Russ

DANG GOOD THING!!! I've been away from a lot of boards lately, this one included, so in catching up, I'm going through this thread, page by page, post by post, every third post editing my budget. By page 5 I was seriously considering it, by page 6 I was "justifying the purchase", by page 7 I was already pondering buyers remorse (let's face it, 5 figures for a guitar, regardless of what it is, is not "disposable income" for most). Now that I know it is gone, I will be able to sleep tonight.

Indeed

WOW! I haven't been here in a while (surely nobody here will recognize me unless I bought a Hamer off of you), but I just heard, and HAD to verify. I wish absolutely nothing but the brightest of futures for every one of you finding yourselves without employment. You have crafted some incredible instruments over the years, 10 of which I'm the proud owner of. Best of luck to you all.

Sorry guys, my post was an attempt (obviously unappreciated) at humor. I was a big VH fan up through and including 1984. They just completely lost me at that point, and frankly, haven't paid any attention to them at all since, either the music or the sagas.

(Shit, I could play every VH bass line the second day I had a bass)

I did NOT need to see this this close to the holidays... :angry:

Perhaps the most amusing thing I've seen in print all year!

I'm 45 years old (wow, actually 46 in a few weeks). I've been playing one instrument or another since I was 8, starting off in the brass section, dabbling with woodwinds, then discovered strings by around 12. My musical tastes are about as eclectic as one could get, and anyone riding in my car with me when my iPod is engaged will leave the vehicle having heard lilting harmonic vocals from Donny and Marie, complex rhythms from Rush, tasty slide work from Jerry Douglas, galloping bass lines from Iron Maiden, and some pretty kick-ass clarinet work and band leading from Benny Goodman...There's some Britney, Avril, Beyonce and Cher...There's some Cooder, Vai, and Vaughan...Both Elvises...Just about everything you could imagine gets at least a couple of megs... ...yet, to this date, I have not heard a single Dream Theater song.

Hmmm..."Loyalty"... I am currently at 10 USA Hamers. I've been playing for 33 years, and those years have seen incoming and outgoing. I stumbled across my first Hamer a mere 4 years ago, a 95 Studio Wraptail. I "thought" it was just one of those freaks of nature, the shop guys were in a good mood that day, the planets aligned, the gods smiled down upon it and "boom", a little piece of magic made its way to my hands...At least that's what I thought until I got my 2nd one, and found similarities. I won't bore anyone with a play by play, and which of the 10 is my favorite (as frankly, I can't decide), but, the Hamer "loyalty" is not so much loyalty to the brand as much as a "hey, I found something that FITS ME!". They just feel "right", they sound "right", they play "right"...Should my playing style, tastes, preferences change and they're no longer "right" for me, shit yeah, I'll sell 'em all and buy what works for me. It's all about "me" after all. Screw the logo on the headstock. For the time being however, I have no need or desire to look at anything else.

I'm in the process of obtaining Hamer USA #10, out of a total of 18 guitars. I "gig" the Hamers. They're exactly what I've been looking for for the last 30 years. Non-Hamers include a PRS, a couple of Carvins, a Gibson, an old Aria Pro II, and a couple of acoustics (Seagull and Alvarez). The Hamers include 4 Studios, 1 Artist P90, 1 FM Special, 1 Mirage II, 1 Vector, 1 Standard Custom, and 1 B12L (just because).

I've only got mediocre acoustics (sufficient for their purpose), but, there have been two acoustics that I've touched over the years that have "awed" me... One was a '71 HD-35 (this was like 2 years ago). It was a "HOLY CRAP!" moment as the open E chord seemed to shake the walls. The other was a late 60's Guild Jumbo 12 String...Words are likely not necessary, but, "a choir of angels" comes close. I try to stay away from current "cool" stuff, as I seem to have this GAS issue, and if I were to touch a US Breedlove or similar, it would haunt me until it came home with me.

Nah, we didn't make the top 10...I can't say that I'm even remotely surprised. We had but that one video, taken at 2:30 am, we were exhausted, probably the 3rd of 4th time we've gigged that tune, and the vid was taken on a cell phone...The quality of the performance and the vid was unquestionably lacking. Regardless, I VERY much appreciate the votes. Thank you all!

Thanks, thanks, and will do

Thanks, and THANKS!

Thanks and Thanks!!! Deadline is 3:00 PM (Eastern) Tuesday the 6th. In the super unlikely event that we DO get the gig, I'll be sure to share some pictures and stuff.