Hamer Duotone

Korean Duotone with an "F" hole on top rather than the circle cutouts. Nice looking, especially from a distance, sunburst finish. "Duncan Design" pickups with a piezio. Dual output jacks for electric/acoustic amplification. Dot neck. Two tone controls, one volume, all in a line. That last piece about the controls is the only thing I dislike about this guitar. And becuase I have 5 or 6 other Hamers, the same holds true for them. I always have to stop and fiddle trying to figure out which control does what, and its because of the arrangement. When the controls are all in a straight line, they all look and feel alike. Gibson has the ideal arrangement with separate volume and tone controls for each pup, and they're not all on the same level.

This is one wonderful sounding guitar! I've only used it once so far playing in a club, but I was wondering if it was just a quirk that it sounded so good at home. No quirk - those pups are warm, articulated and make the sound of each string jump out at you. Forget any bias about the price or the "Design" in the name, theis pups are wonderful! I did not try it in acoustic mode as yet, but the electric mode was absolutely stunning! I use it for blues and some jazz. Main amps are either Music Man or Rivera in clubs and Magnatones at home. I try to hold stomp boxes to a minimum - maybe just a Voodoo Labs Sparkle Drive. Effect boxes include an Austone VibroStomp and a Teese Wah. Been fooling around with a Vox ToneLab which sounds very promising.

I bought it used, so it would be unfair to judge how it came from the factory. However, the volume knob is shot and, while useable, will have to be replaced. Other than that, no problems. The bridge is fixed, the nut is proper height, the action is very comfortable, the frets are medium gauge. A big biggie, is that the guitar is very light. I'll give it a 9 for the volume pot only because other reviewers have said they had to change pots, so it may be a weakness in this guitar.

Haven't had it too long, so no rating. Shot volume control as mentioned.

I use a local tech I trust for repairs/advice.

Been playing for over 30 years. USA Hamers and USA Schecters are easily my favorite electric guitars. This is my first non-USA Hamer and it was well worth the price. Amps and effect/stomp boxes are as listed above. Now for the funny part...This guitar was sitting at my local GC for about a year with an asking price of $400. I was interested but told the salesman, a friend who usually will go the extra mile in getting me a deal, that the store could not go lower. I told him I had seen the same guitar on eBay for $275 to $300. So for a year we were stuck. No one else even looked at the guitar, because everyone wants Fenders and Gibsons without trying to assess what's right for them. About 2 months ago, GC had a clearance. I went, didn't see the guitar and was about to leave, when, lo and behold, I saw it stuck in a dark corner of the showroom - price was $200. In the long run it may not have resale value, but for $200, or even the original asking price of $400, this is one very, very nice guitar, wonderfully playable with great tone.

This is a review for the import model.

The features, especially considering the price, are phenominal! The finish is a nice vintage/cherry sunburst with no factory flaws, and the binding looks good. The body is a flat top, double cut, thinline LP style. The top is sprice, the back and sides are mahogany, and the fretboard and bridge are rosewood. The neck feels thick, but it's still pretty fast (it's not like a baseball bat or anything, but it sure isn't a Strat neck). You probably already know if you're researching this guitar, but this is a hybrid. It has an acoustic-style bridge with both an active piezo pickup and passive humbuckers. It has two separate output jacks (one for electric and one for acoustic). There is a 3-way switch that selects either the humbuckers, the piezo, or both. There are two volume knobs (one acoustic and one electric), a tone knob (electric only) and a three-band EQ with gain for the piezo (accessible using a ceramic screwdriver on the back of the guitar. It is a pain to adjust this EQ. My particular guitar is upgraded with Duncan '59 pickups and Grover tuners.

This guitar is extremely versatile - mostly because of the two pickup systems. I'll describe the two outputs of this guitar separately.

Electric -- This guitar sounds really fat. I have Duncan PAF's in there, and they sound pretty big - maybe a little too big. I am considering a change to Duncan Alnico Pro II's (they are really sweet pups). The volume and tone knobs are terrible - I totally recommend that you replace them (I will be soon). The fat, beefy tone can get almost too dark sometimes, and I tend to like darker tone. This is well-suited for rock, but not necessarily all forms. It's not the best at light crunch sounds, but it does a decent job. It works best clean or at medium overdrive levels. It just won't work for metal, but I don't really like or play metal (so I guess I don't care about that one).

Acoustic -- It has a very convincing acoustic tone, especially considering that this is almost a solid body electric. I think that it still needs a little help, though. I usually run the acoustic side through an acoustic processor and into the PA. I've used my friend's SWR Strawbery Blonde (a really nice acoustic amp), and that works almost as well. The (mostly) solid body detracts from the acoustic tone, but you can process it well enough for an audience.

Together -- This is where the guitar shines! No, it's not my best sounding electric. Yes, my rosewood-backed acoustic with a mic would sound better... but you can have a good acoustic sound and a good electric sound all at once. I play this guitar all the time, just for its versatility. The ability to go from jangly acoustic to full-on overdrive is just fantastic. For solos, it's a cool touch to keep the acoustic side going to have some clear, acoustic tone alongside your overdriven solo tone. Independently, they are a 7, but together they are a 9. I'll average those to make an 8.

I bought mine heavily used and abused, so I can't comment on the factory. The feel of the guitar is good, although it can be a little stiff at times.

No problems yet, and this guitar's already been through a lot.

Never dealt with them.

I've been playing alternative and classic rock for 11 years. Like I mentioned earlier - this isn't my best electric or my best acoustic, but it's a good electric and a good acoustic all in one. There are other hybrid options out now, but this is the only one I've played. I like it, and I would certainly recommend it to anyone who needs a versatile guitar.

This is for my Hamer Duotone USA, transluscent red with f-hole. Bought new in 2003, I've kept all the original parts on it including pickups, knobs, tuning keys, etc.. I want to say it has a spruce top with maple bottom. Upper portion of guitar body is hollowed out (hence the f-hole). Lower portion is solid body. Two toggle switches: first is for the usual 3 positions of pickup selection, like on a Les Paul type of setup (but located near the tone/volume knobs). Second toggle switch selects between acoustic pickup (under the bridge), electric pickups, or middle position has both on at same time. This guitar also has two 1/4 inch instrument jacks. One cord can go to your electric guitar amp, and the other goes to an acoustic guitar amp. Using the toggle switch allows you to play through one or the other amp, or both at the same time. Pretty nifty! The sound on both electric and acoustic is very nice! The acoustic tone is especially stunning. A friend commented that it sounds more acoustic than his acoustic. A professional recording engineer also had high praise for the acoustic tone. Nice looking binding around guitar..very eye-catching.

