randyb Posted June 1, 2009 Posted June 1, 2009 Hi I'm a newbie,I'm not a guitarist. Actually I'm a teacher who plays the drums and builds custom drums as a hobby. My daughter on the other hand began playing guitar about a year ago. She was bugging me to help her get an electric guitar. Eventually a buddy of mine sold us this pink guitar that had no name on it. He bought it in 91 off a guy after dropping it and breaking off a piece of the headstock. The guy had told him it was custom made and my buddy wound up paying $350 for it. It had no name on it and my buddy felt he had been overcharged. He used it as a back up over the years but never liked the look(Pink) despite liking the sound.Anyways, he sold it to my daughter for $150cnd. She didn't like the color either and asked for a custom paint job from me. Took it apart, did a lime green paint job with black racing stripes over the weekend. Then as I was assembling it I looked on the back of the pickups and noticed "Hamer". I thought, "Weren't those the Cheap Trick guys guitar? After a bit of searching I found out this was a Californian. Also found this site.One problem is there is no serial number on the headstock. I am not sure if it was painted over or removed before my buddy got the guitar. Whoever had the guitar first sanded the pink paint off the neck of the guitar and the headstock was pink both front and back. So I am wondering if they painted over the serial number when they sanded the paint on the neck. I read on this site that they started out writing the serial number in ink but eventually began to stamp it into the wood. I wonder if I sanded the paint off the headstock if I would find the serial number.The covers for the electronics on the back are not there either.Now a question or two. Does having the serial number matter? Have I screwed up the value of the guitar by painting it? Is there more I should know about the guitar? The value thing doesn't matter much because my daughter doesn't plan to sell it. She likes her custom paint job and likes the sound of the guitar. I will post some links to pictures of the guitar as soon as I load them onto my server.randyb
atquinn Posted June 1, 2009 Posted June 1, 2009 It's possible the guitar you are dealing with is an import Californian, once you post pics, we'll be able to tell for sure. Either way, it only cost $150cnd and your daughter likes it, so no worries.-Austin
randyb Posted June 1, 2009 Author Posted June 1, 2009 I am not sure when Hamer started importing their guitars instead of doing them in America, but I think my buddy has had this since the early 90s.Here are some links to the pictures. First two are after I painted it.http://www.ghostnote.net/vbforum/picture.p...;pictureid=1819http://www.ghostnote.net/vbforum/picture.p...;pictureid=1818This is the only picture I have before I painted it. I only took this picture so I would have something to look at if I had problems putting it back together.http://www.ghostnote.net/vbforum/picture.p...;pictureid=1817I hope to have it completely together in the next couple days and will take more pictures thenRandyb
sonic1974 Posted June 1, 2009 Posted June 1, 2009 I am not sure when Hamer started importing their guitars instead of doing them in America, but I think my buddy has had this since the early 90s.Here are some links to the pictures. First two are after I painted it.http://www.ghostnote.net/vbforum/picture.p...;pictureid=1819http://www.ghostnote.net/vbforum/picture.p...;pictureid=1818This is the only picture I have before I painted it. I only took this picture so I would have something to look at if I had problems putting it back together.http://www.ghostnote.net/vbforum/picture.p...;pictureid=1817I hope to have it completely together in the next couple days and will take more pictures thenRandybI'm not sure if I misunderstood your post, but anyways, Hamer still makes guitars in the USA. They just happen to have a lower priced import line in addition to the USA division.
hamerhead Posted June 1, 2009 Posted June 1, 2009 Definitely not a Cali. Transplanted Hamer-stamped pickups maybe, but not a Cali.Still - cool looking guitar.
cmatthes Posted June 1, 2009 Posted June 1, 2009 That's definitely not a Californian. Its also not a Hamer. It most likely is an imported guitar that had an early-to-mid-'80s Hamer "Slammer" pickup installed after the fact.Californians had a 27 fret slanted end fingerboard, and scalloped body cutaways. The body and headstock shape are not like any Hamer I've ever seen, and also the back control cavity should be a triangle shape. I'm not sure what that is, but I can say with certainty that it never saw the inside of the Arlington Heights shop...
