Hamer Artist

Cherry finish, two humbuckers (2002 model, 59 neck, JB bridge). Wide flat fretboard with a fat neck (90's Hamers had thinner necks). Artist Mahogany, case included, I got a food price new in a clearance deal.

There are two things wrong with this guitar. One of them is the bridge pickup which in my model year is a Seymour JB. It's dull, no top end, just flat and uninteresting. I plan to swap it out for something like a Lollar or a Seymour Antiquity. The neck pickup is no problem. I see that newer models have Seth Lovers or a 59 at the bridge, and that makes sense to me. The JB at the bridge just isn't a good fit for what is a fairly dark-sounding guitar.

The main crappy thing was the nut. It's way too high, the result being that intonation is a nightmare when playing chords like D, A, E because to fret the 2nd and 3rd strings (the worst) on the first two or three frets you're pushing down enough to make the chord go out of tune.
My cure for this was to get a Buzz Feiten retrofit that not only replaces the nut with a lower one, but also makes general intonation much better.
It's generally a fine guitar, and I can't understand why in this area it's so bad. It may have been the year or the guitar, don't know.

Very solid.

Not been in contact.

Apart from the nut and the bridge pickup this guitar is really very very good for a USA made 2-humbucker hollow body. Considering it's something like $300 (in my case) to get Buzz Feitened and add a new bridge pickup it's easily comparable to PRS and Gibsons that are more expensive.

Well, this is sometimes called the Artist, sometimes the Artist Mahogany, sometimes the Artist P90... it's a 2000 model, made in USA of course, of mahogany. Custom opaque white finish, not the usual transparent wood burst or solid black. Carved top, chambered body with a single f-hole, Duncan P90s, stop tailpiece, tune-o-matic, Grovers, et cetera. I don't like rating "features" as I sort of don't want gizmos and switches and such. I want a reliable guitar that feels good and functions well.

Style is vaguely indie-rock. Um, PJ Harvey meets Pixies meets Stones? No real high-gain sounds required, but a bit of raunch and clear, articulate cleans are called for. This is a NICE sounding guitar! The neck and bridge pickups are balanced well and the chambered body probably adds a bit to the tone, making for more vibrations and overtones and such. I use .011s so that probably makes it sound ballsier than .10s or .009s. Intonation is flawless and it's really stable, probably in part 'cos it has a big neck, like a good "vintage profile" Les Paul. The Duncan P90s seem pretty hot, but each sounds good in its position. The tone control is very usable. Unlike a "normal" guitar, in which the tone just cuts all the highs, this one doesn't sap all the life out of the sound. It's the rare guitar in which the tone can be left somewhere in the middle and actually rolled up or down as you like WITHOUT active electronics. With the three-way switch it makes it a very versatile guitar for something with "just" two P90s and no coil-tapping, phase-switching exotica. I'd like to nitpick but I just can't. They are single-coils so yes, there is some hum, but for a rock/pop/rockabilly/indie and probably even jazz tone this is a very usable instrument.

This is where every Hamer I've played (except one that had been abused and neglected for 20 years) shines. Until you've played an instrument that is made by experienced builders from really select wood, in small batches it's hard to describe the feeling. There is absolutely nothing flashy about this guitar, and a non-player would not give it a second glance. I like this understated quality. But the carve of the top, the way the neck joins the body, the very comfy fat-round neck, the uniform thickness of the tight rosewood fretboard, the smooth, even, perfectly-finished frets, the perfect cut of the f-hole, the way you cannot feel where the nut joins the neck, the very thin yet perfectly smooth finish... it adds up. Open the control cavity and see the shielding paint is smooth, there are no rough edges, and the wiring is minimal and clean. The output jack is recessed in a very cool way. It has the most "integrated" feel of any guitar I have owned, and that includes other Hamers. Hard to define.

If this guitar won't stand up to gigging, nothing will. The strap buttons aren't even loosening. Quality parts and careful assembly, lots of solid wood.

I have talked to a Hamer person or two very briefly. They seem to have a great reputation but I'm not really qualified to say.

