Jump to content
Hamer Fan Club Message Center

PSA - Hamer Cali Std Project. 1989


Recommended Posts

14 minutes ago, diablo175 said:

My guess is the former owner either was trying to repair a crack extending for said bolt holes or decided he really wanted the top mounted screws for attaching the locking nut... place you bets.

I'll go with the latter.  I wouldn't be surprised to learn it was ill fitting dowels hammered into the holes that caused the crack.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, cynic said:

I'll go with the latter.  I wouldn't be surprised to learn it was ill fitting dowels hammered into the holes that caused the crack.

Of course we all speculating here, but it actually happens in reverse oder. That kind of toplock mount causes this kind of problem all the time ( the most I’ve seen it on Ibanez due to their stupidly thin wizard neck ). So to avoid further damage people plug the holes and install new toplock. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

43 minutes ago, kizanski said:

I fear that there is more crack going on here than in that Cali neck.

Yeah, he mentioned it to you, but there is no mention of it in the ad, ya folla?
And these monstrosities never get that way in the hands of the current seller.  Ever notice that?  It's always "the way I bought it."
"Good guy" my Sicilian ass.

 

39 minutes ago, JustKid said:

He very well might be a champ, but ...as you said - “you dont know for sure”. Bottom line - issues like this one need to be in the description. And of course - “I don’t know, that’s how i got it, didn’t get worse since i owned it” ... those words lately became something like “plays like butter” , where you ran to the opposite direction the moment you read it. 

But he may be a champ :)

Fair enough.

For all the people *I've* dealt with in buying and selling guitars, he seems to be above average in sense of honor.

If he weren't, the guitar would already be on its way to me.  It isn't, and I appreciate that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 minutes ago, Nathan of Brainfertilizer Fame said:

For all the people *I've* dealt with in buying and selling guitars, he seems to be above average in sense of honor.

If he weren't, the guitar would already be on its way to me.  It isn't, and I appreciate that.

Maybe you need to set your bar a little higher.  There is no honorable explanation for not mentioning that horseshit in the ad.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, JustKid said:

Of course we all speculating here, but it actually happens in reverse oder. That kind of toplock mount causes this kind of problem all the time ( the most I’ve seen it on Ibanez due to their stupidly thin wizard neck ). So to avoid further damage people plug the holes and install new toplock. 

I'm aware of that issue and have seen the repair, but that would be the first repair I recall seeing that was done in a way that didn't do a better job address the crack.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, JustKid said:

Of course we all speculating here, but it actually happens in reverse oder. That kind of toplock mount causes this kind of problem all the time ( the most I’ve seen it on Ibanez due to their stupidly thin wizard neck ). So to avoid further damage people plug the holes and install new toplock. 

I had an RG550 I bought new in '87 and only got rid of it a few years ago.  Never had an issue with it.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

58 minutes ago, scottcald said:

I had an RG550 I bought new in '87 and only got rid of it a few years ago.  Never had an issue with it.  

Likewise, I had an RG something or other  (560?) from '89 or '90 that, to this day, stands out as one of the best axes, stock p'ups and all,  for what I accomplished on it at the time.

And yes, there was a time when blade switches were tolerated. 'Cause I never moved off the bridge p'up!  😆

image.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

46 minutes ago, diablo175 said:

Likewise, I had an RG something or other  (560?) from '89 or '90 that, to this day, stands out as one of the best axes, stock p'ups and all,  for what I accomplished on it at the time.

And yes, there was a time when blade switches were tolerated. 'Cause I never moved off the bridge p'up!  😆

 

I was emboldened by reading about EVH changing parts and all whatever with his guitars.  I did a pickup swap at a bandmate's house about an hour before we were leaving for a gig.  He thought I was nuts.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My sincere apologies if I unintentionally hurt somebody's feelings 🍾.
 Now, I didn't say All of them. All I said was, out of all used guitars that I purchased ( and that's quite a lot, I was used guitar dealer for about 20 years), those that mostly had this issue, as well as neck pocket cracks, were Ibanez RG series. There were Jacksons with the same issue, I can recall may be 2-3, but it didn't even come close to the amount of Ibanezes. I myself still have one Ibanez shredder RG1802 in beautiful trans black, the only one I could relate to. Wasn't actually too surprised when they came up with RG550 reissue, probably most popular guitar at the time. Ridiculous part was, you could still buy an original RG550 from 80's-90s way cheaper than reissue 😵.

