Crimsontider Posted January 16, 2013 Posted January 16, 2013 Probably get ripped for this, but I bet some do have an opinion I do know that they are all better than the rest imo. But of the Hamer's: Mine would be an Alder bodied Diablo II with the Duncan JB, 59N and Dimarzio HS-2 for both best and best for the buck. It has the perfect timbre for Metal and is chunky with superb harmonics. It can also do great blues with the JB/59N combo and neo classical with the somewhat dated HS-2. Even though it's less expensive than the Californian and Chaparral, it equals them for the Metal I like most. Comments appreciated.
Jeff R Posted January 16, 2013 Posted January 16, 2013 My first black sparkle'esque finish Centaura 2HB was a demon of a hard rock guitar.
diablo175 Posted January 16, 2013 Posted January 16, 2013 I'd agree that the alder body, and rosewood board on maple neck and 2H config. of my Diablo are my preferred features for the type of rock and metal I typically like to play. However, I've grown to appreciate the mahogany/ ebony and HS config that my Cali's feature. Tweaking the p'ups and hardware has expanded their sonic capabilities to the extent that each one now has a distinct, specialized sound and purpose. Ordering a 2H Cali has taken away one advantage the Diablo held over a Cali.The main advantage to the Cali over the Diablo, for me, is aesthetic.
BlueRedWhite Posted January 16, 2013 Posted January 16, 2013 Cali all the way (even if it is imported), with Duncan screaming demon and hot rails...USA Cali soon (hopefully) and i will use the same pickups. 27 frets of pure pleasure (if it sounds obscene, it was intended)
analogsystem Posted January 16, 2013 Posted January 16, 2013 As far as tone and feel, I like my studio. Nothing like a Gibson scale set neck mahogany / maple / rosewood / tuneomatic setup for metal tones. I use the stock JB. I just palm mute way better on this kind of guitar than anything remotely "superstrat." Also I like the sound of playing really hard for hard rock and metal. I can just beat the piss out of my studio, but I'd have to be more gentle to keep a floyd in tune when chording.For lead playing something with a floyd is nice of course.....
sixesandsevens Posted January 16, 2013 Posted January 16, 2013 I've been digging my studio lately as well, but I'm playing a much more laid back style of rock/metal lately than any of the odd-metered, technical dudegrind stuff. That said, the guitar that got me through my own metal years was alder with rosewood+maple neck, so if I had a Hamer like that, maybe I'd pick it.
zorrow Posted January 16, 2013 Posted January 16, 2013 Vees --always Vees! But Centauras, Diablos and Calis follow closely.
diablo175 Posted January 16, 2013 Posted January 16, 2013 Cali all the way (even if it is imported), with Duncan screaming demon and hot rails...USA Cali soon (hopefully) and i will use the same pickups. 27 frets of pure pleasure (if it sounds obscene, it was intended) Nothing wrong with the import. My first Cali was, in fact, an import with upgraded Floyd and pups- an OFR, a SD custom and a Lil '59 sold me on the model. Then it was off to the races for acquiring USA Cali's. Not sure if you use your Floyd that much but what's your impression of the Korean Floyd on your Cali? Ever consider upgrading?
BlueRedWhite Posted January 16, 2013 Posted January 16, 2013 Cali all the way (even if it is imported), with Duncan screaming demon and hot rails...USA Cali soon (hopefully) and i will use the same pickups. 27 frets of pure pleasure (if it sounds obscene, it was intended) Nothing wrong with the import. My first Cali was, in fact, an import with upgraded Floyd and pups- an OFR, a SD custom and a Lil '59 sold me on the model. Then it was off to the races for acquiring USA Cali's. Not sure if you use your Floyd that much but what's your impression of the Korean Floyd on your Cali? Ever consider upgrading? You're right, i don't use the floyd a lot, and this is my only floyd guitar, but i've never had a tuning problem. Locking nut stays in tune even when hard picking. About upgrading: if it works, don't touch it. The only upgrade i would love to make one day is to have a Californian Elite, and see what the fuss is all about, this baby with maple on mahogany has the sound i like and the pickups complement the whole thing.
