82 Blitz

[Punkavenger]

a friend of mine has a 82 Hamer blitz guitar for sale

$500

In good cond.

Is this a good guitar?

( He's out of state so I haven't seen it in person yet, looks good from the photos)

Thanks!

[Nuclear Wessel]

Yeah, '82 Blitzes were good guitars! Whether his is worth $500 depends on what condition it's in and hardware appointments like chrome or black, Floyd Rose or non-locking trem. In '82 they were probably putting non-locking trems on them.

Unfortunately, the 80's were the era when it was cool for guitarists to run back and forth across stages, spin around so all the silk hankies they had tied to them would fly out from the centrifical force, and knock their guitars into mic stands, speakers, bass players, and whatever else got in the way. If your friend's Blitz isn't real beat up, it would be a cool find. Even if it is, those Blitzes were great players!

[wyldbil]

What Wessel said. I have three Blitzes and LOVE them!

[David B]

I've had a ton of Blitzes. The most valuble would be with a sustain block. $500 in VG condition like the black one that was just sold on here is a steal.

[cmatthes]

The 6-in-line headstock versions from '84-'87 go for a bit more than the earlier 3x3s, but they are essentially the same core guitar. The majority of the later ones had Floyds, but as DavidB said, the Sustainblock ones from the first run are also worth a bit more.

So many of those guitars that I have seen recently have been refinished, Kahlerized or broken, that a really nice clean and structurally sound one could be a keeper.

[Wrecks]

Like this?

[David B]

Wrecks,

That one is a little different. It has a bridge & tailpiece. The truss rod cover looks odd too. Is it a 1982 model?

[cmatthes]

That is an '85 that had been pro converted to a stop/tuna. I sold it to Senor Wrecks about 5 years ago to raise a bit of $$ for something else I had committed to - very cool guitar, but I believe it has found another home since then!

Tanx for the memories, pal!

[Punkavenger]

Hey!

I bought the Hamer Blitz for $400.00

It's the dark red mahogany with the schaller locking tremelo system with a beautiful perfect cond. neck ... headstock looks similar in style to a SG

It appears to be all original but then I noticed down by the knobs the Hamer name is "uh" like stenciled in the stain under the clear coat. A little cheesy ... was this a common thing that Hamer did?

It plays super nice ... everything is straight etc.

Damn thing is really heavy and body appears to be made from one solid piece of mahogany

Pick ups sound flat however ... black humbucker in the neck postion and cream humbucker in the bridge ... My friend said he thought they were original but I have my doubts ...

Could these be the dimarzios that were somehow "detuned" for playing at loud volume during concert situations?

Anyhow I usually just play through my 64 fender champ at home or in my friends garage band (yes, in the garage!) through my Crate vintage 50

I'm not what you would call a professional musician!

And recommendations for pick ups? I usually play hard rock ala Black Sabbath, Bar/power chords with a few blues leads thrown in if I'm feeling lucky.

I want a FAT clean sound ... a friend recommended some Bill Lawrence pick ups a while back but I forgot which ones ...

Thanks!

[MTM105]

Could these be the dimarzios that were somehow "detuned" for playing at loud volume during concert situations?

I replaced the bridge pickup on my 81 Special with Virtual DiMarzio PAFs.

The original PAF sounded kinda flat.

Virtuals add more clarity and punch without altering the original tone. IMHO

[BTMN]

I have 2 of the 3x3 Blitz guitars. Both are '83s with Kahlers. Both need a tuneup pickup wise. Your's has a Schaller(Floyd) on it huh? Cool. Not a trem fan much, but I like the Schallers Hamer used.

I would suggest the Bill Lawrence L500s, L500XLs, or Seymour Duncan '59/JB combo. That last pair really sound decent in Mahogany guitars to my ears playing what you mentioned. Then again I'm just one guy.

http://www.billlawrence.com/index.html

http://www.seymourduncan.com

I would like to see some photos to see what you are writing about the logo. Hamer logos are under the clear but they were dry transfer IIRC.

[Punkavenger]

I'm thinkin' the decal was under the clearcoat ... decal removed... left light spot in the mahogany stain... refinished with clear

like the the guy at the guitar shop said (about the pickups and finish)

"They did a lot of weird shit in the 80's"

Trying to get my girlfriends digital to work so I can send a pic

Thanks!

[BTMN]

P/A, I think your guitar has been stripped and refinned. That is not the stock headstock finish and logo. Is the serial number on the back in or stamped?

Here is a shot Punkavenger send me of his Blitz.

[BTMN]

Another.

[Punkavenger]

Yeh, It's almost like some stoner dude spent all year sanding it down perfectly in woodshop, then sprayed it with some sort of extremly hard high gloss clear epoxy in autoshop.

I just looked at the headstock again and the Hamer logo is just basic black type on a clear plastic decal background, almost like something you could cook up at home.

However the refinish was done really well, it's not sloppy at all and the guitar is really heavy(heavier than my massive Korean standard) and solid, the fretboard and frets are in perfect cond. I already like the feel better than my Korean standard and better than my 68 SG.

From 10 ft away the Blitz looks like its in perfect shape! and the action is great, great sustain and playability.

I'm going to put those Duncan distortions in it and see how it sounds.

If it all works out well I might even sell my Korean standard and or my SG.

I could use the money to buy a really nice acoustic, maybe a Taylor or something.