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Had a great time on the phone with Paul Hamer today.


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That's a great story. I used to haunt the pawnshops myself. What ever happened to Dave?

Paul Hamer

Since 2005, Dave Hlubek has been plaing with Molly Hatchet again... one of the two original members.

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Arlington Heights native and Hamer owner since age 13 here. You have influenced the lives of countless people through your amazing instruments Paul. I would be someone completely different if it wasn't for you. Thanx for creating the best guitars in the world!!!!

praise1.gif

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That's a great story. I used to haunt the pawnshops myself. What ever happened to Dave?

Paul Hamer

Since 2005, Dave Hlubek has been plaing with Molly Hatchet again... one of the two original members.

Dave is a Dean Guitars endorsee too. He is still big as a house and wails but I have not seen him in The Bobby Ingram Band , I mean Molly Hatchet, with him back in it yet.

I met Dave about 6 months after I bought 0189 in a Jacksonville club and he told me the guitar "wasn't any good any more and wouldn't hold a tune on the G string". By then it had had a once over by my favorite local tech with the nut setup for 10-46 so I wasn't having any problems. Kept it the same as the day I bought it for 14 years. I had to get it refretted in '96 and I had a new nut put on it then, but no other parts were ever changed. Stays in tune just Fine Dave. :D Think he was just irked he pawned it and lost it? :o:D

Right after I met Dave, Late Spring of '83, I also called the Hamer offices and gave them the serial numbers of the two guitars I had requesting any info. In a couple days a call was returned to me. It was a Frank but dont recall which of the two it was, Frank U. or Frank R.. He wasn't to happy about the sum I had paid for them, the fact Dave had pawned them, and asked if I had receipts from the pawn shop. :P:) I did. :D

I think my heart palpatated a few seconds when he told me that, yes, the Standard was made for Dave but how he got the Vector was a question as it was made for Michael Schenker. Dave had told me they toured together and he gave it to Dave at the last date together but he never played it. I think in recall that irked Frank a lil more too. Frank wished me well and I've been a Hamer owner since with 24.5 to my name. The .5 is a '93 Daytona neck mounted on a late '70s Mighty Mite Explorer body. I have since learned 0189 is the Standard right after James Honeyman-Scott's and 3 numbers before Dez Dickerson's, of Prince's band at the time, Standard. Nice company of owners.

My Hamers: http://www.hamerfanclub.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=26447

My .5 a Hamer..... MDHM

mhdm12.jpg

Armitage there has quite a few Hamers too. Life is Good eh Bill?

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That's a great story. I used to haunt the pawnshops myself. What ever happened to Dave?

Paul Hamer

Since 2005, Dave Hlubek has been plaing with Molly Hatchet again... one of the two original members.

Dave is a Dean Guitars endorsee too. He is still big as a house and wails but I have not seen him in The Bobby Ingram Band , I mean Molly Hatchet, with him back in it yet.

I met Dave about 6 months after I bought 0189 in a Jacksonville club and he told me the guitar "wasn't any good any more and wouldn't hold a tune on the G string". By then it had had a once over by my favorite local tech with the nut setup for 10-46 so I wasn't having any problems. Kept it the same as the day I bought it for 14 years. I had to get it refretted in '96 and I had a new nut put on it then, but no other parts were ever changed. Stays in tune just Fine Dave. :D Think he was just irked he pawned it and lost it? :o:D

Right after I met Dave, Late Spring of '83, I also called the Hamer offices and gave them the serial numbers of the two guitars I had requesting any info. In a couple days a call was returned to me. It was a Frank but dont recall which of the two it was, Frank U. or Frank R.. He wasn't to happy about the sum I had paid for them, the fact Dave had pawned them, and asked if I had receipts from the pawn shop. :P:) I did. :D

I think my heart palpatated a few seconds when he told me that, yes, the Standard was made for Dave but how he got the Vector was a question as it was made for Michael Schenker. Dave had told me they toured together and he gave it to Dave at the last date together but he never played it. I think in recall that irked Frank a lil more too. Frank wished me well and I've been a Hamer owner since with 24.5 to my name. The .5 is a '93 Daytona neck mounted on a late '70s Mighty Mite Explorer body. I have since learned 0189 is the Standard right after James Honeyman-Scott's and 3 numbers before Dez Dickerson's, of Prince's band at the time, Standard. Nice company of owners.

