Hamer Echotone

This is an update of my recent review of this guitar mostly intended as a clarification since I feel, after reading bPlayer's review. I may have done this guitar an injustice by referring to it as a "budget guitar" not realizing that that expression automatically implies "cheaply made", something this guitar isn't. I only meant that its affordable to the average joe.

I habitually refer to all guitars under $700 as a "budget guitar" in a world where some of my guitars cost $2000+. It's an arbitrary thing I tend to do. By no means did I mean to imply this is some low cost entry level guitar with compromised "budget" quality. This is a pro guitar that rivals a Gibson ES-335 and several people online have said its as good or better. You be the judge. I'm too busy aiming for a Hamer Monaco III to care.

The quality of my korean echotone is not only top notch, it has become one of my favorite guitars especially now that I have my string action set up perfect and tended to a few maintenance issues. I have added Duncan PAF style bridge pickup which was the plan from the beginning.

I've also since added a used Hamer Californian to my collection of guitars which is perfect.

I purchased this guitar second-hand for $350. It is a beautiful red colour. It is somewhat heavier than a Gibson ES 335. Apparently, it was made in Korea, but I can't be 100% certain. I may replace the tuners with a more expensive, stable set at some point, but this is far from being an urgent requirement.

The Echotone seems heavier than a Gibson ES 335, but it has better sustain than the Gibson (see below).

This guitar has excellent tone. In fact, one particularly experienced guitarist colleague who also builds guitars told me that in his opinion, this Hamer has richer tone and better sustain than any Gibson ES 335 he has ever owned or played, in spite of the fact that the ES 335s bodies are made with more expensive woods and their necks have bone nuts. Another colleague also thinks that this Echotone has better sustain than any ES 335 that he has played. Others on this site will disagree with the above assertions, but I wanted make the point that the Hamer Echotone is much more than an ES 355 for people on a budget. It's a great guitar, period.

My guitar tech has offered to replace the plastic nut with a custom-carved bone nut for $60, but has also said that in view of the already great sound of this instrument, it's certainly not required.

In the words of my guitar tech, "unlike some brands like Epiphone, Hamer doesn't make cheap guitars" and he is particularly taken with the workmanship on this instrument- "great construction and finish".

When I bought the guitar second-hand, the set-up was not great. After a professional set-up, it became a pleasure to play.

Unlike some much more expensive instruments that I own, this guitar has had no maintenance issues whatsoever.

I have never had a reason to contact Hamer, so I have no opinion.

If you are in the market for a hollow-body electric, try this guitar, even if you can afford something more expensive.

It's a very good copy of a Gibson ES-335. Bought it used in 2006 for $250 and I knew it had electrical issues. Beautiful red finish, this one of the best looking guitars I've ever seen. The binding, neck,
frets all wonderful. I had to fix a grounding problem and a bad pot, so while I had it apart I replaced all 4 pots the wiring and the pickups. This allowed me to check out the internals, the wood construction is first class. Can't say I like the tuners too much and that's why I gave it a 9 and not a 10.

Both the neck and bridge pickups were nothing to brag about, even though the were stamped Hamer. They weren't bright nor were they muddy. They both sounded very similar and boring. Replaced the pickups with a set of GuitarHeads Alnico Supremes. Now I would rate the sound as a 10, but only after 3 hours of work and a Humbucker transplant.

reat all around. Setup was very minimal, bridge required slight adjusting, again I don't like the tuners.

This is not a toy, it has size and weight. It is build very solid and feels solid in hand. The finish may be prone to scratching due to its bright glossy luster. I use a high grade car polish as a precaution.

Bought it used, and I Doubt I'll ever need Hamer Customer Support. If it got damaged to the point that I'd need a lutherier, I'd just buy another.

Only been playing for 4 years and own three electric's, a Custom Strat, a Nuno Washburn N4, and my EchoTone. This is a Great guitar for a great price, there might be one other ES-335 copy on the market that's as good
a value.. I'd buy another if something were to happen to this one.

Its hamer's low cost budget copy of a Gibson 335 I guess.
It has all the features you would expect to find on a typical 335 copy so I gotta give it a 10 for features since its not missing any (unless you consider a varitone a feature which this doesnt have). Yah, it would be cool if it came with a jet pack, but......ok.... 10.
Sure, i wish it had fancy frilly things like a "bone nut" and "tone pros bridge" and "high end locking tuners" but... this is a budget guitar. The purpose of this guitar is to be able to rock'n Roll on a stage several hundred miles away from the poorhouse.

I have the model that I think is made in korea? It has an input jack on the side (as opposed to top like my previous chinese echotone) and I assume this is the model with the duncan design humbuckers. My pickups are covered and it doesnt say "duncan" on the covers or anything,but, I will assume they are.

At first I wasnt terrifically moved by the tone, that is, until I recorded a mix with it. This guitar rocks under distortion. It has just a good raw rock and roll tone. Not a "PAF" rock tone but.. .rock nonetheless. (I was never able to plug my chinese echotone in, so, I cant comment about the stock hamer pickups on that version. I sold it before I had time to fix my amp).
I dont play the blues. I rock and I was happy with the end result of my demo recording. The guitar was the perfect blend of bright, lively and charismatic.

But you know, so many pickups so little time. I will likely throw something else in there made by duncan. The stock pickups are not bad, however. I just prefer the traditional PAF tone.

Unplugged, this guitar had a nice bright jangly tone which is why I bought it. I have a rare discontinued epiphone semihollow and as much as I love that guitar... its too dark sounding. So I bought this guitar to be the polar opposite of that particular epi. When I strum the strings... it rings as opposed to thuds.
Praise Hendrix!
The sustain? When you play an open G chord, be prepared to have someone feed you intravenously while waiting for it to quell. Sustain is a NON ISSUE on this guitar. If you need more sustain, you are holding your chords too long. Change chords already.

I also like that this guitar can get loud and punchy when you really dig in a pick hard.

I have had two echotones. Korean and china. I had the "made in china" version for a very short while. That one had a much thinner neck and much better fretwork. NIGHT and DAY compared to my korean. Loved that neck a lot. I sold that guitar to make room for high end guitar I bought but I missed it so much, I bought another echotone.
I didnt know there was a "made in korea" version of the echotone and thats the one I bought (used). I was shocked at first by the difference. The neck was much thicker which bummed me out at first (I'm a small hand guy). Now I think I actually prefer it chunky. The input jack was on the side rather than top (not a big deal to me). The fretwork was nowhere near as nice as the chinese I had. The nut on the korean SUCKED BUTT (the chinese nut KICKED butt). I'm not even sure the nut is seated properly on my korean. It seems higher than it should be. I am not saying the korean model sucks. Oh quite contrary. It totally rules. I'm only being comparative to my former chinese version.

But, alas, enough with the girly whining. I LOVE this guitar. Its superior to most anything else I've played of its type in its range. Semi hollows are my main style guitar these days. This guitar requires a little work. A new nut (or work on my existing nut. A tech will have to decide that), a little more polishing/dressing of the frets and a string set up and it will RULE THE PLANET. I'm positive of that.

The tuners are ok but I too am having "binding" problems with one string in the nut. Thats an easy fix. A little graphite and maybe a run thru with a file and that should be a problem of the past. The tuners stay in tune otherwise very well.

Overall this is a VERY well made guitar. The weakness is the nut (on my guitar anyways. Yours may vary for all I know). Its not very bad but I swear it seems like its just a tad too high. Maybe filing the string grooves deeper will solve that problem. I dont know.

Man this is a SOLID guitar. With normal maintenance I expect this one to last a lifetime if I was so inclined to keep it that long.
But.... I'm having problems with the pickup selector. For some reason it sometimes pops up from the bridge position to the center position as if there is a prankful ghost trying to lure me to suicide. Easy fix: NEW SWITCH.
Other than that ... this guitar can be used as housebuilding material in earthquake country.
I havent played this guitar live yet (my live performances are kind of sparse these days) but I would have no qualms about gigging with it once I've dealt with its minor deficits.

Meh. I dunno. I've never personally dealt with them.

I've been playing since I was tiny boy (about 20 years+). I own a bunch of guitars (mostly peaveys, high end epiphones, low end gibsons, MIM fenders and a couple high end ibanez guitars).

I am a new Hamer fan. This guitar has really woken me up to hamer's line and I have since tried a few of their high end guitars and LOVE em. So, its inevitable that I will get rid of this guitar as a trade up into the high end of the hamer line. Or I may just keep it. I havent decided. Overall this is a great great guitar for the money. Like any budget import guitar, you may have to put some work into it to bring it up to your snotty pro standards but this is so close already you might not even bother with all that.

I have never owned a gibson 335 but I couldnt resist the urge to try the gibson 335 at a shop in New York City for comparison sake. Yes, the gibby was a better guitar. The neck was a bit better feeling (compared to my korean echotone. My chinese neck may have actually been better than the gibby.). The fretwork of the gibby was better than my korean echotone BUT.. overall the gibson 335 wasnt ONE MILLION FREAKEN DOLLARS BETTER than either of my echotones. After trying the gibby I began to feel even better about the Hamer. WHAT A BARGAIN.
I would recommend this guitar to anyone needing a budget semi.
I haven't decided which I like better. The Korean or the Chinese? I prefer the chunky neck of the korean a little more than the thinner neck chinese but the chinese just felt more "polished" or something with better fretwork. Tough call. I have to give the echotones a 10. I'm tickled silly over them. Fantastic value.

If you're reading this you already know

I was just playing this thing unplugged while my parts order was being processed. It blew me away with it's tone. then i plugged into a Fender deluxe...

I have a Peavey Classic 30 and an early 80's Fender Princeton Chorus. This thing is so versatile. it has so many different tones that actually sound good it's hard to believe they all come out of one guitar it'll go from jazzy to full rock to anything in between. Incredible guitar for the price

I always set up my guitars myself. The factory strings were rusty. Only real complaint I have is the wood grain looks kind cheap, but I put tone ahead of looks anyway. The pup selector was loose, but a lock washer fixed that easily enough. I put on Grover tuners just as a precaution, and I also put a Bigsby on it in keeping with the vintage vibe.

This thing will easily stand up to live playing. The finish is holding up just fine, & i always use strap locks. I depend on all of my axes. If they can't hold up they are useless to me. I had thought about new pups, but every time I play it I decide it's fine the way it is

n/a

Been playng for 30++ yrs, I have 13 gutars currently If stolen I would be real upset n have to hurt somebody Been wanting a 335 for some time but couldn't justify the big $$$ this scratches that itch for under 600 with case, plus it actually is a great guitar! Looks good, sounds great hard to beat this guitar value

Well described by the hundred or so other reviewers - ES335 style guitar, made in Korea, Duncan Design Humbuckers,stop tailpiece and tunomatic bridge. Mine is an absolutely beautiful two tone vintage sunburst. Bound body and neck. Rosewood fretboard, medium frets, klusonesque tuners. Output jack is on the side (my preference) - the new Chinese-made echotones have top-mounted jacks ala Epiphone and the others. I bought this one used, without a case (but my friends at GC gave me a great price on a really nice SKB case)for it.

I play jazz and some blues through a Marshall Acoustic Soloist. This guitar produces very tasty clean tones and great jazz tones with plenty of definition and clean bass (important as I drop tune to D frequently). Cranked up a bit for the blues - it sings! From my point of view, there is no need to swap out the pickups.I mostly use the neck pickup, sometimes with just a little bridge for accent. With the bridge kicked up, it produces plenty of bite and twang. No dislikes here.

I bought this one used at my friendly Guitar Center during a recent G.A.S. attack. It was perfectly clean and very well set up by its previous owned and came with Flatwound 13s, which I replaced with new flatwound 11s. The action was perfect and the neck dead straight with well-finished frets. Don't know if the previous owned put some dough into this one, but it was perfect. Electronics were first rate. This is a really beautiful guitar and the finish was nicer than the Gib$on I compared it to (for a few thousand bucks less). I particularly like the relatively slim neck. The Epiphone I played it next to felt like a baseball bat in comparison. The Epiphone sounded weak next to this guitar and I thought the Gib$on was comparable. All around, I liked the Hamer the best.

This is no light weight guitar - literally, it is on the hefty side. But, it also has a really solid feel to it. Very substantial strap buttons.Looks very well made. This is a little bit older Korean model so I don't know how the newer Chinese-made models compare.

Don't know. Doubt if I'll ever need it. I have a really great lutherier here that I use.

