Hamer 25th Anniversary Edition Artist

Got one the first year - best goddam guitar ever mad. Beats the hell out of PRS and Les Paul. Before I played an ES-135 (damn sweet guitar) but put it away when I got this baby. Took about 2 weeks to get the set-up right on the Es - pulled the Hamer out and got going immediately.

You won't believe it.

You won't believe it - USA manufacturing at its best. Bring on the Mex Strat LOL.

Can beat the hell out of it.

No need.

Playing 35 years and owned them all (but do regret selling my 1968 black Tele).

Solid mahogany w/F hole. Grover tuners and stock pups. American made in 1999. This guitar is a premium example of what can still be made in the US (minus the tunomatic which is made in Germany). I have owned this guitar a week and had the opportunity to A/B this guitar with two similar guitars this weekend: a Santana III PRS and a Gibson double cutaway LP with hidden hollow chamber.

The finish on this this is every bit as good as the PRS (which I feel is a little better than the Gibson). The color, although looks more red online, is a deep candy apple red that is just stunning. It is a very similar hue to the back of the PRS (the front of this guitar has a orange-red tint that I'm not super crazy about).

The Hamer neck is very playable. The PRS is very baseball bat like, just too chunky for my personal tastes, but the Gibson edges out this guitar by a nose. I just love the shape of Gibson necks. This guitar has a smaller feel to it due to a slightly different contour. I would say the Hamer leans a little more toward a C shape and the Gibson starts to lean towards a D shape. I don't really think it matters that much, but if a Gibson profile seems a little too beefy, then this might just be your neck profile!

The only gripe I have with this guitar (as with these other two) is the awkward placement of the pickup selector switch. I took the back plate off to pivot it to a more useful left to right trajectory, but the cavity won't allow for a change. The Gibson has the same restriction, but is more up and down; this guitar is at a 45 degree angle. Other than that I feel that this guitar is well laid out, very balanced, and has an excellent singing voice.

The one feature that I wish this guitar (and just about every guitar for that matter) had is a fine tuner tail piece. My Howard Roberts II has spoiled me to this and I have taken a new Gibson TP-6 and got out the dremel and a carbide tip used by fingernail salons (it's the perfect width). The thickness of this bridge is about 1/64 " too thick, but 20 minutes later your in business. It not only looks sharp as a tack, but for $50 it's a no-brainer.

The sound of this guitar is just amazing. The hollow chamber allows for harmonics and overtones you search for for years in a guitar. The mahogany adds a nice bite to the sound that's not contrived nor fake. In comparision to the PRS and the Gibson, the sound of the neck pickup rolled off all the way sounded identical to the PRS neck pup with the tone all the way up. The PRS could get more buttery, this one could get a little more bite, but a sweet bite. The Gibson and this guitar were VERY similar sonically. BTW- all of these sonic evaluations were done thru a Mesa Blue angel with and without a V-twin preamp. The overdriven sound of these two had big BIG balls, but the winner: the Hamer. The bloom of the notes, the length of the sustain, and the quality of the sound across the board was better. Not by much, but better. I would rate the Gibson a 9.5 but this one's a 10.

No flaws. Perfect frets, super accurate neck, clean work inside the F-hole. Perfect neck joint! Every bit as good as any guitar on the market.

The chrome on the Duncans are starting to cloud up a little, but I would think that's a Duncan design flaw. The other chrome hardware looks new on this guitar and it's 8 years old. The nice thing about the bridge is that the saddle pieces all lean one way.

I have called Hamer to talk about the GC Echotone. They were quite helpful on a product they only made for Guitar Center years and years ago. It's all about the ease of doing business and these guys exude that.