My Hamers: http://www.hamerfanclub.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=26447

My .5 a Hamer..... MDHM

mhdm12.jpg

Armitage there has quite a few Hamers too. Life is Good eh Bill?

Cool stories.

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Hey Paul,

Great to see you drop by and saying hello to everyone. Thanks for starting up one of the best American guitar companies around. If it wasn't for my friend in Hayward, CA in the late '80s playing his modified Hamer Standard, I would have never known how great Hamer guitars actually were. Drop by again and enlighten us with some of your cool stories.

Guitar George

GG: Thank you for saying so many nice things about the guitar. Would that have been Spitzer Music that your friend found the guitar through? I visited them several times at the Hayward store, the San Francisco store and I think they had one other. Paul Hamer

Hey Paul,

I've been to Spitzer Music's Hayward store when it was still open in the late '80s & early '90s. They had a black Prototype with a Kahler tremolo that I really liked, but never bought. My friend bought his Kahler modified red flametop Standard w/crown inlays & binding from someone used. I had an '81 Ibanez Destroyer at the time and used to compare his guitar with mine. That Standard is a great guitar. I wish he didn't sell it when he moved to Colorado though. It was worth some money now.

Guitar George

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Hello Paul

Still remember getting this from you

paul_hamer.jpg

Best wishes from an early fan.

Rob

Rob:

Thank for posting the note, it brings back a lot of memories. I believe you must have bought that from Dom who worked at Mainly Music in Vancouver. He was a great salesman and a very early supporter of Hamer Guitars. He was a really wonderful guy who deserved a lot of success. All the people at Mainly were great to me.

Thanks for posting that!!! Paul Hamer

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Since Paul & Jol both seem to be free.....maybe they can start a guitar company?

Ummm, I'd guess that would be highly unlikely! :)

As in, when pigs fly?

I think Paul needs a good HFC party, what say the gang?

I'm in, let's do it!

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StandardBass061.jpg

#0531 w/ Red Calzone flight case - Bought new from King James Music, Brooklyn NY in 1981.

Thank you Paul Hamer, for everything you've done for all of us who truly love the quality, sound, & performance of Hamer guitars & basses.

And a warm welcome aboard, to the forum that bares your name.

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Rob:

Thank for posting the note, it brings back a lot of memories. I believe you must have bought that from Dom who worked at Mainly Music in Vancouver. He was a great salesman and a very early supporter of Hamer Guitars. He was a really wonderful guy who deserved a lot of success. All the people at Mainly were great to me.

Thanks for posting that!!! Paul Hamer

Many Thanks Paul

I posted about Dom here before but nobody seemed familiar with him. He was an absolute scream! And I've probably yet to meet someone (including the guys here) so fiercely devoted to Hamer guitars. We used to come into the city from the suburbs as young teens and there'd be Dom -- looking like Steve Stevens meets Vinny Vincent - literally screaming at people in the shop that "...F'ing Hamers were the F'ing best.... period." If you didn't fully agree in the moment he'd berate you out the door. Had me sold on pure bravado. He left Mainly Music by the time I finally ordered my guitar but I'll never forget him and his absolute uncensored passion for Hamer. Great memories. In the end it was Barry and Tom who helped me put it all together but Dom was the man who planted the seed and hit me on the head with the shovel to make it grow.

Rob

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StandardBass061.jpg

#0531 w/ Red Calzone flight case - Bought new from King James Music, Brooklyn NY in 1981.

Thank you Paul Hamer, for everything you've done for all of us who truly love the quality, sound, & performance of Hamer guitars & basses.

And a warm welcome aboard, to the forum that bares your name.

King James Music was a very early supporter of mine, great store. Thanks for posting the photo and I love the look of the 12-string headstock you have in your posts! and thanks for your kind words!!! Paul Hamer

Rob:

Thank for posting the note, it brings back a lot of memories. I believe you must have bought that from Dom who worked at Mainly Music in Vancouver. He was a great salesman and a very early supporter of Hamer Guitars. He was a really wonderful guy who deserved a lot of success. All the people at Mainly were great to me.

Thanks for posting that!!! Paul Hamer

Many Thanks Paul

I posted about Dom here before but nobody seemed familiar with him. He was an absolute scream! And I've probably yet to meet someone (including the guys here) so fiercely devoted to Hamer guitars. We used to come into the city from the suburbs as young teens and there'd be Dom -- looking like Steve Stevens meets Vinny Vincent - literally screaming at people in the shop that "...F'ing Hamers were the F'ing best.... period." If you didn't fully agree in the moment he'd berate you out the door. Had me sold on pure bravado. He left Mainly Music by the time I finally ordered my guitar but I'll never forget him and his absolute uncensored passion for Hamer. Great memories. In the end it was Barry and Tom who helped me put it all together but Dom was the man who planted the seed and hit me on the head with the shovel to make it grow.

