Likewise contemporary Gibsons and Fenders. First was the Phantom A5 guitar. Tuners were Grover Super Rotomatics, with the Art Deco buttons. The Korean Hamers tend to be somewhat sought after (as far as far-east imported guitars go). It otherwise shared the features and options available on the 12-String Bass. Focus Jan Akkermann Standard Untermyer served as a partner and international sales manager. The pickups are Semour Duncan,its neck thru and a double cut away body. After the relocation, the Artist Archtop became known as the Artist Custom, the name it carries today. Artist 25th Anniversary Hamer USA Phantom Cherry Sunburst Flame Top Guitar & Case $2,499 Used - Excellent Add to Cart Vox Phantom VI 1966 Black w/Vox Case $2,350 $100 price drop $2,250 Used - Very Good Add to Cart Warlock Phantom - Solid-body Mahogany Electric Guitar in Vintage White $1,450 $300 price drop $1,150 Brand New Free Shipping 14-Day Return Policy Add to Cart In 81, finish options included sunburst, transparent cherry, natural, yellow, green, opaque red, blue, green, orange, and black. Beginning in late 1987 serial numbers were again stamped into the wood. Single Cut LP Style $599.00 $40.00 shipping or Best Offer 30 watching The top has some awesome figuring that gives it a unique look. The headstock was the split-V three-and-three with a black face. The Blitz was outfitted with the two Hamer-spec DiMarzio humbuckers, now called Hamer Slammers. Hamer Guitars is generally considered the first "boutique" vintage-style electric guitar brand that specifically catered to professional musicians, and was the first guitar manufacturer to produce a 12 string bass guitar. The Artist Ultimate remains atop the Hamer line to this day. After the move, models that survived included the Standard, Special, Special FM (renamed the Special Custom), DuoTone, Eclipse, Mirage Maple Top, Archtop Artist (renamed the Artist Custom), Studio Archtop Artist (renamed Artist), Short-Scale 8-String Bass, Long-Scale Acoustic 12-String Bass, and CruiseBass. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. Hamer lives in Chicago, where he operates a retail framing business. In 98 the Import Series included the Sunburst Arch Top Flame Top (SATF), Standard (STD), Rick Nielsen Signature (RNS), Echotone (ECO), Stellar 1 (ST1), Californian (CAL), Diablo (DAB), and Cruise 4 (CRS) and Cruise 5 (CRV) basses. This was essentially the same as the Archtop Artist, except it lacked body and fingerboard binding, and had dot inlays. 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). The board was adorned with pearl crown inlays. Hamer Guitars Inc. was incorporated in Illinois in 1976 by John Montgomery, Jol Dantzig, Paul Hamer and James Walker. The neck is carved from the same choice mahogany and is reinforced with a carbon steel trussrod that is fully adjustable. Vintage guitars were called used guitars in those days, laughs Dantzig. The beginnings of Hamer Guitars (pronounced Hay'-mer, not hammer) go back to those heady days of the early '70s, when Chicago was the breeding ground of soon-to-be-famous rock bands such as REO Speedwagon, Styx, and Cheap Trick. Blues Brothers John Belushi Sunburst Technically speaking, Dantzigs 73 Flying V bass was the first Hamer, the model never went into production. Basses Numbers were stamped on the guitars, either in ink or black paint, or in yellow on dark instruments. Unlike many, I believe Hamer never dyed their tops to make maple pop, but yet the maple always 'rolled'. I was going to get one a while back, but ended up with another Gibson. The Phantom had a Honduras mahogany body, glued-in neck, three-and-three headstock, 22-fret rosewood fingerboard, dot inlays, finetune bridge and stop tailpiece. Dantzig still has that first bass. 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. The Who Pete Townshend Sunburst We didnt quite get it, explains company cofounder Jol Dantzig, discussing the birth of Hamer Guitars. The Phantom Custom remains in the line to this day. However, this first version did not survive through 84. Hudson Falls, New York, 128**, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. A slightly downscale version of the Sunburst was originally released in 1980. The primary difference between the new Phantom and the old Prototype was pickup selection. Surprise, AZ. Hall & Oates Daryl Hall Mandocello, Mandar reserved. 1974 Original Gibson PAF humbuckers (many rewound by DiMarzio) The guitar is pretty much mint with no fretware at all. Cheap Trick Rick Nielsen Standards (7), Sunburst He liked to shake hands, Dantzig explains. Also beginning in 87 Hamer began using Seymour Duncan pickups. Free shipping. Please Note: For product service outside the U.S. and Canada, please contact either the Dealer from whom you purchased the product, or the Authorized Gretsch Distributor in your area for information and assistance. Still living off income from selling the collection, Hamer and Dantzig looked for help, and found it in 78 in the person of Frank Untermeyer, a fellow getting a Masters Degree in international business at the University of Wisconsin. This did not really make good business sense. Artist Ultimate The Rolling Stones Ron Wood Standard I came across a Hamer guitar that is made in Korea, sort of a red subtle flame color with 2 hum buckers. Rick Nielsen Limited Edition Hamers Korean Imports carry the Hamer logo (no USA, see the sidebar on logos). As with the Gibson, this was a limited edition guitar. Several ads were reproduced, including one for Pastore Music of Union City, New Jersey, promoting Hamer and Travis Bean guitars, Risson and Orange amps, Anvil cases, and Tychobrahe effects pedals; a