MCChris Posted May 3, 2017 Share Posted May 3, 2017 My Huber Krautster definitely feels rock and roll to me, and I clearly have no qualms dumping sweat, hormones, pheromones or any other bodily secretions on it. At the end of the day, it isn't about the guitar, it's about who's playing it. If some guy sweats all over a $10K Orca in public and his delivery is convincing, it's a rock and roll guitar, regardless of the price tag or the wood quality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disturber Posted May 3, 2017 Share Posted May 3, 2017 Perhaps this is the difference then? Boutique bilder = "anal builders who work 20 hours extra on a sculped neck heel, or wooden pickup rings" is what makes a boutique builder a boutique builder. Hamer = more simple, more RnR, more working mans guitars, but still hand made and totally awesome, at least minium 90% of what ever came out of the factory. And you can still find them out there at reasonable used prices, which makes them great for players, musicians or weekend road warriors. Or great for younger players who want top quality, but still would like to repair their guitar with gaffer tape at a gig if necessary, or store their weed in the back cavity, or pull the strings out of it in a rampage fit on stage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sonic1974 Posted May 3, 2017 Author Share Posted May 3, 2017 7 minutes ago, MCChris said: My Huber Krautster definitely feels rock and roll to me, and I clearly have no qualms dumping sweat, hormones, pheromones or any other bodily secretions on it. At the end of the day, it isn't about the guitar, it's about who's playing it. If some guy sweats all over a $10K Orca in public and his delivery is convincing, it's a rock and roll guitar, regardless of the price tag or the wood quality. Weight? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCChris Posted May 3, 2017 Share Posted May 3, 2017 Just now, sonic1974 said: Weight? With or without the ball juice all over it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveL Posted May 3, 2017 Share Posted May 3, 2017 Hamers, love em, but they seem to get a pass for those horrible output jacks, not sure what was behind the bullheadedness to keep those $1 parts... and to install locktite on the stupid internal nut made the issue even harder to deal with for a customer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cynic Posted May 3, 2017 Share Posted May 3, 2017 If you're comparing hardware, Hamer is relatively ordinary compared to many boutique builders. Hamer mostly falls short in the bling department as well, aside from a few overdone examples that look more silly than boutique to me. There are many boutique builders that also trump Hamer in the fancy details such as sculpted heels and hidden fret ends, and countless brands that are more fun to ooh and aah over. If you want all or any of the above and you're willing to pay 3-8x as much on the used market, there are lots of builders you'd be plenty happy with. In a component by component comparison, boutique wins all day. In a sum of the parts comparison, Hamer gets you a guitar that looks, feels, plays and sounds at least 90% as good as the best available. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mc2 Posted May 3, 2017 Share Posted May 3, 2017 Hey.....did anyone ever have a REALLY custom spec Hamer with BOTH Pizza Fingers AND Hameritis on it ?? Extra points for rarity if it wasn't RED !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
django49 Posted May 3, 2017 Share Posted May 3, 2017 I guess I have been known as a person with a love of Hubers. Have had roughly 2 dozen in my hands at one time or another. At least 4 times as many Hamers. I have some of both that will likely be with me until I keel over. I am not and will never be a hard gigging musician. The guitar that goes with me almost every time I DO go out is an older Dolphin II. So it has received and continues to get a fair share of sweat and dings. Were I to sell, I am sure someone would demand a discount for that. I could care less. Someone may have to dig me up to get it away from me. I am sure I am not the only one here that has acquired used (technically) guitars made by Huber, Hamer or others that look like they have never been played. Either bought for a collection or "It is just too nice (and expensive) for me to out it at risk". The many that were on consignment at Gruhn's were (some still there) from a collector who NEVER played them. And I have stories of multiple people who went into a state of panic when the stock market tumbled around 2008 and started to, literally, buy a "boutique guitar" once a month ($7k or so a pop!) as a "safer" investment. OF course, they made TWO mistakes by doing that. I am sure I am not the only beneficiary of that when they realized their mistakes. One small bit of criticism I could add re Huber is that, sometimes, the finish, while great, does not use staining that fully exploits the figure of the wood itself. BTW, there is another "H" guitar from a German boutique builder that, at least in my opinion, is AT LEAST, the equal of anything Nik makes, though only about a tenth as many have been made. But that is another story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zorrow Posted May 3, 2017 Share Posted May 3, 2017 2 hours ago, Jfritts said: Sorry to sound naive, but what is Hameritus? I've heard it mentioned a few times. 