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Posts: 117
| A lot of people here seem to be hamer fans. I've never seen a hamer at a shop around here. I might check out a small shop called Uncle Bob's Music again, to see if they have any, but I don't think I saw any there.
Anyway, I was wondering if you guys have any low end Hamers (around 500 dollars maybe?), and would recommend them. I like the explorer shape especially, and the double cutaway ones that look like the USA Studio or whatever. |
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Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | Here's a place to start... Under $400, maybe... |
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December 2005
Posts: 117
| Yeah. I have been looking at some pretty cheap ones on ebay. I'm just looking for opinions on the lower end, non-US models. |
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Posts: 2804
Location: ranson,wva | ive played a few slammers and i think they are a verry nice solid for the cash.....jason |
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December 2005
Posts: 117
| Whoa. What's slammer? I saw on their site there are US Hamers, then XP series or something hamers, which I thought were the foreign made ones. What are Slammers? Is it like the Applause vs celebrity type of thing? |
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Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | This is a Slammer Made in Korea.
Get it for cheap! Maybe... |
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Posts: 1817
Location: Minden, Nebraska | The good Slammers were made in Korea in the mid-90's. The headstock had a large Hamer logo with Slammer Series underneath. The later ones aren't as good, imho. I have had just about every model of the early ones, and they are good values if bought right.
However, I just sold a USA Daytona in excellent shape for $475 (my last Hamer for now). If you patiently look around, you can find a USA Hamer for under $500 and it will not only be a guitar far superior to the Slammers, but dollar for dollar superior to a Gibson. |
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Location: 6 String Ranch | All that is true, if you're patient you'll find something nice. |
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Location: Phoenix AZ | I used to own a Hamer import called the "QTSB" or something like that. For $400. it was actually pretty darn nice. The electronics were better than expected. Only issue was that I had to have a good setup and smooth the fret edges. Tuners were cheap so they got replaced. I spent $150. getting it tip top, but even with that you be hard pressed to find a better instrument for the money. Far better than any Epeephone or Fender of similar price. Any way better looking.
Dave
HAMER SBQT |
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Location: Stow, Ohio | Here is an inexpensive one :D :D :D :D :D :p
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Location: Stow, Ohio | Seriously, most of those import guitars come out of factories owned by Samick. |
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Location: Waurika OK | What Paul B. said. If you like strat style, there is no reason that you would not like a Daytona.
A couple of years ago I bought a Hamer import, not a slammer, for $199 on eBay. It had a finish blemish in a place that made it practically un-noticable. It was a Gold top with 2 P90 pups. My son has it now. Really looked nice and played great. |
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Location: ranson,wva | what about a ultra gs? ive seen those sell kinda cheap....and ive heard that they will outplay a strat for a 1/4 of the cost....jason |
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Location: Capital District, NY, USA Minor Outlying Islands | I can recommend:
The Hamer Satq or the the reverend volcano.
The satq is a double cutaway. The volcano, is a v shaped guitar, not an explorer type.
Both are very nice, lot's of guitar for the money.
The Hamer's made in china, the reverend in Korea.
I'd lean towards the reverend, but the Hamer's great too. |
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Posts: 12761
Location: Boise, Idaho | I don't play well enough to tell how an Ultra GS compares to anything. I talked a friend into buying one and it had a broken neck. He just got a new neck from Miles and now it is his favorite guitar out of the 6 or so solidbodies he has. |
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December 2005
Posts: 117
| Have any of you guys played a Hamer Standard? I really like the look of those. Nowhere around here sells em. One guitar store near here has ONE hamer, and it's a really expensive studio something or other.
