Members moger777 Posted July 25, 2010 Members Share Posted July 25, 2010 Hey guys,I've been seeing a lot of usa hamers on ebay for less than 1000. I know the current usa hamers sell for around 3000 on musicians friend. Am I missing something here or did hamer have some bad years in the 90's? Or is it that the current new prices are just inflated and used prices have not caught up yet? What would be a fair price for a usa hamer studio or a usa hamer special?thanks,-Thijs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Josh S Posted July 25, 2010 Members Share Posted July 25, 2010 Hamer has never had a dip in quality. All USA Hamers are amazing guitars, some of the best guitars out there. For some reason their resale value is very low - but that's a good thing when you want to buy one! I've had a couple of 90s Hamer USA studios, and they were phenomenal. I paid $600 for each, which I consider low. I would've been very satisfied to pay twice that for a guitar of their calibre, if not more. Don't even worry about it, just get one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members moger777 Posted July 25, 2010 Author Members Share Posted July 25, 2010 I'll gladly buy a 3000 dollar guitar for 600. I was thinking of buying a new one but if I can get the same quality for under 1000, sign me up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ArKay Posted July 25, 2010 Members Share Posted July 25, 2010 My '92 Special is just lovely etc. http://arkay.de/guitars/hamer/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Faber Posted July 25, 2010 Members Share Posted July 25, 2010 The overall quality was exellent as always with hamer and the early-mid 90s is the range of theirs that I like most. The used price may reflect that generally the 90s hamers were cheaper than those of the 00's. One minor quality issue in the 90s were "hameritis" - the finish would sometimes lift along the edge of the neck joint and fingerboard edges. They fixed that issue later on and it's only cosmetic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Josh S Posted July 25, 2010 Members Share Posted July 25, 2010 One minor quality issue in the 90s were "hameritis" - the finish would sometimes lift along the edge of the neck joint and fingerboard edges. They fixed that issue later on and it's only cosmetic Yep, mine had that. No big deal. Here's a picture of the last one I had: The value for money was positively stupid. That was one hell of a guitar. The maple top was so thick, the one-piece back was delicious, the pickups were great and the super-tidy wiring and aluminum shielded cavity... Oh god, I could go on. It was all about details. Sadly, I don't like flame-tops... If I ever find another one locally that's a plain top I'll buy the hell out of it. In my opinion, though it wasn't my favourite guitar, it was certainly the best guitar I ever had. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members fretmonster Posted July 25, 2010 Members Share Posted July 25, 2010 In 97 the company relocated to New Hartford Connecticut and Kaman music which had purchased the company in 88 relocated the principle Chicago builders and rehired founder Joel Dantzig (oddly Paul Hamer left early to pursue a career in sales). For whatever reason, many still consider the guitars made in the old Chicago factory in Arlington Heights to be superior builds even though their target market and retail prices were more moderate. Hamer and Dantzig originally set out to build a guitar similar to the vintage 60's Gibsons which were esteemed by the Rock Stars of the day. The guitars from the 90s used top grade Honduran Mahogany and some had Brazilian rosewood boards. Here's mines (bookends, 94 Special w/ Brazilian board, and 96 McInturff designed Mirage II) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Woody_in_MN Posted July 25, 2010 Members Share Posted July 25, 2010 I have a MIK Hamer, and the quality is impressive. Beautiful guitar really. I think that Hamer was bought by a competitor. There might be some collector value in picking up one - espeaciaially a USA one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members smorgdonkey Posted July 26, 2010 Members Share Posted July 26, 2010 Hamer has never had a dip in quality. All USA Hamers are amazing guitars, some of the best guitars out there. For some reason their resale value is very low - but that's a good thing when you want to buy one! 100% agreement. The Hamer shop was one of the most impressive guitar shops in existence to my knowledge. I hope that they don't (but often feel that they will) suffer being owned by Fender. I don't know why I feel that way aside from my typical 'large corporation takes over and just wants as much profit as they can get' feeling which IMO would have Fender pushing for more numbers and higher prices. Back to specifics on Hamer...I read that they were the most meticulous on wood grading of any builder who produces any significant number of guitars. They apparently sent a large portion of their wood back to suppliers as rejected. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Special J Posted July 26, 2010 Members Share Posted July 26, 2010 I've owned several Hamers from every era except their most recent stuff. Every one was an amazing guitar. As my collection thinned, the 2 that ended up staying were a 92 Special, just like Arkay's above, and a custom order 95 Special with mini-hums in Candied Blue. I toured their factory and met Jol back when I was a Hamer dealer. I had no problem standing behind that brand. The guys that build those guitars build them with love for their craft. Jol is no longer with the company, but as long as FMIC stays somewhat hands-off otherwise, I think they'll continue to build great instruments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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