1996 T51 $OLD

[kanegon]

1996 T-51, weighing in at 8.5 lbs. Has a neck profile similar to Fender's modern C, but with more shoulder and a flatter 14" radius. The frets are in excellent condition, no divots and gouges, although some wear as you might expect. You can see the how the original blonde finish has yellowed at the "bikini line", area not covered by the smaller Barden ashtray bridge. It's yellowed even more in the 6 years I've had it! I just bought another USA Tele so this one's gotta go. This was my first intro to the "Tele", and it's been a great workhorse. That said, it's NOT STOCK and has obvious knicks and wear. Modifications I can confirm:

1/ Original Duncans Broadcasters replaced with Lollar Special Ts. It's an upgrade, no contest! 

2/ Barden ashtray bridge. Original Wilkinson bridge is included (last photo). The Wilkie sets up ok, but is a bit over-engineered for my taste. The pickguard was knotched slightly to accommodate the squarer ashtray but it's hardly noticable.

3/ The volume pot was replaced with a comparable, though not exact CTS replacement. The jack was replaced with the OEM equivalent. White switch tip.

4/ buckle rash, knicks, dents and gouges 

 No case. Case is no longer part of the deal .

SOLD $750 + shipping here, giving you guys first dibs. Hoping to not have to escalate it to TDPRI, TGP or Reverb.

BONUS:

Pearloid factory OEM pickguard, as shown in photo#2. That Gotoh bridge (not included) is probably the best bridge in terms of fit and looks, but it's twice as heavy as the other bridges! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[kanegon]

Hmmm. I thought someone here had been looking for one. According to the archive, only a few crop up every year so they're not as common for sure. My other deal fell through, but there's no turning back having come this far...

[jim777]

I love that shot with the white pickguard, like that bridge as well. That's a sweet guitar

[kizanski]

Why is this still available?
Improved pickups?  Check. Duncan single coils are not...um...They're not good.
Improved bridge?  Check.  The Wilky bridge is very un-Telecaster.
Pickguard options?  Check.  Get bored of one look? Change it.
Pre-dinged?  Check.  I never want to be the guy that puts the first ding on a guitar.  I've done it and it sucks.

All of the above are pluses over a stock T-51, which almost always cost hundreds more. 

[Jakeboy]

Plus it’s not heavy....

[kizanski]

27 minutes ago, Jakeboy said:

Plus it’s not heavy....

lol - yes I forgot to mention that one thing that I've never cared about in a guitar.
It's true, though. Most T-51s are anvils.

[Hbom]

3 hours ago, kizanski said:

Why is this still available?

 

Because the US shipping costs have become totally unsuitable for large useful objects.

[jaded_musician]

If I didn't have two Tally's and 6 variations of teles already I"d be all over it.

[kanegon]

How often do they come up FS? Almost never! 

A “Fender” made by the company that made better Gibsons than Gibson. 

Adding the heavier Gotoh bridge as an alternative option to the Barden. Let me know, and I’ll do the swap.

More pearl guard + Gotoh porn:

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ghamerinfrance]

Hi did someone compared the T51 with the ASAT G&L ? Thanks for info

[kanegon]

Can’t help with the G&L comparison, but the T51’s not hard to figure. Although the marketing said “vintage”, the design was state of the art 1996, belying Hamer’s shredder DNA. Aside from the flatter neck, it has softer more radiused edges and a 22 fret neck with locking tuners. It’s the quietest single coil guitar I have for some reason. Everything lines up perfectly, super stable and always ready.

I think G&L took a similar approach with the ASAT, but I don’t think they were as obsessive about the wood as Hamer. This one looks like  a single piece of ash. My old P90 Special was a solid piece also. Don’t think Fender ever bothered with that, but I reckon other, more knowledgeable, members could chime in. 

[JochenP]

18 hours ago, ghamerinfrance said:

Hi did someone compared the T51 with the ASAT G&L ? Thanks for info

Hello Gilles,

for me the T51 was the biggest disappointment of a Hamer guitar.  To heavey and not realy great sounding ... (O.K. not complete fair because I compare with my old 69 Tele ☺️ )

I think you could find much better "tele" style guitars on market than the T51!

I have had a Tribute Asat also. Great for the price but to "smooth" sounding. (miss the "Twang"...)