I'm a pretty experienced working player, in middling-successful original bands nearly my whole life but mostly on bass. I like stuff that is easy to play if you are tired or the lights are dim, that doesn't need pampering, that holds up week after week. In the studio it's fine to have vintage heirloom instruments and 15-watt tweed tube amps but most of the time I want reliable stuff in ATA cases that can produce night after night. This is a basic guitar. Two pickups, a switch, three knobs. Heavy chrome hardware, .011 strings that don't go outta tune, an output jack and strap buttons that don't loosen. I'd love it if that were all. But it has this resonant, hard-to-place something, something almost alive that makes it sound, as my repair guy said "exactly like a vintage Junior should sound" and feel like an old friend. The neck, the balance, the shape, the obvious care in its construction... this is a special instrument. I would rank it with my Pedulla bass and a Martin HD-28 I once played as exactly what I want out of an instrument. You may want something different, but I cannot think of how I'd improve this guitar so I gotta say "10" although I suppose nothing REALLY is perfect.

Made in USA, 1999 or so. 22 frets, beautiful butterscotch finish, Duncan Seth Lovers. This is an addendum to an earlier review from a couple of years ago. A very basic, two humbucker guitar with a toggle to switch between the two.

After struggling mightily to like this guitar and failing, I took a long hard look at the things that bothered me, convinced that it and I couldn't possibly be as bad a match as we seemed to be. One thing that I did was torque the bridge down... It seems terribly obvious now, but the action had been dreadful, set far too high for such a terrific instrument. And voila, most of my issues disappeared. The guitar became far more responsive... It practically plays itself, as any good 24.75 scale instrument should.

The Seth Lovers have proven to be less of a problem than my original review intimated. In fact, as my ears have evolved away from a searing, high gain fusion sound to a more moderate level of gain (ala Warren Haynes), these pickups have become a benchmark for great tone. The guitar has actually been quite a learning tool for me.

The rear humbucker has a very sharp and clear upper end. The front can be muddy. The two together have a delicious acoustic zing when played clean, and a very round and pleasing tone with moderate to heavy distortion. The guitar has a very useable tone for Mary Chapin Carpenter type country as well as for any other rock a or blues material. Through the clean channel of an '88 Mesa Mark III with a Protone Thruster pushing the front end the back pickup produced a very tasty low gain snarl for tunes like "Black Velvet", and sounded similarly tasty through a mildly overdriven Budda Superdrive 30. Also sounded terrific on some of our Steely Dan covers.

As stated above, the action was set miserably. Why this didn't occur to me much sooner is beyond me, but I'm very glad that I took the time to fix it. Other appointments are perfect on this instrument, including a wrap around tailpiece with an adjustable G saddle. Finish is flawless and beautiful.

Perfectly reliable guitar. I always bring a backup, usually some sort of strat in case my ears have a problem with the way a dual HB guitar interacts with the room and the rest of the band. Strap buttons are retrofitted Dunlop Straploks. The finish is thick, durable, and utterly gorgeous.

Playing for over thirty years. Not a collector, just a working musician. This is the first non-strat/tele I've picked up and really liked in many years. I've spent so much time over the last 8 years buying and selling expensive boutique gear and dealing with GAS that it feels good to hold a no nonsense guitar that feels so right.

here, i want to add to my review a bit after woning the guitar for half a year

the guitar is better then i ever thought from start
i was really afraid that working on a really loud stage while using a plenty of distortion could be a problem for seth lovers and semihollow body guitar - and now i am happy to say its not

i tried it on a Moscow R-Club stage playing guitar with porgressive-rock guitarplayer Slavic Selin - i played some very distorted riffs and it went ok - i was pleased and surprised
but the negative side is still there - there is a treshhold of distortion+loudness when guitars start giving positive backdraw to amp and "whistles", but that treshold level is not very low

so i think u cant play rammstien with it - but u sure can play anything less distorted

i think a noise reduction pedal can get more room for distortion - but havent tried it yet, so dont know for sure

half a year - not even a smollest problem

This is truly a 8+ or 9 guitar. sounds _good_, not exactly like LP or ony other guitar - is sure has its own voice. a bit accustic due to chamber, the neck PU sounds deep, warm and has good clarity.
i dont like the sounding of Seth Lover in bridge position - id like some hotter PU, like SD Custom or JB - i think someday i put one there. Anyway, this guitar sounds very good for classic rock or some of 90th rock music - like RATM, Pearl Jam, Black Crows et cetera. I managed a very nice Dire Straits like sound with Rivera R series with bridge PU in store, so someone may like this.

