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Hamer Jack Blades Signature Bass


Jay B

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Hi All!
 
I’m brand new to the Hamer Forum.  The Hamer “Blades Bass” (hollow body) is a beautiful instrument. Can anyone tell me the specs on this, and has anyone seen one for sale?  (32” scale, etc).  I love this design, and Jack Blades always looks bad-ass playing it!  I found the company Atomic Guitars in AZ who now custom-makes their version of the "Blades Bass” for him,  ut it’s way out of my price range ($3200-$3500). Were the original Hamers only custom-made for Jack Blades back in the day, or were they commercially-produced and sold in music stores?  Has anyone ever had a replica of this made?
 
Thanks to anyone replying advance!
 
Jay

Blades Bass Hamer 2.jpg

Blades Bass.jpg

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It basically a Newport Bass short scale. It was in the Hamer builders blog back in the 2000's Jack customer ordered it, if I remember correctly , he wanted a lighter bass then his normal B4S Blades bass he had been playing for years. It got Gold covered EMG pickusp.  It got damaged as well, Jol had a blog on fixing it.

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13 minutes ago, Studio Custom said:

There were very few of them made, if you were to locate one, the price would be reflective of the scarcity. 

Certainly the asking price would be, but actual sale price would probably be in the shitter like most Hamers as of late.  

It's also not a very well known model.  I would think the prospective buyers would be limited, even among Hamer fans.  Even the ones who aren't BAMFs.  

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1 minute ago, kizanski said:

Certainly the asking price would be, but actual sale price would probably be in the shitter like most Hamers as of late.  

It's also not a very well known model.  I would think the prospective buyers would be limited, even among Hamer fans.  Even the ones who aren't BAMFs.  

I believe what you are saying about generic Hamers is true, but artist models always have their fans to help maintain a price floor.  

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12 minutes ago, Studio Custom said:

I believe what you are saying about generic Hamers is true, but artist models always have their fans to help maintain a price floor.  

True.  I guess time will tell.

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I like the old NR catalog and certainly loved their custom Hamers, but Blades always reminded me of a'60s and '70s Nashville crooner.  Meaning...He spends a lot of time on stage cradling a beautifully crafted and expensive custom instrument and intermittently stabs at it with his right hand. 

 

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Thanks for getting back on my post!

Attached is the Hamer B4S,  which is a solid body...also very cool looking.  I saw a post by someone referring to Pete Farndon (Pretenders) playing what appears to be one in the "Message of Love" video.  It looks heavy compared to the hollow-body version.  Also attached (from a Hamer poster named Chromium) of his collection, including:

'04 B4M, 32" scale chambered "Artist Ultimate" style custom build, all maple, active setup with DiMarzio DP-221s and EMG EXB preamp
'90 B4S, short scale, all maple, factory Kahler, passive with Bill Lawrence EB-50s

Yeah, very funny, Biz Prof about Jack Blades and his "live" playing.  I was thinking the same thing! Who the hell is playing the bass parts live when Blades is "not playing" and performing as a front man, lead singer?  Keyboard player?  Bass player off stage? Tracks?  He can actually play really well (as with Rubicon live).  

Thanks Bruce 919 on the Newport Shortscale and Hamer backstory regarding the custom build.  Very cool!

Appreciate it guys!

 

Jay

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hamer B4S.jpg

Hamer B4M.jpg

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The Blades Basses were 32" Medium Scale.  They were an option from the mid-1980s until the early 1990s, basically a custom version of the stock double-cutaway B-4S 30.5" Short Scale bass. 

In the early 2000s, I had Hamer build me a B-12M (32" scale Medium Scale 12 string bass), after being told they couldn't (wouldn't?) do it.  During a factory visit, I saw that they were ghost building 32" scale basses for TV Jones/Gretsch (The Spectrasonic Basses), Kim and Frank agreed that they could build me one, and we were off to the races.

My B12M.jpg

Always loved the double cutaway Hamer basses, especially Pete Farndon's Pink B-4s and Jack Blades '80s Nightranger B-4M models (sunburst, black).  I had Hamer build me a lightweight B-4M in 2004 in a cool Teal finish with Boomerang inlays and double binding.  KILLER bass, all around!

MyTealB4M.jpg

The back doesn't suck too badly either!

 

MyTealB4mBack.jpg

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Hey Cmathes,

Really nice basses.  That teal color is awesome!  Just curious if Hamer ever made a full scale 34" version of either the B-4 solid body or hollow body series.  Also, do you play between the pickups (pick/fingers)? Or between the top pickup and neck? I would probably land between the pickups, and I'm a pick player.

Thanks!

 

 

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I really like my B4s. Having been into Gibson stuff for a long time, I was always drawn to the double cut bodies, short scale, etc. The Hamers just decimate my (run of the mill) Gibsons in terms of quality. They're tough to find, but worth the effort.

Play these quite a bit. The outer two are B4S (30.5"), and the middle one is a chambered B4M (32"). All came to me from good folks at the HFC.

sMcr2kg.jpg

 

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The first time I saw Night Ranger Jack Blades was moving a lot, singing a lot, and let's say "leaving a lot of space between notes."  When Brad Gillis did a record store appearance he got a question from me about Jack Blades bass playing, and he said something about having to stay on him to play the bass part right.  He laughed when the topic was brought up.  Seeing Night Ranger about three years ago it appeared Jack was playing the bass parts like they should be played. 

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Dude, awesome basses!  Glad you got in on this thread.  Favorite is the chambered middle one, but love the signature Hamer split-style headstocks on the B4Ss!

Did Hamer ever make a hollow-body or semi-hollow body B4 in a 34" long scale?  I would guess they may have called it a B4L?

 

Rock On!

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I asked Hamer about doing a 34" scale neck on the double cut body and was told that it wouldn't fit properly, so they wouldn't build it.

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