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Well, it was fun....... but it's over.


BCR Greg

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Now for the real problem. The best used guitar value out there is soon to disappear as price go up and supply diminishes. Get ready and I hope you have what you want cause it aint getting cheaper.

From your lips to God's ears, brother. 'Cause it could easily go the opposite- NO name out there at all (as opposed to the tiny name it's been over the past decade or so) leads to no value except to the hardcore fanbase which is (sorry, old bastards, of which I am one) steadily dying off.

If it goes the other way from what I suspect I'll die happy surrounded by every Hamer I ever wanted purchased for the standard going price of $350

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Sad, very sad. But it was coming from the day Bill Kaman retired from Kaman Music.

Hopefully Serial's book will be a fitting epitaph (at least we can look forward to that).

No telling whether values will fall or rocket, or both according to model/period.

I doubt we will ever see the name resurrected as a premium brand.

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Eh. As long as the guys at the factory are still employed... then no harm. Come one, admit it:

  • We were all trading and selling and buying used Hamers 'cos they're too damn pricey for 99% of us new. Sad for those who had placed or wanted to place custom orders but how many of us have owned the Phantoglide, the Aceburst, the diaperburst Specials, etc? This is the Used Hamer Trading and Gossip Club. The factory could have been making pillows or fertilizer for the last several years as far as it affected most of us.
  • They still EXIST. It's not like the ones we own just evaporated.
  • No dealer is gonna go under because their bread and butter was selling USA Hamers.

It's over. It was fun. We still have cool guitars. Enjoy them.

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Now for the real problem. The best used guitar value out there is soon to disappear as price go up and supply diminishes. Get ready and I hope you have what you want cause it aint getting cheaper.

From your lips to God's ears, brother. 'Cause it could easily go the opposite- NO name out there at all (as opposed to the tiny name it's been over the past decade or so) leads to no value except to the hardcore fanbase which is (sorry, old bastards, of which I am one) steadily dying off.

Just send them all to me. I just finished cleaning up my Guitar Chamber and I'm ready to recieve all that it can hold. About 150. ;)

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Jesus,

The day I bought my first Gibson in 3 years, and this happens!!

I was gonna sell my Studio Custom.........maybe not! Just don't want to now- doesn't feel right....

Time to plug in a Hamer and play some blues............

Sad times.....

Dave :(

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Now for the real problem. The best used guitar value out there is soon to disappear as price go up and supply diminishes. Get ready and I hope you have what you want cause it aint getting cheaper.

From your lips to God's ears, brother. 'Cause it could easily go the opposite- NO name out there at all (as opposed to the tiny name it's been over the past decade or so) leads to no value except to the hardcore fanbase which is (sorry, old bastards, of which I am one) steadily dying off.

Just send them all to me. I just finished cleaning up my Guitar Chamber and I'm ready to recieve all that it can hold. About 150. ;)

Hey, Rockefeller, that little screamin'/cryin'/shittin' deal that just came home is called a BABY. You may wanna save some space and dough for her... food and diapers ain't cheap, those 18 years go fast and college costs dough... ;)

FWIW, the word "hiatus" was tossed around today.

I didn't get that vibe from Kim Keller's reply...

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Depressing. Not surprising though. As a Trombone player I've watched as merger after merger resulted in UMI, later Conn-Selmer, and then Steinway. I watched as famous brands with decades, even a century of history get gutted by the corporation, their development staff and artisans laid off, and their product lines 'streamlined' to get rid of everything but the best selling stuff. Like hamer, many of these famous and sought after trombones can only be found now by looking for used examples.

What pisses me off the most though is that FMIC had GOLD in their hands. They had models, know how, and history that could have been a major competitor to Gibson, however they decided that "Charvel" made more sense on Gibson-style guitars than "HAMER". Of course, they also may have wanted to protect their gretsch brand, which is for all intents and purposes just a bunch of reissued crap lacking innovation.

It's sad that one company that was actually working to develop new pickups, styles of guitars, etc was shuttered.

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I think Jol feels pretty good about himself everyday (guys has a great outlook on life, seems like), but this has to be an extra special boost...

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As far as prices of Hamers go, it will be very interesting to see what happens. Supply is now fixed, and may decline if/when some are no longer playable. My big wonder is what will happen to demand? Will we all become even more ardent supporters of Hamer or will we stay about where we are. Many members here also like other brands, so I guess only time will tell.

The market is a very dynamic environment.

Marc

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When Fender goes bankrupt thanks to Guitar Center, the name will be available again as a liquated asset.

I guess Jol's feeling good about himself today.

Sorry to say it, but If he does (and that's an IF), he's an asshole. Who would feel good about a company they co-founded and were involved with for so many years going down the drain?

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Yeah it may be a little bit of a blow to our Hamer ego's - but at least we can still find them used and do it with confidence - knowing that any USA branded Hamer was built with the same quality from the first day until the last.... I would much rather have this option than to watch my favorite guitar company's custom shop get turned back into a CNC factory.

Last year I purchased a 1993 SRV Strat - not the most amazing guitar out there - but it's solid and I did some hunting for it. I recently picked up a 2011 built SRV and it was just sad- it felt like a $250.00 mexi-strat. Same thing with my friends 2 LP customs.... 2008 and 2010. Compare those to one of Gibson's vintage builds or ANY Hamer and it's just insane how little care is put into these guitars. Just crappy work - period. Sorry if this pisses off any Gibson/Fender fans - I'm just stating what happens when things get "Corporatized". Same ole' Pre-CBS argument. It happened to Boogie, Budda, PRS, and the list just goes on and on. I remember being able to phone Hamer and talk with someone directly....Same with Boogie.

Point being - at least we know that when we do look at the used Hamers - they're going to be good. In fact, they are going to be better than 90% of everything else we look at. My plan to stroke my brusied "Hamer-Ego" when people bring up Hamer's closing - is to look them in the eye and reply " Yeah too bad you never had the chance to own a new one like I did ".

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When Fender goes bankrupt thanks to Guitar Center, the name will be available again as a liquated asset.

I guess Jol's feeling good about himself today.

Sorry to say it, but If he does (and that's an IF), he's an asshole. Who would feel good about a company they co-founded and were involved with for so many years going down the drain?

Um, a lot of people, especially those of us who've been screwed by said companies.

Don't know the exact details of Jol's leaving Hamer, but assuming there is bad blood there. IMO he's not an asshole if this makes him smile (though the majority here think he's an asshole no matter what) because he got shafted....

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When Fender goes bankrupt thanks to Guitar Center, the name will be available again as a liquated asset.

I guess Jol's feeling good about himself today.

Sorry to say it, but If he does (and that's an IF), he's an asshole. Who would feel good about a company they co-founded and were involved with for so many years going down the drain?

Um, a lot of people, especially those of us who've been screwed by said companies.

Don't know the exact details of Jol's leaving Hamer, but assuming there is bad blood there. IMO he's not an asshole if this makes him smile (though the majority here think he's an asshole no matter what) because he got shafted....

Point taken, but it was still his baby. He can hate on FMIC, but seeing Hamer go down would make me sad if I were him. Hell, I'm sad and it WASN'T the company I co-founded. Maybe I'm wrong.

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Another quality USA guitar builder out of business, WOW this really stinks.

The question is, will the brand be bought out? Will Fender market it later and when?

BTW,Greg, is warranty work and refinishing still in the works or is that out?

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