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holLoWskull

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Everything posted by holLoWskull

  1. You will think me daft for suggesting this amp if you're a guy who relies on "internet reviews" when selecting gear, but if you can deal with a 60 lb. combo I highly recommend you check out a used Genz Benz El Diablo 60 combo. Very good clean sounds in the warm channel and you have the hot channel for anything from AC/DC crunch to Metallica grind depending on which gain structure you choose. Also comes with a footswitch and has lots of features that can be controlled via the footswitch. The amp can take either 6L6's or EL34's (bias pot and selector switch on back of amp), has individual channel volume and reverb, it can be switched from 60W down to a more club friendly 30W via a switch on the back, and the best part...since so many self-proclaimed 'tone gurus' slammed the amp they can be found on the used market in the $300 - $500 range all day long. Very versatile and well built gig amp on the cheap (used).
  2. Wow it looks alot like mine (back when I had EMG's in it) only a bit more cobbled together (tilted rear humbucker!? extra tone knob hole in the pickguard!?). Obviously I don't think it's ugly...imitation is the greatest flattery after all
  3. Then you, sir, are just no fucking fun. C'mon man get the paraphrase right...I'm not the one looking to get in a beef, Kiz is All reasonable points stated so no beef taken with any of it, but there is a difference in the perceived urgency between a HFC member posting to "get your orders in while we can" vs. had Hamer said directly to dealers back in say September, October or even Novermber "there will be no more Hamer custom orders as of December 6". I guess my beef with FMIC is while I understand the timing might have made sense for them (factory closing down for the holiday and all) it would have been nice if they had given dealers and customers a little more lead time before pulling the Hamer life support plug to maybe work out a few final orders for early 2013 (a few sales for Hamer, a little extra revenue for its dealers, and hopefully a dream guitar for their customers).
  4. I guess I'd ask Al, Dave, Greg, and any of the other (formerly I guess now) Hamer dealers here who've done their best to get Hamers into the hands of their customers if they think there'd be any use in petitioning FMIC to extend the window of opportunity for custom order Hamers? I am sure Dave is 100% spot on about Fender not wanting to put any more resources into Hamer, but damned if they didn't shut things down like a thief in the night (not much advance notice to dealers and at a time when potential customers where probably focused on Christmas gifts, Fiscal cliff talks, and Bush-era tax breaks expiring instead of custom ordered guitars). Seems like they should have given dealers a cut-off date that's at least a couple months into 2013 so dealers have a chance to drum up a few more orders before the brand is put on 'hiatus'. Hell Fender should do it as a final thank you to the craftsmen at Hamer who probably have enjoyed building some truly cool Hamers over the years (and might like a break from making Guilds), the dealer network who have promoted and sold Hamers over the years, and the fans of the brand who've promoted and bought Hamers over the years.
  5. It's sad that FMIC didn't at least give a final gasp and say something like "no more orders after Dec 31," to let dealers/buyers get in under the closing gate. +1 on giving a future deadline so dealers and potential buyers could maybe get them a few more orders. At least they could have waited until after Christmas when people could maybe better afford to do one last custom order.
  6. any word if the Hamer factory restoration service they were offering has had the plug pulled as well? Double bummer if that got shelved as well.
  7. Nice job Lou. The guitar tone and the parts you played sit nicely in the track and overall recording. Do you have any more songs done yet?
  8. I was there back in summer of 06' (or was it 07'!?...memory lapse LOL). I was down in Harrisburg for business and figured I'd never get a better opportunity to stop by and check out BCR Music. Only bought a set of strings but was treated like royalty by Greg (complimentary BCR Music T-shirt, got to try out several cool Hamers from Mr. Platzer's personal collection, as well as shooting the breeze for an hour or so. Probably one of if not the best music store experiences I've had...thanks Greg (and Kristin)! I'm sure I'll make it down there again when I'm passing through the area.
  9. This: The lower case letters in my screen name spell out the the quasi-finish on the guitar (which I bought NOS back in 1994), capital L and capital W in the screen name are in reference to those times when I do something so brainless and dumb that I must have a hollow skull...there you have it...holLoWskull
  10. Very cool song and the video compliments the music perfect. Kudos on a damn fine piece of work.
  11. +1 the man did an awful lot for the Prog metal genre as well as being a driving force for DT all these years. As a former small-potatoes indie label Prog Metal recording artist myself, I thank Mike for giving that style of music a pulse during the Grunge years of the early/mid-90's. -1 on Rod M. Great drummer, but I'm not sure he's the right guy for DT based on their current sound direction. I think anybody who has been in Mike's shoes in a band (or a business or whatever) and has been the founder and/or person who pours their heart and soul into doing all the promtions and other behind the scences crap work to make the venture suceed would understand how he feels. To me his comments come accross more like someone who feels let down and dissapointed in the situation rather than someone who is overly arrogant.
  12. Lots of choices, but I'll suggest also looking for a used Takamine Nashville series. All solid woods, good electronics, and STOUT necks. The 340 series was a dread w/ mahogany back/sides, 360 was same except it had rosewood back/sides, and the 460 was the Tak NEX body style (kind of a cross between a jumbo and a OM if that makes any sense) w/ rosewood back/sides. They all usually seem to sell in that $1K +/- range used.
  13. Good God...$713!!! Must be there are a lot of closet purple Hamer fans coming out of the woodwork or something I didn't even bid once I saw it pass the $500 mark, hopefully the new owner is a member here and posts some pictures and a tone report.
  14. Shhh Actually this is not a good time for me to even be thinking guitars, so I'll probably be out of the race quickly once the bids come in...but damn I do like me the looks of those purple Hamers especially if they sell cheap!