I have owned more guitars that I care to name, including some pretty expensive ones (Gretsch, Godin, Ibanez, Fender, Gibson, etc.)At the moment this is moy only electric and I am very pleased with it. I also own a Tanglewood TW-73 with a Fishman Acoustic Matrix pickup (very tasty, all solid wood, handmade, parlor acoustic). My current amp is a Marshall Acoustic Solist (AS50D), which turns out to be a great jazz amp as well as a great acoustic amp. OVerall, I'd have to give this guitar a 10, as it is all I could want in terms of quality and sound. If I were dumb enough to loose it, I'd be sad and look for another just like it.

Flame maple top blonde finish, Gold hardware, 335 copy style. Tones are coil taps, 2 humbuckers. Huge Neck. Prototype one off import...China made. Great artistry for an import. Duncan design pu's

SICK 335 tones, gainy , fat...just massive tones.

Great all around. Setup was very minor minus some cheesy hardware.

I busted one of the pickup frames in half, but just replaced it and had no issues. This thing can take a beating.

Hamer customer service some of the best in the business.

Great guitar for great price.

My EchoTone is Korean-built, probably from 2001 or 2002. It's the tobacco sunburst finish, and it has the "Duncan Designed" humbuckers in it. Other than that, the descriptions given in other reviews would fit here as well: solid maple top and back, keystone tuners, double cutaway with F-holes like a Gibson ES-335.

This is a positively gorgeous instrument. It gets a "Wow!" every time I pull it out of the case.

I play through a Fender Blues Junior (a 15-watt tube amp), using an Ibanez TS9 Tubescreamer for overdrive. My musical style ranges from jazzy blues to straight ahead rock and roll.

I absolutely love the sound of this guitar. The neck pickup is warm and woody when played clean, and fat and round when I kick the overdrive on. The bridge pickup is bright without being too sharp, and when I play it with the overdrive, it provides a very powerful, ballsy punch. The middle position is nice as well, though less distinctive than either pickup alone. Quite a range of possibilities!

No noise from the pickups. A minor buzz issue related to setup was easy to eliminate. (See below.)

I bought this guitar used, so I can't speak to how it came out of the factory. It definitely needed a setup when I got it, but hey, it had just traveled 1000 miles in the back of a cold FedEx truck. Once it was set up, it was in great shape.

In addition to the normal truss rod adjustment, I had to have the pickup selector switch replaced because it was slipping from the neck position to the middle position. The tech eliminated a bit of buzzing by cleaning out the notches in the bridge and putting some cork and felt under the pickguard to keep it from rattling. Now that it's been set up properly, it's a tight little package.

Unlike some reviewers, I have no complaints about the tuners, other than appearance. They hold their place about as well as the locking Fender Schallers I have on my Strat.

I haven't had the guitar long enough to address its durability, but I anticipate many years of happy playing. Sure, it's more delicate than a solid body guitar, but I'm fairly careful with my instruments, and it came with a great fitted hardshell case, so I'm not worried.

No experience with Hamer, but the Ebay seller ("heartland auctions") was fantastic. He hadn't noticed the issue with the pickup switch when he listed the guitar, but he still offered to pay for the repair. I give him a 10, but since that's probably irrelevant to you, I'm marking this "No Opinion."

I've been playing a little over ten years, but I've only gotten into electric guitars during the past year and a half or so. I've got an imported Strat that I enjoy, but I really wanted to get something semi-hollow with dual humbuckers (in other words, something in the ES-335 family).

I played several Epiphone Dots, a couple Epiphone Sheraton IIs, a handful from the Ibanez Artcore series, a few lesser known 335 knockoffs, and even a real 335 with a $2500 price tag. This guitar was easily the best of the imports, and no way would I spend all that extra money just to get the Gibson name on the headstock, especially since I don't think it really sounded a whole lot different. At $309 (plus shipping) including the case, the bang for the buck was incredible.

I bought this 2005 "made in China" used echotone off someone for S$200. It has a 5mm thick 3 ply maple cap(i removed all the electronics to take a look). The configurations are the standard 2 tone and 2 volume pots and equipped with 2 passive Hamer humbuckers. It has a 2 tone sunburst finish with minor binding untidyness at the neck joint. The body is maple and so is the neck. Its finish is better than the most Epiphone 335s that i have seen.

The neck pick up suits jazz and blues tones perfectly since i'm running it thru a POD XT Live(and even with just my Marshall microstack MG15). The bridge leaves something to be desired as its output is low and has inadequate defination for rock of blues. However, with the pick up selector to the middle, it sounds good enough to play mild rock tunes. I have since decided to replace them with Gibson 496R and 500T pick ups.

I usually do my own set ups though the axe came relatively well set up. One problem i noticed with the finish at the neck was that certains areas were not finished well. The gloss finish were coming out. I used a 600grit sand paper and gently sanded it down. Now its smooth and the sandpaper did not tarnish the finish due to its mildness. The set neck fit was perfect. I didnt like the look of the 14:1 gear ratio, white Keystone kluson style machine heads though they stay in tune. So, I am going to change it with a Schaller deluxe keystone ones with a gear ratio of 16:1. The 3 ply black finger rest looks very thin and i will replace it with a 3 ply thicker one.

I would use this guitar live when it upgraded. The chrome hard ware is good enough. I have since replaced the strap buttons to locking strap buttons.

I have had no interactions with Hamer and don't nee any customer support.

I have been playing for about 15 years and more seriously the last 5 years. Of the few guitars that i own, I think the echotone will be the better ones once i get all the upgrades done. the complains i have is that i wished Hamer used standard size cts pots rather than the cheap, smaller pots, switches, and inputs jack as well as bone nut instead of the plastic ones. Overall, I am happy with the axe for the price i paid for it

Paid $424 for guitar ($340) and case ($60). Model Year 2005. Korean made. Bought new at Firehouse Music (firehouseguitars.com) with a Gator Hard Case. Everything else has been discussed previously

I play anything from country to heavy metal using one of two amps (Fender Deluxe or Crate DX212 Digital). Both amps suit this guitar greatly. Very full sound. Bridge P/U is brighter than the neck P/U as expected, duh. Very versitile guitar. No dislikes at the moment.

I haven't had to touch anything, yet. Everything was perfect when I took it home from Firehouse Music. Beautiful guitar. I was looking for a Red Epi Dot, which thankfully this store had sold two days earlier. The EchoTone is a much more beatiful instrument than the Dot. No finish issues found anywhere. Nothing loose, noisy, poorly fit, poorly cut, rusted, etc... Just simply perfect.

I will find out soon if this guitar will withstand live playing. I've had it for only a week. Hardware seems very durable, with the exception of the Kluson style tuners. In a way, kinda twisted, I hope the finish does wear off a bit and make it look vintage. Strap buttons are solid and much bigger than anticipated. I always have a back-up guitar.

Haven't had to deal with them yet, but did wander through their website to register the guitar. Set up nicely, easy to navigate through.

I've been playing for roughly 25 years. I also own a Fender Telecaster, an Ibanez RG450 DXLH, and a Washburn acoustic. If the EchoTone were stolen, I would definitely replace it with the same thing. I love the tone, finish, pretty much everything. There is nothing, so far, that I hate about the guitar. Played the Epi Dot at one store then went to another store and played the EchoTone. I choose the EchoTone which was listed at a higher price, simply because it sounder better and felt better in my hands. I do wish it had Gotoh style locking tuners. I would like to say...GREAT JOB HAMER! THIS GUITAR IS AWESOME.

Made in China, two Hamer humbuckers. A 335 look-a-like. All the features have been discussed here before. Came with fairly decent hardshell case.

Pups are somewhat brighter than my Guild Manhattan. An absolutely great sounding blues/rocker guitar for the bucks. I run mine through a Peavey Envoy 110 and a Fender G-DEC. Neck pup is a killer on blues. I love the neck which is narrower than my Guild from front to back, although it takes a bit of getting used to after playing the other. Even with the stock 10-46 strings it can get some mellow jazz tones although flats would make that even better.

Got the guitar off the wall at a local dealer. The setup is absolutely perfect as it came. I did replace the strings right away as the ones it were strung with were pretty grungy. No telling how many people noodled around with it before I bought it. The finish on the body is fine (2-tone burst). The wood on the neck has, to me, a cheap look about it, and the tuners don't look like the sturdiest I've ever seen. However, since I installed the strings and tuned it up, they've held their place remarkably well.

I believe it will withstand live gigging with no problems. Hardware on this one is chrome and cleaned up well. Everything about it seems solid.

Lifetime warranty. Never had to deal with company, so no opinion there.

I've been playing for 45 years off and on. Haven't gigged since 1970 and mainly play at home for my own enjoyment. Only other guitar is a '90's model Guild Manhattan that I use for jazz. I was looking for something I could string with lighter wire and work on some blues licks. Played Fender, Gibson, and Peavy in the same style body, and the Hamer was as good sounding as any of them and better than some. If it got stolen I'd most likely get another. Only dislike is the cheap looking wood/finish on the neck, but since it plays so well I think I can overlook that.

2005 Hamer Echotone, made in China. Same features as reported by others on this site. Transparent Cherry finish.

I am by no means a guitar expert. I started playing about a year ago and this is my second guitar. I also own a Fender Highway 1 Strat. I am playing both through a Roland Cube 60 amp. I'm trying to learn to play blues and this guitar is fantastic for that purpose, especially using the neck pickup. I can only imagine how it would sound if I knew more about what I was doing. The neck pickups give a deeper bluesy sound. The middle setting offers a more jangly feel and the bridge offers plenty of bite, especially when modelling the Marshall and Mesa Boogie amps on the Roland. The guitar is not noisy at all and I was pleased with the controllability of the feedback. Not having owned a hollowbody before, I wasn't sure how this would work out. Between this guitar and the Strat, I can get pretty much any blues sound I want as well as rock or jazz.

I had read prior reviews and made sure I looked this over carefully for any problem spots, but I could honestly find any flaws in the finish of this guitar. I looked very carefully and if the top is not one piece, I certainly could not find where two pieces were joined. Thje set up was done at Good and Loud Music in Madison and was just right for me. No buzzing, properly intoned, good low action.

I don't play gigs as I'm a fairly raw beginner and I'm in the process of picking up a case, so the guitar will not be leaving my house any time soon. It feels really well constructed. The strap buttons are large. If I were playing gigs, I would probably have a backup because you just never know.

Never dealt with Hamer, but it has a lifetime warranty and this seems like a pretty reputable company. The 5 is just because I've never dealt with them.

Like I said, I've only been playing about a year, so I'm not nearly as advanced as most of the reviewers on this site. I turned 45 and decided that as much as I loved rock and blues, I should learn to play. Both my children are taking lessons (one bass and the other drums) so this is something we can do together. If it were lost or stolen, I would replace it, but I would be heartbroken. I tried other ES 335 copies, but everything about this one just felt right. at $300.00, the quality of this instrument is just ridiculous. Yeah, it may not have quite the tonal qualities of a Gibson, but at this point in my journey, that's not a huge issue.

i have no idea when the guitar was made, but it is a korean-made guitar with some good workmanship overall. the downside is that it suffers from cheap materails (more on that later).

the guitar has 22 frets, which look to be your typical gibson-size jobbers. the top is probably laminated with a maple veneer or a photo-flame finish--i doubt it's a really thick maple top. controls are two volumes and two tones--one for each humbucker--and a three-way selector. you have one neck humbucker and one bridge humbucker, both of which are duncan-designed models. electronics are purely passive.

i believe the body is laminated maple with some kind of center block of another type of wood, but i'm not sure what kind of wood it is. the neck might be maple, as well--it doesn't appear to be the open grain that mahogany is, though it is stained to have more of that kind of tint.

my particular guitar has a transparent amber finish over a flamed maple veneer or photo-flame finish, which looks stunning against the gold hardware and gold pickup covers. it's your typical 335 kind of shape in a semi-acoustic construction style. bridge is a tune-o-matic bridge with a stop tailpiece. tuners are your basic die-cast ones. scale length is your typical gibson length--24.75". the neck is slim and fast, like many 335's i've played.

i bought the guitar used off ebay, and it came with an SKB hardshell case.

i like this guitar for mid-gain rootsy sounds...that's what it's designed for. it's not a high-gain blazer, and it's not a super-clean spanky kind of tone. think warm and mellow like larry carlton got on the old steely dan stuff, or stuff like tracy chapman or the wallflowers, and you're in the tonal ballpark that i like with this guitar.

for those tones, the guitar sounds great, though the pickups leave something to be desired. the stock pickups are on the dull side, which is problematic because this kind of construction tends to give you a more round, mellow sound to begin with. you need a pickup that gives you some decent top-end detail, or otherwise things get muddy. the stock neck pickup is pretty unusable once you pile on any kind of dirt, though it's passable for a straight-ahead jazz tone.

