Russell Beard Posted December 4, 2018 Share Posted December 4, 2018 I have been wondering for some time now, like twenty-five years why there aren’t more Hamer Bass players. So, I decided to start a thread here and see where it goes. I have been thinking for a while to add to my very small, very select collection and I am interested in the thoughts of the other bass players out there in HFC land. First here is my story of what brought me to Hamer and then I would ask that you take it from there. I bought my Impact (Neck-Thru) in 94ish, after over a year of searching for it, yes, I found out later they only made eleven of them, but I didn’t know that at the time and when I saw it in the catalog I knew it was supposed to be mine… no I really did. Rewind a bit… I had been trying to find “my” bass for a while, I thought it was a Fender Jazz, but after I played a few I was kind of blah about Fender but kept searching and then I saw that beautiful piece of wood or maybe twelve pieces of wood or so and somehow, some way I knew that one was the one. So, to land this plane, after trying to find it to play it, I called Hamer and the nice lady on the phone, first laughed and then said oh my, I really don’t know where any of those are at but if anyone would, this guy in northern California might, so I called him and he had one on the wall and after some wringing of hands for buying without playing I bought it. I have never wanted another bass, this thing is an extension of me and I have never had a moment of disappointment (Thank you Mike Sherman), it has out lasted every relationship I have had and its still here making music with me… What is your story, was there a player who drew you in, I only knew about Jeff Ament and Tom Petersson at the time? Was it that gorgeous lady holding that blue Cruise bass??? Hamer Bass Players are a select group, we are refined and discriminating and full of shit, so let me hear it, I am seriously thinking about adding another even though I don’t need it, I just have an urge, but I want to hear from you all first. And go… Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mathman Posted December 4, 2018 Share Posted December 4, 2018 I saw peterrsen playing them in cheap trick, found an 83 cruise in a music store in Fort Walton Beach, Florida for $400.00. Bought it and still have it to this day. Love it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jakeboy Posted December 4, 2018 Share Posted December 4, 2018 I started playing bass out of necessity in 2015 after playing guitar since 1978....found my blue 1997 CruiseBass in 2016 and it is the one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carl.B Posted December 4, 2018 Share Posted December 4, 2018 4 hours ago, Russell Beard said: I have been wondering for some time now, like twenty-five years why there aren’t more Hamer Bass players. So, I decided to start a thread here and see where it goes. I have been thinking for a while to add to my very small, very select collection and I am interested in the thoughts of the other bass players out there in HFC land. First here is my story of what brought me to Hamer and then I would ask that you take it from there. I bought my Impact (Neck-Thru) in 94ish, after over a year of searching for it, yes, I found out later they only made eleven of them, but I didn’t know that at the time and when I saw it in the catalog I knew it was supposed to be mine… no I really did. Rewind a bit… I had been trying to find “my” bass for a while, I thought it was a Fender Jazz, but after I played a few I was kind of blah about Fender but kept searching and then I saw that beautiful piece of wood or maybe twelve pieces of wood or so and somehow, some way I knew that one was the one. So, to land this plane, after trying to find it to play it, I called Hamer and the nice lady on the phone, first laughed and then said oh my, I really don’t know where any of those are at but if anyone would, this guy in northern California might, so I called him and he had one on the wall and after some wringing of hands for buying without playing I bought it. I have never wanted another bass, this thing is an extension of me and I have never had a moment of disappointment (Thank you Mike Sherman), it has out lasted every relationship I have had and its still here making music with me… What is your story, was there a player who drew you in, I only knew about Jeff Ament and Tom Petersson at the time? Was it that gorgeous lady holding that blue Cruise bass??? Hamer Bass Players are a select group, we are refined and discriminating and full of shit, so let me hear it, I am seriously thinking about adding another even though I don’t need it, I just have an urge, but I want to hear from you all first. And go… Where are the dam pictures! 