I got a hamer guitar 20 years ago. I put it in the case and never used it. I opened the box the other day and the guitar is like new. It looks like the day I got it. I played it last night and it sounds so good...! I love it again.
This review helped me pull the trigger on a super clean and original 1992 Hamer USA Special today. Can't wait for it to arrive. Thx for the info and background.
Putting a Faber replacement bridge on my 1990 studio as I watch this. I wore the original saddles down to the actual bridge and it's been out of rotation. Until today! Absolutely sick guitars. T minus 30 mins until I hear it through a recently aquired valvestate 8200 \M/
I thought about it with this but it needs new strings and a setup first. Have a look at these 2 I did a few year back (my own guitars): ua-cam.com/video/c7RlS9ns9lo/v-deo.html /// ua-cam.com/video/cxe4XNUYSZs/v-deo.html
i actually just found a 1999 made in korea Hamer Sunburst (in sunburst cherry) with the limited run gold hardware. used. beauty. did a deep dive in research to figure out the model/color/specs/year. back then it was rosewood fingerboard and different humB pickups. "duncan inspired" i believe. and it's LIGHT. (yes, i bought it. 😂) $299 for a semi-vintage piece. totally not expecting that. but sometimes the guitar chooses you. was trying all the used offerings under a certain pricepoint. note: i hate gold hardware/jewelry/accents in general. WELL, picked this thing up and it was like it was made to be in my hands. had been meaning to eventually get a doublecut, probably green..... and here we are. love it though. i'm unnaturally attached to this thing, only brought it home last night. knew NOTHING about Hamer. (Hay-mer, research corrected me on how to say it haha. now i can't use a HAMMER TIME! joke. drat 😂) i wanna say that it's got one of the nicest paint jobs of a burst i've seen. i have a pet peeve how some of the gibsons LPs have 2 colors that are so far apart then *barely* fade the color in. so it's like a weird outline. like red on sort of yellowy/orangey. to me that looks cheap whereas a nice fade is $$$. can be gorgeous. personal pref, totally. anyway just spreading love for a company that had some major swings up and down, made cool guitars, and now RIP. (no longer any of the original people. but the designs are still more or less what they created. people argue about QC and parts and all that, but they always do, on everything haha.) FRETS....... also want to add that the metal is smooth AF, even the ends are completely rolled. it's insane. i know korea had high production/QC for quite a while on many brands and i think this was one of them. dunno if they still make there or if it is exclusively Indonesia and China these days.
Hamer today is not the Hamer of yesteryear. It's just a company using the Hamer brand name. None of them are made in the USA or Korea anymore. The last of the Korean Hamer's were the Deluxe import versions made between 2000 and 2002 as far as I know. Victor...
I've always loved Hamers but never owned one. But I do remember in the mid to late 80s there were some quality issues with their necks. Not all of them, but I did see some disasters like split necks from poor woodgrain selection and the dual action truss rod. A friend of mine who played at the Troubadour in Hollywood with his band on a weekly basis had a white Scarab. Looked cool, but the neck joint started to wobble, and it became unplayable and he started using a Guild Flyer. Otherwise, if you find any Hamers from the 70s and early 80s like the Sunburst, Explorers, Vs, Prototypes, they are all very well made, far far better than Gibson, at least as well made as top level PRS and Music Man.
hi, I have found one USA Eclipse here in Argentina. It's really hard to find it and I'm thinking about going for it. Please tell me somthing about the neck profile. Is something like 50's o 60's les paul? Wich would be a fair price for a well preserved and all original 1995 USA Hamer Eclipse? Thanks a Lot!
I don't know about 3 times cheaper than Gibson. Some models were. special, maybe sunburst. I bought a Sunburst in 79. I was looking at Gibson Les Paul Standard. I didn't care for the price. It a lot back then. Maybe 1500. The Sunburst I believe was around 850 with case. It felt much better to me and had great humbuckers in it so I bought it.
DiMarzios were common in Hamers till about 1986 when they came out with the Chapparal and Tile, etc., and started to load them with either Duncans or OBLs. Personally, I prefer DiMarzio.
