Hamer SB-4F/CS Slammer Short Scale Bass

This is a short scale bass, which is perfect for me as I am a woman only 5 ft tall. I have a Gretsch Junior jet as well and a Squire Bronco and this blows them both out of the water. It has 2 soap bar humbucking pick ups that are passive 2 vol and 1 tone very simple but versatile as well.

I play blues , power pop, classic rock and it does them all well

I bought this used from a pawn shop here in memphis , but who ever owned it took great care of it it is like new and the easiest bass I have ever played my hubby says the same thing he has been playing 26 years

well I have made this my primary bass and my other 2 I haul around as back up we play 4 or 5 times a week and this bass gets the job done with flying colors.

warranty has expired but have talked to hamer looking for a real hamer not a slammer and they were awesome lots of helpful info

like i said i love this bass and so does my hubby it plays super and is the best 80 dollars I have ever spent

Features has been discussed already, two soapbar pick ups, two volume and one control knob. Passive electronics, hardwood flame cherry sunburst. I believe the neck is maple and fingerboard is rosewood. All this stuff is available on Slammers web site! What should be said is that this guitar is great for people with smaller hands and shorter reach. Thin neck also helps reaching the notes very effectively.

The sound was not so great out of the box and just about every string had buzz on most of the frets. I was able to "make" an appropriate size allen wrench to adjust the string by carefully grinding a bigger one since the guitar did not come with anything except the warrantee card. After I raised the strings (all) and retuned the guitar about 4 times it all but eliminated the buzzing and I did nothing to the neck. The sound is very nice for a guitar that I paid about $150 bucks for and really fun to play. I play it through a Peavey basic 112 and it sound very good. There is some sound adjustment through the tone pot but not anything amazing!

Action fit and finish. The guitar came and was almost flawless out of the box. (Mine came missing the top guitar strap button but a $3.00 item at the local guitar shop and easy to drill a hole.)

The set up from the internet shop I bought it from was not good. It was not "ready for me to play" but it was pretty simple to adjust enough things to get it to sound good. If you get one of these you will love it if you are a smaller person like myself. However, I would invest in a professonal setup to get you started right and you will be very happy. I am new so I do not know about adjusting these pick ups or if there is even an ajustment for these types. I don't think you can adjust them. This bass is very light and comfortable and easy to reach on the fret board. Action is set low, I had to raise it to get rid of string buzz but it works ok for me.

Finish is good, not sure about durability so I will take care not to bang it around. The slammer BZ4 and Squier P look to be a bit more solid. At least a lot heavier. The hammer SB4F is more like the Washburn XB100 Bantam series as far as weight an feel, but also plays a lot better I think than any of the others. In fact, I will probably get rid of the other two and just keep the slammers!

Strap buttons look OK, on the SB4 (at least the one I got with it.)
I think no matter what you should always have a back up for everything, guitar as well. But this is dependable and seems to stay in tune nicely once adjusted.

N/A No contact.

I just started playing so I am trying to find something I was comfortable starting with. After 4 tries, I seem to have found it in the Slammer SB4. (I wish I would have known about this one first!)

Other stuff I have: Washburn XB 100 bass pack with Randall RB30XM, Squier by Fender P-Bass (Indonesia)Hamer Slammer BZ4, Peavey Basic 112 bass amp, Ampeg B-100 bass amp. If anything were stolen I probably would only replace the Hamer Slammer SB4 because I like it the best. It was also the cheapest so go figure!

double cutaway short scale bass. looks like an old gibson jr or melody maker sort of thing.
two soapbar type p-ups.
two vol, one tone.
antique natural finish is nice.
seems to be built well.
overall a pretty handsome instrument.
heavy body but well balanced.
7 of 10 because it's not packed with "features" but what it does have is decent.

first off, the sustain was a suprise. nice loooong sustain on this little thing.
pretty versitile for the simple format.
neck pup is nice and dubby if you roll off some tone.
bridge pup overdriven to just the right level and it growls nicely.
both pups and tone wide open is well balanced, good lows with the right amount of attack.
for the price i don't think you can do much better sound-wise.
i think it has a more nuanced sound than the more costly epiphone eb-0 short scale. granted the eb-0 has only one pickup. this bass has more presence and isn't as muddy on the lower notes.
better sustain too.
8 of 10 because its sound is nothing revolutionary or anything but is a cut above the rest in it's price range.