This is a very active and beautiful ax. It will eat up your Les Paul for lunch and look stunning doing it. The clean tones on this guitar are nice and round also. This guitar has a clear voice, and it well suited with these Duncans. The sustain is sick. For a completely overdrive kind of sound, this guitar will deliver the goods. The only other guitar that I prefer to this guitar is my beloved Gibson Howard Roberts II (made from 1979-1988). That guitar is quite rare to find and has a wider range of color, perfect body size, ebony board, and an extreme florentine cutaway, although not as hot as this guitar. If this guitar was stolen I would DEFINITELY own another Hamer, if not this one (aka Mahogany Artist). Something about solid mahogany really lends itself to a nice overdriven bite. If you're looking for "that" sound, try this guitar, you won't be disappointed.

Well it's simple. Twin humbuckers (SD JB and 59 Seth lover), semi-hollow, mahogony body/neck/rosewood fretboard, grover tuners, nice "tune-o-matic stoptail bridge", 2 volume, one tone (and THIS tone knob WORKS like a tone knob should!) Hardshell case. Hamer USA all the way. Special 25th anniversary edition inlay on the headstock....pretty cool. Would have thought a prize like this should come with straplocks...oh well 15.00 more at the local rip off music store.

Sound is pretty expressive in my words. My girlfriend who loves guitars and my best friend i lives guitars both said something about this guitar the first time i played it for them (at different times). They both used the word "alive". Interesting choice...but listening to it again and again i hear, well actually FEEL what they mean. Doesn't matter what amp or tube i run...it's talks like it's alive. If i had to pick a "sound" to describe it, probably somewhere around a genetic split between 25% les paul, 50% PRS Mccarty, 10% 335, 5% tele, 10% 330. I know that's hard to imagine but suffice it to say, this thin is versitile, clean, dirty, just breaking up, jazz, you name it, it will do the show. Just be carefull, when she sings, SHE SINGS!

AMAZING! This guitar is PERFECT in EVERY ASPECT. And i've NEVER found one to simply need nothing but someone to play it, until this one.

although light in weight (compared to a les paul or genesis-another great guitar by the way) i feel the workmanship is awesome enough to denote a high rating. I would take this guitar and a couple packs of strings and hit the road for years without worry...too bad there aren't any band's hiring right now! LOL!

The guitar was bought at a pawnshop thus there is no warranty. BUT if anything happens to the guitar, it will have to be my fault, there's nothing wrong with it now. I did get several emails within a couple hours from HAMER regarding questions and such. SO...if they talk to a hack like me who doesn't even have a warranty, don't you think that deserves a high customer support rating? I do to...except...if they are going to put a warranty on the guitar...don't you think they should carry it over to "WHOMEVER" owns the guitar? the warranty is on the guitar, not the player...so..i have to downgrade them for this.

Lost or stolen...i'd be crushed. I'd try to find another quickly. Some guys wouldn't because they are so used to picking over 1000's of strats to replace the strat that was stolen. WHY? QUALITY CONTROL or lack of it....Fender doesn't make the same guitar twice. Hamer..well HAMER can make 1000 guitars ALL IDENTICAL...so if i lose one, i just have to order another...other guitars you can't do this.... As a rule, i've never been a guitar or amp or tube snob. Guitars and pizza are like sex...it's all good...some are just better than the rest. Well this is the BEST. Little secret though...I never picked up a hamer before this one...no mainstream advertizing campaign or high pressure sales pitch, never knew anyone who had one or played one. If you're like me and have never tried one...PICK UP A FREAKIN HAMER and try one....life's to short to play crappy guitars!

USA made 25th anniversary artist, 2xhumbuckers and 22 frets with duncan 59 and jeff beck pickups. Others have covered most of this stuff.

Im a huge fan of melodic guitar, I detest shred and look for guitars that are full of soul and passion, I currently use my Hamer Artist with a Gibson 2001 R9 , the Artist is a warm toned instrument , not a hint of harshness nor ice pick tonality . Simply a joy to play , I use it with my Cornford Hellcat Boutique head and its a happy combination indeed.