Crimsontider Posted January 16, 2013 Author Posted January 16, 2013 I'd agree that the alder body, and rosewood board on maple neck and 2H config. of my Diablo are my preferred features for the type of rock and metal I typically like to play. However, I've grown to appreciate the mahogany/ ebony and HS config that my Cali's feature. Tweaking the p'ups and hardware has expanded their sonic capabilities to the extent that each one now has a distinct, specialized sound and purpose. Ordering a 2H Cali has taken away one advantage the Diablo held over a Cali. The main advantage to the Cali over the Diablo, for me, is aesthetic. Exactly. So many great players keep their first really good guitar because they play to it's strengths which went hand in hand with how they developed as a player. Sometimes a pickup change for the better can actually hurt you. Glad that you have two distinct sounding guitars and appreciate what each does the best. Cali all the way (even if it is imported), with Duncan screaming demon and hot rails...USA Cali soon (hopefully) and i will use the same pickups. 27 frets of pure pleasure (if it sounds obscene, it was intended) They made two nice Korean Model Cali's, the "Slammer Series" made of Mahogany below(mine) and the "Import Series" made of Maple - just says Hamer no USA. Slammer Series has a 3 piece neck and the Import Series has Boomerrang Inley's like the USA Elite. Yours above looks like the Maple "Import Series". I have always wondered what difference the Maple vs Mahog makes in the sound? They both sound good, and the Imports Series seems to not chip as easily. Glad to see you also updated the pups.
BlueRedWhite Posted January 16, 2013 Posted January 16, 2013 I'd agree that the alder body, and rosewood board on maple neck and 2H config. of my Diablo are my preferred features for the type of rock and metal I typically like to play. However, I've grown to appreciate the mahogany/ ebony and HS config that my Cali's feature. Tweaking the p'ups and hardware has expanded their sonic capabilities to the extent that each one now has a distinct, specialized sound and purpose. Ordering a 2H Cali has taken away one advantage the Diablo held over a Cali. The main advantage to the Cali over the Diablo, for me, is aesthetic. Exactly. So many great players keep their first really good guitar because they play to it's strengths which went hand in hand with how they developed as a player. Sometimes a pickup change for the better can actually hurt you. Glad that you have two distinct sounding guitars and appreciate what each does the best. Cali all the way (even if it is imported), with Duncan screaming demon and hot rails...USA Cali soon (hopefully) and i will use the same pickups. 27 frets of pure pleasure (if it sounds obscene, it was intended) They made two nice Korean Model Cali's, the "Slammer Series" made of Mahogany below(mine) and the "Import Series" made of Maple - just says Hamer no USA. Slammer Series has a 3 piece neck and the Import Series has Boomerrang Inley's like the USA Elite. Yours above looks like the Maple "Import Series". I have always wondered what difference the Maple vs Mahog makes in the sound? They both sound good, and the Imports Series seems to not chip as easily. Glad to see you also updated the pups. Oh..well i thought mine was maple top with mahogany body, i have to show you a side pic, so you can see the maple glued to the body...at least i thought it was that. Having other full mahogany guitars, i can only tell you that the sound here is brighter even without plugin the guitar. I compare it with having a bit more trebble on my audio settings but is just not that, the sound "travels" more... I did buy the guitar with those pickups already installed, and i had heard it before i bought it, so i knew what i was buying, I just twisted zorrow's arm, and he sold it to me
Crimsontider Posted January 16, 2013 Author Posted January 16, 2013 Cali all the way (even if it is imported), with Duncan screaming demon and hot rails...USA Cali soon (hopefully) and i will use the same pickups. 27 frets of pure pleasure (if it sounds obscene, it was intended) Nothing wrong with the import. My first Cali was, in fact, an import with upgraded Floyd and pups- an OFR, a SD custom and a Lil '59 sold me on the model. Then it was off to the races for acquiring USA Cali's. Not sure if you use your Floyd that much but what's your impression of the Korean Floyd on your Cali? Ever consider upgrading? My 96 Korean Cali with the JB and HS-2 out of a Diablo has the licensed by Floyd. I hate it. Every time I change strings it has a different string level and I have to noodle with it for 2 weeks. It stays in tune, but has two versions, one if you has pulled back a little and one down. So if you do pull back you must follow up with a quick down. It also gives you a very small area for a proper Palm Mute, right at the edge of the tremolo. I have started changing string one at a time to prevent losing the string height. Maybe this is the proper way, but I have always done things a little unorthodox. But This is the one upgrade that will make this Mahogany import a really nice guitar imo. I love the action and versatile Mahogany and JB sound. BlueRedWhite You may be right about the wood, I just always saw them advertised as Maple, but that says nothing about the interior. That sounds about right, mine sounds like Mahogany for sure and is heavy at 8.5 lbs, sounds more like an SG!. I noticed that all the other Korean Slammers were Maple, the Cali was the only hog in the bunch. The Import Series have definitely held up much better. I think it was really nice Maple they used, whatever amount. Here is an old ad for it. Nice.
