velorush

Put me in (haven't pre-ordered) - just let me know when, where and how much!

EEk! It IS D-Day! I think after Murkat's goldtop FS ad went away, I can probably handle most anything that comes up... [lying to self]

Prescription = Hamer Vintage Carve!

The Camstone DuoTone was on my original list - I had even searched and found a photo to include it!

Why on earth do you think I signed up for this? I clearly plan on losing! I anticipate hundreds of fantastic guitars showing up on the soon-to-be-neglected FS board. I will swoop in losing this battle, but winning the gear! Ha ha! You fool! You fell victim to one of the classic blunders - The most famous of which is "never get involved in a land war in Asia" - but only slightly less well-known is this: "Never go against a Sicilian when death is on the line"! Ha ha ha ha...

Actually, last year's purchase of the "Senior" got me one of my all-time dream Hamers: a sustain block Special with a vintage-carve neck, but if I had to pick three more it would likely be these three: Always loved this CO gold-top. Murkat's four-digit Standard - a magical mystery playing experience, and I never even plugged it in! If I could have only one to show someone what a Hamer is, it'd probably be this one.

eBay score back in 2008. After lurking for years, I joined the HFC to try to learn exactly what I had bought. The guitar went (to The Shark, and to someone else after him: neither of us cared for the neck profile), but I kept the HFC. This was really an excellent guitar; lightweight given its dimension, incredibly resonant and tons of useful sounds. If I had it back, I'd probably still sell it, but first I'd swipe the 10.5k Slammer humbucker. It was an excellent sounding pickup.

http://youtu.be/BwH__x6jV6A

I was thinking as I was playing the Senior last night, I really think I'm done for a while... Count me in! [of course, compared to some of you, me jumping in is tantamount to the sole attendant of Ice Station Zebra taking a vow of abstinence] Now pickups, on the other hand... The only thing that could break me would be accumulating cash and finding an LSL Tele - must stay away from Martin Music!

Any desire I might have ever had for a Dumble was laid to rest by Henry Kaiser

And... here I am again! It's like a cyber crack pipe or something... I can't leave it alone!

This is a particularly great example of marketing prowess! NOTE was recorded with a Kramer Pacer - does anyone associate Satch with a Pacer? Absolutely not. Some prescient sole at Ibanez had their ear to the ground, developed him as an endorser and gave us the advent of the guitar hero with his signature axe, all at the same time. A bit of a gamble, but absolutely profitable. There may have been examples where this strategy didn't pan out, but all it took was one to sell tons of Satch models, but also the slightly similar RGs that were being marketed right beside them. Yeah but there is always a WHY behind the current situation and that's what we're discussing. WHY is PRS dominant, how did they get that way. If the marketing is great, you can sell ice to eskimos. Where I think you have it wrong in your proposition is the implied 'comparison.' I'd say 99% of PRS users never compared a PRS to a Hamer before they bought. They just saw the PRS in the hands of an artist they connect with, tried out a few models and bought. Though I would agree that Hamer's self-limitations hurt them in the long run - when Kim told us that Hamer's color varatiions were limited due to the inventory software they used, I threw up my hands. One of my good friends became a Hamer and a PRS dealer at nearly the same time, around 1993 or 1994 (IIRC, it's been a while!). I actually did compare the two (a Studio with a PRS Custom). Being a Strat guy (even then), I preferred the PRS because 1.(as JohnnyB pointed out) the extended upper horn and tummy cut made the guitar feel familiar, but without seeming to be just another Strat derivative; 2. the five-way switching on the PRS provided a couple of tones at least similar to the 2 and 4 on my Strat, so it seemed to me the best of both worlds. I recall viewing both as beautiful guitars and extremely well made, but with neither being appreciably superior. I was actually saving cash for the PRS when we moved from Kentaxy, after which I quit playing guitar altogether for several years. Edited to add: just realized I was wrong, it was around 1996 - we left Kentaxy in January of '97. Interesting, that corresponds to around the time PRS moved to the 'big factory.' Perhaps my friend (the late, UNGA BUNGA Music in Paducah) was part of a dealer expansion effort?

Somebody PLEASE buy this thing. It is KEELING ME! I've been back to look at it all day. Constant distraction!

