django49

So is the redhead!

Mine has "1/2 inch thick memory foam". Again, the leather is thick and stiff, so some break in really helps out with added comfort.

Oh by the way, it appears there are some of those Gibson straps still out there.....Cannot guarantee these are exactly the same as those I got a decade ago, but they look identical. And it appears you can sign up and get 10% off. https://www.creamcitymusic.com/gibson-the-modern-vintage-mini-guitar-strap-black/

Sounds like a good value......I have a Mono "Betty" strap that would seem to be in the same mode. Works great for me with heavier guitars. Downside is that they appear to have gone up a lot in price since I got mine. Gibson made some great leather straps with really thick padded cushioning. Latigo leather, soft garment leather backing with 1/2" thick memory foam. One of my favorites ever for comfort with a heavier guitar or long sessions. They were pretty expensive and you had to break them in like a baseball glove and neatsfoot oil. But once you did.......Feels good like a well broken in leather jacket.....Long time since I have seem one, so they are probably discontinued. IF you CAN find a Gibson "Modern Vintage" it is worth checking out. This looks like a great alternative.

You can probably tell from the top picture, but the back support folds down and the head support stacks with it.....Very easy to transport for gigs. Still, the Kickstarter version would be a great choice for a combo amp and a heckuva lot less $$.

Looks like a good deal. Count me in. I DO like the Atlas stands for use with head/cab amps to achieve the same effect, but they are a lot more expensive......I have made replicas and like them a lot.....There are advantages to having your own shop! https://atlas-stands.com/index.php/products/

Very tempting!

When I was in SoCal, I did some guitar trading and took some lessons from a guy who was a well known Tele player. (At the time, he was leading the band for Candye Kane, but that is another couple funny stories). He had many stories re Leo.... One night, at a gig, George and Leo came in carrying a guitar case. At the break, Leo sheepishly pushed a guitar toward him and asked him to try it. It was an early S type G&L with 3 pickups (Z coil?), the T and B side of each controlled by separate mini switches for umpteen pickup combinations. Jeff plugged it in for the next set and gave it a shot. After the set, Leo anxiously asked how he liked it....."Well Mr Fender, I am just a simple guitar player. All those switches get me confused. Us guys just want a guitar we can play without having to think too much about it". From appearances, the product line pretty much settled in with a simpler and more traditional sorts of controls after such product testing. The ones I have played were very nice and compared favorably to the typical Fender line at that time, when "SuperStrats" seemed to be more favored. To add.....Re rosewood necks.....I had a "Tele" (non G&L) that was solid Brazilian, body and neck. Biggest sounding T type I ever plugged in. Dang thing weighed about 13 pounds! Not everyone loves rosewood necks, but I sure do love the feel and tone. ETA: https://www.truetonemusic.com/products/pre-owned-g-l-1990-1991-comanche-vi-with-ohsc#:~:text=We just scored a rare,techs in our repair shop.&text=For those that know the,it know before it's gone. ETA 2.... It appears Jeff went on to use a G&L when he was performing as one of the Hellecasters. Seems they alternated when one was committed elsewhere. A group that came together out of the Palomino, IIRC. Last I saw Jeff, he was getting into gypsy jazz.....Playing things way above my head.

I could hook you up......

Looking at it side by side with an actual Strat (Fender), the dimensions, forearm and belly sculpting, top and rear trem cutouts and rear plate where the neck is connected all look the same. And I mean exactly the same shapes and sizes. Even the pickguard has the exact same 11 screw layout, so it appears they would be interchangeable. The one thing I notice that IS different is that the rear of the cutaway is a bit more sculpted to allow for easier access to the higher frets. Which is to say that, besides the sculpted part at the lower horn, the lower (treble) side is a bit thinner than the bass side so there is less material in the way of my hand. Not sure if this picture totally shows that. On balance, I would way it is a very slightly modified "Strat" as opposed to a similar design. Obviously different headstock shape and a flatter radius (10-14 compound) fingerboard. Given the solid feel and playability (and without taking it apart) I would venture to say the pieces are built to a more precise fit. Makes me think of the guy that is (or was) building extremely accurate (and very expensive) exacting replicas of vintage Fender Strats and Teles. I am forgetful....His name does not come to mind.....I recall meeting him at a guitar show in LA at least 25 years ago. I was intrigued, but never pulled the trigger. IIRC, his prices started at $5-6k even way back then and he had a long wait list. Way too much when I could pick up a very good Fender Strat with upgraded pickups and "custom shop" parts for $500. Or the SRV Strat or Clapton Strat for $600. And I was not so much into that style in those days......Seems to me he was pretty much a one man shop building one offs around the basic styles.....Suhr is obviously a bigger operator......But offers a good deal of custom tweak options to personalize a guitar, as well as apparently doing"stock" runs. Like the Fender Custom Shop, they come with very detailed spec sheets, re builds. That is about all I know. ETA.....My mind cleared. The guy I was trying to recall is Michael DeTemple in SoCal. I was very impressed with his work and attention to detail. Quite the contrast to Leo, who was well known for making guitars quickly and cheaply......IIRC, he laughed out loud when asked about care in matching pickups and the like...."Hell no.....We grab 3 pickups out of a large pickle barrel, slap them in place and send it on down the line.... If it made sound when it was tested, it was good!" Your actual cost to build a Stratocaster back then? "No one ever asked me that before......$38.26!" This is dated but (if people care) here is a review/interview of what goes into one of DeTemple's builds....AFAIK, he is still in business as a 2 man shop. https://www.premierguitar.com/review-michael-detemple-spirit-series-guitar

