Hamer Archtop Custom

Made around 1995 in the USA, 22 fret crown inlay neck with a luscious quilted maple top. Twin humbuckers (Seymour '59's), two volume, one tone control and toggle selector switch. Neck is the standard Hamer 3 ply neck, body is Honduras mahogany with a maple cap. Tunomatic bridge and stop tail piece,

I like to play bluesy electric folk (Imagine that), this guitar suits perfectly. I play this through a Peavey Ultra 2x12 combo and it's a match made in heaven. The guitar has a warm, rich sound with plenty of clarity and pick sensitivity. The pickup blend options provide a range of really useful and cool sounds.

Somewhere in the manufacturing process was one or more guitar players. This guitar has an almost organic quality - no computer controlled machine tool sterility. Workmanship is spot on, far better than my Les Paul (Which I love, but it ain't in this league quality wise).

Bought this second hand and it was well set up. Only adjustment was to lower the action to my taste - no rattles or chokes.

As good as anything really. Solidly put together, strap locks fitted. Any gig requires a back up - broken strings?

Never had to bother them.

Been playing for over 30 years, own a Hamer Eclipse, three Kramer Aluminium neck guitars, Les Paul and a variety of homebrew jobs.

If it were stolen, I would buy another immediately and probably wouldn't be in too much of a rush to replace my Les Paul should it be stolen at the same time(might con the insurance man into buying me a Hamer custom shop guitar instead).

I lusted for one of these ever since I saw Martin Barre toting something similar, sold an SG to pay for it. No regrets.

BEAUTIFUL flame top, Cherry sunburst. 2 humbuckers. Basically if you are looking up this guitar you know what it's about.

Big fat Les Paul, roll down the volume and get a surprise.

The guitar was perfect from the factory, I put 10's on and did a minor truss rod adj. Piece of cake. The guitar is a 10. Go read the Hamer web site to see how they finish these. 14 clear coats, wet sanded between coats. Freakin' beautiful.

Reliability, I laugh. This thing is rock solid. You could take 1 guitar to a gig and have no worries.

I have 6 hamers and never had to use cust. support. Therefore I have to give it a 10. I have been told that they give A++++ support. They do as much as they can.

I started playin in '79. I have gone through a bunch of guitars and Hamers have been the best sounding, most durable, best quality, and prettiest guitars that I have ever owned. They can be picked up for a great price used. I wouldn't hesitate buying any Hamer. You won't be sorry. Put a Hamer next to a Gibson and check out the finish for yourself.

USA made guitar in a beautiful redish / orange sunburst, flamed maple sunburst. I purchased it in 1999 from Gravity Strings in St Louis Mo. I got it for cost because they seem to have a problem selling the Hamers. JB and 59 P.U.'s stock. LP standard type of inlay on the rosewood fingerboard. Vol, Vol, tone combo, stop tail piece and tun-o-matic type bridge.

LES PAUL period! Meaty!!!!!!! DUNCAN P.U. GRRRRREAT

I adjusted the guitar into perfection. It did not take a great deal of time to accomplish this because the frets were perrrrefectly crowned. Perfection!
NO FLAWS!!!!!!!!

Still going STRONG after all these years! NO PROBLEM-MO!
I always take my Keaggy designed Zion on every gig. Nothing beats the Zion! NOTHING!!!!!

Don't know! never had to call!

40 years of playing and 23 Gibsons later, the Hamer is still the very best GIBSON that I have owned! PERIOD!!!! Stop looking for that vintage look and get real. The Hamer blows the Gibson away for quality! Go ahead and be yourself and stop trying to be the guy on MTV. It don't matter what amp you have any more! (most are really good) Just learn to play! It is in the fingers and the heart!
Pick up some Phil Keaggy cd's and listen! You will grow!

I am the proud owner of a Hamer archtop custom limited 1994 #2 of a total of 9 made. it is golden, two all black 59 seymour duncon pups. handcarved, us made, Honduras Mahogony. I traded for it thinking I would trade it for an LP. wrong, it is a keeper. It did not match the company serial numbers, so I called a dealer, he said call the company, I called Kaman who makes Hamer and Ovation. They said they didnt know and told me how to contact the factory, they didnt know and had one guy in the factory to contact. I did and he said "sweet" In 1994 Bill Kaman had 9 special archtops made for him. This was no 2 of those guitars. Keeper

I am a bluesman. This is a rock machine. It is meant to be played in my opinion through a cranked Marshall, so that is exactly how I use it.
so I rock with it.

