What's this Hamer Relic worth?

B

Bruce

New member
Hello everyone, I'm new here but I need some advice about this Hamer Slammer Series Studio Archtop GoldTop that I have.

I've decided to sell it but dont know what to ask for it. What I do know is that even though this is a Slammer Series it holds a high value because of the time I purchased it (1993ish maybe 1994)

This particular Model is one of the ones that came out of the first round Korean models. it says Made in Korea on the back of the head. Way back then before I purchased it I made some calls and researched it and what I found was, During the time Hamer went into the less expensive Korean made models, Hamer Slammer series were of the same quality as the USA models because most of the parts required to build them were supplied from the U.S. to get the korean models started and finally after comparing the 2 models (Hamer USA studio goldtop, vs Hamer Slammer Series Studio Goldtop) the only difference is in the pick ups, this Slammer Series has Duncans.

Can anyone offer any more info on this particular Guitar or have any idea what a fair price would be?

It's in MINT condition and still has the plastic protectors on the tuners and on the back entrance cover. NO Scratches at all and comes with the original Hard shell Case with the Hamer Logo.

PLUS I still have the tag that was on it when it was in the store where they were asking $769.00 U.S. for it and that was WITHOUT the case.

and lastly the reason it's in such great shape is because I only purchased it as a personal collectable THAT and when I tried it out at the store I fell in love with it's sound it was and still is One Bad Mamma Jamma... :-D

Thanks

 
Way back then before I purchased it I made some calls and researched it and what I found was, During the time Hamer went into the less expensive Korean made models, Hamer Slammer series were of the same quality as the USA models because most of the parts required to build them were supplied from the U.S. to get the korean models started and finally after comparing the 2 models (Hamer USA studio goldtop, vs Hamer Slammer Series Studio Goldtop) the only difference is in the pick ups, this Slammer Series has Duncans.
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You found out wrong.

The guitar is worth about $150

 
Not to rain on your parade, but whoever led you to believe that this was of "collector value" or "on par with the USA models" was blatantly lying. First of all, there is absolutely NO comparison between the USA and Korean Slammer models from the early 90s production. None. NO FREAKIN' WAY. True, they are far nicer than most imports and certainly better than the Slammer series models out now (by a long shot!), but they are not even in the same ballpark.

The parts are also NOT USA parts. That is a line of BS that somebody fed you along the way. Tuners are Asian Pings, bridges/tailpieces are at best, lower-end Gotoh (note that they are METRIC, not USA spec). Pickups are also inexpensive HBs (although decent for an import) and are not Real Seymour Duncans. They are Asian manufacture, loosely under Seymour Duncan design. I stress "LOOSELY" - not even close in quality, and probably less than $10 a pickup. I'm not sure what you are looking for in resale value for your guitar, but those are pretty plentiful in the $150-$250 range.

"Slammer" Series is typically associated with the bottom-of-the-barrel models they've produced under that name since the late 90s. Yes, I know that yours is the earlier, better quality production, but although those are nice guitars for what they are, they have NEVER sold for $769. That was higher than LIST price back then for that series.

If you're looking to make a killing on that one, the reality is you're probably better off enjoying and playing your guitar. Honestly, if you somehow actually paid north of $500 for that one, you'll definitely lose money selling it - even 10 years from now. I'm not trying to be harsh and not bashing your guitar, but it really sounds like you've been misinformed about a lot with your guitar.

Hope some of this helps!

 
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Considering that the USA Specials, Daytonas and T-51s were LISTING at $800.00 WITH case in 1993, if you paid $769.00 for a Slammer back then, you got ass-raped.

 
No No, I know it isnt worth thousands like the USA models but it's worth a hell of alot more than 150 bucks.

I'm not expecting to get what a USA hamer is worth but am I wrong to think I should expect to get at LEAST 450.00 - 500.00 for it.?

and I'm sorry but you're wrong on this this guitar This guitar has american parts EVEN the tuners. And FYi I got the info from Hamer directly, thats how I found out about the first run Korean models having mostly american parts.

here's a pic of one that came from a later run Slammer Series (later than mine, found this pic on the net) notice this one has the Sunburst Archtop Head tag. Mine doesnt have that tag. Which again indicates a latter series without seeing his serial numbers hard to tell. http://www.guitar-village.co.uk/product-de...+Owned%2C+VG%2B

so whatta ya think. 450 to 500 a fair price?

serial said:
Considering that the USA Specials, Daytonas and T-51s were LISTING at $800.00 WITH case in 1993, if you paid $769.00 for a Slammer back then, you got ass-raped.
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NO i didnt pay 769. thats what he was asking for it, I ended up getting it with Case for 475.

