Nathan of Brainfertilizer Fame Posted April 27, 2014 Posted April 27, 2014 Checking to see if this slideshow works.If a guitar title has a number (1, 2, 3), it is a picture of the same guitar.If a guitar title has an A or B, it is one of two guitars of the same type (although perhaps of different color).I will post the individual pictures separately, perhaps with an explanation.
Nathan of Brainfertilizer Fame Posted April 27, 2014 Author Posted April 27, 2014 These two guitars are on their way out. They've already been spoken for: Hamer USA Centaura Deluxe Hamer USA Diablo Std
Nathan of Brainfertilizer Fame Posted April 27, 2014 Author Posted April 27, 2014 The Alvarez guitars: Alvarez Dana II w/ TriForce, MIK This one has some great twang and tele tones with the Tri-Force. Nice action and just about the perfect neck: not too thin, not thick at all. Alvarez Dana Scoop w/ Modulus Graphite Neck, MIK Nice guitar, but I have it more for collection purpose than for playing. Alvarez Successor AES100RD, MIK (the RD means "red". If you see a black one, it will be AES100BK) This was going to be Reb Beach's signature guitar, but I guess talks fell through, and Reb Beach had a very similar guitar designed by Ibanez to be his signature.
Nathan of Brainfertilizer Fame Posted April 27, 2014 Author Posted April 27, 2014 Random guitars: Charvel Model 7, MIJ; originally had a beautiful tobacco burst finish...but even knackered up, it still seems kinda cool. This may be the only tele-style guitar I can keep. Cort Garage2 Matthias Jabs Signature guitar. Made in Indonesia. Nice features on this guitar: swamp ash body, coil tap pull-push knob with finger assist, bypass switch, good low action and nice neck. Imperator, made in Columbia. No secret compartments for drugs I could find. This is a guy from Colombia who makes custom guitars for fun and profit. He has no intent of mass construction at all. He makes them one at a time and sells them on eBay. I bought a guitar, and it apparently got stolen by the Colombian Customs agents. I was extremely suspicious, but he insisted I *not* pay until I got the guitar. So he made this one for me to make up for the stolen one, customized it to my specifications, and gave it to me for $100 cheaper than the original price. So I sent him $50 extra. Neck is like the fat end of a baseball bat. Body is oversized. Great tone. 26 frets. Hand-wound pickups. Only downside is the stolen guitar had a beautiful transparent aqua/ocean blue finish, which is what I really wanted. Not sure why he finished this one in natural, but it was such a great deal and he was so easy to work with, I can't really complain. His prices have apparently gone up, but if you want a custom guitar made by him for far cheaper than you can get custom ANYWHERE else, I can tell you his eBay handle, or I can give you his address to contact him directly. Rainsong JZ-1000 Stormsong hollowbody guitar, made in Maui, HI, USA Rainsong A-WS-1000, made somewhere in Washington state Closeup to show that, yes, you can see the carbon fiber weave in the body, but instead of the gloss finish most of their other products have that show off the carbon fiber, this is a semi-matte black that conceals it. Blurry closeup of the information revealed by the sound hole, including the fact that you can see the carbon fiber weave better on the inside of the guitar. The carbon fiber pickguard is fake carbon fiber. This guitar is probably on the way out. The neck is very thin, which is nice, and it has great tone...but the fretboard is extremely flat, and I've found that really makes fingerstyle jazz difficult...I have several songs with double stops and finger bars and the flatness increases the difficulty significantly. Plus, I want a Maui-made one to go with the Maui-made electric... Peavey Vandenberg, USA One of the guitars that for some inexplicable reason is cooler to have than to actually play...
Nathan of Brainfertilizer Fame Posted April 27, 2014 Author Posted April 27, 2014 The Hamers ('nuff said), pt 1: Hamer Slammer Series "Daytona", MIK. 1st generation import? Quality machine... Hamer USA Californian Elite. Clearly no one besides me could want this guitar because of the gold hardware. The Calited: Hamer USA Californian Std w/ fairly rare maple fretboard and value-destroying Ted Nugent signature Hamer USA Centaura Std These are the same Tobacco-burst Centaura. Multiple pictures are to try to catch the burst in a slightly different light... Hamer USA Chaparral 12-string Hamer USA Chaparral std (set neck, short scale)
Nathan of Brainfertilizer Fame Posted April 27, 2014 Author Posted April 27, 2014 The Hamers ('nuff said) pt 2: These are two different pictures of the same Eclipse. I was trying to show the liquidity of the green finish. Hamer XT SATF, MIK. I love the amberburst over flame of this one. Decent tone, good action. Same guitar...just a closeup of the Amber-burst over flame that I find so gorgeous...
