tomteriffic Posted January 1, 2012 Posted January 1, 2012 Oh, the other feel-good story of the year was that "Dying To Make It" made it. i wasn't able to see it but was proud to have done some eensy-tweensy part toward making it happen.
belgian Posted January 1, 2012 Posted January 1, 2012 Met only one HFC member last year (Bruiser Brody) - but that one counts for more.....And I finally got me a Duotone Custom..
Jeff R Posted January 1, 2012 Posted January 1, 2012 Lot of acquisitions this past year ... Prime new acquisition in 2011: My wonderful wife, Vonnie Prime old acquistion in 2011: My '03 goldtop PRS Singlecut, from a friend dear to all of us HFC'ers residing in Virginia. 2011 Hamers: - Cherryburst '96 Artist from JGale. I couldn't bond with the shorter scale and it currently resides with my oldest son, Joey. - Big black '91 Chap bass from The Muse. It currently resides on a stand in my den, getting plenty of play time from both Vonnie and myself. Two amps: '11 Boogie Mark V head parked atop a Marshall 1936 series 2x12, and a recent Ampeg BA-300 2x10 bass combo. The Mark V set a personal precedent - most money I ever spent on one piece of gear. And worth every penny. A few stompboxes, the most recent being an Ibanez Airplane Flanger (bought it Friday). I'm still seasick this thing is so over the top. Been very fortunate in that recent years have just gotten better and better it seems. Looking forward to 2012. And Kiz, thanks for coming back. As for the freelance writing you placed this past year, I knew you had it in you.
Bruiser Brody Posted January 1, 2012 Posted January 1, 2012 2011 goes down as one of the best years of my life easily with too many reasons to list. HFC-wise, got to meet Bruce and catch a Redd set at Continental here in Austin, hooked up with Belgian in his homeland and had many long-distance laughs with the usual suspects from here. Happy New Year y'all!!!
RichF Posted January 1, 2012 Posted January 1, 2012 No major purchases this year, just a couple pedals (Destination Rotation and a Dirty Little Secret). Sold a Rebel 20 head.Saw some great shows, the highlights being Warren Haynes, Imelda May and Fitz & The Tantrums.Too many great posts here to pick a favorite. Lots of good humor and people helping each other out. Looking forward to 2012 being another great year.
jaydee Posted January 2, 2012 Posted January 2, 2012 A highlight for me this year was seeing Judas Priest/Black Label Society/Thin Lizzy live in Toronto last November.Lowlight was a speeding ticket on the way back home.For gear, I picked up an '01 Artist Custom and an EBMM Albert Lee off the same guy. Both guitars are incredibly pristine.I also picked up a few MIJ guitars, An 80s Burny, Epi Standard with Stan Hinesley pups, a Tokai Love Rocks with Motor City pickups and an Orville Vee.I picked up an '08 Dr Z Maz jr nr head in blonde tolex, I've gassed for one of these for a while.I moved four electrics out, but brought in eight more. Those numbers are out of whack.A busy gear year.
velorush Posted January 2, 2012 Posted January 2, 2012 I FINALLY BOUGHT A BASS! I FINALLY FOUND A HAMER WITH A NECK I CAN GET ALONG WITH! I let go of the "cold dead fingers" Strat ... and I haven't noticed it... 2012: I'm going to find somebody, somewhere, that likes to play music and we're going to have some fun!
