Hamersaur Posted January 20, 2013 Posted January 20, 2013 As a new member I finally got a chance to share some photos. This is my 94 Special FM. This guitar just screams. I have a Prestige Heritage Elite with the same SD 59 and JB configuration and as it is a great guitar, the Hamer literally overpowers it. I know I am at least the 3rd owner. It is all stock apart from the nut (WTF! - more on this in a bit). The Hamer has Schaller tuners, Schaller bridge, and Gotoh tailpiece and of course a little of the period correct hameritis. Although it has a few bumps and bruises it is in really decent condition for its age. I love the tone as we play alot of 70s and 80s music and this really fits the bill. This is one of my gig main go to guitars. It is a pure rock machine. I can see why this was dubbed a Les Paul killer. I think the Aztec Gold really compliments the flames and it has a nice straight grain on the fretboard. Now about the nut. I cannot figure out why the nut would have needed to be replaced. I asked the guy I bought it from and he said it was like that when he got it. It is set at the correct height and it and has no issues so all is fine but it justs seems wierd. If anyone has any comments or ideas that they would like to share on this, it would be much appreciated. Cheers.
sixesandsevens Posted January 20, 2013 Posted January 20, 2013 Awesome guitar. Congrats on that one. I had hoped to land one of those or a studio in Aztec Gold as a first Hamer, so I'm a little jealous. I wouldn't read too much into a nut replacement. For some folks, changing nut material is like picking a string gauge; they want what they want, and they do it out of preference and not necessity. So let me welcome you to the HFC with a friendly calling of "dibs" in case you wanna sell that one.
Hamersaur Posted January 20, 2013 Author Posted January 20, 2013 Thanks for the reply. I guess it did not make sense to me as I have never really thought about changing the nut on a guitar, or heard of one doing so. As I said there are no issues and it actually looks like it is a proper Lubritrak so I am going to leave it be. This is my 2nd Hamer. As I am from a small city in BC Canada there are little to no USA Hamers available locally and very few in Vancouver at best. I drove 9 hours return to get this and it was worth every second. As for the friendly dibs I will try to remember when it comes time to sell but I am thinking by that time I am going to be pretty senile so apologies in advance. Cheers.
Ting Ho Dung Posted January 20, 2013 Posted January 20, 2013 I have seen some beautiful nuts before. But in this case I love your nut. Let your nuts be.
specialk Posted January 20, 2013 Posted January 20, 2013 Congrats and welcome again!Love the finish on your Special FM.
DaveL Posted January 20, 2013 Posted January 20, 2013 Looks great, I am a sucker for aztec gold FM's... (the one that got away for me is a 94 AG FM) they made these with AA tops, so it can be a challenge to find one with a top that pops . the nut? wouldn't sweat it too much... am guessing someone could have monkeyedwith the original slots (heavy guage strings?).
Hamersaur Posted January 20, 2013 Author Posted January 20, 2013 Man, never thought about string guage. Sometimes I can be a dumbass. I guess being an if it aint broke dont fix it kinda guy can create some ignorance. Thanks to all for your help and thanks again for the welcome. Cheers
Bennyboy-UK Posted January 20, 2013 Posted January 20, 2013 I love seeing people getting FMs!They have got to be the best value Hamers out there.And I love Aztec Gold!Great stuff mate!
Punkavenger Posted January 20, 2013 Posted January 20, 2013 Both the FM's I had were the bomb! Best deal in a sturdy basic well made tone monster LP killer out there. Yeah, bet someone got a little too creative with the nut file I had a Bareknuckles Mule/ WCR Fillmore in my first FM and Rio's Texas/Muy grande in my second ... All sounded really good and better than the stock SD's (especially the mule) if you decide to try a little pickup change-a-roo in the future
Hamersaur Posted January 20, 2013 Author Posted January 20, 2013 I really like the tone but I do find the JB to be a bit on the hot side and it did take a little getting used to. I am not considering a pickup swap at this time but I have heard some good things said about The Mule. Thanks for sharing your experience on that. Definately food for thought. I must admit I am a bit concerned that if I mess with it too much it will lose some of its mojo. I gotta remind myself that sometimes a guy with the if it aint broke dont fix it attitude (me) needs to step outside the box once in a while and try something new (like maybe a TV Yellow Special with P90s). Cheers.
Punkavenger Posted January 21, 2013 Posted January 21, 2013 TV yellow with P90's sounds awesome but once again those SD P90's suck (I feel bad because I know Seymour and his ex wife)... Lollars are the ticket All the SD antiquities pickups I've tried or that I know others have tried have been fantastic however
Hamersaur Posted January 21, 2013 Author Posted January 21, 2013 Never had the opportunity to play one but they sure look sweet. Cheers.
hamerhead Posted January 22, 2013 Posted January 22, 2013 I love Specials! Nice guitar.My FM has a Rio BBQ bridge pickup and it's scary good.
