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


BCR Greg

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I'm really surprised by that graph showing Hamer sales dropping in '96. They just started showing up in shops around here in '95-'96.

I was just in at my local Hamer dealer, and they just sold their last Standard for $3700 (ouch!). I wonder if some people think they'll become collectors items?

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I was a top dealer as well. I grew up in Evanston and went to Northern Prarie Music as a kid. I was there when the first Standard/s arrived. I remember Paul A/B-ing them with a late '50's Goldtop with buckers through a Marshall stack. Oh what fun! A kids dream. It's what really got me into the music biz. I am grateful to have been a part of it all. I am grateful to Paul, Jol, Frank & Jim. Let's never forget John Montgomery, the man who built the first Standards.

This is now the new America. I think the general buying public is to blame. "We want it for cheap". No one is willing to pay what something is worth and weren't willing to support the dealers either. This is what killed the dealer network and consiquently the company. (in my opinion). Unfortunately we will all suffer as a result. Thanks to BCR Greg, Wilcutt's and anyone else who financially supported the Hamer guitar company.

I play my USA Elite daily and it is as great as a guitar could ever be. My USA Hamer Standard hangs over my fireplace. I gaze at it daily. Long live the legacy.

Pete Flynn, Flynn Guitars, Evanston, IL. USA.

There is a big factor missing from the equation - from the start Hamer understood the international market. Look at all those early and eighties endorsees - mostly European. Peter Wolf (Prosound - Germany) sold many more Hamers in the eighties than any US dealer, they even had their own models. Surprise, surprise - Peter Wolf marketed PRS in Europe and globally. (Edited to add that he recently left to start his own company - Brandwolf working with Knaggs Guitars).

In 1995 Trace Elliot (Kaman) went bust in the UK and that wiped out a huge part of Hamer's market, that's a quarter gone in one go. I don't know what happened but Germany and Japan also lost interest soon after.

No effort was made to publicise Hamer outside the US this century. The US market isn't enough on it's own anymore.

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I also want to thank all of the Artisans/builders who built my Monaco Elite; Dave, Phil and the gang. I was lucky enough to go to the factory in 2001 for a tour. I feel bad for those who are so talented who now are out of a job. All the best to you guys.

Pete Flynn

Pete:

Good to see ya here! I know you were a HUGE Hamer dealer and supporter, and some of the cool stuff that came through your shop...wow.

Fortunately, the good guys at the New Hartford shop are still employed and making USA Guilds...although I'm sure they'd love to be working on Hamers instead. Great people.

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My question is what the hell happened in 95-96?

Grunge peaked -'nuff said.

Grunge wanted the guitars Hamer was building at the time - Cobain didn't "shred", he wailed on a cheap, used Jaguar before anyone really wanted them. Foo Fighters didn't 'shred' - Hamer missed an opportunity to put a Standard in Dave Grohl's hands....he was already playing the crap-Gibson reissues...Green Day wanted guitars - Gibson stepped in...Ozzfest and the Warped Tour WERE ALL GUITAR BANDS......I could go on....that ain't "it"....nu-metal was taking off - Hamer knew what those players wanted, they just refused to connect with those players and build them what they wanted on-stage.....the market was THERE.....

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I was a top dealer as well. I grew up in Evanston and went to Northern Prarie Music as a kid. I was there when the first Standard/s arrived. I remember Paul A/B-ing them with a late '50's Goldtop with buckers through a Marshall stack. Oh what fun! A kids dream. It's what really got me into the music biz. I am grateful to have been a part of it all. I am grateful to Paul, Jol, Frank & Jim. Let's never forget John Montgomery, the man who built the first Standards.

This is now the new America. I think the general buying public is to blame. "We want it for cheap". No one is willing to pay what something is worth and weren't willing to support the dealers either. This is what killed the dealer network and consiquently the company. (in my opinion). Unfortunately we will all suffer as a result. Thanks to BCR Greg, Wilcutt's and anyone else who financially supported the Hamer guitar company.

I play my USA Elite daily and it is as great as a guitar could ever be. My USA Hamer Standard hangs over my fireplace. I gaze at it daily. Long live the legacy.

Pete Flynn, Flynn Guitars, Evanston, IL. USA.

Another Great "Hamerican" Post!

Your post should hit home for a lot of people. "There is iron in your words, Jessie Wales."

Too bad we kill of our neighbor (or those great companies) to increase our 401K's for something that cheaper in every sense fo the word. I love it when people speak the evil of Bain Capitol, its executives and never even realize their portfolio is littered with the ilk.

There are different kinds of torch bears for this brand. Raise em!

Hamerica

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Yep, great post from Pete and a spot-on comment here as well:

I love it when people speak the evil of Bain Capitol, its executives and never even realize their portfolio is littered with the ilk.

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My question is what the hell happened in 95-96?

Grunge peaked -'nuff said.