1 hour ago, Steve Haynie said: Hameritus/Hameritis refers to the lifting of the finish on the sides of the fretboard or neck joint on some Hamers from the early 90's. An image is worth a thousand words, so... This picture shows a guitar (it's not a Hamer, but a Guild Red Special), featuring Hameritus/Hameritis: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Studio Custom Posted May 3, 2017 Share Posted May 3, 2017 45 minutes ago, MCChris said: With or without the ball juice all over it? Considering it is on the front, who were you servicing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jfritts Posted May 3, 2017 Share Posted May 3, 2017 A veteran guitar repair guy I go to used to be a Hamer dealer in the day. He worked on a couple of my basses recently and it provoked fond memories. He said Joel D from Hamer used to frequently call on him. My repair guy related a story where a customer brought in a Hamer guitar to see if the black non-original finish could be carefully rubbed out in order to restore the original sunburst. My repair guy did it and found an imperfection (knot) in the wood of the neck, which maybe explains the black finish that had been put on it. Anyway, the customer asked if he could check with Hamer and see what could be done. When my friend told Joel about it Joel said "no way that could be one of our guitars." When Joel showed up at the shop and saw it, he said "that's one of ours." He ended up offering an exchange of guitars for the customer. When it got interesting is when the customer decided he wanted to upgrade to some fancier items. Hamer quoted a price for the upgrades (around $600) and the customer just said "never mind, I'll just keep the original model." Apparently Joel was totally unwilling to let the flawed guitar stay out in the market so he caved on the price of the upgrades and gave the customer what he wanted, at no charge. Not sure if this story is completely applicable to the thread, but I can tell you that my repair guy seemed genuinely thrilled to see my Hamers and to share his old Hamer stories/experiences. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCChris Posted May 3, 2017 Share Posted May 3, 2017 25 minutes ago, Studio Custom said: Considering it is on the front, who were you servicing? I have such a surplus of ball juice in me that is seeps out through my other extremities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmatthes Posted May 3, 2017 Share Posted May 3, 2017 To the original question - I've played Kauers and like them, but I'd put almost any NH Hamer in a higher league from a construction, fit, finish level. Doug's stuff is great, but it's not at that level. Dennis Fano is another one - I've played a number of those and dig 'em, but they're not even close to a Hamer production guitar. There are regular "flavor of the month" guitar builders over at TGP and other places, and I typically encounter at least a few of those in person. So far, nothing else has really wowed me all that much. Huber is an exception, as is (of course) Shishkov. I think Nik and Mike are pointed in the same direction from a top-notch standpoint, but Nik's prices are typically more than double Mike's...for now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Studio Custom Posted May 3, 2017 Share Posted May 3, 2017 12 minutes ago, MCChris said: I have such a surplus of ball juice in me that is seeps out through my other extremities. Maybe you need a partner to assist you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killerteddybear Posted May 3, 2017 Share Posted May 3, 2017 ^^ Nailed it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sonic1974 Posted May 3, 2017 Author Share Posted May 3, 2017 1 hour ago, cmatthes said: To the original question - I've played Kauers and like them, but I'd put almost any NH Hamer in a higher league from a construction, fit, finish level. Doug's stuff is great, but it's not at that level. Dennis Fano is another one - I've played a number of those and dig 'em, but they're not even close to a Hamer production guitar. There are regular "flavor of the month" guitar builders over at TGP and other places, and I typically encounter at least a few of those in person. So far, nothing else has really wowed me all that much. Huber is an exception, as is (of course) Shishkov. I think Nik and Mike are pointed in the same direction from a top-notch standpoint, but Nik's prices are typically more than double Mike's...for now. Thanks for the feedback cmatthes. For Shishkov, I totally feel I'm missing the boat on getting a guitar on the "next level" at a good price. Unfortunately financially it's not feasible for me right now. GAS is bad! I should relax and enjoy what I have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbonesullivan Posted May 3, 2017 Share Posted May 3, 2017 Well, how exactly are we classifying "boutique"? I don't see many people call PRS guitars "boutique" even though their prices pretty much eclipse many of the boutique makers. Is there any real classification as to what is boutique and what is not? Does it need to be all "hand-made" or can CNC machines be used? How many people building it? Anyway, I love my Hamer guitars. I've played expensive "boutique" guitars, but none feel and sound as my Hamers. My '93 Archtop Studio is kinda worn, so it's the guitar that I bring out, and I routinely get offers to buy it off me. It just feels right. It's comfortable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCChris Posted May 3, 2017 Share Posted May 3, 2017 1 hour ago, Studio Custom said: Maybe you need a partner to assist you? Are you applying for the position? