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Hamer guitars for heavy metal!


Do we want Hamer shred machines back?  

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I believe what Jol said was something like "When the used (name your model) start selling for around what the price of building a new one would be, then I'd consider building them."

We can still easily find Diablos well under $1K and even a prisitine Cali is not going to draw anywhere near a street price of , say... $2200. My guess is, that if things got really slow at the factory, maybe they'd kick out a limited run of a few dozen to satisfy existing "guaranteed" demand. I don't see that happening any time soon, though.

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How about the Hamer Studio with a floyd??? They make that guitar, and adding a floyd to it isn't that hard I guess. I can imagine they'll do it now for a custom order?

Jeroen

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anyone have one of THESE!!!!!! :-)

come on Hamer. you KNOW you wanna make something like THIS!!!! lol

yes, i own this. it is mine. it does stay in the case however. plays and sounds great, but i would never bring it up on stage. lol

post-2-1147835721_thumb.jpg

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anyone have one of THESE!!!!!!  :-)

come on Hamer. you KNOW you wanna make something like THIS!!!!  lol

yes, i own this. it is mine. it does stay in the case however. plays and sounds great, but i would never bring it up on stage. lol

I've got a Peavey vaguely like that. Three points on it, a single humbucker and an import Kahler-type thingy. I put a red tape-stripe job on it, along with a NIN sticker. I haul it out on acoustic gigs with Most Esteemed Redhead to do Punk versions of Simon and Garfunkel stuff. No shit.

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Here's a guitar I would buy if Hamer made it available to the public:

AMEN!!!!!!

In any case, if there is room for newcomers such as Ran Guitars (with Jeff Waters, an ex-Hamer customer endorsing them, mind you!) there should be some room for a well-established builder like Hamer. As one of us said before, if they choose not covering my needs I'll end by looking to somewhere else, and that's a shame -- thinking about Jackson, Schecter and ESP/LTD now. ;)

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Here's a guitar I would buy if Hamer made it available to the public:

AMEN!!!!!!

Ooooongaaahhh!!!! The deranged bowtie by Glenn Tipton!!! ;)

I'm sure it plays and sounds phenomenal, but that shape to me is beyond ridiculous!!! :D

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  • 2 weeks later...
Ooooongaaahhh!!!!  The deranged bowtie by Glenn Tipton!!!  <_<

I'm sure it plays and sounds phenomenal, but that shape to me is beyond ridiculous!!!  :D

From what I have read and heard in interviews, Glenn designed the guitar that way for balance and also to be able to rest it against his leg when doing solos that require some extended finger stretching. It was a comfort thing for him. :P

If you notice his playing position is always with the neck up high.

Agreed on the comfort and playability. My V's have that same hook effect for the leg, especially my BCR Jr. V. This one was made for Glenn, and only Glenn. Great for him. Still looks like a deranged bowtie to me.

I'll take a GT Phantom over it any day! B)

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  • 5 months later...
If I want a metal axe, I cannot buy Hamer - because they refuse to build them anymore. Even though I am a long-time loyal customer, they have chosen not to serve my needs, which is unfortunate as I would love to continue supporting them. I'm lucky to have snapped up a dozen choice axes of theirs over the years. But now, they have chosen to exclusively build models which suit old men with fat wallets, as opposed to young up & coming rock/metal players. I apologize for any offense taken in this observation, but that is my view from the side that is losing out in Hamer's decision to shun metal players from their ranks.

+1...

And I think that since I've been playing around with different neck joints... bolties and neck thrus fit me best... not so much set necks anymore...

I guess it's all down to ESP to fuel my needs...

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It's too bad that metal can't be played on any regular old guitar like a Les Paul, SG, Strat etc.... and a Byrdland is only good for Jazz.

Dave, that's what those old guys used, back when rockstars had to buy their own guitars. They were playing used guitars that were no longer in production, because they were the right screwdriver for the job.

Mass-produced Fashion is more about marketing than utility

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It's too bad that metal can't be played on any regular old guitar like a Les Paul, SG, Strat etc.... and a Byrdland is only good for Jazz.

I smell the irony, but will follow up with some pics. Check out the links for som great metal

Karl Sanders from NILE

nile2.jpg

Niklas Sundin from

g1.jpg

Bjarte (Can't remember his last name) from Enslaved

Enslaved.jpg

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True the way you play is in your fingers. And so is tone. TO A REASONABLE EXTENT.

You can't do an AM arp at the 24th fret if you don't have a guitar that has 24 frets. Some guitars get crappy harmonics. Some techniques require a whammy bar. Some players play better with jumbo frets.

And some guitars lend themselves better to shred techniques because of their construction and materials. The guitar does make a reasonable difference.

Yngwie modified the strat - put on a locking brass nut, scalloped fretboard, large headstock etc... Because construction makes a difference in playability and tone and it matters when it comes down to doing complicated shred techniques.

The shred market is and will always be limited. Guitar players can appreciate it but I don't think and audience in general can tell the difference between a good player and a hack in most cases.