Hamer USA.........I applaud you. The factory "set up" of my R9 was a disgrace and it took a while to get that baby to where I expected it to be, the Hamer is truly a joy to behold. Not a dead spot on the neck, fretting is immaculate and the build of the guitar shows a lot of love and care was put into making it. Its rare to find a gtr these days built with as much pride as this particular instrument.

Guitar doesnt come with straplocks.....it really should.Deduct a mark for this.
The top marks easy , but hey ive got a lint free cloth at the ready , this gtr is built to last, ive no hesitation in saying this.

never needed them.

Hamer gtrs can be bought for laughably affordable prices and they are truly sublime instruments. I am absolutely delighted at the one i bought , yeah I have an R9 , does it blow the Hamer way ? NOPE it certainly does not, the Hamer weighs about 7lbs , has sustain to match anything out there and looks beautiful. Hamer should be very proud for building a gtr like this , ive no choice but to award top marks for a top notch guitar.

I am not sure the exact year this particular guitar was made, but the serial number is #949658. I am assuming this guitar was only made for one year so that should give someone a clue. It is a Hamer USA model, 22 fret solid mahogany back and top with sound chambers. The controls are the standard Hamer VVT and a 3 way switch, that unfortunately is in kind of an odd spot. The dual humbuckers that came with the guitar (Seymour Duncan JB/59N) have been removed and replaced with a calibrated set of Lindy Fralin "Unbucker" models. The neck is Hamer's standard 3 piece mahogany neck with a nice round vintage neck. The finish is a deep transparent cherry red in apparantly nitro laquer. Each time I open the case I get the nice whiff of laquer. The body is an arch topped double cutaway in the profile of a Les Paul special and the hardware is standard issue Gibson tune-a-matic/stop tailpiece. The kidney Grover tuners adorn the classic three on a side low profile Hamer headstock and the logo is in off white ivoroid that looks like its an inlay, but could also be a decal. The medium frets are more like vintage Gibson frets as opposed to tall 6105 Dunlop or mid seventies Gibson wide and flat. Came with hardshell TKL case. Not a lot of features, but I don't usually look for lots of features in a double cut 2 humbucker guitar.

I play a wide range of music and this guitar suits me nicely. Its sound is rich and midrangy with a lot more "spank" to the top end than any Gibson I have ever owned. The mahogany body and top seem to bring out an almost Fender like clarity to the pick attack without losing the midrange compression usually associated with Gibson scale length guitars. This is all in reference to its acoustic tone when not plugged in. Its almost as much fun playing it at home with no amplification! I have even recorded it miked up in the studio for some cool double tracked acoustic tracks with excellent results! Anyway, plugged into a Dr. Z MAZ 18 and a 66 Fender Bassman, this guitar gives out a forceful yet soft midrange attack that is very versatile. The original Duncans were fine, but I felt the natural acoustics were not getting enough justice with the super hot JB in the bridge. Plus the JB and the 59N didn't match up well enough for that nice clean 2nd position tone. The JB rolled off too much of the high end clarity and spanky pick attack and the 59n was just kind of BLAH. The Fralin Unbuckers are much better suited to this guitar. The pickups are wound 8/9K and they have unmatched coils in each pickup to keep from rolling off the high end. To me they sound more like great Filter Trons and some true PAF's than anything else on the market. In this guitar, the pickups really make this guitar extremely versatile. Everything from AC/DC rhythm chords, Brian Setzer twang, Tom Petty chimy to smoking Brian May and extreme heavy metal chunk is covered by this guitar with lots of complexity. By varying my pick attack, I can get enough brightness or meatiness I would ever want, this guitar responds that much. In overdrive mode, the hollow chambers make getting notes to feedback very easy even at low volumes. At high volumes, one only needs to be careful where you point it to keep feedback from getting out of control. However, I do find that due to its harmonic complexity, I don't need as much gain from my pedals or amps for a thick tone. The only unfortunate thing I can find is that due to the inconvenient location of the pickup selector, I find myself not switching pickups as much as this guitar begs one to do.

