some early Hamer Sunburst questions

[Jazzerman]

First of all thanks for all the kind replies to my earlier thread on this.

I have some more questions on the possibility of my guitar being one of the first 4 Hamer Sunburst models that were presented on the 1977 NAMM show. Some guys suggested this might be the case. I have been reading the info on the Hamer Sunburst on this site.

1. Were all these 4 models sold? Any knowledge of the whereabouts of these guitars?

2. Are these 4 prototypes the only ones without a serial number and with the unbound neck end? Or have more unnumbered copies been produced as production models? And have more guitars with unbound neck end been produced?

3. How can I simulate a black light? I scrutinized the back of the headstock for traces of an inked serial number in direct sunlight but saw nothing. Is it possible that they vanish completely?

4. Is the wooden shim underneath the bridge? Should it be visible?

I studied the Sunburst origin page and came up with the following specs for my Sunburst:

no serial number discernable

long style headstock

one piece mahogany neck

crown inlays

unbound neck end

early bridge

plastic backplate

early Grover kidney machine heads with bull's eye rounded back

It's a 1977 Sunburst for sure. Question remains if it's one of the 4 pre-production prototypes that were presented at the 1977 NAMM show.

Added some more daylight pics.

Dick

[Jazzerman]

Flametop

[Jazzerman]

Spring is here!

[Jazzerman]

total shot 2

[Jazzerman]

Flame top 2

[Jazzerman]

Back

[serial]

I'm not sure that the earliest ones had Grover Bullseyes, the '77s that I've seen didn't-that seems to be common in mid-78s-early 79s. The truss rod covers on the earliest '77s aren't the Gibson bell, but a triangular shaped piece. Of course, preproduction, anything would be possible. The best way to tell would be to look at the pot codes.

[Jazzerman]

I'm not sure that the earliest ones had Grover Bullseyes,  the '77s that I've seen didn't-that seems to be common in mid-78s-early 79s.  The truss rod covers on the earliest '77s aren't the Gibson bell, but a triangular shaped piece.  Of course, preproduction, anything would be possible.  The best way to tell would be to look at the pot codes.

Hi serial,

I opened the back plate and saw some numbers on the volume and tone pots. Are those what you mean?

Dick

[cmatthes]

Those are the codes ya need!

[Jazzerman]

Those are the codes ya need!

And what should they read?

Dick

[HamStd]

Jazzerman: Nice looking guitar you have there. Here is some information on dating the pot codes:

The source-date code on a pot is a 6 or 7 digit code impressed into the casing of the potentiometer. The first 3 digits on a pot are the source or manufacturer code.

The remaining 3 or 4 digits are the date code. In 3 digit dates code, the 1st digit is the last digit of the year. On 4 digits date codes, the 1st and 2nd digits are the last two digits of the year. In either case, the remaining 2 digits are the week of manufacture (01 to 52).

Peter.

[BCR Greg]

MMM YY WW

M= manufacturer, in your case probably 137 for CTS.

Y =year, 77

W= week ,

Example- 1377732 wouold meant the 32nd week of 1977.