😄 By the way welcome to the HFC 😁 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaGator Posted December 4, 2018 Share Posted December 4, 2018 I got on the forum and ended up with 2 of them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmatthes Posted December 4, 2018 Share Posted December 4, 2018 Tom Petersson Pete Farndon Rick Savage Nick Lowe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russell Beard Posted December 4, 2018 Author Share Posted December 4, 2018 1 hour ago, Carl.B said: Where are the dam pictures! 😄 By the way welcome to the HFC 😁 This is my view tonight... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russell Beard Posted December 4, 2018 Author Share Posted December 4, 2018 52 minutes ago, cmatthes said: Tom Petersson Pete Farndon Rick Savage Nick Lowe John Deacon Geddy Lee Chris Squire Roger Waters Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carl.B Posted December 4, 2018 Share Posted December 4, 2018 3 minutes ago, Russell Beard said: This my view tonight... You are mean nasty man Russel, you should fit in quite well here! LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomteriffic Posted December 4, 2018 Share Posted December 4, 2018 4 hours ago, Russell Beard said: John Deacon Geddy Lee Chris Squire Roger Waters Mario Cippolina Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thundersteel Posted December 4, 2018 Share Posted December 4, 2018 12 hours ago, mathman said: I saw peterrsen playing them in cheap trick, found an 83 cruise in a music store in Fort Walton Beach, Florida for $400.00. Bought it and still have it to this day. Love it Was that Leitz music? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmatthes Posted December 4, 2018 Share Posted December 4, 2018 9 hours ago, Russell Beard said: John Deacon Geddy Lee Chris Squire Roger Waters Ah...I thought you were looking for Hamer players that attracted us to the brand. All solid bassists! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbonesullivan Posted December 4, 2018 Share Posted December 4, 2018 I would love to play one, but I keep not finding any that interest me. Also active electronics is simply a must for me. A passive option is nice, but the benefits you get from the lack of output degradation are just too much. I do have one bass that has passive volume and tone controls, which then feed into the active module. A had looked at a 2-TeK cruise 5 once, but the really narrow string spacing kinda scared me. If I get a Hamer Bass, it's probably going to be n 8 or 12. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crunchee Posted December 4, 2018 Share Posted December 4, 2018 Welcome! I've been playing bass off and on since High School. I've currently got a stripped body '06 Fender Mike Dirnt Precision Bass with the straightest-grained 4-piece ash body I've ever seen (almost hard to believe that it was originally painted opaque black at the factory), and a beat-but-sweet '85 Hamer USA Cruisebass in original trans cherry over mahogany. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russell Beard Posted December 4, 2018 Author Share Posted December 4, 2018 6 hours ago, cmatthes said: Ah...I thought you were looking for Hamer players that attracted us to the brand. All solid bassists! Oh I got it thanks, I was interested in that and any other reasons people play Hamer Bass's Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russell Beard Posted December 4, 2018 Author Share Posted December 4, 2018 6 hours ago, tbonesullivan said: I would love to play one, but I keep not finding any that interest me. Also active electronics is simply a must for me. A passive option is nice, but the benefits you get from the lack of output degradation are just too much. I do have one bass that has passive volume and tone controls, which then feed into the active module. A had looked at a 2-TeK cruise 5 once, but the really narrow string spacing kinda scared me. If I get a Hamer Bass, it's probably going to be n 8 or 12. I agree and the Hamer I play has active EMG electronics as well as a film transducer under the bridge, pretty epic sound... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cary Posted December 4, 2018 Share Posted December 4, 2018 I had wanted a Hamer for years, but the Blue Cruise in that ad along with Bass Player mag's review got me to pull the trigger. Now I have 8 Hamer basses (and three Hamer six strings), a Fender Jazz, a Gibson Thunderbird and two Stingrays, but the Blue Cruise (with Gotoh bridge) is still The One. I'd love to have an Impact (played Serial Steve's at one of the Open House jams and loved it), but that boat has sailed. And the passive pick-ups in that Cruise are hotter than any of my active basses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassbora Posted December 4, 2018 Share Posted December 4, 2018 I only play Warwicks but I have never tried a Hamer bass. I would love a reverse headstock 5 string Chap with boomerangs. Where do you find such a thing??