I bought this guitar used and it had .009's on it, which I hate. But due to its flawless, and I mean FLAWLESS, construction, fit and finish work, this guitar was super easy to set up for Gibson Bright wire .011-.050's. The neck has just the right amount of relief on the bass side and is perfectly flat on the treble side for almost too good of an action. I find myself raising the bridge to get a little more "fight" out of it, but shredders and fusion guys would find no problem getting it super low even with medium gauge strings. The truss rod moves the neck in easily measurable increments without having to "break" it in each time you tweak the neck. The finish is beautiful but already slightly beat due to my gigging scedule, oh well! I love the angled grain pattern the top has and the hardware is top notch. The only niggle to the design of the ergonomics is the slight neck heaviness due to the hollow chamber, but it is very slight. When using a strap, it is almost unnoticable. Also, the Grovers catch a little, but this is Grover's fault. Gotoh 510's or open gear Waverly's would be a better parts spec.

This guitar is not bomb proof, but nothing is. It is finished in nitro laquer so it will wear off and probably crack, but this is cool right? I can't wait until it is a "relic." I plan on playing it long enough for it to relic naturally. The hardware has very thick plating so I don't think it will corrode any time soon. The neck has never needed adjustment since I set it up for .011's and it has been through many midwest climate changes. The electronics are simple and of good quality, I suspect they won't need replacement, only minor cleaning. I take this guitar along with my Strat as my only gigging electrics and this one has bailed me out many times when I needed some twang but I didn't have time to switch guitars. Plus it cleans up nicely when you roll off the volume and tone controls.

It has a lifetime warranty, but I suspect I won't be able to use it due to it being a used instrument and the replaced pickups. I have talked with Kaman before and while they are a big company, they seem to take their job seriously and have answered my questions about this guitar.

Overall, the value of this guitar is outstanding. The workmanship and tonal quality is as good as anything from the golden "moments" of Gibson, PRS or custom builders. I suspect, to find as nice of an instrument from PRS would require custom work from their Private stock, although I don't think you could better this guitar. It may not be as pretty as a Ten top or a Gibson Heritage flame top, but like a great Martin D18, its not about the appointments, its about construction, aesthetic integrity and TONE. Hamer builds a stunningly simple and beautifully balanced looking instrument. The workmanship translates into a perfectly functioning guitar with no "quirks" one must negotiate up the neck and the superb construction tolerances give this 24.75" scale length guitar near perfect intonation, without the annoying sharp low E associated with most Les Pauls. I have owned many set neck Pauls and Paul wanna be's, that all have had major flaws that I always had to rationalize, but not this one. It just plain sounds good. And its not just me, I get compliments from recording engineers and sound men regarding its tone all the time. I would certainly hunt down another if I lost this one, although Hamer builds a guitar pretty similar to this to this day.
I have compared it using my multiple amp stage rig with PRS's, Gibsons and others, and nothing I've played is better than this, although some were close. Unfortunately, the guitars that were even in the same ball park cost at least three times as much on the USED market. Definately a bargain at new prices and an out right steal at used prices.

All mahogany semihollow set neck double cutaway electric with one f-hole, 22 frets, 24-3/4" scale, tunamatic/stop tail bridge, two nickel-covered humbuckers -- a Duncan '59 at the neck and a JB at the bridge. Graphtek nut, Grover butter-bean tuners, rosewood fretboard, 14-1/2" fretboard radius, vol knobs for each pickup and one master tone knob. 3-way pickup selection switch. Strap buttons that accept either a strap or Dunlop locking strap button. Cherry finish on the entire guitar, top is bookmatched mahogany in nominal chevron pattern. no binding on body, neck or headstock, MOP dot inlays on fretboard. Neck is on the fat side and very comfortable. It's not a fancy guitar but it has a simple beauty about it owing to the high quality woods, the shape, and the finish. Since it's not all decked out with binding or coil splitters I give features a 9. Features that it has, however, are all top quality -- tuners, nut, bridge, pots, switch, jack, and of course tone woods.

