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How exactly was the Hamer stressed-neck system done?


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So in a three-piece Hamer laminated neck, the two outside pieces are opposing grains to fight each other - and from the same piece of wood to my knowledge.  What was the middle piece?  Can someone explain this system in more detail?

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The outside pieces of the 3 piece neck have the same grain orientation.  The center piece is reverse of the two outer ones.  Any twisting is counteracted by the adjacent piece.

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It also makes for more usable yield from lumber that might not be dimensioned for 1-piece construction. 1-piece construction is by far the most wasteful, because you end up with larger off-cuts, whereas a two or three piece allows the use of portions of the log that might have previously been viewed as scrap, at least as tonewoods. I also think it looks really cool.

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Thanks for asking this question. I have not noticed a neck related tonal difference between my 2 Hamer's vs my 2 Gibson one piece quartersawn necks, but I do feel that the Hamer's are less prone to twisting and nut area stress breaks. Has anybody done any back to back comparison tests?

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1 hour ago, spanky said:

Thanks for asking this question. I have not noticed a neck related tonal difference between my 2 Hamer's vs my 2 Gibson one piece quartersawn necks, but I do feel that the Hamer's are less prone to twisting and nut area stress breaks. Has anybody done any back to back comparison tests?

My limited understanding is that Hamer measured it in the early days.  They were having issues with returns for warped necks and did this as a way to reduce warranty claims.

While it sounds like it does improve yield, it's also more work, so I assume they wouldn't have done it if it didn't either (a) work more reliably or (b) make a better instrument.

 

Source:  That Hamer factory video you can find on youtube.

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Thanks for the information.  So the middle piece is battling the other two.  Interesting.  What is the advantage of this over a two-piece lamination where two pieces are simply opposing grain and simply battling each other?  Wouldn't this be more equal?  I really not a wood expert and interested in these details. 

My old cali elite stayed in tune in 38 and 100 degree outdoor gigs and I think the stressed neck system really contributed to that.

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