100 % better than any LP or PRS I have personally played

so far so good. This is the finest instrument I own and it takes alot for me to day that. I am a died in the wool fender vintage guy.

These things are fine, who are you kidding?

This is a screaming rock and roll work of art

this is a 91 usa sunburst i bought used, has an awsome book matched top, tobbaco sunburst,bound body ,duncan 59 in the neck position and a jb in the bridge,it has an awsome neck, chrome hardware

this can be either subtle or can scream,it gets a great blues tone i play alot of allman brothers type music and this guitar in my opinion is just as good good if not better sounding than my 73 and 79 goldtop les pauls

the action on this is great,makes my playing better because this is so high quality, the book matched flame quilt is better than any historic paul ive evere seen

never had any problems with this. it stays in tune and after 11 years it still looks and sounds great ,this is a hand made gem!

i dont think i will ever need it

i have been playing for 25 years and i believe this is the best playing guitar i have ever owned,looks sound and plays better than any les paul i have or have had,i will be getting another one as soon as i can,in the market now where les paul's and paul reed's are so overpriced these hamer usa model's can stand next to these over priced guitar's on the same level,looks, tone, playability,equal and surpass!!grab one of these while they are still affordable

This is a 1996 US made Hamer. 22 frets, mohagany body with a Hamer type three piece mohagany neck, special bookmatched quilted maple top.(gorgeous too!) in honey amber. Rosewood fretboard, honduran I think. Two volume controls, one tone control, one pickup selector switch. Two Seymour Duncan Seth Lover covered humbuckers.(passive electronics). Schaller locking tuners. Tune-O-matic bridge and stop tailpiece. It is a double cutaway Les Paul. It is made to sound like a Les Paul all the way. I give it a nine because nothing is perfect, but this guitar does all Les Paul things better than most Les Pauls.

I play alot of modern blues (Gary Moore) alot of classic rock (Vintage Leslie West, Santana, Jimmy Page, Robin Trower: et all) I use a Lexicon Signature 284 with a digitech 2101 limited edition for effects only. Vox Wah, Univibe, Boss flanger. The guitar sings with this amp, it does not have a high output with the Seth Lover pickups but a very smooth sustain, with great mids and it does not have those muddy lows that most LP will produce. I think that is why I decided I could part with all my 5 of my LP's. This guitar and amp combination nails that Gary Moore tone right on! Sustain is what really impresses me, it sustains better than any of my LP's did. It is very acoustically alive without plugging it in. Its not noisy in any way to speakof, no microphonics from the pickups that I can hear. This guitar can do anything a Les Paul can do, but for the most part better. I have a 68 Les Paul Custom with PAF's it is a smoother sounding guitar but not as easy to play. However it does just one thing and thats the LP sound. I use Fenders for other types of classic rock. I give it a 10 for LP sounds.

Well the guitar played fine right out of the Hardshell case that came with it. I adjusted it slightly according to my personal likes. There are no flaws that I have found on this guitar, frets, finish, hardware, bridge nut everything just fine. Well one thing, when I inspected everything I noticed that the hot side of the input wire had no stress relief and the solder joint looked cold, I redressed the cable and resoldered it. I can find no filler anywhere on the guitar. Very pleased with Hamer. I think these guitars are a well kept secret for the money. I would put it up against 59 Les Paul reissues for tone and PRS for Fit and Finish. Although the PRS is a bit more versitile. And the Bookmatched Quilted maple top is a 10 top in anyones grade book!

This guitar is very sturdy. It will and has lived up to 4 years of play without a problem. I would never gig without a backup because you know that any guitar will break if dropped correctly. You just have to know how to drop them so they break. Seriously this guitar is built just fine for giging or studio work. All the hardware, pots etc are high quality.

Emailed them once for a question about the guitars build history, got back to me the next day. Otherwise never needed to talk to them.

I've been playing about 28 years, mostly for self indulgence, home studio work/play. I have no regrets buying this guitar, I would but another in a heartbeat if this one was stolen. What do I love about it? Its vintage out-of-phase tone, its sustain, its light weight on my shoulder. There is nothing I hate about it, I bought it for one purpose only and it does that very well. Some day though I wish I could nail that Vintage Leslie West "Growl" he acheived with Mountain.
One last thing about this guitar, there is something special about the tone pot, it rolls off the treble in a unique way, without mucking up the sonic purity of the sound, very nice feature. The volume pots work quite well even in small increments, they set up for a great overdrive/rythym without much fiddling with the pots. I still think Hamer US made guitars are the best kept secret for affordable high quality guitars. ( and I think there all handmade too!!)