Grunge wanted the guitars Hamer was building at the time - Cobain didn't "shred", he wailed on a cheap, used Jaguar before anyone really wanted them. Foo Fighters didn't 'shred' - Hamer missed an opportunity to put a Standard in Dave Grohl's hands....he was already playing the crap-Gibson reissues...Green Day wanted guitars - Gibson stepped in...Ozzfest and the Warped Tour WERE ALL GUITAR BANDS......I could go on....that ain't "it"....nu-metal was taking off - Hamer knew what those players wanted, they just refused to connect with those players and build them what they wanted on-stage.....the market was THERE.....

Yes.

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In 1995 Trace Elliot (Kaman) went bust in the UK and that wiped out a huge part of Hamer's market, that's a quarter gone in one go.

C'mon Andy, Trace Elliot were fucking useless period although i will grant you they did, on occassion, run the odd advert in Guitarist but they were so under the radar i eventually picked up the phone to the factory in just to see if they were still alive - luckily at the time Frank R reported they were.

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I was a top dealer as well. I grew up in Evanston and went to Northern Prarie Music as a kid. I was there when the first Standard/s arrived. I remember Paul A/B-ing them with a late '50's Goldtop with buckers through a Marshall stack. Oh what fun! A kids dream. It's what really got me into the music biz. I am grateful to have been a part of it all. I am grateful to Paul, Jol, Frank & Jim. Let's never forget John Montgomery, the man who built the first Standards.

This is now the new America. I think the general buying public is to blame. "We want it for cheap". No one is willing to pay what something is worth and weren't willing to support the dealers either. This is what killed the dealer network and consiquently the company. (in my opinion). Unfortunately we will all suffer as a result. Thanks to BCR Greg, Wilcutt's and anyone else who financially supported the Hamer guitar company.

I play my USA Elite daily and it is as great as a guitar could ever be. My USA Hamer Standard hangs over my fireplace. I gaze at it daily. Long live the legacy.

Pete Flynn, Flynn Guitars, Evanston, IL. USA.

I bought my first Hamer from you and Mike - a Cali' Standard, in blackcherry metalflake. Loved that axe and wish I could have it back (in the same condition). Kudos to you guys for getting me away from the offshore, eye candy guitars.

And I still have the Pearce G2R combo...is Mike displaying my CD cover painting prominently, somewhere? ;)

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In 1995 Trace Elliot (Kaman) went bust in the UK and that wiped out a huge part of Hamer's market, that's a quarter gone in one go.

C'mon Andy, Trace Elliot were fucking useless period although i will grant you they did, on occassion, run the odd advert in Guitarist but they were so under the radar i eventually picked up the phone to the factory in just to see if they were still alive - luckily at the time Frank R reported they were.

They weren't perfect, they weren't even very good but...

I agree they didn't advertise that much, but they did put a few ads in magazines like Guitarist (I still have them!) and more important get the same mags to review the guitars (still have the reviews too). They also put hundreds of USA Hamers into shops - Musical Exchanges in Birmingham had dozens at one point (yes, I have one of those as well). They arranged limited runs for the UK - who else managed that? Certainly not Washburn or Zildjian or Guitar Grapevine.

So you are not being entirely fair. They actually replied to my enquiries promptly.

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Hamer is to blame too. They did not back up thier dealers on pricing issues. I should say most manufacturers don't back up thier dealers. This is still a huge problem and why the internet has taken over from the brick and morter. They can't expect the dealers to buy thier inventory and then not be able to turn it over. The manufacturer can't have it both ways.


This also kills the aftermarket/resale of Hamer which is not very good. It's hard to shell out $3-4k on a guitar and not have


a decent resale on the item.


I don't want this to appear to be a bitching sesson. It's just important for people to understand why Hamer is no longer viable. There are many factors.


I'm one of thier biggest advocates. It saddens me deeply.


Pete


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Shit. I guess some things are too good to last. I'm glad most of the folks behind the brand are still doing their thing in their new capacities. And there are other guitar makers out there providing instruments at Hamer's level, albeit not necessarily at the quality-for-the-price ratio that Hamer used to offer in its heyday.

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I was a top dealer as well. I grew up in Evanston and went to Northern Prarie Music as a kid. I was there when the first Standard/s arrived. I remember Paul A/B-ing them with a late '50's Goldtop with buckers through a Marshall stack. Oh what fun! A kids dream. It's what really got me into the music biz. I am grateful to have been a part of it all. I am grateful to Paul, Jol, Frank & Jim. Let's never forget John Montgomery, the man who built the first Standards.

This is now the new America. I think the general buying public is to blame. "We want it for cheap". No one is willing to pay what something is worth and weren't willing to support the dealers either. This is what killed the dealer network and consiquently the company. (in my opinion). Unfortunately we will all suffer as a result. Thanks to BCR Greg, Wilcutt's and anyone else who financially supported the Hamer guitar company.

