Jump to content
Hamer Fan Club Message Center

PSA: Impact Bass


Recommended Posts

Quote

I was the second owner and it was in its original case (which is in great shape) from 2003-February 2019 when I placed those rather interesting strings on, placed her on a hook on the wall for a few months and put her back in the case. Fast neck with great solid tone. I always thought Hamer made fantastic basses. It blows my mind she is almost 30 years old!

Not exactly a ringing endorsement.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sometimes you have to get used to an instrument.  The first time I tried a PRS it was so different from my Dean that it just felt weird.  As wonderful as a USA Spector bass normally feels, there has been an occasion where it just did not feel right because I was so used to playing my basses.  Every time I pull out my korina Vector it feels like a perfect instrument.  It just hangs differently from the Specials I usually play.  If I try another Rickenbacker bass it might not feel right. 

Maybe the seller only feels right playing a Jazz Bass.  He knows the Impact is a great instrument, but never plays it. 

I got to try an Impact at the HFC jam in Chicago and it felt different than what I am used to.  Had I spent more time with it I may have been converted to wanting one more than any other bass. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

28 minutes ago, Steve Haynie said:

Do blue strings sound better?

I used to use blue strings on a blue and silver bass. They sounded great!

Seriously, I did it because I had a friend with very acid hands. He'd kill strings if he played any of my guitars at all. Coated strings  could survive him picking up the bass when he was at my house so I did black. He whined about the black color so I started using the electric blue, or red white and blue  DRs as a defensive measure. They're fugly, but not bad sounding. And they last a long time for a bass that isn't played much.

basicfaceshot.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Moose said:

I used to use blue strings on a blue and silver bass. They sounded great!

Seriously, I did it because I had a friend with very acid hands. He'd kill strings if he played any of my guitars at all. Coated strings  could survive him picking up the bass when he was at my house so I did black. He whined about the black color so I started using the electric blue, or red white and blue  DRs as a defensive measure. They're fugly, but not bad sounding. And they last a long time for a bass that isn't played much.

basicfaceshot.jpg

how do you make the flames floating on the body bass?🤔

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It was airbrushed. That bass was a NAMM special one of the painters at Carvin hand decorated. I worked near their showroom/factory 15 years ago and used to be able to pick up some bargains at the end of January every year. I actually didn't like it when I first saw it, but they sold it to me ridiculously cheap. You all know how it is with guitars. You can't afford NOT to buy it.

I talked to the painter when I bought it and he told me he masked the flames and sprayed the blue, then airbrushed the fine lines on the edge of the blue flames. Then he pulled the masking off and shot the shadows free hand with the airbrush. Then cleared over the top.

It's a great bass, too. Bummed I had to sell it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just now, Jfritts said:

It turns out the seller is a guitar builder in the Fender custom shop. 

Explains his concept of value.   That's a great bass but...   expensive.  You can get a hell of a lot of bass for 4 grand these days.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Moose said:

Explains his concept of value.   That's a great bass but...   expensive.  You can get a hell of a lot of bass for 4 grand these days.

Or roughly five or six Gen One Cruisebasses, give or take, in decent condition.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Russell Beard said:

Somebody must have thought it was worth it, its gone... 

Not saying it wasn't worth it.

What something is worth is what someone will pay for it. That's that.

I was talking "Value."  Which comes in a lot of different forms.  Is it valuable because it's a great player? Is it valuable because of sentimental attachment? Is it valuable as a positional good -- which means it has value simply because you have it and somebody else does not? Is it valuable as a collector's item, which is driven by a whole complex set of emotional and social interactions as possession of a collection just for the sake of collecting is often a matter of virtue signalling to your group, positional, and sentimental issues, all adding a lot of value beyond just usability.

Here's an example. Fender custom shop is a place that calls stuff "relic" so they can sell sub standard finishes for an increased price. They know that people value the look and feel of an instrument and value the look in a way that is not like what they would in a new car or other retail item, which they expect to be as close to perfect and unused looking as possible. So it is a valid business model that appeals to emotion and a different aesthetic ideal.

Pretty much any guitar over $2K these days sells on emotional value, and a custom shop guy is likely to understand that. Probably appreciates the small-shop hand-made parts of a Hamer, too, as Fender's custom shop isn't like an Indonesian production line. Maybe this guy hung the bass on the wall because he owned it for its like-new appearance and rarity. He got it as a collector's item, not because he needed a bass to gig with. And he priced it high hoping someone would feel the same.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

37 minutes ago, Moose said:

Not saying it wasn't worth it.

What something is worth is what someone will pay for it. That's that.

I was talking "Value."  Which comes in a lot of different forms.  Is it valuable because it's a great player? Is it valuable because of sentimental attachment? Is it valuable as a positional good -- which means it has value simply because you have it and somebody else does not? Is it valuable as a collector's item, which is driven by a whole complex set of emotional and social interactions as possession of a collection just for the sake of collecting is often a matter of virtue signalling to your group, positional, and sentimental issues, all adding a lot of value beyond just usability.

Here's an example. Fender custom shop is a place that calls stuff "relic" so they can sell sub standard finishes for an increased price. They know that people value the look and feel of an instrument and value the look in a way that is not like what they would in a new car or other retail item, which they expect to be as close to perfect and unused looking as possible. So it is a valid business model that appeals to emotion and a different aesthetic ideal.

Pretty much any guitar over $2K these days sells on emotional value, and a custom shop guy is likely to understand that. Probably appreciates the small-shop hand-made parts of a Hamer, too, as Fender's custom shop isn't like an Indonesian production line. Maybe this guy hung the bass on the wall because he owned it for its like-new appearance and rarity. He got it as a collector's item, not because he needed a bass to gig with. And he priced it high hoping someone would feel the same.

I couldn't have said it better Moose, my point was just that, somebody must have felt strong enough about it to pay that price.   I am a HUGE fan of Hamer Basses, especially the Impacts. I have one that no one could ever offer me enough to part with.  Part of that is sentimental but mostly it is honestly because it is such an amazing work of art. I have never played anything close to it.  Anyway, very well said... 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I bought it because my current Impact is the best bass I've ever played, and I've played many. I had to have it - at least for a while. G.A.S.

I'm surprised that some here feel the price is too high. I see 4 digit Standards for sale all the time, at much higher prices, but the  Impacts are all hiding out somewhere. They are rare and of extremely high build quality. 

The good news is this - I nearly always sell my Hamers for less than I paid, so someone will eventually get a deal. Until then, I'll explore the amazing sonic range of having both a black and red Impact.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 minutes ago, Jfritts said:

I'm surprised that some here feel the price is too high.

Cause

14 minutes ago, Jfritts said:

I nearly always sell my Hamers for less than I paid

Effect

Good on ya though...it's a great bass regardless of cost.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

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

×
×
  • Create New...