 
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Bruce said:
I'm not expecting to get what a USA hamer is worth but am I wrong to think I should expect to get at LEAST 450.00 - 500.00 for it.?
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Yes.

Bruce said:
NO i didnt pay 769. thats what he was asking for it, I ended up getting it with Case for 475.
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What you're saying is, you want your original investment back a dozen or so years later on an import guitar. Ain't gonna happen, certainly not here. You might get lucky and find an uninformed buyer on Craig's List or eBay though.

 
Hamer used Schaller tuners on the USA models during that period. Do your tuners say "Schaller" or "Made in Germany"? Are they Hamer Logo'ed? Is the tailpiece metric spec? Pull the bridge and look underneath it. Is it stamped with anything? The pickups are definitely NOT Seymour Duncans. Pull a pickup and tell me what it says on the brass plate underneath.

I've seen and played those guitars. Yes, they're nice for import guitars, but you will simply not get close to what you are looking for out of that one. Cut your expectations by 50% and hope the planets are aligned that day. I 100% agree with Marc in the above post - Ebay is probably your best source for pricing intelligence, as that is the most accurate forecaster of the used market these days. Look to see what similar models have sold for, discounting the highest one and the lowest one. I underscore "Sold For", because most of those guitars simply do not sell - they're just not that desirable, honestly.

By the way, when did you speak to Hamer about that guitar? Was this recently or when you were doing research on it in the early 90s? Just curious...

 
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new member

first post

selling an import

priced beyond reason

claiming it as relic

wow, impressively bad form /emoticons/default_rolleyes.gif

btw welcome to the HFC. bruce, here is your reality check: go to ebay and search HAMER. many imports available, examine the range of pricing that draws bids for ANY of the imports listed.

 
Bruce said:
No No, I know it isnt worth thousands like the USA models but it's worth a hell of alot more than 150 bucks.
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Hi Bruce. Welcome to our forum.

I won't give you hard time about trying to sell a guitar with your first post, but to argue with what three very knowledgeable Hamer experts are telling you your guitar is worth is no way to get off on the right foot.

Hearing that your guitar is worth about $150 probably isn't the best news you'll get all day, but arguing your point is not going to change things, and certainly isn't going to bag you the four or five bills you're looking for.

You asked for advice and you got it. If you want to turn it into a debate, you'd better bring some more pertinent facts.

My advice is to keep the guitar, since it's so great and you have four times its value tied into it.

We don't argue about guitars here - only politics.

 
kizanski said:
We don't argue about guitars here - only politics.
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You guys argue with me plenty when I say my Sunburst sounds like a killer LP! And, Mattson has literally destroyed all political discussions. lol

 
No way anywhere that you get what you seem to think this is worth. The used USA Hamers from that period aren't even selling "in the thousands". Most hover between $500 (Specials and bolt-ons) and $1000 or so (Archtop GTs, etc). No Slammer Series guitar will EVER be worth what a USA one sells for, I don't care if it has US parts or not. The best way to get your money out of it if it does indeed have USA parts, would be to part it out.

 
I'm not trying to argue with anybody. I'm here for advice plain and simple. I'm not trying to question what someone thinks they know or don't know and again I'm only referring to what i had been told years ago. Someone asked about whats under my bridge or tailpiece? what should I expect to see there? I mean if it's a cheap foreign made piece of crap vs a good quality Part, what should be stamped on them parts? I'll tear it down and provide pictures of what I find. and most of the information that i've ever found about this guitar came during the time I purchsed it and again that was 1993 or 94ish.

and This is an Archtop.

and It does have SCHALLER Tuners !!!

the Neck pick ups are HB-101's "The HB-101 was patterned after the Seymour Duncan SH-1 '59 Model™ humbucker set. It uses an Alnico 5 magnet and winding spec based on the revered 1955 - 1960 Gibson P.A.F."

the bridge pick up is an HB-102's "The HB-102 was modeled after Seymour's favorite humbucker combination, the USA-made SH-4 JB™ bridge and SH-2n Jazz Model™ neck set. Like the HB-101s, these pickups also use Alnico 5 magnets, but have a hotter winding spec, based on the world's most popular "hot-rodded" humbucker. The bridge pickup is Trembucker-spaced."

