neastguy Posted February 28, 2012 Posted February 28, 2012 anyone played both.. I've had a hamer special and really liked it.. I think I only sold it because of the neck being a bit thin.. but other than that it sounded great and was the perfect weight ect....... just wondering if there are members who have played both and their thoughts on the two in comparison.... thanks
Disturber Posted February 28, 2012 Posted February 28, 2012 anyone played both.. I've had a hamer special and really liked it.. I think I only sold it because of the neck being a bit thin.. but other than that it sounded great and was the perfect weight ect....... just wondering if there are members who have played both and their thoughts on the two in comparison.... thanks I just got a Vanguard/Artist P90 mahogany and it's a BEAST let me tell you. I haven't played the Special P90, but that tone chamber is the iceing on the cake. It feels more sturdy than an SG. Thicker body etc. for fat mean tones. And the neck is pretty fat. I am pretty sure the Artist / Vanguard necks are beefier than the early 90s Specials. Then again, my holy grail P90 guitar is an early 70's SG. I have not succeded in getting those tones out of my Artist yet, I need to crank it through a Marshall and treble boost to see if it works. Here´s a clip recorded with the most awesome SG P90 guitar I've played so far:
Feynman Posted February 28, 2012 Posted February 28, 2012 Bubs totally needs a nice SG. That is an excellent clip.
bubs_42 Posted February 28, 2012 Posted February 28, 2012 You know it. But back to the question. If you can play the SG Classic you are going to buy and like it. BUY IT! Alot of them are Heavy and sound like crap. The ones that are good are very good. For some reason they sell well here and my guitar center has had plenty of them for me to play.
DaveL Posted February 28, 2012 Posted February 28, 2012 I would second taking a look at the vanguard artist or whatever it's called. The one over there <----- I absolutely love the neck profile and it's a beast,something I always thought was lacking in the 90's specials. I'm not crazyabout the silver ones... if you look around, you can find them in cherry,black, tos, although I would not overpay, given that you can get the korinaversion for a few bucks more (I prefer the darker sound of the mahogany,but that's just me). but I would agree with the fact that there are some cool SG's out there,the trick is finding one.
Lockbody Posted February 28, 2012 Posted February 28, 2012 The SG Classic is one of the best guitars and values in the Gibson lineup. I guess I haven't played as many as bubs, but of the two I've tried, both were killer guitars and I ended up trading a SG Std. for the second one. The guy kept saying after he sent me pics, "I know it's a three-piece body, but you just have to play it. Trust me.". He was right, too. I think my SG '61 RI would hit the chopping block before the Classic. The P90s aren't quite as rocking as the one in my '64 SG Jr, but they hold their own, and are much more preferable to me than the hot Duncans you find in the Hamers.I tried a 90s P90 Special once, but didn't make it past the thin neck. I can tell pretty quickly if a guitar is going to work for me, and that one definitely wouldn't have. I had a '99 Vanguard for while, and while it was nice, signature P90 tones were not its forte. Maybe it was the Duncans, i dunno.
Disturber Posted February 28, 2012 Posted February 28, 2012 I had a '99 Vanguard for while, and while it was nice, signature P90 tones were not its forte. Maybe it was the Duncans, i dunno.It was those hot Duncans believe me. I swapped 'em and put Wolfetones in it and it sounds like an old classic P90 guitar now. Turn the volume up and that tone chamber really makes it come alive, it's a rude and nasty bad boy.
tbonesullivan Posted February 29, 2012 Posted February 29, 2012 I've played both. the hamer special p90 wipes the floor with the SG Classic. Single piece slab 'hog body, 3 piece neck, seymour duncan raunchy pickups. And also, cheaper than the Gibson, and better balanced.Don't get me wrong, I love my SGs, but my Hamer Specials are guitars that I'll hold onto, while if times get tough, out go the SGS, even the SG supreme.
BTMN Posted February 29, 2012 Posted February 29, 2012 Mid 90's Hamer Special P90 = Goodness Have never owned a P90 SG so I'm no good on an opinion of how they stack up. Enjoy your indecision although you know the answer already.
bubs_42 Posted February 29, 2012 Posted February 29, 2012 Bubs totally needs a nice SG. That is an excellent clip. Maybe Next Year! I may be willing to move one of the 77's for "The One". I have come to the realization that I prefer the SG to an LP. How scary is that.
tomteriffic Posted February 29, 2012 Posted February 29, 2012 My $0.02..I know that you've got to kiss a lot of Gibby frogs to find a princess these days but.I'm old enough that my first "good" electric was an early '60's SG Junior, bought new. I've had a bunch of P-90 SG's over the years. I came up as a Gibson guy. Having said that, I've had occasion recently to put some current production SG's up against my Hamer P-90 Specials, Special FM (for a humbuckers to humbuckers comparison) and Vanguard. They're different animals almost entirely, with the Hamers getting the nod for overall solidity, playability build quality and just general sense that you've got a quality axe in your mitts. The exception was a particularly nice '61 SG Standard reissue.Two concise expressions come to mind. The first was by yours truly when I was considering getting a plain-jane mahgogany Gibson Explorer. I brought my Hamer MahStand along for reference. I put the Gibby down after a bit of a play and said to Most Esteemed Redhead "That thing feels like a TinkerToy by comparison".The second one was from your own BCRGreg who likened the wood to shredded wheat.
