Hamer Californian Doubleneck

The imfamous Michael Fath Hamer doubleneck. Custom made to Michael's specifications, this guitar was used in GHS string advertisements this guitar legend appeared in in the late 1980s or early 1990s. Normal doubleneck configuration of 12/6. The six string neck is scalloped, somethign I have never seen on a doubleneck guitar. Normal Hamer appointments for Californian Customs, mahagony body, maple neck, ebony fingerboards, boomerang inlays. This guitar is red, with a black rose painted by Jim O'Connor. Mr. O'Connor did most of Hamer's high end paint work like the marble finishes. Each neck has a 25.5" scale length, all hardware is black, six string neck has a Schaller Floyd Rose.

It sounds fantastic, but 12 string electrics are kind of passe nowadays. Back when Jimmy used one, guitars did not have piezo options like they do now, so a 12 string electric was the best acoustic sound you could get lieve from a magnetic based electric guitar. Nowadays, using a Hamer DuoTone Custom USA w/ DR Zebra strings and a shark tooth pick you can get just as good or better acoustic tone and save yourself the weight issues of a doubleneck.

Flawless perfect as every USA Hamer I own.

Never had a problem with a Hamer USA.

Perfect, Kim Keller is a great guy and I can not say enough positive about my experiences ordering and buying USA Hamers over the past 12 years.

Not a practical instrument IMO, but I purchased to have it be part of my Hamer USA only collection that now numbers near 30 instruments.

1992 custom Californian Doubleneck, 24 frets per neck (instead of the stock 27), maple setnecks with carved heel joints, scalloped mahogany body, offset dot inlays, ebony fretboards, Hamer/Schaller tuning machines, Schaller Floyd Rose, custom EMG electronics (two 85s two 89s, one SA). 25.5" scale, thin shredder neck profiles, custom switch layout, custom reversed headstock (same as Virtuoso model) on 6 string neck.

great sound, although I have replaced the electronics with Seymour Duncans for more flexibility. The combination of an ebony fretboard and active EMG's lends a very clear and precise tone, but somewhat one-dimensional. I run it through Soldano preamps and a Mesa Boogie 50/50 power amp.

absolutely perfect. Californian doublenecks were literally custom orders in an already custom shop factory, so the fit and finish is a touch better than the already high standard that's found on a 'production' Hamer.

I use this as my main gig instrument. I do bring a backup to all gigs (another Hamer of course!), but have never needed to use it. Nice thing about doublenecks: if you break a string, just switch necks for the remainder of the song :)

Even though the Californian is no longer in production in the USA, Hamer will still talk to you about it, it's still under warranty (lifetime), etc.

The setneck Californian is in my opinion the greatest guitar design ever conceived. It has the playability and access of the best of a shredder guitar, but tonally leans more towards your classic setneck sounds of like a Gibson. The Jackson Soloist is a similar instrument in flexibility and quality, but I feel the setneck (versus neck-through) makes the Californian a superior guitar in terms of resonance and vibe. Plus, all Hamers have this 'mojo' that I don't find in other instruments. I own a bunch and see no reason to ever buy a different brand.