I play rock, pop and blues mostly, and this guitar is diverse enough to handle all of the above. I use Music Man 100 watt or Peavey 5150 120 watt amps, and it sounds great from both. I also use Fender Acoustisonic for the acoustic setting on the Duotone guitar. The guitar sounds so clear and crisp on both electric and acoustic, but especially the acoustic side. Not sure if this would be a good metal guitar, but I think for nearly any other style of music it would work well.

Guitar had perfect setup out of box. Action is close to frets, didn't need any adjusting on my part. Neck is straight, binding done very well, transluscent (see-through) red finish is flawless on front of guitar. The only flaw scared me at first...there's a small crack in the paint job on the back of the neck (where my hand would hold on, around 1st fret). I was fearful that this might be a crack in the neck and sent it back to the company. They inspected it and determined it was only the paint cracking, not any flaw in the neck. Slight imperfection, but could have been worse.

I use it for shows about twice/month and it's been great for me. These USA-made Hamers are hand made, so there's great attention to detail, and I am confident of it's lasting ability. I keep my guitars pretty well polished up so the finish is lasting quite well. Binding is great, beautiful. I would use it at a show w/out a backup....but I still always have a few guitars in case of a broken string. It's faster to change guitars than strings in a live setting. Tuning keys work nicely and keep guitar in tune for a long time.

Customer service was fine. I sent it back once to inspect the above-mentioned crack, and they were good about it, returned it to me in a fair amount of time.

I've played 20 years, own Les Paul Classic, Tele, Dillion acrylic, Guild acoustic, ESP bass. I would buy the exact same type of guitar if this were lost/stolen. I depend on this guitar for certain tones and flexibility that no other guitar offers me. Love the look, feel and sound of the guitar. I'm a lover of heavy guitars, but this one is very light due to it being semi-hollow body. It's weird putting down a heavy Les Paul and picking up a feather-weight Hamer, but for the quality of guitar that it is, I'll live! I compared this to the Korean version of the Hamer Duotone, and didn't like the Korean version. It didn't feel as nice nor did it sound as crisp and full as the American version.

usa, 3 hole solid spruce top. it came w/ SD jb/59 pups, which sounded good. i swapped 'em out for SD phatcats (humbucker sized P-90's, more on these coming). acoustic bridge & electronics.

this is it for me! i'll never sell this. i use this guitar both for acoustic duo gigs (strung w/ acoustic strings), and w/ my neo-jazz original project (strung w/ electric strings). the amplified acoustic sound (w/ acoustic strings) is very good; my buddy has a martin acoustic electric, which is kinda apples & oranges (its a fully hollow acoustic), but the duotone has more low end, and slightly less complex top (hey, its semi-hollow). i leave the magnetic pups turned off until i take a solo, then roll the volume up (mag pups thru a yamaha magicstomp w/ light OD/comp/delay) and WOW! what a sweet blended tone.

believe it or not, this thing REALLY impresses me as a straight up electric. strung w/ 10's or 11's thru my carr rambler (booteeky fenderish amp), it has the sustain of a solid body w/ some of the airy-ness of a jazzbox. i attribute this to

1) semihollow spruce top,
2) phatcat pups,
3) wooden bridge.

i'm a rawk guy who dabbles in jazz, i like neo-jazz stuff best
(sco, MMW, charlie hunter), this guitar does that stuff so nicely!
then, crank the gain, and damn if the phatcats don't sound mean and gainy! killer.

nice. 2nd best fit/finish of all the guitars i own/have owned
(2nd only to my hamer artist custom, which is still only my 2nd fave guitar).

only complaint is sometimes the high E will come off the side of the neck when i get too excited soloing. i'll deduct 2 for that.

got this used w/ gig wear, have put more wear on it since then. i think the spruce is softer than maple, so it might ding easier. minus 2.

dunno.

my #1, try one, esp w/ phatcats, ypu'll be pleased.

I have owned the USA model of this guitar for 4 years. I bought it used but it was pristine. I owned the Korean version before that. It has a solid spruce top with three sound holes and is finished in natural. There are two Seymour Duncan humbuckers and a piezo pick up. There are two output jacks... one for the electric pick ups and one for the acoustic. There is a three position switch for the humbuckers and a volume & tone knob. There is a volume knob for the piezo and an EQ accessed through the back. There is also a 3 position switch that allows you to use both outputs at once... to me the real beauty of this instrument. One feature that would have been nice is coil tapping or splittin to be able to split the humbuckers to single coils.

This guitar sounds great... clean, dirty, acoustic, or a blend of those. Sometimes I run the electric side to my pedal board and Peavey Classic 30 tube amp (with upgrades) and the acoustic side through an acoustic effects pedal either to the PA or another amp. With that set up the sound is amazing. Some sweet crunch with a blend of clean smooth tone. The acoustic side gives you nice clean attack and the overdrive gives you dirt and sustain. I play for contemporary church services and a local band. I need to get nice U2 type delay sounds, overdriven tube amp tones, and clean tones. This guitar does all of that. We have an acoustic player with a Taylor in the band so I never really use it as a solo acoustic guitar. I keep electric strings (10's) on the guitar which sound a little thin on the acoustic side... but blend nicely with the electric side. It really enhances my playing and creativity.

Having owned both the Korean & USA versions I can compare the two. The Korean version uses cheaper components. Over time the pots got real scratchy and the output jacks crackled when the plugs were moved. The Seymour Designed pickups on the Korean version sounded good but don't touch the responsiveness and tone of the real deal in the USA model. The fit, finish and quality of the USA model is way better. It came with a sweet tolex case but I generally haul it around in a molded plastic Gibson LP case that I had (a perfect fit) so that the original case stays scratch free.

This guitar can and does withstand live playing. I depend on it so much that I whittled the number of guitars that I own down to three. I would try one for a while and even rehearse with it before a gig... but when gig time came I would play the Duotone. It stays in tune very well which is more than I could say for my Strat.

I haven't had to deal with Hamer yet.