Does this guitar have a thin neck like an ibanez or a fat neck like a strat? I don't know how to describe that... is that the radius? It feels so much easier for me to play on the thin ones. |
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Location: Boise, Idaho | I just got my second Ultra GS off ebay. $132.50. I can't help it if you guys are sleeping. I don't think I'll buy another unless I find one for under $100, but that's just because I now have 2 and hardly play them. They are a great guitar and they are available cheap. |
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| What is the neck like on that? Do you think it's the same kind of neck as on a Standard? |
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Location: Boise, Idaho | I have no idea. I was just talking to a guy who said the neck was like his Strat, but I don't know if it's a Standard. |
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December 2005
Posts: 117
| Man. I want a neck like an Ibanez. I might end up going with an Ibanez. I like the really thin necks on every one of them I've played. I was wondering of a Hamer Standard(Explorer clone) has the same kind of neck or more of a strat type neck. |
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Posts: 117
| I'm thinking about snagging this puppy:
http://milwaukee.craigslist.org/msg/333444645.html
Anyone played one of these? |
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Posts: 2850
Location: Midland, MI | That's one of the imports, not a USian model. For the money, they're decent imports, although I haven't played a Standard import (or a USian Standard for that matter, I don't like Exploder style bodies). Like many imports, it may be 'good enough,' but there is some potential improvement by replacing pups, pots, wiring, tuners, etc.
Then again, if you're going to replace everything but the body and neck at additional cost...
Others may have direct experience with that model. I don't. I also don't own any import Hamers, although I've played a few. I do own a mid-90s Special ( The Saturday Night Special ). For boutique, custom shop quality build and appointments, you can't beat it; especially not for the $500 I gave (shipped with non-OHSC and a spare pair of Virtual P90s). I did own the most beautiful Studio FM ever built (courtesy of Al) but managed to 'get real stupid' a couple of years ago. :( :( :(
Bang for the buck...mid 90s Hamers, especially Specials and Studios (slab top and carved double cuts). But, that's just my $0.02. There are a lot of people that know a lot more about Hamers than I do. Some of them even lurk/post here! ;)
Heck, as long as I'm sharing my uninformed opinion...Edy's Dibbs in chocolate over chocolate variety are the best freaking hot weather snack I've had in a long time. :p |
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| The guy who is selling it replaced the bridge pickup, the nut, the tuners, and had it rewired. He also added a strap button in the front.
Are the imports that bad? I've heard that they are much better than most imports, especially Epiphones and the like. Also, the USA version is 2000+ dollars... I could be getting this for 375 or even a little less, with upgrades and an OHSC. |
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Posts: 2850
Location: Midland, MI | The imports are not bad, that's not what I posted; at least that's not what I meant. As far as imports go, the general consensus seems to be that they're on the upper end of the scale. In general, I think that the non-entry level imports of today, regardless of brand, are "good enough." The Hamers are on the upper end of that good.
I commented, initially, on the mods the seller made, but took it out. What I was going to post was, "The seller has made some changes, but only you know if you consider those to be upgrades." I can't remember why I took it out, but hey, there you have it.
I'm not telling you to not buy it. I'm not telling you to buy it. I was just giving my general opinion, based on some in-hand noodling (man, that sounds bad!) of a couple Hamer (and some other brands) imports and what I've read and heard from others who have experience with the Hamer imports.
For me, I'd rather spend $500-650 on a mid-90s Special, or $800+ on a Studio, and know that I'm getting a ton of guitar.
YMMV. HTH. HAND. IANAPM. IEIS. ;) |
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Posts: 117
| Haha. Alright, man. Thanks for the advice!
To be honest, I actually feel the same way... I bought an Ovation Elite T instead of a Celebrity because (other than that I got an awesome deal on this forum) it is American made and highly recommended.
I'm 17 and this will be my first elecrtic guitar, so I think I'll take my chances. It looks good and I've been talking with the guy.
For my next electric I'll definitely look at some higher end ones, but I don't even know how much I'll play this... My "true" first electric guitar was taken back to the store the next day because I didn't like it nearly as much as my acoustic. :p |
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Location: Boise, Idaho | I thought there were Japanese Hamers that were better than the current imports, but I could be mistaken. I had a chance at a Tele style Hamer for $200 with case in perfect condition. I passed because the label had been removed and the guy told me it was Japanese, when I was almost certain it was Korean. Probably worth more than that, but I don't need another guitar, rarely play an electric and I didn't trust the guy. If you are interested, I could find him and see if it's still available. He works at a local music store. |
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January 2004
Posts: 627
Location: Cherry Hill, NJ | According to a music store manager I met in Korea last year, Samick has moved most of its guitar manufacturing to China, to take advantage of the cheao labor. |
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Low end hamer