I have a Sunburst 81 Hamer Special . I'm the original owner . I haven't played it in over 20 years . Great guitar . Totally original other than the volume knobs .
Another guitar getting better, having been to Dr Dunsy’s for rehab :) Fantastic to have linked the paint job to the designer too - having history like this documented with the original source’s input via social media is really great! 👍
I couldn't believe it when the lady said that was one of the ones she did - I think she did the vast majority of them. Masked bits off with tape and sprayed away. Damn cool to find that out. It's a nice guitar, easy to play and super light.
I've had 2 Standards. One was crap and one was phenomenal. Luck of the draw I guess. I've also had around 5 Sunbursts (all of these were Korean, mind you) and they've all been superior to the vast majority of Epiphones that have passed through my hands. I could never get used to the headstock shape, thus why I let 'em go. Yours sounds like a boss!
About '94 I , briefly , had two Hamers , a Steve Stevens, and a Sunburst , both of which I should have kept. They were both great. But check this out , the double cut Sunburst , which had an amazing flame top, had a checkerboard logo on the headstock , and I always wondered if it had been made specifically for Rick Neilsen. I'll probably never know.
I love the look of the sunburst - classy with a flame top and binding - yeah, you could have been playing one of Rick's, that would have been pretty damn special.
Morning Dunsy, nice job getting that one back up and running sweetly. I hear good things about John Mann hardware, I might get one for my Bernie. Always liked Dimarzio pups since I had a Westbury standard (matsumoku) back in the late 80's, a guitar I should never have parted with. What's your fav humbucker set if you needed to swap some out ? Very subjective I know but nice to get other ideas...👍
The John Mann stuff is absolutely top notch. I believe that he reverse engineered the Hamer bridge from the original. Solid piece of kit. Hmm... pickups, I guess when I'm going for value and sound I have a ton of Toneriders in guitars. Rocksongs and Generators in the bridge and AC2 classics in the neck. Also have a couple of their P90's. No complaints at all. If I'm flush I maybe got for doub;e cream DImario Super Distortions. I like the look of double creams and they push an amp really well for the sound that I go for.
Just stumbled across your video. Great stuff. Hamer guitars are great. I've never seen one of the graphics I didn't love. Glad you returned it to its roots. Who was the person who designed the graphics?
Cheers Scott - yeah, what a mess was under that bridge when it arrived. I mean I knew it was a Kahler rout, but I had no idea it was done with a kitchen knife and a hammer! Can't remember the ladies name, but will check. She posts on the Hammer Fan Club page on Facebook.
@@DunsysGuitarWorld OK, thanks! Yeah, I did some stuff when I was young that looked awful, but the pick guard or whatever was normally on the guitar covered it up.
On 4/23/81 i saw Ozzy play in Harrisburg PA. Motorhead opened the show ,but on one song i saw Randy Rhoads play a checkerboard Hamer explorer, i have never seen a picture or heard a word mentioned about this guitar, just one of those thongs that has stuck with me being a guitar freak, peace out.
Lovely guitar. Second hand prices on Hamer guitars don't seem to truly reflect the quality or rarity of them. I've always liked the LP double cut shape which is clearly the inspiration for the Hamer. I hadn't realised though until I briefly owned one, that the neck join is at the twentieth fret rather than the twenty second. It was obviously sound engineering practicality but it does make them feel quite different.
Yeah I guess there really weren't that many of the Graphic Specials made - here we are 40+ years later and even the Hamer Fan Group have only seen 33. If this was a Gibson of that rarity, I could sell it and retire, lol!
I love that type of shape... reminds me of the old Yamaha's and Ibanez Artists...... sad to see the butcher who owned it before you did what they did to it... still sounds pretty good though.
I have a 1983 Hamer black and white graphic special. mine has a les paul type bridge and saddle. same logo yet I don't have the checker board. it's weird cuz it's like it was never completely finished..
I really want to get an old Hamer and was curious about the neck size. Most people say their skinnier? but yours is a good size? I like 60s Gibson necks. Would you say this is more a 59 neck? thank you
I actually thought this would have a bigger neck when I got it! It feels about the same as my 2019 Gibson Special Tribute DC - which I think is their 60’s profile. It’s a great playing guitar.
The Hamer Graphic Special sure looks like its built top quality. Thanks for the breakdown on it, Dunsy! 👍
Cheers Matt, yeah it's a real nice instrument. Sounds and plays great.
I have a Sunburst 81 Hamer Special . I'm the original owner . I haven't played it in over 20 years . Great guitar . Totally original other than the volume knobs .
Fantastic guitars.
Did ever you pull it out and cleaned it up, restring it and play it !?
A beaut Dunsy.
I love those pickups. Sound fantastic.
Nice find.
It's a lovely guitar - super light and plays great. We bit bashed around the edges, but still works perfectly.
Great demo Dunsy, that's another great guitar man 😀🤘🎵🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Thank ya, Adam!
Very tasty lead stuff too. Top notch.
Cheers David, cracking wee guitar, super easy to play (especially with 9's on!)
Back in the day Hammer was looking like it was gaining in the guitar market.