About my setup - i play this thrue Pro Co Rat into Fender Blues Junior or any good tube amp on stage. I play wide array of styles - i work as session guitarist in Moscow, Russia, from rock to hip-hop, jazz, fusion, funk, some times gygs with DJs and so on. For myself i love 90th rock and modern hip-hop like the Roots and Badu.
This guitar can be put into anything live and in studio - exept modern heavy metal and other loud and noisie music.

just one word - good
looks nice, works perfectly - no problem at all
neck is a bit fat for me - i played Ibanez for ages before got Hamer ^^ but i think its just a question of time

the only problem is with reaching 22 fret - i am tall and my palm is big enough to bring some unease when plaing in high fret positions

i give it 9 becouse 10 is for PRS Modern Eeagle ^^

I own it for 3 months only and no problem at all
I definly use it on a gyg without any backup - usually i have a friend who can quickly rewire me a string while i talk out the publick or just let my partners improvise a bit without me

havent dealt with them

I am playing for 8 ears, 4 of them professionaly
I was getting this guitar "blindly", my friend in US offered me to send a guitar he can get at a low price ( i got it for 1500 new in Moscow with all shipment expences). I trusted his words, but i was expecting other - i was looking for a dark mellow sounding guitar like PRS Standard 22 or Custom 22 - and this one really Bites!!! and you know - i like it. i wont sell this for sure, and if i have money for another, i think i would get myself Hamer Monaco - i think Hamer are correctly priced - not like Gibson or PRS now, and they do their job good.

2001 USA-made 6-string 24 3/4" scale electric guitar with a double-cutaway Les Paul-style body made from chambered mahogany. It?s got a 1/4" carved arched flame maple top with a single unbound f-hole. The finish is a stunning 59' Burst. It has a fat, almost U-shaped, 3-piece mahogany set neck with a rosewood fretboard, 22 medium-sized frets, abalone dot inlays, and a graphite nut. There are 2 volume knobs (one for each pickup), one tone knob, and a 3-way pickup toggle that switches between 2 passive Seymour Duncan Seth Lover pickups in an H/H pickup configuration. Schaller non-locking tuners and Gotoh tune-o-matic bridge with stop tailpiece round out the hardware. A Hamer-branded TKL case was included. I'll give it a 9 because it should come with a more durable case, metal volume/tone knobs instead of plastic, and a matching headstock. A tone knob for each pickup instead of one for both wouldn?t hurt, either.

I?m into jazz, rock, folk, blues, and pop. Given this fairly broad taste in music and a very limited allowance for musical indulgences, I wanted a well-made guitar that could produce a variety of good sounds and I think the Hamer Artist satisfies those criteria pretty well. Currently, I have it strung with light gauge (12-52) D?Addario Chrome flatwound strings. (I love the flatwound sound and feel and almost always play without a pick.) My amp is a new Mesa/Boogie F-50 1x12 combo, which I usually use in conjunction with a Zoom GFX-8 through the F-50?s effects loop (with amp and drive modelers off). For variety, I sometimes use the Zoom?s amp and drive modelers and bypass the F-50?s preamp. Through this setup, the Hamer is able to produce a wide enough range of sounds to cover all of the sorts of music that I like to play. It?s generally a very quiet guitar, though the pickups do hum a little if it?s in close proximity to and directly facing a computer monitor, likely because they?re not wax potted, just like Gibson?s original PAFs. I find the neck pickup to have a very warm, dark, rich, full sound, which makes it well suited to jazzy chords, though I'd trade a little warmth for a little more clarity. The bridge pickup is, unsurprisingly, thinner, brighter, more biting, and capable of quite a bit of twanginess, though it'd be nice if it were a little hotter. I've found that the bridge pickup in particular has a kind of harmonic richness I haven't found in bridge humbuckers in other solid body guitars I've tried (such as my friend's Les Paul Standard), so, while it could just be the difference in pickups, it's probably partially due to the chambered body. Together, the pickups offer a warm, rich, full sound with a little less depth and a little more bite. All told, they provide a good amount of tonal variety for what is basically a Les Paul style guitar. However, though the pickups sound great, I find them a little too muddy/dark (neck) and thin/low-output (bridge) to be ideal. I guess I?m just not a huge vintage PAF fan. Had I been able to choose, I think I?d have preferred a SD Jazz in the neck and a SD JB in the bridge. Maybe I?ll swap them out someday. For now, I'll give the guitar a 10 and the pickups an 8 for sound, for an average of 9.

