Nathan of Brainfertilizer Fame

I was under the impression that the Hamer Slammer Series produced circa '90- '96 and available through the move to Connecticut are generally considered the best of the Korean imports and the plain Hamer headstock, which were produced at the end of the Korean run circa '96 - '98 at the transition to Indonesian made Slammer by Hamer imports, are considered next best. You may well be right. I could be speaking from ignorance. I thought the plain Hamer headstock came first, and then the Slammer series...but I had no idea about years made. I was guessing from the logic that Hamer (no "USA") transitioned to Hamer Slammer Series which transitioned to Slammer by Hamer. I have a Hamer Slammer Series Cali, and a plain Hamer Stellar 1. I do know the Stellar was round '00 or '01, so your timeline makes sense. Both guitars are awesome, though. And both have "Duncan Design" pickups. I have a plain Hamer headstocked import Cali (with boomers!) coming in soon, I can A/B it with the Slammer Series and see if I notice a difference.

I really hope that same opinion was coming across in my posts. The best there is is the Hamer USA. The imports are "good enough". You can upgrade them by sinking money into upgraded equipment. But no amount of money will ever be able to upgrade an import to the fine quality wood and workmanship that goes into a Hamer USA. I'm beginning to think that price/quality is on a bell curve. Is a $60k luxury car 3x better than a $20k car? Can it go 3x as fast? Can it carry 3x as many people? Does it have 3x the power, 3x the acceleration? Does it use 1/3rd the gas? No on all counts. But if you really want the best, you will get luxury, comfort, power, smoothness, build quality, and customer support that is worth the extra cash. No amount of bling added to a $20k car will get you there; you have to save up and go for the top of the line. Still, if all you want is "good enough", well, then the Hamer imports are the best there is for the money. Start with an XT or other import just to whet your appetite. Move up to a used Hamer USA. Then at some point you'll have to save up to order one from the Hamer shop itself. Aside from all the workmanship, beauty, quality, and tone, one thing cannot be ignored and should be emphasized: the pre-stressed necks on the Hamer USAs mean that your USA should be able to last years longer than an import, if not decades. A Hamer USA can truly be an heirloom to pass on to the kids. I don't think an import can really be considered that way. I love my Hamer XT, it's enough guitar for me. But I'm an easily-satisfied idiot who will never play for an audience aside from the mirror. Anyone who really wants to shoot for the best tone needs to save up for a Hamer USA. Edited for clarity.

Well, I *am* an idiot. Freely admitted. Edited to add: To further cement my status as an idiot, I'll explain that I *have* A/B/C/D'd a '96 Artist Custom, a '95 Studio, a '00 Stellar 1, and a Chinese XT SATF. Clearly, the Artist Custom is the best, and the Studio 2nd best. The XT SATF is 3rd, and the Stellar 1 last. The shape, weight, feel of the Studio and SATF are almost identical. I've looked at the carved top, and the angles and so forth all seem the same. The neck feels the same. The tuners and pickups and bridge and knobs are in similar enough configuration as to make almost no difference. Now, we all know the mechanicals and wood aren't as good on the SATF. And I know the cap is not as thick on the SATF as on the Studio and Artist. But if you put the three of them side-by-side, it would be clear they were related. I would think a non-Hamer expert would think the SATF and the Studio were different year models of the same guitar. To me, that means you can't say they are not related at all in design. But I can understand that to a guitar-maker/designer, maybe there are enough differences to make it seem completely different, even if those differences are transparent to the layman. On a scale of 1 to 100, with 1 being the worst guitar I've ever played, and 100 being the best, I'd rate them this way (based on sound, feel, and quality): Artist: 100 Peavey Vandenberg: 91 Studio: 90 Carvin Bolt: 82 XT SATF: 80 import Cali: 79 Stellar 1: 75 Fernandes Revolver Pro: 73 JB Player guitars: 65 Fernandes X models (various): 60 Harmony Flying V: 50 Sebring superstrat: 35 Crappy Pawn Shop no-name guitars: 1 So the Artist and Studio are clearly better than the XT and the XT is better than the Stellar 1. But not three times better, but the price of a Studio or Artist is 3x as high. Now, you can make a great argument that price/quality is on a bell curve, rather than linear chart. But I don't think I can be shaken from my conviction that: yes, Hamer USA models are clearly superior in every way. If you want the best, save for it. If you want "good enough", an XT or Korean import Hamer is a more cost effective way of getting "good enough".

