Hamer Artist P90 Korina

As listed in other reviews. Pickups were replaced with Lollars.

This guitar is just P90 heaven to me! The perfect mix of raunchiness from the and airiness, the semi-hollow construction gives it an extra dimension that the solid options lack. It is very touch sensitive - you can dig in and make it snarl, or play finesse it and make it sing. Just a very musical guitar. I can get great sounds out of all 3 positions. It rocks, and amazingly, it sound pretty good playing jazz through a clean amp. A lot of the success of this guitar comes from the Lollar pickups I put in. It was a great guitar to start with, but the Duncans were just holding it back. But I will say the Lollars are not great for jazz.

The playability is typical hamer. A well crafted medium D shape neck, that is maybe a little sharp on the fret ends, and fret board edge. This neck will feel great if you like medium Gibson necks. It is not as easy to play as my Suhr, but I think some of this guitars personality comes from that you have to fight it a little. The Grover tuners are some of the smoothest I've used.

The overall quality is very good. Again, not in the league of the small custom shops, but up there with the other bigger American makers, much better that some of the similarly priced crap Gibson is putting out nowadays. I have a few Hamers, and I think they are an excellent alternative if you want something that is in the same ballpark as the big G, but don't want to hassle with the price and hit or miss quality.

So far so good, but I baby this guitar.

The P90 thing was calling, and this was my first one. I spent a lot of time trying the different Hamer P90 options back to back and this one was clearly the winner. I have since become addicted to P90s and have acquired other P90 guitars and experimented with different P90s. But there is something special about this Hamer/Loller combo. Many guitars have come and gone, but this one stays. There is a special feeling I get pulling this one out: care free and fun. It has serious vibe and mojo. They are a steel at the price they are going for. Get one! And put Lollars in it!!!

Mine is a used 2001 Korina with P90's (stock ones) that I got in the summer of 06. It has a 24 3/4 scale length, great weight and balance and one of the best necks I have ever played. Two volumes and a tone control plus a three position switch. So pretty much what you would expect.

I play blues, jazz, vintage rock, some alternative and pop. It is an extrememly versatile guitar for those styles. It is definitely a mix between a 335 and a Les Paul (which I have and prefer the Hamer over). The guitar has a bright sound from the P90's that are fairly hot pickups, but the Korina body warms it up and makes the guitar sound great. It will feed back if you are facing your amp in a smaller space, but not to an extreme. Feedback is what I would have expected given it has an f-hole and is semi-hollow. All in all it is a joy to play and sounds great.

I bought it used on eBay and took it immediately to my guitar tech to check it out and set it up. So, can not vouge for how they are from the factory. I will say it is the nicest neck I have ever played and that is from a guy that prefers a 25.5" scale and not the 24.75 that the Artist comes standard with.

I know that this guitar was owned by two other individuals before me and that both were working if only part-time musicians. The case has been through hell but the guitar is solid and shows no wear or damage. So, I can only assume that it is a very well built and solid guitar. Hamer is know for their attention to detail and involved process to create a guitar and I think you see it in their guitars.

When I was considering a Hamer I call them to ask some questions. Basically wanted to determine which model to consider and things I should look for in a used Hamer. Since I was not buying a new guitar they could have told me to take a hike, but they did not. In fact they were extremely friendly and helpful. I was so impressed that I felt no remorse or concerned in getting a used Hamer.

Well, I have six other guitars all more expensive than my Hamer Artist Korina P90. Heritage Sweet 16, Les Paul Custom, G&L Comanche, Guild Perregrine, Vox Bossman and a couple of big box accoustics. Except for the accoustics and my Bossman all others were more expensive than the Artist, yet I would keep the Artist over all of them if I had to get to only one guitar. Again my favorite feature is the neck on the Hamer very fast and very very comfortable. I have heard great things about the Lollar P90's and may one day swap a set of Lollars in for the stock Duncan P90's, but if I didn't I know I would not feel anything is missing. If it were stolen I would hunt them down and make they wish they had never been born!