I got the guitar from its second owner, so I can't attest to the factory setup, but it was in near mint condition when I got it, with perfect intonation, a perfectly adjusted neck, very low action (I could lower it only slightly before causing undue fret buzz), and a few minor dings and finish marks. I?ve since switched the strings from 10?s to 12?s, so I had to file the nut a little and reintonate the guitar, but that?s to be expected. Though the flame maple top isn't perfectly bookmatched, it's very close and quite beautiful, and the '59 Burst finish is a work of art (though it's so perfect and shiny that marks show up a little to well). Everything else (bridge, tuners, frets, nut, electronics, etc.) are perfectly installed, finished, and fully functional. The guitar?s lack of binding, gold hardware, or other useless (and usually gaudy) accoutrements make it a gorgeous working man's guitar.

This guitar would definitely withstand live playing. The hardware, woods, and finish are all top notch. But I would never choose to play without a backup.

Despite the fact that it's pretty standard practice for musical instruments, I think it's total BSbullshit that the factory warranty is valid only for the original owner of the guitar. The warranty should be valid for its full length no matter who owns the guitar at the time, just like a car. Or a Mesa/Boogie. What difference does it make who owns it? Thankfully, the guitar is, as previously stated, very well made, so I doubt I'll have need of any warranty anyway.

I've played bass on and off for about 11 years, during which time I started to casually play guitar. I've pretty much dropped bass and seriously focused on guitar for about 4 years. I also have a 1993 Fender American Standard Stratocaster and a 1965 Baldwin Double-Six. I have no regrets about buying this guitar and would be seriously upset if any misfortune befell it. I love its looks, sound, playability, and relatively light and small body when I stand to play. However, I hate the tiny body when I sit down to play it. I also don't think I prefer a 24 3/4" scale, as the strings feel ever so slightly mushy to me, though I am coming from an acoustic player?s perspective. I wish it had come with a nice durable molded plastic SKB case instead of a crappy covered-chipboard TKL case. I would've preferred an ES-335 style semi-hollow body, like a Heritage 555 or Hamer Newport Pro, but I really wanted to sell my Rainsong acoustic so I could buy an electric when this trade happened along my path, so I went for it. Coincidentally, I had just tried a used Hamer Artist and loved it, but, were I to purchase it new, I'd spend the extra cash and get one of the aforementioned Heritage 555's or a Hamer Newport Pro's. Given my druthers, I also prefer ebony fretboards with block inlays or no inlays; I just don't dig dots.

I don't know what year this was built, probably '98 or so. Beautiful butterscotch flames top, far and away the most beautiful instrument I've ever played. Two volume controls with a master tone, with a pair of Lover pickups. Double cutaway semi hollow body with an f-hole. 24.75 scale. I'm borrowing this unit, but it comes with a sturdy hardshell case. Straploks were already installed by the owner. A simple guitar, not many features, but not designed to have the kitchen sink. If you're interested at all in this type of guitar, the features are adequate.