Rob

Anybody know where Dom is today? Paul Hamer

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Paul....

I'm curious as to where in the "early Hamer dealer" chronology Six String Sales up in Rochester NY fell? We had Standards in the #0030 and #0070 range in the studio when we did our first album that were both bought from Howie Hubberman who owned that store. Do you recall who the first half dozen Hamer dealers were?

Here's Standard Bass SN#0054 that I got a few years ago from Frankie Cavalli of the Dutch band Herman Brood & Wild Romance. Well played but still in the original road case Hamer shipped it to him in. Great bass!

StandardBassSN054_long1Web.jpg

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Paul....

I'm curious as to where in the "early Hamer dealer" chronology Six String Sales up in Rochester NY fell? We had Standards in the #0030 and #0070 range in the studio when we did our first album that were both bought from Howie Hubberman who owned that store. Do you recall who the first half dozen Hamer dealers were?

Here's Standard Bass SN#0054 that I got a few years ago from Frankie Cavalli of the Dutch band Herman Brood & Wild Romance. Well played but still in the original road case Hamer shipped it to him in. Great bass!

StandardBassSN054_long1Web.jpg

Wow!

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Paul....

I'm curious as to where in the "early Hamer dealer" chronology Six String Sales up in Rochester NY fell? We had Standards in the #0030 and #0070 range in the studio when we did our first album that were both bought from Howie Hubberman who owned that store. Do you recall who the first half dozen Hamer dealers were?

Here's Standard Bass SN#0054 that I got a few years ago from Frankie Cavalli of the Dutch band Herman Brood & Wild Romance. Well played but still in the original road case Hamer shipped it to him in. Great bass!

StandardBassSN054_long1Web.jpg

I always love seeing this one!

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Paul....

I'm curious as to where in the "early Hamer dealer" chronology Six String Sales up in Rochester NY fell? We had Standards in the #0030 and #0070 range in the studio when we did our first album that were both bought from Howie Hubberman who owned that store. Do you recall who the first half dozen Hamer dealers were?

Here's Standard Bass SN#0054 that I got a few years ago from Frankie Cavalli of the Dutch band Herman Brood & Wild Romance. Well played but still in the original road case Hamer shipped it to him in. Great bass!

StandardBassSN054_long1Web.jpg

I always love seeing this one!

I'll tell you guys....THIS one is special to me.

The original owner, Freddie Cavalli, had it for 30 years, plyed the living crap out of it on tours and recordings. He put it on consignment at a shop in the Netherlands and after I inquired to buy it changed his mind. We went back and forth for like two years, until he finally decided to part with it. The store owner and he were gracious enough to even include a digital video clip personalized to me of Freddie playing the bass in his apartment and wishing me luck with "thid great bass."

Then, we had a major fiasco after it was shipped. The store misunderstood the transport company it used and once it arrived air freight at JFK Airport in NYC, I went to pick it up and they wanted and additional $750 US FOR SHIPPING and fees...on top of around $300 I'd already paid. I told the freight company to fk-off and the sender and freight company took amonth to hash it out. After a month the sender said all was good and the freight company had written off those fees and to go pick up the bass (STILL sitting in a hanger on a skid in JFK all this time!) So, I again drive into NYC to the freight company and they hand me a bill for almost ANOTHER $750 for "30 Days Storage!!" Well....I got VERY unfriendly and started calling them a LOT of names....and started to dial the police on my cell phone...and they backed down and just handed me the claim form to go get it at the terminal. I was a little shocked to see just the huge original Hamer roadcase from 1977, full of tour stickers, etc. laying on a skid, unboxed, that a forklift dropped at my feet with a BANG! Gesh!!

I opened it up to check if it was still in one piece and it looked like Freddie had never cleaned it once in 30 years. Stickers on the back, hand spooge, dried sweat, neck strap pin screw snapped off in three places....eeeewwww!!! Man, it looked WELL played. REAL relicing! The Hamer logo had clear red nail polish over it that took me a full day to get off. But it cleaned up pretty nice and plays/sounds GREAT!

