NGD: Korean made Studio, pics, and looking for additional information...

[jasonic]

Hey all,

Recently found and purchased this interesting slightly modified Korean specimen, no idea of the year. As a USA GT P90 Archtop owner I had no idea what to expect when I headed on down to check it out. I must say its a great guitar for the price I paid. The setup is excellent, and the feel is fantastic. Though the neck appears to be muliple pieces, and the hardware isn't the best, its probably the best guitar I've played in its price range.

I do have a few questions however.....

1.The tuners are a bit sloppy and feeling kinda warm out, and if possible I'd very much like to find drop in replacements without the need for drilling or filling. Some more robust/larger tuners might fill up the real estate a bit more on the back..the stock ones seem on the small side...anyone have an idea what models might drop right into place with the screw in the current position?

2.Also, though I'm impressed with the Jazz pickup in the neck position (sounds great and its wired for push pull operation, very cool), it seems the previous owner rewired the guitar for Tone/Tone/Volume..which as a LP player seems a little wierd to me..(this is easily swapped around correct?) Also, the rewiring job was not the greatest on the inside, and the pots feel a bit loose in general...hmmm new CTS pots? Maybe its time to sway out that Duncan Designed Bridge for a SH-4 JB as well I do like the look of the covered gold plated pu in the bridge position..will I be missing out on some tonal elements going with a covered pu again when i order a replacement? Any/all advice on this welcome.

3.What is the proper name of this model? Also, with the small white serial# sticker removed off the back, is there anyway for me tell the year..is it under the bridge PU or something?

Interestingly the neck shape matches the early 90's slightly thinner C neck profile of my Archtop GT...could this be a clue as to the year of manufacture at least?

Looking forward to hearing from you guys on this stuff, many thanks in advance,

-jasonic

For some reason the pics are coming in sideways with no obvious way to fix..please forgive me, lol...

[Victor (Fret Friend)]

I don't think the Korean serial numbers give you a year anyway. Weren't these in production from 92 to 98? I've had a MIK Diablo & have a MIK Cali (on the way). I think production of the Slammer Series stopped in/around 96 even though copies of better models were still made in Korea after 96, lower end models were made in Indonesia. I once read that earlier MIK Hamers were built at the Cort factory (this could be wrong but it makes sense). Tis all I know...

Here's an interesting link with a bit more info... http://www.hamerguitars.com/img/pdf/HAMER_04_WRIGHT_SEP_2000.pdf

[jasonic]

Great info, and a sweet pdf to boot, thanks!

Though theres aparently a lack of concrete answers out there, I believe this example may be a Sunburst Arch Top Flame Top, although the exact yellow flame top color I have is not listed as an option in the pdf.

Although the neck profile is simmilar to my USA 93 archtop GT, it appears this guitar may be a late 90's offering as it says simply "Hamer" on the headstock, with no slammer text. I had thought the neck profiles got a bit more beefy towards the 2000's, interesting, perhaps this was more a domestic phenomenon.

All in all a neat-o axe. I'm thinking duncan antiquity or JB in the bridge.

I'm wondering how the antiquity will complement the jazz in the neck, any thoughts on this?

thanks again for the info Vic,

-jason

[cmatthes]

The Amber with Gold Hardware was a staple at Guitar Center when they carried Hamers, so that would put it (most likely) in the very late '90s/very early '00s, for an age range. I'll hazard '99 - '02/'03, but probably somewhere in the middle.

As far as the tuners, try Schallers, although I'm not sure what size post is currently on the Ping-type of Schaller copies that comes on those guitars as stock equipment. If the Schaller posts are slightly wider, just take a reamer file and spend about 20 minutes (carefully) getting those to the right size. That's a very easy fix...

[Victor (Fret Friend)]

+1 on the Schaller! Can't really help on the p-ups as I haven't used them much. I did have a 58 (n) & JB ( on a Jackson DK2M a few years back & they were a great combo. I also hear the JB is a popular combo with the Jazz in the neck position...

[jasonic]

Excellent advice, thanks C

A staple at GC, very interesting..I wonder how many of these are out there..is there anyway to know how many were produced and sold here in the US?

Interestingly the neck feels very close to my early 90's USA Archtop GT P90..kind of a thinner soft C shape.

I would have thought this would point to the guitar being closer in manufacture to this time frame, if indeed the import models mirrored the USA ones.

Also, would it be propper to reffer to this instrument as a SATF? Or is there another name these models are commonly called.

Many thanks for your reply,

-jason

[Victor (Fret Friend)]

BTW, I meant 59 when I said 58 (I really dunno what came over me)... (I did just get married on the 21st so that may have dislodged a cell or 2)...

[3of5]

Nice. I have one of those too. I have a Dimarzio 36th Anniversary PAF in the bridge. Works much better for me than the JB. Got a both a Dimarzio Virtual Solo single coil and an Area '67 in the neck. Mine has been extensively modded and horribly abused but is, surprisingly, one of the best sounding guitars I have ever owned. It has made a couple of my USA Hamers expendable.

[aknapp]

I have the black-and-blueburst version.

Gotoh bridge - drops right on top of existing posts

Grover mid-size Rotomatics - no modifications needed to post hole or screw hole. Full-size Roto's should fit fine - Mids' knob are a bit small but do-able.

For < $70, these 2 changes make for FAR more stable tuning on a MIK Hamer.

[gorch]

I have a Standard from that period that I still like to play very much. The wood is nice the hardware were cheap. Eventually, it was extensively modded on electronics, pickups and tuners.

[jasonic]

Hey all,

Moving forward with upgrading the guitar at this point.

If I was going to update the tail piece, any idea whether I'd want metric or US to fit the existing studs/threading?...

http://www.stewmac.c...reviews#reviews

many thanks!

-jason