Think double cutaway Les Paul for the shape, and Les Paul Standard for most everything else.
One piece mahogany body topped by a beautiful matched two piece maple top. I would compare to the "10" top that Gibson and PRS designate this amount of flame. Mine is a beautiful cherry sunburst with a twist: the red is lighter than many, and the yellow in the center has some orange in it, so that the sunburst is subtle. Absolutely beautiful! The body is a little thinner than a Les Paul. White binding on the top.
The neck is three piece mahogany, rosewood fingerboard, crown inlays. I would describe it as between the normal Les Paul and the 1960 "slim taper" Les Paul. 22 frets. Very smooth Schaller tuners.
Les Paul set up Tune-o-matic bridge and stop tailpiece. Two humbuckers, both Seymour Duncan, JB and '59. One tone control, two volume controls, three way pickup selector. I bought this guitar in late 1997. No unusual or ultra modern features, very traditional, but all are first rate.
Can you guess who Hamer modeled this guitar after?!

I'm into hard progressive rock (Rush, Dream Theater, Led Zeppelin), and the Hamer does it well. It was obviously modeled after the Les Paul, and it sounds and plays very similar. The thinner body results in a less full and dark sound, but given its still thick (relatively) mahogany, maple topped body, the sound is still very full and warm. It also reminds me much of a PRS.
I'm playing it through a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe and a silverface Bassman (through either a Marshall 4X10 or the single 12" from my Hot Rod Deluxe), and the sound is wonderful. The pickups aren't overly hot, but produce a good range of solid sounds (solid rock, blues).
I love the sound this gutiar makes!
Keep in mind this guitar isn't a jack-of-all trades. It makes a few great sounds. Not as versatile as a PRS or some other modern guitars. More versatility would make this a "10" in this category.

This ain't no Gibson Les Paul here! Aside from some very minor filler around a few of the fingerboard inlays, I cannot find a flaw!! Someone spent a lot of time preparing and finishing the control cavities; they are immaculate! The best Les Paul Standard or Classic I've seen is finished nowhere near this good.
It was set up with moderately low action and is very easy to play. Everything was set up perfectly.
The finish on the body is beautiful. The paint was done perfectly to compliment the wood grain. Finish of the fingerboard and frets is perfect; not a single burr to be found.
Everyone raves about the superior finish of Paul Reed Smiths. Pick up a Hamer! No better maybe than the PRSs I've seen, but just as good as any I've seen.

Everything is solid and first rate. No problems yet and I don't expect any.

You're kidding! I'm not going to need Hamer's customer support. These things are solid.

If you're looking for a rich, full sounding guitar that excels in rock, and you are a Les Paul or PRS fan, try a Hamer. I've seen no mass produced guitar finished any better (and few can match). They look great, use top quality materials, and sound wonderful. All for the same list price of a Les Paul Standard or PRS Custom. I found mine at a shop that had all of their Hamers 50% off (actually more than 50% off) because they weren't carrying them any more.
I see few people play Hamers compared to Les Pauls and PRSs (whom I compare them to mostly due to features, price and sound) and I don't know why. These are truely great guitars at a reasonable price. It is fun owning and playing a guitar this great that few others play!
If this guitar ever gets stolen, I will cry first, then scrape enough money to get another one.

Hy Archtop Custom is a '96. It has Duncan '59 and JB pu's in it, Schaller tuners, Nashville bridge and stop tail. It has body and neck binding and MOP crown inlays on the fingerboard. Mohogany neck and body with rosewood fingerboard and a nice 2 piece flame maple top with a sunburst finish. It looks to have 6105 fretwire.

I'm a Les Paul guy and I really like this guitar.It delivers all those fat Gibson tones I like. It's not a jack of all tones guitar, It just delivers those fat sqwakin' tones. The controls are simplified, and the pots are great, turn it back a skoach, and it delivers a great rythym tome for chords.

Built great, almost flawless construction. Set up perfect, you can play it right out of the box. Thumbs up all the way around. The best built USA production guitar out there.

Looks like it will last longer than me!

No opinion, sorry. They answer questions on the unofficial web site, so they really must care about their product.

I'm old and have been playing forever. I've played almost everything out there and am not easily impressed. Hamer really impressed me with it's super quality and tone and playability. Looks killer too! I would highly recommend them to anyone looking for a Gibson alternative. You won't be sorry.