1995 HAMER ECLIPSE 12 STRING

M

meathead321

New member
Hello I just acquired a 1995 Hamer eclipse 12 string. Hasn't even shipped yet. Got it from a studio in Delaware. According to the dude it's 1 of 200 made. Also that it has been on quite a few artists albums. Looked up the value in the blue book of guitar values and couldn't even find a listing. Which is strange. Perhaps because there were so few made ???  Anyway I've been reading raving reviews on this guitar. No bad ones at all that I saw. One dude said I kinda sounds like DO IT CLEAN by ECHO AND THE BUNNYMEN. Gave it a listen, I like it.  Also 1 dude said after playing and getting one of these he sold his Rickenbacher 12 string. Said it couldn't hold a candle to the eclipse. Everybody agrees on the following, Easy to restring, stays in tune, durable, ( guitar and finish ) Sounds fantastic. Just what you would expect from a vintage Hamer. I have a 1984 prototype 2. Best guitar ever. Except it's heavy as hell a little over 10 lbs. Like having a downrigger weight tied to your shoulder. Other than that it is phenomenal. Best sounding clean guitar I've ever heard. With the middle and neck pickups selected. Has that kind of single coil strat sound.  I rewired it recently. And I used the STEVE STEVENS wiring PDF. Well the way that is you cant get the middle  and bridge pickups at the same time, No motherbucker effect.  Which is 1 thing Hamer is famous for. So I don't understand that. All you have to do is switch the hots for neck and mid. That will allow you to have everything you want. Had to get my neck pickup rewound as well. I found this guitar in a music shop in @ 1988 or so. For 300 bucks. A buddy of mine saw it and knew I was into Hamers. The reason it was so cheap is because there was a small Kayhler issue. Took 5 minuets to fix man. It was black. The paint was all worn off the back of the neck..and the finish was real bad. So I kept it like that for a while and got sick of it so I pulled it apart and had a friend put about 13 coats of white laquer  on there. looks great.  They came with black , white and candy apple red, and another color I can't remember. Can't seem to get any pictures posted which sucks man. 

 
I'm not sure where "the Dude" got his numbers, but I think that number is probably made up.

I will agree 100% that the Eclipse 12 will cure any Rickenbacker woes - playable everywhere on the neck, and there were several custom ordered with "Rick Stringing" from the factory, although that's a simple nut switch if you want that.  I've owned two (both '95s - a black and a flip/flop Green/Blue), but now have a Newport 12, which is like a much better 360/12 string - mine was ordered with the Rick stringing too, and the PhatCats can really nail that perfect 12 string sound.

If you replace the metal tuner buttons on your Eclipse with either plastic/pearloid or ebony buttons, it is amazing at how much better the guitar balances - Great guitars!

Eclipse12head.jpg


 
Yeah, they're great.

DSCN5658_zps74ojwqlb.jpg

Playable in tune anywhere up the neck.

God I've sold soooo many good guitars........ :(

 
meathead321 said:
Also 1 dude said after playing and getting one of these he sold his Rickenbacher 12 string. Said it couldn't hold a candle to the eclipse. 
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I went the opposite way. I had an Eclipse 12ver that I sold and replaced it with a Ric 660/12.

The Hamer had a honkin', deep-U shaped neck profile and 1-5/8" nut width that I could not handle. My wide fingertips made it nearly impossible to fret chords cleanly, due to the cramped string spacing. The stock Duncans didn't do it for me, either, so I had Josh Gravelin wind me some, "Ric-types" in a Firebird cover. They sounded great, and I should have kept them when I sold the Eclipse

When researching Ric 12vers I found the 660/12 had the widest nut (1-3/4”) of all their 12 strings. When they re-issued the Rose Morris 1993 /12, Pete Townshend had them widen the nut/string spacing to make it easier to play. 

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While on the subject of Hamer 12-strings, is there any way to find out how many Special 12s were made? Mine has a 1295XX serial number, which I guess makes it a '91? The pickups are not original- I put in some GFS Retrotrons when I got the guitar about 15 years ago. They work much better with the 12 strings than the high output Seymour Duncans that someone else loaded into it before me.

May 2008 Guitars 001.jpg

 
stobro said:
While on the subject of Hamer 12-strings, is there any way to find out how many Special 12s were made? Mine has a 1295XX serial number, which I guess makes it a '91? The pickups are not original- I put in some GFS Retrotrons when I got the guitar about 15 years ago. They work much better with the 12 strings than the high output Seymour Duncans that someone else loaded into it before me.

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That's a custom order.  Not sure how to count that, as it wasn't a standard offering, but any Hamer guitar model could be ordered as a 12 string for an upcharge.

 
stobro said:
While on the subject of Hamer 12-strings, is there any way to find out how many Special 12s were made? Mine has a 1295XX serial number, which I guess makes it a '91? The pickups are not original- I put in some GFS Retrotrons when I got the guitar about 15 years ago. They work much better with the 12 strings than the high output Seymour Duncans that someone else loaded into it before me.

View attachment 29992
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Holy Shit!! I’ve had a 12 Eclipse on the radar for a long time... but THAT GUITAR is a very special Special!!! I didn’t know that Unicorn existed!!

 
To be ohnest i didn't agree with the only 200 made thing. I tought it might be possible but not probable. I'm not going to tell the man that he is full of shit. It's a beautiful guitar. And the price, i couldn't beat it. He is out of state on vacation can't ship till Tuesday man. That really sucks but it is what it is. I cant seem to get any pictures on here They take up to much space data wise. I'll try copying a couple off email and post. I've had sucsess with that before.  Sorry can't do it. I can't copy and paste. Once in a while i can, i don't understand that. Must be a computer thing. Maybe if i use my other computer ?? i'll give that a try That didn't work either. SHIT !! Sorry guys. I'll take a pictures when i get the thing with a different camera. Maybe the space it takes up wont be to much. How do you get a picture down to  1,003.52 KBs ??? I tried compressing a photo of my prototype 2. Didn't work

 
I would be SHOCKED if there were fifty12 string Eclipses made.  

Hamer was producing 20 guitars a day at their height.   

 
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