cmatthes Posted August 4, 2015 Posted August 4, 2015 Thought I'd mix it up a little... Here's a bit of Hamer history, but also a cool opportunity to complete a truly unique guitar with real Hamer DNA. This is a pretty cool bit of Hamer history that I'm torn about, but parting with. I am offering an original prototype/case plug for the Californian Doubleneck model that can easily be made into a real live, functioning guitar. I sent it up to New Hartford a few years ago to have the fingerboards replaced and the whole deal completed it for me, but instead, they ended up using it as a template for a new guitar, because somebody (a member here) had inquired about ordering one right before they closed for new orders and they couldn't get their hands on one to work off of in time. The instrument based on this piece was actually the guitar stamped with the last two Hamer serial numbers immediately before they were shut down. It's a beautifully matched 2pc Honduras mahogany body, and the two (6/12) carved necks have the fiberboard headstock overlays/bevels and maple boards (I'd replace those). Truss rods are completely functional. The neck joints are set and rough blended/carved, and maybe the best part, the top is totally blank and unrouted. Any combination of pickups, bridges, controls, etc. is possible, to the owner's whim. I was going to send it back up to Connecticut or down to Murkat/Jay to do the last bits, but I've got far too many "projects" I'll never get to, and this one is too significant to just take up space in my guitar room. Oh - this is surprisingly compact and light. I've played heavier Daytonas. Seriously, it is not heavy at all. $800 plus actual shipping to the Lower 48 only, but willing to consider interesting trades or equally crazy ideas.
DBraz Posted August 4, 2015 Posted August 4, 2015 Very very cool!Wow somebody is going to be a happy customer!!
hamerhead Posted August 4, 2015 Posted August 4, 2015 PM sent....will take it!PLEASEPLEASEPLEASE show us the finished product.
cmatthes Posted August 4, 2015 Author Posted August 4, 2015 Thanks! I'll respond to PMs when I have access to them later on today.This is a COOL project!
Tres Aardvarks Posted August 4, 2015 Posted August 4, 2015 OMFG....back when I was single I'd have been on this in a heartbeat. Screw the doubleneck SGs, give me a double neck hardtail Cali!!!!!
devrock Posted August 4, 2015 Posted August 4, 2015 $800?????? Someone call the cops on the buyer who stole this thing!!
kizanski Posted August 4, 2015 Posted August 4, 2015 I don't like double necks as a rule, I don't play passed the 18th fret or so, and I have no need for a 12 string.Yet I was tempted.THAT's how cool this thing is.
cmatthes Posted August 4, 2015 Author Posted August 4, 2015 I seriously thought about doing it with a Sustainblock or a 2TEK on the six string...
Biz Prof Posted August 4, 2015 Posted August 4, 2015 Oh my. I really want this, but even $800 would dent the Shishkov fund. Jesus Christ.
Bobby Marshall Posted August 6, 2015 Posted August 6, 2015 I bet Tobereeno would have taken a run at this one. Hell I would have. Hamer set neck 27 fretters are something special when they have one neck, let alone two. Congrats to the new owner.
cmatthes Posted August 6, 2015 Author Posted August 6, 2015 I offered it to Tobe first, but he passed!
mc2 Posted August 6, 2015 Posted August 6, 2015 ^^^^^^^^ That clinches it then. I'm painting that doubleneck Metallic Purple and putting "Jimmie Lee Vaughn" on the headstock
tobereeno Posted August 6, 2015 Posted August 6, 2015 it's a really, REALLY cool piece. but to get it right, there's a lot of work ahead. - completely new fretboards - body scallops and blended heels need finishing and deepening. - routing the body (but that's actually the cool part - any configuration you want) - doing the finish...could one really put Hamer logos on the headstocks? I passed because I realized that it would go from sitting in Chris' house to sitting in mine. It's motorcycle riding season so I wouldn't even get around to planning and making contacts and deals until Christmas. And what Zorrow just said - I think the only person I'd want to finish the job would be Mike Shishkov, and he's got a pretty full plate. Although it would be pretty cool with Shishkov logos on those headstocks....perhaps stadium sized?? $1000 in hardware and pickups....at LEAST. I'd put a Sustainiac in the neck of the 6-string...and then order custom shop Seymour Duncan pickups. Sourcing the correct 12-string bridge - don't even know where to begin on that. The originals are massive brass units. The only parts I know I could order right now would be the Floyd Rose (although they're often out of stock of certain parts) and the Sperzel tuners I ALWAYS use. Then a couple (few?) more grand in labor. I'm sure it could be done much more cheaply; hell, I could probably finish it on my own with some Stew-Mac stuff and a tung oil finish from Home Depot. I still have somewhere a full set of fingerboard clamps that I bought when I pulled the fretboard off my first 5-string Cruise bass to replace the truss rod. It wouldn't be the cleanest job but it'd be playable. But this prototype deserves far more than that. First built, last finished...I truly expect it to be built to absolutely epic standards.
Nathan of Brainfertilizer Fame Posted August 6, 2015 Posted August 6, 2015 I would certainly had purchased it if I had been the first to see the posting.I have no idea what I would have done with it, but it would have been fun.
mc2 Posted August 6, 2015 Posted August 6, 2015 .....or ya could've just drilled one quarter inch hole in the middle and loaded a clock into it and hung it on your wall. Geez Tobe.....move back to the States an' ya lose all your fire. I remember when ya used to tear the fingerboard off factory graphic Hamers on your kitchen table, to fix the LEDs and truss Rod with a set of tweezers, SuperGlu and duct tape. Next, you'll be trading your motorcycles and race cars for a bicycle and a Smart car....and playing Ibanez bolt-ons.
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