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Phantom Custom - Collectable?


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This is the difference between "scarce" and "rare."

I think for the time being, the Phantom Custom is almost the opposite of collectible...if by collectible you mean something that has a dollar value higher than its useful value. The good news is that the useful value of the PC is so high: great build quality; versatile; great design...we can all wonder whether its resale value will ever catch up with that.

You may have seen a few weeks ago, some chap with a really cool guitar for sale...a 1984 Sportomatic. In the consensus of this board, that was a very collectible Hamer. On eBay, the bidding didn't go above $1300 if I remember correctly. I think he was expecting around $2500 or more.

You might be able to get $800 or so for the PC...but other than to weather out the temporary stinkiness of this economy, I wouldn't hold it thinking it will be worth many thousands later on.

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I don't know but I consider mine to be great bang for the buck. It's the best all-rounder I have ever owned (beats my 2 LPs with Jimmy Page switching and my Ibanez AS-180).

It just has a voice that seems to suit whatever you're playing.

I also like that it's such a sleeper...

Regards,

Jim

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I'm not sure about the production numbers, but it seems that there were more than that. I had one that had been given the greatly expanded tone and control options of the Steve Clay/BCR Greg "Three pots of coffee, a wild idea and a soldering iron" treatment and loved it.

Loved the look, the tones and the playability, but it weighed a damn ton and, well, good times/bad times and all that, it went away. I forget who bought it but they put a clear PG on it and it was killer all over again. Great guitars, yep. Collectible/increasing in value? Probably not.

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The Phantoms are "rare" 'cuz nobody bought them. LOL!!!

That's correct. If they had been selling, Hamer would have made more. As it was, they hung in the stores for years. My local Hamer dealer hung one up in 1998 and finally sold it in Oct. 2000 at below cost. That's how I got mine as well, off eBay in the same month, at the same price, from another Hamer dealer in Texas.

Pity. They're really cool guitars. I believe I once read where Jol lamented that very few people "got" these guitars. They really are amazing, because if you're a gigger, you can use this one guitar to cop a Strat, Tele, or LP sound with a twist of the pickup selector. The first three positions (from neck toward middle) do great Strat sounds. The 3-coil setting can sound like a Tele or an LP on steroids, depending on where you have the gain and whether you're playing for clean or overdrive. The bridge position does an excellent LP sound with an extra dose of snarl, thanks to the thicker maple cap.

For all the screaming the Phantom Custom can do, it's also an excellent rhythm instrument, one where your chording blends seamlessly with the rest of the band, yet retains a distinct sound, easily identifiable in the mix.

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I forget who bought it but they put a clear PG on it and it was killer all over again. Great guitars, yep. Collectible/increasing in value? Probably not.

That was me. :D

post-2-1143994506-3.jpg

I think you got a Mesa Nomad 45 4x10 dropped on your door in exchange. I sold it off to a guy in florida and it wound up getting a P-90 and a black pickguard.

C'mon, who has it now?

That top was way too pretty to cover up again!

Collectible? as in "inverstment piece"? Never, ever.

Great for modding, and will be highly treasured and sought out by a select few hardcore Hamer geeks for all time, but never worth huge dough I'll bet.

Z

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They really are amazing, because if you're a gigger, you can use this one guitar to cop a Strat, Tele, or LP sound with a twist of the pickup selector.

See that's what I don't like about mine - it does a really bright Tele/Strat thing, but it's nowhere near a Les Paul (which is why I bought it). I can't comment about how it sits in a band mix.

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See that's what I don't like about mine - it does a really bright Tele/Strat thing, but it's nowhere near a Les Paul (which is why I bought it). I can't comment about how it sits in a band mix.

Maybe you need to adjust the bridge pickup height or the pole pieces, check the settings on the amp, etc. I think mine does a credible LP sound, but on the snarlier side. It takes the right guitar/amp matchup with the right level of input overdrive to get into the zone.

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