i'm using the guitar with a bogner metropolis 15-watt combo with a single greenback and a custom audio amplifiers 112 closed-back cabinet with a vintage 30. i've got a variety of pedals, including a fulltone fulldrive 2, a fulltone clyde, a keeley blues driver, a line 6 tap tremolo, a line 6 space chorus, a line 6 DL4 delay modeler, and an MXR dynacomp. the entire board is buffered with an axess electronics BS2--an absolutely essential magic box if you use anything over 20' of cable.

the guitar isn't noisy at all, but as i said above, the stock pickups leave something to be desired. i'm changing the pickups out to duncan seth lovers after doing a lot of research, and i'm sure that will be a HUGE improvement. the bones of this guitar are solid--it just needs some better pickups and a quality nut (more on that below).

overall, the guitar is built pretty well. it's certainly amazing to think about how good korean-built construction has come in the last 5-10 years. there are no glaring construction issues with this guitar at all...i just wish that it had some better components.

one perfect example is the nut. i've been having lots of problems keeping the guitar in tune, and it all came down to the fact that strings were binding in the nut. after taking it to my repairman in NYC (norio imai, who used to be the ace repair guy at sadowsky guitars in brooklyn), we determined that the nut material itself was the issue. the plastic used is very cheap and soft, and over time the strings start cutting into the nut, making the grooves deeper and sticking when you tune. as a result, norio is cutting me a new nut from bone--any hard material will do.

i bought the guitar used, so i can't comment about the factory adjustment, but the guitar needed a bit of intonating.

the only other things to really be aware of are the cheaper pots and switches used (you might want to change those out), as well as the fact that the gold hardware will easily wear off. with regard to this last issue, that's not endemic to this guitar, but rather just about any guitar with gold hardware.

i have quite a few guitars, so this hamer hasn't seen that much action. time will tell whether there are reliability issues, but hamer generally has a great reputation, so i'm not concerned. having said that, i've dumped a few hundred bucks into the guitar to make the components roadworthy, and i wish hamer hadn't skimped on the parts to begin with. i realize it's a korean guitar, but what's the upcharge to go with CTS pots and switchcraft jacks instead of the stuff they use on the guitar? and how much more expensive is it to use a decent material for the nut?

i would never gig without a backup guitar...you're just asking for trouble if you do that.

i've never dealt with hamer, but i've heard that they stand behind their products.

i've been playing guitar 21 years and own a lot of other gear including two andersons, a tyler, a grosh, a suhr, and another hamer. my amp rig is based around a bogner ecstasy, but i also have an effects rack with a bradshaw foot controller and a switching system. for combo amps, i have a bogner metropolis and a custom audio 112 cabinet for rootsy gigs and tones.

if this guitar were lost or stolen, i would buy another, but would factor the cost of the upgrades before paying the same price i did the last time.

for budget 335-style guitars, though...it's definitely one of the better choices. the other stuff in its price range doesn't have the components, so i'd be in the same boat if i bought an ibanez or an epiphone.

2003 model - red with chrome hardware and black plastic parts, creamy white binding on the body, neck and F-holes. Good workmanship.

Electronics are typical dual humbucker, 3 way switch, separate volume and tone controls...

Surprisingly good after I messed with the pickup heights. The foreign made Duncan Designed pickups are warm at the neck without being as muddy as the real Duncans I have in other guitars. The bridge is slightly brittle, but heavier strings helped that to the point of being acceptable and useful.

Beautiful woodwork for the price... no flaws I can find.

I've had other Hamer imports and they seemed to hold up well, but I do tend to throw American made electronics in them. I'll probably change the pots and switch just because it's my habit, but I think I'll keep the pickups like they are.

I don't care for the Kluson style vintage tuners, just in general, but these hold. I'd still probably stick Grovers on it some day.

No experience

I've played for 35 years, just as a hobby, rarely in a band and never too seriously. For overall comfort and supplying what the semihollow style should in terms of tonal characteristics, this is a great value.

The only thing I wish it had was a variatone switch like the Gibsons.

Es 335 copy which I sold because the neck was nearly unplayable (see below.) Features as noted in other posts. I got this off Ebay because I wanted a good 335-type guitar to play around with mods on. I have a "genuine" 1982 Gibson ES335 that I don't really want to mess with. I particularly liked the sunburst finish: The fade extends into the upper bouts the way older guitars from the 60's do. Newer 335-type guitars (including Gibsons) usually have that teardrop shape with an abrupt fade, which I think looks cheesy.

My original thought was to change the pickups out to experiment with other pickups. The stock Duncan-designed humbuckers sound so different from the PAF type pickups that came stock in my (genuine) ES 335 that they are not comparable. It's just a completely different sound. I don't like it, but frankly, I can't see dissing these pickups: The neck PU sounds just like the Duncan Jazz (which has NOTHING to do with jazz!.) The bridge sounds like the usual shrill, biting after market bridge pickups like the Duncan "JB" that seem to be selling very well. Obviously, I don't care for the sound, but if you're thinking of putting in the Duncan Jazz/JB set, think again - It won't change your sound. Try the 59s if you want it to sound like a 335. But maybe you don't - I'm tired of my 335's muddy neck pickup. I was thinking of putting in some humbucker-sized P-90s.

Well, I didn't expect a good setup. I have been doing my own for years. But here's the problem with this particluar Echotone: There was a buldge in the fingerboard that peaked around the 12th or 14th fret. It was not exactly unplayable, but you couldn't possibly get the action to anything but a mediocre height. I had to adjust the truss rod so that there was quite a lot of relief in order to compensate for the hump and get it as playable as it was going to get. That being said, it's obvious that not all of these have this kind of major flaw. But I don't see how it could have passed inspection by anyone who actually plays guitar. But, then, maybe it didn't (though it's not marked "second" or "used" or anything.)

The nut was way too high overall and the slots were also too high. Fretted notes went sharp on the first three frets. From reading other posts it sure seems that the Echotone regularly ships with a nut that's just not cut correctly. I'm not a proponent of expensive changes that make no difference in sound - like putting a bone nut on an electric guitar (plastic is fine!) - but you can figure you're going to have to at least have the slots cut deeper on this guitar.

The volume and tone pots were fine. I don't know why you'd change them before they start to crackle. But I think you can figure on that happening a lot sooner with these than more expensive pots. I didn't have the "either/or" issue with the tone controls I read about in one post here. The tone controls felt a lot like my Gibson in terms of their taper. Same with the volume.

Tuners? Sometimes I wonder if people are changing tuners just because it's an easy upgrade. I had no issues with the tuners at all. Maybe you have to wait to break in a new set of strings before you conclude the tuners are a problem. I've had a lot of guitars over the years and only had an issue with ONE (very old) tuner. Personally, I'd save my money for the POTs you're eventually going to replace.

All in all, though - for things that really DO matter, this guitar was terrible.

There's no way I could have used this guitar live given the above-mentioned problems. But it was no more or less durable than any other 335-type guitar.

No idea.

I've been playing for 38 years. I've owned a lot of guitars in that time. My main guitar - and the one I have currently owned the longest - is a 1982 Gibson ES335 dot-neck reissue. I wanted to get a 335-type guitar to experiment with different pickups, particularly some P-90s. This Echotone was so poorly made that it was not a contender. FYI: I did find a suitable alternative - a mid-90s Vantage 635. It plays great - every bit as good as my Gibson. I like the stock no-name pickups so well (listen with your EARS) that now I plan to put the P-90s in the Gibson. The Vantage definitely needs a completely new wiring harness (but the tuners, as always, are just fine.) I think a mid-90s Aria Pro would be essentially the same quality. Both cost a lot less than, and are every bit as good as, an Ibanez 335 copy.

Well mine is a brand new 2003 model, in the 2 tone sunburst. I like the jack at the bottom of the guitar as a opposed to the way Epiphone uses a side mount approach on their Dot models. The only complaint I would have is that the Kluson style tuners look a little cheap. But they seem to work ok, Perhaps i will break out $45 for a set of Grovers in the future. If I were Hamer I would sell the guitar without the pickguard as I think it looks classier without one.

Well i got this guitar because I wanted something very different than the other guitars I have. I play rock and Heavy Metal and wanted an axe that was ok for messing with the idea of some country and blues playing. It has the Duncan Designed hb 103 pick ups which are the Asian version of the SH 6 Distortion. I have heard my buddy's Schecter with the hb 102 and wasn't impressed at all. But these are passable for my purposes. The way I see it is if you can buy a Korean Axe and keep the stock pick ups in the guitar, it has got to sound pretty good. In fact, I think this is the nicest sounding $399 guitar around.

The guitar was set up perfectly from the start. The original strings however sounded like crap!! But after lemon oiling the fret board and putting a set of Ernie Ball strings on it, it plays extremely well!!! As far a flaws in the guitar, the binding which is very nice was installed a little sloppy in a few places, but for the price of the guitar no big deal.. The top on these Hamers are really nice, much nicer than most Epiphone Dots I had seen. I Iooked at them too but for $25 less I think the Hamer is a better overall value, even though the new Dots have Grover tuners now.

Well it seems pretty well made, i have had it for 10 days and it seems tough enough to go to my friend's house for a jam session. I don't think I would go on tour with Motorhead with it but then again Lemmy, Phil and Mickey haven't called me either. LOL .

You know I had one dumb question about the construction of the guitar and I emailed Hamer about it and they emailed me back the next day. So I think that is great!!!!

Well i have been playing about 15 years and i like it plenty!!! If it were stolen I would buy another in a New York moment.. I like the fact that is pretty loud unplugged more so than the Dots I looked at. I also liked the fact that I didnt have to buy a Red guitar, I like the 2 tone sunburst alot.. For the Price I give it a 9 out of 10. I am very pleased with it.

You should know by now what the features of this fine guitar are, so I won't rehash what has already been said.

I play all differant types of music including rockabilly/psychobilly, punk, blues, surf, rock, and a bunch of other musical styles. This guitar DOES suit all of these music styles very well. At one point I was getting feedback when playing at high volumes, but since then I have added a noise gate, so now I don't have to deal with feedback.

The guitar has a very nice, rich, full tone to it (after adding heavier strings). When I first brought it home it had 9 gauge strings on it, which totally didn't suit the guitar, so then that same day I re-strung it with some 10s. The tone I was getting was great. The other day I put 11s on the guitar, and now I can't even begin to say how great it sounds now! Semi-hollow bodies and heavy gauge strings were made for each other.

The pickups are alright. I like the neck pup a lot, but I am not sure about the bridge pickup. I may switch it out for a gibson '57 classic.

When I first got it, the action was low. There was some buzz because of how low the action was, so I highered it a little bit. The pickup height was perfect for me, so I didn't change it. The neck of this guitar is awesome. Its big and wide, which I love. The tuners that came on this thing SUCKED, so I got some nice chrome Grovers installed in place of the cheap keystone copies, now it actually stays in tune! YAY! It also looks better as a result.

Since it is a semi hollow body it is prone to getting damaged more easily than a solid body. Just don't be stupid and watch what you are doing and you should be alright. I haven't gotten around to playing any shows with it, but when I do, it will be my main guitar.

Haven't had to deal with the company, and I guess that is a good thing.

I absolutley LOVE this guitar to death. After the slight improvments I have made, this definatly deserves a rating of 10. I am looking to buy another one, or two for that matter. I want the Echotone Custom with the trapeze style tailpiece, and one that has the sunburst finish on it.

This is possibly the best $300 I have spent in a long time!

Standard semi-hollow features. No bells and whistles.

I was quite shocked to hear the recommendations to replace the duncan designed pickups. This things sounds better than any guitar I've ever played and bumped my Les Paul as my main axe. Highly distorted, I can get that ringing feedback that I never seem to get with other guitars. It sounds awesome through my marshall and doesn't suffer from hum or other irritations. Best sounding guitar I've played in any price range.

This guitar also plays better than any guitar I've played. The flatness of the neck suits fast, long runs that require lots of pull offs and hammer ons.. again, this plays better than my les paul, my strat, and any other guitar I've played over the years. The only problem I've had is that I"ve had to adjust the neck a couple of times due to some fretting problems at various positions on the neck. This is probably due to the climate here in Fresno, California, but nevertheless could be a huge problem to someone who doesn't want to mess with this stuff.

This guitar is a little fussy in terms of neck flatness and truss rod adjustments. Other than that, the only other problems I"ve had is the the nut on the guitar jack fell off a coupld of times, which can be hard to fix if the jack slips into the body.