neastguy Posted February 29, 2012 Author Posted February 29, 2012 Mid 90's Hamer Special P90 = Goodness Have never owned a P90 SG so I'm no good on an opinion of how they stack up. Enjoy your indecision although you know the answer already. wow, this is nice.. if I came across one like this.. I'd definitely do it... that is one nice guitar... didn't even know they did em like that
Lockbody Posted February 29, 2012 Posted February 29, 2012 wow, this is nice.. if I came across one like this.. I'd definitely do it... that is one nice guitar... didn't even know they did em like that Most of the time they're cherry. http://www.ebay.com/...=item35ba0548ff
django49 Posted February 29, 2012 Posted February 29, 2012 The SG Special is also great for getting pesky interlopers off stage.......As in Pete Townsend's guitar to the head of Abbie Hoffman at Woodstock......http://youtu.be/IKKeXK5DKws
seeker Posted February 29, 2012 Posted February 29, 2012 I've had both the SG Classic and an 70 SG Special, and have the Hamer Special P90.My Classic/Special SGs had relatively quick fall off in volume. Not dead sounding at all tho; just not a lot of sustain. Upper fret access is unreal for the SGs tho. Conversely, the Hamer has more sustain and mahogany woodiness; just a thicker chunck of wood. Sold the Special cause the pickups hummed like banshees under gain. The Classic only cause I was jonesing for something else. Wouldn't mind picking one up again.
BTMN Posted March 1, 2012 Posted March 1, 2012 Thanks for the nice comment. Took a long time for me to get a Natural one but I have no idea if they are limited in number. I had a TV Yellow one before but always pined for the Natural one. TVY and Cherry seem to be the dominant finishes I have seen in the resell market. It was great to get the Natural one to go with a nice '94 Special HB I have.
Hfan Posted March 1, 2012 Posted March 1, 2012 I've tried one or two SGs in a store lately, unimpressed. I did like my old 1960 LP SG I had as a kid though. My only Hamer is this Special from 93 and the neck is not thin. Found it here about a year ago. The seller who had it about a year and also found it here said that the necks vary on these. Like new, evidently a bass player member here had it under their bed for many years. She is a keeper. I may experiment with the p ups one day but I find these original Duncans enjoyable with their hotness. Makes for a contrast with some of my other guitars
hamersandstrats Posted March 2, 2012 Posted March 2, 2012 I've owned both and I agree completely with seeker's comments above-the SG Classic lacked sustain. On paper, the SG Classic is a great bargain-fat neck, bound, real Gibson inlay, real finish-but the tone and personality was just not there. My '90s Hamer P90 Special had a ton of character. My favorite P90 guitars to date have been a mid-90s Historic Les Paul Junior (why did I sell that?!?) and a late 60s SG Junior. BTW, I just posted a video of a band playing Won't Get Fooled again with a Hamer P90 Special.
Lockbody Posted March 2, 2012 Posted March 2, 2012 I've owned both and I agree completely with seeker's comments above-the SG Classic lacked sustain. On paper, the SG Classic is a great bargain-fat neck, bound, real Gibson inlay, real finish-but the tone and personality was just not there. I went and played mine yesterday to try and see if I could see what you guys were talking about, and all I can say is yer crazy. My Classic is one of the most lively guitars I own, dripping with tone, personality, and sustain. If you take a look on the EverythingSG forum, it seems like half the people there own a SG Classic. Pretty weird for a guitar that's a total dud. My Classic is only second to my '64 Jr in the rawk it can lay down, and that says a lot, because the Jr simply KILLS. I just think there's more stinkers with Gibson as a whole compared to the low numbers of Hamers put out. Okay, I'm through being defensive now.
gtone Posted March 3, 2012 Posted March 3, 2012 Gotta agree with Lockbody on this one - SG bodies can be pretty lively and resonant with those nice thin slabs of mahogany. My P90'd SG Junior has plenty of sustain. Having said that, I recently acquired an SG Special with high output mini-buckers that would easily deaden the strings unless they were backed well off the strings in a way I'd never seen in a guitar before. Wonder if some of those dead SG's people are talking about are victims of hot pu's and/or setups that have the pu's too close to the strings.
uck Posted March 4, 2012 Posted March 4, 2012 I couldn't get on with my '09 Classic's neck and the stock (Gibson) P90s were fine but nothing special. My early 90's TVY Hamer, on the other hand, is just hands-down better all-around: balance, workmanship, etc. I have to say though that the stock Duncans were, IMO, awful. One set of vintage specs later and it sounds flat-out amazing.
bubs_42 Posted March 5, 2012 Posted March 5, 2012 When the SG's are good they are amazing. I'll say it again that you may have to kiss a couple of frogs first.
gtone Posted March 5, 2012 Posted March 5, 2012 When the SG's are good they are amazing. I'll say it again that you may have to kiss a couple of frogs first.+1 That about sums it up right there. The Hamers are prolly superior from the point of view of consistent build quality, but some may/may not like the high output SD P90's (can swap those out pretty damn easy enough, tho'....) or the extra weight.
uck Posted March 5, 2012 Posted March 5, 2012 Worth mentioning, I suppose: despite the difference in build quality, my Classic had more sustain than my 61 RI which I chalked up to the beefier neck carve of the Classic.
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