Newport without a serial number?

[tonefiend]

Hi Hamer Experts,

I was looking on eBay and came across this custom Newport that was supposed to be built by a Hamer employee, so it didn't get a serial number. I'm not interested, but was curious if this was a common thing? It sounds suspect.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/USA-Custom-Built-Hamer-Newport-Pro-Handcrafted-Guitar-with-Hardshell-Hamer-Case-/111260211180?pt=Guitar&hash=item19e7a017ec

[Boomerang~Junkie]

The plot thickens . . . .

[Pieman]

Does the "USA" look odd to anybody.

Not talking to you, Gorch.

[Boomerang~Junkie]

I spoke with this Newport’s current owner a bit ago. He seemed like a very nice, open and honest guy. From what he said, he is primarily a drummer who also plucks around at home on the guitar sometimes. He stated that he had owned some other USA Hamers in the past but has since sold them.

He said there is no trace of a serial number anywhere on the guitar or on the headstock, but that it is clearly stamped “Hamer” inside the body behind the “F” hole though – go figure? He said that the Barking Dog Guitar Shop he purchased it from, received it exactly that way when they bought it and they made no changes to it what-so-ever. His said this Newport is exactly as it was when he bought it and that he has not played it much since he bought it in 2009 from the music store which is located in Torrington, Connecticut (which is apparently only about ten miles from New Hartford). He said it is extremely nice to play, looks and sounds incredible like a Hamer should. He said he has compared it physically, side by side with his friends Newport and they are identical in size, shape and scale etc. (and the Maple top). He said, absent the volute on the neck and no NS they are the identical.

He said he never met and knows nothing about the original owner/builder, but that the Barking Dog Guitar Shop claimed they bought it from the original owner/builder who was (at least at one time) a Hamer employee when it was built.

He is pretty firm on his listed price and I got the distinct impression he originally paid a premium, “genuine custom” Newport price for that guitar and might be losing his ass on it. I gently advised him that extremely nice, mint Newports can be had fairly regularly for $1600 with SN’s and actual Hamer provenance. I think he is starting to realize he may be stuck in a bad spot with this one. He says he’ll keep it if he can’t get what he wants.

It’s cool looking and I believe the sellers claims completely, but if it’s a, “below the radar” build that somehow snuck out of New Hartford, then there's no telling what corners were cut to save time, money or materials to get it done. Again, the seller was extremely nice and forthcoming, but unless one of the Hamer crew can shed some much better light on this particular Newport, I wouldn’t pay more than $700-$800 for it and even that might be pushing it.

Sorry for the long-ass post.

[serial]

I wouldn't touch it. Was Barking Dog the shop that was selling New Hartford dumpster creations in the past? That rings a bell for some reason. There was a really lousy Monaco on eBay a while back that was cobbled together from a shop near the factory also making the 'employee custom' claim. No serial number-not a Hamer unless it is one of the original Sunbursts (and I've heard of about fifteen or twenty people over the years claiming to have one of the original Tom Holmes prototype Sunbursts even if they were clearly 79-82s. Um, the refin should've tipped you off sport!

[cmatthes]

Same shop.

The Barking Dog guy was trying to sell a cobbled together Monaco with a really strange neck on TGP as well a few years back as a prototype. It clearly wasn't.

[mirrorimij]

Barking Dog = STAY AWAY!!!!!

The owner made some ridiculous claims about a few "Hamers" for sale a few years ago. I gave him the benefit of the doubt and tried to educate him on Hamers ( we ran into each other at an open mic night at a coffee shop next to his store). He continued to try to sell those guitars as "custom built", "one off prototypes", etc after I knew he knew better. There are too many good people to deal with if you want to buy a Hamer to have to resort to a shop like that. The shop is no longer in business in Torrington.

I feel bad for the guy that got duped.

[gorch]

Does the "USA" look odd to anybody.

Not talking to you, Gorch.

I've just checked the logo against my Newport. The logo is almost identical. The guitar actually looks pretty much like a regular serial numbered Newport. Except for the roots, it actually is supposed to be a great example of a Newport Pro IMO.