Never contacted Hamer.

I've been playing 20 years and bought this guitar as a backup to my les paul. I simply love it and am considering purchasing another just in case this model is ever discontinued. If lost or stolen, I would buy another fast. The best guitar I"ve played in any price range.

Gibson 335 clone, but an outstanding one! I believe this was a 1998 model- serial number was 98.... Made in Korea. Rosewood bound neck, double bound body. Laminated construction. Well, let's put it this way, it might have a solid top, but the back is definitely laminated. Two humbucker, four knob control, three position pick-up selector, semi-hollow..it's a 335 clone. Came with an ill-fitting gig bag, but it's better than nothing.

I'm a classic rock/surf/blues kind of player and this was my first venture into humbuckers- I like them. It came with "Duncan Designed" pick-ups and they're much quieter than the single coils I'm used to playing. The neck is good for a surf and blues mode, and bridge/neck is good for rock, but I'm not liking the bridge stand alone too much- a bit on the muddy side. The guitar can cover a lot of music ground. Previous postings have called for a swapout of pick-ups, which may happen when I get a feel for different humbuckers. Maybe next year some Seth Lovers or Torres Engineering humbuckers with their wiring kit, but for right now I'm happy with the stock ones.

I bought it used, and was very pleased with the overall construction. The fit and transparent red finish were flawless. The bound neck was perfect. One caution- the neck is BIG and WIDE, something that I like. The place where it doesn't do well is with the hardware. After about two week I couldn't stand the buzzing TOM bridge and the retuning every time I picked it up, so off to the local luthier (Kenny Marshall, ALM Music, Norfolk, VA) it went. Relaced the bridge/stop piece with Schallers, fret file and dressing, new tuners (Gotoh Keystones) and a new graphtech nut. It's a whole different and better guitar. Plays like a dream with 11's. Super tone. Will it hold it's own against a Heritage or Gibson? Probably. The last Gibson I played at GC in VA Bch was horrible, as was the Epi Dot. Much, much higher quality.

Don't expect to have any problems with it.

Don't know yet, but I would expect Hamer to stnad by their product should something happen

Been playing for a while. I have a couple of G&Ls and now the Hamer. The fret board is wide and the neck is on the chunky side- I was told much like a mid 60's Gibson 335. With the upgrades in hardware (nut, tuners, bridge/stop piece), I'm pretty pleased. Even just noodling unplugged it has nice sound, and plugged into a SFSR with a TS-9, it is a blues monster. Well worth the money. I would get another if anything happened to it. Get one and modify it a bit- you'll still be way under the price of a beater Heritage. An excellent value for a Gibson killer.

There are two versions of the Hamer Echotone I believe. The upgraded version has gold plated hardware, better tuners and a trapeze tailpiece instead of a stud mount. This is the version I have. I bought it on ebay new from a music store for 435 plus 15 shipping.
I mainly sought this guitar out because I was looking for a ES335 copy
and the fact that it's made from solid maple instead of plywood (even real Gibsons are made of plywood)appealed to me. Mine has the solid cherry finish. It looks like polyester finish where the tint is incorporated into the finish like a candy apple coating. You can tell by the woodgrain patterns that this is indeed a guitar made from solid maple. The trapeze tailpiece version can maybe be retrofit with a Bigsby

8 for sound. These are Duncan designed pickups and I've been told on this forum that switching them out improves this model. I'm pretty happy with the sound as it is. Reminds me of B.B. King. The neck pickup sounds great and the bridge one is so-so. If I do tweak this guitar I might add a Bigsby and replace the bridge pickup to something fatter. The bridge has a faint rattle to it on some notes but this will probably quit after a few months when all the meatal parts settle.

Well for a 450 archtop semi-hollow dollar guitar it's great. There are some flaws to the finish but the set-up is perfect and the neck straight. I'm sure a Gibson ES335 would be a little more spiffy in the corners but definitely not enough to justify the 3,000 price tag.

Solid construction. I got no beef here.

A great value. Not too many of this design made of solid wood. Perhaps it will improve in tone with age like a fine axcoustic.

2000 year Hamer Echotone from Korea, it's a good start for a 335 style tone monster. If you like to play Blues or Jazz and quick switch to R&R this one will do it for a miniscule amount of greenbacks compared to the "real" thing. This is a player and it does the job quite well for the money!

Sounds GREAT, what more can you say? It will do what you want as long as you don't ask it to spit fire like a Les Paul or scream like a Tele or Strat.

The only things I changed so far are the Kluson style Machines for the Grover Imperials which did a LOT for it! After a non-professional setup (DIY) it plays like a dream (played very well to start with!). Found the neck had a slight "belly" to it but adjusted with ease. Lowered the bridge quite a lot on the bass "E" and did some machining to it to add set screws so it would lock on the posts like the expensive bridge systems (easy to do and free!), stop piece is next for this treatment as it gives a better sustain and tone (better overall coupling).Adjusted the pickups and such, the nut groove is a little high on the strings but just fine otherwise, next string change I might shave it just a wee bit more. The sunburst finish is stunning and nicely done with some birds eye pattern to it front and back. The neck is nicely finished along with the fret board and inlays and the frets themselves are close to regular "Gibson" style and were finished off acceptably well. Found the patch cord plug recepticle lock nut very loose and one of the tone pot's loose also, no matter a decent upgrade would be a quality 500k pot change out in the near future, this player is worth it. The pickups sound real Seymore Duncan humbucking good (good as you can get without going into huge debt),leave them be and change out the pots if you gotta tinker with something to satisfy yourself like i do! To sum it up you are getting a lot for the money! I my humble opinion I would have to say that this is a much better deal than the Epiphone 335 dot! Put your greenbacks where they belong, in your pocket and play your butt off with this one!

Too young to tell, it has to "grow old" a little first but looks like it should do just fine. As with being prepared, I wouldn't show up at any gig without at least one backup in the first place!

Never had too.

Been playing on and off since I was knee high to a grasshopper with a 20 year gap that is now being closed. If it was stolen I would miss it and find another one! The only thing missing that I can't upgrade would be a resell value as not may people know about this guitar and thank goodness as the price is still very good! Just wait a couple more years!

This is a Korean made semi hollow body ES-335 copy. Basic features of a guitar of this type. Blonde flametop( very impressive) maple top and back, cream body and neck binding, set neck, dual Duncan designed humbuckers, vintage style tuners. This one has gold hardware.

This guitar has some of the best sound that i have heard from a hollowbody guitar. Actually i was suprised by the sound available
since it is a 335 copy and for the price very surprising. clear and bright.

bought used the action on this guitar is also surprising. this one came with action set so low i thought it was going to buzz big time
but no buzz and can put it through it's paces well. Finish is fantastic - no flaws found and has a honey blonde flametop(actually more flamey then my les paul)and gold hardware. Tone controls are not fantastic but also not too bad.

only had a few weeks so far but appears to be fairly durable(only time will tell)

have not had to deal with them as of yet

been playing for about 15 years, own a les paul classic, fender strat
epi les paul 12 string, yamaha rgz610A(fat strat)the echotone and a couple of acoustics(6 and 12 strings)Amps are a crate Vintage club, peavey bandit, another small crate If it was stolen i would more then likly pickup another as the price is unbeatable for the quality and sound. i really love the sound of it. I did shop around and checked out almost all brands of this type including a gibby 335 and bought the hamer as i could not tell the difference much at all.

already covered by others--my tuners are kluson butterfly copies--they seem ok---they look cool--mine is new 2002--love the bound neck---nut is cut well too---finish is nice red--not thick---nice grain in wood-

sounds really good to me---neck pickup is very throaty and zz toppish---verdict is still out on bridge pickup-but it rocks---overall--for the price--it sounds tom terific--pickups are loud--bridge pickup meters out really hot---

i got this as a second on ebay for less than 300 dollars---it came with the worst set up i have ever seen--high action--neck was way bowed in----i took about am hour and made it perfect---if u buy one, expect to fix it yourself or pay to get it done---u need an allen wrench to tweak the truss rod--mine needed several hard twists but now neck is arrow straightand i got the action super low with no buzzes--amazing huh? the bridge is a little bit poorly designed --the thumbwheels are too little--
i had an epiphone dot---this hamer is way more guitar--more solid--better neck--the hamer neck is realllllllllly big--its wide and big---it plays better than most of the pitiful new high priced gibson 335's--those things are embarassing---and they are american--i guess america dont care anymore--

the hamer plays better each time i pick it up--i think its happy just to be out of freeking korea---who wouldnt be?--its deadly quiet electronically--big solid strap buttons---nice sorta jumbo-ish frets---excellent dressing on the frets from the factory--no problems--for the money--this guitar is amazing---people talk about changing pickups in them--but i dont see any need to--expecially when you start playing thru a bunch of pedals---i like that the output jack is on the side instead of on the top--guitar has a solid block thru it--like a real 335---plays in tune really well with new set of 10's--look--its not near as good as a vintage gibson 335--but i dont have 2 or 3 grand to spend--do you?---in summary--if you can score one cheap--i'd say--definitely go for it--i think they have been discontinued by hamer--and they are expensive in retail stores---on ebay--you can score factory seconds for cheap--and they look great--i can find no blems on mine---plus--i'm rough on guitars and tend to beat them up a lot anyway--so who cares about a blem?--mine is for sure gonna get a bigsby put on it---

i like it a lot--this guitar will last at least till george bush gets the whole world blown up--after that--who really cares.?

who knows--i think they spend all day kissing up to rick nielson

go to a guitar store and say----"i want a great playing great looking new 335 guitar for 265 dollars"----then wait till they quit laughing

A korean 335 copy, 2 humbuckers, 3-way togel switch, 2 f-holes, semi-hollow body. Others here have it described well. Mine is tranparent red. Don't know the year but it is only a few years old. I would say late 90's or early 2000's. Has a tune-o-matic bridge and cheap imitation grover tuners.

I bought this guitar used and it already had the pickups replaced with seymour duncan 59's in both positions. It also had the pots changed out and it had been rewired. I don't know what the original duncan inspired pickups sound like but with the 59's this guitar sings. This guitar sounds fantastic. It get a rich full vintage sound which is perfect for the blues and roots rock music that I play. I play it through a fender blues deville amp. I use keely modified blues drive 2 and TS-9 for distortion.

Again I bought it used so I don't know how it came from the factory. I use heavy strings so I had to get it set-up to accomodate them. Had tuning problems when I first got it. However, after I replaced the nut with a new bone nut and replaced the cheap tuners that come on the guitar, it haven't had any problems. The tone seams to have gotten better as well. I am very happy now. The guitar looks good, the finish is nice and the workmanship appears first rate.

Like I said above, the tuners are cheap. The knobs also feel cheap. I replaced them and now the guitar feels rock solid.

Never need to use them

I bought this guitar for $350 and it already had the new wiring and Seymour Duncan 59's pickups. I spent another $100 to get a new nut and grover super romatica tuners purchased and installed. I absolutely love this guitar now and I have only $450 into it. I like is so much that I am searching for another right now. I am afraid that the word is going to get out on what good guitars these are before I can get another. I have been playing for about twenty years and I have a Fender American Hot Rodded Texas Special Strat (paid $1,040 new) and 75 Ibanez Explorer (worth about $1,000) and this is now my favorite guitar. This guitar gets great tone and it plays great as well. I looked at all of the other 335 copies and this one is the best.

Korean 335 knockoff (got it used so I don't know the year)Duncan designed humbuckers,2 volume,2 tone, transparent red maple with cream binding....standard echotone but after a few months I gave it a custom bridge and Bigsby trem

I play surf, rockabilly and punk and this is the ideal guitar, beautiful jangly clean tones, solid rock'n roll with my Danelectro Daddy-o overdrive. I use a dano slap echo as well, gives me that classic '50s sound. I pretty much only use the neck pickup, it gives me all the bright, high-end tone I like. I used the stock setup for 3-4 months before getting the Bigsby and it was great, but it's even better sounding now. The bigsby tranfers a lot more sound into the guitar for a bigger hollowbody tone. Also my bridge is designed to do much the same thing (TONE-o-matic, my uncle makes them for Brian Setzer and other hollowbody players) so it's fuller than before while still keeping the twang I want.

I got it slightly used so everything was set up properly when I got it. The finish is beautiful, binding was near perfect. Not the best looking piece of wood, but not bad. Haven't had any problem with the tuning pegs even with heavy trem use. One problem with adding the Bigsby is that it doesn't come all the way up to where the old tailpiece was, leaving 2 holes. I've had them filled and colored to match, though, so it's only visible from a few feet away.

