Jump to content
Hamer Fan Club Message Center

Recommended Posts

THE SUNBURST HAS BEEN SOLD; However, the Bill Lawrence L100's pup's are still for sale for $75+shipping

https://imgur.com/tlKoWu6

Financial situations change(retirement) and it is now time to sell off some gear. Of most
interest to this Board is my 1978 black Hamer Sunburst, serial number unknown. 

I bought this well used Hamer Sunburst back in 1983/84 in College Park, Md..

It was modified from stock: BillLawrence L100 pickups, tulip heads on the Grover's (not bullseyes),

Schecter saddles, a probable re-paint (no serial #, no headstock logo), a modified headstock (open-book
dimple sanded down) and a Gibson-style input jack plate. See the BEFORE pictures:


https://imgur.com/a/3uiDx


Nevertheless, it is by all indications a late 1978 Sunburst(#350--#450): phenolic/plastic
backplate, 12th fret marker spacing, Fender-style brass bridge (Schecter USA instead of
Mighty-Mite) on a rosewood shim, shorter, narrow headstock (late 1978), and the ever
popular Hamer option – an engraved truss rod cover (JNT). It sports what I feel is a
skinny neck: 1 5/8” wide by 3/4” deep at the 1st fret and 2” wide by 7/8” deep at the 12th
fret. The guitar was a regular player based on the wear and tear (no breaks) and was
never a closet queen; although, that’s where it ended up during the first 20 years of my
ownership. After discovering the HFC, I sent it to Greg Platzer in 2005 for a
refurbishment. He replaced the L100’s and pots with a correct Dimarzio
pickup/electronics assembly from an 81 Special, replaced the saddles with Hamerhead’s
finest, refitted the proper Grover tuner keys, L/C/P’ed the frets, performed his signature
setup, replaced assorted screws, and sent the guitar to the Hamer factory to have a new
“Hamer USA” logo placed on the headstock. See AFTER pictures.


https://imgur.com/a/bQL4v


Interesting to note the height of the bridge shim. Most early Sunburst bridge shims that
I've seen are not very tall and the saddles sometimes look like scud missile launchers.
This one appears to be rosewood, is taller, has rounded corners to match the shape of the
bridge, and is stained on all sides to blend with the black paint. The action is very low on
my Sunburst and the saddles are almost resting on the bridge. In the group shot, that is
my Sunburst next to “tommy p's” checkerboard Special at Serial Steve's book signing
event at Rocketeria back in 2013.


As mentioned, the guitar sports a probable repaint; although, I have no idea or
confirmation if it was originally black. If it is, it is one of 17 black Sunbursts with dots
made in 1978. It reveals orange peel and some cloudiness on the front in certain lighting,
but looks OK to good + , depending on the angle and how much you've had to drink. The
front has a few small dings and pick scratches but nothing through to the wood. Sides
and headstock have some chipped paint to the wood and the back has buckle rash that
doesn't go through to the wood. The back of the neck has some wear to the wood
between the 8th and 12th frets on the high E side. The previous owner must have been an
aggressive player who wore some serious rings! The paint is lifting at the neck/body
joint. If you look closely at the picture of the truss rod cavity, you will see what appears
to be Ford Blue paint. This is interesting..... Primer color (the most likely explanation)??
Another prior re-paint? The binding is perfect, pickup rings and switch knob have aged
to an antique crème white.


This Sunburst is 7lbs 11oz of old wood and is acoustically LOUD. It's a player, not a
museum piece, and the lack of a serial # more than ever makes it so… It belongs with
someone on this Board who will play it on a regular basis. Why is the serial # missing?
I have no idea… Hamer used yellow paint for serial#'s on black guitars and they are
known to fade. I tried the blacklight trick and nuthin'. Hoping it was painted over, I
slowly and laboriously sanded the back of the headstock with super-fine abrasives and
never found a serial number.


I will include the hard shell case that came with the guitar, a very nice 1970’s Gibson Les
Paul case (Barney purple interior and key!) that fits well. If you want, you could sell the
case for a couple hundred $$'s to a Gibson collector or remove the Gibson logo and
continue to use the case since it is period to the guitar. In addition, the vintage Bill
Lawrence L100's(get your Aerosmith on!!), and Schecter saddles that were installed on
the guitar when I bought it come with the sale. I've seen at least one vintage Sunburst in
an HFC post years ago that had Bill Lawrence pickups installed. They are period pickups
and might be original to this Sunburst. Not sure if Serial's factory logs reflect this
information. Nevertheless, I am including all the above parts in case the next owner
wants to put them back in.... Or, sell them on Fleabay, as there is a market for them.


I'm looking to sell all of this for $1,000 plus actual shipping costs (UPS, FedEx, or
USPS), PayPal'ed, Continental US only. My apologies to the many worldwide
HFC'ers....... Not looking for trades. If you think the price is too high, shoot me an offer.
Just not tree-fiddy!! If you don't want the Gibson hardshell case, reduce the above
amount by $100, and I will ship it well packed with a TKL gig bag. Don't want the Bill
Lawrence pickups, reduce the price by $75.


Since PM isn’t always reliable, please email me at [email protected]

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 11/11/2018 at 9:37 AM, Len said:

DSCN4983.JPG

Len - I think it is KARMA.......  5 years later...

Glad the old Sunburst went to an HFC'er, and local at that!  Hope you enjoy it and hoping there will be another gathering of the Mid-Atlantic HFC contingency sometime soon.

 

All the best!

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...