Regards Jochen

[jim777]

9 hours ago, JochenP said:

Hello Gilles,

for me the T51 was the biggest disappointment of a Hamer guitar.  To heavey and not realy great sounding ... (O.K. not complete fair because I compare with my old 69 Tele ☺️ )

I think you could find much better "tele" style guitars on market than the T51!

I have had a Tribute Asat also. Great for the price but to "smooth" sounding. (miss the "Twang"...)

Regards Jochen

I don't think the point of making a Tele "style" guitar is to copy the Fender exactly as if nothing about it could be improved. If that's the case, why even bother? It isn't like players in the 80's and 90's were clamoring for more 7.5" radius 21 fret necks... This is like saying you disliked an 80's Charvel Strathead because it wasn't a 60's Strat.

[kanegon]

There's more to the Tele than vintage twang or chicken picking (which I'm not very good at...). It's an awsome rock guitar because it cuts into a band mix like nothing else. I definitely play a little differently with the flatter neck and heavier sustain. I A/B-ed Fender B'casters with the Lollar Special Ts and picked the Lollars for their extra mojo. That's enough to turn off purists, but hey, I know what I need. I'm sure it can pull off anything you throw at it, as long the technique is there. They went a little too far with the Wilkinson bridge,  but that was the unfortunate state of the art of the era (locking this and that). It was an unapologetically modern take on the Tele for sure.

As for sound, this thing is amazing. Especially with a solid brass bridge like the Gotoh. I ended getting the same Lollars for my AM STD, but still couldn't get it to sound quite like the T51. I'm just not playing a lot of Tele single coils these days.

[tildeslash]

The greatest tele ever made is the T-51.

 

[JochenP]

If you see I´ve wrote: for me

if we all had the same view of things there would be only one right guitar, one car and only one girl ☺️ Boring!
 

[jim777]

10 hours ago, JochenP said:

If you see I´ve wrote: for me

if we all had the same view of things there would be only one right guitar, one car and only one girl ☺️ Boring!
 

Ok, then what I meant was "Don't piss on someone's guitar in his for sale thread". That should go without saying.

[stonge]

22 hours ago, kanegon said:

There's more to the Tele than vintage twang or chicken picking (which I'm not very good at...). It's an awsome rock guitar because it cuts into a band mix like nothing else.

Mrs stonge and I saw the Smithereens about a year before Pat passed (RIP); Jim Babjak played a Ric on the first song and then switched to a tele for the rest of the night.  He plays direct into a JCM 800 and his tone was killer with both guitars. After 2 songs mrs stonge turned to me and said "can you get that sound on your gear? That sounds amazing!" I went home and dialed in the Mesa that night and got pretty close (except for the talent part lol).

That T51 has some  tasty upgrades for the same or lower price than new Fender MIM teles; if you've never tried a tele this would be a great place to start (and possibly conclude) your search. GLWTS!

[kanegon]

No offense, but it’s sad that we’re even comparing it to an MIM. I’ve had half a dozen Hamers (thanks to HFC!) and this is exactly what you’d expect from the same folks that made the Studio Custom, Duotone, Newport, etc. An heirloom-quality American instrument. Nuff said. 

[stonge]

2 hours ago, kanegon said:

No offense, but it’s sad that we’re even comparing it to an MIM. I’ve had half a dozen Hamers (thanks to HFC!) and this is exactly what you’d expect from the same folks that made the Studio Custom, Duotone, Newport, etc. An heirloom-quality American instrument. Nuff said. 

the only comparison intended was the price - the Hamer is leagues above the MIM in all other respects.

[Hbom]

16 hours ago, kanegon said:

No offense, but it’s sad that we’re even comparing it to an MIM. I’ve had half a dozen Hamers (thanks to HFC!) and this is exactly what you’d expect from the same folks that made the Studio Custom, Duotone, Newport, etc. An heirloom-quality American instrument. Nuff said. 

You are right. It's a damn shame. But it's pretty close to the truth. Most USA Hamers have been trading at a rate closer to MIM Fender and Asian made Epiphones than to their US made versions.

Fortunately, respect for USA Hamers seems to be trending up this year.

[gorch]

Well, I think it's a wonderful guitar?

[kanegon]

If you like Hamer and Telecasters, it’s a nobrainer.

[jim777]

I wish I'd had the cash for this when it was available

[gorch]

Someone got a great guitar!