Checkerboard re-incarnation...

[diablo175]

I'm guessing that imports typically do account for the majority of profit in most guitar companies. They have their custom and USA lines for visibility and credibility and the cheaper-to-produce imports. They sell at a decent profit to all the aspiring players who want to own a (insert brand name here) just like their idol/inspiration but can't shell out the 2 - 4 grand for a new USA-made or CS. Even the 800- 1000 bucks for decent used ax puts a lot of the USA & higher end import models outta the range of your average working stiff guitar player.

[edgar_allan_poe]

Gustavsson and Huber can survive, why should Hamer not be able to do that? They target the same customer group(s).

No they don't...not even close. Johan is targeting his guitars for a specific group. The group of buyers who want a 1959 LP with a twist...and he charges close to 15k for those guitars. Exactly how is that similar to Hamer?

Nik is a little closer to Hamer, I'll give you that one...but you still won't see a Huber guy asking to pay $350 for a used Huber.

[cmatthes]

Are you sure the guitar Peter has is a checkerboard Standard? I know he has/had a converted Blitz, but haven't seen the Standard he got from Rick.

Peter?

Actually, what differs a Standard from a Blitz in case of opac painted Standards like the Checkerboard not requiring veneer? Both are made from pure mahogany, there are Blitz' that have Standard headstocks,... Sure in the first 10 years of Hamer production the Standards were supposed to be 4-digits. But today?

Gorch - I have an all-mahogany '83/'84 Standard and have had a couple of mid-80s Blitz guitars. They are TOTALLY different - not even close.

Headstocks, neck joints, beveled body edges v. non-beveled edges, different routing, different body shape...plenty more things that you can spot from 30 feet away.

The Checkerboard guitar of Peter's that I've seen was an '85 (ish) Blitz that had been expertly refinned back in the '90s (by Lee Garver, IIRC) to a really nice checkerboard and had the bowtie inlays installed. It still had the wrong body and headstock shape and the rounded body edges, shorter, stockier treble horn and mid-headstock, larger logo of a Blitz - stilll looked cool as hell, but wasn't a Standard. If he got another one, I haven't seen that one yet, but would definitely love to!

[serial]

Blitzes and Standards are VERY different. The checkerboard Explorer that Peter had years ago was a converted Blitz unless he picked up another (which is of course possible) since then. The conversion was apparent from the heel, the edges, the Blitz headstock (with centered logo) and a round cavity for the pickup selector switch.

Paul thought that Peter had the one made for Paul Simon's son. There were two (or possibly 3) four digit checkerboard Standards done including Rick's. One was for an English Guitar mag contest and the guitar (not Rick's) is pictured. The Simon guitar may have come later and actually have been a converted Blitz done at Hamer, although that seems further fetched.

[cmatthes]

Not that it matters, but Paul's son Harper was 6 or 7 when "Dream Police" came out. It's possible that he had a guitar ordered for him then, but more likely that it was a Blitz ordered when he was a young teen.