Submariner85 Posted January 2, 2012 Posted January 2, 2012 Best year of getting out of the damned house. 4 NFL games, 1 WWE wrestling event, Slash/Ozzy concert, Brad Paisley Concert, 1 Wild Adventures Amusement Park and lots of fishing.
tobereeno Posted January 2, 2012 Posted January 2, 2012 I'm glad to hear that the basses I let go are in good homes and are being loved! as long as we're getting general...scored a Dyna-comp from Steve Haynie that's mint and, while not necessarily my favorite compressor tone, is apparently essential for the Nashville Sound. And I'm all about Nashville. Needed some amplification, so went cheap - Marshall Haze 40 combo, and the Better Half called to ask what the hell this 80lb box is that just dropped off - Marshall 2x10 bass combo. There are better bass amps, but I'm going to stack them and run my Chap 12 string bass through both. And the bass combo was also sub-$1K. One big non-musical acquisition - my first automatic transmission car. The only gripe I can think of is that the seats were made for people a lot wider than my skinny Asian ass. Otherwise, it's a gear and furniture hauler, comfy cruiser for road trips, commuter, even a camper (the rear seats fold down, and the Better Half and I fitted a thin mattress and literally car camped. Oh, and it corners in ways a 2 ton car shouldn't be able to, and it's pushing 530-550bhp depending on air temp. That would be quite fast!
hikarateboy Posted January 3, 2012 Posted January 3, 2012 I'll just take the best part and leave the rest. The best part is that the HFC, one of the first if not the very first guitar brand specific sites, still runs strong. As MANY people often comment, it remains the best guitar board on the net because of the people here. When Andrew Large emailed me in '96 or some where about in response to a web page I had about my guitars and my wanting to create a Hamer specific web site I never could have imagined this would be the result. All the thanks goes to the fantastic brothers and sisters I never knew I had that found their way here. It's amazing to me that the internet can create best friends, some of which you rarely or never see, but who are willing to bend over backwards if needed to help another of our brethren in need. Of course cmatthes and all the mods over the years are the ones that help make it what it is. I dare say I am proud of this site and what it has become and does, but I can not take any credit for it as it is the people who come that make it what it is. This site has brought me friends, band members, regular 4321 Jam sessions and welcoming hosts in almost any area of the world I desire to visit. With that I will say that the HFC once again is the best score of the year. I expect that to continue as long as you folk continue to show up. Oh yeah, I will also say however I am also thank for the return of Kiz and the Poe butt retirement but that's a 'hind sight' of course.
Jimbilly Posted January 3, 2012 Posted January 3, 2012 I had a few very good gear buys, but not like years past, the highlight buys of the year were: '70 SVT & '89 JEM, - I didn't buy a single Hamer all year. I'm pleased that my job chugged along just fine (residential real estate appraisal), it didn't get any easier than previous years, but it's still a pretty good job. I'm most pleased that I started riding my bicycles again in August, and have been mtn biking regularly since, dropped another 10 pounds or so, and I'm feeling sort of fit again, -it's been a long time. Finding some decent trails in the un-maintained city park near my house was the key, I can be gone for an hour and do a pretty hard mtn bike ride, it's got several steep hills to get the heart going. My new trail is nearing completion, and will make it a significantly better place to ride.
cmatthes Posted January 4, 2012 Posted January 4, 2012 My "score" of the year was a '94 Daytona...missing just a few parts...for $85. That included shipping. Pics will be forthcoming. I've got some more customization work to do to it, but not much at all really. I was actually going to get it refinned, but the original (naturally-relic'ed) finish has totally grown on me. I was also thrilled to get the coolest Strat back from Stike a few months ago, and like everything he'd worked up for me, I have a tough time putting the damned thing down. Looking forward to whatever he gets to next of mine! Apart from that, glad to hang with the HFC'ers I got to see over the last 12 months, including playing a few fun gigs with the one and only Turdus, the annual return of the Mutant Genes, and sitting in with Serial's band from time to time. I'm going to have to actually make a list of all the shows I got to see in 2011, but among some of the more memorable ones were Foo Fighters, Social D, Matthew Sweet's "Girlfriend" 20th Tour, Ray Davies, Sloan, You Am I, Davy Knowles, and Cheap Trick. Also took in well over a dozen Caps home games, which was a blast. In addition to a great year of the HFC, I'm beyond pleased that after more than a decade, Serial's Hamer book is finally moving forward along with a new member here and a great publisher. Too freakin' cool.
