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.