Nathan of Brainfertilizer Fame Posted April 27, 2014 Author Posted April 27, 2014 The Jon Kammerer Guitars: The infamous Potato Guitar. Walnut wood. Rosewood board w/ abalone inlays. SD JB/59 combo for pickups. Jon Kammerer Leo (strat-style). Cherry wood. Ebony Board w/ abalone inlays. Humbuckers split w/ pull-push tone knob. Dirty Fingers bridge pickups, Seymour Duncan single coil in the middle, Razor twin-blade pickup in the neck. I didn't like the tone on this guitar until I brought it the Hamer Book signing party at El Duave's Rocketeria. I like the tone on tube amps, but it clearly doesn't play well with solid-state amps. Seymour Duncan Single Coils. Not as bright/piercing as you fear. I was told the body was maple. But I don't recall seeing that kind of figuring on maple...the dark bands seem wider. Can anyone confirm, or is it possibly ash, alder or poplar? Maple body. Generic pickups. Not great tone, so someday I'm going to replace the pickups. Abalone inlays on acrylic fretboard. Acrylic is like ebony: a bit of chime to the tone, but even faster than ebony (because both harder and slicker). The shine seems impervious to string scratches. This guitar has significant nostalgia for me. On my 2nd deployment to the Middle East, Jon, who has never met me, allowed me to take this guitar with me. He did so on the strength of a recommendation from a mutual friend, my former US Army compatriot with whom he had gone to high school. 5 years later, when I bought the walnut Scorpuis and cherrywood Leo in a fire sale, he sent this one along for free. Not really a semi-hollow, as only the top 1/4 or 1/3 is hollow. He calls it "cored". Maybe chambered w/ f-hole? Maple body. Seymour Duncan JB/59 combo. Acrylic fretboard w/ mother of pearl inlays. Aged walnut body. Stew-Mac Golden Age pickups, sound *really* good...as good as a SD JB/59 combo. HB split w/ pull-push tone knob. One of my most favorite guitars, ever. Ergonomic, fast, great tone, pretty... Acrylic/mother of pearl combo, again.
Nathan of Brainfertilizer Fame Posted April 27, 2014 Author Posted April 27, 2014 The Matsumoku/Westones (two are not Matsumoku, one is not a Westone), Pt 1: Great tone on this one...probably has MMK 45s. Push-pull humbucker splits for each HB, separately. Good single coil tone. Low action. Vantage Avenger X-77, Made in Japan by Matsumoku. 1989 Westone Challnger. Made in Korea after Matsumoku shut down. My first guitar that the trem stayed in tune with heavy trem use. I love the tone from this one, too...These are Westone's Heatwave pickups, according to the catalog. One of my most favorite guitars. It was kind of a shock when, after owning and playing on it for 2 years, I realized it was a plywood guitar. Another 1989 Westone Challenger, also MIK. I got this one because I wanted a blue one (blue being my favorite color). This one had been under someone's bed for at least 10 years. Great condition. But when I got it: no sound! And the deep metallic blue had faded to a deep metallic blue-green. One of these days I'll actually take a shot at rewiring it, or hire someone to fix it for me. Until then, it is pretty too look at. I got it cheap, wouldn't be able to sell it for anything worth the effort, so it is a default keeper, even though I've never actually played it and it might be another year or so until I get it fixed. yeah, I know...I have some weird thought processes. Love this one because the blue has faded into a nice greenish color... Westone Pantera x390, Made in Japan. Legend has it that only 96 x390s were made. But it sure seems like there is one for sale on eBay at least every 4-6 months. So I'm not calling the guy a liar, just...bad memory? Or maybe there were 96 made of each color? Or 96 made of just the the x350MA but the questioner misunderstood? In any case, great guitar.
Boomerang~Junkie Posted April 27, 2014 Posted April 27, 2014 Oh my, that's a quite impressive collection. I might have to invoke dibs on the trans-blue Hamer. Did I count correctly - five Chaps? Edited to add: I just noticed some of those are actually Centaura's. Sorry, I had HUA, but they are still awesome..I am humbled, very nice. Thank you for sharing those.
Nathan of Brainfertilizer Fame Posted April 27, 2014 Author Posted April 27, 2014 Westone/Matsumoku, Pt 2: Westone Spectrum LX This one has some cool switching: All three knobs are push-pull. The 3-way Gibson-style switch selects Bridge Only, Bridge + Neck, or Neck Only The first knob splits the humbuckers. The 2nd knob turns the middle single coil on/off. The 3rd knob reverses the phase. That's a lot of cool sounds many other guitars can't get. The extra pictures are to show how knackered up this one is. Still plays like a dream, tho...I love it...