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamerica Posted May 3, 2017 Share Posted May 3, 2017 "Huber is an exception, as is (of course) Shishkov. I think Nik and Mike are pointed in the same direction from a top-notch standpoint, but Nik's prices are typically more than double Mike's...for now." - cmatthes "Church" - Skinny Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Studio Custom Posted May 3, 2017 Share Posted May 3, 2017 30 minutes ago, MCChris said: Are you applying for the position? No, I'm very happily married, to a woman. I don't go that way, but it's fine if you do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veatch Posted May 3, 2017 Share Posted May 3, 2017 4 hours ago, kizanski said: Please see the OP. He didn't ask what function that one builder's fit & finish had. He asked how Hamer compares with other boutique builders. If you think Hamer is as good or better, you either haven't played any Hubers, don't know what you're talking about, or both.. And I used to own a Roadstar II. The inclusion of that guitar, and frankly that brand, into this discussion is laughable. I feel like such a troll... I knew mentioning the other H would start a storm... I have played a number of Hubers. I've owned two. Both magnificent. One a monster - i used to miss that one. Both Hubers i had had a dish, or carve, to the top that were inconsistent around the guitar. I have not had a Hamer like that. Both Hubers had scrape bindings - one was a little off in spots. One of the Hubers had small bubbles in the finish - not nearly as bad as the old Hamer issues. Comparing to the new Hamers i bought since 2004, the Hamers were near perfect. The Huber, though they sound better - in other words - i would rate that as a "better" guitar, the newer Hamers were more consistent and had a better fit and finish. I missed the last Dolphin i sold - that was a killer guitar. I have not missed it since i've had the Shishkovs. Hopefully that's more clear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sonic1974 Posted May 3, 2017 Author Share Posted May 3, 2017 51 minutes ago, tbonesullivan said: Well, how exactly are we classifying "boutique"? I don't see many people call PRS guitars "boutique" even though their prices pretty much eclipse many of the boutique makers. Is there any real classification as to what is boutique and what is not? Does it need to be all "hand-made" or can CNC machines be used? How many people building it? Anyway, I love my Hamer guitars. I've played expensive "boutique" guitars, but none feel and sound as my Hamers. My '93 Archtop Studio is kinda worn, so it's the guitar that I bring out, and I routinely get offers to buy it off me. It just feels right. It's comfortable. Maybe I should have said "higher priced guitars". The semantics of exactly what qualifies as boutique doesn't matter to me. I guess I was using boutique as kind of a shorthand. I was trying to get an idea of how Hamer (in a general way, because other guitar companies are not a monolith) compares against other companies in terms of sound, play-ability, basically overall quality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gorch Posted May 3, 2017 Share Posted May 3, 2017 26 minutes ago, sonic1974 said: Maybe I should have said "higher priced guitars". The semantics of exactly what qualifies as boutique doesn't matter to me. I guess I was using boutique as kind of a shorthand. I was trying to get an idea of how Hamer (in a general way, because other guitar companies are not a monolith) compares against other companies in terms of sound, play-ability, basically overall quality. Well then, I have my two Scheithauer custom designs that I can compare to my Hamers. From a price point they compare to what I have paid for my used Hamers. The build quality actually does not compare, although they are great and don't miss anything or sound bad. It's attention to detail that is missing or not coming as close or rather say fashion? On the other hand they are completely hand built, no CNC used. Great guitars, greatly built, fantastic sounding, and playing, but not on the same level. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ted Posted May 3, 2017 Share Posted May 3, 2017 *Preface--I have never played a Huber, Knaggs, or Suhr. All of the Hamers I've had were/are as good, or better than all the other high end guitars I've played/owned (The vast majority of times my Hamers were better). The Hamers I've had the privilege of playing/owning are; Monaco, Monaco SuperPro, Monaco Elite, Newport, Standard Custom, New Hartford crafted Korina Vector, and a Redwood Studio Custom. PS--I'm definitely not an expert in the "field" of guitars so these musings are IMHO as always. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmatthes Posted May 3, 2017 Share Posted May 3, 2017 Hamer made less guitars in their last 5 years than Nik made in one year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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