I don't find that to be true. My XT SATF is the exact same design as a Hamer USA Studio. It seems clear that Hamer gives their design to the factory they contract to produce import Hamers. Or Kaman music did. Or Kaman music authorized the import factories to reverse engineer. However, absolutely agree on import/XT models being inferior in wood selection and hardware selection. Bottom line: if you have an absolute standard (pun kinda intended) in mind, if you want the best, then buy a Hamer USA. Hamer USAs may seem expensive, but you get more for your money than with any other boutique guitar, IMHO. But if you just want a good guitar, Hamer USAs are 20-30% better than import/XTs, but far more than 20-30% more expensive. So comparing $ for $ and what you get, the XT/import is a better deal...as long as you recognize/accept you cannot ever fully upgrade to Hamer USA standards.

The XT is a nice intermediate-level guitar. It is about as good as you can get in a factory made guitar. (IMHO) It is made to pretty much the same physical specs as a Hamer USA model. But it is, of course, cheaper. There are many ways to make a guitar cheaper, and Hamer uses most of the reasonable ones. 1) Factory made, not hand made. This means that the playability (overall quality?) of XTs can vary from one guitar to the next. 2) Lower quality woods. Hey, mahogany is mahogany, maple is maple, alder is alder. But there is a reason Paul Reed Smith used to personally go and pick out the wood he would use. If you really know what you're doing, there is a difference between top notch and good enough. And you'll never get a AAAA+ flame on an XT. 3) Cheaper electronics and mechanicals. There isn't a huge drop-off, really. Duncan Design pickups sound pretty good, for the most part. The trems stay in tune better than most guitars, and the tuning machines stay in tune as good as anything else. The result is that you have a good guitar that sounds good enough for bedroom practicing, jamming, and maybe even gigging (depending on your personal standards for tone). I can tell that my XT and Korean import Hamers have significantly better sustain than any bolt-on guitar I've ever tried out. And the sound and look of my XT SATF, Hamer Slammer Series Californian, and Korean import Stellar 1 are good enough that I bought and sold USAs purely as investment. Keep in mind, however: I am idiot. Or at the very least, I'm not that much into tone. The best Hamers are the USA, by a large margin. But surprisingly good are the Hamer Korean imports (identified as those with just "Hamer" on the headstock). The next best are generally the Hamer Slammer series (Hamer in big letters, "slammer series" in smaller); they are also made in Korea, as I understand it. Then the 3rd best is the Chinese XT series...some individual guitars may be better than the Korean-made, some significantly worse. Then next would be the Indonesian, which would be considered excellent-quality entry models, and lowest would be the Slammer by Hamer guitars...which would be considered good-quality entry models. For instance, the build quality on my Slammer by Hamer Centaura is quite good, and the trem stays in tune very well...but the pickup tone is just a little bit thin and annoying. And the Slammer by Hamer Special I have feels slinky and has good sustain unplugged...but I have to get in and figure out why it has no sound. Some people feel, and I think I agree, that you could pick up one of the better XTs or (even better) a Korean import model, switch out the pickups for something better, and end up with a killer sounding and playing guitar. That's especially true for Echotone, but might be true for the Californian, and maybe the Stellar 1, too. But if you are the type to get a guitar and start thinking of upgrades to it, you are probably best off saving for a Hamer USA. "Can't polish a turd" does apply somewhat to the XTs and Korean imports: you can improve the sound/tone immensely with professional-level pickups, but you will always be stuck with tonewoods that can't compare to a Hamer USA. So if you truly are on a budget but have time to be patient, take an hour every single day and check every major city in Craigslist, and you might find that rare USA for $350. They are out there, if you can convince them to ship. But when/if you can't wait any longer, and if you still can't afford the $500-600 for a slightly-nicked up Hamer USA, then try a few Hamer XTs in person and choose the one you like, or wait for a good Hamer Korean import. For instance, I just picked up a Hamer Korean import Cali Deluxe (with Boomers!) for $252 (shipping included) off of eBay. Unless it is significantly worse than described, I feel like I got a deal. The XT or Korean import is kind of like buying a Camry instead of a Lexus ES350*. You get a less powerful motor, less luxurious appointments, less care in the making, and perhaps less beauty in the styling...but they are clearly closely related, and a Camry doesn't suck. *(if you don't like Toyota/Lexus, substitute Ford/Lincoln, Nissan/Infiniti, VW/Audi, Honda/Acura, or Chevy/Caddy as you see fit)

