Hamer Newport Pro

This Newport Pro is a Custom build from Willcutt Guitars. Its a highly figued Birdseye Maple Bound Top, on a Maple body. The neck is Mahogany with a Wide-Fat PRS carve and also bound. It has Victory Inlays starting at the first fret instead of the third. And the board is Ebony instead of Rosewood. The Headstock in bound and the HAMER logo is done in Abalone. So in this sense its a little different than s regular Newport Pro. Woods aside from the Ebony board are very similiar to a 335 only no-where as big of a body. And all Solid woods not laminated. Hamers are very, very well built instruments and their attention to detail in un-matched. To find an instrument of this quality you would have to pay 3-4 times as much and go with a Collins or a instrument of that caliber for example. As far as Bang for the Buck..........you can't beat these.

The Newport is loaded with Custom Wound Seth Lovers with a Blade 3-way and a Master Volume and Tone. I also own a Spruce top Newport with a rosewood dot neck and I seriously like the voice of this Maple body Newport much better. I'm not getting any microphonics out of this one and the clarity, balance, and edgy, woody Tones are just amazing. I also have Seths in a Artist Custom Hamer and this Newport for whatever reason is "THE ONE". This is the one I go to all the time. Without a doubt it cops the late 50's PAF Tone with just a hair of rawness to it. I don't know if its the woods or if the pups are EQ'd slightly different? But this set works. Matter of fact I pulled the Seths on my other Newport and sold them to finance a set of VooDoo 59s [another great set of pick-ups]. Being this is a different beast than a 335 I didn't think I was going to be able to cop the 335 Tones. Man..........was I wrong not only will it cover 335 Tones but also SG Tones as well. Very versitile instrument.

These are hand built instruments. The attention to detail is amazing. You will be hard pressed to find a better built instrument in this price range. Or ANY price range!

Well these are not Bolt-on neck guitars, So they do require a bit of attention. You have to be carefull with them. But they will last a lifetime.

Doesn't get any better. Simply put they are a remarkable group of fellows!

I love this guitar. And while if anything happened to it, I could build another? I just could never replace this one. It just wouldn't be the same. I know, I already have a couple Newports.
Get out there and play a few Hamers and see which one "you" Bond with. You will find a lifelong companion! Be it a Newport. a Korina Artist, or a Talladega? Hamer builds some fine instruments. If you haven't tried one or bought one yet............you are seriously selling yourself short!

Finish: Natural (Korina Wood)
Body: Standard Hollow Body for this model
Bridge: Tune-o-matic
Tuners: Standard for this model
Neck: Korina neck with ebony fingerboard, pearl fret inlays, neck and headstock tortoise binding (gorgeous)
Case included
Made: 2004 USA -- Connecticut
Standard Frets for this model
Standard controls -- tone, volume, pick-up selector
Pickups: Duncan Seymore Seth Lover
Body: Korina, bound with tortoise shell binding

I play blues, classic rock, jazz, country, and praise worship. It's perfect for blues and works well for the others. Effects defeat the purpose of this guitar in my opinion.

My favorite artists that I try to emulate include Hendrix, Synyrd, Doobie Brothers, and CCR. I also like the Doors, Foghat, Aerosmith, Buchanan, Bad Company, Zepplin, ZZ Top, and several other "classic" rock groups.

I'm using a Marshall DSL 401 superlead valve amp. It's all EL-84 tubes, and this guitar is made for a tube amp. Gain is all the effect that's needed, and that's the way the pick-ups were designed. Take a look at the artists that use them over on the Duncan Seymore site -- Joe Perry (Aerosmith) and 2 of Synyrd's lead guitarists. Seth developed this humbucker back in the 50s for the ES-335.

The Newport is Hamer's shot at the Gibson ES-335. I played and compared. The ES-335 sounded sick, and maybe it was (it was used). I also compared it to a Les Paul custom custom w/burstbucker pickups (very very nice vibe), a Hamer Monaco (I hate "the shelf"), PRS Swamp Ash (excellent all around guitar), Newport Spruce top (softer vibe than korina). My second pick was the Les Paul, but it got muddy on the low end. The highs and midrange were spectacular on the LP. I did not like the P-90 pick-ups on another Newport. The Korina Artist with SL pick-ups did not have the "aggressive" tone I found in the Newport.

