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How Did You Get Your First Hamer?


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I remember drooling over a vector and probably a blitz in the mid 80s at a local store. About 10 years later, the store across the street started carrying them and I bought my 93 diablo off of a salesman who ordered one for himself, but had to sell to pay for his dining room floor. I still have it.

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eBay. I was jones-ing for a McCarty and found out I could get a used Studio for a fraction of the price of a McCarty. Got a mint black Studio with bound body and OHSC for $550!! Guitar is a killer and is now owned by our own Guitar George. That guitar sold me on Hamer.

Hey folks,

I used to play my friend's bound & crowned red flametop Standard in the late Eighties when he lived next door to me. He moved away and sold that guitar. I never knew that those guitars would jump in value or I would have bought it from him. :blink: 15 years later, I bought the '95 black Studio w/body binding off of E-bay, my first Hamer. I had a nice setup done, restored the original Hamer pots, and installed Dimarzio pickups on it. Little did I know that particular guitar had a lot of different owners. If it wasn't for my friend letting me play his '80s Standard, I would have never got into these guitars.

Guitar George

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I had a Mexican B.C. Rich Warlock from about 1988 until about 1993. I was ready to buy my fist "real" guitar for my 21st birthday.

I wanted a Fender Strat with a Floyd Rose on it so I went to see my local guitar dealer (Dave McMillan at Valley Music in Livermore CA.) and he let me know that he wasn't a Fender dealer but he could give me a point in the right direction.

While I was there I saw what I thought was a Fender Strat but it said Hamer Daytona on it. It was Baby Blue and had locking tuners on it. He let me try it out and 30 minutes later (and a whole pitch from Dave on why Hamer's were the best guitars in the world) I had my first Hamer Daytona custom order filled out. :blink: (Natural finish and Jumbo 6100 frets)

I finally got the guitar in 1994 and dropped a DiMarzio Fast Track 2 in the bridge and an HS3 in the Neck positions. It's been my main guitar ever since...it's also the reason why I will NOT buy off the shelf guitars anymore (well new ones anyway).

-KoZ

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My first was a booberry blue SSI I found in a consignment music shop in north Louisiana. Bought it because it was cheap, Floyd-equipped, sounded and played good. I ended up trading it plus some other stuff for a Boogie head to Daddy's Junky Music.

If any of you Pennsylvania-area HFC'ers played or ended up buying the used booberry blue SSI at BCR Music several years ago, that's the exact same one.

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Let me think...man, it's been awhile since that first one, at least six months or so.

Gear Page search of "Les Paul" finds those words in the description of the tobacco burst Monaco Elite. It looked very nice, much nicer than any Gibson my wallet found in that search.

I wasn't sure what it was, so I found this site in my Hamer research. Read posts by Kiz and the rest of you jerks and realized this place rocks.

Traded the Monaco Elite to a guy for a Studio Custom which I thought I'd like better, but UPS lost it before I could find out, so I ended up Hamerless.

The MONEL, though I didn't care for something about it, convinced me of how good Hamer guitars are. I will own another Hamer soon. Interestingly enough, I find myself intrigued by Belikerick's orange MONEL, but I'm scared of it, too.

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Late Fall 1992, I went to Alvis Music in Vincennes, IN to buy some strings for my Epi Les Paul before my gig that night. As I walked through the door, I immediately and unexplainably looked to the racks of electric guitars to my left and instantly locked on to their newest piece of inventory, which happened to be sporting a Hamer logo. I forgot about strings and made a beeline for that guitar, afraid to see the price tag. I was astonished at the affordable price and left the building with the 1986 TLE and a promise to bring my Epi LP and my night's gig money on Monday. It was my main player for about ten years before I sold it to a fellow HFC'er, whose name escapes me at the moment.

Edited to add that I just remembered who bought it . . . a fine gentleman by the name of Hectorp.

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brand new 1980 cherry Vector at a brand new music store out in the middle of nowhere dominated by a local music store there for eons that priced at full list and gottaway with it until this new store showed up and was dealing to get into the local market share. I had that thing for years until it was distroyed.

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In 1980 I was down in Austin Tx hanging out with a buddy, doing the Antone's, Armadillo World Hq scene and I walked into a music store one day and they had a Hamer Special hanging on the wall.

I played it for awhile through a couple of amps and was really impressed. Went back after a couple of day to try it again and it was sold and gone.

About 6 months later, I scraped together enough money to go into my local dealer and I ordered one, brand new, fresh from the factory.

I had it for over 20 years and played the snot out of it. I sold it to placate my wife after a GAS-sy attack that she didn't appreciate.

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Guest Meshuggah

ebay

wanted mahogany

acoustic experience suggested semi hollow

25th resulted.

now...it's fukkin" ripped!

WCR xrds/dkbrst

toney pros

plekked

full potential realized. All that remains is Stieve Ray Clay playing ABB live on it. You listening SRC?

Of course, video would be required...