good snapshot of a real guitar shop of the times. In 1997 Kaman Music relocated Hamer to a small shop in New Hartford, Connecticut, home of Ovation Guitars. Get the best deal for Hamer Electric Guitars from the largest online selection at eBay.ca. The second Hamer was an Explorer copy made for Paul in 74. TGP is the best! Bad Company Mick Ralphs Standard It differed from Actually, this is misleading because, as weve documented, the company really began in 73 and kind of evolved into existence over the next couple of years. At some point after 83, vibratos were available, and in 84 a few were made with Kahler flat-mount vibratos. . Hamer Guitars was founded in 1973 by Jol Dantzig and Paul Hamer in Wilmette, Illinois. Also want to say its very nice with absolutely no fretware. The Artist Archtop (sometimes also called the Artist Arched Top or Archtop Artist -fun, eh?) 1975-85 DiMarzio X2N (with or without active preamp) Until this point, Hamer guitars were essentially derivative, inspired by Gibson designs. We used to literally sell crates of old guitars maybe 75 instruments at a time to Australia and Japan, where buyers would pay twice what Americans would pay, recalls Dantzig, who quickly amassed a huge collection that included some of the earliest Broadcasters, P-Basses, Strats, and Les Paul Standards a stash many would kill for today. Later Vectors switched to a triangular-shaped headstock similar to the Gibson style. 1995 Seymour Duncan. Another custom guitar was a seafoam green Teardrop made for Elliott Easton. After all, a late-50s Les Paul was just a little more than 10 years old.. The body was Honduras mahogany with an optional unbound flamed-maple top. It remains available. Petersson was playing a Hagstrom eight-string bass as the time. Built with a full depth Kaman Music agreed to purchase Hamer in late 1988. Ten employees were relocated to New Hartford along with Dantzig, who was re-hired as technical director. By 80 most models used this second system. A streamlined version, the Phantom GT, was also offered beginning in 84. I wouldn't say you're getting hosed on the deal. So our perspective has always been a little skewed. The pickups are Duncan "designed" but they seemed pretty good. Untermyer had the dual role of general manager of both Hamer and Ovation. It was available in two versions the Custom (Model GTSC) and Standard (Model GTSS). $250. Bridge units on the multi-string basses were of Hamers design, allowing individual intonation of each string. McCarty was not impressed with the new Hamers and reminded Dantzig that the Explorer had been a failure when it was first introduced. Kaman Music was then approached to handle sales, while the remaining owners concentrated on manufacturing. Sweet Andy Scott Standard Untermeyer was initially interested in joining the enterprise as its international sales manager, but he had some money and was convinced to become a partner. These were offered in Black, Cherry Transparent, Candy Green, Ferrari Red, and Vintage Orange. In December 2012, Fender announced that Hamer would no longer produce guitars and the company would cease to operate. Instead, they decided to create their dream guitars, new guitars worthy of the respect they gave to the vintage ones. Listed: 8 months ago Views: 1498 Watchers: 38 Production was reportedly around 10 guitars per week. Founded in New York by a Greek violin maker and luthier, the Epiphone name came from Epi Stathopoulo, the founder's son and company president. Bad Company Boz Burrell Standard cond. Recent stoptail models are generally fitted with Schaller tune-o-matic bridges and tailpiece, including the Archtop, Special and Standard reissue. Beginning in 1977 with the Sunburst, a new system was initiated in which the first digit represents the year and the following numbers (four or more) are the running total of all guitars numbered using this method (Y XXXX). Off Broadway John Ivan Sunbursts (4) The guitar has quailities of Sunburst and Standard. Relocation This article originally appeared in VGs June 00 issue. Replacing the former P and J-style pickups were a pair of Duncan Vintage Jazz J-style units, one pickguard-mounted, the other on the top near the Gotoh bridge/tailpiece assembly. Mine was made at the Cort factory in 92 but I can't say for sure if all Slammer Series were made by Cort. Ca. Dantzig and Hamer did well with their business. These were used on virtually all two-humbucker Hamers up to 82. The 22-fret rosewood fingerboard had a 251/2 scale, dot inlays, and a Hamer three-and-three head. 82 most came with passive DiMarzio P and J-type, with exposed polepieces. 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. He had to sell it off piece by piece to keep the company afloat. The latest addition to the USA line is the Newport, also introduced in 99. This model came in honey, kool blue, and red transparent. Joining the Prototype later in 83 was the Prototype II, which added a slanted single-coil pickup in the neck position and a top-mounted Kahler double-locking vibrato system. Electric Guitar Hamer Slammer Series Made in Korea S/N 6016108 with Soft Case. A mini-toggle bypassed the volume control for instant lead mode. Beginning in 85, Alembic Activator pickups were offered as a $250 option. Find great deals and sell your items for free. The Special The staff had grown to 12 and Hamer Guitars continued to launch new models, such as the "Special", "Cruisebass", "Prototype", "Blitz" and "Phantom". Before this expansion Hamer's customers were limited to big-name touring groups such as Kiss, Bad Company, Wishbone Ash, Jethro Tull and Savoy Brown. The Sustain-block vibrato basically used the same