I have been playing for 35 years and have owned quite a few guitars. This one is my favorite and never lets me down. I recently sold my upgraded Strat because it was a shame to see it sit around in the case... never could keep that thing in tune. I would not hesitate to buy another USA Duotone. Once you've figured out how to get great blended tone you can't go back.

mine's a USA model. "59 burst. PRS style swithed tones from the humbuckers, and very realistic acoustic tones from the piezo. i'd like to point out, that, while it does have an acoustic style bridge, the strings still go through the body, so the bridge shouldn't shear off "as acoustic bridges sometimes do." very comfy neck. alot like a robin avalon or savoy. very akin to the 335 dots neck. mine came w/ a les paul style tolex case. the top is solid spruce....oooo!

i use it w/ a variety of amps. dig., solid state and tube. great match-ups so far. chorous is very welcomed w/ this axe's tone......not needed, but the brightness.....or "brilliance" of the HBs really drive the effect......so, it's pretty rich sounding. like i said b4......the acoustic tone is very realistic, on account of the solid spruce top and hollowed tone chamber. top marks in this category! i have noticed no noise from this axe.

hamers have always been known for their top notch workmanship. the only probs i notice seem to be design flaws. (1). the 2 adjusting screw pickups can wobble if they're not tight enough, (2) "hameritis", there always tends to be some strange whitening on glue joints on transparent finished hamers.....probably a reaction of glue and laquer.....unsightly, but i haven't seen one come apart yet.,(3). now....i love the nice, thin, comfy neck on these....however, they have to make the head/neck joint dangerously thin to achieve this........and.....if the guitar gets dropped the wrong way.....that head is gonna SNAP right off......(i've seen it happen)....if you don't drop it you should be OK, tho'. (4). this is a matter of taste.....and it's part of what makes this axe sound so good.......the hollowed out tone chamber.......it does the job......however it should be mentioned.......that this feature tends to make the guitar a little neck heavy.

otherwise, great wood, hardware, construction, look.....very well finished.....beautiful burst !

it's a 95, and it looks like it's hardly played. frets are still clean. all hardware is still tight. i would not hesitate to depend on this one even w/out a backup.....(arrr.....i be not afraid...arrr!!!)

i got it used, so, no warranty. i haven't had to deal w/ the mfr yet.

26+ years i've been playing and trading. i've had 2 of everything.....except duotones( i was in a band in the early 90's called the duotones.....predating this guitar.......should i sue...?)

this is a gem. the only thing that i don't care for is the weight distribution. i love the tones and versatility and the sexy looks. i traded for it because i was bored w/ my strat....wanted to try something different. i can compare it to a ernie ball music man axis super sport piezo i used to have.....this duotone has much better acoustic tones.....but i like the way the axis ss balanced better. the duotones HB electric tones are brighter too.......even with dead strings.........probably a result of the acoustic stuff in it and spruce top. i wish i had an axis ss w/ the duotone's acoustic sound.....i might go back.........otherwise, GREAT AXE!

Date of manufacture is unknow. It is made in Korea.
Other data has been listed in other posts.
It did not come with any accessories.

I play in a church related contemporary praise & worship band. Music ranges from very mellow, slow ballads (adapted from traditional hymns) to heavy beat, distortion (youth oriented). The church suffers from poor acoustics which cause howling feedback. I had been researching alternate instruments (Ovation Viper, Carvin AE185/AC175, etc) and have considered constructing and instrument from Warmoth parts. I live in Hawaii and do not have access to many of the models that are available from the various manufacturers. I found this guitar in the back storage of a small shop locally and it certainly is good enough to meet my needs.
The acoustic setting matches the slower, mellow music that we play. The ?buckers are very capable of mild to heavy distortion. It?s nice to do this at the flick of a switch.
Current setup is to an AER Compact 60. It?s a high-end clean acoustic amp with two independent channels. I have the piezo into one channel and the electric into the second channel via a TS7 distortion pedal. The AER has a single balanced out to the PA (a 3k watt monster, I may add).

I am impressed with the quietness of this guitar. On their website, Hamer mentions that the control cavity is painted with an RF shielding paint to control interference. There is no noise that I can hear.
The piezo required a bit of tweaking to get to close to a true acoustic sound. It will never replicate the Taylor that I normally play, but the versatility far out-ways the overall sound quality. The ?buckers are warm and do not have the single coil bite of, say, a Strat.

The factory setup was unusually high, even compared to an acoustic. Oddly, there is a low E fret buzz somewhere around the 12th fret. I loosened the truss rod tension about ? turn, which reduced, but did not eliminate the buzz. The pickups were adjusted well, with no hot strings.
The grain of the spruce top is very fine and nice. The paint/finish has many flaws, however. There is overspray on the body binding (from the sides of the body) and the nut is completely painted (from the headstock).

I?ve only had the guitar a week so I can?t comment on the reliability or the durability. The hardware appears to match the cost of the instrument. I used it live on Sunday. The controls were smooth, with no static.

One of the primary reasons that I purchased this was its versatility. Our church stage area is very small and congested. There is not enough room for additional guitars (12 string, 6 string acoustic, Strat) and switching guitars mid-set really breaks up the flow of the worship service. To this end, the Duotone is an effective solution for me. For the 6 to 8 songs that we play each week, I do not normally bring a backup. I don?t think that there is much that can fail on an electric guitar other than string breakage (vs a Variax where electronics failure would result in loss of signal). So, changing the strings regularly and bringing an spare 9v battery for the acoustic preamp would be enough preventive maintenance.

The factory strap buttons are adequate, however, I changed to Straplocks as a normal course of business.

Hamer website does not contain much technical data. They have a single "owner's manual" posted which covers all of their guitars. I would recommend that they improve their website.
Have not had any reason to contact the company

I give the Duotone a relatively high rating, perhaps 7 on a scale of 10. I deducted 1 point for the overspray, 1 for the fret buzz, and 1 for price?the price doesn?t match the quality of the instrument (but I bought it anyway).
I?ve been playing for 35 years and own the usual assortment of guitars, pedals, amps and other gear. This guitar is light (much lighter than a Strat), doesn?t feedback, and offers a variety of tones. If it were lost or stolen, I would consider this guitar and the new Variax 300 as a tossup.

My Duotone is the Korean model made in the mid 90's is my guess. It's has the spruce top with the sunburst finish. Two Duncan-Designed humbuckers, one piezo pickup, and dual outputs. Volume and tone knobs for electric pickups, Volume knob for piezo, and 3-band EQ for piezo on the back. It's kind of bizarre that it's on the back, but it's nice to have the EQ option.

I bought this guitar with the intent of finding a backup guitar for my Carvin AE185. The AE185 is a very similar concept to the duotone. I toyed with the idea of buying another AE185, but I wasn't in the mood to spend another $1200 or so. I found the Duotone on E-BAY for about half price so I bought it. I've only had it about a week, but so far I'm really impressed with the similarities of the two guitars.

