GrappaGreen Posted November 20, 2023 Share Posted November 20, 2023 (edited) So, after grabbing my first Hamer Centaura a couple of years ago and realising what I'd been missing out on all these years the addiction started.. Been quite a challenge rounding these up as I'm based in the UK and not quite so easy to come by. Whilst the '90 Chap and '93 Cali were in really good condition the others needed some TLC to bring back to playing condition. The '86 Chap and '90 Cali both needed refrets as they were very much 'working' guitars (same owner from new) and worn out. The '86 also had a refin as it had been refinished early in its life (owner couldn't live with the original pink) and the paintwork was, lets say, a little industrial. They both play and look superb now. The '87 bound Chap was a real find; it must have been played to death however and wears it proudly.. it's a vintage looking guitar for sure! I'd love to know the history. Unfortunately the owner must have sweated like a pig and some of the screws were literally turning to dust. It also had the slight issue of the Trem posts being corroded into the lugs. My friendly luthier ended up replacing these and all is good again. I also managed to grab a couple of NOS OBL's to get it back to original spec. It's been fun so far and great just getting in some playing and putting them through their paces. Just need to find a Vintage S now and I think I'm good.... maybe Si Edited November 21, 2023 by GrappaGreen 23 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottcald Posted November 20, 2023 Share Posted November 20, 2023 Wow, lot of OBL pickups there. How are those compared to Slammers or a JB? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graffiti Yellow Posted November 21, 2023 Share Posted November 21, 2023 Nice collection. Love that they are all boomerang inlays! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Victor (Fret Friend) Posted November 21, 2023 Share Posted November 21, 2023 Heck! No wonder I can't find one in England: you have them all 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disturber Posted November 21, 2023 Share Posted November 21, 2023 Nice collection. I've had a few shredders in my day. I am done with Floyd Rose equipped guitars these days though. Would love me a hard tail or Sustainblock Centaura or SSII. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrappaGreen Posted November 21, 2023 Author Share Posted November 21, 2023 1 hour ago, Victor (Fret Friend) said: Heck! No wonder I can't find one in England: you have them all Sorry I certainly don't have them all but they definitely don't come up that often and at the moment the few people who have them for sale seem to think they are made of solid gold pricing wise! I watched your vid on a Hamer refret some time ago.. great work! Si 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrappaGreen Posted November 21, 2023 Author Share Posted November 21, 2023 8 hours ago, scottcald said: Wow, lot of OBL pickups there. How are those compared to Slammers or a JB? I really like them. The singles are lower output that you may imagine but with great clarity and dynamics. The doubles have loads of power but again with a crispness and roll-off well. I'd never had an OBL before the Hamers come along but I think they are great.. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VECTOR Posted November 21, 2023 Share Posted November 21, 2023 1 minute ago, GrappaGreen said: I really like them. The singles are lower output that you may imagine but with great clarity and dynamics. The doubles have loads of power but again with a crispness and roll-off well. I'd never had an OBL before the Hamers come along but I think they are great.. Agree. I had a Chap with HSS configuration and OBLs too and this is the exact description. Sold it to a friend (because of the mini switches) and he still loves it. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cboss Posted November 21, 2023 Share Posted November 21, 2023 7 hours ago, Disturber said: Nice collection. I've had a few shredders in my day. I am done with Floyd Rose equipped guitars these days though. Would love me a hard tail or Sustainblock Centaura or SSII. https://reverb.com/item/68536557-hamer-phantom-1998 https://reverb.com/item/35144803-hamer-usa-phantom-cherry-sunburst-flame-top-guitar-case A couple options, for some reason I'm thinking this version of The Phantom would fit the bill 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Scepter Posted November 21, 2023 Share Posted November 21, 2023 2 minutes ago, Cboss said: https://reverb.com/item/68536557-hamer-phantom-1998 https://reverb.com/item/35144803-hamer-usa-phantom-cherry-sunburst-flame-top-guitar-case A couple options, for some reason I'm thinking this version of The Phantom would fit the bill But they are short scale 🤔 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disturber Posted November 21, 2023 Share Posted November 21, 2023 54 minutes ago, Cboss said: https://reverb.com/item/68536557-hamer-phantom-1998 https://reverb.com/item/35144803-hamer-usa-phantom-cherry-sunburst-flame-top-guitar-case A couple options, for some reason I'm thinking this version of The Phantom would fit the bill 50 minutes ago, Dave Scepter said: But they are short scale 🤔 Yes. I am actually using my Super Pro as a version of a Super Strat. Long scale. Got an ancient 70's JB in the brige. 0,095 strings. It rips. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Scepter Posted November 21, 2023 Share Posted November 21, 2023 (edited) 28 minutes ago, Disturber said: Ancient 70's JB in the bridge. Ancient 70's JB... FTW!😀 Edited November 21, 2023 by Dave Scepter 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cboss Posted November 21, 2023 Share Posted November 21, 2023 31 minutes ago, Dave Scepter said: Ancient 70's JB... FTW!😀 Is there a pretty significant tone difference between this 70s version and the 80's, 90's versions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veatch Posted November 21, 2023 Share Posted November 21, 2023 Especially if you get one wound by MJ.... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murkat Posted November 21, 2023 Share Posted November 21, 2023 4 hours ago, Cboss said: Is there a pretty significant tone difference between this 70s version and the 80's, 90's versions? very much so. 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disturber Posted November 22, 2023 Share Posted November 22, 2023 15 hours ago, Cboss said: Is there a pretty significant tone difference between this 70s version and the 80's, 90's versions? I think mostly because of the change of magnet suppliers over the years. And also perhaps the change from butyrate to more modern plastics in the bobbins, change of wire supplier etc. It might be the same number of turns on the coils, but the modern duncans are wound more precise, probably with a much less tolerance to how hard/loose the wire is wound on the coil etc. Apparently the first JB, wound for Jeff Beck, had an A2 magnet (same pickup as the current Warren De Martini pickup). But the early ones from the 70's have more of a paf feel. A bit looser in response. Not as compressed. This might also be due to aging, I don't know. But I would think that the magnet used then (US) versus the heavily polished ones used now (China) makes a noticable difference. To my ears the older JB's are more vintage sounding. More musical. Same mid hump, but I have dialed it out a bit by setting the pole pieces in a certain way. When the JB is gained to max it sounds more similar to a newer JB, when the signal gets more compressed through a cranked amp. Run it through a rack system with compressors etc and you would probably hear no difference at all. But with a more classic rock tone, there is a difference. 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamer95USA Posted November 23, 2023 Share Posted November 23, 2023 (edited) My current Hamer guitar collection. The 1990 Chaparral Elite 90 & 1994 Diablo II are great guitars for me from Hamer USA. Edited November 23, 2023 by Hamer95USA 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
velorush Posted December 1, 2023 Share Posted December 1, 2023 Not a Hamer, but this just popped up on Reverb: Japan-only iteration of The Strat. Way cool (and different) logo and what a finish! I would pick this up BUT: "The maple neck has a very slender D-shaped profile carve with generous shoulders and lightly rolled fretboard edges, measuring .735” deep at the 1st fret and .830” at the 12th." How "wizardesque!" 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jakeboy Posted December 4, 2023 Share Posted December 4, 2023 …,ewww…that won’t be good for the finish….. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottcald Posted December 4, 2023 Share Posted December 4, 2023 That Fender headstock is terrible, IMO. Looks like some of the old Washburn ones from the early 80s. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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