  15. Actually if you have a TB-5 then you have a Custom (with ceramic mag). The Custom 5 is a TB-14 (at least according to the duncan website anyway). I like the Custom (and CC) pickup, undecided on the Custom 5's.
  16. Absolute genius (the humor)! I remember passing on one almost identical to that back in the mid/late 90's that was for sale locally (for $550)....very poor move on my part. If it came with a description like this guy's I would have pulled the trigger on it
  17. +1, I would have never considered a Charvel, but when I saw that they had lowered the already bargain price to $699 new on the Tele style ones, I went and checked one out with credit card ready to go. Had the necks been beefier I would have walked out with a purple metallic one To be fair to Jol going frugal didn't seem to really work out so great for Hamer in the mid-90's. The Diablo, Special, Eclipse, Daytona, T-51 etc. were all high quality low bling guitars being sold at attractive street prices. From what I've read from some of the dealers posts (and what I saw in stores myself), there were still alot of those guitars sitting in stores or being moved at discount prices in order to get them sold....BUT at least most of them eventually sold (so the product line did get out there). I honestly don't know what the answer is for Hamer USA until they can figure out how to get used product prices/resale up or create brand new products that don't have a used market model hurting new guitar sales?
  18. All valid points, but I think (mind you this is just my opinion) that it cost so much for a couple reasons...(1) if you're only banging out 2 or 3 guitars a day you need to really make a profit on those 2 or 3 guitars to keep the shop running and a bank roll for the employees paychecks, and (2) I think Jol was trying to market the Hamer line to a customer that can afford those prices and has the mindset that the more something costs the better it is. I have no idea what the salary structure for the craftsmen at Hamer is, but I would imagine that Hamer would have to pay them in line with their level of expertise (as in most professions)? While I do prefer the Arlington Heights Hamers there is no arguement that the current staff are doing some absolutely stunning guitars in terms of inlay work, binding, finish, etc.
  19. Probably a very good idea actually. Plus that model would have benefited from not having a flood of used product selling for 40% of new prices competing with it's sales. Hell, do like Charvel does with their new SoCal series...ship in a gig bag if the special case is the cost killer. Not sure how the body style would be received by the general guitar buying/playing public, but all the excellent cost cutting steps and points you made seem to make a $1.5K street priced USA Hamer (with all the quality we love about them still intact) possible again. Jol's choice of brand direction had no direct impact on me (wasn't going to pay that kind of money for one anyway, not a dealer or someone who makes a living on moving USA Hamers, etc.), so I can understand and respect what he was trying to do with the brand. That said it's gotta be tough to convince current Hamer loyalists to lay out that kind of coin when they know they can get so much 'like new' USA Hamer for their dollar on the used market; tough to convince dealers to keep stocking new Hamer USA product when they're already sitting on an inventory of expensive guitars collecting dust (and usually having to eventually sell the guitars at a discount cutting into profits); tough for Hamer to reach out to potential new 'affluent' customers when dealerships no longer can afford to carry the USA Hamer line in regular inventory...viscious downward cycle not at all helped by a poor economy. So anyway, I like your idea Bob and hopefully someone in charge at Hamer likes your idea as well...it might be a step in the right direction to get new product out there and actually selling
  20. Man I owe some of those guys in the Arlington Heights photo a big thank you. I know the general consensus here is that the stuff out of New Hartford is the best Hamer stuff ever, but I gotta say that most of my best playing and best sounding (obviously both things are subjective) Hamers were built in the Arlington Heights factory. Not dissin' the new stuff at all, I've owned and played quite a few of them and they are fantastic in their own right...just a different vibe to them. Thank you to all the men (and women?) past and present who have gotten sawdust in their hair and hot solder on their finger tips at the Hamer factories (both IL and CT).
  21. My thought is that if he was originally asking $600 for it before when it was on CL, then why not start it at $600 on ebay and let the bidding war begin? As for coming here to get an idea of the guitar's worth, I think we'd be all over the map (some of us who don't have a burning desire for a flame maple Cali might say under $1,500 while others who absolutely crave these guitars might say over $2,000). As for myself I think his lower price is getting closer to being in the ballpark, maybe still $100 - $200 too high but not unreasonable given the Cali's collector appeal. As stated earlier the market will set the price of the guitar (for this month).
  22. Well in the previous thread about this guitar (when it was for sale on CL) it was stated that someone had offered him $2,000 for the guitar (or told him it was worth that much, can't remember which), so he probably figures his opening price is in the ballpark. Personally I think it's too high a price especially given the economic climate, but I think there are still enough 'Californatics' out there willing to pay big money for a Californian with boomerang inlays and a maple body that it may sell (perhaps as was already stated an outside offer to end the auction early or even a bid or two).
  23. +1...I was thinking pretty much the same thing. Some of the Mike Varney produced Shrapnel artists were technically brilliant yet received little more than a blurb in the back of a guitar magazine back in the day. When I see the video it kind of reminds me of the Brad Paisly/Keith Urban Start A Band video where you have one very good guitar player trading licks with an amazing guitar player. She is very good and will most likely become even better, but she ain't ready to be cuttin' heads with the likes of Steve Vai just yet
  24. Thanks for the kind words Chris, but I fear my wife would still say I'm usually an a$$hole
  25. Actually I think transparent red was a standard production finish on the Mirage Maple Tops. Probably about even production between kool blue and trans red I would imagine. However that transparent red over koa Mirage I of your's is quite unusual (I think I've seen one other besides your guitar). Couldn't agree more with you that the Mirage's are great guitars. To find one in nice shape first on ebay and then here for under $500 shipped is a great score for sure!
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