coolfeel Posted January 12, 2012 Posted January 12, 2012 Got the Chap late Tuesday night and wanted to share my initial thoughts. Build Quality: No surprises here...This guitar was flawlessly executed...There were a few very simple features that we asked for on this guitar (i.e., barrel jack), that were so well thought out it's almost unimaginable. mirrorimij told me after I placed my order that Hamer "over"engineers almost everything. He was spot on. I was honestly blown away by the attention to detail given. The peghead overlay is finished in high-gloss while the wenge neck is un-finished - I don't know how they did it but it was perfectly executed...Hamer created a custom stain for the back of the guitar based on Dark Walnut, while the top was finished in Natural. I really do not know how they were able to do it, but again, no visible line between the two...Perfect... The whole guitar far exceeded my expectations...seriously! I will put this guitar up against any PRS Private Stock... Sound: Again, no surprises here. If it is a Hamer, it is built to be played and for the best possible tone...There are a lot of choices for tone with the 5-way selector and coil tap switches. We originally were going to go with custom spec Bartolini's but I called an audible a few months ago and decided to go with a set of WCR pickups. Sent Jim Wagner (WCR) a picture of the guitar and he was floored by the guitar... The guitar sounds great...the Wenge gives the guitar a noticable depth of character and punchiness in the lower mid's Additional thoughts: Anyone who has owned or played a guitar made of Koa, understands that Koa has a tendency to look drastically different depending on the viewing angle. The top on this guitar is VERY hard to capture accurately with pictures - Although they look good, the pictures posted on the blog are so far removed from how the guitar actually looks in person, that when I opened the case the first time, I thought I was looking at a different guitar...The wenge neck is hard to capture accurately as well. The neck looked almost dusty in the pics posted on the blog but when you see it in person it looks more like a darker milk chocolate with mocha streaks running through it. I had asked Hamer to create a finish for the back of the guitar that would go well with the wenge neck. What they landed on could not have been better suited. Stunning... About the top - it is a sick top, Gary Pirro captured ALL of the quilt, flame, curl and beautiful steaks in the top... There were many custom options - so I thought I would post a pic of the COA to show a few, there are several that are not listed (1 11/16" at the nut) and a couple that are listed that we changed after the guitar was being built (no 17 degree headstock pitch, and we went with a lubitrac nut instead of graphite). Here are some pics of the body, I am NOT a professional, so these are barely adequate. I will have the guitar shot professionally and will post some of those when that happens... Again, another big thanks to Hamer and Dave Peers for helping bring this beautiful guitar to fruition!
pesocaster Posted January 12, 2012 Posted January 12, 2012 Just stunning....... I can understand receiving a custom Hamer.... mine is my # 1 gig guitar...... best musical investment I have ever made hands down.....
tobereeno Posted January 12, 2012 Posted January 12, 2012 holy shit. christ almighty, that's a $10,000 guitar, easy. And I'm betting you paid nowhere near that.This is pushing my custom order ideas from the back of my mine to "call dealer, place order, put down deposit". Jeebus. jeebus...
Shark Posted January 12, 2012 Posted January 12, 2012 Pics speak for itself. Awesome.Must be great to receive a custom HAMER ;-)
tobereeno Posted January 12, 2012 Posted January 12, 2012 so, what was the total wait time, from order to receipt?
GusS Posted January 12, 2012 Posted January 12, 2012 Here are some pics of the body, I am NOT a professional, so these are barely adequate. I will have the guitar shot professionally and will post some of those when that happens...try this -go into a room that is bright and place the guitar perpendicular to the window. Disable the flash on your camera and rest it on a solid surface (table, tripod etc) and take the picture.
shredmeister Posted January 12, 2012 Posted January 12, 2012 Very nice. Hey wait - where's the Floyd Rose ??? :lol:
coolfeel Posted January 14, 2012 Author Posted January 14, 2012 so, what was the total wait time, from order to receipt?I ordered the guitar in November 2010, and Dave received it last week. So roughly a year. We knew it would take some time. I think it took Hamer a month or so to source the Koa from Hawaii. I kind of wonder what they did with the other Koa billet. It would have made an equally killer top, but it was a completely different looking billet than the one we went with...
singlehum Posted January 14, 2012 Posted January 14, 2012 Just beautiful all the way around. What my eyes keep going back to are the tumbling boomers.
lincsman Posted January 14, 2012 Posted January 14, 2012 What a guitar love koa there is just somthing about it which makes me smile
David B Posted January 14, 2012 Posted January 14, 2012 Just got to play Mike's Chaparral and it's sounds killer! It really looks great in person too.
mc2 Posted January 15, 2012 Posted January 15, 2012 Stunning guitar! SO nice to see a new Chaparral build. I prefer setneck Chaps over Calis and maybe this will help see a needed resurgence in respect for Chaparrals. Congrats! Wery well spec'd project.
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