**SOLD** Go Shortie, It's Your Birthday **SOLD**

[velorush]

SOLD  In honor of its 20th birthday (Monday, 23 October), I offer for sale the Kiz' Senior.  SOLD 

The guitar: As I understand it, @kizanski was placing a special order for a vintage orange Junior in a batch @BCR Greg was getting together. .  Kiz placed a second special order for an 80's-style Special in matching vintage orange using a @hamerhead Sustainblock bridge.  Kiz witfully dubbed the second guitar the "Senior," and that's how the guitar has been known since.   

So what is it?  A slab of mahogany, (Hamerhead machined) Sustainblock bridge, two humbuckers, three-way switch, two volumes and a master tone - much like an 80's Special.  The most significant difference is this has a vintage carve neck [1.76" nut width, 2.035" wide at the 12th fret, 0.903" thick 1st fret, 0.940" thick at the 12th fret].  The only thing I didn't like about my 1980 Special was the neck.  This guitar fixed that perfectly.

The legend of this guitar includes it being bought and sold by multiple HFCers (some, multiple times).  The charge was the guitar was deemed "too bright."  It seems everyone bought it, tried a pickup swap (or ten) and moved it along to the next owner who tried more pickups. 

I took delivery from @bubs_42 on 15 May 2012(!) and, IIRC, it had a set of PRS pickups that Kiz had put in it (in his second or third time of owning it).  I plugged it in and yep, it was too bright.  At the same time I had a phenomenal Special FM that had Rio pickups.  I didn't care for the PRS pickups - the intent was to tame down the brightness - so I did a couple of things: 1. changed out the stock Hamer 0.015µF tone capacitor for a splendid 0.022µF capacitor I had gotten from @murkat; 2. I replaced the bridge PRS pickup with the Rio Genuine Texas out of the Special FM neck.  Spectacular!  Goldilocks tone clean or dirty. 

I then custom ordered a zebra Buffalobucker from Rio.  Those are the pickups that have been in it since.  The tone control is a push-pull pot that, when pulled up, splits off one of the coils on each humbucker for single-coil-ish sounds.  The Sustainblock really helps with single-coil authenticity, especially in the bridge position.

Here's the rest of it:

1. It's mahogany, but not "lightweight" mahogany - the last time I weighed it (eleven years ago) it was 8.7 lbs (I'll try to weigh it again - I have access to the same scale.  It will be interesting to see if it has dried out with any significance).  So, on the heavier side for a Special, but not Norlin Les Paul heavy.  
2. Since there have been more than a dozen sets of pickups in and out of this guitar over the years, the neck Volume control can be a touch scratchy.  The original Tone potentiometer is included, so that could easily be repurposed as a replacement volume pot.  It just never bothered me enough to make the change.
3. It hasn't been played regularly in quite a long time.  It could use a set of strings and a fret polish (see photos).
4. It's 20 years old.  It's in really good shape, but it does have its bumps and what not.  I'm easy on all my stuff but have seen myself more of a caretaker than owner of this particular guitar.  I see nothing through the finish and no Hameritis.  
5. Thanks to the benevolence of Kiz himself, the original Warranty Card and hang tag are included (out of the blue Kiz mailed these to me a few years back - what a guy!).
6. The case is in fine shape with all latches working as they should, just a bit tarnished.
7. The color is Transparent Orange w/o Sparkle - due to the underlying hue of mahogany, in some light it looks orange, in others its brown.  Beautiful grain in either case.
8. The creme coil on the Buffalobucker is (oddly) more of a mint green (not quite early 60's Fender pickguard, but a nod toward).  Not sure why that's the case, but that is the color they called creme at the time.  It's fine.  I just would have preferred it match the DiMarzio surrounds I bought for it.

There it is.  Happy Birthday to the Kiz' Senior.  Here is a photo sampling taken today with my trusty iPhone.  Let me know what other shots you'd like to see or what other questions I can answer.

Kiz' real name is on the Certificate so I blacked it out in the photo (i.e., the black mark isn't on the Cert).

Anyone who's owned it, feel free to chime in and let me know what I forgot or got wrong.

[bry4321]

What a great story, thanks for sharing all that! 

[kizanski]

Clearly the Custom Order cert was Photoshopped.  
There’s no way it has been 20 years already. 
It has been 5 years, tops!

[The Shark]

36 minutes ago, kizanski said:

There’s no way it has been 20 years already. 

Literally, the story of my life.

[velorush]

Couple of things:

1. Just weighed it on the same UPS scale used 12 years ago when it was delivered.  That day it weighed 8.7 lbs.  Today it weighed 8.65 lbs.  Probably within the margin of error of a UPS scale, but it was interesting to me, nonetheless.

