During that time, the company gained more popularity due to the high-profile patronage of Cheap Trick guitarist Rick Nielsen and that group's use of Hamer eight- and 12-string basses. Pickups include two Duncan Phat Cat single-coils, with three-way select, volume, and tone controls. Eventually, Hamer began to stamp its name into the baseplates of the pickups, and these would come to be known as Hamer Slammer pickups (they dont rhyme!). Phantom Revisited The bridge was the Sustain Block with strings passing through the body. Early Standards had Grover tuners, though these changed to Schallers in 79 or 80. Cheap Trick had also ordered at least one 10-string bass for Petersson (one octave string on the G and D, two octave strings on the A and E), and a custom 12-string guitar for Robin Zander. Single Cut LP Style $599.00 $40.00 shipping or Best Offer 30 watching These, too, would come in handy before long. The body was now made of alder, and the maple neck was bolted on, with the four-in-line headstock. At the end of 96, the Hamer line consisted of the Standard, Special, Special FM, Vintage S, T-51, Californian Elite, Californian Custom, Diablo, Diablo II, Daytona, DuoTone, Eclipse, Mirage, Mirage Maple Top, Archtop Artist, Studio Archtop Artist, Short-Scale 8-String Bass, Short-Scale 12-String Bass, Long-Scale Acoustic 12-String Bass, 12-String Chaparral Bass, and CruiseBass. The top has some awesome figuring that gives it a unique look. Guitar #8 0196 would be from 1978 and was the 196th guitar numbered that way. Find great deals and sell your items for free. Electric Guitar Hamer Slammer Series Made in Korea S/N 6016108 with Soft Case. Shoes Gary Klebe Standard, Sunbursts (2) 1982-85 DiMarzio P- and J-type (open-coil, passive) The Vector It remains available. The Import Echotone and Stellar 1 did not have USA equivalents. By around 82, Hamer had turned the corner on the road to success. Most recent guitars feature Duncans, though the Diablo has DiMarzios, and, again, a customer may order any other type of pickup. The result was the cleverly named 12-String Bass. To his dismay, McCarty couldnt care less about guitars. Teenage Radiation Steve Dahl Sunburst 1977. However, the truly deluxe features were 25th Anniversary engraved sterling silver truss rod cover and back control plate, a line of sterling silver purfling on the inside of the body binding, and a special silver-colored hardshell case! Blues Brothers Matt Murphy Sunburst In 1977 the company set up shop in Palatine, Illinois and employed seven workers. The MONF-CS is visually stunning with a Cherry Sunburst Also in 97, Hamer reintroduced one of its earliest original designs, the Prototype, using another model name, the Phantom (PHAN). Hardware was gold. They remain in the line. The Import Stellar 1 was clearly a nod to the success of Paul Reed Smith guitars, with slightly offset double-cutaways, the upper horn extended a bit. This first version of the Special lasted until 84. The treble horn had a white pickguard with a Rick Nielsen logo. Tony Williams Band Tony Williams Sunburst 2023 Hamer Guitars | Hamer Guitars is a division of JAM USA LLC. Hamer uses 2 serial numbering systems. The neck is glued in, with the three-and-three headstock. $100. Finally, all three Cruisebasses were available in fretless versions (Models BCRTF, BCRSF, and BC5TF) identical except for a Madagascar ebony fingerboard inlaid with maple markers. This had the Prototypes equal double-cutaway body with the extended upper horn and rounded lower bout. When the headstock on the Blitz was changed to an angled version, a Floyd Rose was employed. Prior to that point production had been one-off custom variations on the original "Standard" and "Flying V" guitars. I was going to get one a while back, but ended up with another Gibson. I came across a Hamer guitar that is made in Korea, sort of a red subtle flame color with 2 hum buckers. $100. I don't know what years they were made but it looks good and played well. Posted July 12, 2013 On 7/12/2013 at 12:52 PM, serial said: Post pics and we can help a lot more. The Echotone was basically a version of the semi-hollowbody Gibson ES-335. 