-Korina wood with a beautiful thick natural finish.
-DC semi hollowbody style
-Grover tuners with a stop tailpiece
-Thick LP style neck with 22 frets
-Hard case was included
-Solid Korina top and neck
-Rosewood fretboard
-SD P-90s with two volume knobs and one tone knob

I play blues and classic/hard rock. This guitar nails those styles. I play through low watt tube amps and use TS clones and various distortion pedals, plus reverb. This guitar has a full LP type sound, but can also get Strat type sounds.

The guitar was set up very well. The action was medium, which is how I like it. The fit and finish are flawless. Hamer makes outstanding guitars regardless of price. The guitar has the nicest finish I've ever seen. The Korina wood is beautiful.

Everything seems built to last.

Haven't had to use customer support.

I've been playing on and off for over 30 years. I love everything about this guitar. It's my number one. My other guitars are a Gibson LP, Fender SRV, Wasburn Custom Shop CT-4 and WM-3. I was looking at other P-90 equipped guitars when I found this one. I tried out Gibson LPs, SGs, Godins and Epi's with P-90s before deciding on this Hamer. It's the best one for me.

I also had the three P-90 model of the Korina Artist. Apparently made in 2002. Three P-90s with a five position rotary switch. The switch produces the following Strat pickup combos:

(BRIDGE)-(BRIDGE/MIDDLE)-(MIDDLE)-(NECK/MIDDLE)-(NECK)

The pickups are Seymour Duncans, although I don't know which specific model. The guitar has a stop tail and tune-o-matic style bridge system. All Korina with a 22 fret rosewood finger board. Natural finish. 24-3/4 inch scale. I don't know the radius, and the neck turned out to be slightly thicker that I liked.

One volume and two tone pots on this guitar.

This is the first semi-hollow electric I had ever owned. Playing while sitting was fine. Playing it standing, however, was a different matter for me. As much as I tried, I could not get used to the top heavy feel of this guitar.

I bought this guitar for the strat 2-4 positions it could attain. I would have rather had a five position blade switch (like a Srat), but that wasn't an option.

This is what captured me about this guitar. It has a GREAT range of tones. Whatever Hamer did to design the volume circuit on this guitar, is what every electric should be like. When rolled back, this guitar had a smooth, warm acoustic quality better than any electric I have heard! When up all the way, a great P-90 rock crunch!

This guitar sounded especially great through my THD BiValve.

Other than the normal P-90 hum, the electronics were sound on this axe.

I wish they would have used a RWRP pickup for the middle psition to cancel the hum in the two and four positions. That could be changed by a pickup replacement. Had they used the RWRP pickup, this category would have received a 10!

From the dealer, the action was a bit higher than I would have liked. I had a local dealer, as well as the online dealer I bought it from both set it up.

This guitar would not stay setup for me for the first couple months I owned it.

After contacting both the dealer and Hamer (the later of which did not respond to my email), the dealer did offer to exchange the guitar. At this point, my decision was leaning toward selling or trading in the guitar anyway.

Now, for a bit of a rant. First, let me say the dealer did everything in their power to make sure this was a great transaction. I had decided to go with a USA Hamer based on the many positive reviews and things I had heard, and it did have a lifetime warranty to the orginal owner.

In the end, I traded in this guitar. This guitar didn't work out for me. I accept part of the blame for not returning it with in the two day window (which the guitar spent in the shop). That being said, Hamer did not respond to my email, and I think they could made an effort to do so.

I would purchase from or recommend the dealer, but the extra money paid for USA Hamer warranty and quality was a mistake. Look, I admit I'm far from a great guitarist, but the PRS SE Soapbar 2 I have is as good of build quality as many USA guitars. Sad to say it, but that's what I have observed.

I only owned this guitar for about a year, the last six months of which it spent in its case. Can't really rate this category.

The dealer was great, they would get a 10, Hamer however...

This guitar was so bittersweet. In the end, as mentioned, I traded it in. The tone of this axe was to die for, like a Strat on steroids with an awesome range of tones from mellow to rock!

I can't tell you how I wanted to grow a bond with this axe. However, with the topheavy feel (I've always played solidbodies) and the setup issues I had, I couldn't keep this guitar. Perhaps it will find a good home.

Made in '99, this is an unusual custom shop three P90 vs. standard two pickup version. 22 fret, semi-hollow body with one "f" hole, tune-o-matic, passive electronics. Thinner Gibson style korina fast neck.

