Californian questions...

[Cboss]

On the dimensions in the attached picture, my Diablo and Centaura are very similar; I just got a Chaparral and it is noticeably wider in these dimensions.. I'm wondering where the Californian fits into this? In pictures I've seen it looks to be the same size as the Chaparral, but I wanted to consult the experts :)

Second question, what would the stock pickups be in a Californian elite?

Thx!

[hamerhead]

I just want to know who painted all over that nice guitar!

[Biz Prof]

The Cali body is deceptively small.  At least, it felt much smaller to me strapped over my shoulder than they ever looked in photos. As I recall, Jol wanted it to be the Ferrari of superstrats, which would further imply a certain svelte quality to its dimensions when he was designing it.  As for pickups in the Elite, I think it depends on the year/period it was manufactured.  I suspect OBLs were standard in Elites in the beginning, and I recall the "Get Serious" ad having OBLs in that one. I definitely recall see Elites sporting SD Parallel Axis sets, which made the Cali one of the first guitars I remember seeing having those units as OEM. 

 

ETA:  Just found the reference in one of Jol's columns in Premier Guitar (excerpt below):

As weird and wonderful as those guitars were then, today they seem a little incomplete to me. That said, I’m particularly proud of my Californian design whose name was a direct reference to my friend Grover Jackson in the Golden State. I’ve long admired Grover’s work, and I think his Soloist can be counted among the most iconic of guitars. Since Jackson had thrown down the gauntlet, I wanted to create a kick-ass shred machine that would prove that we Chicago boys could shake the earth in our own way. My intention was to fashion a “super strat” that looked as though Ferrari had sculpted it.

To provide the Cali a more angular appearance than the traditional form, I downsized the body and employed radical contours and beveling in the cutaway areas. This improved access to higher fingerings and gave the horns an aggressive appearance.

[Cboss]

Thank you! Which guitars was he referring to when he said they seem weird, wonderful and incomplete?

[Biz Prof]

2 hours ago, Cboss said:

Thank you! Which guitars was he referring to when he said they seem weird, wonderful and incomplete?

Basically all of Hamer's earlier hot-rodded guitars: Phantom, Chap, Prototype, etc.

[Bennyboy-UK]

Funnily enough, the Diablo is the same body outline as a Californian, just without the cutaway scallops, and with a different body radius.

My old 1988 Californian - Bolt on Boomerangs, and solid figured maple body - non book matched, came with Hamer Slammer Pickups as standard - in 1988, they were designated Custom - the Elite moniker came later - and Custom we repurposed to denote the set neck models.

 

From 1990, PATB-1s appeared in Cali Standards and Elites, along with an SSL-1 (in Standards) or PATB-STkn in Elites - the OBLs are not something I know much about, but you do see them in the posh guitars.

 

If you look at the Hamer Price lists, from the late 80s and 90s, you can specify pickup upgrades from whatever happened to be standard in that model - to Seymour Duncans or EMGs.

Although you would typically find EMGs as the standard pickup in Deluxe models.

However, however, because its Hamer - there are loads of oddities depending on what was ordered at the time - and that variance is part of the fun to me!

 

 

Hope that helps,
Ben.

[Cboss]

Thank you, that is a great answer.. what are the obl's sound signatures like?