action was set very low out of the box. a big plus. i actually had to raise the saddles slightly to reduce the buzz a little. intonation needs adjusting. no suprise there, no big deal either.
finish is attractive. no bookmatching woods or anything. flamed top looks like a graphic more than a flamed top. but i don't care. this thing sounds good and plays good.
mine has a weird line on the top where it seems one of the pieces of wood is higher than the other or something. can't quite tell. also, no big deal but i did expect a little better than that.
possibly a factory 2nd or finish defect is the reason for the great price. still, i'm happy.
8 of 10. great balance, great action, nice weight.

seems solid as a rock.

don't know. hope i never have to know.

for the money, you can't do better.

Black finish, 2 pickup (humbucking)with two volume and two tone controls. It has a rosewood neck (short scale)with two on the side tuners. The bass is shaped like a Les Paul TV guitar, sorta like a Micky-mouse figure!

I use the bass for recording mainly, especialy if I am doing rock or country rock. It sounds great blending the two pickups with the brige pickup set just a little higher, useing a pick. This sound is great useing a V-amp pro bass pod with the mids and highs boosted! I have used it for jam sessions, as it is small and not such a load on the neck and shoulders. Not a bass to use if you are looking for that low-end rumble, I think the short scale limits it to certain styles.

I bought this bass new, and Jim, the owner of Jim's music, set it up real nice! My action is set low, so I have gotten a buzz or two on the "D" string at the second fret. I was attracted to this bass because of its simularity to the Les paul TV guitar. I think that the fit & finish was great for a bass in this price range

I have had this bass for 5 or 6 years and it still plays great! Although I doubt that it was made for the rigors of touring as a professional

I have not had the occasion too!

I started out playing bass in 1969, my first bass was a Montgomery Ward special and since then I have collected a wide variety of basses from the little Hammer slammer to a Gibson Thunderbird with a few Fenders in between ( AS Jazz, AS P=bass Squier Jazz V, G&L ASAT)and have discovered that each of these instruments fill a certain style and taste! I switched to guitar ten years ago, but am still asked to set in as a bassist from time to time. I use a "Kustom" 400 wt Hybrid amp (solid state/ tube pre-amp)through a 2X15 cab. for you youngsters, this is a "tuck & roll" (late "60"'s vintage)re-issue. When I realy want to be heard, I piggy back two GK RB-400's through a 1X18 Carven bottom with a GK 4X10 top cab. I would hate to lose this mighty-mite, but I would not go out of my way to buy another. It's not a bad bass for the price, a good first bass for a child wanting to learn to play, or the adult who wants a light axe to hang around his neck. With the re-issue of the Fender Mustang bass, the Hammer has a little compitition, but at $400.00 the Fender is a little pricy for this type of bass

The below reviews cover the features, except that some are confused, there are two volume knobs and a tone knob. Its a good amout of features for a cheep bass. money wise

Wow, This is where this bass really shines. I play alot of styles, ranging from Oysterhead and Phish to Slipknot and Coal Chamber, and this bass can handle most all of it. Depending on what you want you can get many sounds out of it, it can be subtle, snakey, and bright think there there by radiohead, or any velvet underground. On the other spectrum it can be a big azzx distorted beast that will step all over your nads and then laugh, think the bass in youth against fashism. It's varitety is unmatched for this price range, and even more unmatched for a short scale!!

The bass was very very well set up when i got it. I got it as a gift however, and i dunno if it was altered.

This bass can withstand my hevier bands rehersals, which is an accomplishment in itself. However the stap buttons do slip sometimes, enough to say that strap locks are neccisary. The finish is nice and pretty solid, however once i banged the headstock into our drummer's floor tom and a small part chipped off, but its hardly noticible.

Never had to deal with them, which is good.