I run the electric output into a Vox Valvetronix modeling amp and I run the piezo output into a Marshall AS50R Acoustic Amp. I also use a "pan" pedal to pan back and forth between the electric and acoustic sounds. It's a sweet setup, but I needed a backup in case I broke a string. I believe the DuoTone will serve that purpose well.

I love the EQ option for the piezo pickup. When I first received the guitar, the piezo sound was very different from the Carvin. I did some tweaking and now the two guitars sound very similar, actually the DuoTone has a little more "sparkle" than the Carvin now. It's kind of hard to judge since I haven't used the DuoTone live yet.

I bought it used from E-Bay, so of course it wasn't perfect when I got it. It had .009's on it but I prefer heavier strings so I replaced them with D'Addario .011's with the wound 3rd.

The action was a little higher than I like, so I adjusted the neck slightly and got it feeling good. As I was playing with it, I noticed some pretty significant fret buzz on the 2nd fret. I'm guessing to really fix the problem would mean to refret the first few frets. I went with the cheaper alternative which was to raise the action up a little. It's slightly higher than the Carvin now, but it's still lower than most acoustic guitars.

The finish was pretty good. I love the sunburst finish. I noticed a few little specks of something in the finish, but you've have to be looking for them to find them. It's all a matter of perspective. If I would have paid $2000 for this guitar (like the USA version), I'd be less than satisfied; but since I paid less than $300, I'm thrilled!

I plan on this guitar being the backup so there's less to worry about. If this were my main axe, I'd definately have a backup. I'm more concerned about string breakage than I am about electronics failing or hardware falling off. This guitar seems to be pretty solid. It stays in tune much better with the heavier strings I put on it.

Never tried to contact them.

I've been playing for about 12 years now. In the last couple years, I've been leading worship at our church more often and the acoustic/electric combo is a nice setup so you don't have to switch guitars during the worship service. It would be a tragedy if I broke a string during the set with no similar type guitar to finish the set with. The DuoTone is a great backup for the setup I've got.

Korean made. Mine was probably made by a blind person who does not play guitar. We'll get to that later. The Duncan humbuckers are OK, the piezo pickup sounds reasonably good thru a clean amp and a PA. The two separate outputs function well.
The rest of the features have been covered before, so no need to be redundant.

I play Rock, R&B, Blues. The Guitar actually sounds good with either pickups, as the Duncans and the piezo work well.

An absolute trainwreck. Where do I start?

The nut is covered over with overspray from the headstock so badly that to remove it (I wanted to put a bone nut on it) would probably damage the headstock finish.

The nut is cut so badly that to play chords in the first few frets will always produce sharp sounds, as the strings have to stretch too far to touch the frets. This is no 'opinion', or matter of taste. There's just no way to play the guitar in tune until I take it to a pro for a complete setup. Guitar setup is very subjective, I realize, BUT you should at least be able to play in tune in the lower registers!!!

The guitar came shipped to me with .009s. So I wanted to put .010s on it. Two hours after I did so, the action was ruined. BUT, the neck is straight as an arrow. This means I have to have the saddle trimmed. This guitar needs a total setup just because I went from 9s to 10s? Ive never played a guitar with such horrible action. Im not sure the guitar can handle the tension from .010s!!!!

I have never seen such poor fretwork on ANY guitar. EACH fret needs to be leveled. EACH fret has such deep file marks that when I bend strings, you can actually HEAR the scratching thru my amp. Feels and sounds just awful.

I think the F-hole was cut by a Korean with a pocket knife, no CNC here. No binding around the F-hole, there are rough edges, I've never seen such poor work.

The Tuners are a bad joke. I've been playing for 30+ years, and I have always been able to keep a guitar in tune. Not this one. This guitar is made only for light strumming. Don't DARE stretching the strings!!!

The finish is too thick, ruins the sound. The crap underneath the finish (factory dust, etc.) really detracts from the appearance.

No damn way would I use this guitar live. I cant wait to sell it to some unsuspecting person. The WORST guitar I have ever owned, hands down.

Now, let's see what Hamer can do for me. I bought the guitar stamped 'USED" on Ebay, but the guitar appears as new. The serial number is obliterated. But that doesnt account for the shabby nut, saddle, fretwork, etc. I think companies stamp their guitars USED to avoid having to do fix their shabby workmanship. There is no reason for a guitar to be made this poorly. I expected a lot better from Hamer, even if this guitar is Korean.

I'm 50 years old, been playing since 1963. I've seen great guitars and I've seen guitars that amount to nothing more than wall hangers. Mine is the latter, rather than the former.

If Hamer were to step up and agree to take responsibility for such a trainwreck, I'd continue to buy their guitars, figuring that every manufacturer has bad days.

If this guitar were lost or stolen, it would be the answer to my dreams. I'd take the insurance money and get a Dean or a Godin.

For the money, this guitar could have been a real home run. As it is right now, it's just an unplayable hunk of wood, plastic and metal. Like I said, if Hamer were to take responsibility for this poor wormanship, I would eat my words and post an apology right here on Harmony Central. Until then, I have no recourse, because the guitar has no warranty, even though it is essentially a new guitar with no miles on it, because it cannot be played as is. Let's see:
Fret dressing: At least $75.00 (Every fret needs it!)
New nut installed: At least $35.00
New saddle installed: At least $30.00
Truss rod adjustment: At least $20.00.
What a bargain, huh??? If I have all this work done, I have a 'USED"
Hamer and $589.00 invested in it!
Caveat Emptor!!!

Mine is a 1995 model. Pretty much all the basses have been covered in previous reviews except the reviewer below me says his has a maple top. Mine is a solid spruce top with a
solid mahogany back and sides. The idea behind this guitar is brilliant. Use a spruce top instead of the typical electric guitar top wood. This makes the guitar sound identical to an electrified acoustic when the piezo is in use but how will it sound for full blown electric? State of the art, that's how. I don't get real excited over a guitar very often. I have had many guitars since I started playing in 1964. Some are worth a lot of money however, this guitar is the best made, best sounding guitar that I own. The workmanship is second to none. The neck is medium size with large frets and a beautiful rosewood finger board. I bought this USA duotone after trying out the import model in a music store. (new 599.00) The import version gets high marks here and it should. It sounds great. I started looking for a used import on e-bay when this USA model came up buy it now for 649.00 with hsc.

