If Hamer would build a limited run of 4 digit style Standards

[crunchee]

I'd like to see a Checkerboard RI (with Barney Kessel 'bowtie' fretboard inlays) myself. Yeah, I know that RN has the only real one, but still...

BTW, what's a 'Kilroy'? I'm not THAT familiar with Hamerese. I figured out what a 'Zandard' Hamer was, only because somebody else asked.

[cmatthes]

It's black with ivoroid all-over binding, it has a Seymour Duncan '59 at the neck and an SH5 custom at the bridge, set in chrome-plated surround rings. It has a shaved neck, a 16" radius ebony board, a Floyd Rose and a wrench holder on the rear of the headstock...and dot inlays.

Whaaaah?! Bro, ya just can't post something awesome like the above and not provide photos!

PICSPICSPICSPICS!

Yeah! That just goes without saying!!

(BTW, a "Kilroy" is Sir Robert Kilroy, an HFC'er from Reno, NV. He's currently selling a bitchin' 4-digit Standard, and just sold one, and has had another one or two over the years)

[kevinbower1959]

Pics on the way guys - along with a response to the recent 'Hamers for Heavy Metal' thread................

[mirrorimij]

My new 'dream' Standard Custom arrived here last week after a 4-month build time. It's black with ivoroid all-over binding, it has a Seymour Duncan '59 at the neck and an SH5 custom at the bridge, set in chrome-plated surround rings. It has a shaved neck, a 16" radius ebony board, a Floyd Rose and a wrench holder on the rear of the headstock.

Don't mean to hijack the thread but I have a question concerning this guitar. Is it a maple neck? Past experience tells me they do maple necks with Floyds (at least they did with the Sunburst Archtops that came with factory Floyds).

Also, I can confirm the existence of ONE 96-97 era black Standard that was built with alder body, maple neck and ebony fingerboard (I don't think it had fingerboard inlays). It was built for one of the body sanders at Hamer. It looked exactly like the black mahogany standards of the time but was built with the same tonewoods as a Jackson he used for his heavy metal band. Very cool guitar that sounded great. I didn't want someone to run across it and think it was a fake or import. It is indeed a USA built Hamer.

[Citrus]

All Hamers should have the checkerboard logo

[bubs_42]

All Hamers should have the checkerboard logo

I second that ! I love the 79 Sunbursts and the 91 I had, and I think that the ultimate would be a mash them together. Some have been done buy are members, but an Archtop, Sustainblock, Checkerboard Logo/ (AND CASE), with a good neck.

[kevinbower1959]

Reply to mirrorimij - I don't think the neck is maple and I certainly didn't spec anything out of the ordinary neck-wise save for the shave, the dots and the flat ebony board, but since it's lacquered black all over, it's hard to tell. I did spec a hardrock maple top because I always liked the effect on the guitar's tone, but what the neck's made from is anybody's guess.

Best wishes Kevin

[serial]

I'd like to see a Checkerboard RI (with Barney Kessel 'bowtie' fretboard inlays) myself. Yeah, I know that RN has the only real one, but still...

Actually, there are three of them. Rick's and two made like his for contests in 1979.

[elduave]

I'd like to see a Checkerboard RI (with Barney Kessel 'bowtie' fretboard inlays) myself. Yeah, I know that RN has the only real one, but still...

Actually, there are three of them. Rick's and two made like his for contests in 1979.

Really? Wow! Do you know who has them?

[Devnor]

I'd pony up the $$$$$ for 4-Digit style Standard. Personally speaking...a new guitar would be preferable to taking a chance on a vintage piece and/or having to compete against the HFC for a real 4 digit. The economy is down and I'm sure Hamer is feeling the effects. Why reject 12 pc custom run?

[cmatthes]

I don't think Hamer is in any sort of desperate straits right now, despite the economy. I think that if Jol could get a Fender-backed deal, like the EVH, SRV, Rory, etc. models that sell for 5 figures, he'd probably do a run of perfectly faithful reissues of Serial #0001, but until then, I think they're happy with their current direction.

I think the idea is to be more forward-looking and appreciate your heritage v. staying in the past, no matter how glorious it may have been!

[Devnor]

I can appreciate that but we haven't really tried either. If a dealer asks for 3 customs...meh. 12 confirmed buyers are a different story. Who knows maybe there aren't 11 more folks willing to put down the $$$. I just picked that number out of my a$$ btw. Doesnt Hamer have the phrase "we dont have a custom shop, we are the custom shop"? We arent asking for a new design like the Jack Blades bass or Tipton's new axe. Just something they built back in 2005 was it?

[elduave]

If a dealer asks for 3 customs...meh.

Back 'atcha.

[serial]

Actually, there are three of them. Rick's and two made like his for contests in 1979.

Really? Wow! Do you know who has them?

Paul Simon's son had one of them.

An HFC member has an exact dupe of his checkerboard Vee (Rick's is #0153), but while I'm certain that it is an original four digit Vector, I'm not sure about it's finish being factory simply b/c the source also did a checkerboard "Standard" conversion of a Blitz that was a little more speculative. The Vector appears legit as far as I can tell though-haven't seen it in person, but from the pics, it's pretty much dead-on.