I've been playing for about a year on bass, and i used to play guitar, or I tried anyway.This is the first bass I've owned, but i have used others that my friends have owned, a jay turser something, it looked kinda like an Ibanez soundgear, and i've played a couple Yahmahas. This blowes them both out of the water, and was significantly cheeper than either of them. Both of those guitars are very good at emultaing p basses, but since I have a hatred of the stratocaster shape ( its too copied, have some variety people!!) a p bass is out. If you want a beastly Distorted sound on this bass, and you have access to a mixing board and speakers, in other words a PA, take an Ibnanez 10 watt IBZ10B, settings bass 5.5, mid 4, treble 6, presence at zero and volume at full. Then take the hamer and set the neck pickup at 6.5 the bridge pickup at 7.5, and the tone at three, that is a very crunchy distorted tone. No im not and idiot, try it out. If someone stole this bass I would go and hunt them down and then beat the living **** out of them, then take enough money in metal damages to buy an Ibanez BTB 400QM, which is what I want for a long neck bass in addition to the hamer.

2001, Indonesia. 20 frets. Laminated maple top. 2 tone, 1 volume. Soap-box pickups, not sure what brand. Passive electronics. Maple body. Flamed top. Nice body, sortof like a Les Paul, but with 2 horns. Love the tuners, closed in and feel heavy-duty.

I play Alternative/Rock and this bass does fairly well. I have had to raise the strings up as they vibrated on the other frets a bit though. Nice deeep sound to it. I use a Crate BX-200 head with a homemade 15" speaker. Good variety, nice low and high end sounds. Mid-range is good too. I also have used a Rickenbacker, and the sound is very different. The Rick is good for piano like tones, but if you want a good, grungy tone, go for this bass.

The bass was set up perfectly at the factory. Everything was fine. The pickups were loose and too far up, had to move them down. All in all very good set-up.

This bass is very good for performing. Everything looks like it will last. I will probably get a pick-guard, as some scratches are starting to appear. The cord jack and the strap buttons come loose from time to time, but are easily tightend. Never had to adjust the truss rod or neck, yet... I would use it on a gig, but only if I had a backup.

Haven't had to deal with them yet.

I have been playing for about 2 years now. My dad (I'm only 14) has a 1975 Rickenbacker 4001 bass, and a Hofner Beatle Bass. I think I might have asked if it could be played aggresively before I bought it. If it were stolen or lost, I think I would buy something else, just for variety's sake. I love this bass, but I think I would like something more on the lines of a Gibson Thunderbird Bass. I was either going to buy this, or a Squire MB-4 bass. I found the neck on this bass alot faster then on the Squire. Overall this is a great bass.

Made in Indonesia, 2002, short scale, 2 humbucker pick ups, tone control for each pick up, one volume control, passive electronics.
Rosewood laminated neck, maple laminated top. Black finish, no decoration to speak of. It's about the same size as a guitar. Body is similar to Ibenez Artist type, double cut away, but no bevels on the top side. Bridge is a bent metal plate, but the edges are ground and polished.. Tuners are enclosed, seem to be heavy duty. It's got the basic features for bass guitar. I was impressed with the quality (for the price).

I love the sound. I use it with Johnson J station, which provides tons of amp and effect variations. I'm a guitarist with a home studio, and bought the bass to fill the bottom end of my recordings. I play rock, swamp jazz and blues with a band. We run everything through a mixer to a PA. It does the bass thing well. I'm not a bassist, so take what I write with that in mind. Easy to play, plays like a guitar; the tone controls provide plenty of options between funky highs and that low bass rumble. I put D"addario half round strings on it. Easy on the fingers, less buzz and better tone.

The bass was shipped from the Kamen/Hamer plant in Connecticut. It came well protected, and it appears that Hamer took a lot of pride in setting it up right before shipping. I changed the strings and left the set up alone for now. I was impressed with the quality of the construction. I got the black finish, and with exception of one minor dip in the finish at the heel of the neck, it looks flawless. Needs a pick guard though if you plan on using a pick. I can see some light scratches in the finish already.

I sure hope it's reliable; don't have enough time with it to form an opinion. I've heard bad rumors about the electronics going dead in Hamer bass guitars, but so far it's held up. The neck appears stable, hasn't changed it's set up since I got it in July.

