About 6 or 7 years ago I purchased a HAMER Sunburst “Quilt Maple” Guitar that is a double-cutaway design, different than my Les Paul or Godin LG Signature model electric guitars. It also has a thinner body style similar to a Gibson SG. It’s a perfect rock guitar with its DiMarzio DP100 “Super Distortion” and DP220 “D Activator Bridge” Humbucker Style Pickups. Once again it has been set-up with D’Addario ECG24 Chrome Jazz Light 11-50 Flat Wound Strings; I like to stick with what works for me. Why change what works; right?
I’d love to get my hands on an original, Vintage American Made HAMER model someday. That’s on my list of guitars to add to my collection. Check some of them out below.
HAMER Guitars
Here are some facts about the HAMER guitar line straight from their website at www.hamerguitars.com .
In 1973 a group of dedicated and passionate musicians submerged themselves in a Chicago basement to build modern guitars with a vibrant, vintage soul.
This troupe became HAMER Guitars.
Together they pioneered the "Modern Vintage" spirit and actually created the boutique guitar category. Today, HAMER Guitars is still a small, tightly-knit group of artisans committed to building instruments with undeniable character and flawless construction.
Each HAMER Guitar is truly hand-built.
Constructed in a manner unparalleled in the guitar industry. True to their roots, Jol and crew continue to define what an American guitar can be. We invite you to view and discover the difference between "good enough" and truly great. Come with us and join the few who dare to play the very best.
Custom Shop: Designer Gallery
"Triple Threat 2005" Limited Model
Designed in collaboration with, and only available at:
• Dave's Guitars, LaCrosse, Wisconsin
• Music Machine, Kennewick, Washington
• Wildwood Guitars, Louisville, Colorado
Designer's note:
"We are pleased to unveil a very special limited edition model that I call the Triple Threat. It's named after the three most unique features of the guitar and is a reference to three esteemed design collaborators at the dealerships that will exclusively offer this model this year. Each instrument is a little different—some tops are flat-sawn and some are quarter-sawn and all are under 8.5 lbs. In addition to our '59 burst, colors are Ic'd-T and Wash'd-T.
In order to capture a different timbre, we've employed a single element neck design crafted from aged honduras mahogany. To provide maximum stability we have used seasoned wood and allowed the finished necks to normalize for a long period before curving and fretting the Brazilian rosewood fingerboard.
The second bold feature is the 17 degree headstock angle which makes this instrument unique among modern HAMERS.The final touch is the use of a TonePros AVR II vintage style bridge and matching TonePros tailpiece in cast zinc. All hardware is nickel finish. This was a very fun project with a great group of people, but when these are gone... that's all folks!"
Korina Monaco III SubTone
"Tuned down to a low B, this rumbling instrument is the lazy-man's seven string solution! When your band mates play in any given key, you just move over one string higher and carry on like normal. Transposing couldn't be simpler. Of course when you play that open B chord (normal E chord fingering) the floor vibrates and the windows rattle.
Just to make things as lively as possible, we decided to make a single coil version based on the Monaco III. African Limba was selected to keep the highs airy and transparent too. This is a great songwriting tool. Even those same-old, tired old licks sound new and fresh when you play them on the Monaco SubTone."
The idea of a Monaco III in African Limba was a natural, but an even cooler choice for the longer-scale Subtone variant. There's so much going on with this instrument, but it isn't in your face about it. Of course, when you plug it in it will stop traffic.
Monaco Elite "Quilt Maple"
Carved front and back with matching covers and hand-wound pickups.
Designer's note:
"This was a real challenge to do because the Elite is a compact guitar and can easily be overwhelmed by a lot of fancy appointments. We brought this one right to the edge without going over."
Custom "Super Nova" sunburst over an Ultimate grade quilt maple top. Gold hardware and custom wiring. Fossilized ivory nut.
Custom wound pickups which are hand signed and engraved by S. W. Duncan. These pickups were created for this instrument and serial numbered to match the guitar.
Hand carved korina back with matching cover plates from the same billet of korina!
Hand-stacked celluloid binding with genuine pearl purfling around the entire guitar. Matching pearl "Victory" inlays set into a brazilian rosewood fingerboard.
This is just a sampling of the many different models that they still custom, hand build in USA. I only hope someday to can get my hands on one of these custom models above; boy are they beautiful. Well, I’ve got to get going for now, but I’ll be back at it tonight so that I’ll have something for you tomorrow. Stay tuned; don’t change your channel !
Have a great rest of your day and I’ll see you soon.
Bob
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