I play a couple punk shows a month with it plus house parties and it holds up great. I played it almost every day this past year and nothing has gone wrong with it. I worry about my belt buckle scratching the back but other than that the finish is still like new. (I tend to baby it though, 'cause it looks so cool!) I put straplocks on it 'cause those huge strap buttons were screwing up my strap! This is my main guitar. I do bring a backup guitar to shows, but I never need it.

I've had no need

I've been playing for about 8 years. I have a Charvel metal-head type guitar (which hasn't been touched since I got this one) and an Ibanez acoustic. I actually didn't intend to buy it. I went to the music shop with my bass player so he could get strings, picked it up while waiting for him and fell in love with it. This is a fantastic sounding guitar for the price and the bigsby is well worth the few extra holes.

1998 korean made hamer echotone custom (no longer made) 22 frets,solid maple top and back 2 duncan designed gold humbuckers,passive electronics,I believe the guitar is all maple,wine red,335 copy,tunomatic bridge with trapeze
tailpiece,sealed shaller type tuners,set neck, mediam frets,came with hardshell case.

This was my attempt to own a 335 without the cost, I own 2 strats
1 old and 1 new a Robben Ford esprit and a Telecaster. I have several
vintage tube amps (fender) a musicman (2-10) and several solid state
amps (peavey).This guitar blew me away, I have tried three other 335 copies and did not like the sound or feel.I was hoping for the best but never thought it would sound this good, I am a progressive blues player and also play jazz fusion. (Robin Ford, Larry Carlton, Steve Lukather) and this guitar makes it on all fronts. I use a Ibanez tube screamer with a roland delay, ibanez EQ, and compression. great sounds on all pickup selections. And yes I have been able to get a Stevie Ray sound using the front pickup. So far I have just been recording with this guitar, but I will now be taking it to the gigs as one of my main guitars.

I bought the guitar on E-bay so the set up was pretty decent, action good not to low (don't like it to low) light gauge strings which I don't generally use but thought I'd give these tired fingers a break
from the 11's after all these years. Pickups needed to be adjusted
I like to tweek them just near the sweet spot (good for chords and lead).This guitar is not a factory second so it looks pretty good for finish and workmanship. (did remove pickguard)

I believe this guitar will have a long life if cared for, However the
gold finish I'm sure will be gone soon, good oversize strap buttons,
I'm used to the reliability of a stratocaster but would trust this guitar on all my gigs (I have to it sounds so great). But I still bring a backup now, its easier when you break strings besides I can't
go a night without playing my strat.

never used it

I started playing guitar 35 years ago and use vintage fender amps
(Bandmaster reverb,Bassmans)also musicman 2-10, and peavey transitube
amps.If it were stolen yes I would buy another one, Hell I'm thinking
of buying another one anyway. I love the sound out of this axe for the price it's a buy.I'd endorse this guitar any day for Hamer.

P.S. Hey Hamer you should consider a U.S.A. made model for the purists. Thanks Enjoy Doc

2001 Sunburst Hamer Echotone. ES-335 clone, stop tailpiece, 2 Duncan designed humbuckers, Kluson clone tuners. 3 way pickup selector. Solid maple construction: a real bonus for tone I think. What else does it need? Not a lot

This is a fantastic sounding guitar. Unplugged, it is sweet and sustaining. Plugged into a reasonable valve amp, you get great blues, jazz, rock, jangle, clean rhythym; even metal is possible. Sustain is excellent. Feedback when you want it. Like to play the Beatles: this is the one. Try the middle selection (both pickups) and try the intro chord to a hard day's night: harmonics and jangle perfect. Great for country and absolutely screams the blues: big, fat and sustaining. I played this next to a reissue Gibson ES-335 (5 times the price)and couldn't justify the extra money for the Gibson.

The guitar is quite well made. A few minor flaws but nothing significant. The electrics are quiet. After 6 months of solid playing, it still feels new. It sounds better also: mellower and the tuning; which was a little unstable to start with is now rock solid. All new guitars take a while to settle. The action/ intonation from the factory was poor but I insisted on a proper setup at the store where I purchased it. They did a great job and the action is low and easy and the intonation is excellent suggesting the neck is good. Overall the build quality is good. I always expect to have a guitar set up regardless of the price unless it has been hand built by a luthier.

Covered this above. So far, so good. As with any reasonable guitar, look after it and it will look after you

Not had to contact Hamer. Bought it from Paradise Music in Victoria. Nice guys to deal with and have always looked after me.

Been playing 27 years. Have access to Fenders and Gibsons. Have a Peavey Delta Blues amp and a Seymour Duncan 84-50 amp along with a Maton Mastersound guitar. Can honestly say that I prefer this to all the guitars I could play. It was a bargain price wise and can cover a range of styles. With a decent tube amp and the Echotone, I manage to sound pretty reasonable and can sound pretty close to some of the music I hear in recordings. Compared to the equivalent Epiphones, Dearmonds, Arias etc, to my ear, the Echotone was far superior. If you are after an ES-335 copy, give the Echotone a try; you won't be disappointed! The Hamer American series would be the ultimate however. I have played thes and they are a step up again in quality for a reasonable price.

i purchased this hamer from guitar center. it is a korean import made in 2000. 24 frets, thin hollow body. 2 volume & tone controls with duncan designed pickups. I'm not certain what that meant but I have removed them to see the undersides & I am impressed. These are quality humbuckers & they will scream or ring clear & true. I used to play professionally with a Les Paul that I had made in '68. It had p-100's & this guitar is every bit the equal of sound of the p-100's. The maple wood is strong, resonates well, & the finish is as good as the finishes on 335's I've played in the past. the thin hollow body has a beautiful tone for blues or rock. The stock tail piece was just fine, but the tune-a-matic bridge had to go. The saddle of the G string would rock from side to side. I also had to get rid of the CRAPPY ASS tuners. I first replaced them with grovers & they also did a bad job of keeping it in tune. I replaced them with sperzel tuners. Problem solved! I replace the bridge with a nashville tuner from stew-mac. Problem solved. The strap pins were also sub-par. A set of schaller locking pins did the trick. I have found a set of rio grande tx. barbecue humbuckers that will be next on my list. It sounds ok right now & I can only slip so much past my wife at any one time. I am 6'7" so my hands are very big. The neck feels great & is large enough to accomodate my hands.

I use it in a weekend band for rock & blues. I am running it thru a johnson marquis JM-60 with a 12 inch delta 300 watt & a mesa boogie 2X12 rectifier cabinet which doubles the power to 120 watts. Plenty for what I use it for. Very little feedback or howl. I can get a rich, full sound for playing rhythm or make it squal with tube effects.

Poor setup from the factory, but that was expected for the price. I had it setup for intonation & the action was lowered a bit. the nut was set too high for the g,b,& little e. A file took care of the problem. No work was needed on the truss rod. I had to tighten the pickup selector switch. No big deal.

I have had this guitar 18 months & it has not had a variance in adjustments due to seasonal change or temperature that I can tell. I do use this without a backup. Who the hell is going to mess with your guitar besides yourself if you are my size?

never neede to contact the mfr.

I've played guitar for 42 years & also own a crown d-45 knockoff (1970 model) with a dearmand acoustic pickup '64 model mounted on it.If this guitar were stolen & would buy another one & duplicate my upgrades. I love the (1) sound,(2) light weight-I used to play an anvil, eh I mean a les paul(3)the way it looks. I do miss the solid body when it comes to sustain, but I think the upgrade to better humbuckers will overcome that obstacle. I think this upgrade adventure is the only way to go. I had a les paul made in '68 & this is now ever bit as good as my old anvil.

My guitar is a Korean ES-335 knockoff. I have no idea when it was made (I got it by way of a trade from Music-Go-Round). It has solid maple top and back and a maple neck with a rosewood fingerboard that has dot inlays (that appear to be plastic). The neck and body are bound with creme colored binding which is perfectly applied. It has a transparent cherry finish. It has Kluson knockoff "keystone" tuners, 2 Duncan designed humbucking pickups (2 volume, 2 tone and a 3-way), and a tune-o-matic bridge with a stop tailpiece (all hardware is chrome). I got a very good Canadian tolex covered, form fitting, plush lined hard shell case in the deal, too. This is a basic guitar; I rated it "10" because I got what I wanted and expected.

I am a blues guy...strictly blues, mostly traditional Chicago and West-Coast jump. I love the sound this guitar has...it is very lively unplugged and extremely FAT plugged in. I have an old Peavey 2 X 12 Music Man clone amp. I am actually a bass player and use the guitar for song writing and I play it at open-stage jams quite often. It sounds so sweet that I am almost always approached by other players at the jams asking about it. I notice that a lot of folks have negative opinions about the Duncan designed humbuckers, but I am very pleased. I think it is damned near impossible to get a bad tone from this guitar (and if anybody could, it would be me). It is quiet in every setting and has a very rich sound.

As it came from the shop, it needed quite a bit of set-up work; it was playable but needed some fine tuning. I had it done at my local shop. The string slots were not large enough to accomodate 10's, the action was way too high and the intonation was terrible. This was nothing that $30 couldn't cure, so I can't complain too much. The finish is excellent and the binding is perfectly applied. The fretwork is fine and the pick-ups were adjusted well. To be honest, I'm not sure if the guitar was new or used; I assume it was used but certainly not used too much because the truss rod cover and the pickguard still had the plastic covering. I don't think it is a factory second.

This is a well made, quality instrument. All the hardware seems very sturdy and the finish seems durable, too. The strap buttons are solid and seem larger than most although, if I were a gigging guitar player, they would be replaced with strap-locks. I think I would be able to trust the guitar. I think anybody who plays anything on a gig without a back-up is just looking for trouble...trust me...I'm old enough to be yo' daddy and this is the voice of experience speaking!

Search me...I don't know and don't care. I have heard nothing but positive things about Hamer but I doubt it will be an issue.

I have been playing since the mid-60's and have owned lots of guitars over the years...from my first Silvertone/Danelectro amp-in-case to Les Pauls, Strats, ESP's, etc. I am a bass player on the gig but I use the guitar to write songs, figure out chord voicings and I love to play the guitar at open jams. I've had the guitar for a couple of months and have given it a pretty good work out and I'm happier than I thought I would be. I consider it to be a professional quality instrument and I would have no qualms about recommending it to anybody. Just for fun, I may add a Bigsby and am thinking about a set of Rio Grande Bastard P-90's (not because there's anything wrong with the Duncan designed humbuckers but because I love the sound of P-90's). As it is, this guitar has the sound I've been looking for. I traded even-up for a 1969 EB-0, the ultimate one-trick pony of the electric bass world (that I almost never used any more), and I'd do it again in a heartbeat! I would be extremely bummed if it ever got stolen and I'd replace ASAP. I am not the kind of guy who develops a sentimental attachment to instruments, I consider them to be tools. If I can find one that will do the job better or do the same job cheaper, I have no hesitancy to make a move. Before I pulled the trigger on this deal, I played comparably priced instruments like the Epi Dot, Washburns, Samicks, Deans, etc. and I feel this is head and shoulders above them. I expect I'll keep this guitar for a while!

The model I have is a bit different from the one featured on Hamer's web page. The regular model has a stop-bar tailpiece, chrome hardware, keystone tuners and dot inlays. Mine came with gold hardware, a trapeze tailpiece, Srat-style tuners, and trapezoid mother-of-pearl inlays. Other features:
ES-335-style Semi-hollow body, made in Korea, 22 frets, solid maple top and back, individual volume and tone controls, 3-way toggle switch, two Duncan Designed closed humbuckers, rosewood fingerboard, thin neck, Transparent cherry finish and cream binding, tune-o-matic bridge with trapeze tailpiece. It came with a padded gig bag, and D'angelico .11 flatwound strings.

I really like the sound on this baby. I play it through a Digitech RP200 multi-effects processor and a 30-watt amp. Implayed it at the store through a Marshall AVT. Great clean sounds, good taper on the vloume and tone knobs. I found it very easy to avoid feedback, always a good sign with a hollow or semi-hollow. I paly a bunch of different stuff: Punk, Alternative, blues, classic rock, and a bit of jazz. This guitar was just fine for all of them. I got a nice fat sound from the humbuckers, good jazz sound form the neck pickup with the tone turned down. Plenty of sounds available by mixing pickups at different tone and volume settings.