Not a great match for me personally. I play variety music in one band and fusion/funk in another; this would be a far better guitar for the fusion band. After 6 years of playing mostly Fender and Fender scale guitars, the Hamer sounds a little boxy and two dimensional. Single coil and stacked HBs with the 25.5 scale maintain a depth and 3 dimensionality that standard humbuckers don't have, at least to my ears. That said, there's a lovely acoustic zing in the combined pickup position when playing clean. The guitar has a little trouble getting along in high gain situations because of the f hole and the unpotted pickups. I use Budda, Rivera, and Mesa amps with a load of effects (Dynacomp, Pharaoh Tone Engine, Fulltone Deja Vibe or Voodoo Microvibe, Teese RMC1 or Budda wah, Fulldrive II or Banzai Fireball into the front; loop has a DOD volume pedal, DOD FX10 BiFET boost, Zoom 508 or Dano PBJ, DOD Ice Box chorus), so this possibly goes a long way toward explaining the mismatch I'm describing. The guitar handles a lot before heading to whistle city, though, and does a good job copping the Warren Haynes approved Gibson woman tone. A little judicious pedal stomping can go a long way toward controlling unwanted feedback, and in many situations you can get very sweet and controlled feedback in low gain situations (with both pickups on and the clean channel of my R-55 driven by the first overdrive channel of my '99 Fulldrive I got effortless low gain Santana-like sustain at a very manageable stage volume). Not noisy in the least, either.

The upotted pickups are definitely a pain, but for a different sort of player they'd be no problem. This guitar sounds pretty good on everything except very high powered lead stuff, but that's why I have my other guitars, I guess.

No problems with anything here. The things you've heard about Hamer and its craftsman ship are all true. The fit, finish, and setup are all impeccable.

It's so beautiful that I'm a little afraid to really play hard. The finish may or may not scratch easily, but I'm almost afraid to find out. Hardware is all great and very sturdy. But I'd never gig without a backup, and I'd bring along a one of my stratoids no matter what for other tonal options.

I've played for 30 years. Other guitars are Fender, Reverend, PRS and Fernandes. The closest comparison in my collection would be my '87 PRS Standard, and that is far more versatile tonally. I like the basic no frills set up, the humbuckers, and the tonal difference from my other instruments. I think the Lovers are gorgeous pickups, but I'd probably swap something with a little more power into this instrument, probably Duncan JBs or some '59s. Something potted. For the price this is being offered to me, I'd probably feel foolish if I passed on it.

2001 usa hamer artist, translucent red. 2-piece good-looking flame maple top on a 1-piece mahogany partially hollowed out body. 2 seth lover duncans. u know the features. the features are only as good as the attention to detail that they are put together and this is class a guitar building for the economically challenged, a good value for the working man.

i've heard all the opinions on the un-potted seth lovers and on a small typical stage, yes a bar, it is difficult to separate yourself from the amp and some feedback is inevitable. these are not designed specifically for this intense volume situation and high gain can make one look inexperienced. uncontrolled feedback makes listeners and my self uncomfortable. if you just play it at home not much of an issue. i'm considering possible pup upgrades for neck and bridge. consider my pups for sale. is it noisy? see above. bridge is a little over the top bright. excellent clean sounds but again if pups aren't potted you'll be a howlin at stage volume espescially when the rest of your band bleeds in. sounds good but not real useful in real world situations so this reality rating knocks rating down

top is nice, better that $4500 prs! better than $3800 gibson! pickups need to be potted, plain and simple. got screwdriver? EVERYTHING on guitar was correctly installed, this is my first for this! however set-up was below grade for washburn, yes that bad. this explains why the guy sold a this dead mint beauty, could'nt stand playing it! action was way high, truss rod way off and intonation was so far off i could'nt stand to listen to it either! and lastly the nut is a member of the "mile high club", i need to file that bitch down alot to make it right, my next thing to do on this good looking mint guitar. for the f$$$in nut this rating is going to suffer.

with potted pickups it'll do live playing. clue, never do uncontrolled feedback to a room of drunk people or you may not withstand live playing. BIG LETDOWN HAMER!!!!!!! all strap buttons are solid waste, schaller straplocks for all of my guitars. cheap insurance for a pretty guitar. until i get new pickups this guitar is demoted to home playing, thanks again hamer for having your head up your ass!

well they could offer pickup swap. only original owner, the guy who coul'nt stand the shitty set-up had a warranty. all other owners get no warranty. typical corporate america b.s. warranty is a word the new hamer does'nt acknowledge.