Now I am pissed! Calm down! It was just meant as an example. Greenfield Hardware never stopped selling hand made brooms (though they did go out of business when Bob retired). (haven't had a good broom since) FWIW: my opinion is that Jol seems to have been steering Hamer into what he has now: an ultra boutique custom maker at the top of the market. For that, one doesn't need the capacity (i.e., overhead) associated with even the limited production at Hamer's hiatus. His target market seems to have morfed through the Vintage Modern era - he seemed to be shooting for, as someone termed it, the PRS Private Stock market. I think he has succeeded toward that end, albeit, without the aforementioned overhead. I will say again, to truly revive Hamer, the import line must be rebranded (Slammer, etc.) and Hamer must return to making at least some guitars affordable by the masses: Sell to the masses, eat with the classes Sell to the classes, eat with the masses! I still get giddy seeing used Hamers up for sale. I loved to look at the new Hamers for sale, but I was highly unlikely to be a customer. The price of admission coupled with competition from a great substitutionary product (a used Hamer) in the market, a new Hamer just never made sense to me - I could take the other half to three-quarters I would have spent buying new and buy another used Hamer (or two). If I were a gigging musician who made money at music, I might feel differently, but probably not. Now, if Hamer were still in the business of selling $1,500 - $2,000 new guitars, that's a market in which I'd participate (and would not expect to see five layers of binding and all manner of exotic wood, etc.). Specials, Blitz, (Phantoms?, Prototypes?) pay the bills and sell in sufficient numbers to keep the lights on. Endorsements and delicious CO's like the "Nightfire Tally" keep Hamer front of mind and keep the shop talent at the top of their game. My $0.02.

Much of the same could be said about one Rick Nielsen. Difference (to me, anyway) is that I still enjoy listening to and watching Rick Nielsen any time I get a chance (given my geography, that means on Palladia). I tried (tried) to watch a thirty minute concert of Santana last year and nearly went to sleep. I was and am a fan of Santana back in the day (but my copy of Abraxas has to stay out of site since my son came into the world ), but I find him uninspired of late (not to mention completely incomprehensible in guitar magazine interviews).

It has not been revealed, not here at least, that they have released a statment regarding one way or the other. That is why I, as I wrote in an earlier post in this thread, think that we should send them a collective letter signed by the HFC members asking they up front what is going on. If it is signed by all the members here they have to answer us. Hard to ignore a question sent by a couple of hundred members, right? English is not my native language. (Although I worked for a major American company for over 13 years and corresponded weekly with the LA and NY office). But I'd prefer if someone who is good at writing up something formal would write it, other than me. Who would be up for it? The day Greg posted the news (and a few days after IIRC), I went looking on the Fender web site and in the business press (Hoovers, etc.) and found nothing. Since Fender never became publicly traded, they are under no real obligation to announce anything (no more so than Greenfield Hardware was required to let us know they'd stopped carrying hand made brooms).

Don't you have to negotiate some plan that stops use of the Hamer name in the import line? To me, with the USA line shut down, the largest threat to the brand is the consignment of the name "Hamer" with a lower-rung product. I back my proposition up with the name Epiphone. Before they were bought by Gibson, Epiphone was arguably a better guitar and had the reputation as such. Now Epiphone is simply an import Gibson. I believe to a large extent the market for pre-Gibson Epiphones reflects the current perception of the brand more than the reality except (as Hamer USA is perceived here at the HFC) among brand loyalists. Negotiate FMIC rebrand the Hamer import line as "Slammer" (or something) and agree they stop production of anything resembling the Hamer USA line that will survive.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwHS4G-t74Y Yes, please! Details on the electronics!

Second time this week this has been called for:

Anybody ever try one of these (click photo for specs)? Just curious as I've never had the opportunity. Seems made for just what you're talking about.

Murkat turned me on to Wilde Bill's NF (noisefree singles) for my Strat earlier this year. The L200's sound amazingly like great vintage Strat pickups. I put a L290 in the bridge and it does a great job of providing the extra umph needed in that position, but still sounds somewhat single-coily.

Fantastic amp!

Nothing says Swedo-Cajun blues-rock like a Sousaphone! Reminded me of Waits, as well. Very nicely done. One of the most helpful things about Premier Guitar for me has been their profiles of these great but lesser-known artists. Given I live in the sticks, I'd never get to hear any of this music but for the combined efforts of PG and YouTube. Thanks for posting, Disturber!