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Final run of Standards, any interest ?


RichRS6

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There isn't really a whole lot of dealer energy expended on things like this, despite what the sales pitch you may sometimes hear.

It's either available or it's not, and that's the way it is. Phone call(s), fill out the form and send it in. I've done a bunch of those and seen dozens more done right in front of me, all yeilding fantastic results. Sometimes, there may be a bit more persuasion required, and sometimes things are deemed "too obvious", but in the end, the custom order options are what they are, and there are pages of what's actually available (uh, what WAS actually available) that reads like a menu. Nobody's been sending kidneys or vials of their own blood up to New Hartford.

Having people price up custom orders with no intention of buying is one thing, but oftentimes, the sticker shock is what kills the deal, but the dealer has every price for every available option in hand when making the call, and can pretty much ballpark it within reason. In those cases, that was time spent pursuing a legitimate opportunity, just like any other sales endeavor. Not everybody is a buyer, and if you're a real salesperson, you realize that not every call or time spent is going to yield a sale. You try to minimize the tire kickers, but they're a necessary evil in ALL sales environments.

Muse and some others make some great points - the likelihood of everybody here agreeing on a custom run with the same or similar specs is pretty slim. What might be more likely to happen is if FMIC/Hamer unilaterally decided to do a limited run of something and cranked them out to spec, take 'em or leave 'em.

That being said, I think it's a fun idea and all, but I don't see it happening at this point (Mid-October, 2013). Maybe at a later time, but not right now. Although it might look like things are in full swing in New Hartford, for those who have been up there in the last year or two can attest to how limited the Hamer space has become. The stocks of wood that used to have many board feet of Korina, nice mahogany and killer maple billets, is now totally full of Guild and Fender acoustic wood - more Spruce tops, back and side cuts, etc. A lot of the equipment in the Hamer space has either been moved/repurposed or has disappeared. It's true that there's still amazing work going on up there on the final orders, but FMIC is still focusing their energies on Guild (and Fender) production up there, and I don't see that changing anytime soon.

I think we'd all LOVE to see it and get one more swing, but in all honesty, when I posted here in August of last year that people should get their custom orders in before the end of 2012, I took some crap for it. Those who did get to order will be seeing some of the coolest Hamers ever in the coming months. I wasn't in a position to commit funds at the time (yay, college tuition checks!), but if the timing had been even a few months earlier, I would have easily squeaked one in the door.

Again, there's nothing wrong with talking about this, and hey - I'd LOVE to see it happen, but we had a few dozen threads like this when Hamer was still in full swing and there was never enough consensus or people willing to part with the serious dollars it would take to get it done then.

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You guys are way dreaming!! The last Hamers are being built by the guys on their weekends or off shop time. They are only completing in house orders from a year ago or longer!! They would no more take on new orders than the man on the moon. Now me, I'm lucky as i got my order in June of last year before they pulled the plug. Some of the last orders are way into a year or more.

As Aerosmith sang......"Dream On"

Oh, great. Thanks for the earworm from my youth. :lol:;)

I had asked here on the HFC, not long after the last orders were accepted, about what had happened to Hamer's stash of wood after the closing notice. I think it was CMatthes that said that FMIC took off with it. What happened to it afterward? Your guess is as good as mine. Edited to add: He just addressed it in his latest post above.

I would suspect that wood selection for any final Hamer special orders was done and set aside in advance (you'd have to ask the Hamer crew about that), before FMIC appropriated (or re-appropriated) the wood. If Hamer started making another run of guitars, they may already have the tooling and the facilities for them (Edited to add: or maybe not, see CMatthes post above), BUT they'd have to get the wood (edited to add: Make that MORE wood) to make them now, wouldn't they? That would seem to me to add yet another level of detail to the debate, as far as quality and "authenticity" goes.

Even if I had the cash, THAT is one argument I'd rather not get into. :ph34r:

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Just for curiosity. Are we talking tone pros. or sustain block bridge?

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Ha! Muse beat me to it!!!

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I'll watch this thread with interest but not a lot of hope. I too would love to have a CO Standard but I'd want something unique. It's highly unlikely that we'll have 20-25 of us agree on the specs, much less have the bucks.

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Its a great sentiment...but it would have been better received when the Hamer shop still existed. It is gone, assimilated into the rest offthe machine. The only remnants are the skills of a handful of guys who know how to build them the old way. Those guys could do it in their basement, but they CAN'T do it on the production line of Guild or the Fender Acoustic custom shop.

Sorry to be a buzzkill. If anyone was paying attention they should have placed their order when they were told the writing was on the wall.

Disclaimer- this is my opinion only and does not reflect FMIC in any way shape or form.

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Would they look still like potatoes? ;)

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And therein lies the problem. Only to post #4 and already two guys want something special.

I said I'd like those options if possible. I'd be open to whatever they can come up with.

Agree - brand-new Standards built to the specs of the Original 1970s models will NOT go unsold.

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You guys kill me. I have one Standard the very classic way. Sorry to kill the thread though.

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Would they look still like potatoes? ;)

Guess you could call it a Standard Russet...

No crinkle-cut ones, though. ;):lol:

Yes on crinkle cut.

Crinkle cut is a form of flame top innit' :wacko::blink:

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A classic 78-79 era 4 digit Standard run. All bounds with Crowns & DiMarzio PAF's. The only Choce you get to make is Natural or Sunburst. I can see Fender doing something like this once the Guild plant runs for a few years.

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$6,000.00 MSRP might be a reasonable price point for a '79 reissue Standard. That would make MAP(if such a thing existed in this pipedream proposal) around $4,200.00. Street price would be less. How much less depends on the dealer's willingness to participate as an enthusiast rather than a rational businessperson.

FIMC would make around $3,000 in top-line revenue per unit. To calculate profit, you have to subract the cost of production.

How much does it take in labor, materials and overhead to make a Standard using the skilled craftsmen and the caliber of wood and other parts we would demand? $1,000.00? $2,000.00? more?

The incentive for Fender to do a run of 25 seems pretty small to me.

Take the MSRP down to the $3,000.00 range that's been discussed here and assume a smaller production run? I don't see it happening.

That said, there are several dealers here who have turned less likely dreams into reality.

The only other way this could happen would be to convince FIMC to bypass it's dealer and build on a direct to consumer basis. Does anyone think this could happen? (and I am in no way advocating it).

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Dammit.

I wanted a Carmine D'Amico with a Turdus flametop.

I LOL'd at that one.

Its a great sentiment...but it would have been better received when the Hamer shop still existed. It is gone, assimilated into the rest offthe machine. The only remnants are the skills of a handful of guys who know how to build them the old way. Those guys could do it in their basement, but they CAN'T do it on the production line of Guild or the Fender Acoustic custom shop.

So how big of a basement are we talking and how much of a downpayment do you guys want?

It sounds to me like the plan is the same, it's just a matter of which phone number you dial. ;)

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