Now let me say what set the Newport Korina Pro's sound apart from all the rest. It's a combination of the wood (korina "limba" african mahogany), the pick-ups and the body design. This particular guitar is "punchy", "aggressive", "sharply defined", and has a distinctly robust "wood" tone. A slight variation in the gain changes the tone from "pristine wood" into a snarling-growling tone which is perfect for rock and blues. What I mean by "pristine wood" -- it's kind of like the sound you get when a 10 foot long 2x4 board hits the pavement. For lack of a better work I say it "barks". It's a little aggressive for easy listening laid-back jazz but would work fine for a lively tempo.

I play in a band with a piano, electric keyboard, bass, another electric guitar, drums, and 3 vocalists. We play for about 400 people maximum at a time twice a week. This guitar punches right through all of it because of the tone. There is no fuzziness, no mud -- the tone is so focussed, which I can not overemphasize. I have to turn it down, and I like this very very much.

This guitar sounds best in the medium-high range of the fret-board but it has a focussed attack at all points. There were a few slightly muted "dry" spots amid all the juicey tone, and I adjusted the pick-ups as explained in the next section.

Crowned and bound -- flawless set-up. Ebony fretboard is smooth as glass. The finish on the back of neck is smooth and waxy (it does not stick to the skin). I can honestly say I see no flaws and I know what to look for.

It was set up with 10s, and the action was about medium. The neck is somewhat slim. All strings are easy to reach in all positions thanks to the double cutaway and neck shape. It's just a tad neck heavy, but that's typical for hollowbody guitars.

I had to adjust the bridge pick-up to juice up the 5 and 6 strings which were a little on the dead side before the adjustment. Now they come through strong -- almost too much bass now -- and the sound is still clearly focused.

I compared the Newport to a new ES-335 and what a difference on the finish. The fret wires on the ES-335 were so rough -- I couldn't slide my finger up the neck without the wires grabbing my skin. Pitiful -- not the Gibson of old.

This is a very sturdy guitar. I have no problem gigging with it. I really like the tuners a lot, they are so easy to work with and look nice. The strap buttons are very strong.

I've heard the binding comes unglued on some of the older Hamers. We'll see if they got that problem fixed.

There isn't much to go wrong with the electronics. They are simple. I was getting a little bit of static on the pick-up selector switch, but fixed it with contact cleaner.

By the way I've only had this guitar about 3 weeks, but I spent many many hours doing my homework both before and after the sale. With this kind of an investment, I do not want to risk any mistakes, and a lifetime warranty gives me a lot of confidence. On a scale of 1 to 10 I give it a 10+

As mentioned before --a lifetime warranty. If the neck binding comes loose, then they will take care of it. Otherwise I don't know how to rate them.

I've been playing off and on since 30 years ago. The last 4 years I have played almost everyday. I'm in my second band. I've owned 2 fender usa telecaster customs, a Gibson D-30 acoustic, and currently own a Guild acoustic, and a Carvin AE-185 electric acoustic,. I've also owned some cheaper guitars.

I have an acoustic amp and a Marshall 401 DSL. I have a univibe Leslie pedal I like a lot for the Hendrix/Trower sound. They match up well with the Newport.

If something happened to this guitar, I don't know if I could replace it with the same thing. Every guitar has a unique character to me. My two tele customs were not the same. I played Newports beside this one and they were different. I think mine is a keeper and I have no intention of selling it.

By the way, I was at the local music store, jamming the blues with a Marshall tube amp, and some guy made two offers to buy my Newport after I told him what I paid for it. He was probably just blowing smoke, but the Marshall/Hamer combo sounded great.

This one is a keeper.

This is a 2000 Newport pro. Tune-o-matic bridge, 2 humbuckers, volume, tone and 3 way. Grover rotomatic tuners (I love these things, I don't know why I don't see them more.) Mahogany chambered body with a spruce top with f holes, sparkle orange nitrocellulose finish, one piece mahogony neck, rosewood board, MOP dots, medium frets, 12 or 14 inch radius on the board. Everything but the back is bound in ivroid (cellulose plastic that looks like ivory). 22 frets. Pretty much a chambered double cut Gibson LP, but high quality. The design of the body (chambered with a cap) is actually very similar to the Ric design in use since the 50's. It doesnt sound like a Ric though. The neck is really comfortable. I thought it was a little small at first, but I've grown to like it alot. I have big hands, and it's alot more comfortable than my Gibby with the 59 LP profile.
It came with Bill Lawrence (the real ones, not Bill Lawrence USA) p/u's, both single coils. The neck was an L490 and the bridge is an L495. Great p/u's, but the 490 just wasnt my thing. Kind of straty, but it went right through me, in a bad way. I swapped it out for a Duncan 59 and all is well. Now I get more variety of tones. The L495 is closer to a P90, but without the noise. Cuts like a knife when needed and very sensitive to attack and responsive to the tone control. The tone control on this axe actually works.
I think most Newport pros come with SD Seth Lovers. Great pickups (I have one in the neck on my ASAT) but since they're unpotted, they tend to squeel.