@@leonthompson8988 Which model DiMarzios did Hamer's come loaded with? Super Distortions in the bridge and PAFs in the neck. That was very common. With Duncans it was the JB. It was not uncommon then (mid 80s) to see mixed sets, like a Chapparal with a JB bridge and OBL blade pups in the middle and neck. I did see some Hamers fully loaded with OBLs. I don't know what model, but I'd guess the 900. They didn't sound as good as the other Bill Lawrence pups, really on the sterile side, but extremely high output. The Duncans or just unbranded Hamer stock pups, probably "Slammers", sounded a lot better.
Hey Victor Nice guitar, did it come from US, just thought the rosewood cites etc stopped guitars going across the pond I sold. USA strat to a guy in US thru ebay and sale got cancelled due to this
@@FretFriendGWaL good to know thanks mate Seemed crazy I couldn't sell a guitar back to a guy in the country it was made I had exact same Hamer you've got, same Aztec Gold colour, except mine had the belly cut wish I'd kept it they are quite rare in UK
I got a hamer guitar 20 years ago. I put it in the case and never used it. I opened the box the other day and the guitar is like new. It looks like the day I got it. I played it last night and it sounds so good...! I love it again.
No such brand as Hammer to my knowledge!!! :D You mean Hamer right?
I am sorry...its a sunburst Hamer. I spelled it wrong.
This review helped me pull the trigger on a super clean and original 1992 Hamer USA Special today. Can't wait for it to arrive. Thx for the info and background.
You will love it. Victor :)
I had 2 specials , P-90 great guitar
Putting a Faber replacement bridge on my 1990 studio as I watch this. I wore the original saddles down to the actual bridge and it's been out of rotation. Until today! Absolutely sick guitars. T minus 30 mins until I hear it through a recently aquired valvestate 8200 \M/
Mine is not intonating correctly as it stands! However, I do have a brand new Gotoh bridge with more adjustment so may swap it over. Victor...
Still have my 1995 Custom Arch Top, will go to the grave with it
I've wanted one of these for years!
Was just about to comment Nottingham boy but then you came out with it
Proper Accent 👍🏻😁 being a Notts lad too
Nice catch Vic! It's me HHB!
Hey Bill :) You have a great channel there bro: subbed :D
Congratulations!!!!! Excellent purchase! Hahaha, Sold!!!!!! Enjoy!
Hamers are keepers....I bought a 96 studio custom used, 12 years ago, never gonna sell it....keep it!
My '95 Special FM ist an absolute beauty. I could have sold her a couple of times but hey... from my cold dead hands...
Nice guitar!! Love my USA Hamers.
This is a beaut! I was always about Explorers/Superstrats years ago but have mellowed. Love this Studio :)
@@FretFriendGWaL Great score! Enjoy it!
They are nice. I remember seeing pictures of Glenn Tipton and KK Downing with them years ago on tour.
Great guitar.
I wish you'd play these guitars on your videos Mr Sox.
I thought about it with this but it needs new strings and a setup first. Have a look at these 2 I did a few year back (my own guitars): ua-cam.com/video/c7RlS9ns9lo/v-deo.html /// ua-cam.com/video/cxe4XNUYSZs/v-deo.html
@@FretFriendGWaL Wow excellent stuff, thanks for sharing.
Good for you, great guitar
Awesome, looks like a PRS Santana which is really cool, congrats man. You deserve it.
Hamer were making guitars much earlier than Paul Reed Smith...
@@FretFriendGWaL oh awesome didn't know that, that explains a lot. Kuddos man with your new purchase
i actually just found a 1999 made in korea Hamer Sunburst (in sunburst cherry) with the limited run gold hardware. used. beauty. did a deep dive in research to figure out the model/color/specs/year. back then it was rosewood fingerboard and different humB pickups. "duncan inspired" i believe. and it's LIGHT. (yes, i bought it. 😂) $299 for a semi-vintage piece. totally not expecting that. but sometimes the guitar chooses you.
was trying all the used offerings under a certain pricepoint. note: i hate gold hardware/jewelry/accents in general. WELL, picked this thing up and it was like it was made to be in my hands. had been meaning to eventually get a doublecut, probably green..... and here we are. love it though. i'm unnaturally attached to this thing, only brought it home last night. knew NOTHING about Hamer. (Hay-mer, research corrected me on how to say it haha. now i can't use a HAMMER TIME! joke. drat 😂)
i wanna say that it's got one of the nicest paint jobs of a burst i've seen.