Now for the sound. It has it's own sound. I think this is mostly due to the spruce top. It stays tight sounding on neck pick-up and very full. Very bluesy. The middle setting (both pick-ups) is Bebop, jump blues, BB King, Duke Robbilard. You know, that sound. The bridge setting is rock and roll, Albert King, Billy Gibbons. You know, that sound. Now start mixing the acoustic sounds in with the electric and it is a whole new world. I play out a lot and I use a 1952 Ri. Fender tele ( a very well made guitar) that I have tricked out with a 1968 Gibson humbucker in the neck, a Duncan hot rails in the middle and the stock Fender bridge pick-up. I also added a Bigsby tremolo. Now that guitar flat out smokes but this Hamer will pick up all the ground that the tele can't get. I play through a 1977 Fender Deluxe Reverb and a Peavey Blues Classic. My drive pedal is a Nobels ODR-1, Boss Tuner, Boss Autowah, and Boss digitai delay. I take my time when I shop for equipment and I keep what I buy. This Hamer is no exception.

I bought it used in very good condition. fit and finish are excellent. Everything works as it should.

I can't think of anything bad to say about the quality of this guitar except maybe the Hamer name should be inlaid into headstock instead of silkscreen.

Do your homework. Check this guitar out. Compare it to other guitars even guitars costing three times as much then decide.

Hamer Duotone 1995 USA, 22 frets,semi hollow, bullet hole model.2 humbuckers with a piezo bridge.
Duncan 59s for the HBs not sure on the piezo. Passive electronics,sunburst finish, nicely done. Maple top, mahogany back and neck, double cutaway,non adjustable piezo bridge, string thru body design,Schaller tuners, 24.5 inch scale, beefy c shaped neck.Hamer case and truss rod adjustment tool with integral phillips screw driver.

Sound is amazing, throaty humbucker sound from the neck and beautiful creamy distorttion in the middle, bridge pickup screams like a banshee. Piezo pickup does a really great imitation of an acoustic which you can tweak with the 4 mini pots on the back. Variety of sounds is mind blowing. Cant put it down.

Ebay prize so I had a little set up to do. The thing literally fell into tune with just a minor bit of tweaking. The bridge is fixed so all I could do was dress the frets and put a little relief in the neck. Finish is excellent with the usual players wear. This axe is a player.Controls work excellent.

The reliability question will have to wait. I never gig without a backup

No experience

Playing for over 35 years,other gear: Fenders,G&Ls, Gibsons,Epis,Magnatone,Moserite,Hanocasters,Musicman,Roland.
What I love about this axe is the versatility and the tone. This was my first Hamer (I have since bought an Eclipse). And it doesn't have to be lost or stolen, I am already searching for another one

I bought this guitar used off of eBay, where the previous owner had replaced whatever came stock with a Seymour Duncan Super Distortion and a SD '59. Other than that, it's the stock Korean made model. String-thru-body tailpiece, active acoustic preamp/eq thingy...

What inspired me to try this model out, and eventually buy it was playing a friend's hollow-body PRS. I fell in love with it, but wasn't ready to shell out the big bucks on a serious axe like that.

Been playing it for a little over 3 months now, and I have very few complaints. I'll get into that below. The electronics are simple, the switches are solid, and it's a quality guitar.

Actually it's a bit smaller than I was expecting, but the more I play it, the more I love it. However, it really could use a common output, where you get both acoustic AND electric outs. I may have to open it up and do a quick solder-job to make that.

I play a lot of Mark Knopfler-esque stuff, but I also like to play hard rock/ heavy metal type of music. I wanted a guitar that didn't lock me into any one style, and looked good. I'm a sucker for the tobacco sunburst paint job. This has a nice open tone to it, which works well for almost everything except heavy HEAVY metal, where you need an Ibanez to really reach.

It has a very rich sound, although sometimes I wish the tone went past ten. It's not bright sounding at all right now, although I'll be putting some Gibson PAFs in there soon enough.

Surprisingly, the guitar isn't noisy or anything like that when I turn the gain all the way up. Using a Fender Stage 112 and a Boss Metal Zone pedal (we're not going for subtle here), I'm able to crank out Incubus songs with tone almost identical to the original recording. The notes are clear and true, and switching between pickups gives a solid, yet varied range of tone.

The acoustic side is a bit lacking on its own, however. I needed to run it through a true acoustic preamp to get the kind of tone that I wanted. It wasn't the "flick and switch and you have an acoustic" type of action I was hoping for. And actually, even when I did this, the difference between the acoustic and electric output wasn't all that different.

I really like how much of a wide open tone I can get with the DuoTone. The natural sustain and decay of the notes is perfect for me. With a chorus pedal, this thing sounds as sweet as ...umm... as a really sweet thing.

This guitar is beautiful. Theh wood is a dark dark red with black grain all throughout the back and neck. The front is a light sunburst with white bonding around the corners. It looks like a million dollars, and on stage, it looks even better.

The action is surprisingly low for a korean semi-hollow body. I was expecting something along the lines of a regular Hamer with a hole punched in the body. The action is totally even from the first fret to the 22nd (or is it 21st? eh). Even with the low action, I can pound away on the lower strings (I use 11's) and not get any buzz. Unbelievable.

Nothing came broken or out of place to me. Of course, I'm the second owner, but still... nothing wrong here. However, *something* makes this guitar go out of tune very easily. I'm not sure if it's the nut or the tuners, but it's worth noting because I saw somebody else mention it.

Again, this guitar looks great, and is easy to play. It has taken the official title of "Couch Guitar" in the apartment. C'mon, you all know you have one.

No problems yet...

Couldn't tell you

I've been playing guitar for 8 years, and I've gone between an Ibanez and a Tele goign through Fender amps for the most part. I think this is the most I'd consider paying for an import guitar, and I was a bit hesitant about a semi-hollow body Korean import, but I've yet to see any real flaws. Like I said, I'm going to replace the pickups, but that's just a personal preference.

All of my guitar playing buddies who have played it want one. I haven't tried out the American version (which goes for something like $2500), but I'm sure that plays like a dream. If you see one hanging on the wall at a music shop, pick it up and try it out.

If it was stolen or lost, I'd probably be really pissed off for a few days, but then I'd get over it and probably find another toy.

This truly is a great guitar for the money. My dad has a PRS Acoustic/electric guitar that costs more than 10 times what this cost, and I love this guitar just as much.

It is a Korean import that is actual a quality instrument. It has two Seymour Duncan Humbuckers and a piezo bridge pickup. Two input jacks, one electric, one acoustic. A volume and a tone selector for the humbuckers and a seperate volume selector for the piezo. It has a mahogany neck and back with a spruce top. Neck-Through. I believe that teh bridge is a Fishman like the ones that Fender uses on it's acoustic models. It has the Gotoh style tuners.