22 years of it and still enjoying it despite the fact that 99% of new guitars and all used ones require alot of attention to get them right. low rating reflects the "mile high nut". my new gibson lp standard needed the minor adjustments but the nut was perfect. this requires expensive specialty files to fix the nut. i finally ordered me a set at around $75. i do all set-ups myself as the uninformed at a music store i've found will f$$$ up your prized possesions and give dings and scratches at no extra charge! a guitar this good looking should be set-up to play out of box. used hamers are a good deal though. i chose this flame top beauty for it's unique tone possibilities and because a gibson les paul florentine is out of my price range. all of my guitars get played out, i'm not a collector that just looks at it and polishes it. so time to find pups that don't howl and file that f$$$in nut down. next guitar purchase? probably a new gibson lp standard.

2001 Hamer USA Artist. Double cut-away, mahogany body with voice chamber and flamed maple top. 22 frets, dual Seth Lover humbuckers. Shaller tuners. Pick-up selector switch, 2 volume pots, and 1 tone. Made with love in New Hartford, Connecticut. Not loaded with features, but what guitar is? Features belong on amps, not guitars. I suppose a coil-tap would be nice for some folks, but I chose a humbucking instrument for a reason.

I play straight rock and contemporary worship music which tends a little more towards jazz. The tone is warm and thick, nearly acoustic from the neck pickup. The bridge pickup has more bite. In church, I typically play it fairly clean, into a Peavey Classic 30 with a pedal board which I use sparingly. It distorts very nicely--I prefer the bridge pickup when playing it hot. I had the pleasure of playing it through a Mesa/Boogie rackmount system and sound was awesome. I disagree with the previous review that compares this guitar to a 335. If you love the 335 tone, do yourself a favor and try the new Hamer Newports. The Artist has fatter tone than a solid-body, but still has more in common tonally than the solid-body than the hollow.

Caution: Do not open the case without a drool-cup nearby. The workmanship on this axe is amazing. I believe the factory specs were 17 coats of hand-buffed laquer (love the smell!). The finish is a "59 burst" which goes from a translucent orange to a crimson as you work towards the edge. I know this doesn't sound all that attractive when read, but you'd have to see it. The store where I bought it had several new and vintage Gibby's and one 2 year old PRS with similar "bursts". The Gibsons weren't even in the same league, and the PRS, while excellent, didn't have either the warmth in terms of color, or the shine. The maple top is breathtaking. The back is mahogany. It's almost a shame that I can't play it backwards to show off the grain and finish. The action is low, but doesn't buzz. I didn't have to modify the factory setup.

Made with great components and excellent workmanship. Hope it stays this way forever, but for most guitars, durability=not dropping them. I would never leave it unattended or subject it to the Artic Blast of Minnesota winters. My wife pointed out that I've been warming up my truck before putting the Hamer in and suggested that it would be nice if I did the same for my family.

Promised me the guitar in 6-8 weeks from the time of order and got it to me in 3. Waranteed for life to the original buyer.

I've been playing for 14 years, but only 4 with any degree of seriousness. This guitar has "the love". Unbelievably well made, especially given the price. Looks so great I was afraid to play it for 2 days. I'm not going to insult your intelligence and say that this beats any custom Gibson or PRS, but in my opinion it is as good or better for substantially less coin. I have yet to meet the guitar that does everything, but what it does, it does very well. I have played several Hamers, including this one, the Artist Korina P90, and a few Newports, both with and without the Bigsby. The US made Hamers are as well-made as any guitar on the market. If you can't feel good about a guitar unless you have to take a second mortgage on your house, Hamer makes an "Artist Custom" with Ivory binding and crown inlays, and an "Artist Ultimate" which is the custom with all oxygen-free Monster Cable internal wiring and Duncan Custom shop pickups hand-signed by SD. At some point, you stop getting noticeable increases in value despite rising costs. I would replace the Artist just as I bought it without hesitation.

Chambered solidbody archtop with one f-hole on the bass side, double cutaway, size and scale same as Les Paul but considerably lighter, one-piece mahogany back, bookmatched solid flame maple top, chunky three-piece mahogany neck with adjustable truss rod, rosewood fretboard, 22 medium-sizes frets, Schaller tuners, teflon nut, Gibson-style tune-o-matic bridge and stop tailpiece, 2 Seymour Duncan Seth Lover pickups, volume control for each, master tone, three-way pickup selector. Made late 1997. Honey-colored lacquer finish, effect is gold tint over the flamed maple top, gorgeous! Paid $1,200, came with hardshell (wood covered with vinyl coating) case.
This is a basic electric in the same vein as the Les Paul and ES-335, without bells and whistles, but is flexible with loads of tone, yields fat woody blues notes and chunky rhythm chords, chiming, ringing sustained chords and arpeggios, or stinging, snarling, nasty rock leads and fat power chords, depending on your mood, attack, and amp settings.
I give it a "10" on features because it is a player's guitar in that the simple but high-quality, well-executed layout gives it all the flexibility you want in the classic 2-humbucker type guitar.