I play my USA Elite daily and it is as great as a guitar could ever be. My USA Hamer Standard hangs over my fireplace. I gaze at it daily. Long live the legacy.

Pete Flynn, Flynn Guitars, Evanston, IL. USA.

Good man, Pete!

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Wow just heard the news

Sad for sure.

Cant really understand how these great guitars never really caught on.

Think they got off to a great start with lots of top players Barre,Summers,Neilson,Turner etc using various models

Should have really capitolised on this

Marketing to blame maybe?

Anyway real shame if its the end.

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Pete,

I agree with your sentiments. When I was a teen, all my pals aspired to own a killer stereo with the best turntable, tape deck, amp and speakers. We pored over THD specs and spent hours in audiophile shops A/B comparing systems. The goal was high quality.

Today, mp3s are the standard, audiophile quality is no longer a desire, and low cost, ease of deliverability and portability drive the market. A 900 watt stereo receiver costs $250 due to cheap electronics and you can't even find the specs for it because no one cares.

With regard to Hamer, the brand extends to the import line and as we have seen they are pretty good, exceptionally good for the money. So I could see how younger players - used to paying next to nothing for entertainment - would have a hard time justifying the coin for a new Hamer USA when they can get a Hamer import on Ebay for a few hundred.

I was a top dealer as well. I grew up in Evanston and went to Northern Prarie Music as a kid. I was there when the first Standard/s arrived. I remember Paul A/B-ing them with a late '50's Goldtop with buckers through a Marshall stack. Oh what fun! A kids dream. It's what really got me into the music biz. I am grateful to have been a part of it all. I am grateful to Paul, Jol, Frank & Jim. Let's never forget John Montgomery, the man who built the first Standards.

This is now the new America. I think the general buying public is to blame. "We want it for cheap". No one is willing to pay what something is worth and weren't willing to support the dealers either. This is what killed the dealer network and consiquently the company. (in my opinion). Unfortunately we will all suffer as a result. Thanks to BCR Greg, Wilcutt's and anyone else who financially supported the Hamer guitar company.

I play my USA Elite daily and it is as great as a guitar could ever be. My USA Hamer Standard hangs over my fireplace. I gaze at it daily. Long live the legacy.

Pete Flynn, Flynn Guitars, Evanston, IL. USA.

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They should have had a stepped approach to their geetars.... cheap imports, good cheap imports, good production USA made (esquire, tele, strat, jr, special, LP), then special guitars and then custom guitars... and they had all of these at some point in their history....

That's exactly what's funny. They have had it all, but didn't prevail. It's a marketing issue for sure, but the cause of that issue is management and the vision they have had. Jol was a capricious guy.

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I agree with your sentiments. When I was a teen, all my pals aspired to own a killer stereo with the best turntable, tape deck, amp and speakers. We pored over THD specs and spent hours in audiophile shops A/B comparing systems. The goal was high quality.

Today, mp3s are the standard, audiophile quality is no longer a desire, and low cost, ease of deliverability and portability drive the market. A 900 watt stereo receiver costs $250 due to cheap electronics and you can't even find the specs for it because no one cares.

With regard to Hamer, the brand extends to the import line and as we have seen they are pretty good, exceptionally good for the money. So I could see how younger players - used to paying next to nothing for entertainment - would have a hard time justifying the coin for a new Hamer USA when they can get a Hamer import on Ebay for a few hundred.

So true... and I believe Country of origin means nothing to today's up and coming players. When we were young, Gibson and Fender did not offer any imports. I started with a Japanese Tele copy, but what I really wanted was the Fender name on the headstock! Would I have settled for a Fender import if offered? Maybe, as long as it said Fender on it. I don't think at 13 I would have known the difference in a guitar that played like butter, and one that did not, lol.

This past summer, I picked up a '97 Studio from a high school kid. He had this one, and an imported one. He chose to sell the US model, claiming the import played better. Personally, I think it was because the import had binding, and was more appealing to the kid. But they both said "Hamer" on the headstock.

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Pete,

I agree with your sentiments. When I was a teen, all my pals aspired to own a killer stereo with the best turntable, tape deck, amp and speakers. We pored over THD specs and spent hours in audiophile shops A/B comparing systems. The goal was high quality.

Today, mp3s are the standard, audiophile quality is no longer a desire, and low cost, ease of deliverability and portability drive the market. A 900 watt stereo receiver costs $250 due to cheap electronics and you can't even find the specs for it because no one cares.

With regard to Hamer, the brand extends to the import line and as we have seen they are pretty good, exceptionally good for the money. So I could see how younger players - used to paying next to nothing for entertainment - would have a hard time justifying the coin for a new Hamer USA when they can get a Hamer import on Ebay for a few hundred.

The hi-fi analogy works for me. Look how SACD has made no impact whatsoever.

Most people want cheap and convenient - then throw it away when it goes wrong.

Clever marketing can make a 'name' desirable even if it is just the same crap as everything else.

Brave New World?

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