Your favorite Hamer Guitar for your brand of Metal? And bang for the buck.

[Ting Ho Dung]

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

Well you said you love the Diablo for the tone you are looking for. If I understand correctly the Diablo is Alder. The only Alder bodies I have are Strats so I have nothing to compare and I don't get wood anymore anyway. But, that is a bright tone in the recording. Could be from the delay or drive settings that make it that way. If you wanted to start a contest for guessing wood maybe something straight into the amp would be easier, I don't know. Zen says he knows but then again, he sits on pillows and meditates about these things. It's not really a fair contest since you say this is the tone you are looking for but also in your OP say the Diablo is your tone machine. So that being said, I'm going to go with Cali with EMGs. But then again, I don't know jack shit because I am not Zen who really is a marvel with this sort of thing. I am just a guy who plays a dollar on the odds I may win the lottery.

[cspot]

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

Well you said you love the Diablo for the tone you are looking for. If I understand correctly the Diablo is Alder. The only Alder bodies I have are Strats so I have nothing to compare and I don't get wood anymore anyway. But, that is a bright tone in the recording. Could be from the delay or drive settings that make it that way. If you wanted to start a contest for guessing wood maybe something straight into the amp would be easier, I don't know. Zen says he knows but then again, he sits on pillows and meditates about these things. It's not really a fair contest since you say this is the tone you are looking for but also in your OP say the Diablo is your tone machine. So that being said, I'm going to go with Cali with EMGs. But then again, I don't know jack shit because I am not Zen who really is a marvel with this sort of thing. I am just a guy who plays a dollar on the odds I may win the lottery.

Sorry man,because of that post, you are my new bff

[Ting Ho Dung]

Does that mean I went in for the winnnn? I'm so excited. I hope you are not fcuking wit me cause I do have a 9mm up my ass waiting to pull the trigger until it goes, "click."

[Crimsontider]

It's a Diablo II with a JB. That's the guitar I want and I guess why I posted it

I think I can hear woods sometimes, as long as it is pretty easy setup, nothing more than an amps distortion. I can tell mahogany from Alder I better than 50%, but not Alder from Ash.

The question was a little screwy I admit......it was a cover for just wanting to play a tone I liked. I can hear some wood in it. I dislike distortion that overrides everything. Many of my favorites use amp volume and gain, and that's it. I like to hear wood under any distortion.

[cspot]

clickety click barba trick http://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=clickety%20click%20barba%20trick&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&sqi=2&ved=0CC4QFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FBarbapapa&ei=kpL4UNSDIePFigK254HQAw&usg=AFQjCNEI2DkTGTm1MBxlsoNHcOdXJxsGdw

btw, pulling the trigger leads to nothing.

[Ting Ho Dung]

It's a Diablo II with a JB. That's the guitar I want and I guess why I posted it

Yeah, I knew that's what it was but you wanted us to guess it was the cali. So I flipped the coin and figured you were fcuking with us. Once again, I didn't win the lotto.

cspot: you are my BFF. I love you man.

[LucSulla]

I'm liking this special I just got. I never could really play metal all that well on a floating trem; go figure. I can solo on them pretty well, but I'm just a lot better at chunking along on a stop tailpiece. My big, meaty paw doesn't get on well with floyds.

[Nathan of Brainfertilizer Fame]

Here's the skinny on the Super Strats:

Californian (1987 - 1997) - Downsized contoured body with scalloped offset double cutaways, bolt-on maple neck (25.5 inch scale length) with angled peghead, 27 frets on a dot-inlay rosewood fingerboard. Fitted with one humbucker and one single coil pickup and Floyd Rose trem.. The Elite version has upgraded pickups (OBL, EMG or Seymour Duncan), ebony fingerboard, boomerang inlays and optional figured maple body. The Custom version is as the Elite but has a glued-in neck with a sculpted neck/body joint. Also sometimes fitted with Sustainiac circuitry (circa 1990 only). There are also 12-String and double-neck (6 + 12) versions.

Centaura (1989 - 1995) - Downsized contoured body (alder or swamp-ash) with offset double cutaways, 24 fret bolt-on maple neck (25.5 inch scale length). The peghead is not angled back and is reversed on early examples (up to 1992). The fingerboard has dot inlays towards the upper edge and can be rosewood, pau ferro, maple or ebony (with twin boomerang inlays, Deluxe version only). Pickups are a humbucker and two single coils (EMG on Deluxe) and all are fitted with a Floyd Rose trem..

Chaparral (1st version) (1985 - 1987) - contoured body with offset double cutaways, glued-in maple neck (24.75 inch scale length) with 24 fret rosewood fingerboard, dot-inlays and steeply angled peghead. Fitted with a humbucker and two single-coil pickups (usually Hamer Slammers) and Floyd Rose trem.. Some guitars are fitted with Kahler trems.. The Chaparral Custom is as above but has an ebony fingerboard, boomerang inlays and upgraded pickups (usually OBL). Usually fitted with three mini-switches and front mounted output jack.

Chaparral (2nd version) (1987 - 1994) - the Standard version is as above but has a bolt-on neck (with a modified peghead) and a 25.5" inch scale length. The Elite has optional figured maple- top, ebony fingerboard, boomerang inlays and upgraded pickups. The Custom is essentially the same as the 1st version but has a 25.5 inch scale-length. Also sometimes fitted with Sustainiac circuitry (circa 1990 only). All are fitted with 5-way switch and side mounted output jack. Single humbucker versions are also seen. 12-string Chaparral has a glued-in neck.

