrees. IMO it should be built to the shape of the cherry one. The neck and the hardware are identical to a V (minus the tailpiece that I can easily make). The only other thing that is needed is a case.

Bottom line is I want one but I guess my final answer would depend on the price. From a manufacturing standpoint, that should be an inexpensive guitar to produce. If you run the grain parallel to the sides of the body (as they do with the Korina V) you shouldn't even have to glue two pieces of wood together. Sounds like a good way to take some of those narrow korina boards off their hands. That guitar MUST be made of korina. It would weight about 6-7 pounds. If they wanted to make the "tailpiece" out of brass as they did on the original cherry version - I offer to waterjet enough tailpieces for the run at no charge (all they have to pay for is the material).

Finally got through. Judging by their Fender ads, it seems their inventory numbers are the guitar serial numbers. That one is 436664 which would put it right in the middle of Daytona/T51 production (1994-36664 guitar built by Hamer). Still, that is a good price but I don't think it is a 2002 custom (I could be wrong). Good luck in whatever you decide. BP

Their website keeps timing out...will try later.

Markman... I'm trying to view the guitar but the link takes me to the main Used/Vintage page. Either their website is extremely slow or my computer is very slow. As soon as the page comes up I will let you know. Any possibility that this is a 1992? What is the serial number? A 2002 should have a serial number in the 251XXX range.

Link please? As much as I love Takamine's work...I can't imagine Jol and Frank would let someone else build something and put Hamer USA on the headstock. BP

Ted, Perhaps we can set something up like the movie ratings.......when the HFC'r signs up for the club he can designate how far he wants to go. HFCr's who sign up for G ratings get photos of lovely birds and moons ( it doesn't matter if this has nothing to do with Hamer...it is safe for the kiddies). Absolutely no damns, hells, goshdarnits, etc in the course of conversation. Plain tops only because the kiddies can't be exposed to anything graphic. If it would embarass Radar O'Reilly (another New Hartford, CT resident) it doesn't belong here. A PG rating gets you into the realm of discussion (set neck vs bolt on, maple vs mahogany, modern vs vintage....just don't go into Roe vs Wade, right vs left, north vs south, etc) . You can see up to a AA flame top (anything over AAA requires parental guidance). No off color stuff...strictly sunburst, cherry and TV yellow are allowed here. A PG-13 rating gets you into the realm of "artsy" guitars. PG-13 will get you an occasional "topless" photo (perhaps Ed Roman is making one of the old Hamers better by putting a blingin' carved top on it). There may be occasional graphic talk of the inner workings of a guitar...wiring, finishing, surgical enhancements (mods), etc. You can discuss variations on the above guitars (ie Tobacco Sunburst is OK but lets not discuss Black Trans). The R rated forum allows you to discuss what you have done to your guitar. Have you abused it? Did you have your way with it last night? Did you paint it another color so it reminds you of a guitar from your past? Tell all here. The X rated forum is a personal invite to Tonejunkee's palace of love. Nuff said. Or maybe we can form a coop with the Daisy Rock Forum and get Tipper Gore to moderate....just a thought.