zorrow Posted January 16, 2013 Posted January 16, 2013 Yeah, that Import Series Cali used to be mine. To be frank, it stands out in my personal history like one of the best-sounding guitars I've ever played. My luthier was in love with it, as well as my wife. I stupidly sold it under the influence of my own "No-Floyds-and-just-Vees" directive, which became quite dumb at a given point. I regret. So I tried to twist BlueRedWhite's arm to get it back not so long ago, but she said no. I guess women are like that -one has to insist and insist... again, again and again. As of its wood goes, I've always thought it was all-maple. The body does look like maple to me. Ayway, whatever the wood is, I confirm I've never played a guitar which sounds so consistently full and rich, either plugged or unplugged. It beats many USA Vectors, USA Centauras and USA Studios I've been able to compare to it side-by-side. Conclusion: Yes, it's an import, but I guess it's just one of its kind -or so I want to believe.
zorrow Posted January 16, 2013 Posted January 16, 2013 PS: By the way, my luthier repairs and adjusts guitars of every brand and type since ever. He's well-known in the Montreal area and works for many working artists and retailers. You bet that guy does know about his craft! He plays EVH guitars and the likes (Musicman, Peavey, etc.). But after he adjusted this Cali, he just wanted it. He tried hard to buy it from me back then, but I kept saying NO. Now it's in Ana's hand. Luckily, she's a deserving owner and I'm still very happy this guitar has stayed in the family.
Hamerica Posted January 16, 2013 Posted January 16, 2013 Vees --always Vees! But Centauras, Diablos and Calis follow closely. The Virtuoso after Vees, then I would say Chapafornias, then Scepters, then.... Hamerica
Nathan of Brainfertilizer Fame Posted January 16, 2013 Posted January 16, 2013 It kinda depends on the kind of metal. Hair band metal needs a superstrat, but blues or grunge metal should be in the LP range (TOM bridge, short scale). I agree that the Diablos are great for hair band metal. The small/light body doesn't result in a small/light sound, thank goodness. But pretty much everything Hamer is good for some sort of metal, I guess. I like my Stellar 1 for more lyric/classic inspired metal, just because the cheerful cherry sunburst over lacy oak figuring just seems to fit. My SATF works well for ZZ Top-inspired hard blues. My Centaura Deluxe is pretty much perfect for when I'm in the mood to play some Loudness. The Centaura standard (maple fretboard, swamp ash body) is perfect for hair band stuff from Van Halen to Ratt to Giant. Is that indecisive enough for ya? But one aesthetic complaint about the Hamer Californian: is there no way they could have made the angle of the slanted fretboard match the angle of the pickup? Maybe it is a latent OCD problem, but the distinct failure to make them parallel really bugs me.
Crimsontider Posted January 16, 2013 Author Posted January 16, 2013 Good enough for Krokus, good enough for me! Jesus those are nice. That's about as nice as a guitar can look imo, I think I would be content with that. Back to Maple guitars. I noticed that Charvel is making a lot of expensive Birdseye Maple guitars these days in the San Dimas line. I'd take a older Hamer any day. I can't think of too many reason's to purchase a new guitar these days unless it's custom, or a replica. A used Diablo II is not as pretty as some of these figured wood guitars from Jackson and such, but I bet it sounds as good or better for 1/3 of the price.......which is why the market is dead. Like NGF above, swamp ash is a great wood.
jettster Posted January 16, 2013 Posted January 16, 2013 Have a couple of Cali's a Diablo, Diablo II and Centaura, if it had to be just one, the Diablo for everything. I don't know what the stock pickups are but they work pretty well for most anything and it has a nice substantial neck. (Both Diablo's do) I've also had a set neck Chap that sounded great but I didn't really care for the neck profile, the Centaura is also on the thin side. Both the Cali's play great but I like the tone of the Diablo better for most situations.