components as the fixed version, with the bridge pivoting on two points. By 1930, and already known as a banjo maker, Epiphone was offering its Masterbilt guitars, and it went on to rival Gibson as the top jazz guitar maker of the era with its Emperor and other archtop models. The Five was essentially the same as the four-string except for having a 2-Tek bridge/tailpiece mounted through the body, and the addition of a fifth tuner on the bottom of the headstock. The pickguard was a natty laminated tortoise affair, sort of oval extending under the strings from the neck, but with a kind of batwing extension over the treble cutaway horn. Hamer never had guitars made in Japan. Fender instruments made after the CBS takeover in 65 had gotten a bad rap from guitarists by the end of the 60s, based in part on some quality control problems and the infamous three-bolt neck controversy (Fender engineers felt four bolts were overkill and they could save money without sacrificing stability; players didnt see it that way). . 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. If so I'll own it,I'll let you all know how I made out and once again thanks for all the replies and info. Kaman marketed a lower-priced line of Asian-built instruments called the Hamer XT Series and Slammer by Hamer, which was discontinued in 2009. 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. 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. Hardshell cases for Standards and Basses were $129.90, $119.90 for the Sunbursts and Special. In 78, Tom Petersson, bassist with Cheap Trick, challenged Hamer to build him a 12-string bass, a request that was a harbinger. 18 watching. Controls were two volumes and one common midrange tone, with the three-way again behind the bridge. Other out there models included various doublenecks, a Standard-shaped mandocello (mandocello scale with double strings tuned in fifths), a mandar (Standard-shaped with four pairs of strings tuned as a mandolin, but in a guitar scale), and at least one 20-string harp guitar (six-string neck with seven tunable sympathetic strings on either side). In 98, Hamer hooked up again with long-time supporter and enthusiast Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick to develop the Rick Nielsen Limited Edition. ), a triple-coil pickup, hand-delivered to Easton just before the Cars played on an episode of Saturday Night Live. Easton took the guitar from Dantzig and went onstage with it! Recently, the CruiseBass began to offer an option 2-Tek bridge. After five years with Kaman, Dantzig left the company in 1993, moving to California to begin a design and consulting business. These Slammer by Hamers were probably available through the move to Connecticut. The Standard lasted only through 97 and the move, when it became part of the Import series. Thats how he ended up with #0000, which he still has, recalls Dantzig. They reasoned their shop was selling guitars to players who would put down $2,500 or $3,000 for a vintage Les Paul, but didnt want to take them on the road for fear of breaking them or having them stolen. To much flex so bending notes and chords out of tune to easily, Some of the add-ons on this site are powered by. Reactions: modavis99, cmatthes, Guitarzandstuff and 4 others. 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!). The pickguard was laminated pearloid. 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! When we created Hamer, we created the high-end boutique guitar category, but we didnt intend it that way. They gave this guitar the serial number 0000. Free shipping on many items | Browse your favorite brands | affordable prices. As mentioned, ca. Beginning in 85 most were fitted with Hamer Slammers (by DiMarzio), which feature covers, not open coils. Jethro Tull Ian Anderson Standard, Sunburst I love the guitar and I don't feel like I overpaid at all. Basically, Dantzig and Hamer considered most 60s guitars a joke. From 86 to 88 some came with German OBL pickups, including HB types. The Eclipses were eclipsed in 98. This is my tribute to the fine guitars and basses made by Hamer USA. They copied the Explorer shape but added the flamed maple top and binding of a Les Paul Standard. Colors were Amberburst and Vintage Orange. 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). Part of the early Hamer philosophy was making guitars the way Gibson did when Ted McCarty was running the company. Basically, the Blitz guitar was an Explorer with a glued-in Hamer neck with the tapered three-and-three headstock. Besides, I thought guitarmaking was going to be a short run and Id end up a famous musician or race car driver or something. Then he quickly quips, But Dantzig is still available.. A similar Newport Pro model was also offered, identical except for a pair of Duncan Seth Lover humbuckers and a stop tailpiece. Rockpile Dave Edmunds Sunburst 2023 Hamer Guitars | Hamer Guitars is a division of JAM USA LLC. Well, we near the end of the long tale of Hamer USA Guitars, a saga that began in the early 1970s and is today a great success story in American guitardom. These were outfitted with a 12-saddle bridge and stop tailpiece. Only a 3 way tangle and 1 volume and 1 tone control. The Phantom guitar series lasted through 86. Otherwise it was similar to the Sunburst. You will find original articles, full lists of Hamer USA models as well as old catalogues and articles from various sources. The Phantom Maybe $265.00 aint bad? . Pickups on the Import Series were Duncan Designed. Serial number 0001 went to Ted Turner in 75. 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]. Hamer Guitars 'da BOMB ! The 12-String Bass was offered until 97.