I have always had a hard time adapting to "Strats". A friend is very high on Suhr guitars. So, I just did pick up a used Custom S. Change of pace, of sorts, for me. THREE Thornbucker pickups, so not quite "vintage" in that Strat sense, though the pups split nicely too. Sort of a "Superstrat" in essence. These pickups are, I think, a bit more vintage than the apparently hotter standard Suhr pickups. Very good match for me. Maybe not quite so much for a higher gain player. Not really into the relic thing, but it is definitely that. Ash body, roasted maple neck, stainless steel frets. It plays as well as just about any guitar I have ever played. Almost effortless. To top it, the circuit is very low noise when in single coil mode. Cannot find a fault. Based upon a sample of ONE, I would highly recommend Suhr. That quilted one is a real beauty!

Good one. So much is personal preference. I have had many ES variations over the years (330, 335, 347, 355). For a long time, a very good ES-347 was my go to guitar. Well, in rotation with 2 others, one of them a Hamer. (Eventually traded here for a certain Hamer ltd edition). I ended up keeping an early blonde dot reissue with Antiquity pickups as my favorite. Over time, I acquired various other semihollows in search of something "better". One was a Collings I-35. Others included a Thorn Grantura, a Vashencko, McKay Sunrise. They were all great tributes to the original Gibson classic, generally with better quality control than vintage pieces. But all are gone. I decided my Huber Rietbergen was better, at least for my tastes. Like always, YMMV. (Yeah, I am a broken record). It sorta goes the other way than the Collings, in that it is larger rather than smaller. And with a longer scale. To me, just a bigger and richer tone---IF that is what you are after. (BTW, my custom order Superpro with Lollars and f-hole has much the same vibe). All that said, if that vintage vibe is what you are after, the Collings is a good one to test drive. Several boutique builders have zoned in on how to make a great one.

Buy one of those and you will find yourself in a whole different sort of hole. 😏

This is what it sounds like When mother eff’ing doves cry

Yes, you did. AFAIK there were two each in the "ultimate" configuration. The two Pro models were both in the tiger eye/root beer finish. The other Talladega was the well known "Nightfire" one in a red finish that almost glowed in the dark. Such a beauty! I did have a chance to buy that way back in the great recession, but balked at the asking price. I really should have tried harder, in retrospect......🤧 Do not know re the original owner. I bought those and a handful of others from a dealer (Nashville?) that was selling a pretty large collection on consignment for the original buyer. I had assumed stateside, but that may have been a bad assumption. From appearances, that person had bought a ton of rather unique and/or limited edition guitars (way beyond just Hamers, though he had many of them) and seemingly never (or seldom) even played them.

So, I may be sorry for even bringing it up. 🤔 Here is what I DO know. The original buyer either ordered them as a set or bought them as a set after they were unveiled at NAMM. AFAIK, he was more a collector than a player, as they appeared unplayed......He sold these and several other higher end guitars (limited edition Hamers and otherwise) on consignment. IIRC, I ended up getting at least 5 of them from that dealer. Def paid a premium price for those two! After a while I decided they were tying up more value than I needed to, given that I was playing the Hubers......Cue the, "Did Jol base the Tally Pro on the Huber Dolphin?" discussion........Longer story, that...... When I sold them, I offered them as a set, thinking they were a very nice matched pair, and collectible as well as great players. Sold pretty quickly, as I recall. No real concern of mine what the current owner (third one) chooses to do in terms of separating or splitting them up. I THINK he is (or was) a member here, but I am not sure. What I DO recall is that he was quite anxious to have them for a gig the next evening, so they were sent for overnight delivery on a Saturday out of state to his office in the Bay area....$500 in shipping! Anyway, this is not someone I have stayed in contact with, so I cannot judge whether he is serious. If he is (or becomes so) he really should come back here and formally offer them up with the usual requirements. About all I can say is that they are worth owning and playing IF they do become available. But out of my hands completely for many years now.

Yep, just a PSA. I know what I sold them for many years ago. Values today? I would have to assume into 5 figures easily for the set. but not my place to set the price. I know there were some lusting heavily for them all those years ago. Longer story there, but not to share here......

Some years ago I picked up what I considered the "Holy Grail" of Hamers. YMMV. It was a matched pair of "Ultimate" Talladegas (regular and the hard to find Talladega Pro) in exceptional quilted maple, tiger eye/root beer finish and tons of abalone trim. I sent them off to California. I hear tell that the guy I sold them to is thinking of passing them on. See if you can find Robert Rees.....AFAIK he intends to sell them as a set. For my taste, the Tally Pro was probably the best model Hamer ever put out. Again, YMMV. IF I had not fallen so completely for a certain German guitar, i suppose I'd have kept at least one of the three I owned back in the day. No one seems to know how many were made. A few clues made me conclude it was 25 or less. In any case, if you want to get your hands on one (which is to say, one pair). search him out.