The money these days is in the vintage (and collectable) market. Thats why you see most companies having 22 fret guitars and building Fender and Gibson style products. Baby boomers are the ones with the bucks so if you want to stay in business you have to build what the market wants.

There are also a lot of companies that Hamer would have to compete with that have already penetrated the market considerably - and have all kinds of artists to their credit that have been mentioned here.

Hamer has a nice thing going with the vintage line. I don't see why they couldn't fit in USA Cali again though. But maybe from a stand point of having to draw the plans, buy the machinery or change production gears it may not make sense for the return on the investment.

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True the way you play is in your fingers. And so is tone. TO A REASONABLE EXTENT.

You can't do an AM arp at the 24th fret if you don't have a guitar that has 24 frets. Some guitars get crappy harmonics. Some techniques require a whammy bar. Some players play better with jumbo frets.

And some guitars lend themselves better to shred techniques because of their construction and materials. The guitar does make a reasonable difference.

Yngwie modified the strat - put on a locking brass nut, scalloped fretboard, large headstock etc... Because construction makes a difference in playability and tone and it matters when it comes down to doing complicated shred techniques.

The shred market is and will always be limited. Guitar players can appreciate it but I don't think and audience in general can tell the difference between a good player and a hack in most cases.

The money these days is in the vintage (and collectable) market. Thats why you see most companies having 22 fret guitars and building Fender and Gibson style products. Baby boomers are the ones with the bucks so if you want to stay in business you have to build what the market wants.

There are also a lot of companies that Hamer would have to compete with that have already penetrated the market considerably - and have all kinds of artists to their credit that have been mentioned here.

Hamer has a nice thing going with the vintage line. I don't see why they couldn't fit in USA Cali again though. But maybe from a stand point of having to draw the plans, buy the machinery or change production gears it may not make sense for the return on the investment.

Those were wise words! But the fact is that lately there's a rise on both shred (fake or not) and metal (more true metal than fake, though there's still some left), and Hamer is completely missing the game. And young players don't want some stone-age guitars anymore, period. See, for each picture that has been posted here showing Strats and Les Pauls, I think you can find at least ten showing Jackson, B.C. Rich and ESP in the hands of young players.

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You guys are reading my mind! I was thinking how many of the newer metal bands use guitars with flame tops and binding just as readily as those with graphics and pointy shapes.

While Hamer may (I said MAY!!) decline to build you a set neck Chapp with LED fretboard, built in wireless and bikini girl graphics, I don't think you'd have as much trouble ordering a metalized Studio or other current model, with black hardware, maybe even a Floyd and custom finish!

And as far as Hamer completely missing the shred market, I actually think they've done their homework in that area. Most of the players interested in shred guitar now are young players who can't buy a $2500 custom shop shredder guitar yet even if Hamer made one. Hamer's imported Californians and Scarabs are aimed squarely at the budget of many of today's shredders.

$3000 shredders are beatiful, but there are only so many players who can afford to or justify getting one.

One thing Hamer might look into is $1000-$1500 MIJ shredders. A lot of players will pass up a Korean or Taiwanese guitar, but MIJ guitars have earned the respect of the musician community.

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Ok, after some research I finally understood. :rolleyes:

MIJ = Made In Japan (pre-1997)

CIJ = Crafted In Japan (post-1997)

Yes, Japanese craftsmanship is great. Perhaps Hamer should open a factory there. :D

But back to American-made guitars, that's true young shredders can't afford 2K and more for their dream guitars, but I just saw a brand new Gibson Flying V USA (V-Factor) well below 1K. Perhaps Hamer should do the same with the Californian, the Diablo and the Centaura models. Personally I would also welcome a minimalist USA-made Vector; as 4K for a Korina V is well above my budget -- at least for now. :P

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Yes, some of the budget price Gibson models, like the faded finish V and SG, are quite the bargain. And AFAIK, if it says Gibson on the headstock, it's made in USA. I haven't heard that they use Mexican factories like Fender, or import Korean guitars with the same headstock logo like Jackson.

I haven't heard good things about the quality of Gizbo faded finish models. But that doesn't mean it's impossible, necessarily, to build a stripped down budget priced USA built guitar. Anyone know the story on how G!bson's doing it? Selling a $700 LP Jr for instance?

Even Peavey, who was making guitars in the USA for hundreds less than other USA guitar builders, is making most of their guitars overseas now. Their current USA guitars have never been better, but they're getting quite pricey too.

The Diablo actually was a stripped down, no frills USA model that sold for under $1K, at least when it was introduced. But for whatever reason, they ended up discontinuing the USA version of that model.

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A lot of the newer Hamers can handle metal styles easily, but they don't have "the look"*

*Copyright 2001 Chris Bishop Productions

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A lot of the newer Hamers can handle metal styles easily, but they don't have "the look"*

*Copyright 2001 Chris Bishop Productions

You bet they can! And some even have "the look". The Vector, the Standard, the Monaco (to some extent) on the USA lines; and the Californian, the Scarab, the Vector and the Standard on the XT line; all of them wouldn't look out of context on a metal band. But somehow they are not marketed properly to enter in the game.

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