The neck is one thing that surprised me most. Most Korean made guitars have very poor worksmanship in the neck, but this guitar is an exception. It has a smooth, c-shaped neck like a Gibson and the fretwork is flawless. You won't have to worry about slicing your hand open on poor fretwork (which I have done on more that one occasion).

I like to play a little bit of everything and so far this guitar can handle more of it than I thought it would. It can play blues, country, rock, hard rock (not metal though - but if you are into metal you won't want a guitar like this anyway. You can get a very bright sound out of the rear humbucker and you can get a smooth, jazzy tone from the front.

The action is perfect. I get no buzzing when it is played correctly. The only complaint I would have is that the bridge alignment is slightly off, but it still sounds great and you would have to be looking closely to notice. This guitar is new and has no real scrapes or dings to speak of.

I would have no problem taking this guitar up on stage. I would never go on stage without a backup in the rafters, but I trust this guitar to make it through the evening. THe finish seems fine, however, there is no pickguard so I'm sure that with time the finish will take a beating. The hardware seems to be well installed and they really didn't seem to cut the usual corners that most Korean-built guitars have.

I've never needed to use them.

I have been playing for over a decade now. If it were lost I'd have absolutely zero hesitation to buy another. For the money this guitar is very hard to beat.

This is the Korean Import Duotone. I bought it on eBay and it was represented as a second, but I can't find a mark on it. Basically, it was mint.

The description is as many people previously listed... On the top are two Duncan Designed humbuckers and a piezo acoustic bridge pickup, 3 way switch plus volume and tone knobs for the humbuckers and a volume knob for the piezo. There's a 3 way switch to go between electric, mixed or acoustic tones. The piezo controls are accessed through little holes in the back of the guitar with jeweler's screwdrivers. In other words, set it and forget it.

The tuners are a typical imported enclosed type and I had to tighten the tension in them to help keep the guitar in tune. Otherwise I would have had to replace them.

The finish is a pretty sunburst. It's a genuinely attractive guitar with double cutaway, almost symetrical shape.

The neck is what attracted me to Hamers in general. It's reasonably wide and somewhat fat, more like an acoustic guitar. I have big hands and I'd love to transplant this neck on my Strats and Telecasters.

I give it an 8 only because the tuners gave me some grief initially.

I play country, blues, old rock, some instrumental... I'm sort of like people who say, "I don't know art, I know what I like." Well, I'm that way about music. Show me something I like and I don't care what you call it.

For travelling around to play with friends, it's a very handy guitar. The acoustic tones are not something I expect from my Martin or Tacoma, but they are a whole lot better than a bunch of electric guitars I played in this price range with so called acoustic capabilities. (Parker P38, Telecaster w/Fishman Bridge, Fernandes Monteray) Basically, an Ibanez S2020 for $1100 was the only guitar I definately heard superior acoustic tones from. (drool!!!)

Where this little guitar really shines is as an electric guitar. The pickups might say Duncan Designed on them and many people discount the idea that means anything worthwhile, (not REAL Duncans), but I'll argue until I'm blue in the face that these are some of the gutsiest humbuckers I've ever played. They are dead quiet and they have a snarl to them that is like a humbucker version of something a Texas blues player would invent. It's totally different than my Les Paul. You can play the neck pickup and make it reasonably sweet and mellow for jazz, or you can play the bridge pickup and it's got some bite.

Notice I said "reasonably" and "some"... While the pickups are REALLY capable, the pots could probably be changed to provide more variance in tone. You'd have one hell of a guitar with better pots. Maybe I should find my Stewert McDonald catalogue when I finish writing this.

Mixing electric and acoustic tones is an interesting sound, but in moderation. I've had the guitar 6 months and generally play it mixed on full bore electric with the volume of the acoustic capabilities blended in at about 6-7. Something about a piezo quack comes through above that, but then there are some songs that works in. Like someone before me observed, this would be a truly great guitar if the acoustic controls were on the top of the guitar like an acoustic, instead of this goofy idea of putting them on the back. Personally, I blend out the mid range almost completely, boost the treble to about 3/4 and throw the bass all the way up to accomodate the most realistic acoustic tone through my amps. I usually play it through my Fender Acoustasonic, or believe it or not, for really nice acoustic tone, a little 15 watt bass amp.

If you get a Duotone, also get a Y-cable for it so you can plug into both 1/4" inlets and mix tones. Occasionally I use 2 separate cables to my recorder and get one electric track and one acoustic track. Doing the EQ and mix later on is how I decided the guitar might benefit from better pots. I've also used 2 cables to 2 amps. Your mileage may vary.

I give the Duotone an 8 primarily for it's electric guitar capabilities and 1 more just because it can act acoustic when I want to. Hmmm... that's a 9.

I got my Hamer used from a shop in Nashville, (via eBay), but they had new strings and a good setup on it when it arrived. Since it has an acoustic bridge with a saddle like an acoustic guitar, (as opposed to a Fishman Powerbridge resembling an electric guitar saddle), there isn't a lot you can do to adjust the setup shy of cranking the neck. I left it alone for a few weeks since it was coming to the heat and humidity of Miami, but nothing has happened to it in the 6 months I've had it. Basically the action is between an electric and acoustic, but it works without fret buzz, so I haven't messed with it.

I loved the pickups as soon as I played the guitar, so I haven't messed with them either.

At the risk of repeating myself, it's a cosmetically pretty guitar. Across the board, I think Hamers probably carry more points for pride of ownership than any brand I can imagine other than PRS with 10 tops and birds. The joints, stain/paint, binding, neck finish, electronics installations... All are top rate.

I'm a hobbiest that occasionally plays out with friends and only occasionally gigs. I'd never play without a backup, but I'd certainly use this guitar for live play. (Hmmm... dead play??)

Basically, I think this is a pretty tough little axe.

Never had to deal with Hamer... I've heard good things from friends who have though.

I've been playing 35 years, although only real seriously for the past 5. I also play a 94 American Strat, a Fat Tele, a Std Tele with Bill Lawrence pickups, a 97 Les Paul Studio, a Danelectro Hodad, a Peavey Ecoustic, Yamaha Compass A/E, Martin DX-1, Tacoma Chief... and some others. I play them through a Fender Acoustasonic, Frontman 15, Bassman 15 or a 1975 Vibro Champ... also a new little Hiwat Bulldog 30 I'm pleasantly surprised with.

