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Preliminary NHD: Custom order Talladega


polara

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Two weeks ago, I'd said my only "bucket list" Hamer (or guitar period, honestly) was a Talladega. I tried one in about 2005 (ish?) and thought it was the nicest electric guitar I'd ever picked up, but was broke then.

Couple days ago Kyle1234 posted a 2010 Talladega for sale at a fair price. The pics weren't great and he admitted it needed some cleaning up but was in great shape. Turned out he is in Connecticut (and happens to have some very close ties to Hamer) and I happened to be headed to NYC the next day, and had the day after that free. Why not take the train up to New Haven and look at it?

Kyle and I met and, after trying to figure out how Venmo worked (which was pretty funny) I got back on the next train to Grand Central with the Talladega. Here's the 411.

2010, custom ordered with tortoiseshell binding, flame maple truss rod cover to match the top, and Duncan Custom Custom pickups with 3-way switch. Came with case. No strings on it. I don't have a bunch of tools with me as I apartment-sit, but I did a basic clean-up when I got back. Wiped it all over with barely soapy water and polished it up as best as I could with a t-shirt and dried it with paper towels (hence the lint in the pics). Scrubbed the munge off the frets and lemon oiled the fretboard very lightly. Sponged the case clean. Strung it with some .010s.

I'd rate it just barely short of "mint." Absolutely no marks of any kind, no fret wear. The pickup height screws are kinda grungy and there is some ancient fossilized oil residue on the bridge. I'd never notice on my guitars: just describing how close to a new guitar it is. Amazingly, when I put strings on it the neck had pretty much perfect relief and action Even after probably ten years in a closet.

Only one issue: it buzzes on the open "G". The nut slot is too deep. I stuck a tiny bit of plastic bag under the string and it went away. When I'm back home I'll do my usual redneck trick of a tiny dab of superglue applied with a needle and let dry.

Dunno how it sounds plugged in: I'll walk over the Guitar Center this weekend and try some amps. It feels great, super comfy to play and it looks amazing. Very happy! Pics are just iPhone snaps in my friend's apartment but gives a good idea.

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4 minutes ago, polara said:

Two weeks ago, I'd said my only "bucket list" Hamer (or guitar period, honestly) was a Talladega. I tried one in about 2005 (ish?) and thought it was the nicest electric guitar I'd ever picked up, but was broke then.

Couple days ago Kyle1234 posted a 2010 Talladega for sale at a fair price. The pics weren't great and he admitted it needed some cleaning up but was in great shape. Turned out he is in Connecticut (and happens to have some very close ties to Hamer) and I happened to be headed to NYC the next day, and had the day after that free. Why not take the train up to New Haven and look at it?

Kyle and I met and, after trying to figure out how Venmo worked (which was pretty funny) I got back on the next train to Grand Central with the Talladega. Here's the 411.

2010, custom ordered with tortoiseshell binding, flame maple truss rod cover to match the top, and Duncan Custom Custom pickups with 3-way switch. Came with case. No strings on it. I don't have a bunch of tools with me as I apartment-sit, but I did a basic clean-up when I got back. Wiped it all over with barely soapy water and polished it up as best as I could with a t-shirt and dried it with paper towels (hence the lint in the pics). Scrubbed the munge off the frets and lemon oiled the fretboard very lightly. Sponged the case clean. Strung it with some .010s.

I'd rate it just barely short of "mint." Absolutely no marks of any kind, no fret wear. The pickup height screws are kinda grungy and there is some ancient fossilized oil residue on the bridge. I'd never notice on my guitars: just describing how close to a new guitar it is. Amazingly, when I put strings on it the neck had pretty much perfect relief and action Even after probably ten years in a closet.

Only one issue: it buzzes on the open "G". The nut slot is too deep. I stuck a tiny bit of plastic bag under the string and it went away. When I'm back home I'll do my usual redneck trick of a tiny dab of superglue applied with a needle and let dry.

Dunno how it sounds plugged in: I'll walk over the Guitar Center this weekend and try some amps. It feels great, super comfy to play and it looks amazing. Very happy! Pics are just iPhone snaps in my friend's apartment but gives a good idea.

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LOVE!!!  Congrats!

Let us know how those Custom/Customs sound, especially in the neck position. 

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That is awesome. I stumbled on an earthen maple one recently and love the guitar. Yeah it is beautiful and all, but the neck is right and you just want to play it.  I dare to say it makes me sound above average, which is a big step up. 
 

sometime a guitar just feels good. Somehow playing is easier and you get closer to the sound you hear in your head.  The talladega is one of those. In fact, my tinnitus is slightly worsened just now because of an early glass of wine or 2 and a wee tweak of the volume know on the amp.   Joy, pure joy. 
 

glad you have it and it worked out for all. I have been a hamer fan since i was a kid and maintain they are simply some of the greatest instruments made. 
 

enjoy it!!!