I'm not a pro, gig maybe a dozen times a year. I play blues and rock through some good tube amps, usually straight through or with a stomp box distortion for a little boost for lead breaks. This thing sounds fantastic if I let the guitar and amp do the work. I don't need alot of variety. This gives me the warm woody tones (with the humbucker) and the cutting twang (with the P90) that I need. I expected more squeeling from a hollow guitar, but this thing can get pretty loud and dirty without feeding back. Clean tones are great and I can't play much jazz, but this thing could pull it off in the hands of a real player.
I agree with other reviewers regarding this thing coming to life when you play it. I've never had another guitar that was this feather light, yet you know its in your hands from the good vibrations.
This is not a 335. If you need a 335, get one (better yet, get a Heritage 535). This is a Newport, and there is not much else out there like it.

I got this thing used. Everything is perfect. The only negative I can find is that there is a bit of orange peel in the finish that is undetectable execept with really close inspection. The finish is thin (which is good), and I suspect they couldnt take any more off when they did the final sand/polish without going through. I'll take it, if that's what it takes to get a super thin finish.

Everything is top notch, no worries. This is not a delicate hollow body. It's built very solid, even though its so super light that it seems delicate. It's not. I took it apart to swap the neck p/u and the quality is evident throughout. Set ups are a breeze.

Sent them an email with a question, they replied immediately. I think that's pretty good.

This is an absolute keeper. I got it for under a grand in almost new condition with one of the best vintage style cases I've seen. I can take it out of the house and not have to worry about my "investment". This axe is for playing and is perfect for my style. Now that the pickups are right, there is nothing I don't like about it. Hamers are the best deal in the used market. New, they're a little too pricey for me.

Mine is a NOS 2004 black cherryburst that i bought about 6 months ago. It had been sitting in a music store for a year, and nobody bought it, so they auctioned it off, what a steal, the guitar is in perfect condition. It has an nicely matched top and beautiful finish, i took it to my guitar tech for some modding, and he was knocked out by this guitar. I played the seth lover pickups for a few months, but recently had a set of Lollar Imperials with push-pull pots for series parallel switching. I liked the Duncans, but wanted the tone options you can get with the push-pulls, plus, the Lollars sound REALLY nice, man the tone really knocks me out now!
The Hamer case is super nice, too, never had one fit an axe that nice, just like a tight glove, wowee!

I use this guitar for blues and fusion, mostly. I have done some jazz gigs with it, too, and it does pretty well, it's not quite the L5 tone, but it's nicely detailed and warm, especially when you back off the volume pot a bit.
I use a Fuchs SLX50 head with an eminence red, white and blues speaker that's housed in a ported 1-12 cab. I also have an evans RE150 jazz amp, that guitar really smokes for bebop through that amp, but i already have a Yamaha AE1200s that i use for that stuff.
Tonally, this guitar is pretty much in the 335 camp, but has a different vibe of it's own. The top is very vibrant, the lead pickup is really fat, but detailed. The neck pickup just drips of woodiness, if you know what i mean. I really like this guitar with the volume pot on 9, or so, ir can do the Scofield vibe very well. With the series/parallel, you can get some nice thinner funk tones, and even a passable country tone on the bridge pickup, cool!
I really can't think i don't like about this guitar, man it fits my body and hands so nice, i usually play it most of the time anymore.

The guitar had sat in a music sture for a year, but the neck was still pretty much in, maybe a minor bit of tweaking, but not much.
The routing and inlay work are excellant, the finish is killer, no kidding, i still just stare at this beauty sometimes, holy crap! My tech went all over it, and couldn't find anything wrong with it, and he's really picky.
The factory pots have a really nice rolloff, if you switch the pickups, i would seriously consider keeping them, unless you are going to push-pulls. I couldn't bring myself to install switches on this guitar, so i changed out the pots.