4,012. It differed from the Sunburst mainly in that it lacked binding. TGP is the best! There was a small black pickup, three-way select, volume and tone controls. Hey Fitz,that is the same guitar only the one I'm looking at is red,2 knobs with Duncan pickups. It has a chip mark in back and the wood is light tan. Controls were two volumes and one common midrange tone, with the three-way again behind the bridge. In any case, Dantzig and Hamer decided to build a hybrid of their favorite guitars. The latest addition to the USA line is the Newport, also introduced in 99. Only a 3 way tangle and 1 volume and 1 tone control. Finish was a brownish-red called Cognac. We took so long to make his guitar that we just gave him Pauls to satisfy him.. The first Hamer guitar, a Flying V bass, was built at Northern Prairie Music, a vintage instrument shop in Wilmette, Illinois, owned by Hamer and Dantzig. For more tonal flexibility, in the middle position, the pickups were out-of-phase. These were used on virtually all two-humbucker Hamers up to 82. This differed from the regular edition in that it sported a bound flamed maple top (even the f-hole was bound) and a bound ebony fingerboard (and head) with pearl crown inlays. The Import Series, sometimes called the Hamer Guitar, was intended to be the companys mid-line offering. At some point after 83, vibratos were available, and in 84 a few were made with Kahler flat-mount vibratos. Tuners were the Art Deco Grover Super Rotomatics. Hamer DC Flame Maple Studio Archtop Guitar Tonerider P90 Pickups Made in Korea . The Import Standard basically replaced the old USA Standard. Other features similar to the Sunburst Archtop included a mahogany neck, Hamer three-and-three headstock (blackface), a bound 22-fret, 243/4 scale rosewood fingerboard with crown inlays, finetune bridge, stop tailpiece, twin humbuckers, three-way select, volume, and two tones. Hamer Guitars Inc. was incorporated in Illinois in 1976 by John Montgomery, Jol Dantzig, Paul Hamer and James Walker. The Hamer Import Series remains available to this day. JavaScript is disabled. However, PAFs were designed for jazz players in the 50s. You guys have sold me on it,I will contact seller tomorrow to see if he still has it. At this time the woodworking was being subcontracted to the Tom Holmes Company in Nashville, Tennessee, with the painting and setup (stringing) being done in the Palatine shop. Color options were Cherry Sunburst, Purpleburst and Blueburst. Early Hamer 8-String and Standard Basses were fitted with DiMarzio X2N bass pickups, often with an active preamp. Instead of a lever, the Phantom Custom featured a five-way rotary selector which offered the neck single-coil, neck and bridge single-coils, bridge single-coil, all three bridge coils, and the bridge humbucker plus master volume and tone. They were, in fact, one of the early vintage guitar stores, before there was such a thing as the vintage scene we know today. But his real passion was for this new product he had, called the Flex Light. Cruising . Fender Precision . The name had changed but the appearance was still generic. Most early Hamer catalogs do not have a copyright date, but you can get a clue by referring to the address. Last month I was on vacation in Austin and happened on an Indonesian P90 Sunburst. Hamer then began concentrating on a core of high-quality designs targeted at the high-end and collector market. . Recent stoptail models are generally fitted with Schaller tune-o-matic bridges and tailpiece, including the Archtop, Special and Standard reissue. It had no serial number, and when it was done, Dantzig began to take it to gigs. It may look like a one-trick ponybut what a ride. . Get the best deals on Hamer when you shop the largest online selection at eBay.com. Pickup control changed to a five-way select on the pickguard. Controls were a three-way select, with two volume and one tone control. Otherwise it was similar to the Sunburst. Dantzig controlled 60 percent of the stock, the rest was split between Hamer and Untermeyer. Through a friend, guitarist Gary Gant, Dantzig met another guitar player named Paul Hamer, and the two struck up a friendship. The pickguard was laminated pearloid. Questioned why the truss