This is about as sweet-sounding a double-humbucker guitar as you could ask for. The mahogany and chambered body give it a sweet, airy tone that is almost eerily vocal in quality. It has a fullness and sweetness you don't normally get from a Les Paul type guitar, yet its thin top helps provide more pick attack and a certain "snap" to it that you don't usually get from this type of guitar. Played clean at the neck it has a jazz tone that is hard to beat regardless of price or size of the guitar. In that setting the sound is sweet, complex, harmonious and singing. I love playing jazz on this guitar. In dual pickup mode you can get credible 335-type sounds, though it's not as brash-sounding owing to the mahogany body, but it's certainly not dull or soft sounding. And for Les Paul type overdriven sounds at the bridge pickup, it seems that this guitar has a bottomless appetite for gain and overdrive. This is one guitar in which the JB pickup works well without harshness or excessive brightness. Pickups are nickel-covered which probably helps, but I also credit the all-mahogany construction for taming the wild JB as well. All settings have a warmth, woodiness, airiness, and tonal complexity and sustain that sings. I usually play this into a Mesa DC-10, mostly on the clean channel. I've taken it to a couple of jams with the Top Hat Club Deluxe, and when this guitar is played into that amp turned up into the overdrive zone, it's simply not fair to the other guitars at the jam -- the tone of this guitar simply takes over the room.
So this guitar runs the gamut from sweet lush clean neck pickup sounds to hi-gain, overdriven infinite sustain at the bridge pickup. Very versatile in this regard. This guitar shows that you don't need a neutral, sterile-sounding guitar to hold up when you heap on the gain. The musical personality of this guitar shines through no matter the settings and in my experience always adds to the tone and never detracts from it. I've been playing less than 5 years. In the first 3 years I'd bought somewhere around 20 guitars and have sold all but six. I've had this one for 2-1/2 years and have no intention of selling it.
The mahogany artist body is such a great tonal platform I could easily see someone getting 3 of these and putting different pickups in each one, such as Duncan Antiquities in one for a vintage sound and P90s or HB-sized single coils such as Harmonic Design Z-90s or Rio Bastards in another.

Factory setup was great with 10-46s. Haven't had another setup done since. As is typical of a Hamer USA, I see no flaws on the guitar anywhere. Woods, glue joints, hardware installation, and finish pass even the closest visual inspections everywhere. The frets are so nicely seated, leveled and crowned that the action can be quite low and the strings still sing out. No complaints whatsoever. I also like these Grover tuners as much as any of the Schallers I have on other guitars. Tuning stability is excellent as is the taper on all the pots. Also intonates perfectly at the 12th fret and most frets beyond.

This is a real workingman's guitar. It's simple with very few things to go wrong -- no vibrato, no binding to crack or chip. Knobs and switches are sturdy, well-anchored strap buttons. Other than string breaks I'd easily gig with this one without a backup.

Hamer USA's support for in-warranty work to original owners is legendary. Haven't had to avail myself of their services at this point.

This guitar is a definite 10 for an Les Paul type double humbucker guitar. In a blind test you could play this against any number of $10K+ '50s Gibson and there's a good chance you would choose this one. I really like it a lot.

1999 USA model produced to celebrate Hamer's 25th Anniversary making guitars.This guitar is based on the popular Studio shaped body by Hamer.See-thru Cherry Red,carved matched Chevron Mahogony top on a Honduras Mahogony body with a superb gloss finish.The body has one F-hole on the upper part,making it semi-hollow.This Hamer has the acclaimed three piece Mahogony neck with a nice Indian Rosewood fingerboard and well dressed medium-jumbo frets.The bridge is a Tune-O-Matic and tuners are Grover.All hardware is Nickel and the pickups are Nickel covered Seymour Duncan humbuckers.The neck position pickup is the '59 model,while the Jeff Beck is standard at the bridge.I replaced the JB with a matching Nickel covered '59,giving the Hamer a more balanced and "vintage" tone [in my opinion].The scale is the familiar Gibson-type 24.75.The 25th Anniversary has a volume for each pickup and a master tone,which I feel is the most useful and "musical" on the market.The pickup selecter is the Gibson style 3-way toggle.The case is well padded and sturdy.I also replaced the standard strap buttons with locking Schaller's.Oh yeh,this baby's real light,due to it's semi-hollow construction.