2. Given the response I'm going to go way out on a limb and guess I have grossly overestimated the market price of the Kiz' Senior.  I really thought there'd have been at least some response.  I based the price on Reverb listings for 80's Specials.  Those are great guitars but the build quality on this is (just my opinion) on a different level.

Any interest at $2,000, shipped (CONUS)?  Feel free to message me if you'd be interested at a different price (other than tree fity, tree fity one, etc.).

[scottcald]

5 hours ago, velorush said:

1. Just weighed it on the same UPS scale used 12 years ago when it was delivered.  That day it weighed 8.7 lbs.  Today it weighed 8.65 lbs.  Probably within the margin of error of a UPS scale, but it was interesting to me, nonetheless.

When you're not home, it's been working out. 

[velorush]

39 minutes ago, scottcald said:

When you're not home, it's been working out. 

Not much obviously...

[rugby1970]

Beautiful guitar!!

[velorush]

Now up on Reverb at the original price.

Is anyone here interested at any (serious) price?  If not, I'll shut up about it. 

There are a few instruments here and there (the spruce-topped Special, any of the BCR Juniors, for example) that really seem to be HFC guitars.  I feel like this is one of them.

If someone here is interested, drop me a message.  I am receptive to alternative ideas of price.  

[kizanski]

9 minutes ago, velorush said:

Now up on Reverb...

Where?  I don't see it there.

 

[velorush]

33 minutes ago, kizanski said:

Where?  I don't see it there.

 

Yep, not showing up searching "Hamer Special."  That's a problem (though I've got watchers already...).  I'll edit and see if I can get better visibility.

Hamer USA Special (CO) 2003 Vintage Orange | Reverb

Edit: it popped up on top when I sorted by "Most Recent"

[velorush]

Oh great, just received this:

Quote

HI, am really interested and I'm ready to buy this asap, let me know if there's any damage or repairs carried out on this items, please get to me on [email protected] or 3123583531 for purchase.Thanks

Below that solicitation is:

Nico D. cannot receive messages at this time.

So I can call him or I can gmail him, but I cannot contact him within the protections of Reverb.  Great.

I have this vague recollection of some HFC sage posting an opinion of Reverb just this week...  Something about applying a vacuum to the universe? 🙃

[kizanski]

5 minutes ago, velorush said:

I'll edit and see if I can get better visibility.

I think the category "Hamer (USA)" is the problem (ironically).

There are only 7 guitars listed in "Hamer (USA) and 153 listed in the "Hamer" category.
This shouldn't be a problem, but Reverb's search function is shit.

[velorush]

10 minutes ago, kizanski said:

I think the category "Hamer (USA)" is the problem (ironically).

There are only 7 guitars listed in "Hamer (USA) and 153 listed in the "Hamer" category.
This shouldn't be a problem, but Reverb's search function is shit.

Great suggestion.  I changed the Brand to "Hamer" and included "Hamer (USA)" in the Model Description.

Thanks.

[kizanski]

That's better.

[cmatthes]

3 hours ago, velorush said:

Oh great, just received this:

Below that solicitation is:

Nico D. cannot receive messages at this time.

So I can call him or I can gmail him, but I cannot contact him within the protections of Reverb.  Great.

I have this vague recollection of some HFC sage posting an opinion of Reverb just this week...  Something about applying a vacuum to the universe? 🙃

Yeah.  Report that shit to Reverb!

[velorush]

Last call for the HFC.  If anyone is interested in the Kiz' Senior at any (realistic) price, now is the time to shoot me a message.

I plan to start Reverb discounting this weekend.  It has 18 watchers presently (likely some HFCers among them).  Surely someone needs this special Special.

I will not be undersold!   Crazy Cheap Prices!   Everything Must Go!   Biggest Sale of the Year!   Christmas is Around the Corner!

And all that sort of thing... 😁

[velorush]

The Senior is off to greener pastures. 

I appreciate all of the words of encouragement and well wishes. 

I will encourage the new owner to join the HFC.  🙂

[jujisque]

On 11/2/2023 at 1:50 PM, velorush said:

Last call for the HFC.  If anyone is interested in the Kiz' Senior at any (realistic) price, now is the time to shoot me a message.

I plan to start Reverb discounting this weekend.  It has 18 watchers presently (likely some HFCers among them).  Surely someone needs this special Special.

I will not be undersold!   Crazy Cheap Prices!   Everything Must Go!   Biggest Sale of the Year!   Christmas is Around the Corner!

And all that sort of thing... 😁

Congrats on the sale! 

I was definitely one of those HFCers watching it on Reverb 

[stedge]

As was I.  Still looking and holding out for that Robin Artisan and either a McIlroy (maybe McNally) or Guild Orpheum or some such.  Then I might be done for a while…..  Maybe.