My style is blues and classic rock. This guitar fits in perfectly. Although it's chambered and has considerably less mass than a Les Paul, it sustains reasonably well (I won't claim it beats the laws of physics and sustains just as much as a Les Paul -- but it definitely sustains better than a 335.) What it sacrifices in body mass and therefore sustain, it gains in tone color. To my ears, a Les Paul has a smooth, powerful hi-fi sound which works great matched with a cranked Marshall to achieve rock-level smooth overdriven tone. But I always thought Pauls lacked character when played clean or only slightly overdriven. Here's where the Hamer shines -- I think it marries the best tone features of the Les Paul and the 335. It sounds GREAT clean, neck pickup yields just enough woody airiness to give you a great, fat, but still sparkling blues/rhythm tone and FAT lead notes -- full-bodied but still edgy enough to cut through. The in-between position is great for chiming chords and clucky clean leads. The bridge pickup has a snarling bite and gets you right into rock tone zone overdrive if your amp's set at the edge of distortion. The Duncan pickups seem to be a perfect set up on the guitar, just the right amount of power, full-bodied and bloomy with a nice smooth edge, a classic-sounding PAF-style pickup.
I'm not a collector or accumulator of gear; my arrival at this purchase has been proceeded by ownership and sale of several other guitars, including several different model Strats, SG, Epi LP. I currently have only this Hamer and an Am.Std. Strat. Between these two axes, I have every guitar tone I want available.
I play it with a VHT Pitbull 45 and Fender Vibrolux with a Tube Screamer, depending on the song or my mood. It sounds great with both, but tends to overdrive the bottom of the Vibrolux when turned up, to the point of flubbiness if I'm not careful. But I'm thoroughly satisfied with both setups. The VHT has EL84s in class A in the output section, with the Hamer it chimes to no end clean and is really stinging and snarly in overdrive, but in both modes sounds balanced and has full low end. At the edge of overdrive, the guitar responds beautifully in your hands and generates very colorful, full, rich ringing tones. The 6L6-loaded Fender responds differently, less pronounced upper mids, but also Fender sparkle in bright channel which really grooves and stings with neck pickup -- classic R&B sounds at their best. Again, the comparison to a 335 cannot be avoided, but dare I say better? I've played it with a 50-watt Marshall JCM 800 combo I used to own and it did everything you'd want from that setup -- classic rock rhythm and screaming thick but edgy lead tones.
Because of the lightness and chambered construction, this guitar will get into some cool feedback when played in front of a loud, overdriven amp. Cool, mid-to-high frequency harmonic feedback, not the rumbly or howly kind you might get with a hollow body.
The humbucking pickups and electronics are quiet. The controls are very smooth. The tone control works very nicely and smoothly in taking you from bright sting to mellow smoky jazzy tones. You can get beautiful tone shades by mixing signals the two pickups in the in-between position using the volume controls.

The guitar was perfectly set up with .009's brand new, medium low fast action, no buzz, in tune all the way up the neck. I prefer .010's and higher action so I had to re-do things, adjustments were the standard ones, same as on a Les Paul, easy to do, truss rod nut behind plastic cover on head stock. Pickups were perfectly adjusted so they balanced, volume-wise.
The maple top is perfectly bookmatched and wonderfully selected, with "stripes" approximately 1/2 inch wide which really go wild under lights -- very striking guitar. Also has lovely underlying grain pattern. The carving in the top is like that on a PRS in that it follows the horns of the cutaways to points, instead of flattening out like a double-cut Les Paul. The result is an attractive and distinctive top shape. I think it's more accurate to call this a carved top rather than an "archtop". The one-piece mahogany back and three-piece mahogany back have lovely grain and color, as does the rosewood fretboard, dark brown-to black. Neck joint is tight and there are no flaws in the finish surrounding it (like I've observed on some Gibsons -- a shame).
Laquer finish is perfect, high gloss, clear, no dust, no "orange peel", no grain depression, no buffing marks or swirls. Overall fit and finish is flawless, with small exception of laquer flaking a little on sides of teflon nut -- curious they would try to lacquer over the teflon. I used an exacto knife to cut around and remove the lacquer from the sides of the nut and then lightly scrape the cut edges to taper them down, now can't tell anything was done.
All hardware is accurately and cleanly installed, no nicks, chips, burrs, nothing.