And actually it's very simple - just google ibanez neck crack  and go to images, see what's gonna come up, and then  google Jackson neck crack. Just statistics. The same with Gibson, we all have Les Pauls and have no cracks, but we know that LPs are more prone to cracks than Strats.  🤘

Link to comment
Share on other sites

39 minutes ago, JustKid said:

My sincere apologies if I unintentionally hurt somebody's feelings 🍾.
 Now, I didn't say All of them. All I said was, out of all used guitars that I purchased ( and that's quite a lot, I was used guitar dealer for about 20 years), those that mostly had this issue, as well as neck pocket cracks, were Ibanez RG series. There were Jacksons with the same issue, I can recall may be 2-3, but it didn't even come close to the amount of Ibanezes. I myself still have one Ibanez shredder RG1802 in beautiful trans black, the only one I could relate to. Wasn't actually too surprised when they came up with RG550 reissue, probably most popular guitar at the time. Ridiculous part was, you could still buy an original RG550 from 80's-90s way cheaper than reissue 😵.

And actually it's very simple - just google ibanez neck crack  and go to images, see what's gonna come up, and then  google Jackson neck crack. Just statistics. The same with Gibson, we all have Les Pauls and have no cracks, but we know that LPs are more prone to cracks than Strats.  🤘

No feelings hurt, just relating my own experience with one for 30 years, played really hard for 10 of those, played for the next 10 not so hard, then back burnered for new stuff, then traded in.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

17 hours ago, scottcald said:

No feelings hurt, just relating my own experience with one for 30 years, played really hard for 10 of those, played for the next 10 not so hard, then back burnered for new stuff, then traded in.  

Likewise, for the most part, I don't give a shit what folks think about this or that guitar. Experiences are varied and opinions formed on those are both subjective and anecdotal. I actually don't care for Ibanezes and haven't for a long time. I have no allegiance to them but I stand by my admiration for the RG560's performance back in the day.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I got it.  I saw it when it first was on Reverb but ignored it due to reasons already mentioned.  After contemplating for a day, I decided to take the gamble for $400 shipped.  Really, I thought this was decent deal all things considered.  Obviously the headstock is a concern, but if it's stable, just replace the trem and you might have a good guitar.  

I'll give a full rundown of it when it arrives.  It's a long journey - hopefully it makes it in one piece.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, DarrenD said:

I got it.  I saw it when it first was on Reverb but ignored it due to reasons already mentioned.  After contemplating for a day, I decided to take the gamble for $400 shipped.  Really, I thought this was decent deal all things considered.  Obviously the headstock is a concern, but if it's stable, just replace the trem and you might have a good guitar.  

I'll give a full rundown of it when it arrives.  It's a long journey - hopefully it makes it in one piece.

 

That's exactly what I was thinking, and I very nearly pulled the trigger for the exact same reasons.

But, in the end, it would be no higher than #18 or so in my stable, so it wasn't worth it to add in.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This will be the 4th cali I've owned over the years and 3rd beater cali.  My main gigging guitar for three years was a beater cali in probably worse cosmetic condition than this one, so I guess the memories persuaded me to go in.  

It was weird putting in an offer for $250usd (before shipping cost) for a USA californian.  I mean, damn, the guitar is almost at the HFC approved $350 even with shipping costs from Australia.  I didn't realize the US dollar currently has so much power over the Australian dollar right now (1.5x).  

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Note this guy blocked the trem, then used two different after market tremolo stoppers on it as well --- I wonder if he glued the block in because that tells me this guy hates his Floyd to the point of wishing it was a hardtail.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

30 minutes ago, DarrenD said:

This will be the 4th cali I've owned over the years and 3rd beater cali.  My main gigging guitar for three years was a beater cali in probably worse cosmetic condition than this one, so I guess the memories persuaded me to go in.  

It was weird putting in an offer for $250usd (before shipping cost) for a USA californian.  I mean, damn, the guitar is almost at the HFC approved $350 even with shipping costs from Australia.  I didn't realize the US dollar currently has so much power over the Australian dollar right now (1.5x).  

 

Post about it. I want to live vicariously through you on this.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I’ll post more in depth photos and descriptions upon its arrival in 2-3 weeks. I’ll probably end up refinishing the body, but we’ll see.

I have a soft spot for unwanted and broken hamers.

I noticed the strange Trem block situation as well.  Studs looked fine, and that was key for me.  Looks like a bridge swap will be fine, but again, Who knows.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

The guitar arrived much sooner than expected.  Overall, it's solid.  It's good as is, and I don't even need to replace the trem if I don't want.  The headstock is stable, although the clear coat on the neck isn't the greatest.  The body's clear is better. 

The high e tuner seemed to have got damaged in shipment.  It looked like the headstock was pressed down too hard once and packaging was inside the case and the screw hole split in two....it still works though.  I won't make a fuss of it because it's like the guy tried to pack it too much....but in the wrong areas in the case.  You can see it in the video.  Action is super low.  Most people here would love it, but I like action a tad higher than most.  Other than that, the guitar is basically what I expected.  It's a cosmetically rough Cali that plays awesome.

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sounds like you bought it right!! Titebond ll is an incredible glue and I’ve been using it on headstock breaks with no issues at all. Sounds like you’re pleased!! So it’s a WINNER!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

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

×
×
  • Create New...