Nathan of Brainfertilizer Fame Posted April 27, 2014 Author Posted April 27, 2014 The Yamahas, Pt 1: 2 additional pictures were an attempt to get the light to show the flame maple under the transparent blue better... This is the first PAC 604w I got. The box around the pickups/trem is just a reflection. Same guitar. Is this a problem? The trem still stays in tune, tho... This is the 2nd PAC 604w. Just got it this week for $177 shipped via eBay. Note the broken string, as yet unrepaired.
Nathan of Brainfertilizer Fame Posted April 27, 2014 Author Posted April 27, 2014 Oh my, that's a quite impressive collection. I might have to invoke dibs on the trans-blue Hamer. Did I count correctly - five Chaps? Edited to add: I just noticed some of those are actually Centura's. Sorry, I had HUA, but they are still awesome..I am humbled, very nice. Thank you for sharing those.The blueburst Centaura is already spoken for...awaiting payment. I posted only because it is still in my collection, for the moment...
Punkavenger Posted April 27, 2014 Posted April 27, 2014 That blue burst Centaura is my favorite of the lot. Why o why Nathan?
jwhitcomb3 Posted April 27, 2014 Posted April 27, 2014 What a great collection! I love how you look for interesting instruments off the beaten path. Thanks for sharing.
Guest gearwhore Posted April 27, 2014 Posted April 27, 2014 Nice guita, but I have it more for collection purpose than for playing. oh the dana and the vandy..both great guitars..my dana was broken and I just sold my vandy
Tres Aardvarks Posted April 27, 2014 Posted April 27, 2014 Nice collection! I dig the Yamaha LP style.
Montelovesco Posted April 27, 2014 Posted April 27, 2014 Cool. I like the different styles and types (and price tags) of guitars. And I really dig the Charvel Tele...
FrettyMcgee Posted April 27, 2014 Posted April 27, 2014 Those Alvarez's are pretty cool. Reb Beach immediately jumped to mind before I read your explanation. I had no idea that model existed.Dana Scoop FTW!Also.... How does that neck-through Matsumoku Westone play? I've always found them pretty sexy in weird way. I just wished they spent a little more time on the headstock design....seems pointy just to be pointy. But that's just nit picking.
hanspanzer Posted April 27, 2014 Posted April 27, 2014 Nice Weddington. I`ve been looking for one of those for a while now.
Nathan of Brainfertilizer Fame Posted April 28, 2014 Author Posted April 28, 2014 Also.... How does that neck-through Matsumoku Westone play? I've always found them pretty sexy in weird way. I just wished they spent a little more time on the headstock design....seems pointy just to be pointy. But that's just nit picking.They play awesome!It isn't actually a neck-through. It is a deep-tenon set neck, but that does allow them to carve the heel away without impacting stability. That guitar is Matsumoku at the top of their craftsmanship game, and Westone at the top of their design game.That concave back is comfortable as all get out...I would never have thought it would add that much to the easy of playing. It lightens it a little, too. Westone necks suit me, as well...I consider them the best necks in the business, but probably not everyone will/does. Good tone, too...but once they stopped putting in MMK45s (around 1985 or so), I thought their guitars had a tendency to get a little shrill. I never tried putting a SD or Dimarzio pickup swapout, tho, so...
Nathan of Brainfertilizer Fame Posted April 28, 2014 Author Posted April 28, 2014 That blue burst Centaura is my favorite of the lot. Why o why Nathan? If I didn't need the money to pay off the Rainsong Jazz guitar, I'd continue being stubborn and arrogant about having it. But since I do, this one is a logical choice: 1) I sacrifice one guitar I like a lot so I don't have to sacrifice the 3-4 other guitars it would take to equal the selling price 2) Since I bought it back in 2009 (has it already been that long?!?) or early 2010, I have played it 3 times. I think I've taken it out of the case to take pictures of it more than I've played it. This is - partly because the EMGs sound a little sterile to me...I actually have more fun on my plain ol' tobacco burst Centaura... - partly because it has never grabbed me as a player guitar...I actually enjoy playing the Cali Elite w/ EMGs better...they don't sound so sterile in the Cali, but that might be imagination - partly because it is so beautiful and nice, that I don't want to take it out just to jam. I haven't put in a ding in it...the first ding I put in it would kill me. So it has been a case queen long enough. It is time to go to someone who will appreciate it. I won't feel so guilty about having such an awesome guitar languish in a case for years at a time. But it is staying within the oft-active HFC family.
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