Anyway....after all that, not even a month later I got an email telling me that Freddie Cavalli had passed away from cancer. So, he'd only decided to part with his Hamer Standard after 30 years while, literally, on his death bed. So, the bass is really special to me from all of that.

Here's a pic of Freddie from an 80s promo poster and also of him playing it in the late 70s with Herman Brood & Wild Romance using this Standard. There was a film documentary done about them a few years back. Herman Brood was a fairly famous guy over in his part of the world and killed himself by jumping to his death off of a hotel roof of the Amsterdam Hilton. Very rock & roll, no? The event is noted as the most significant ever in Dutch pop music.

Std054_Cavalli.jpg

Brood_79.jpg

Brood_1979.jpg

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#0017 came from Pastore Music. Original owner was the road manager for the Winter Bros. Their 1976 tour tag is still on the handle.

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Wecome, Paul.

It's really a thrill to see you joining the discussion here. You've been missed!

Since we're jumping on the memory train, I thought I'd post photos of my early Sunburst and Standard.

I bought the Sunburst, if I recall correctly, in 1978 from Mick Faulhaber at Ward Brodt Music in Madison, WI. A few months later, I was working behind the counter of the "combo department" at Ward Brodt. The Sunburst was one of the very early ones with the one piece neck that developed a twist. I remember talking to someone in Palatine (or possibly Arlington Heights) who was extremely helpful. He said, "Send it back. We'll give you full credit an build you whatever you want!"

I opted for the black Standard in the second photo. I believe it was the first black one made. I recall Frank (not sure if it was Untermyer or Rindone) calling me to say the guitar was finished. He mentioned that Paul Stanley had just come by the plant and tried to buy it.

I ended up using and abusing that Standard for years. It suffered a broken headstock, several pickup mods and an ill-advised conversion from a 1/4" to cannon output jack. It may still be out there somewhere helping someone earn a living. It was a great guitar.

My other great memories of Hamer's early days center around Regenberg Music in Middleton, WI. Dick and Dave Regenberg (who now run US Masters Guitars) had a small shop that was stocked with some of the coolest custom color Specials I've ever seen. I remember an orange day glo sunbust and a camoflauge in particular.

1085024311713_Me_w_Sunburst_79.JPG

1072511066564_Hamer_Standard_79.JPG

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Thank for posting the note, it brings back a lot of memories. I believe you must have bought that from Dom who worked at Mainly Music in Vancouver. He was a great salesman and a very early supporter of Hamer Guitars. He was a really wonderful guy who deserved a lot of success. All the people at Mainly were great to me.

When Mainly Music opened a branch in Edmonton back in '86-ish, I hustled out to meet you and your wares at a clinic that they hosted. If I recall correctly Marcel was the guy running that store.

They had a little jam sesh that night. It was my very first time on stage and in front of you and some of the creme of the crop in our local scene no less... I was crapping my pants that night!!! :)

Shortly after I placed the order for this:

blackfbiv.jpg

My pride and joy.

Thanks for all you've done, Sir!!!

Dion

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This is an great thread. Thanks Greg for the call and Paul Hamer for joining us. And thanks to everyone posting about these great Hamers.

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Paul's actually been a member here for some time - always glad to read his contributions!

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I have nothing to contribute to this exceptional Hamer history thread. However, it is really nice to follow this thread. Many thanks guys.

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Paul....

Any chance you have any recollection of this Hamer doubleneck? The factory refinished it, so it would have been a different color when originally made.

The pots date it to 1981 and it was not stamped with a SN# when found by another HFC member (Serial Steve.) The large "T K" initials on the headstock are original, so maybe that might help?

I'm told it was found for sale used at, I believe, a Daddy's Junky Music up in New England, partially stripped and pretty beat up. Hamer claimed it was definitely one of their's, so did the refin for Serial Steve and stamped a SN# on it when they had it in for the refin.

Since it would have likely been a four-digit era piece and the pots date it to early or even pre-Cruise Bass....it would be interesting to know anything else about it, if you recall. It's not in any of the factory logs that they do have.

There were two other similar (but later) Cruise/Phantom doublenecks made, that are owned by other HFC members. One was a red/black Zulu finish and the other is SN#0716 (natural finish with twice as many knobs/switches,) which puts it in 1984.

-mc2

DBLNKHamerPhantomCruiseWeb.jpg

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Paul....

Any chance you have any recollection of this Hamer doubleneck? The factory refinished it, so it would have been a different color when originally made.