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3 hours ago, stedge said:

That is awesome. I stumbled on an earthen maple one recently and love the guitar. Yeah it is beautiful and all, but the neck is right and you just want to play it.  I dare to say it makes me sound above average, which is a big step up. 
 

sometime a guitar just feels good. Somehow playing is easier and you get closer to the sound you hear in your head.  The talladega is one of those. In fact, my tinnitus is slightly worsened just now because of an early glass of wine or 2 and a wee tweak of the volume know on the amp.   Joy, pure joy. 
 

glad you have it and it worked out for all. I have been a hamer fan since i was a kid and maintain they are simply some of the greatest instruments made. 
 

enjoy it!!!

Did you post pics?  I don’t remember seeing you post and a quick search didn’t come up with any. Loves me some earthen tally. 

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The envy I feel right now.... I gotta have a cupa coffe to calm down. Congrats on a super cool guitar. I wanted a Talladega since I played Conrads some years ago. Killer guitars! And that one has the looks too!

Did it come with the Custom Customs in it from the factory? No Double D's? Do you prefer humbuckers in it over the Double D's? 

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6 hours ago, Disturber said:

The envy I feel right now.... I gotta have a cupa coffe to calm down. Congrats on a super cool guitar. I wanted a Talladega since I played Conrads some years ago. Killer guitars! And that one has the looks too!

Did it come with the Custom Customs in it from the factory? No Double D's? Do you prefer humbuckers in it over the Double D's? 

This one was a custom order with the CCs from the factory. Kyle's dad worked at Hamer, and actually sprayed this one himself and I spec'd it. Kyle's played some nice pieces including Rick Neilsen's lightning bolt guitar, and his brother apparently has another impossibly badass Hamer (I'll let him speak for himself if he wants). Post-Hamer, Dad has also done some finish jobs for Mike Shishkov, so this guitar has some cool provenance, I guess. This top is insane... I really haven't captured it well yet.

I'll be curious how the CCs sound. I loved it in the bridge position of one guitar I played, and have no idea if it works well in the neck.

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30 minutes ago, polara said:

This one was a custom order with the CCs from the factory. Kyle's dad worked at Hamer, and actually sprayed this one himself and I spec'd it. Kyle's played some nice pieces including Rick Neilsen's lightning bolt guitar, and his brother apparently has another impossibly badass Hamer (I'll let him speak for himself if he wants). Post-Hamer, Dad has also done some finish jobs for Mike Shishkov, so this guitar has some cool provenance, I guess. This top is insane... I really haven't captured it well yet.

I'll be curious how the CCs sound. I loved it in the bridge position of one guitar I played, and have no idea if it works well in the neck.

Good story! If you think it's a bit loose in the neck then just stick an A5 or a ceramic in there. The old Duncan Custom in the neck of my Super Pro sounds f*ckn killer.

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1 hour ago, polara said:

This one was a custom order with the CCs from the factory. Kyle's dad worked at Hamer, and actually sprayed this one himself and I spec'd it. Kyle's played some nice pieces including Rick Neilsen's lightning bolt guitar, and his brother apparently has another impossibly badass Hamer (I'll let him speak for himself if he wants). Post-Hamer, Dad has also done some finish jobs for Mike Shishkov, so this guitar has some cool provenance, I guess. This top is insane... I really haven't captured it well yet.

I'll be curious how the CCs sound. I loved it in the bridge position of one guitar I played, and have no idea if it works well in the neck.

That’s awesome. 
 

I’ve used Duncan A2 pro’s in the neck position of a few guitars and they sounded great. I would think the Custom/Custom would be a hotter version of that sound. Can’t wait to hear what you think. 

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Very nice. When doing the Super Glue nut slot fill, fill the slot with baking soda first if you have any handy. Or even better, if you have a old nut that you had to discard, you can take a rasp to that and use the dust in place of the baking soda.

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Just playing through the little headphone amp I have with me, it is all mids. Mid-heavy like a sleepy brown bear at dusk: surprising with all that maple and the long scale. We'll see when I get home and plug into a real amp, but a magnet or pickup swap may be in the future. Still, a lot can happen with adjusting pole height and pickup height: who knows? 

On the positive side, the tiniest droplet of superglue mixed with baking soda fixed the setup. Very slinky, easy to play.

Is it just me or is it just weird how I've come to expect a Hamer to have some build irregularities? The pickups do not line up.  Eyeballing, then confirming with a straightedge, the neck pickup is ring is about 2mm too far toward the bass side of the body: it’s not centered with the bridge pickup. You can see that the poles on the neck pickup are a little offset to the bass side under the strings, so they’re about 2mm to the bass side of center  

Doesn't make a bit of functional difference, and I only noticed because in my (now only occasional) design duties I have to spot tiny flaws. Just part of the Hamer experience: I've owned great-feeling guitars with Hameritis that looked like leprosy, separating binding, and a flame maple top with waves in it like a BMX track. Interesting that these quirks don't seem to be the norm on any other brand I've owned.

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Ordered a Phat Cat for the neck. The SH-11 neck sounds so woofy on the headphone amp - no matter the settings - I'm just gonna go for a lower-output (well, lower than the CC) single-coil with an A2 magnet.

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