Diablo (1992 - 1997) - contoured alder body with offset double cutaways, 24 fret bolt-on maple neck (25.5 inch scale length) with rosewood fingerboard and dot inlays. The peghead is not angled back and is reversed on early examples (up to 1994) except Limited Edition guitars (which also have birds-eye maple necks). Fitted with two Seymour Duncan or DiMarzio pickups and Floyd-rose trem.. The Diablo II (1995 - 1997) has an additional middle position single coil pickup.

If you ask me, the Diablo was pretty much the no frills model. Not a lot of options. The Diablo always struck me as a slightly more sleek body.

Since both the Centaura and the Diablo could be made of alder, and because in my experience the alder and swamp ash are very close in tone (the swamp ash just as a touch more "sparkle" or "span" to it, I think), then I think the main difference is probably that the Diablo is H/H instead of H/S/S.

That means you can't get the quack sounds on a Diablo that you can get from a Centaura.

I don't know if that made wiring simpler, or if the body was actually smaller.

But it all makes the Diablo seem like the entry-level model: still awesome, still a Hamer, but nothing but engine and wheels and built for speed.

[Crimsontider]

It's a Diablo II with a JB. That's the guitar I want and I guess why I posted it

Yeah, I knew that's what it was but you wanted us to guess it was the cali. So I flipped the coin and figured you were fcuking with us. Once again, I didn't win the lotto.

cspot: you are my BFF. I love you man.

That's why I have gravitated towards this site.......fellow musicians are more understanding of the scattered mind. It was a trick question I admit. It was easier to read my mind than discerning from the clip.

Thanks for the rundown NOBF. Maybe someone will build a database of Hamer's similar to the one someone has done with Charvel's. Not by serial, but by model, year and all the specs.

[Nathan of Brainfertilizer Fame]

Well, that was from the Hamer Fan Club.

I find it by searching for

"Hamer Guitars A-M" and "Hamer Guitars N-Z", but I think the same list is elsewhere in the Hamer Fan Club suite of webpages, as well.

The information is out there, if you look for it.

But your questions and investigation help to codify and clarify, just like my questions and investigation helped advance the community knowledge of the import Hamers.

By the way: Curse you, Greg GLasscock, for stimulating my GAS for a red transparent Diablo and a red transparent Hamer Slammer Series Californian!!!

[Crimsontider]

Well, that was from the Hamer Fan Club.

.............investigation helped advance the community knowledge of the import Hamers.............

.........By the way: Curse you, Greg GLasscock, for stimulating my GAS for a red transparent Diablo and a red transparent Hamer Slammer Series Californian!!!

Your information on the imports is the most accurate and what you will find if you need to know. It is the foundation of my knowledge and I am sure has helped many guitarists.

I saw a Hamer in a Pawn shop for the 1st time in my life 2years ago. Didn't know much about them due to their smaller exposure but considered them top notch from who played them and never seeing a bad one, For $125, mahogany wood that sustained well with my ear up to it, locking system and Duncan Designed pup's I got it immediately.

As soon as I got home I was confused about the imports and after reading a few posts thought that Maybe the imports were a different guitar with Hamer stamped on it. That is until I read your site and realized that was not the truth. Yes the USA's are in a class by themselves but that Hamer really tried to make the Slammer Series and Import Series sound like their USA counterparts to a reasonable point. The took shortcuts in areas that would not effect the sound as much, but ultimately put in the Duncan Design pup's to give them a slightly inferior, yet unique sound. But the wood and build is really good and they can achieve professional level sound quality with a little work.

Slammer by Hamer gave Hamer imports a bad name that lasts until this day! Good for people looking for the SS, bad if your trying to sell.

The new Hamer Xt's strat shaped guitars do not sound like the vintage USA Hamer's at all imo. There is a disconnect that wasn't there with the Korean imports. Not to say they sound bad. More generic imo. Could be wrong.

If the USA's are gone, then they should all be gone. I would hate to go in a Pawn or guitar consignment shop in 10 years and see it loaded with the lower asian imports like you see with Kramer, Washburn, Fender and a few others. The Hamer name has not been watered down anywhere near these other brands.

If you see a Hamer, Charvel, Jackson or Gibson in a used shop. Chances are it's a good guitar. I want it to stay that way.

Rant over.

I

[Hamer_SS_guy]

My Cali is the guitar which does metal best (when I am the player). The EMG's sound well, the 89 bridge humbucker is a beast, very dynamic and loud signal. It can be tamed when splitted. What I like is that they still sound well when I take back the guitar's volume. Well, it doesn't sound like a Strat, neither does it sound like a Les Paul, but that is not it's purpose anyway. The EMG's work great for me, for clean and heavy tones, a true all purpose guitar. The maple body and neck and the ebony board give the guitar great sustain. I have a Chap Deluxe as a backup, same pickups, but having an alder body. It is great too, lightweight but not as much sustain as the Cali. A Sustainiac Chap and a FB, as well as two Steve Stevens I don't get that much playtime. Somehow I am not well with guitars that have mahogany bodies. Maybe that's the reason I still don't have a Les Paul, unless I find an all-maple Les Paul (I have an all-maple RD Artist though).

[Feynman]

I'd vote for the Standard, though I don't think I have a brand of metal. If I did though, it would be best on a Standard.