Seeing Yngwie J. Malmsteen with a Gibson Les Paul just doesn't seem right.

Dan Huff Rik Emmett Yngwie Malmsteen Stevie Ray Vaughan James Young (of Styx) Neil Schon Guitarist for Allanah Myles' first album Akira Takasaki Eddie Van Halen I don't really try to sound like any of them, well, except maybe SRV. I have aspired to be a speed guy like Huff and Yngwie, but have never come close. But these are the guys that make me want to play guitar, whose tab books I have sought out.

Nice. Provides good storage for various stomp-boxes, strings, picks, pieces&parts, etc.

Found it. It was puji: That's a gorgeous storage closet, IMHO. Gotta have one built like it when we finally settle in one place. ...but I'm enjoying seeing the other options, so keep posting pics!

You know, I *thought* it was Armitage, because I thought I remembered it when he was talking about his Peavey Vandenberg...but I found that thread, and it looked like Armitage has all his out in the room in guitar stands. This one had two rows (top/bottom); the room itself was slightly dim, so the warm lighting from the closet made it look like the guitars were on display in a Museum or something. It was beautiful. ...hmmm. Maybe it was when someone mentioned a Mockingbird or Iron Bird. Gotta do some more searching.

Someone on here showed a picture of what looked like a wide clothes closet modified to hold guitars (with guitar racks, lighting, etc). I can't remember which thread I saw it in. Can you either post it again in this thread, or point me toward the thread that has the picture? ...aw, heck: no reason not to throw this out to everyone: If you don't store your guitars in the case, how do you store your guitars? What's your method or plan if you have more than 10 guitars? More than 20? More than 30? I like the guitar closet, but maybe there's another idea out there.

So where does the original USA-made Peavey Vandenberg fit in? It's not on the list, but I've seen many that call it the best shredder ever. Obviously, few have tried ALL the best shredders, so viewpoint is a factor. But the point is: it stakes a pretty good claim to having one of the best/fastest necks in the business. It has an ebony fretboard (which seems to be faster to me). If not known for killer tone, it at least doesn't have a thin/weak tone...and probably can be improved with pickup upggrades. And one thing that really attracts me: the Kahler 2700 trem can lock and act as a fixed bridge. How cool is that?

It seems like you can make a guitar that looks new/flawless, yet still has the worn-in feel in the neck. As far as the sound is concerned, the vintage sound comes from the materials used, but also from years of aging and playing. ABSOLUTELY NOT from the appearance. There is no way to relic a brand-new guitar to sound like a vintage guitar any more than a new-looking brand-new guitar. So it seems clear that those who buy relic-ized guitars are not buying them for the sound. And while it may be for the "feel", it is unlikely to be for the "feel" alone, since we've already established you could have the feel without the old appearance. So maybe the anti-relic side is jumping to conclusions about the motivations of people who buy them. I admit, it seems to me that if all that matters is *really* just the sound and feel, you can find it for much cheaper on a guitar that actually looks as new as it is. But that's not important, really. Bottom line: If you *really* love your relic'd for the sound/feel only, and the accusations of "poseur" really aren't accurate, why let it bother you so much?

Looking at the wear on the fretboard: is that normal for a genuine old guitar? The reason I'm asking is that it has interesting implications for MOP or Abolone block inlays. Do/will they eventually wear away like the surface of that Strat fretboard? Or do they resist wearing away better than wood? ...and that makes me think: do large inlay blocks affect how it feels to bend strings? Smoother than wood?