Harkonnen Posted April 20, 2015 Posted April 20, 2015 Hi all,Please allow me to introduce myself. I have been playing guitar on and off for the last 20 years.I have a modified MIM Strat that has been with me for the better part of my life, I have a Guildacoustic, and I even built myself a 10 pounder, Les Paul style monster. All of these guitars I love,but I feel the time has come to find a new member for our family.Initially I was looking for a versatile solid body guitar, something like a PRS Custom 24. However,I live in a small European city and there are no stock ones that I can try. So I just started shoppingaround checking the goods. Now, I am not (yet?) a Hamer fan but at the very least I can say I havea very intense crush. I have come across a Newport which feels and sounds absolutely fantastic.I was just going through some of the guitars on the shop and this particular one felt right in my hands toplay. However, I have no experience with semihollow or hollow bodies and since the Newport hasa quite large internal chamber I am afraid that it may give me trouble in the long term, such asfeedback issues when playing hard stuff. I play a large variety of styles, from jazz to blues to hard rockto saturated lead stuff (think Satriani), and I would like this guitar to be capable of reasonably handlingall of them. I would probably retain the neck pickup while changing the bridge P90 for a humbucker.So, dear Hamer Fans, this is where I currently stand. I would love to hear your thoughts on the issue:What can or can't a Newport do? how far can it be pushed in terms of distortion before it has feedbackissues? How well does it adapt to a bridge pickup change? Should I go ahead or just buy a different guitar?Whatever you have to say, I will be grateful to hear. Thanks in advance and sorry for the long first post!
errolsiegel Posted April 28, 2015 Posted April 28, 2015 Just thought I'd add my 2 cents:I got a Hamer Newport Pro when they first became available (had to custom order it from Hamer). That was almost 20 years ago and it is STILL my #1 go-to guitar. I am a working, full-time touring musician and I have yet to find anything this guitar can't do. I own a lot of guitars (Hamers and others) and I come back to this one over and over.A major bonus that I'm not sure anyone has mentioned: They are built like a tank. People often think of hollow-body (and semi-hollow) guitars as being finicky and needing regular adjustment. Not in this case. This guitar has seen temperature extremes, humidity extremes, physical abuse, you name it -- it still plays like a dream year after year.
Harkonnen Posted April 29, 2015 Author Posted April 29, 2015 So I owe you a bunch of photos. I finally had some time today to take them and put them online. I just can say that I need to spend more time with this beauty, but it really feels fantastic. Best built guitar I've ever played. I have yet to learn what it can do from the sound perspective, as it is completely different to what I am used to, but it is easy to see the potential. Thanks again for all your very helpful insights. Without further ado... http://imgur.com/a/ELLRh
geowolves Posted April 29, 2015 Posted April 29, 2015 So I owe you a bunch of photos. I finally had some time today to take them and put them online. I just can say that I need to spend more time with this beauty, but it really feels fantastic. Best built guitar I've ever played. I have yet to learn what it can do from the sound perspective, as it is completely different to what I am used to, but it is easy to see the potential. Thanks again for all your very helpful insights. Without further ado... http://imgur.com/a/ELLRhBeautiful Newport you got there. Been looking forward to the pictures. Have a great time bonding with your new Hamer and enjoy!
Michael_B Posted April 29, 2015 Posted April 29, 2015 So I owe you a bunch of photos. I finally had some time today to take them and put them online. I just can say that I need to spend more time with this beauty, but it really feels fantastic. Best built guitar I've ever played. I have yet to learn what it can do from the sound perspective, as it is completely different to what I am used to, but it is easy to see the potential. Thanks again for all your very helpful insights. Without further ado... http://imgur.com/a/ELLRhCongrats on picking up a great guitar. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoy mine. And welcome to HFC. You may want to start budgeting for your next Hamer.
hamerhead Posted April 29, 2015 Posted April 29, 2015 And these guys are all a bunch of enablers. You'll soon be up to your ears in cases.
Tres Aardvarks Posted April 29, 2015 Posted April 29, 2015 And these guys are all a bunch of enablers. You'll soon be up to your ears in cases.Cases are for wussies....just ask Yngwie!
gorch Posted April 30, 2015 Posted April 30, 2015 Great pics, great find! Very classic. If you need assistance on the series wiring mod, just ask. If the guitar opens a new world to you, the mod will open another.
Harkonnen Posted April 30, 2015 Author Posted April 30, 2015 Thanks gorch, really appreciated! I'm going to take my time getting used to this one. Let's see what it comes to down the road...
Harkonnen Posted April 30, 2015 Author Posted April 30, 2015 So I was wondering, is there any way to know when the guitar was built from the serial number? It came with a certificate of authenticity signed by Jol, but no dates on the paperwork. The serial is 6 XXXXX, is it safe to assume that it is a 2006, or there's no direct relationship for the 2000s units?
mrjamiam Posted May 1, 2015 Posted May 1, 2015 So I was wondering, is there any way to know when the guitar was built from the serial number? It came with a certificate of authenticity signed by Jol, but no dates on the paperwork. The serial is 6 XXXXX, is it safe to assume that it is a 2006, or there's no direct relationship for the 2000s units?Yes, the first digit of the serial number is the last digit of the year it was built, and the remainder of the numbers is a running tally of the number of Hamers built (or at least logged) under that numbering scheme. Yours was built in 2006, and was number XXXXX built.
Question
Harkonnen
Hi all,
Please allow me to introduce myself. I have been playing guitar on and off for the last 20 years.
I have a modified MIM Strat that has been with me for the better part of my life, I have a Guild
acoustic, and I even built myself a 10 pounder, Les Paul style monster. All of these guitars I love,
but I feel the time has come to find a new member for our family.
Initially I was looking for a versatile solid body guitar, something like a PRS Custom 24. However,
I live in a small European city and there are no stock ones that I can try. So I just started shopping
around checking the goods. Now, I am not (yet?) a Hamer fan but at the very least I can say I have
a very intense crush. I have come across a Newport which feels and sounds absolutely fantastic.
I was just going through some of the guitars on the shop and this particular one felt right in my hands to
play. However, I have no experience with semihollow or hollow bodies and since the Newport has
a quite large internal chamber I am afraid that it may give me trouble in the long term, such as
feedback issues when playing hard stuff. I play a large variety of styles, from jazz to blues to hard rock
to saturated lead stuff (think Satriani), and I would like this guitar to be capable of reasonably handling
all of them. I would probably retain the neck pickup while changing the bridge P90 for a humbucker.
So, dear Hamer Fans, this is where I currently stand. I would love to hear your thoughts on the issue:
What can or can't a Newport do? how far can it be pushed in terms of distortion before it has feedback
issues? How well does it adapt to a bridge pickup change? Should I go ahead or just buy a different guitar?
Whatever you have to say, I will be grateful to hear. Thanks in advance and sorry for the long first post!
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