The tones produced by the 25th Anniversary Hamer are sweet and woody,somewhere between a Gibson Les Paul and a Gibson 335 semi-hollowbody.The neck '59 sounds excellent for jazz comping and singing blues.The bridge position '59 has nice bite and clarity,allowing the guitar to "breath" more than I thought the stock JB did.This Hamer sounds wonderful in both clean and overdriven modes.The in-between pickup tones are complex and open,great for chord work and stinging Chicago blues.I really like to play the Hamer through either my Fender Prosonic combo or my MesaBoogie MKIIC+.The overall tone is on the fat and warm side,though it will cut with authority with the bridge position '59 if the amp is set-up for it.I love this sweet guitar for what it has to offer.If I want "twang",I'll pick up my Fender Tele.The 25th Anniversary can do everything from old school jazz to screaming hi-gain crunch,and always sounds sweet doing it.

It seems all USA Hamer have one thing in common...exceptional build quality,and this one is no exception.I could not find a flaw on this beauty...and I tried!The finish is wonderful and the neck and playability are awesome.Superb American made quality at it's finest.

This Hamer is built to last,though it will need my normal loving care to do so.I see no reason to believe that this guitar will not last for many decades to come.

Hamer has great customer support.When I called Kaman/Hamer about my USA Hamer P-90 Special [which was bought used],they called me back within an hour to give me more details than I had asked for.I was shocked by the response,but quite pleased by Hamer for their attention and care.I'm not sure about the warranty,but I have a feeling that Hamer would make things right.

I've been playing guitar for about 25 years.I play blues,classic rock,pop and old school metal most of the time,though I've been getting into jazz and fusion lately.If lost,I would be quite bummed-out.If stolen,I would take a posse out to find the SOB.When found,I would use my Fender Fat Tele to beat the fool to a pulp!Not really,but I just wanted to fit in with what most others on Harmony-Central say they would do.Needless to say,I love just about everything about this guitar.
As far as other guitars I now own,I have a '95 Fender American Standard Strat w/matching color headstock [Aqua Marine blue/green],pearl guard and Fender Custom Shop '54 p/ups.Others are a '95 USA Hamer Studio Archtop in '59 Burst,a '92 custom color [dark metallic blue] USA Hamer P-90 Special,2000 USA Washburn Maverick Studio,'99 USA Washburn WM200 w/Duncan Antiquity bridge humbucker and mid/neck Duncan Vintage Lipstick p/ups,a '94 USA Washburn/Grover Jackson MG-120 w/Duncans,a '95 USA Fender Fat Tele w/Duncan p/ups,a 2000 Carvin Swamp Ash Bolt-T w/ Duncan Alnico II Pro p/ups,a '99 Martin DM w/Fishman p/up and a 2000 Warwick Streamer Standard bass.Amps,in addition to the before mentioned Prosonic and Boogie,are a killer ValveTech all-tube 1-12" combo,a Crate Vintage Club 30,Tech21 Trademark 10,an early 60's Supro 1-8" combo and a Hartke B30 bass amp.I also have a full sounding '81 Carvin wide-body 1-12" EVML loaded cabinet and a custom built 2-12" sealed cabinet with the wonderful sounding Celestion G12H 30 watt 70th Anniversary speakers.I guess you can see that I'm abit of a "gear whore"!Yes,the Hamer 25th Anniversary Edition [later to become known as the Mahogony Artist] is a most welcome addition to my guitar harem.USA Hamer guitars are way undervalued on the used guitar market,so you might want to find one before the rest of thr guitar playing/collecting community wakes up to these wonderful gems!