The setup was fine by me. Nice low action, no buzzing, great playability. The neck was smooth and thin, great feel. the pickups were set pretty close to the strings. There were some imperfections, after alli this IS an import model. The tuners didn't turn very smoothly, this made tuning a bit frustrating. The bridge pickup's tone knob was a bit crooked, and the numbers were'nt aligned with the others--however, as I've said, all the knobs had good taper. The transparent cherry finish is gorgeous. Silky smooth all over, nice even binding on the body. There were some imperfections if the wood under the finish, but they were hardly noticeable. The tuners and the tailpiece had sort of grainy plating, but the pickup covers and the bridge were fine. The pickup selector was sturdy, the neck joint was nice and tight, and the wires inside were neatly bundled. The binding around the f-holes was a tad sloppy.

This guitar seems pretty sturdy. The toggle switch is ready for abuse, and the finish is just fine. I imagine it will be fine in live conditions. Strap buttons are solid and quite big--I have a planet-lok strap that won't fit on them! I'd never do a gig without a backup, but i'm not too worried about this one.

Haven't had any dealings with the company. They have a nice website, though.

I've been playing for five years, and I decided it was time to upgrade from my Strat-copy. I wanted an all-humbucker istrument, with better action and more control. The Echotone is one badass six-string. I really like the sound, it's sturdy, and it looks super classy. I only bought it a few days ago, but i'm really enjoying playing it. Plenty of bang for your buck!

I bought the guitar new in 2001. It's a standard semi-hollowbody archtop. Very much like a 335. Here's a quick rundown of what it has:
- Solid maple body (even the expensive ones use a laminate)
- Fat Mahogany neck w/ 22 fret rosewood board
- Two Seymour Duncan Designed Humbuckers
- 2 Volume, 2 Tone, 3 way switch
- 3 on a side sealed tuners
- Tune-o-matic bridge and stop tailpiece
- Transaprent red finish
- Creme binding

I give it an 8 because it's pretty standard, but useful overall

I use it with my trusty trademark 60 (I love this amp!) and it sounds great. The bridge pickup has a nice midrange growl to it. The neck is pretty mellow with alot of bass. Sometimes, I roll off some bass on the amp to keep it from "farting" out when playing on the neck pickup. I originally bought it thinking I was going to replace the pickups with a set of SD 59's, but the ones on there sound good enough for now.
It's a great Blues guitar. When I first tried it out in the store John Lee Hooker kept coming out of my fingers. After an hour of playing Boogie Chillin, I decided to buy the guitar on the sound. Great raunch, good warmth and decent snap. It has a little too much raunch for clean Jazz playing, but with some amp tweaking, you can get by. It truly has a fat tone that is great for Rock and Blues.

The setup was OK from the store. I had to raise the action a bit and put 10's on it. Soapbox: I can't understand why people put 9's on a guitar by default, especially this guitar. Most "Blues" guitars sound much better with fatter strings. Anyways, with that aside, the guitar was put together pretty well. The binding wasn't perfect, and the fret edges a little rough, but definitely playable. The neck is a little fatter than I am used to, but if it helps with the tone, then let it be. All in all, very good construction for a factory guitar.

Haven't had it long enough. But since it is an archtop and set neck, you have to be a little more careful with things such as temerature and humidity, as well as possible physical damage. I think, it will be a great stage guitar and withstand the rigors of a gig. I'd rather bring this than some overpriced Gibson ES-335.
The guitar feels solid, and it can do the job.

Don't know for sure, but Hamer has always been responsive in answering questions.

I've been playing for about 12 years now, and owned and played many axes. I like this guitar alot. It sounds good, and plays well, and reminds me of my wife. I have played the Gibson ES335 and the Epiphone Sheraton, and I actually prefer this guitar. The ES335s are nice, but way too overpriced. I find it wierd to play guitars that cost as much as a piano or used car. Yeah, I'll bring my $2500 axe to a gig for someone in the crowd to spill beer on...RIGHT! Guitars are meant to be played, not for some guy to act like Nigel Tufnel showing it off to someone.
It's a great guitar for the price. For a semi-hollowbody guitar made with the materials and craftsmanship of this piece, I'd expect to pay more, but I am glad I didn't.

Korean made 1999. Vintage tuners, 335 Dot copy, sunburst

SOund is weak, dull, not interesting at all.
Strangely enough it sounds great when played acoustically.

The guitar is built well, solid and doesn't lose tune. Feels greats, looks great. Out of the bog the setup was so-so, but once I adjusted it it's beautiful.

Strong, solid Realiable, durable. At least for a guitar under $1000. For the price you really are making out good.

Don't have the slightest clue.

This is the second guitar I've owned. I've only benn playing for 3 years. I bought it, eventually changed the pickups (Seymour duncan Antiquity- neck, Seymour Duncan Seth Lover- bridge). It's now a great axe. A compliment to anyone. Buy the guitar change the pickups and you have the looks and sound of a $2000 guitar that you've only payed $700 for.
THumbs up from me

Year made? Don't know.
335 copy sunburst

The pickups were a nice surprise for a guitar in this price range. However, I was disappointed (but not surprised) by the tone controls. Instead of continuously variable brightness, there are two choices; bright or dark. I had to smile. Why bother with a rotary knob? Of course they were trying to make it look like a 335. I checked my Epiphone Les Paul ES and my Hamer import strat copy and both of them had variable brightness with their knobs. It still sounds pretty good for the money. When I get better, I will probably want to get a Yamaha or Ibanez 335 style. I will never get a Gibson again after reading on Stephen Goldin's web site what they did to Lynx Crowe.

The set up was pretty bad. One of the volume knobs was loose and the pickup switch went sideways instead of up and down. I fixed both problems pretty easily, since it is a semi-hollowbody. I gently took the volume knob off, put my fingers in the F-hole and tighted the nut with a wrench (VERY GENTLY). I then loosened the pickup switch, repositioned it so up was selecting the neck pickup and down was selecting the bridge pickup, then re-tightened it (again very gently).
Another problem was the frets after the 18th fret. No sustain. I had to have some fret work done on it. However, buying it at $250 originally, I still didn't come out to bad.

We will see. I would rather have this live than an expensive 335 style guitar. If this one gets a little beat up, better that than a good or great guitar getting beat up.

I have no idea.

I've been playing off and on many years. I have an Epiphone Les Paul ES and a Hamer strat copy. Of course I bought the Epi before I found out about Gibson's unethical business practices. If I had known that then I would have looked for a good deal on a Hamer Import Duotone on Ebay. If it were stolen, broken, or lost, I might get another one, or I might check out some other 335 style guitars. If I had the money at the time, I would definitely look for an Ibanez.

Korean 335 copy. Heritage Cherry, standard 335 configuration.

Stock, the guitar sounds great acoustically. Harmonically rich, and a decent amount of sustain for a 335. However, I really disliked the (Duncan Design) pickups. They seemed very dull and muddy. Some of this could be due to the amp I play, an Ampeg tube combo which is fairly dark sounding. I've replaced the pickups with a Harmonic Design Z90 (bridge) and a duncan humbucker in the neck. With these new pickups, this guitar can handle just about anything except metal rhythm and I would give the guitar a 10.
I suppose the original pickups cover the same sonic territory, they just don't sound anywhere near as good (particularly the bridge...)

I had to adjust the action & intonation when I got the guitar. This is fine, because these are very minor operations. The woodwork/fretwork/finish was all excellent, especially when compared to similar guitars in the price range (Epiphone Dot comes to mind).

So far the guitar seems durable. I wouldn't recommend ever gigging without a backup guitar. As far as hardware, the bridge & tailpiece seem fine. The tuners will have to go at some point, probably sooner rather than later. The volume pot on the bridge pickup is slightly screwy. Once it gets down to about the '3' mark, the volume stops dropping. This hasn't created any problems for me yet, but I'll eventually replace all the wiring/pots/switch just to be safe.

Haven't dealt with Kaman, although they've got to better than Gibson USA.

I've been playing guitar for about 7 years. In addition to this, I've got a cheap resonator, a Fender 12 string acoustic, an old Kay nylon string, a Steinberger import, a funky old metallic blue Teisco, as well as a couple amps, a POD, and a few effects. This guitar was a great find for me. Stock, it's a decent to good guitar and can serve well. With a few more minor mods, this will be at least as nice, tone and playability wise, as my old Gibson Howard Roberts. All this for under $600 (original price, a steal around $270 or $280, + pickups, tuners & electronics).

As far as I know it's a 2000. Got it in 2001. It's a Korean-made 22-fret--well, the literature says it's got a solid top, so OK. It's got the standard three-position switch, two volumes, two tones, two Duncan-designed humbuckers, passive. maple body, mahogany neck. The finish on mine is a sort of antique sunburst. The body style is pretty similar to a 335, possibly a little exaggerated. It's got chrome appointments, including a tune-o-matic style bridge similar to a LP/335 style Gibson's. I believe the stock tuners are Gotohs. It's got quite a fat neck like some of the older Gibsons do, wide fretboard, rosewood fretboard, dot inlays, 24 3/4 scale. I bought a case to go with mine, it didn't come with one.

It fits my playing style pretty well. I'm more in a bluesy-rock vein, but never in an artery. I use a Marshall VS-265 stereo combo amp and a Line 6 Flextone. It's no more noisy than the average guitar. Now the sound, that's the thing. I've had this and a Duotone for import Hamers, and whatever Dunc has passed along to our Korean friends, they listened. These pickups have a throaty growl distorted and are nice and chunky, with decent definition, clean. It does a good neck pickup singing bluesy sound and a very impressive crunch on the bridge pickup. You can get a reasonable Allman thing happenin' clean using both pickups. I like it, but you'll have to read on. You have to do some work to get it that way.

This guitar is a bargain, but only for people who know how to tinker with guitars--properly. If I were the kind of guy who goes into a store, buys a guitar and expects to just walk out and play the thing without doing anything to it, I'd hate it. Don't buy one if you don't know how to do things. The nut was WAY too high--you couldn't get the action down to a decent level the way it was. Shaved about a 16th to 1/8th off the height of the nut, took care of that. The stop tailpiece--somebody was in a hurry to get to break here. The holes were too big for the grommets, so they wrapped some masking tape around them and stuck them in there. I had to add a little wood there to make that right. The bridge was just stuck on and not adjusted whatsoever, so I had to intonate it and adjust it for height. I'm a big boy, I can do that. The tuners SUCKED. One guy in here said he took his back because of the tuners. Naw, I'm too stubborn for that. I could see it had potential. I took those off, put a nice set of eBay Grovers I got for $15 on there, ahh. The stock ones were all loose, rattled to beat hell, wouldn't stay in tune, and absorbed half the vibration of the strings instead of passing it to the neck. Now it sounds considerably better and stays in tune. I've still got the old tuners if you want them. Just for cosmetic purposes I bought a set of Gibson top-hat knobs, the old style black ones with the chrome inserts. Very nice. And I took the things you could tie your boat up to that they called strap pins off there and put a set of Schaller straplocks on. This really isn't a huge investment in money or time, bad as it sounds, and the guitar is worth it--the factory should have done this shit, but then they'd charge you a couple hundred more, wouldn't they? Do it yourself, get a bargain. The finish is very good. I read other opinions where they said they thought it was "delicate." About average, I'd say.

This guitar I'd play anywhere, anytime--NOW, and it'll hold up as long as I want it to. But I don't beat the crap out of my instruments, either. I'd use it with no backup, though I do have some if I wanna use 'em.

Don't need it, don't want it.