Guitar's now only 8 months old, no visible signs of deterioration except belt-buckle scratches in back (light) and light scratches in top from picking hand, where a pickguard would be (there is none). The laquer is tough, though, seems to be multi-coat and the scratching is minimal in depth.
Everything's stayed in place, and I tend to really hammer on my guitar when things get going. Nothing's broken and have had no mishaps. Haven't even had to re-do the intonation.
Would definitely use it without backup.
Opened up control cavity to have a look, and it's wired as neat and clean as you could hope for. Cavity is metallic paint-shielded, and cover plate is metal, not plastic.

Have been playing for 24 years. Have owned several different model Fender Strats, Gibson SG, Marauder (yikes!), Epiphone Les Paul, various acoustics. Have now settled on this axe plus an Am. Std. Strat, between the two do everything I want.
One comment I didn't make previously is that it does not have the slim neck and fretboard found on some Les Paul models, rather, the neck is on the beefier side for a solidbody. I prefer this because my hands are large and I get too crowded up trying to fret chords on a slim neck.
As noted above, sound comparison is cross between Les Paul and ES-335, I think it combines the best of both. Picked this guitar because it does exactly what I was looking for and has killer looks. When I bought it, was also looking at ES-335, Guild Bluesbird and Starfire, Gipson Nighthawk, various other semi-hollowbodies. ES-335s are getting outrageous, pricewise, new or used! The first time I picked up the Hamer I knew I was finished shopping, and haven't looked back. If it were stolen I'd buy another in a second.
Despite its simplicity, it's a very versatile guitar because it sounds good both clean and in overdrive and excel in both modes. Very playable. Inspires creativity because it sounds so darn good.

USA made, 22 frets, semi-hollow with curly maple top, two volumes, one tone knob, Hum/hum pickup config (duncan Seth Lovers), Passive electronics. Mahogany bod, neck with aforementioned maple top. body style is roughly an LP with double-cutaways. Tune-o-matic bridge with stop tailpiece. stock tuners (schaller, I think), Neck scale, I think is 24 3/4". Came with a nice case.

Very sweet sounding guitar - I use it for many styles, my favorites are jazz & blues. I've mostly played it with my digitech rp5 & 6 thru my church's PA and have gotten many complements about the tone. I like to play it through my Mesa/boogie Studio Caliber, with which I can get very convincing rock/blues/jazz/funk sounds (with radical eq/channel/efx changes between each style) I can also get (surprise) a good country quack using both pickups.

To be honest I'm no judge of finish quality, but I've found nothing wrong with it, even after playing it for a year and a half. I bought the guitar out of town and never even got it set up for the big strings (13-56) I use, and it plays great. The only electric guitar I have to compare it with is a Hamer Special, with which I am equally satisfied - I'll not impose a rating in this category.

I have had exactly zero problems with this guitar, and I have gigged with it nearly every week for over a year. I don't think that I'm rough on guitars, but this one is VERY well built.

Have never had to deal with the company, I have no idea what the warranty is - never had to use it. (you know how it goes, "you can't play a warranty at a gig")

10 yrs playing, have another Hamer, a Fender SS amp, an Ibanez bass, a couple of Seagull acoustics. If it were stolen or lost I'm not sure if I would buy this model again, but that's probably because there are so many other guitars I'd like to try out. then again, I hate the thought of losing it. I'd probably not want to spend this much again on a guitar (and I got about 40% discount on this one) - I think there's a studio (not as fancy) model, plus there are SEVERAL other Hamer models that make my mouth water. I'll give it a 9 in this category - I'm VERY satisfied with it.