Great share brother!!!!!🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘
Cheers Mark, yeah fantastic made guitars. I think they were eventually bought over by Fender. Rare to see a US one these days for sale.
Great story, interesting as ever. Barry content Dunsy 👍
Cheers Sir!
Another guitar getting better, having been to Dr Dunsy’s for rehab :) Fantastic to have linked the paint job to the designer too - having history like this documented with the original source’s input via social media is really great! 👍
I couldn't believe it when the lady said that was one of the ones she did - I think she did the vast majority of them. Masked bits off with tape and sprayed away. Damn cool to find that out. It's a nice guitar, easy to play and super light.
I've had 2 Standards. One was crap and one was phenomenal. Luck of the draw I guess. I've also had around 5 Sunbursts (all of these were Korean, mind you) and they've all been superior to the vast majority of Epiphones that have passed through my hands. I could never get used to the headstock shape, thus why I let 'em go. Yours sounds like a boss!
I love the look of these, super instruments - wish I owned all of them, lol!
Excellent sounding guitar.👍It will be interesting to see how the paint touch up turns out?👷♂️
Yeah, will likely be difficult to match the wear, but I'm going to seek professional assistance on this one.
About '94 I , briefly , had two Hamers , a Steve Stevens, and a Sunburst , both of which I should have kept. They were both great. But check this out , the double cut Sunburst , which had an amazing flame top, had a checkerboard logo on the headstock , and I always wondered if it had been made specifically for Rick Neilsen. I'll probably never know.
I love the look of the sunburst - classy with a flame top and binding - yeah, you could have been playing one of Rick's, that would have been pretty damn special.
Maybe you had a Special with a sunburst finish? Those came with checkerboard logos for a couple of years.
@@bry4321 Sounds like that. It was about an inch by half an inch on the headstock.
Morning Dunsy, nice job getting that one back up and running sweetly. I hear good things about John Mann hardware, I might get one for my Bernie. Always liked Dimarzio pups since I had a Westbury standard (matsumoku) back in the late 80's, a guitar I should never have parted with. What's your fav humbucker set if you needed to swap some out ?
Very subjective I know but nice to get other ideas...👍
The John Mann stuff is absolutely top notch. I believe that he reverse engineered the Hamer bridge from the original. Solid piece of kit. Hmm... pickups, I guess when I'm going for value and sound I have a ton of Toneriders in guitars. Rocksongs and Generators in the bridge and AC2 classics in the neck. Also have a couple of their P90's. No complaints at all. If I'm flush I maybe got for doub;e cream DImario Super Distortions. I like the look of double creams and they push an amp really well for the sound that I go for.
@@DunsysGuitarWorld cheers👍
Just stumbled across your video. Great stuff. Hamer guitars are great. I've never seen one of the graphics I didn't love. Glad you returned it to its roots.
Who was the person who designed the graphics?
Cheers Scott - yeah, what a mess was under that bridge when it arrived. I mean I knew it was a Kahler rout, but I had no idea it was done with a kitchen knife and a hammer! Can't remember the ladies name, but will check. She posts on the Hammer Fan Club page on Facebook.
@@DunsysGuitarWorld OK, thanks! Yeah, I did some stuff when I was young that looked awful, but the pick guard or whatever was normally on the guitar covered it up.
Im killing myself for giving up my HAMER , IT was my live jam axe for that era.
Such a comfy, well playing guitar. Super light too.
Sounds good to me bro
Thanks buddy!
On 4/23/81 i saw Ozzy play in Harrisburg PA. Motorhead opened the show ,but on one song i saw Randy Rhoads play a checkerboard Hamer explorer, i have never seen a picture or heard a word mentioned about this guitar, just one of those thongs that has stuck with me being a guitar freak, peace out.
Yeah, that's a strange one indeed! I've never seen Randy pictured with anything like that.
👍🏻👍🏻
Lovely guitar. Second hand prices on Hamer guitars don't seem to truly reflect the quality or rarity of them. I've always liked the LP double cut shape which is clearly the inspiration for the Hamer. I hadn't realised though until I briefly owned one, that the neck join is at the twentieth fret rather than the twenty second. It was obviously sound engineering practicality but it does make them feel quite different.
Yeah I guess there really weren't that many of the Graphic Specials made - here we are 40+ years later and even the Hamer Fan Group have only seen 33. If this was a Gibson of that rarity, I could sell it and retire, lol!
I love that type of shape... reminds me of the old Yamaha's and Ibanez Artists...... sad to see the butcher who owned it before you did what they did to it... still sounds pretty good though.
Quite the "customisation", that's for sure!
I have a 1983 Hamer black and white graphic special. mine has a les paul type bridge and saddle. same logo yet I don't have the checker board. it's weird cuz it's like it was never completely finished..
I really want to get an old Hamer and was curious about the neck size. Most people say their skinnier? but yours is a good size? I like 60s Gibson necks. Would you say this is more a 59 neck? thank you
I actually thought this would have a bigger neck when I got it! It feels about the same as my 2019 Gibson Special Tribute DC - which I think is their 60’s profile. It’s a great playing guitar.
@@DunsysGuitarWorld Yea-Some have .890 and some are .835 . I am trying to figure out if there were years or models that i can tell this. Take care...