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russell Beard Posted December 4, 2018 Author Share Posted December 4, 2018 18 minutes ago, bassbora said: I only play Warwicks but I have never tried a Hamer bass. I would love a reverse headstock 5 string Chap with boomerangs. Where do you find such a thing??? Nothing wrong with Warwick's at all, as far the Chap I have no idea where you would find one of those but it would be cool Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cary Posted December 4, 2018 Share Posted December 4, 2018 59 minutes ago, bassbora said: I only play Warwicks but I have never tried a Hamer bass. I would love a reverse headstock 5 string Chap with boomerangs. Where do you find such a thing??? https://www.talkbass.com/threads/rare-usa-hamer-chaparral-5-reverse-head-stock.1370570/. No Boomerangs, but 2 out of 3 ain’t bad.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stobro Posted December 5, 2018 Share Posted December 5, 2018 My Chap bass has no boomerangs and only 4 strings, but is does have a reverse headstock and a solid quilt maple body. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassbora Posted December 5, 2018 Share Posted December 5, 2018 10 hours ago, Cary said: https://www.talkbass.com/threads/rare-usa-hamer-chaparral-5-reverse-head-stock.1370570/. No Boomerangs, but 2 out of 3 ain’t bad.... Crap, I am in Scotland so this is a no go because of the rosewood. Just my luck. I am sitting in toilet at work sobbing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
planetgaffnet Posted December 5, 2018 Share Posted December 5, 2018 I'd coveted a Hamer Cruisebass for a long, long time, but my first feeler for Hamer was during my (cough) metal period (cough) I owned a white Hamer Scarab, but when that passed I let it go. Some years later, early on a Sunday morning, I was perusing eBay and found an FBIV on sale for £375. I actually had one of those moments where I did this strange doubletake; I couldn't actually believe there was one up for sale and for such a ridiculously stupidly low price too. There seemed to be scant imagery online, the best I could do was to find a photo of Nikki Sixx playing one. Everything seemed fine, so I pulled the trigger. The only things I didn't like was the chrome, so I did swap out the bridge and machines with the Schaller equivalents (I still own the original hardware); I put a reversed black Strat jack-socket on it to aid easier right-angled jack plugs. It's a wonderful thing, tonally it's super bright. On the downside, the neck needs a tweak once in a while. The beauty here is that nobody really knows what it is, so it attracts little attention, much like my Lulls. I overheard two guys talking, one said, 'What bass is that guy using?' The other replied, 'I just looks like a knockoff Thunderbird.' (Which I suppose it is.) I'm still looking for a Cruisebass! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajm1966 Posted December 6, 2018 Share Posted December 6, 2018 monaco basses rule Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nocturnal Posted December 8, 2018 Share Posted December 8, 2018 I lusted after Hamer gear for years watching Cheap Trick but never had a chance to play one. In the early 80's I had moved to Phoenix and switched from guitar to bass. DJ's Music (RIP) carried Hamer and I tested out a metallic blue Blitz bass and fell in love but couldn't afford it. For better or worse I was a huge Crue fan back then and Nikki Sixx playing Blitz basses just made it obvious that I had to own one. I was taking lessons at The Guitar Shop in Scottsdale (RIP) and they carried Hamer. I got to test a few more bass models and that was where I saw the FBIV for the first time. It was much heavier and had a wider neck than my 76 Gibson Bird had but I really loved it. Again, no money to buy it and at that time trades for Gibson and Fender basses were not very interesting in the era of B C Rich/Charvel/Jackson/Kramer so they offered me very little towards a trade. Several years ago I finally bought an 82 Blitz bass and have to say it is one of the best sounding basses I have ever owned. I was finally able to land a black FBIV and that is my second favorite bass (right behind my 2001 Thunderbird). I liked the FB so much I bought a second one and then an 86 Cruise (bought here). I really enjoy the feel of my Hamer basses and they just seem so well made. I just wish I hadn't waited so long to buy my first Hamer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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