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NGD: 2008 Hamer Talladega, or is it?


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I bought this Hamer Talladega from Reverb recently, and although the serial number clearly denotes it as a 2008 model, the seller claimed it was from 2013, and that it was one of the last Hamers completed in the New Hartford facility.  Here is an excerpt of his ad:

“This is one of the last Hamer guitars made in the New Hartford, CT factory completed by Darren Wallace. So much so that there were only Lefty Truss Rod Covers left and it is sporting the last of the Art Deco Grover tuners.”  The 2013 claim was disputed on the PSA thread, linked here, but below the link is my dialogue with the seller, James Tsaptsinos.

https://www.hamerfanclub.com/forums/topic/96871-psa-beautiful-talladega-with-surprising-to-me-serial-number/#comment-1121964

“Hi James,
I am very impressed with the guitar itself … [but] the guitar is not a 2013: the serial number clearly indicates 2008. On the Hamer Fan Club website, trafficked by former employees of Hamer, they wondered why you think that this was one of the last two built at the factory.”

His response:

I am the VP of Sales of KMC Music. The company that owns Hamer. The neck and body we’re definitely built in 2008. It sat unfinished for years and then Fender shelved Hamer around 2013. The only employee left was Darren Wallace. He continued to run the Ovation brand for us and still had access to the factory since we still built Ovation there. He had the means to finish 2 Talladegas. Our President bought one and I bought the other. So officially they were assembled and buffed in 2013. They were the last two finished and it was after Hamer ceased to exist. We had 5 other guitars that are completely unfinished. They are still sitting around. I hope that sheds some light on the mystery. We did relaunch an import only Hamer line in 2018 and shelved it again, too many reasons to explain.”

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Anyway, this guitar has excellent fit and finish, and it plays great!  Thank you, Darren Wallace and James Tsaptsinos!

I love the Sustain Block Bridge.  This is the first time that I ever tried one.

Edited by HamerCustomEr
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Well, whether it’s a 2008 or a 2013, it’s a fantastic looking guitar. And if it plays anything like my ‘07 Talladega then you’ve got yourself a true top shelf guitar there. Enjoy!

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Congrats!  Always fantasized about snaggin' one around the year Hamer shut its doors.

The last two TALLY'S to leave the factory, quite a story. That baby looks minty fresh too, Rock on Brother!!🤘

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So....What is the story on the other 5 Hamers that are sitting around unfinished?

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2 hours ago, django49 said:

So....What is the story on the other 5 Hamers that are sitting around unfinished?

I already asked the seller, and this is what he said, plus he included a picture:

"This is one of them. We have them to some of the team to clean up and finish the build. They aren’t for sale. I spend hours just getting 12 years worth of lacquered masking tape off the fingerboard"

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