rod cover said "Sunburst", they didn't know so I bargained on the price and got it for $175 with a free PRS gig bag. Soon they were selling vintage guitars to some of the biggest bands of the time, including Bad Company, Wishbone Ash, and many other big-name outfits. Futura was not the official name of this model. Also, by 85, if not before, basses could be had in fretless versions for no extra charge. The firm initially specialised in high-spec eye candy based on Gibson's Flying V (the Vector) and Explorer (the Standard) models. By 96 the name had changed to become simply the Artist Studio (Model GATA-SO). Hamer display at Ed Roman Guitars HAMER VIRTUOSO 36 Frets, Very Rare Model, Ed Roman usually has one available No Longer Being Built High Quality Replica's Available From Abstract Guitars The Abstract Replicas Are Only Available On Discontinued Hamer Models We Have Done Our Best To Recreate These Guitars With As Many Improvements as Possible. This was essentially the same as the 12-String Bass except it had only one course of octave strings above the principal string and, of course, four fewer tuners. Futura is the name applied to some early 58 Gibson Explorers which were closer to the prototype sketch in the patent application than subsequent production models. Finishes included 59 Burst, Honey, Kool Blue, Red Transparent and Tobacco Sunburst. Again, any kind of pickup may have been ordered by the original customer. In other words, while you may encounter mostly standard Standards as shown in brochures and ads, there are also many special features that occasionally show up. The first few Standards were fitted with original Gibson PAF humbuckers, many of them non-functioning units obtained from the repair shop at the Gibson factory in Kalamazoo and rewound by Larry DiMarzio. The first Hamer guitar made (in 73) was a short-scale Flying V bass built for Dantzig. Hamer did get lots of good publicity, however. Technically speaking, Dantzigs 73 Flying V bass was the first Hamer, the model never went into production. The new version (Model BCRS) was redesigned to have a much more rounded form, much closer to a Fender bass design, just slightly more exaggerated waists. Artist Ultimate Around the time of the move Hamer introduced another variation on its semi-hollow Artist guitar, a top-of-the-line Hamer Artist Ultimate (ARTULT). They gave this guitar the serial number 0000. Later Vectors switched to a triangular-shaped headstock similar to the Gibson style. The Artist Archtop (sometimes also called the Artist Arched Top or Archtop Artist -fun, eh?) Ca. The Mirage, also introduced in 94, was another upscale model in an upscale world. Pickups were initially the same Hamer-spec DiMarzio PAFs, which by 83 had become re-dubbed Hamer Slammers. We didnt quite get it, explains company cofounder Jol Dantzig, discussing the birth of Hamer Guitars. In 84, the Phantom A5 changed to a second version basically the same as the earlier one, except it featured a six-in-line headstock and Kahler Flat-Mount vibrato system was standard. These had much narrower waists than the typical Explorer, plus an asymmetrical split-V headstock (kind of a lopsided version of a Dean head), as opposed to the scimitar. Where are Hamer Slammer guitars made? Pickups on the Import Series were Duncan Designed. However, in the new vintage environment of the 90s, the model was revived in 95. McCarty was not impressed with the new Hamers and reminded Dantzig that the Explorer had been a failure when it was first introduced. The Phantom A5 was available with Sustain Block string-through bridge or a new Sustain Block Tremolo vibrato, which basically transformed the fixed bridge into a non-locking Fender-style vibrato. In March of 80 the Standard with dots listed at $1,199.95, Standard with crowns $1,299.95, the 8-String Bass was $1,499.95, 12-String Bass $1,700, 12-String Quadbass $2,000, Sunburst with dots $799.90, Sunburst with crowns $869.90, and the Special was $699.90. Looking at the company today, its interesting that Hamer still has somewhat of an ambivalent image, somewhere between high-end boutique and budget vintage, perhaps best summarized (yea, perpetuated) by its own well-used advertising slogan, modern vintage. Well, after surviving this long, Hamer can now lay claim to some real vintage guitars, too. There were two primary differences; first the Artist Archtop was a semi-hollowbody with a sound chamber and f-hole, and the second was in pickups, which were Seymour Duncan Seth Lovers. This first Hamer pretty much replicated a Gibson Flying V. It had a variety of pickups, though the bridge pickup was always a Gibson EB-3. instrument. Sunburst The Phantom came in two-tone sunburst, black, and TV blond finishes. Pickups were now Seymour Duncans. 