What do I like about this guitar? It's electric tone is awesome, it's acoustic tone is useful for not having to take another guitar with me, it's light to wear for hours at a time, it's visually pretty, it's got a great neck, NOW it stays in tune, it fun and it's different. I love to play something like a bluesy electric number and after it's over, flip the switch and play some sweet sounding little acoustic fingerpicked riff and have friends look around and wonder where the hell it came from.

Based on the electric tone alone, I'd replace this guitar in a minute if it were lost or stolen. It's too much fun.

This is the Korean doutone. Mahogany body, spruce top, rosewood bridge, semi-hollow flat top with f-hole. Electric: 1 vol, 1 tone 2 duncan designed humbuckers. Acoustic: 1 vol knob, 3 band eq and gain on back of guitar. 3 way toggle for acoustic, acoustic & electric, electric. I wish the eq for the acoustic were on the front of the guitar and not just adjustable with a eyeglass screwdriver.

This is where this guitar shines. I bought this guitar for both the acoustic and electric tones. I had trouble with feedback with my old Yamaha acoustic electric so I thought I'd give this a try. At very high volumes no feedback!!! I had no idea that it would sound this good through the P.A. It is crystal clear and doesn't have that piezo quack when you hammer on a note or chord like most acoustic electrics have. The single note lines have dynamics and sound perfect and the chords sound full and clean. The real test was in the recording studio through powered mackie speakers, and it sounded even better. I plug the acoustic jack into the P.A. always. I also like the electric sounds through the humbuckers. You won't get that single coil strat clarity and treble bite but you can get great warm earthy tones. The clean sound is nice and mellow through my Fender hotrod amp and with my origional ts-9 it really shines. I can set it up to get hollow body type sound. With distortion it sounds full even with the fender distortion. With my pod I can get raunchy Marshall and Boogie tones that are full and agressive with great sustain. The fuzz sounds can get down right evil. With my friend's Flextone it seemed to bring the amp to life. I was surprised at how loud I can play without feedback, if you play really loud this might be a problem. With my Doutone and Fender strat I can get a huge variety of tones with very little compromise.

When I got this delivered by fedex from across the USA it needed a small truss adjustment. I don't know if it was the trip across the country or just wasn't setup right (buzzing strings). The frets could be sanded around the edges a little more, I'm sure the USA hamers are cleaner that way (no big deal to me). The electric jack pops once in a while if you bump it too much. My main complaint is that it goes out of tune too easy, I don't know if it's the nut or the tuning pegs. I usually have to tune it at least once during practice or gigs. Otherwise it was setup good. The playability is perfect. I love the feel of the neck. It's one of those guitars that you just don't want to put down. I gave it a 7 because of the tuning

I've only had it 3 months without problems. I would never use a guitar without a backup at a gig, but I'm 99% sure I wouldn't need one, but you never know.

I have no idea. I don't know what the support is like for Korean Hamers. It's Kamen music (ovation).

I've been playing for 22yrs. I pride myself in tone and this thing delivers. I thought I would never buy a guitar without playing it first, but this was cheap enough that I figured I could get my money back selling it if I didn't like it. I can't believe this could take over as my number one guitar. I've played a ton of guitars over the years and am pretty picky but I heard a lot of good things about Hamer and played a friend's Hamer USA and some others at music stores and really liked them. I'm not a good acoustic player but with this thing I can wail and get the sounds I've heard in my head but can't get my hands to do consistantly on a regular acoustic. If it were lost or stolen I would order one immedeatly. This guitar makes my setup exremely versatile. Mate this with a strat and you can get almost any sound from acoustic to hollow-body cleans to aggressive distortions with the doutone and the crystal clean and biting distortion with the strat.

Mine is a 1994 model with the standard configuration (for a Duo Tone) of dual humbuckers and a piezo mounted in a wood, non-adjustable bridge. The finish is orange burst, with a sound chamber on the upper part of the body. The body is double cutaway, which makes getting to the upper frets pretty easy.

Pretty common stringing - they pass through the body from the back and pass over the non-adjustable bridge. I believe the tuners are Schallers (although Hamer occasionally varies from this).

I've had mine for about a week so I'm still getting used to the sound. I love the fact that I can get an acoustic and an electric sound out of the same guitar. (And do this in a truly diverse manner rather than kicking the overdrive in on a piezo pickup. I did have to do some tweaking of my amp settings to get the acoustic pickup to "warm up." Then again, I may have had to tweak a little bit more because my Rockman XP-100 is a bit noisy and a bit on the twangy side on when the EQ is set flat.

I've been very happy with the tone of the humbuckers - I believe they're DiMarzio's, and the wood bridge really gives them a nice fat, warm tone without being too brittle.

I bought mine used so I'm sure the original setup is long gone. The action is very low, and it's a 50/50 situation. I love the neck as it has the same thickness at the nut and at the body. But, the strings are a little buzzy. Unfortunately because of the bridge setup there's not much that can be done (at least easily). Otherwise, the frets, fit and finish are still in excellent condition for a 7+ year old guitar.

The volume and tone controls work just fine, and the pickup switch for the humbuckers is working well. On the other hand, the selector switch for which pickup system is in use (acoustic/humbucker or both) is a little squirrely. The humbucker setting works fine, as does the acoustic setting. However the mixed (humbucker/acoustic) tends to "pop" out of position sometimes.

I don't gig out so I don't really know how well the guitar would stand up to live events. Given that Hamers are solidly built I don't think it would really be a problem. The hardware has held up fine so far, and I think it will continue to do so. I can't say that the strap buttons are original, sinc I don't think Hamer installs strap-lock type buttons as the norm, but they're definitely not going anywhere.

I bought mine used so I don't have any stories to tell about support. I know Hamer goes out of their way to provide good customer service, but as they're also a small shop it may take some time to get your guitar back if you send it to them.

I've been playing for about 15 years although never seriously. I've got other Hamers in my collection as well as a Les Paul. I would definitely buy another one if this were lost or stolen as I love the versatility of the guitar.