This baby rocks... a little knob twiddling and you get a wide variety of sounds. P90's compare favorably to my Gibson custom shop (Stinger) '56 style Paul w/P90's. Not too noisy through either my Fender Deluxe or Vox Valvetronix.

Great set-up, but hell a fresh set of strings and a tweak or two by a trusted repairman usually help. All in good stead.

Great guitar for a gig.... leave your Historic in the studio. Nice finish and fit. Can be trusted, but always take a backup just in case, ya know?

Hamer (Kamen) were kind and informative when I emailed them about the nature of the unusual 3 p/up model. Apparently, this was one of 50 produced for a Hamer fan club get together.

I have played for 30+ years. I have the usual mid-life crisis collection of your teenage dreams.... '57 Strat, 330 Rick, '56 Histoic Paul, Tele Custom, SG Standard, and on and on....

Why did I buy it?..... Korina, P90's, Hamer quality, 3 p/up rarity, light weight, monster tone, and did I mention KORINA!!

My Korina 90 is a 1999 and it is US made. It a solid top arch top with one F-hole, Korina wood all around. Two P90 soapbar pickups, rosewood fingerboard. The neck and whole guitar is very similar to a Gibson Les Paul but without the weight. That's the reason I looked for one; I have a Les Paul and the weight was hard on my aging shoulder. I saw one of these for sale on ebay and I thought the combination of bright Korina and mellow P90 might be a good match. I saw this one at a guitar show and I bought it after playing for only a few minutes. I loved the Gibson type neck and weight. I didn't get to play it live until the next week. More on that below.

Coming off of my 1967 Gibso ES330 the Hamer P90s were horribly weak and noisy. Much too noisy for my work so I replaced them with the new Dimarzio Vitural P90s which were much better. These perform like a P90 but are noiseless like the humbuckers. Still not as good as my old Gibson but what is? I found that the Korina didn't really change the sound like I thought it might but I still love this guitar! I noodle with it every day, play it live, and I seldom take the Les Paul out of the case any longer. It is just so comfortable for me. If I could dump the Paul for a decent price I would replace it with a humbucker Hamer version in a heartbeat. I believe Hamers are a true value and equal to Gibson at half the price. One day the word will get out and their prices will go sky high. I can play any style music on this guitar. I have to give it a lower rating simply because of the noisy P90s.

I bought it used but the action was good. I wanted it a bit lower but I was getting some buzzing. My tech gave it a good adjustment and some minor fret work and now it is low and fast. I don't see any flaws in the finish or workmanship. It is a beautiful guitar.

It seems reliable and I certainly would use it without a backup. The strap buttons are large and additional protection is really not necessary. The tuners seem ok and the finish is soft but polishes up nice.

Never delt with them.

I've been playing almost 40 years. Currently I have a 2001 Gibson Les Paul, 1967 Gibson ES330, 1979 Fender Strat, several basses and acoustics. If it were stolen I would probably replace it with a humbucker version, not that I regret buying the P90 at all. My favorite feature is the Korina wood color and the weight. The color is similar to unpopped popcorn. I think these USA Hamers are a good value and I've never played one I didn't like. I also like the Studio model very much. These Artists are cheap enough that you can buy one and customize it and still save money over most Gibsons.

My Guitar is a 2001 Hamer USA Artist Korina, made in New Hartford, Conneticut, USA. It is a small bodied (similar in size to a DC Les Paul) double-cutaway electric guitar, made entirely of korina; It is semi-hollow. It has two Seymour Duncan p-90 pickups (a Custom in the bridge and Standard in the neck), two volume controls (one for each pickup), a master tone control, and a Gibson-style 3-way switch. Mine is finished in vintage yellow, and is absolutely gorgeous. The bridge is a Schaller tune-o-matic, which Hamer has modified so that the string spacing is absolutely even accross the pickups and neck. The neck is nice and fat (about like a Gibson '59), with a 14" radius rosewood fingerboard (very pretty peice of wood) with medium-jumbo frets. There are Grover 18:1 ratio tuners; the neck is 24-3/4" scaled with a 1-11/16" nut width (graphite nut). No case is included by Hamer rules, but they are relatively cheap and many dealers include one anyway. My only issue is the ugly Hamer headstock; it is just too plain. Oh yeah, the included straplocks (Dunlop) is a nice touch.

