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Kaman sold to Fender


alpep

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Wow, so many good and/or bad things can come of this;

Will Fender possibly bring back shredders like the Cali or would they think it's competition for their Jacksons? Even if they do they probably wouldn't be made in the same Hamer factory they have now. It doesn't seem like it would be that difficult for them to tool up at the same place they make Jackson now.

Will they beef up the Slammer /Korean Hamer short scale guitars to compete more with Epiphones?

Will they kill the strat type slammers (no biggie for me) to protect the squier low end line.

Will they want to kick up production on USA Hamers to more directly compete with Gibson short scale guitars?

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Wow, so many good and/or bad things can come of this;

Will Fender possibly bring back shredders like the Cali or would they think it's competition for their Jacksons? Even if they do they probably wouldn't be made in the same Hamer factory they have now. It doesn't seem like it would be that difficult for them to tool up at the same place they make Jackson now.

Will they beef up the Slammer /Korean Hamer short scale guitars to compete more with Epiphones?

Will they kill the strat type slammers (no biggie for me) to protect the squier low end line.

Will they want to kick up production on USA Hamers to more directly compete with Gibson short scale guitars?

Looking at past history of fmic and aquisitions says that they will market Hamer like there is no tommorow and make them "accesible" to the market as there is of recent a huge demand for them. which will result in either Hamers qc going to complete shit(see every other fmic brand for reference) due to the work load fmic will expect or they will either make them in california for a hella lot less or keep as is and throw $500+ on retail of a guitar.

I am trying to be positive about this believe it or not... but if anyone thinks that fmic will be any where near as discrimanating regarding wood use and paying out for tone pros etc without a huge upcharge to current prices then they do not know fmic

Sorry for the venom but it's really a kick in the teeth to find a brand I can really dig and then watch it being sold to a company that couldn't have any more of a polar opposite way to guitar making than Hamer.

I was looking for an excuse to buy a Briggs or a Mcinturf anyway, thats me convinced now just the wife B)

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It will be a cold day in hell before Jol let's his beloved USA Hamers suffer from poor quality control.

At least those made in his factory under his supervision.

I guess it's possible that the Charvel, or EVH or Jackson or Fender factories could make other Hamer models, but that doesn't seem to make sense on first blush from a marketing standpoint.

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How long before Fender says that Hamer is now its trademark or tradestyle and the Hamer Fan Club needs to be disbanded? Let's see if Fender let's us keep the clubhouse? BTW, who owns this playground. Thank you for letting me come here every day.

For me, since I don't have the dough to order a new Hamer let alone a custom-ordered Hamer, I can still pine for and someday buy a Monaco III or Super Pro in the used market. But the intrigue (and I just watched the Hamer DVD the other night) has been that there is a group of people at Hamer who are dreaming up new products (like the Talladega) and working with guys like Greg or taking custom orders from many of you that just knock us out when the photos are finally posted here.

Now, to be fair to Fender--and I have a couple Fender guitars and amps--I have been very impressed with their interest in limited run models in the last few years. I have a Custom Classic updated tele and there were few than a 100 of those made.

On the other hand, Fender is not making anything like an Artist Custom, which sounds great and has fabulous fit and finish.

My guess is that the prices will rise to cover the cost of another layer of management and that will not be dealer friendly. Let's hope the quality, the leadership and vision is allowed to continue.

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"How long before Fender says that Hamer is now its trademark or tradestyle and the Hamer Fan Club needs to be disbanded? Let's see if Fender let's us keep the clubhouse?" - Pieman

Hadn't thought abouit that! :D:D:lol:B):D

This has been a good place over the last ten years to stop in at. :D

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think about it this way.

Fender has never been able to sell a guitar with humbuckers. Now they tell all their goons if you want to continue getting free teles and strats you must put away the prs and gibson and play Hamer.

well it could happen.

I think Hamer is in a very good position here.

Not so sure about others.

everything I hear is it is the status quo for now.

time will tell

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As long as Hamer doesn't suffer the same effects that Jackson/Charvel did, I'll be happy.

in 2004 charvels started to be great usa guitars again.

i bought 2 weeks ago the 2004 Namm charvel star guitars. that is really a great guitar. it was handbuilt by mike shannon one of the original luthiers. charvelwall_2004.jpgDSCN4316.jpg

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As long as Hamer doesn't suffer the same effects that Jackson/Charvel did, I'll be happy.

in 2004 charvels started to be great usa guitars again.

i bought 2 weeks ago the 2004 Namm charvel star guitars. that is really a great guitar. it was handbuilt by mike shannon one of the original luthiers. charvelwall_2004.jpgDSCN4316.jpg

Nice guitar. Delightfully understated.