Hamersaur Posted January 23, 2013 Author Posted January 23, 2013 I had heard some good things about The Mule (and as per Punkaveners recommendations above - thanks again) I decided to check out the website. I knew Bareknuckles was British but I did not know the Mule are lower output vintage style PAFs. Gotta say I am intrigued. And a thanks to you Hammerhead for your words on the Rio BBQ.I just may step outside of the box yet. I would like to ask Punkavenger, did you go for Mule in the bridge or the neck? I will do a search on the messageboard to see if I can find out anymore info about them. Cheers.
Punkavenger Posted January 23, 2013 Posted January 23, 2013 The Mule/neck was incredible ... Mule/bridge I thought could be a little hotter.
Hamersaur Posted January 23, 2013 Author Posted January 23, 2013 Thanks for the info. I am going to also have a look at SD Antiquities as I understand they are a PAF stlye as well. More research required. Cheers.
hamerhead Posted January 23, 2013 Posted January 23, 2013 I should add that the BBQs are pretty dark and thick, just what mine needed (with maple cap, Sustain Block and ebony board) to tame the highs a bit.
Hamersaur Posted January 23, 2013 Author Posted January 23, 2013 Thanks for that as well Hammerhead. I am including the Rios and WCRs as well in my research endeavor. All of everyones input is very much appreciated. Cheers.
Punkavenger Posted January 24, 2013 Posted January 24, 2013 To be completely rational and scientific .... A. Knowing that the mule/neck sounds fantastic B. Mule bridge sounds a little flat/needs more oomph C. Knowing that you prefer low output pickups I would go with the next more powerful Bareknuckles bridge pickup which I think is the Blackdog. Email Tim at Bareknuckles... He's the owner and great at returning emails. https://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/main/pickups.php?cat=humbuckers&sub=vintage_hot&pickup=black_dog This sounds perfect to me
Hamersaur Posted January 25, 2013 Author Posted January 25, 2013 Sorry for the sow reply. Like others I have been having troubles getting onto the site. Did some digging and I am thinking of going with mule-neck but still undecided about the bridge. Have short listed BK Blackdog and Rio BBQ. Thinking the Blackdog would give a nice even balance but the BBQ will leave the bridge with some bite. At this point I am leaning towards the latter. Either way these are not cheap as I am just an average joe. Not enough zeros in my account right now (Christmas, blah, blah) to justify the expense. No worries as it will give me time to learn more. I have been playing for some time but the only mods I have ever done to my guitars were switching to 9 guage strings once on one (went right back to 10s when toasted) and changed the saddles on my Highway 1 tele old school bridge from chrome to brass. As a pickup swap novice I am relying on your experience as well as what I can find doing my own research and again, your input is much appreciated. From what I understand the FM has 500K pots for both volume and tone but I still have to confirm this. Cheers and thanks again.
Punkavenger Posted January 26, 2013 Posted January 26, 2013 I didnt like the BBQ in my FM but loved it in my Phantom ... I'll shut up now YMMV
Hamersaur Posted January 26, 2013 Author Posted January 26, 2013 Still having some site issues. Seems ok now. So you did not like the BBQ in FM. I was leaning that way as I thought the Blackdog at 9.4K would create a nice even balance (which I do like) but still might not have enough bite. Maybe the BBQ at 12.5K is still too hot. I understand pups (like tone) is subjective but as a novice I value your opinion and experience. Knowing that I would like the bridge to still have a little bite, do you think the Blackdog would have enough balls (last question - I promise). Thanks again for your help (and putting up with my pestering ). Cheers.
Punkavenger Posted January 27, 2013 Posted January 27, 2013 Have you listened to the sound clips on the bareknuckles site? The blackdog sounds awesome. I want to buy a humbucker equipped guitar just to put the mule/blackdog combo in it. https://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/main/pickups.php?cat=humbuckers&sub=vintage_hot&pickup=black_dog Email Tim at Bareknuckles and see what he says ... Several people at the HFC have put the texas/BBQ combo in their FM's and just totally loved them. I must admit it's a perfectly good combo and sounds much better than the stock 59/JB ... I tried it and liked the texas neck but like I said the BBQ sounded very 70's classic rock and while that could actually be considered a good thing depending, not exactly what I was looking for. Plus with THE BBQ I didnt feel like there was enough oomph believe it or not. So I went with the Muy Grande which I liked much better. Maybe I was used to the great variance of the 59/JB combo? I dunno. The texas/muy grande combo is a good one in my opinion and the texas/bbq is also good, better that the SD's by a good margin. If you can pick up a used set for cheap on ebay, here or the gear page by all means buy them and check em out for yourself. I think I paid $90 each for the texas, BBQ and $150 for the Muy Grande. Plus you can always sell them for the price you payed. I understand your concern about the bridge pickup not having enough power ... as you can see I went from the fairly powerful BBQ to the even more powerful Muy grande but the lower output pickups just have so much more detail, they really sound beautiful. Dont forget it depends on your amp, pedals and playing style also. Good luck!
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