Any advice now?

 
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Watch eBay and see what a similar guitar brings in an auction. If you want to advertise your guitar locally you may be able to get $350 to $400 from someone if you are lucky. You have to keep in mind that when someone looks up these guitars in an online search there will be web sites selling a similar looking product for around $300.

Those early Korean Hamers were excellent guitars.

 
serial said:
No way anywhere that you get what you seem to think this is worth. The used USA Hamers from that period aren't even selling "in the thousands". Most hover between $500 (Specials and bolt-ons) and $1000 or so (Archtop GTs, etc). No Slammer Series guitar will EVER be worth what a USA one sells for, I don't care if it has US parts or not. The best way to get your money out of it if it does indeed have USA parts, would be to part it out.
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Bingo. I think Bruce has an incorrect impression of the USA Hamer market as well.

Plus, he must have been talking to that "Ken" guy at Hamer. ;-o

 
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For the imports, the first ones are probably the best of the batch, but $200 or less is the average. You might could get more.

 
Hey guys I'm Sorry but I'm really Surprised at all this.

I really thought someone here would have a better understanding of the Hamer Guitar line... Especially after someone here referred to a few people here as "Hamer Experts" I'm not a Hamer Expert myself but apparently I've gained enough info on my own Equipment to know what I have, compared to what other so called experts THINK I have...

I didn't come here to argue or doubt someones understanding about the Hamer guitars Manufacturing history.

I'm just trying to explain what I already know about my own guitar and was just looking to see if anyone had any more info or advice that they could contribute to what I already know about marketing what I have.

If some here think it's only worth 150 or 200 bucks then they have their reasons for assuming those prices but those are the ones that are obviously wrong about the parts that were installed on my guitar and then when i try to explain what I have I get attacked like a Monkey holding the only banana..

Did anyone ever think maybe this guys Guitar is worth looking a little deeper into???

 
Bruce said:
Hey guys I'm Sorry but I'm really Surprised at all this.

I really thought someone here would have a better understanding of the Hamer Guitar line... Especially after someone here referred to a few people here as "Hamer Experts" I'm not a Hamer Expert myself but apparently I've gained enough info on my own Equipment to know what I have, compared to what other so called experts THINK I have...

I didn't come here to argue or doubt someones understanding about the Hamer guitars Manufacturing history.

I'm just trying to explain what I already know about my own guitar and was just looking to see if anyone had any more info or advice that they could contribute to what I already know about marketing what I have.

If some here think it's only worth 150 or 200 bucks then they have their reasons for assuming those prices but those are the ones that are obviously wrong about the parts that were installed on my guitar and then when i try to explain what I have I get attacked like a Monkey holding the only banana..

Did anyone ever think maybe this guys Guitar is worth looking a little deeper into???
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Did it ever occur to you that the people on this board who took the time to answer your questions actually know more about the subject than you do?

It's not their fault that you don't like the answers to your questions. But go ahead, prove them all wrong!

If you already know all the answers, why are you asking the questions?

-Jonathan

 
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"the Neck pick ups are HB-101's "The HB-101 was patterned after the Seymour Duncan SH-1 '59 Model™ humbucker set. It uses an Alnico 5 magnet and winding spec based on the revered 1955 - 1960 Gibson P.A.F."

the bridge pick up is an HB-102's "The HB-102 was modeled after Seymour's favorite humbucker combination, the USA-made SH-4 JB™ bridge and SH-2n Jazz Model™ neck set. Like the HB-101s, these pickups also use Alnico 5 magnets, but have a hotter winding spec, based on the world's most popular "hot-rodded" humbucker. The bridge pickup is Trembucker-spaced."

Any advice now?"

Yep. Those are model numbers for "Duncan Designed" pickups. Overseas made after a Seymour design. They happen to be great pickups, I've got a pair I wouldn't part with. But they're import pickups.

BTW, you're picking arguments with several of the most knowlegeable folks on the planet when it comes to Hamer history and specifications. They know sumpthin'.

Don't get me wrong, I've got a beautiful looking darkburst equivalent of your guitar (that I paid, guess what? $150 for) and it's a cool axe for what it is. I also have two USA goldtop versions. The USA and the import never even went to school together.

And if DavidE (who always thinks that EVERYTHING is worth $350) says it's not worth that much, well.....

 
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