Never dealt with Hamer/Kamen product support, hope not to. If it breaks, I'd get it fixed locally.

I've been playing a stringed instrument for 30 years. I own a fender HM strat, a Yamaha acoustic, a J station, Dean Markley amp, a 4 track home studio. This is my first venture with the bass. It a was a good move. Studying the bass opens other avenues on the guitar. Switching between the short scale bass and the guitar is not hard at all. If it were lost or stolen I'd replace it in a minute. The short scale, good quality and low price make it one of the best deals around. I give it a 10 because it does what I need it do as well as anything out there.

The previous review covers all that, and 7 is an appropriate rating for this catagory.

I'm a pro player who?s currently playing rock, blues, motown, country (country western too!), and motown/soul stuff spread over 3 bands and the various recording sessions I get involved with. I?m a bass geek in all respects and a stickler for tone. I use a Demeter tube bass preamp, with a Crown Microtech 600 (600w bridged @ 4ohms) powering an Eden 4-10 cab. I occasionally use a modified Ibanez Tube Screamer and/or Danelectro Tuna Melt Tremolo in my effects loop. The humbucking pickups, being the mystery brand they are, sound great! No noise, full, balanced, with fat and clear lows, a very slightly scooped midrange, and an open sounding top end. The bridge pickup when soloed has some definite "Stingray" qualities to it and the neck pickup more like a P-bass, which is a pretty good combination to work with as far as basic ?sounds? are concerned. All the ?in-betweens? can be with the volume controls, and they all are useable. The tone control is great at darkening the sound up without getting mushy. Great sustain too. I played it with the roundwound strings that came on it and *really* dug the sound, but I happen to be one of those freaks who prefers flatwound strings on shortscale basses--the ones from Pyramid especially. I put a set on and my mind was blown. As fat, warm, and juicy as you can imagine. Pretty amazing.

Everyones individually preferred "action" is different, but this one played pretty well right out of the box. Since the truss rod and bridge adjustments function as they should, I was able to set this bass up to my specifications with ease. Thats a good thing folks! The pickups were adjust properly, great construction, snug neck/pocket, and solid tuning machines. Nice flamed maple top with an evenly applied cherry sunburst and no finish flaws to speak of--looks great! The fretwork is really really good for a bass in this price range, but it could stand a light fret-dressing to perfection. Also, the tone and volume pots look a little flimsy, but they feel ok. As soon as one fails on me, I'll replace 'em all. So far so good though. Everything seems tight on this bass.

I think this bass will hold up for a while. I will be replacing the volume and tone pots, as well as replacing the plastic nut with a bone nut at some point. Overall, I'd say this bass is pretty solid.

5 year warranty which I haven't needed to take advantage of so far.

I've been playing music professionally for 15 years, and I own a fair amount of quality gear. And what I don't own, I've played and didn't like--or can't afford quite yet! This bass is a good one. I'm honestly impressed by the quality of this instrument. I bought it to replace a Jerry Jones shortscale bass that I let go, and actually I think I prefer the sound of this one. I'm still wow'ed by it. This is an excellent bass for the money spent! I don't mean to gush, but it's true. A bone nut, some high quality pots, and the addition of a tortise shell pickguard will be the improvements I'll make. For $149.00, straight out of the box this bass kills.

2001 Indonesian made 4 String Solid Body Short Scale Bass. Double Cutaway (Les Paul Jr. Style), Maple Body and Neck. Cherry Sunburst finish over a laminated Flamed Maple Top. Rosewood Fingerboard, with Mother of Pearl Dot Inlays, 30 1/2", Short Scale Length, 20 medium nickel frets, 2 Soapbar Pickups, 2-Vol, 1-Tone, Chrome Plated Tailpiece and Standard import tuners that feel very durable in hand.