I have no doubt this axe will last a LONG time in my collection. The Hardware is top-notch,
and the finish is very durable. I sold a herit#ge Prospect because i couldn't stand the nitrocellulose finish it had, man what a big step up!
The strap buttons are nice and oversized, no problems with them.
I would have no problem whatsoever gigging with no backup axe, as long as i had extra strings with me (DUH)!!

I emailed Hamer about replacing the pots, and they got back to me the next day, and were very polite and helpful.
Other than the initial mod work and tweaking, i haven's had to get anything done to it. the neck seems rock solid, in fact the whole guitar smacks of QUALITY!

I have been playing for 30 years off and on, i think I'm back to stay, now.
I also own a Yamaha AE1200S, a Zion strat with kinmans, a cordoba RCWE, a Taylor 714,
and a carvin 727 (a gift from My brother).
If it were stolen or lost, i would be mad, then go buy another one, probably the Newport Pro Custom with the trapeze tailpiece for something different. I carefully looked around and asked a lot of questions, and really liked the look and features of this guitar. the cutaways make this so much easier to play than a 335 style guitar. Also the body being more compact makes it really comfy to play long gigs with.

Mine is one that was custom ordered by Willcutt Guitars to their specs, and then they waited for me to find it on their website. It's a rock maple birdseye top with incredible figuring. 22 frets, dual Seth Lover humbuckers, three way selector switch and single master volume/tone controls. Beautiful body, neck and headstock binding. The finish is vintage natural. The fret board is ebony. The guitar is truly hollow forward of the bridge, where there is a block to the butt of the guitar to support it and the tail piece. The neck is similar to a PRS wide/fat carve, which I was afraid I wouldn't like, but now find it to be quite comfortable and fits well in my somewhat large hands. The body style is a dual cutaway semi-hollow with great access to the upper frets. It's size compared to say a 335 is quite a bit smaller but larger than Hamer's Artist series semi-hollows. The top on this guitar is not laminated like a 335's is. The thickness of the body is about the same as a 335. The tuners are Schaller Super Rotos, and work very nicely and look great on this instrument. It came with a hard shell case, neck adjustment tool, manual, and certificate of custom order.

This guitar is amazingly resonant and loud acoustically. It's just fine to play it unplugged and hear every note defined. I am a blues player, and I plug directly into whatever amp I'm using. I rarely use a pedal and only when the amp doesn't have a good overdrive channel. In those cases I use a Hot Chili Tubester which is as good as it gets for a pedal tube overdrive.

Most guitars will have a couple of places on the neck where you get a slightly muffled or even dead spot. This one has a minor dead spot on the A string 14th fret. Not completely dead, it just doesn't ring as long as the other notes. I do use this note frequently, but mostly with passing tones, so it's not really a problem for me.

Hamer uses the Seth Lover pickups in this and some of their Artist series guitars. These pickups are very rich and thick, but because they're unpotted have a tendancy to squeal at high volume levels, particularly the bridge pickup. This one is no exception. You can have them potted, but that will change the sound. It has been suggested to me that by removing the magnet and potting just it, most of the squeeling issues can be eliminated. I'm going to see if I can learn to live with the occasional feedback squeal, and if not try potting the magnet only. I wish Hamer could find another pickup for their guitars that had the Seth Lover tone but didn't have the occasional squealing issue.

I should mention how nicely the tone and volume pots interact. Hamer uses a different kind of taper on their volume pots, so with just a slight rollback you can get from dirty to clean. Rolling off the tone pot has a very even effect all the way down to "0" and makes it very easy to find a sweet spot for any amp. I really like how they've engineered these controls.

Hamer gets a one point demerit for the squealing. Maybe I should learn to play with less volume.

If you're familiar with Hamer's USA made guitars at all, you know of their outstanding quality. This guitar is flawless. The frets are perfect and the finish is outstanding. The guitar arrived with a little more relief in the neck than I like to have, and the action was a tad high for me. I don't want the strings right on the board, but I like a little less effort than this one required for fretting. I made a minor adjustment to the relief, replaced the standard tune-o-matic bridge and stop tailpiece with Tone Pro's equivalents, set the action, locked it down and voila! Perfect.

This is a rock maple birds eye top, and I believe it is a single piece. I can't see where they may have joined two pieces, but if they did it was a fantastic job. I have never cared for "furniture" guitars. I've only cared what they played and sounded like. This one is not only an incredible instrument, but it's a beautiful piece of craftsmanship, if not art, as well.