This guitar is amazing!!! It has such a range of sounds that you wouldn't believe. The bridge pickup can go from ric-like Jangly to Les-Paul-like thick, with just a turn of the volume or tone control. The neck pickup is like a strat on steroids! It can go from thick like a neck 'bucker (you can NAIL the "woman tone") to strat-like clarity; it is possible to get a convincing SRV tone out of this with the volume rolled down. That is one great thing about these P-90s; they sound more like 'buckers but react to volume controls like single coils. That quality is what makes the middle position on the three-way switch so amazing; I use it about 80% of the time! It can make just about any sound you can think of; it even can cop a relatively believable strat "out of phase" sound (even though only a strat can do this completely). I love everything that comes out of this guitar! The only things it can't do are really metalic stuff (it doesn't "chunk" right) and anything around neon signs (it hums like a mothef#cker!). I use it to play everything from country-rock to Punk; but mainly I play a fusion of blues-punk-ska. My main amp with this guitar is a Bad Cat Black Cat 30r (For those that don't know, this is a Vox-clone, made by the guy who started Matchless) with a fuzz (Fulltone '69), an overdrive (Voodoo Labs Sparkledrive), and a chorus (Fulltone ChoralFlange) in front of it.

The guitar's setup from the factory was pretty good, but it was sent with 10-46 gauge d'addario strings. I had it setup almost immediately with GHS strings (they react better to my particularly volitile body chemistry) in 11-50 Gauge; I tune down 1/2 step. This guitar is incredibly easy to play, even with thick strings. The finish is absolutely incredible (as are all Hamer USA's), deep and smooth with no flaws to be seen. The hardware is top notch (Grover Tuners, Schaller Bridge, Gotoh Stop Tail, Dunlop Strap-Locs), and is all attached and setup beautifully. The electronics are thoughtfully laid out and very well constructed; the pickups are P-90s, which sound good at almost any height (no standard even exists for which to set them). All in all, this guitar has the best "Action, Fit, and Finish" that I have experienced, outside of ultra-boutique instruments.

I give this an 8 only because it is a Gibson-styled instrument, with a 14-degree back-angled headstock, which all have potential problems. They are prone to breaking. Other than that, it seems to be perfectly reliable; no less so than any Gibson Les Paul. The finish will likely outlive me (and I'm only 18!), and is quite thick. The guitar is prone to getting dings, but that is because of the soft Korina body. The hardware is all incredibly solid, including the straplocks. They are the Dunlop type, non-rescessed; you can still use a regular strap with them. IMHO, yes you can depend on this guitar. I would gig with it without a backup, but only if forced; I usually carry two guitars anyway, just to have one with a trem available (Usually a Paul Reed Smith Custom 24).

I have never dealt with them...

I have been playing about four years, and have the following additional guitars/amps:

Paul Reed Smith Custom 24
Fender Telecaster
Parker Fly Deluxe
Homemade Tele-Paul
Pre-Maton J'NS Acoustic
Mesa/Boogie Mark IV Head w/Recto Standard 4x12" Cab
Bad Cat Black Cat 30R 2x12" Combo

I bought this guitar after only playing it for two hours (it took me weeks to decide on the others!). There isn't anything wrong with it; when I bought it, I was looking for strats, but couldn't find one I really liked. I traditionally prefer Gibson-styled instruments such as set-necked PRSi (funky pluralization), so finding a neck that is thick enough for my tastes can be a bit hard in (Modern) Fenders. Then I ran accross this Hamer, which did everything I wanted a strat to do and more, and is infinately more comfortable to me. The only thing that I wished it could do is make a slightly better crunch sound for playing punkish stuff; it doesn't have the same mid contour as 'buckers, so that isn't quite possible. It should be noted that this guitar doesn't sound quite like a semi-hollow; it really is a solidbody. Other than that, I think that this is the PERFECT guitar for anyone playing Indy-Rock, Blues, or just about anything; For "real" punk i would look into a model with humbuckers, but that is not what I wanted when I bought this one.