The pots date it to 1981 and it was not stamped with a SN# when found by another HFC member (Serial Steve.) The large "T K" initials on the headstock are original, so maybe that might help?

I'm told it was found for sale used at, I believe, a Daddy's Junky Music up in New England, partially stripped and pretty beat up. Hamer claimed it was definitely one of their's, so did the refin for Serial Steve and stamped a SN# on it when they had it in for the refin.

Since it would have likely been a four-digit era piece and the pots date it to early or even pre-Cruise Bass....it would be interesting to know anything else about it, if you recall. It's not in any of the factory logs that they do have.

There were two other similar (but later) Cruise/Phantom doublenecks made, that are owned by other HFC members. One was a red/black Zulu finish and the other is SN#0716 (natural finish with twice as many knobs/switches,) which puts it in 1984.

-mc2

DBLNKHamerPhantomCruiseWeb.jpg

:D:):lol:

This thread is the gift that keeps on giving!

The T K can stand for Totally Kick-ass as far as I'm concerned!

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Paul....

I'm curious as to where in the "early Hamer dealer" chronology Six String Sales up in Rochester NY fell? We had Standards in the #0030 and #0070 range in the studio when we did our first album that were both bought from Howie Hubberman who owned that store. Do you recall who the first half dozen Hamer dealers were?

Here's Standard Bass SN#0054 that I got a few years ago from Frankie Cavalli of the Dutch band Herman Brood & Wild Romance. Well played but still in the original road case Hamer shipped it to him in. Great bass!

StandardBassSN054_long1Web.jpg

I haven't thought about Howie Hubberman in a long time. He was a partner or a salesman who ended up a partner or ended up an owner somehow at Six String Sales. The first owner was a guy named Dan. Dan ended up as a major player at Fender I think. Dan was the first from Six String to contact me and they were an early dealer. He was a real nice guy and wonderful to work with. Howie took over and I don't think the store lasted too long after that.

Years later I ran into Howie in Los Angeles, he was helping out Tom Petersson when Tom was putting together a band with Mimi Betinis of Pezband during the brief time he left Cheap Trick. I think Howie had a tiny closet of a store near Guitar Center. He also claimed to have something to do with Gun's and Roses but I could be wrong about that. Three early dealer's were Pastore Music in New Jersey, Grayson's in Manhattan and Grayson's on Long Island (which were managed by the guy that later took over Kramer guitar, Dennis) and King James Music. I have an early dealer listing sheet somewhere that when I come across it I can post.

That bass could be an early instrument that Peter Breggar imported to Holland. Thanks for posting the bass photo. Is there any damage to the back of the peg head on that bass? Paul Hamer

Wecome, Paul.

It's really a thrill to see you joining the discussion here. You've been missed!

Since we're jumping on the memory train, I thought I'd post photos of my early Sunburst and Standard.

I bought the Sunburst, if I recall correctly, in 1978 from Mick Faulhaber at Ward Brodt Music in Madison, WI. A few months later, I was working behind the counter of the "combo department" at Ward Brodt. The Sunburst was one of the very early ones with the one piece neck that developed a twist. I remember talking to someone in Palatine (or possibly Arlington Heights) who was extremely helpful. He said, "Send it back. We'll give you full credit an build you whatever you want!"

I opted for the black Standard in the second photo. I believe it was the first black one made. I recall Frank (not sure if it was Untermyer or Rindone) calling me to say the guitar was finished. He mentioned that Paul Stanley had just come by the plant and tried to buy it.

I ended up using and abusing that Standard for years. It suffered a broken headstock, several pickup mods and an ill-advised conversion from a 1/4" to cannon output jack. It may still be out there somewhere helping someone earn a living. It was a great guitar.

My other great memories of Hamer's early days center around Regenberg Music in Middleton, WI. Dick and Dave Regenberg (who now run US Masters Guitars) had a small shop that was stocked with some of the coolest custom color Specials I've ever seen. I remember an orange day glo sunbust and a camoflauge in particular.

1085024311713_Me_w_Sunburst_79.JPG

1072511066564_Hamer_Standard_79.JPG

Thank you for posting. Yes I remember Ward Brodt Music, they were a very early dealer and I think they had several stores around the Madison area. I even remember having to replace your guitar. somewhere I even have a photo I took of the guitars as they hung at Ward Brodt. I was so proud to see tem in a store.

I also remember the Regenberg brothers who were really nice to me and very supportive. Thanks for posting and all your kind words!! Paul Hamer

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