I haven't gigged this guitar yet, but will by next weekend. This being my third Hamer, I have no doubt about it's worthiness to be used live. These guitars are built with such care and attention to detail it amazes me how inexpensive they are. Hamer only produces five or six guitars per week from what I understand, and each one is basically handcrafted. They are far superior in quality to anything else I've ever played.

Hamer equips their guitars with Dunlop strap lock buttons. I prefer the Schallers, so those got changed. Whatever strap locks you prefer, ALWAYS use strap locks. Not using them is like riding in a car and not wearing a seat belt.

The only time I ever dealt with customer support was to ask an email question about a possible custom order. They responded quickly and thoroughly. Hamer genuinely cares about the quality of their product and their customers.

I've been playing close to 40 years. I also own a Hamer Artist Custom, Hamer Studio Gold Top (P-90's), hardtail american Strat with Kinman pickups, Taylor 814CE, and a MusicYo Steinberger with Pearly Gates pups for easy traveling.

Eric at Willcutt was very thorough in his description of the guitar and a pleasure to deal with. I didn't include the price in this review because this guitar has a few upgrades that make it cost a little more than a standard Newport. I will tell you this guitar is twice the quality of some of the other players, and probably cost less than half as much, even with the upgrades. I don't see how they make any money at this price point with the amount of work that must go into making one of these.

I went with the Newport because I got tired of holding a big, heavy 335 and trusted Hamer to make me happy. This guitar weighs a skosh over 7 pounds, is beautifully balanced and very comfortable to hold and play with it's smaller body. While the guitar is very resonant both acoustically and plugged in, the top doesn't vibrate under my arm like the laminated top of the 335 did. That's not a bad thing, just different. I don't know if it's because of the difference in size, or maybe related to the one piece rock maple top vs. the plywood on a 335.

There is obviously nothing I dislike about this instrument. The only quality related issue I can point out is that one of the pickup ring screws needed about 1 1/2 more turns to properly seat it. Shame on Hamer for missing this item. (I'm kidding of course.)

It might be interesting to have a push/push coil splitting pot, but I wouldn't want the sound characteristics or interaction of the controls to change. Maybe something like that isn't available in the pots Hamer uses. So be it.

If you're looking for any kind of electric guitar, whether it be solid body, hollow, Strat style, whatever, I urge you to find a Hamer dealer and take a look at these incredible instruments. I guarantee you'll be blown away.

I think other reviews describe the features quite well. Not sure what year mine is made--bought used. I really do like the big strap locks and the case is very nice. Yes, the top is solid spruce--rather thick, at about a quarter-inch or more--I'm not sure if this is a typical thickness for an electric, but it does vibrate and will, as another reviewer said, vibrate your belly! Mine is the "jazzburst" finish, which has a beautiful colour and sheen to it. The grain on the top is very straight and even. The hardware is top-notch--this guitar will stay in tune very well over several songs, with much bending of strings. The neck, string height, and pick-up height all combine to give a rather narrow area to pick, and the room over the pick-ups is tight--but I've been able to get used to this (coming from a Strat with low-set pick-ups where there is tons of pick-pluck space). I give it a "9" because, yes it could have no features, but what for?!

The sound is BEAUTIFUL--lush, full, and such a smooth tone. Depending on how you play it and pick-up settings, it can have very high shimmery overtones. Too much bass on your amp can cloud the very nice bass sound this guitar produces on the neck pick-up (or with both). It's very versatile. I love the sound of this guitar--my Strat and other guitars sound flat, thin, harsh or just plain dull compared to it. Every note is distinct and every string has character! Usually I finger-pick or pluck and the variety of tones and intonation available is refreshing. This instrument is very sensitive when played through a clean amp and so you can utilize a wide variety of playing techniques. I use a '68 or so silverface Super Reverb with no effects. On higher amp volumes, the guitar distorts very smoothly and is great for blues or jazz with this set-up. The sustain is extremely good, although around the "G" on the twelve fret, "G" string it fades a bit (not to the point of being a "dead spot").
The guitar is not noisy, save for pick-up switch static the first few times you use it, and some acoustic-vibration buzz from the switch when in the middle position (not a big deal, and is not always there).
This is the only guitar I've played where, at times playing live, it's "disappeared" from my awareness, like playing holding air--just my fingers on the frets, and the sound are there--I think the low weight, good balance, and general comfort of the instrument all contribute to that amazing experience.