To be fair, the thing has a 2 stamped on the back of the headstock, which means "don't expect TOO much of me." I've been playing 32 years, not that you'd be able to tell, really. Other stuff I have, a '93 American Strat, a '91 PRS CE-24, an '84 Fender Balboa, a '76 Fender P-bass. No further questions, Your Honor. If it was stolen, I don't know what I'd do, really. I don't tend to keep guitars forever, and I've gotten to try most things that way. I love this guitar in a warped peculiar way, I guess. It's really a very nice instrument with a little fixing up and upgrading, sounds great, action like a Gibson's, and I've had 335s, a 295, 125s, etc. Plays great, sounds great, don't look half bad. I won't get rid of it anytime soon, I don't think. Takes care of my hollowbody Jones when I get one. I bought it because I wanted to see what it would be like and to keep me from bidding on 330s and 335s on eBay so my wife won't kill me. My favorite feature would be the sound, secondly playability. What I'd like to share: how about a joke? Why do farts smell bad? So deaf people don't feel left out. Howzat?

korean made with duncan designed humbuckers..not sure what duncan designed means versus a real duncan..i.e. how close they sound to the real ones

the pick-up screws d not line up exactly with the strings but dont notice any effect..

the binding on the top side of the neck is marred but is intact and sound..the tuners are the old style like what I had on my Gibson j-50 deluxe from 72..plain but functional and hold well

super..more clear and driving than a gibson es 335..easier on the ears..ringy clear chords with nice almost beatle-esque ring if u know what I mean..also reminiscent of new riders and pure prarie league greatful dead etc..the hollow body character is easy to hear and it cuts thru the solid body sound of the other guitar player..
..yet also excellent for metal and edgy blues..I used an mt-2 pedal with it got excellent distortion metal sound..sounded great doing cover of rick derringer song

12 th fret action is close and easy..
nut is a bit high..am considering taking it to a luthier for adjustment
overall very playable
pickups were a bit low and do not line up precisely with each string..doesnt seem to affect sound however

tobacco sunburst is very clear and well-done..the ribbing accents overall and gives the guitar an expensive look

seems very soild..not lightweight..seems to be more solid than a DeArmond Starfire..

would use it without backup..Ive been playing since 1971 and the worst guitar problem ive ever had was a loose humbucker on an sg standard ..I dont smash my guitars so have no worries about its ability to stand up under pressure

not sure because havent dealt with them

would like to know warranty period myself

playing since 71 own a martin hd-16 have owned gibson sg standard 73..
strat plus with fender lace sensors 90..
gibson j-50 deluxe from 72

Id buy it again..its a super sounding guitar for its price..only a high end Gretsch might sound better..I think it even sounds better than the Gibson ES 335

I bought it because was tired of only having solid body sound..band Im in doess folky rock from late 60s and early 70s..was bored with the lack of complexity of tone in most solid bodies..am very happy with it..chose it over a DeArmond Starfire because the duncan designed pickups had more character and complexity and color

I am not certain about the year this echotone was made, probably within
the last couple of years... the serial # is 1700973 If anyone knows how to date these korean hamers, drop me a line !
The guitar is very similar in design to a gibson es-335, the exceptions being the shape of the headstock and the side-mounted versus top-mounted output jack - I think the side jack looks better, and it might be more sturdy. The finish is a dark brown to amber sunburst.

The duncan design humbuckers sound very good, lack microphonic squeal, and compare favorably to "real" duncans I've put in my other guitars - I don't think an upgrade is needed, which is often the case in import guitars.
The tuners are vintage style with aged buttons - they are not as slick as the locking sperzel and shaller tuners I installed on my strats, but they are smooth and solid.

I enjoy playing many styles of music - Metallica sits next to Joni Mitchell in my cd rack ! I got this guitar as a complement to a steady 20 year+ diet of strats - the strats all sound different and have different set-ups, but the thicker sound and ability to "grab" musical feedback at lower volumes is a real treat ! If you only play solidbody electrics, do yourself a favor and try a semi-hollowbody style ! This type of guitar does not do "chunky" metal rhythm well, but it can do anything else!
I use a digitech rp2000 and gsp-21 legend,a mesa/boogie studio preamp, a mosvalve poweramp, and marshall cabinets for gigs, with additional supro, fender and bogen (!) tube gear for recording - I know that tubes sound better, but my mostly non-tube setup is a lot more reliable, compact, and consistent ! 90%tube tone, 100% less hassles !
The echotone does not do the out-of-phase "clucky" sounds of a strat in the "in-between" positions, but I have read about Peter Green
of early fleetwood mac altering the phase of dual humbuckers on his Les Paul to acheive these types of sounds, so any suggestions would be welcome !

The top and back do appear to be solid wood, but with the f-hole binding,it is not easy to tell for sure.
The top has nice appearance, with some birds-eye figuring - mine has a few black specks in the finish, which is probably the reason it was stamped a factory 2nd - no big deal, since I had to look close to see it The neck is fairly thin in depth for this type of guitar - the finish is perfect, but I ran some extra-fine finishing steel-wool along it a few times to take some of the "sticky" feel away - I have played strats years - I usually strip the finish off the back of strat necks and apply tung oil for a very smooth feel, so the steel wool treatment is a comprimise....
The fretboard appears to be rosewood with consistent color and very small "pores"
The frets are of medium width and low - they are smooth and finished nicely at the ends, over top of the neck binding. With some additional hand finishing using various grades of auto rubbing compound and "brasso" metal polish, the frets developed a mirror shine If you want to try this on your guitar with a rosewood fretboard, be sure to tape off between the frets to avoid getting the compounds into the rosewood's "pores" If you have access to a dremel rotary tool with a buffing wheel attachment, it can make this job a lot easier !

I dont't baby my guitars, but I dont't throw them around either, so the echotone should hold up fine.
I unscrew the strap buttons, stick a "finishing" washer behind the button, then screw the strap permanently onto the guitar. Finishing washers can be found at most hardware stores, they look like straplocks,
and they cost less than a quarter ! You have to lift the guitar strap over your head to put your guitar on, but I have never dropped a guitar from it's strap! always wrap your cord around your endpin to avoid pulling a jack out !

I've learned how to fix my guitars over the years by LOTS of trial and error, so I doubt that I would contact Hamer...

I have been playing for about 25 years - If you are reading this, you probably know what a joy playing music can be ! The echotone has got me fired up ! I will always play my strats, a yamaha apx-4a, and silvertone classical for their unique sounds, but this hamer is one of the best musical investments I have ever made ! The members of my band,
"Morris Garage" are even excited about the sound of this guitar !

This is a Korean made semi hollow body ES-335 copy. Basic features of a guitar of this type. Transparent cherry solid maple top and back, cream body and neck binding, set neck, dual Duncan designed humbuckers, vintage style tuners. It is a good looking guitar except for the dots in the rosewood fingerboard look like sawed off plastic. I guess for the price they had to cut corners somewhere.

I would have to agree with the previous reviewers. The outstanding feature of this guitar is the tone. It sounds beautiful through my Mesa Boogie or through my Digitech and into the board for recording. Switching between pickups and/or using the seperate volume and tone controls gives wide variety of sounds.

This is where I am going to give the faults of the guitar.
The setup was not good, but when are they? The nut was too high and so the intonation was way off at the first couple frets. Open cords there were difficult and sounded terrible. I removed the nut, scraped away the buildup of paint and glue underneath and the nut sat down to the desired height. The bridge humbucker was in crooked and up against the cavity. This was easy to fix by making new screw holes and remounting the pickup. The old holes do not show. I did a complete setup, put on 10's, and now the guitar plays great. Intonation is right on at every fret.
The finish is almost flawless on this guitar, but I have seen not quite so good on other Echotones.
I am not going to slam the rating here too hard because you cannot expect a mass produced guitar of this type priced under $500.00 to be a hand built masterpiece.

I don't know the answer to this yet, but it seems pretty sturdy. It's not a solid body. You can't use it to knock over your amps on stage, but if you treat it like a hollow body take care of it, it should last.

Actualy this is my second guitar. The first one had a dent in the back of the neck. I bought it on EBay from amajormusic.com. I called them, they called Kaman music, Hamer's parent company, and they immediately sent me another guitar. In fact they sent me the second guitar before I sent the other one back.

I have been playing since I was a teenager, about thirty years ago. I only got serious again during the last year. I own two vintage Gibson acoustics, 1963 Hummingbird, 1946 J45, a strat, a Takamini 12 string, and an Ibanez bass.
You have to keep in mind that this is a mass produced economy guitar. There will always be a lemon or two in the bunch and probably a flaw or two on all of them, but overall I would say these are good guitars. After reworking it, this is a very nice guitar.
Buy the guitar, bring it to a good luthier or setup man, and for less than a fifth of the price of a $3000 Gibson, you have a guitar that plays and sounds as well or better. Better in my opinion.

Got this as a factory second from ebay. As soon as i opened the box I was impressed. Nice cherry finish. Dual chrome duncan-designed humbuckers. Like a 335. Cool vintage looking tuners. It's a factory second because the pickups are wired backwards.

Sounds great through my J-station. i will gig with it next week. Set up with .009 or .010 strings so it can still get a little twang. But really nice humbucker sound.

The action is great right out the box. Makes me play better. I like that.

We'll see about durability. It's korean.

i've been playing a long time. I really like this axe so far. Never had a hollow body before.

My Hamer Echotone is a 2000 model ES-335 copy with 22 jumbo frets, (which I like) made in Korea. This Echotone, however, is different than any other Echotones that I have seen. Instead of the stop tail piece, this model has the trapeze type stop with tune-o-matic bridge. Also, all the hardware is gold instead of steel or chrome. I looks great but I wonder how well the gold finish is going to hold up. Another plus is the tuners are not the "vintage" type tuners but a much better quality tuner (like those found on their other nicer models). It has the classic cherry finish with ivory bindings.

I love the sound of this guitar. The tone is well balanced in any pickup combination. The pickups are the Seymor Duncan Designed humbuckers. It has a three-way switch (just like most ES-335. You can get a variety of good sounds with these pickups with minimal noise. The neck pickup has a nice "woody" mellow sound while the bridge pickup has a bright, but not harsh, flavor. This guitar is well suited for my music tastes. I enjoy playing all kinds of music. That is probably why I like this guitar, it can pull it off in rock, jazz, blues, and pop. If you intend to play it for rock, it gives sort of a Les Paul sound and feel. If you play blues it will give you a "B.B. King" type sound but no Stevie Ray Vaughn type sound. I play mostly for personal enjoyment and occasional recording or live playing. I play the Echotone through a Fender Frontman 25 amp and it really shines through the clean channel. Through the gain channel it gives a real dirty bluesy sound. The only thing that would make this guitar sound better would be through a tube amp. The only effects pedal I own is a Zoom 505 (I know, I'm cheap) and that is to give me occasional chorus or a different overdrive sound. Through the 505, the Echotone is a little noisy but I also have an Ibanez electric that sounds much quiter through the 505.

This is a beautiful guitar to look at. Like I said, the gold against the red finish is great. If you look close, however, I see some minor flaws. I saw a few particles that were in the clear finish and the nut was not quite flush with the outside of the neck. I noticed in an earlier review someone complained about their being some saw or wood dust in the inside of the body: I found the same thing! The pickguard was covered in clear plastic and so was is perfect shape when I got it. The inlays on the neck are the block "wedge" shape that are called "mother of pearl" but I can't tell if that is true or not. The action on this thing is great for me. It is very easy to play and it stays perfectly in tune.

I have played as a hobbyist over the past ten years and have owned serveral guitars. I currently own only three guitars now: The Hamer Echotone, an Ovation Celebrity Deluxe, and an inexpensive Ibanez ES series electric. I have the Fender Frontman 25 and a Crate Acoustic amp with onboard DSP. If this guitar were stolen, I would panic because I have not seen another Echotone like it. I probably am most concerned about the hardware finish. I just can't see the gold hardware making it over the years, we'll see.

Korean made,22 fret,dual humbuckers,vintage style tuners,Red with white binding. fit and finnish were excellent,solid maple no vissable seems..like a ship in a bottle.Looks like es-335.nice black white black sandwich pick gaurd .amp cable hole on side instead of the front makes more sence to me the way it is.smallish neck smallish frets .

the sound is THE THING with this guitar and I have a few guitars that dont come close to the way this guitar sounds ,it has to be its best feature in a guitar that sounds so "great"

the action was fine out of the box and stayed in tune.It is hard to put down and I thought about its sound all through the night like a sirens call.the neck and other bound areas were well finnished on my guitar the transparent red finnish was very well done this guitar is very under valued .

durabillity ,its still in my lap as i write this i can not put it down you have to check this out at this price it is unbelievable

I have been playing two years self taught and play blue blues rock music.This guitar made everything i have learned so much better sounding and easier to play if you can believe that it even helped me to recall tunes and licks i forgot as i wanted to try all my tricks on this guitar.Id buy a few more and put them away till the rest discover its "sound" these Duncan design humbuckers are realy the reason to enter and its beatifully classic in its red and white and black apointments ...take my word and go plug this one in to any thing you have and put a smile on your face its worth that !!!

Basically an ES-335 clone, with humbucking pickups, cherry finish, vintage style tuners. Hamer claims this guitar is made from solid maple, so I'm guessing that the top and back are a low grade maple pressed onto the solid block inside the body. This is still more appealing to me than plywood. Hamer also claims "mother-of-pearl" dot inlays, but if they are I'd be suprised. They look more like "mother-of-plastic". But for the price, the appointments are just fine.