randyb Posted June 1, 2009 Author Posted June 1, 2009 That's definitely not a Californian. Its also not a Hamer. It most likely is an imported guitar that had an early-to-mid-'80s Hamer "Slammer" pickup installed after the fact.Californians had a 27 fret slanted end fingerboard, and scalloped body cutaways. The body and headstock shape are not like any Hamer I've ever seen, and also the back control cavity should be a triangle shape. I'm not sure what that is, but I can say with certainty that it never saw the inside of the Arlington Heights shop...So is it common to put different pick ups in guitars? You can buy Hamer pick ups without buying the guitar? Or is it more likely that someone took a Hamer apart and put the parts into this guitar? When I looked at the wiring diagram for a Hamer it was pretty similar to the way this one is wired. Or do all electric guitars sort of get wired the same way?Thanks for the info btw. It helps me understand a bit more.Randyb
cmatthes Posted June 1, 2009 Posted June 1, 2009 More than likely, the pickup(s) were taken out of an '80s Hamer. VERY common to switch pickups on guitars. Just ask Austin here about that!
hamerhead Posted June 1, 2009 Posted June 1, 2009 So is it common to put different pick ups in guitars? Ask Austin! Dammit Chris!! Quit copying me.
acb Posted June 1, 2009 Posted June 1, 2009 kudos2u for a fine refinishing job even if it is not a hamer. i hope your daughter appreciates the time and energy you've put into it. btw sweat is one way (among many others) to add intrinsic mojo.
Nathan of Brainfertilizer Fame Posted June 1, 2009 Posted June 1, 2009 It looks a little bit like a Hamer Phantom, except that the upper left part (where the right arm comes over the body) is a little flatter than a Hamer.That is, if this is actually a Hamer Phantom...http://image.space.rakuten.co.jp/lg01/84/0...10c9zik0zj.jpeg
randyb Posted June 1, 2009 Author Posted June 1, 2009 kudos2u for a fine refinishing job even if it is not a hamer. i hope your daughter appreciates the time and energy you've put into it. btw sweat is one way (among many others) to add intrinsic mojo.Thanks for the positives on the paint job. I have done a lot of woodwork in my life and have taken to building custom drums and doing special finishes on them as a bit of hobby. So doing the paint on this was well within my wheelhouse. My daughter is a pretty solid kid (very different than I was, must get it from her mom)) and it was a pleasure to do. So, another question. There are two other pickups in it that don't say anything on them that I can see without unwrapping them. Is there ways to identify them?Also, I am sort of happy to know that I didn't completely change a real Hamer with my paintjob. For a lot of things it having "original" on it is a plus even if it is pretty faded etc.Randyb
cmatthes Posted June 1, 2009 Posted June 1, 2009 It looks a little bit like a Hamer Phantom, except that the upper left part (where the right arm comes over the body) is a little flatter than a Hamer.That is, if this is actually a Hamer Phantom...http://image.space.rakuten.co.jp/lg01/84/0...10c9zik0zj.jpegThat is not even CLOSE to a Hamer Phantom!!
moparmagic Posted June 1, 2009 Posted June 1, 2009 It looks a little bit like a Hamer Phantom, except that the upper left part (where the right arm comes over the body) is a little flatter than a Hamer. That is, if this is actually a Hamer Phantom... http://image.space.rakuten.co.jp/lg01/84/0...10c9zik0zj.jpeg i see the similarites........kinda
randyb Posted June 1, 2009 Author Posted June 1, 2009 Hey Moparmagic,A buddy of mine had a lime green Charger that my daughter loved when she was little. "I want my guitar to look like the big green monster car that Rick gave us rides in when I was 6. This guitar is loud like that!" So it was mopar that inspired the design!Randyb
zorrow Posted June 1, 2009 Posted June 1, 2009 It doesn't look like any Hamer to me --though it doesn't look bad at all. I support the theory of pickup switching.In any case, the facts are your daughter's got a shredder and you came to the coolest music-related forum ever, so cheers to you and to that guitar. :cool:
Mindseyes Posted June 1, 2009 Posted June 1, 2009 I think thats a IBANEZ body, the horns and the cutaways just scream that to me......................
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