" Working Man Guitar "

Jazzmaster body shape on accounta it's the most comfortable.

Three pickups, with the switching ability to use any pickup individually and any combination of 'em (seven different options) without complex switching (one reason I like the Peter Frampton Les Paul and the Harmony H77)

Coil tap would be nice but not mandatory.

Price would be lower if you do not have a vibrato system. If you're taking the Ford truck approach, owners can add their own choice of vibratos....and/or pickups, for that matter.

Basic colors. Aftermarket refinishing shops can be utilized by the owners.

The proposition sounds, in some respects, like Hartley Peavey, whose mantra is still "quality equipment for working musicians at fair prices."

 
Northfield said:
Tres Aardvarks said:
As in what would we want, or what would we pay for it? I honestly think that was a lot of the appeal of the less tricked out Hamers. Still the same awesome build, great sounds and playability but a little less pricey.
Click to expand...
How about both..
Click to expand...
G Man said:
Set neck tele, stop tailpiece, HB bridge, splitable, P90 neck, all hog with a simple cherry wash finish, 25.5" scale.
Click to expand...
So like a TLE? A Sustainblock 22 fret hog would be cool as hell.

 
For workingman's guitars I'd say you have to keep it simple. Few options, no crazy fancy stuff. A couple kinds of inlays(dots or crowns), your pick of bridge but not too many choices(Floyd, classic trem, tom, etc). Maybe start with a couple models like a Studio and a more stratty double cut(but dont just make a strat copy, the Chaps and Calis had distinctive shapes). Let the users pick their pup config. With even just those two you could cover a LOT of bases.

I'd a Studio type with fixed bridge, HB bridge and P-90 neck and mid. Throw crowns (or something similar) with a mahogany body and ebony or rosewood neck and you'd have a tasty fiddle!

 
There's totally a market for it. The big question is how do you differentiate it from the other instruments out there? A friend in marketing recently told me that if you're not "first", "best", or "only" in your market, you've got a long slog ahead of you. /emoticons/default_smile.png

I think one differentiator is the idea that it's one guy (or a small team) who are picky about the wood they use. You could probably sell another line of "seconds" for cheaper, but if you make the wood selection process "transparent" to the buyer ... to give the corksniffers warm fuzzies about the parts they won't be able to change easily later... I think they'd flock to it. Esp. if you provided "provenance" on each guitar kind of like in the build threads here... Just some simple photos of the raw materials becoming the guitar that someone's gonna love. Maybe you could try offering it as a bound book from one of these print-on-demand places that goes along with a hand signed certificate. I could even imagine folks getting wet to hear about what was happening around the shop during the time their guitar was built (like, what was on the stereo, or what was in the news).

What other big differentiators do you guys think the market's ready for?

 
Part of the problem that arises every single time something is posted on a message board has been demonstrated in the posts above. 100 people/posters want 100 different things.

I think that the BUILDER needs to determine the design, and maybe look for a consensus around a couple significant features. Otherwise, it becomes an unmanageable effort of making every single guitar a totally unique, custom design. That's a fine idea, but when it requires making jigs, prototypes, etc., it could get way overblown in a hurry.

I really like Northfield's idea of a top quality, "workingman's" guitar at an affordable price point. Stick with something, like a Special (not necessarily the double cut LP Jr. style - just ONE body style), as the base platform, and add a small menu of simple upgrades or custom options. It CAN'T be a Strat or Tele, and it can't be anything that another company owns the design outright.

 
Based on a Special.

Limited # of solid color options only.

Dual P90 or Humbuckers as options.

Set neck.

2-piece Mahogany body.

Dots only.

Rosewood fretboard.

No binding.

Stadium sized logo only.

Optional Northfield USA, Newman 60 USA, or JackAss USA logo (builder dependent)

 
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Simple: the Kiz' Senior:

DSC00566_zps9eeff501.jpg


Sustainblock Bridge

Vintage Carve Neck

Two Humbuckers (Rio's are delicious)

Otherwise, maybe all of the above with a maple veneer top, or all of the above with the Prototype body shape.

 
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velorush said:
Simple: the Kiz' Senior:

DSC00566_zps9eeff501.jpg


Sustainblock Bridge

Vintage Carve Neck

Two Humbuckers (Rio's are delicious)

Otherwise, maybe all of the above with a maple veneer top, or all of the above with the Prototype body shape.
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THIS! /emoticons/default_biggrin.png with a choice of pickups - HB, P90, even, dare I say, single coils! /emoticons/default_ph34r.png

 
Right now Reverend has some real nice working mans guitars, they are imports, they are on the expensive side of imports, but the ones I own and have played can compete with any big name brand "Gibson, Fender" type axe.

If they could be built in USA at the same price point and be as good as the Rev's, I would be onboard for a try.

Cool Beans

Gene

 
Not to be a debbie downer, but I would say working men buy used. So whatever you produce is going to have to compete with the used market and the more utilitarian the design, the more likelihood there will be several alternatives in that market. Good luck.

-

Austin

 
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Keeping it simple?

Flat-top Sunburst/ Special

Platform that can serve Gibby and Fender scales?

Revive Phantom A5/A7 body...

If it had a Hamer logo on it, you'd probably sell out a limited edition run, no problem (100, 250, 500?), recover costs, and maybe convince ownership there's equity.

New name? Then you're looking at a marketing effort to establish a brand, which could be accomplished virally if the HFC has a magic number of 1000 active/interested fans. Seth Godin "Tribe" concept.

 
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velorush said:
Simple: the Kiz' Senior:

DSC00566_zps9eeff501.jpg


Sustainblock Bridge

Vintage Carve Neck

Two Humbuckers (Rio's are delicious)

Otherwise, maybe all of the above with a maple veneer top, or all of the above with the Prototype body shape.
Click to expand...
This. ^^^

Possibly with something like a not-too pricey non-Floyd but quality whammy. Blade Runner comes to mind.

 
Like others here, I think a relatively spartan flattop Special would do the trick. Models could be based on different pickup configurations:

2 HB

1 HB (perhaps with a Floyd for guys like Diablo)

2 p90

Tele SC/neck HB

Simple finishes, good fretwork, and solid neck joints as the top priorities, and you'd have a winner.

Still cannot believe I scored my USA P90 Special for $550 NIB back in the early-mid 90s. Hell, that guitar is nearly legal to buy beer now!

 
velorush said:
Simple: the Kiz' Senior:

DSC00566_zps9eeff501.jpg


Sustainblock Bridge

Vintage Carve Neck

Two Humbuckers (Rio's are delicious)

Otherwise, maybe all of the above with a maple veneer top, or all of the above with the Prototype body shape.
Click to expand...
Yeah, just like this ^^^^^^^^^^^^

 
velorush said:
Simple: the Kiz' Senior:

DSC00566_zps9eeff501.jpg


Sustainblock Bridge

Vintage Carve Neck

Two Humbuckers (Rio's are delicious)

Otherwise, maybe all of the above with a maple veneer top, or all of the above with the Prototype body shape.
Click to expand...
I'd buy that. I'd buy a revival bound sunburst style one too.The hiccup, as Austin pointed out, is that it would have to be reasonably competitive vs buying an old Sunburst...

 
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Rodip nailed it,

"one pickup special with p90, with second or HBs as an option (not too hot), like butterscotch, wraptail. 1200 OTD (with Hamer quality touches of the neck and frets)."
except for the butterscotch part. At least one color option besides, red, back or TV yellow. All of those are way overdone.

 
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