2000 Hamer Duotone (Korean import)
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- double cut-away semi-hollow mahogany body, carved spruce top w/ F-hole, 2 piece mahogany set-in neck with 22 fret shortscale rosewood fingerboard, "jazz-burst" finish
- 2 seymour duncan designed humbucking pickups
- under-saddle piezo pickup with active preamp (3 band EQ and gain settings accessable through the back panel [tool included])
- dual output jacks (1 for electric pickups, 1 for piezo)
- 3 control pots: volume (electric), tone (electric), and volume (piezo)
- 2 3-way switches: electric pickup selection and electric/piezo blend

After a bit of work (see next category), this guitar has become a key part of my collection both in the studio and onstage. It is a pleaure play, hear, and look at.
It is right at home playing jazz, blues, funk, rock, fusion, even orchestral arrangements.. . I wouldn't recommend it for metal or the like (A- the semi-hollow design would severely increase unwanted HF feedback, and B- it's too damn pretty).. . It's got a beautiful, clean, bell-like tone, free of fret buzz.
The Duncan pickups that it came with aren't that amazing (they are, however, much better than the pickups that ship with most other $500 guitars), and they are more than enough when put through a tube amp (and ideally a spectral enhancer).
The neck pickup is warm and smooth, the bridge pickup is sharp (not too sharp) and bright (not too bright), and the blend (which is out-of phase) is bouncy and full.
The piezo pickup and preamp will stand up next to that of my $1200 Ovation (and actually sound quite similar).
This is a light, semi-hollow guitar, and therefore tends to resonate low notes and high notes longer (watch out for LF and HF feedback), and tends to die out earlier in mid-range notes (not horribly or even noticeably to most).

I was quite dissapointed with the way this guitar came factory shipped. This guitar came out of the box in need of the following work:
- truss rod adjustment
- saddle adjustment
- fretboard and fret leveling (the fretboard bulged up toward the nut on one side, and the frets along with it)
- the EQ board was a problem (I re-stripped and secured the faulty groundwire connection only to find out that the gain pot was defective), my dealer ended up providing me with a new EQ board.

If I weren't capabable and willing to do the work myself, I would have returned it. It would have cost me an additional $100+ just to make it playable.

On the other hand, the stop is seemlessly matched, the neck and body woods, paints, and bindings are beautiful, and the finish is thick and smooth.

The semi-hollow body makes it overall a pretty fragile instrument (it would take little effort to crush it), so I would definately recommend a hard case for travel, but as far as actual playing, it maintains tuning through some pretty drastic string bends and vibratos, and the hardware/electronics seem steadfast and dependable.

I've never actually dealt with Hamer (Kaman music) in my ordeal with this guitar, but the shop I bought it from was a great help. :)

(see "Sound" category)

I believe this guitar was made in the USA in 1993. IT has the standard Duotone controls 1 volume and 1 tone for the electric portion, 1 volume for the accoustic, a three way toggle to select electric, accoustic or electric and accoustic and a three way toggle for the pickups.

It is the older model that has the three circular sound holes as opposed to the newer f-hole model. It is equipped with Seymour Duncan pickups that are the finest sounding pickups I have ever heard. They are very full and rich sounding. You can really make this thing scream!

This is the Clark Kent of guitars. Mild mannered, deceptive conservative looks, but let this baby go into the phone booth and plug into a Fender Tube and it can leap tall buildings!

This is without question the finest guitar I have ever owned. I've owned and still own several guitars by Gibson, Fender, Yamaha, Peavey, Kramer, Gretch and Epiphone. Not one comes close overall.

This guitar is very versatile. You can play hard rock, jazz, pop or country with ease.

I find the neck to be excellent, also. It is what I consider to be middle of the road - not as thin as I would like, but certainly not a fat neck.

When you open the back of the guitar The electronics compartment is finished off as nicely as the outside of the guitar. It has an adjustable eq on/in the electronics compartment. This works flawlessly.

I'm trying to find something to complain about, but it is nearly impossible. This is one great guitar! My one complaint against the guitar is it seems to go through more 9v batteries then I would like.
I know that's weak, but I can't find anything to complain about!

I play almost all originals that are mostly 70s stlye rock/pop or country/country rock.

I use it mostly with a Fender Hot Rod Deville with 4-10s, but I also use a Marshall (not sure of the model) practice amp and I sometimes use an old Sunn (solid state) with 100w and 2-12s.

It obviously sounds much better with the Fender tubes, but it does fine with the others.

I haven't been able to eq out some of the booming bottom on the guitar, so sometimes in soft passages, it is more balsy than I like.

There is one slight teeny tiny finsh flaw near the neck. You have to get in just the right light and at just the right angle to see it, though. Overall this thing is finished out like a Rolls Royce.

The fit and finish are every bit as good as PRS. It is finished off better than many "custom built" guitars I've seen.

I mostly write and record, but do play out some. There have been no problems with the durability of the guitar. I usually play it for 10-12 hours per week with gust up to 25.

I would (and do) gig without a backup!

I've been playing for 22 years and own 6 guitars at the moment, but have owned tons! I have many many pieces of equipment - lots or froo froo, but mostly I play this thing straight onto a Fender tube amp. I find that I don't need a lot of extras, since this guitar is very versatile and you can evoke many emotions from the Seymours and the Fender tube amp.

If I ever lost this guitar, I would immediately get another! If I could onlt have one guitar, this would be it! (Don't tell my '64 J-45, she thinks she's my baby!)

1999 korean hamer duotone,acustic-electric,double cutaway,mahogany semihollow body spruce top,cherry sunburst finish,22 frets,two duncan designed humbuckers,piezo pickup(for acustic sound).vey light good on the shoulder,the neck is a little fat kind of a epi les paul's neck,even with the double cutaway the access to the higher frets is not that great.

it suits any style of rock derived music,from soft alternative to punk to death metal,i play with 3 bands,rock-punk-metal and i can get what i need for each style with this guitar.i use a fender roc pro 1000 with a 1x12 celestion cab and it sounds bigger than life,though the acustic pickup has to be conected straight to the pa the get the acustic sound,through the amp it does not sound acustic at all.the pickups were a little muddy so i put a duncan jb in the bridge,now it sounds great.you can get any sound from this guitar,it has an output for the acustic and another for the electric and a toggle switch for changing between the two or the two at the same time,all in all you have two guitar in one,you can even equalize the acustic sound to your liking(3band equalizer).

it what set up nicely,tha action was low enough for my taste,no flaws on the finish.

it is light so it is great for live shows and in my opinion it can withstand live use,everything is solid,the finish gets dirty easily otherwise great.iused it recently in a show and it was great but i had a backup just in case

havent dealt with hamer

ive been playing for 14 years,i had lots of guitar but no fenders or gibsons,i also use a epi korina sg which is great.i always try to get the best guitar for the money and this one is .if it get stolen or lost i would get a used usa made model because it has duncan pickups(59 and jb).i love almost everything about this guitar except fot the fat neck.i wanted a double cutaway and an acustic so i got both in one.