4 String Bass Guitar. Upgraded with a solid Maple top on Mahogany body, the tone is beefy yet Except for the bound flame top, the Standard was pretty close to a Gibson. Free shipping. In 1980, Hamer moved to larger quarters in Arlington Heights, a suburb of Chicago. Soon, this guitar would become known as the Standard. Untermyer left the company in 2012 and now oversees the global supply chain of guitar manufacturer C. F. Martin & Company. Untermyer had the dual role of general manager of both Hamer and Ovation. Recently, the CruiseBass began to offer an option 2-Tek bridge. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited. This article originally appeared in VGs June 00 issue. This was a spectacular guitar, substantially the same as the carved-top Artist but with some extra-fancy features. Hamer Blitz 1983 Explorer Midnight Blue Electric Guitar $2,495.00 $75.00 shipping or Best Offer 24 watching body only Slammer Hamer Electric Guitar body only project $30.00 $18.50 shipping or Best Offer 16 watching Hamer Monaco Special K Electric Guitar with P-90 pickups. 2023 Hamer Guitars | Hamer Guitars is a division of JAM USA LLC. fingerboard that is capped off with classy victory inlays. Hamer offered a wide array of electric guitars and electric basses and since its foundation, placed an emphasis on producing high-quality instruments with vintage aesthetics as well as creative innovations.[3]. Jul 4, 2015. Surprise, AZ. Cheap Trick Rick Nielsen Standards (7), Sunburst C $853.11. The 243/4 scale, 22-fret rosewood fingerboard was unbound with dots, joining the body at 21 for excellent access. Hardshell cases for Standards and Basses were $129.90, $119.90 for the Sunbursts and Special. cond. We were seeing vintage 50s Les Pauls selling for $3,000. Pezband Tommy Gawenda Sunburst Slammer by Hamers available in late 98 included the Pacer PCC3 (Strat copy with pickguard, three single-coils, traditional vibrato), Centaura CT21 (superstrat with humbucker/single/single pickups and locking Floyd Rose), Special SP1 (Special shape, solid wood, twin buckers), Special 2 SP2 (single-cutaway modified Les Paul shape with body binding), XP-Standard XP1 (Explorer with pickguard), Vector VK1 (Flying V with Modern-style V-head), Chaparral Bass CP4 (one P-style pickup), and the Blitz Bass BZ4 (two J-style pickups). Unlike many, I believe Hamer never dyed their tops to make maple pop, but yet the maple always 'rolled'. Not resting on its laurels, yet two more new Hamer models debuted in 94 the Eclipse and the Mirage. It was from this perspective that Dantzig and Hamer began to hawk their guitars. Color options in 96 included two-tone sunburst, black cherry burst, candy red, candy blue, candy green, emerald green, and white transparent. In 76, a meeting was called with everyone who worked at Northern Prairie Music Dantzig, Hamer and two repair guys. This was similar to the Prototype II except for a more dramatically extended upper-cutaway horn and a contoured body with offset waists. Eschewing the fine-tune bridge and stop tailpiece of the Standard, Sunbursts featured a one-piece bridge/tailpiece assembly similar to that found on a stoptail Strat, with adjustable saddles and strings passing through the body. Dantzig recalls getting more and more requests for instruments they didnt think they could make, but took the plunge and eventually built them. One thing led to another and in 73 Dantzig and Hamer opened a music store called Northern Prairie Music in the northwestern suburb of Wilmette, Illinois. Next month, well pick up the Hamer chronicles as the company begins to pick up steam in the early to mid 80s.