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Hamer doesn't own this board anyway. Whether they (FMIC) could get snippy about our use of the name.....eh, maybe. More than likely, we'd provide a valuable customer base "street team" for them to build upon. It might not be all bad for either party.

Maybe now we can bring Gary Hoey back in the fold... B)

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Yeah don't freak out over this just yet. Jackson is still building great guitars.

I have a custom built 2005 model and it kicks ass over any superstrat I have ever played.

Its the cost that will be the issue - that is whether Fender will cheapen some things unless you order custom built.

Expect prices to go up period.

With large corporations the BOTTOM LINE is more important than artistry or pride or anything. God I hate corporations - all of them!

Anybody that was thinking about ordering a custom from Hamer - let me tell you from experience - ORDER NOW !!! DONT WAIT !!!

Price hikes will come.

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I'm not aware of any changes in the production of Jackson guitars since Fender bought them (granted I haven't worked at a dealer in 3 years). But I was working at a dealer during the change. The production plant was the same with the same staff and the guitars were the same quality (And I've owned a lot of USA custom shop Jacksons). If anything, they just brought back strat headstock shaped charvels. I doubt they'll change much, if anything, about the American Hamers.

This is interesting to read about though.

I hope not cause I just snagged this beatch for quite a bit of ching....

2006 Charvel Custom Shop

B)

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and you guys just sold yur 4 digits...............

I'm glad I have my custom ordered Standard, pre Fender.... B)

and my other standard Custom....... pre fender....... :D

i dont know......... I do have a % of doubt thou

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Well, some of this unsubstantiated speculation may be correct, but not for the reasons stated. I was told by a VERY reliable source that Hamer prices are going up (just like the do every year) and it won't be small. BUT, these changes were in place before anybody at Hamer even knew about this Fender deal.

Costs such as skyrocketing materials (wood, paint, hardware) and overheads such as heating oil and electricity are just rising too fast. If you ask me, I think that Hamer is quite reasonable when you look at what you get from Gibson, PRS private stock AND Fender's custom shop.

A lot of people thought that when Hamer moved to Arlington Heights it would be a big mistake, then when Kaman bought Hamer it was the end... then the move to New Hartford was supposed to be the end, and look what happened... better than ever.

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Hey people,

I'm surprised & disappointed over the acquisition of Kaman Music Group by FMIC. Did KMC consider their music division a profit losing venture enough to sell off to FMIC? I always knew their aerospace division is the bread & butter of Kaman Corp. I'm hoping that Jol will still be in that shop to supervise & build Hamer USA guitars the right way and not send out guitars with poor quality control like Fender. I'm hoping like the other people that Hamer will be allowed to operate as a seperate entity and not get lumped into the Jackson Custom shop. Will the type of wood they choose to build their guitars be as high quality before Fender's take over? Are they going to move their shop? Will Hamer's product support still be there for us compared to Fender's poor customer support? Will they think of reissuing the T-51, T-62, Vintage S or the Daytona? Will they reissue the Chapparal, Centaura, Diablo or Diablo II? Or will it be seen as competition to their own product lines with Fender or Jackson/Charvel? I wonder if Fender will be able to supply necks or other parts for those instruments? I can see lots of people selling off used Hamer USA guitars on E-bay with "pre Fender" as well. I could care less if they kill off their XT or Slammer product lines though.

Guitar George

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Ouch. B)

I'm usually a pretty positive person when it comes to change but I am hoping Fender keeps it's mits out of Hamer USA!

I was thinking about selling my 2004 SuperPro to make way for a Talledega but I think I'll wait and see how this plays out.

Anyone heard any comments from Joel or Frank Rindone on this yet? :D

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I spoke to Jol today. I can't and won't speak for him but his comments included things like; it's really a better fit to be owned by a musical instrument co than an aerospace co. It's his impression that nothing will change at Hamer USA. FMIC was interested in KMC distribution etc. He was candid and sounding positive and obviously time will tell.

ArnieZ

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