[Boomerang~Junkie]

Aside from the numerous other awesome things about this very colorful group, you guys really ARE the only subject matter experts on Hamers (and a lot of other things "guitar") out there. I KNEW someone out there had the straight poop on this guitar and its origins.

Cluster - f#ck from hell avoided.

Thank you all for your input on this.

Sadly, it looks like there are now two pending offers from someone on this landmine.

[ghamerinfrance]

I am now one for this offer....but the counteroffer is relatively high on price (around 1550 USD) and my offer was more in the usual HFC range...

Let 's see but I fully trust the expertise developed here around.

[cmatthes]

That guitar will always be a tough one to sell. The seller likely knows that, which explains the sketchy story behind it. Not worth it at all when there are PLENTY of straight, legit guitars made in the shop by the guys.

[veatch]

^^^

This. Be patient - one will pop up.

One thing i love about Hamers is that the quality is quite consistent. I would feel pretty confident buying a Hamer without playing it first.

I can not say i have that same level of confidence on this particular guitar.

[cmatthes]

I have no confidence in that guitar.

[ghamerinfrance]

Seems the seller wants to keep around a high price So a keeper one...

[serial]

A. The guitar is not a Hamer

B. There is no way to verify it's origins, but the original seller dealt in parts retrieved from dumpster-diving at New Hartford and pieced together and sold as rare one-offs.

C. It will never have the same value as a used Newport Pro.

AVOID.

[carfish7]

A. The guitar is not a Hamer

AVOID.

So, is this then something accurately described as a counterfeit? It should be flagged then and the seller reported.

[ARM OF HAMER]

Some thing is original only once..................and this guitar from what the experts here are saying is this was NEVER a original "Hamer".................... so like the "LEFT BANK" sings............... WALK AWAY RENEE.

[mc2]

I have two non-serialed Hamers, so they do exist.

One is Serial's former Cruise/phantom doubleneck, circa 1981, that should have been a four digit but was not in the factory log books. When Hamer refinished it, they stamped it with a SN for the date restored.

The other is a white Chap 5-string bass. It's one of Rick Savages' endorser basses, all original, with his name on the headstock. Hamer said it may have been a birthday gift. A couple of his other ones that I had did have stamped SNs.

I've had a couple prototype Hamers and they had the word "prototype" on the back of the headstocks, either printed or stamped.

That Newport....maybe employees build but being from that Barking Dog shop, I would say more likely dumpster salvaged body with a replaced neck that had been bandsawed off as a defect or something like that.

[cmatthes]

Maybe more correctly...

Everything legitimately out of New Hartford had a serial number.

[gorch]

So, what if that guitar plays great and sounds nice? Sure not for the price...but!

[serial]

My double neck was possibly serialed originally I believe. Whether the number wore off (I suspect it was inked on in yellow and disappeared) or something I don't know. Sure wish I knew who 'T.K.' was! I couldn't find a four digit in the logs that matched it (although that's not definitive proof), but it was definitely from early 81. Never got to look through all of 1981 to see.

[serial]

As for the logo on the headstock, that means nothing. I have a genuine unused Hamer inlaid logoed headstock. Not planning on putting it on a guitar or anything though!

[mirrorimij]

I have two non-serialed Hamers, so they do exist.

One is Serial's former Cruise/phantom doubleneck, circa 1981, that should have been a four digit but was not in the factory log books. When Hamer refinished it, they stamped it with a SN for the date restored.

The other is a white Chap 5-string bass. It's one of Rick Savages' endorser basses, all original, with his name on the headstock. Hamer said it may have been a birthday gift. A couple of his other ones that I had did have stamped SNs.

I've had a couple prototype Hamers and they had the word "prototype" on the back of the headstocks, either printed or stamped.

That Newport....maybe employees build but being from that Barking Dog shop, I would say more likely dumpster salvaged body with a replaced neck that had been bandsawed off as a defect or something like that.

Do you mind sharing more info on the ones with the word "prototype" on the headstock? I remember someone else talking about this before (maybe Wordupperman?). I can't recall ever seeing one of those from1991-2000 when I worked there. I have two finished prototypes (Daytona and T51) that have serial numbers that are outside the normal convention. Do you remember the models and year of those instruments with the stamp?

[serial]

Any that I've seen marked 'prototype' had serial numbers.