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The short answer is eBay

The longer... I had been a Cheap Trick/Rick Nielsen fan since their first album and had always wanted a Standard. I had a Strat as my only guitar for 15 or so years and my kids were growing up and wanted a humbucking guitar. I found the below import RN signature on eBay and couldn't resist. I pulled the trigger and so it began. I was really impressed with the overall quality of that guitar and figured if their imports were that good the USA made guitars must be awesome - and I was right! I put a SD Pearly Gates in the neck and Custom 5 in bridge about 6 months after I got it and it totally kicks ass. Don't know if I can ever part with it.

P1010089.JPG

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1982 by word of mouth a guitarist told me that Hamers were better than Gibson. About 4-5 years later while at Ft Hood, Texas I saw an add for an 81 Special Opaque Red for $300. I have/had a 72 Tele Custom Deluxe, but I wanted to get on the Hamer bandwagon. Subseqentially, I bonded with the guitar day/night, night/day eating Ramon and PB&J sandwiches while in college with little $. The guitar was my therapy because college really messes with your head. Always seeking that Jimmy Page/Joe Perry tone, I didn't date much. Didn't date at all....I was f$#king married to that guitar.

Not that crazy about the tone nowadays, kinda naseley.. I don't know what the f$#k is wrong with me. This moron at a local shop in Nashville said the artists raved about the Dimarzio Virtual so I swapped the pickup, which of course didn't change the tone much. I think I'd sell the Tele before I ever sell the Hamer. But my go-to guitar is an old Ibanez 1987 540 Saber (made in Bensalem, PA) which sounds like an SG, but plays like a Strat and now sell for as little as 200+ on ebay.

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81 Special Opaque Red for $300. INot too crazy about the tone, kinda naseley.. I don't know what the f$#k is wrong with me.

I'll take it off your hands for $350!!!

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A shop on the other side of town carried Hamer back in the 80's. In my late teens/early 20's I'd go in and look at them all and take one down and play it a little if a salesguy would let me. They knew I didn't have the money to actually buy one.

A few years later, in the early/mid 90's, I was in better shape financially, and that shop had stopped carrying Hamer, but had a few NOS Hamers still hanging around. I finally decided to go over there and get one. I played a few including two CHapparals and a Blitz. I decided on a pearl pink Chapparal. Not my favorite color, but it sounded better than the other Chapparal they had.

I kinda wish now that I'd picked up one or two more. I don't know who the rest of those Hamers eventually went to but they probably let them go cheap and there were some really nice guitars, including a cool one-off among them.

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I was lurking on this here board back in early 1999 when a one post fly-by-night seller announced that he was selling a three hole Duotone for a very good price. I was first to hit the button, I got some pics and it showed up at my door a few days later. : )

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Traded the Monaco Elite to a guy for a Studio Custom which I thought I'd like better, but UPS lost it before I could find out, so I ended up Hamerless.

I had been lurking here about a year ago and became intrigued with the claims of Hamer quality. Did a lot of net-research, mostly between here and TGP and decided to find a near mint Studio Custom to wrap my hands around. Found one F/S here and bought it. Months later decided to give a Monaco a try and found Feynman willing to trade his.

Yeah UPS lost the SC but I still have the Monaco and am more than happy with Hamer. Truly outstanding craftsmanship and playability in both the Monaco and the SC, shame its gone.....

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1978. Saw Tull, spent my lawn and paper route money(I was 14) on a new 78 Hamer Sunburst, bound and crowned, instead of a new GoldTop Les Paul. Chuck Levin's in Wheaton Maryland had 6, I picked the best one. It was stolen in 1992.

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I was 14, a Cheap Trick fan, and living in Paducah, KY in 1978. We did not have a Hamer dealer in town. I saw a Hamer ad in Guitar Player that listed their dealers. The closest one was in Carbondale, IL - about 70 miles away. My brother in law was going there one day to buy some weed so I tagged along. He dropped me off at the music store and they only had one Hamer guitar - a cherry sunburst Sunburst. Of course, I didn't have the money to buy it. That summer I lied about my age and got my first job at a drive-in movie theater. I still couldn't save enough money...

Skip forward three years and I'm working at McDonald's in Houston and am determined to save the money. I drove to Parker Music with the money in hand. They had 5-6 Specials, 2-3 Sunbursts, and 2-3 Standards. I played every Special and picked the one that played the best.

BTW - I've still got that Special!

Receipt.jpg

Ken_withSpecials.jpg

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Bought my Hamer Blitz (Pearl White, w/ 3+3 headstock, sustainblock tremolo), from

Buddy Rogers in '84, I believe it was. It was really my first nice guitar. I'd been playing

some el-cheapos up until then. I was a big KISS, Priest and Cheap Trick fan. They were using Hamers.

I always loved the Explorer body-style. I was working 3rd shift at the time. I remember buying it

after work, staying up ALL day playing and admiring it. My ass wuz DRAGGIN' when I went back

to work that night. :blink:

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Your son looks just like you. :blink:

Scott M.

Maybe a little...

795002171111_0_ALB.jpg

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Early to mid 90's... whenever the Diablo came out. Some dufus friend of a friend, used to use his parents credit cards to buy guitars. Then he'd pawn them for cash. Then he'd find people to buy the guitars for what the pawn shops had given him. Very strange. However, I got a Diablo, and Les Paul, from the guy, dirt cheap.

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