Crimsontider Posted January 16, 2013 Author Posted January 16, 2013 Have a couple of Cali's a Diablo, Diablo II and Centaura, if it had to be just one, the Diablo for everything. I don't know what the stock pickups are but they work pretty well for most anything and it has a nice substantial neck. (Both Diablo's do) I've also had a set neck Chap that sounded great but I didn't really care for the neck profile, the Centaura is also on the thin side. Both the Cali's play great but I like the tone of the Diablo better for most situations.I have listened to dozens of online vids and the Diablo has the best classic metal sound of any guitar I heave heard. I'm surprised you didn't see them more back during the MTV era. I guess the superstrat guitar hero's wanted to create their own, the thrasher's were content with the Jackson's, and the perfectionist's wanted their Ibanez. Diablo was the entry level strat shaped guitar? Perfectly balanced guitar, and small deviation from one to the next due to the building process.
BlueRedWhite Posted January 17, 2013 Posted January 17, 2013 Yeah, that Import Series Cali used to be mine. To be frank, it stands out in my personal history like one of the best-sounding guitars I've ever played. My luthier was in love with it, as well as my wife. I stupidly sold it under the influence of my own "No-Floyds-and-just-Vees" directive, which became quite dumb at a given point. I regret. So I tried to twist BlueRedWhite's arm to get it back not so long ago, but she said no. I guess women are like that -one has to insist and insist... again, again and again. As of its wood goes, I've always thought it was all-maple. The body does look like maple to me. Ayway, whatever the wood is, I confirm I've never played a guitar which sounds so consistently full and rich, either plugged or unplugged. It beats many USA Vectors, USA Centauras and USA Studios I've been able to compare to it side-by-side. Conclusion: Yes, it's an import, but I guess it's just one of its kind -or so I want to believe. Well my bad, i must have been smoking something good cause it is maple all over....apologies Glasscock. I mixed up with the Special. Still some Elites are mahogany, some are maple..is there anything fm???
Victor (Fret Friend) Posted January 17, 2013 Posted January 17, 2013 Oooh! My kinda thread! My stock 88 standard Cali rawks as does my modded 91 Cent. The Cali is deffo my studio axe as it's stock/mint but I may go with the marble Cent live (reverse headstock + Bill Lawrence 500XL @ the bridge) etc. I really have no idea what woods are on these beauties but they both sound fab thru my (new) Randall head. I can even get away without a pedal using this head tho I do use a Digitech GRUNGE pedal...http://youtu.be/2BBuaTKryogMy Hamers cost me around £650.00 (approx $1050.00) delivered. Bargain even for me...
Ting Ho Dung Posted January 17, 2013 Posted January 17, 2013 I have no experience with Calis so I'm going to go with my Chaparral. I love the bridge OBL, I'm probably going to rip out the middle pickup because it gets in the way a lot. Not sure why because I don't notice them on my strat style guitars. I also don't like the mini toggles. So I'm going to hardwire the bridge PU to the pots. My Chap is beaten up and black with booms, set neck and ebony. I had a nice Chap in the 90's but sold it when I changed to strats. Recently Brandon and I have been learning and playing several Alter Bridge songs that are along the metal edge and my Chap along with his Blitz cover Mark Tremonti's chops well. Here is one we play. Metalingus -- great song and fun as hell to play and sing.http://youtu.be/hHEnYjubrEUWe have formed a band called LWJ (Life Without Joel) and will be ending the night with this song in April at our concert bringing awareness to teenage suicide prevention. We have a huge kid from Venezuela (more man than commonly in one body) to smash up the drum kit! Great stuff and a positive message. Give it a spin.
Crimsontider Posted January 17, 2013 Author Posted January 17, 2013 Nice vid Thorn and Vic always has good tone. Is the Centaura made of Swamp Ash? How is it different from a Diablo as far as wood and stock pups and price? If anyone cares to fill me in. Here is a Hamer audio clip that I believe has the tone I am looking for. Pretty straight forwards with a little delay and amp distortion I think. It's either a Diablo or Californian and either Duncan or EMG pickups. See if you can tell http://compusouth.net/music/14.mp3
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