The biggest problem for me is that I'd want a dead-on reproduction and I doubt that they'd tool up for that. One reason I prefer the original four digits over the newer (95 and more recent) is the pickup placement. I doubt that they'd want to tool up to get that right, to say nothing for the headstock shape.

[JGale]

Can anyone categorize the differences betwixt 4 digits and current models?

[serial]

Can anyone categorize the differences betwixt 4 digits and current models?

Yes. I can.

[cmatthes]

I can appreciate that but we haven't really tried either. If a dealer asks for 3 customs...meh. 12 confirmed buyers are a different story. Who knows maybe there aren't 11 more folks willing to put down the $$$. I just picked that number out of my a$$ btw. Doesnt Hamer have the phrase "we dont have a custom shop, we are the custom shop"? We arent asking for a new design like the Jack Blades bass or Tipton's new axe. Just something they built back in 2005 was it?

Although I can't confirm it, a very large dealer reportedly asked for a run of "4-digit accurate" Standards and was turned down. I think you're missing the point here though - if Hamer wanted to do it, they would have done it or kept the door open. It is most likely something they don't WANT to do right now. If Jol feels there is a compelling reason to do something or to do something different/challenging, he may decide to take that on. As the company trying to advance their craft and put their energies into new designs (that define the company today), I can understand why they don't wish to go down the path of just creating reissues of their past guitars. Although they clearly appreciate their heritage, they may not want to focus on that. If there's a run of a dozen "old-style" Standards for one dealer, then two or three more will want them, and so on, until their order backlog is focusing on that and not the new stuff they are looking to build the brand on today. When the time is right, if that time comes, you will see a reissue. I wouldn't hold my breath for anything too soon though - there's a lot of cool things going on up there all the time, and we''ll probably be seeing something new before too long.

[atquinn]

Reply to mirrorimij - I don't think the neck is maple and I certainly didn't spec anything out of the ordinary neck-wise save for the shave, the dots and the flat ebony board, but since it's lacquered black all over, it's hard to tell. I did spec a hardrock maple top because I always liked the effect on the guitar's tone, but what the neck's made from is anybody's guess.

Best wishes Kevin

Unless you spec'd it out, the neck should be mahogany. The neck on my '06 Studio Custom is.

-Austin

[peedenmark7]

probably already covered, but it'll never happen.

the gibby headstock is your stumbling block.

even if the moon and the stars would some how align for this 12-21-12 cosmic headstock event ,good luck getting the paper veneer maple top.

I inquired in late '06 about doing a run of 30 guitars for the 30th anniversary of the sunburst faithful in every way including headstock shape to the original '77, [offered up my '77 as the template] but obviously carrying some kind of serial number denoting it as an anniversary or reissue.

choices were to be either the vintage cherry burst [yellow to red] or black opaque.

there were a couple guys on board that expressed interested in buying one should it happen.

not wanting to go public without having hamer and my dealers approval, the idea was never mentioned here.

jol shot down this idea without much conversation.

we've heard countless times that until vintage hamer values exceed what hamer would need to get to do sucha run/reissues, that they wont happen.

4 digit standards, virts, and recent sunburst prices would certainly deem the time to be right for all of the above to be reintroduced on some level given the interest surrounding them.

however, hamer has no interest in revisiting its past and has moved on.

we should follow suit as well.

if you want the vintage look , spend for the right vintage hamer.

there is no shortage of certain models,especially now with the bad economy they are being offered up in large numbers if your are somewhat connected per say.

[mirrorimij]

Reply to mirrorimij - I don't think the neck is maple and I certainly didn't spec anything out of the ordinary neck-wise save for the shave, the dots and the flat ebony board, but since it's lacquered black all over, it's hard to tell. I did spec a hardrock maple top because I always liked the effect on the guitar's tone, but what the neck's made from is anybody's guess.

Best wishes Kevin

Unless you spec'd it out, the neck should be mahogany. The neck on my '06 Studio Custom is.

-Austin

Does your 06 Studio Custom have a Floyd like the Standard in question? When I worked there (92-2000), anytime we did a Sunburst Archtop (Studio or Studio Custom) with a factory Floyd it was built with a maple neck instead of mahogany. I was wondering if they still did that and if that would apply to Standards as well as Studios.

[JGale]

Can anyone categorize the differences betwixt 4 digits and current models?

Yes. I can.

My bad.

Would you?

[peedenmark7]

I think most are looking for the longer headstock and bigger tuners..

my thought would be the different neck back shape during that time frame...

todays standard is a far better built instrument than the 4 digit era ones,its just missing some of the esthetically pleasing attributes her name sake from the 70s has.

[GusS]

Can anyone categorize the differences betwixt 4 digits and current models?

Yes. I can.

My bad.

Would you?

headstock shape, tuners, heel, neck shape, pickups, pickup placement, tops, maybe others?

[serial]

Can anyone categorize the differences betwixt 4 digits and current models?

Yes. I can.

My bad.

Would you?

headstock shape, tuners, heel, neck shape, pickups, pickup placement, tops, maybe others?

Body shape is a little different too or at least appears to be-I haven't had a modern Standard Custom in hand in a long time.

[mirrorimij]

I think the fretboard radius is different as well=- 12" vs 14.5" if I'm not mistaken.