The sound of this guitar is outstanding. Despite what I'll say later in this review, I love this guitar because of the way it sounds. It is articulate and somewhat trashy at the same time. Superb for a unique blues voice and blending with the standard Gibson/Fender tones. I tried once to change the pickups, but every other one I tried (Duncans, DiMarzio PAFs, Gibson 490's) gave too much micrphonic feedback. The stock Duncan imports are saturated in wax to prevent this, and I think they complement the overall guitar design. I won't change them again.

This guitar has the worst workmanship of any I've ever owned. The bindings are horribly done, the pickups are out of alignment with the strings, the finish is uneven, the tuners are finicky, you name it, it was done poorly. But from more than 5 feet away it looks great, and like I said, the tone is worth $1000. So I don't mind, in fact it sorta adds to the character of the guitar.

It has held up under 4 months of hard playing so far, but I'm worried about how well the body was glued based on what I've noticed about everything else. Time will tell.

Don't know...if it breaks, I'll fix it myself.

Tone is all; this guitar oozes tone. 'Nuff said.

I own a 1999 Hamer Echotone made in Korea. It features a 23 fret Rosewood Fretboard with a maple top. There are two volume and two tone controls and a 3 way toggle switch. The guitar has two "Duncan Designed" humbucking pickups which really work well. The hollow body is maple with a maple neck. I have the Transparent Cherry Stained Finish. This guitar closely resembles a Gibson ES 335 double cut-away hollow body. There is a tune-o-matic bridge and vintage green tuners. The neck is a very comfortable round back and not too wide or too thin. It is very smooth, straight and easy to play. Along with this guitar I bought a matching hard shell case.

I am more than pleased with this guitar and the full sound it produces. I play mostly through a Fender Princeton Chorus on the clean setting, sometimes with a little bit of chorus. I like all three toggle switch settings and find that both pickups provide a rich, full and crisp sound. This guitar fits my jazz, blues and medium-rock style very well. It also screams very nicely with some distortion. I had been using a Fender Strat for many years, but now that I have this axe I doubt I'll ever switch back! This guitar is much quieter than my old Strat, thanks to the humbuckers. Along with the rich full sound it is also a very bright sound. The hollow body really resonates well and adds to the richness of the sound. I am thoroughly pleased with the full range of tones and sounds this guitar makes.

The guitar I bought is a factory second, which means it has a few minor finish flaws. But these are very hard to find without looking closely for them. The neck and setup had been adjusted by the retailer prior to shipping to me so it has very low action, no buzz and is surprisingly easy to play. The maple on the top is very beautifully matched and the Cherry Stain accentuates the wood's natural beauty. The glossy finish is also very smooth. The only minor problem I have noticed at times is that the Low E String tuner buzzes occasionally, as does the small set screw on the bridge. But these can be tightened or adjusted to eliminate this problem. I believe that for the very affordable price I bought this I got a great deal since it is a second. The minor finish flaws don't bother me.

This guitar is very solid. The set in neck is tight and so is all of the hardware, from the strap buttons, the tuners, the bridge and nut all the way to the cord input. It seems that this axe would endure much live playing. And since I am not one to beat my guitars I am sure this one will last a long time. From all that I have heard and read about Hamer guitars, even their imports like this one, I know this baby will be my axe of choice for years. I would feel safe using this guitar on a gig without a backup.

Since this guitar is a second there is no manufacturer warranty. But again as I said above, I don't anticipate having any problems with this guitar. If I do I have a great Luthier who can fix just about anything for me here in Pittsburgh, PA.

I have been playing guitar for 20 years. This is my only guitar now since I just sold my 15 year old Strat. I like this guitar's sound, feel and appearance much better than any Strat I have played. If it was lost or stolen I would be bummed out and would try to buy another one. The only problem is I have very limited resources, so I hope it doesn't get stolen. I love the feel of it. I can't really say that I hate anything except that the occasional buzz is annoying. But I plan to deal with that. I compared it with 3 or 4 other guitars: A Samick ES 335 copy, an Epiphone Les Paul, a Yamaha Pacifica AEX-520 and my old Strat. It played much better than all of these and surpasses their sound by far, in my opinion. What I like most is the very powerful Duncan Designed Humbucking pickups. The body resonates sound very well also. After 15 years of noisy, thin sounding Strat Single Coils, this baby is what I have wanted for a long time. This is a simple guitar with no flashy features, just like me. I enjoy playing all kinds of music and this guitar fits my style very well.

this is a 335 copy. Solid mapel instead of veneer as used on gibsons and epiphones. Comes with Duncan designed pickups. Body and neck binding. Mine has a vintage sunburst [2 color].

The stock pickups actually sound very good. Nice balance of power and tone. Overall the guitar has a much meatier sound than an epiphone. It seems to be fairly heavy in comparison to the epiphone.

Neck shape is nice, fairly flat and thin. Has super jumbo frets which I really like. Overall the fit and finish is excellent. Body binding is without flaw as is the finish.

It's a very well made guitar. No special concerns

Who knows, I own several other Hamers and have never had a need to contact them for anything.

An incredible value for the money, just like all Hamer products I've used

This is a 1999 Hamer Echotone. It was made in Korea. This gave me a bit of a concern about this guitar, but I am pleased I got past this issue.
It is a ES-335 type guitar with a solid maple bound back and top, (according to the factory), and even bound f-holes. It also features a rosewood 22 fret fretboard with dots.
For electronics it has 2 "Duncan Designed" passive humbuckers with a three way switch. There is a volume and tone for each pickup.
There's a Tune-o-matic bridge with a stop tail.
The frets are large and the neck is fat, reminding me of my LP Standard neck.
My guitar has a Tobacco Sunburst finish which is well done. The binding is without flaws and over all the fit and finish is nice.
The tuners are non-locking "keystone" type... This may need to be updated in the future.
The nut is plastic, another possibe future upgrade. When I went to 10's from the 9's on the guitar when I bought it, I noticed the "d" string was a bit tight, but a little graphite made things slide a little easier.
Other than the uniquely Hamer headstock, this guitar looks like a ES-335.
I'm giving this an 8 since there's no "quilted maple top", inlays, or other cosmeticly superior features, but what there is works.

I bought this for the sound. The neck pickup is smooth and loud. It is perfect for cool jazz or blues. The combination of tones available by changing the volume and tone controls is wide and sounds good. I A/B'd this pickup against a $3500 ES-335 and I liked the sound of the Hamer / Duncan neck pickup better for clean jazz / blues.
I'm using this with my Fender Hot Rod Deluxe, and it is great with the clean channel. I also use it with my Line6 POD and I get a smooth sound with most of my favorite clean patches.
I also have made this guitar scream at higher gain settings both with the amp and the POD. I haven't gotten any microphonic feedback although facing right into the amp at volume gave me some musical and useful feedback. Overall, it's a quiet guitar.
The bridge pickup has a noticablly more biting and trebly sound. This is not as useful at clean settings, but really cuts through on overdriven sounds. This pickup is great for blues or rock solo's and I prefer to have each pickup have a different "personality".
The mix of both pickups is also cool, because you can vary the sound according to the individual volume and tone settings. This combination of the smooth neck and the trebly bridge is very flexible.
When I first saw this guitar, I thought I would have to immediately upgrade the pickups, but the more I play it, the more I've decided I like the ones in it.

The guitar plays very well with the factory settings. Once I changed the strings to 10's I really liked the feel. Easy and fun to play if you like a fat, (round) neck. It's easy to chord anywhere on the neck, and the intonation was easy to adjust after I put on the new strings.
There's very little new in this guitar's design compared to an ES-335, so if you like the feel of these, you'll like this guitar.
There were no blemishes, or problems with this guitar. Like other Korean guitars, I found a bit of variation between the four that were at my dealer. I obviously picked the one I liked the best, but the others were reasonably well made too.

I'm sure this guitar won't be as durable as say... my Tele. But it seems well constructed, and for the price, I won't mind if it eventually has a few "battle scars". I'm not sure I'd feel the same way if it was $3500!
The finish seems to be solid, and the hardware is chromed, so it won't immediately wear off like gold plated stuff often does.
It has well designed strap buttons, but I plan to add strap locks soon.
I would depend on this guitar, but I ALWAYS have a backup.

I've never dealt with Hamer, hopefully I never will. Nothing bad to say... just prefer not to deal with guitar companies.

I've been playing for over 20 years. I have about a dozen guitars, but never a semi-hollow body blues / jazz machine like this. I feel this is an excellent value. I have played a number of similarly priced Epiphone Dot's and this guitar is far superior to them IMHO.
The sound of the pickups is better, and the guitar just "felt" better to me. I also liked the "solid maple" back and top, (I haven't investigated this claim yet), and the overall construction is better than the Epiphones.
I may still someday buy a nice used Gibson semi-hollow, or probably a Heritage version... but for now this guitar satisfies my urge for this type of guitar.
Anyone looking for this style should at least check one of these out.

The Echotone is Hamer's copy of a Gibson 335 semi-hollow body. It is a reasonable visual copy of the Gibson. Construction is laminated maple with dual humbuckers, dual tone and volume controls. This guitar was finished in transparent cherry similar to Gibson's 335. Vintage Kluson-type tuners with plastic aged tuner knobs.

The humbuckers are "Duncan Design" that have a rich, full tone similar to the Gibson humbuckers. Style-wise, the guitar fits well with jazz and blues, which I bought it for. I had no trouble using it through my amps and pedals in the same manner as my Gibson Les Pauls.

The original setup left the strings too high for playing, so I adjusted the action immediately. The outward finish was very well done, great fit and finish. The interior did have residue (wood dust) throughout. Otherwise the guitar was very presentable

Hardware......this was my problem with the guitar. No matter what you did you could not get the thing to stay in tune. The tuners immediately creeped. I restrung it with a locking wrap, yet the strings crept out of tune immediately.

No experience with Hamer, however, Guitar Center allowed me to exchange for another Echotone or cash or select another guitar. After trying three more Echotones, I selected a new Fender '50's Classic (MIJ) that is fantastic.........and stays in tune.

Playing for 25 years, own 5 Strats, one Tele, one Danelectro, several acoustics, and two Les Pauls.
I previously owned a '78 Hamer Sunburst. I love Hamers, but I'm unhappy that this did not work out. I believe Hamer has gone too cheap on the quality of their tuners.

This is very cool ES335 style guitar, manufactured in Korea in 1999. The hollow body is maple with a lacquer red finish, Duncan Designed pick-ups, a tune-o-matic bridge and multi-laminate plastic pickguard.The neck is maple with a rosewood fretboard and mother of pearl dot inlays. The neck is fast, smooth and flawless and virtually plays itself! Green Plastic(very vintage)tuners on traditional Hamer headstock This was one of TWO Hamers I purchased at Guitar Center, because the quality of these guitars is outstanding, and easily comparable to axes 3 times their value

I play in a progressive power pop band whose songs run the gamut from reggae clean to punk rock dirty and everywhere in between. The Echotone is perfect for my lead style(blues based) and surprisingly effective for the rythm end. Clean is beautiful and warm, dirty is thick and thundering. I use a Line 6 Flextone HD with a Line-6 2x12 cab, all my effects are in the amp. The Echotone mixed with the Line-6's JC-120 channel is a slice of blues heaven, but the guitar rocks on the Soldano setting as well, although high volume distorted settings do cause a wee bit of feedback, but thats what the volume pedals for!

The guitar was set up fine, the strings were new, but not my gauge(I use coated 10's). The body was perfect and the maple top beneath the finish was perfectly bookmatched to the sides. The frets were filed down, not a rough edge in site, and the set neck was right where it ought to be without a glue blob in site. The pickups and pickguard were coated in plastic wrap, so they were flawless when the wrap came off. The only problem was a loose truss rod cover, which was fine because I took it off to have my new guitars name(LULU)etched in. Yes, I name my guitars, always have.

I have always owned Hamers, since 1983 when I bought my first Studio. These guitars are made to last, and while this is an import, this ain't no Epiphone or Squire. This bird sings with the big boys, and it is by far the prettiest bird in my flock! The strap buttons are chrome, huge, and on there good, with a pearloid finish around the base. As far as the finish, well, it seems durable, but I beat my guitars onstage, and this one will be no exception, so I expect some love blisters on this baby

Never had to talk to Hamer, and I usually fix anything thats broken myself, so I probably never will.

I have been playing for 17 years, and have owned a PRS, a few Les Pauls, several Strats, Danos(which I love), and virtually everything else under the sun. This guitar plays better than the PRS, looks better than any Strat, and sounds as good as the Pauls. The only guitar in my arsenal I like better is my Hamer Special (P-90 pickups float my boat), and my other new Hamer Aztec Gold finished Artist also built in Korea, and purchased for $499 at guitar center! see that review!