Jump to content

Slammer (hamer?) value


axegrinder

Recommended Posts

  • Members

I saw a Slammer strat-a-like in a pawnshop today.  The neck was not worth repair (part of fretboard missing near the nut, but the rest was perhaps salvageable.  The finish was a little beat with a orange sparkle finish.  The strings were rusty and the guitar virtually unplayable.  Was marked as-is for $30.  Pickups & electronics are probably OEM junk.  Same goes for the hardware.  My only hesitation was that the body could be plywood.  Does anyone know what import Slammers were made from?  I don't believe the was the MIK Slammer series either.  Headstock was adorned with 'SLAMMER' in big letters.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

If it says slammer in big letters with "by Hamer" in small letters, it's probably Chinese or Indonesian. I've never seen a metallic orange one though. I sold lots of those as a Kaman dealer in the early 00's for $129 with a gig bag. I honestly don't remember, but I think the were basswood. The electronics were pretty much junk. On par with a Squier Affinity. They're serviceable beginner guitars though and were pretty consistent and playable out of the box. But, a metallic orange body intrigues me. The only ones I ever saw were black, white, red or blue. It's gotta be worth $30 even just to make it playable whether you can use it or give it to some kid just starting out.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

Well, it's not that cut and dry really. The very first import guitars (early 90's I think?) that Hamer put out were called the Hamer Slammer Series. Hamer USA was not happy about having their name on an import guitar. They were built to pretty tight specs in Korea, and I think they went through QC and set-up in the US Hamer factory. They made a superstrat, tele, strat and their signature DC style, maybe a couple of others? These guitars I would easily put on the level of Fender's higher end MIM's if not better. Then they split off the brand and made just plain "Hamer" (no USA) in Korea, offering a few of their more popular models. These would probably be on par with the Fender "Standard" MIM's or maybe more appropriately Epiphone. Then they made the "Slammer by Hamer" guitars in China for the beginner market to compete with Squier. Then they moved the import Hamers to China and the Slammers to Indonesia. Quality slipped a little, but they were still on par with their competitors in price and quality. The Slammers I dealt with were all definitely better than the beginner "kit' guitars that you got in a box with an amp, and definitely better than the department store trash. /historylesson

 

If I were trying to compare quality, I would go:

Hamer USA custom order = Fender Custom Shop

Hamer USA production = Fender AVRI/Sig Series

Hamer Slammer Series = MIM high end (Baja, Vintage, etc)

Hamer (import) = MIM Standard Series/high-end Squier

Slammer by Hamer = standard Squier

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 years later...
  • Members

Hey Special J, I bought a cheap SLAMMER by Hamer a few years ago, I am just beginning to paint it. It is made of plywood I am sure, several pieces of wood glued together, LOL. Anyways, I checked pics all over and I see the typical strat with the 3 single coil, but cannot find the ones with the single humbucker like mine. Got any info on it? The serial number on the neck plate is 6522501

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...