Feynman Posted January 4, 2012 Posted January 4, 2012 I met bubs, and bloozguy, and MCChris, and saw Jeff Beck and Brian Setzer. Not too shabby.I think I bought (or sold) a guitar too, but I'm not sure.
tobereeno Posted January 4, 2012 Posted January 4, 2012 I love this board. After a hiatus of a few years, I come back and many of the old regulars are still here. I used to be into the TGP but this board pretty much suffices. No interest in guitars non-Hamer. The Chicago Jam proved that y'all are just as awesome in person as you are online (BTMN coming up from Florida was totally killer!!), and just as before, even though 12 years have passed since I first started shooting my mouth off on there, it's a phenomenal resource as I start ramping up to revise my guitar setups again (and I'm sure you can appreciate what it's like having Murkat being a 15 minute drive away!!!) and prepare to start gigging again for the first time in four years. There's a trust here that simply does not exist on most other boards, and the HFC has played a very big role in me being a Hamer-only player. The only non-Hamer fretted instruments I've bought since joining here in 1999 were two Epiphone Mandobirds (4 and 8 string), and those weren't for me, but for my Better Half.
gorch Posted January 7, 2012 Posted January 7, 2012 The most compelling in 2011 was the realization of my long time guitar project with luthier Ronny Scheithauer here in Germany. Unfortunately not Hamer built, but it had so many thoughts invested in and was so individual that it surely made sense to select a luthier to drive up in case of necessity.Other than that, I was happy to be able to help out a couple of HFC'ers, see my son's band Daily Friday develop, see both older boys playing together on stage for the first time with the school band, and had many nice discussions on the board.Nothing to bother though.
Toadroller Posted January 9, 2012 Posted January 9, 2012 I spent the year proving the maxim that you can't have just one Hamer USA. A lifelong fan of Hamer and Cheap Trick (I remember having a "contest" with my brother about which song was better- I Want You to Want Me or My Sharona), I entered 2011 on the HFC with an interesting collection of import Hamers- a Korean Standard, a Chinese goldtop P90, a sapphire blue Korean arch top and a Korean Stellar 1. Somewhere in Feb or March a silver sparkle Studio was on the 'Bay and I commented to my wife that I'd get it if it stayed in the 500-600 range. While out shopping with the kids to keep myself distracted, she bid for me and.... Sylvia for about $600. Just opening the case and strumming it was enough to make me realize the delta form imports to the real thing. So a couple of months later, I was hoping to snipe one of two Specials from the same seller ending at the same time. I got the first one at such a price, I went for the second a few minutes later and... welcome Cordelia and Puddy, both 93 Specials for about $500 each, no cases: Cordelia (a feisty redhead) Puddy (TV Yellow) Well, this is a problem, as what I've really wanted all along is an Artist. GC had one, I gave them a call and for $625 plus a major setup, my favorite guitar, Ruby: Well, this was getting ridiculous. Come September I walked into my local mom and pop for the first time in a long time and was feeling out the "real" Strats and Teles... found an American Tele that had it but, you know, $1,200? Walking past the used rack I saw Hamer on the headstock, looked down and saw a strat body, closed my eyes, said a prayer, looked up and saw Hamer USA on the logo- a Daytona. Hey Fender- this is how you do it. Loved to death (relicked), sweat stained, beat, tarnished, and a tag of $250. It didn't leave my hands. And really hasn't since then. I've always liked the Gibson scale and humbuckers, but this baby has opened the doors to single coil-ville for me. I give you Courtney: In 2011 I went from 0 to 5 Hamer USAs. It's anyone's guess as to which I'll grab next, but the Daytona gets the most attention.
cmatthes Posted January 9, 2012 Posted January 9, 2012 Toadroller - 2012. It's a NEW YEAR! Oddly enough, I have (and have had) many incredible Hamers. I keep grabbing the Daytonas first for some reason, and I've NEVER considered myself a Strat guy.