This is a GREAT little bass !!! The short scale neck makes this bass feel and play more like a guitar than a typical bass. I play bass in an Alternative/Hard Rock Orginal Band (Tool-esqe). The soapbar pickups are quiet and produce a variety of tones. The tone on this little guy ranges from very bright and piano like to deep down low and punchy. The sound reminds me of the Charlie Lobue custom bass Gene Simmons (KISS) played on KISS, Hotter than Hell and Dressed to Kill. Try playing Goin' Blind (one of the GREATEST Bass line EVER) on this bad boy, and you swear Gene was in your home.

The action and intonation was near perfect, I only had to adjust the intonation on the "E" string. The neck was straight with proper relief. Fret work on mine is excellent, BUT I did see another one at the store that was not finshed as well. The finsih is a hard poly coat with no visible flaws. The laminated flamed maple top has moderate flaming, but for under $200, one should not expect an AAAAA maple top. The volume and tone knobs are noise free and work nice.

This is a great bass !!!! The bass is constructed solid and it should hold up very well. I have added straplocks and may end-up replacing the tuners and bridge at a later date, not because they are not good, just for personal preference.

Comes with a Limited 5-Year Warranty. I have called Hamer in the past to ask questions and was suprised to speak with Mr. Joel Dantzig himself (Co-founder).

I have been playing bass for 24 years or so. I have owned Gibson, Rickenbacher, Steinberger, Kramer, Washburn and others. I bought this bass as a back-up, BUT with as pleased as I am, this may become my MAIN bass. I had looked at purchaing Fender,Gibson, Epiphone, B.C. Rich, and may others before trying out the Hamer SB-4F/CS. This bass sounded BETTER than MANY costing THREE to FOUR times the suggested retail price ($339.00). Great sound, well balanced, nice looking....all of this in a bass for under $200!!! I wish they made instruments like this when I first started playing.

Bought new in the Fall 2001. Indonesian made 4 String Solid Body Short Scale Bass. Has 20 medium nickel frets. 2 Passive soapbar humbuckers with Gibson style black speed knobs. Individual volume for each and a master tone control. Not sure of the wood (maple?) that was used but has a Cherry sunburst finish over a laminated flame maple top. Clearcoat Poly. Also comes in Black. The fingerboard is very tight grained Rosewood over what appears to be maple. Fingerboard and side dot position markers were used. The neck is bolt on joining the body at the 16th fret. The Nut is a little off to the treble side but, does not effect the bass. The body style is identical to the Hamer Standard. Standard P-Bass type bridge and closed tuners. Came with 2 allen wrenches and patch cord. Easily fits into guitar sized case/gig bag.

This is a fun little bass to play. The neck being set well into the small body makes this bass feel more like a guitar than a bass. The neck is slim and fast. The no name pickups are quiet and non-microphonic. The bass has good low end that is sometimes lacking in short scale basses.

The action and intonation needed to be set to my liking as well as pickup height. Neck was straight with proper relief. Fret work is fairly well done and the neck joint is solid. The pickups really have no adjustment capability as there are no springs or foam to hold them up in their cavities. They fit very tight into the body and were a bear to set up. The tuners, tuner holes, input jack hole, pickup cavity, and control cavity had to be cleaned of buffing compound which is typical of instruments of this price range but, had no stripped screw holes. As stated the nut is just a little narrower than the fingerboard width on the bass side but, is cut well. Minor flaws can be seen in the finish if the bass is held at the proper angles. Plating job on bridge could be better. Solder job was well done. Needed new strings as the E string broke upon re-stringing after oiling the fingerboard. All this said, the bass as it came from the factory was playable, just not to my liking. Now that it has been personally set up its really a fun bass to play. However, I do wish that the upper body was beveled where the forearm of the picking hand touches and that the bass had deeper cutaways for upper fret access.

This is a great entry level/beginner bass or a bass for someone of small stature. Also great for a guitarist who would like to try the bass without a having to get used to a long scale neck. This low priced bass could easily sell for its retail of $300. I am still amazed how well some of the lower priced basses are made compared to the inexspensive ones seen in the '70's. This bass is solid and it should hold up very well if treated properly.

Comes with a Limited 5-Year Warranty.

I have been playing 25 + years and have owned as many basses as I have sold. This one is a keeper. Great sound and lightning fast neck. Light and well balanced with cool looks. How can you lose for under $200?