i have a pet peeve how some of the gibsons LPs have 2 colors that are so far apart then *barely* fade the color in. so it's like a weird outline. like red on sort of yellowy/orangey. to me that looks cheap whereas a nice fade is $$$. can be gorgeous. personal pref, totally.
anyway just spreading love for a company that had some major swings up and down, made cool guitars, and now RIP. (no longer any of the original people. but the designs are still more or less what they created. people argue about QC and parts and all that, but they always do, on everything haha.)
FRETS....... also want to add that the metal is smooth AF, even the ends are completely rolled. it's insane. i know korea had high production/QC for quite a while on many brands and i think this was one of them. dunno if they still make there or if it is exclusively Indonesia and China these days.
Hamer today is not the Hamer of yesteryear. It's just a company using the Hamer brand name. None of them are made in the USA or Korea anymore. The last of the Korean Hamer's were the Deluxe import versions made between 2000 and 2002 as far as I know. Victor...
Love that you got the HFC lowball offer in 😂😂
I've known Dave (lincsman on HFC) for years. He cut me a great deal :D
I've always loved Hamers but never owned one. But I do remember in the mid to late 80s there were some quality issues with their necks. Not all of them, but I did see some disasters like split necks from poor woodgrain selection and the dual action truss rod. A friend of mine who played at the Troubadour in Hollywood with his band on a weekly basis had a white Scarab. Looked cool, but the neck joint started to wobble, and it became unplayable and he started using a Guild Flyer. Otherwise, if you find any Hamers from the 70s and early 80s like the Sunburst, Explorers, Vs, Prototypes, they are all very well made, far far better than Gibson, at least as well made as top level PRS and Music Man.
hi, I have found one USA Eclipse here in Argentina. It's really hard to find it and I'm thinking about going for it. Please tell me somthing about the neck profile. Is something like 50's o 60's les paul? Wich would be a fair price for a well preserved and all original 1995 USA Hamer Eclipse? Thanks a Lot!
Hi... Sorry but I do not know. I do not own any Gibson guitars to compare. Google may be able to help more. Victor...
awesome
I don't know about 3 times cheaper than Gibson. Some models were. special, maybe sunburst. I bought a Sunburst in 79. I was looking at Gibson Les Paul Standard. I didn't care for the price. It a lot back then. Maybe 1500. The Sunburst I believe was around 850 with case. It felt much better to me and had great humbuckers in it so I bought it.
DiMarzios were common in Hamers till about 1986 when they came out with the Chapparal and Tile, etc., and started to load them with either Duncans or OBLs. Personally, I prefer DiMarzio.
Which model pups
@@leonthompson8988 Which model DiMarzios did Hamer's come loaded with? Super Distortions in the bridge and PAFs in the neck. That was very common. With Duncans it was the JB. It was not uncommon then (mid 80s) to see mixed sets, like a Chapparal with a JB bridge and OBL blade pups in the middle and neck. I did see some Hamers fully loaded with OBLs. I don't know what model, but I'd guess the 900. They didn't sound as good as the other Bill Lawrence pups, really on the sterile side, but extremely high output. The Duncans or just unbranded Hamer stock pups, probably "Slammers", sounded a lot better.
do you have any experience with the korean made ones?
I probably know as much about Korean-made Hamer guitars as anyone else on the planet yes! And I'm not showing off: what do you want to know?
Hey Victor Nice guitar, did it come from US, just thought the rosewood cites etc stopped guitars going across the pond
I sold. USA strat to a guy in US thru ebay and sale got cancelled due to this
The CITES restriction was removed in April 2020 for guitars buddy! I bought this from a pal in England (a fellow HFC'er). Regards, Victor...
@@FretFriendGWaL good to know thanks mate
Seemed crazy I couldn't sell a guitar back to a guy in the country it was made
I had exact same Hamer you've got, same Aztec Gold colour, except mine had the belly cut wish I'd kept it they are quite rare in UK