Toadroller Posted January 9, 2012 Posted January 9, 2012 Toadroller - 2012. It's a NEW YEAR! Oddly enough, I have (and have had) many incredible Hamers. I keep grabbing the Daytonas first for some reason, and I've NEVER considered myself a Strat guy. It's the neck. And the tone. And the fact that you somehow cannot get the thing out of tune. And, and, and... Oh, I picked up an import Slammer Series Daytona for my boy Henry for Christmas. He's happy and I'm impressed. It's a nice piece of ash, and well crafted. As far as the new year goes, I've still got hankering for a Phantom, a Blitz with a 3x3 headstock, and eventually I'll get a Standard. And, and, and... Until then, my import will have to do. I just put in some zebra GFS Alnico 2s and am pleasantly surprised for $35 each. They were a huge improvement of the dead Duncan Designed originals. The maple body brings them to life. Great Slash sounds.
Brentrocks Posted January 9, 2012 Posted January 9, 2012 Almost too much cool stuff to recount, and if I was awake, I'd probably remember some monumentally silly threads that went by. A highlight on the board was Ana's (BlueRedWhile) first gig with a Hamer thread. And Kiz inexplicably returned. Three acquisitions were particularly good. Toby's Chap 5, a Rivera R-55 from Brent, and BCR Greg/StevieDamn Clay made me an offer I couldn't refuse on an Elipse 12. The last two will see action tonight and the Chap 5 got its first real workout on a recording project a couple of days ago. I'll probably think of something else mid-song tonight and make a mess of the tune. Oh yeah....it was great meeting you too Tom! ....i bet you are liking that amp!!! that is a FABULOUSLY VERSITLE 1x12
Brentrocks Posted January 9, 2012 Posted January 9, 2012 I FINALLY BOUGHT A BASS! good for you!!! i have seriously thought about doing that too.
Disturber Posted January 9, 2012 Posted January 9, 2012 This was by far the best buy, (it was a partial trade actually). Dumb ass that got rid of it, he did not know what he was doing. After a pick up change and a proper set up it's been my number one all year. Deadly tones.
gorch Posted January 10, 2012 Posted January 10, 2012 This was by far the best buy, (it was a partial trade actually). Dumb ass that got rid of it, he did not know what he was doing. After a pick up change and a proper set up it's been my number one all year. Deadly tones. Congrats! It looks awesome. Did you get rid of the screws in the pubs?
Feynman Posted January 10, 2012 Posted January 10, 2012 [Did you get rid of the screws in the pubs?Sometimes I miss those days.
Disturber Posted January 10, 2012 Posted January 10, 2012 [Did you get rid of the screws in the pubs? Sometimes I miss those days. Do you mean the pickups? No, I have put a set of Duncan antiquity covers on an old pair of Hamer Dimarzios. If I set the screws high they fit the holes, but are somewhat un-aligned. But it looks cool. However, the guitar has such a high output as it is semi hollow, and with the maple cap it's just sounds to snappy if it have the pole pieces in lign with the covers. I actually have them screwed down in line with the actual pick up bobbin - and the guitars sounds like an old 1958 LP mixed with an old tele. It's tone heaven. The pups are un potted and microphonic, that together with the semi hollowness is awesome. Picks up every nuance of the guitar. And they don't sqeal either through my 2104 Marshall - go figure!
pesocaster Posted January 10, 2012 Posted January 10, 2012 2011 Started gigging regularly again after about a 6 year hiatus to be a dad..... My custom build Peso-Pro is pretty much my only gig guitar... I take back ups... but rarely does the PP ever sit one out.... confirming that this was the BEST musical investment I hve made in the 30+ years I have been plaing.... I started posting again on a more regular basis (still infrequent... but more than in the last few years) ..... Best musical purchase..... building my "Cork sniffer" Esquire.... Ah and last ..... regrew some hair thanks to the miracle of Rogaine
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