I've set it up myself, as was bought used. The action is currently set low and is very nice--the overall impression is of ease in playing. The neck is SO comfortable and smooth and access to all frets is clear--so nice to have nothing in the way!! After many years of a maple fingerboard, I thought I wouldn't like the rosewood, but it is so smooth and well-selected, it's excellent. Intonation is perfect. The woods are excellent and the finish is so shiney, warm, tasteful, and well-done. It's like seeing sunshine when you open the case. The neck joint is extremely tight and well-done, as are the frets and neck binding. Sanding is impeccable. There are some very small imperfections in the binding-body border around the lower part of the body. Some of the pick-up mounting screws are oxidized, but maybe the former owner lived in a swamp. The chrome hardware is flawless. I love the sunburst, both front and back! I think overall that the guitar would look better, in terms of both proportion and line, with a slightly smaller headstock, and/or one with curved sides, as on an Ibanez. I like the small size of the body--other guitars seem overly large to me now.

Everything is solid and seems quite durable. The strap buttons, large, hold the strap very securely. It is dependable. The finish is very hard and thick--the "no pick guard" design works only with a finish that is as high-quality as on this Hamer. I would not need a back-up.

I've been playing over 35 years. I also own a late 70's Strat. I would definitely replace this guitar if stolen, likely with a new one. I love it's sound, but more than that, the way its sound and feel go so well together--it's a very unified feel. It has a "deepness" to it, or richness of tone which in my experience is rare in a cleanly-amplified guitar. I love it's lightness. I like the craftmanship that went into it, the all one-piece back/sides. I also like how you can play it unplugged and it sounds good and feels lively. I played many Gibsons and have had a hollow Gibson before (ES-225 TD), but this guitar is IT!

2002 Newport Pro in Jazzburst. Thought went into the cool features that I think are an upgrade to the ES-335 style guitars. Otherwise, there's not much going on -it's very straightforward: 2 humbuckers and a stoptail. Very nice ivoroid binding all around top fingerboard and headstock. Classy tuners.

Definitely loads of good tone. We have a carved (arched) solid spruce top instead of laminated maple, one-piece (flat) honduras mahogany back with a hollow section (between the bottom of neck pickup and tune-o-matic bridge), 3-piece mahoany neck with oversized dovetail joint, straight (and I mean STRAIGHT) grained rosewood fingerboard that is actually slightly thicker on one side ON PURPOSE. Excellent choice of Seth Lover pickups. Master tone, master volume. These guys thought about what they were doing in designing this guitar. I think it's fantastic. And for the price, it should be, but it's not much crazier than Gibson't top 335-style guitars, except it's way better built. The only reason I own this instrument is because I had a Les Paul stolen. And since those are WAY overpriced, the insurance money allowed me to get this Hamer which is a vast improvement over the Gibson. Now, I originally bought that Les Paul when I heard Clapton's Crossroads (live electric version) thinking it was a Paul, when in fact he played the 335. I had put Seth Lovers in it, which were taken with the guitar (obviously), so I know they were excellent pickups. Now I have a tone that is even better, with a semi-hollow body (Hamer calls it fully hollow, but I disagree cuz of the solid sections) that gets an even closer tone to the Crossroads track, which is probably my favorite guitar tone of all time (some of the best solos too).

The guitar is slick to play with 11's -they feel like 10's (I may go to 12's). I once owned a Gretsch whose neck I really liked -so smooth! But it was a little slim, and I slowly gravitated to bigger C-shapes. This Newport has something very close to the Gibson '59 shape everyone generally likes -not too big, but not skinny. The frets are very nice -I can't tell what size since I have 6150, 6105, and 6100's on 3 different guitars, and it doesn't seem to match any of them. They are nice & big for bending, beautifully installed. The finish on this guitar is stunning. The shaded part of the sunburst on the mahogany is semi-opaque, so that it shows the grain in strong light. Only gripe: the f-holes are only colored on one side, but really, who cares? Not all Newports have the truss rod cover that says "Newport" but I'm glad mine does. It's even more tasteful. The pickups are set real low in the mounting rings, so I may have to do something about that. They kind of rattle a bit. Overall, very good fit & finish.

They don't get a whole lot more solid than this. Maybe some Tonepros locking hardware, but the old vintage classics never used that stuff and they sounded fine.

Dunno. As it turns out, this guitar was sitting at the canadian Hamer distributor for 2 years because a sales rep had put 2 tiny dings in the top. They are REALLY small, but it was enough for them to not be able to move it. I initially wanted an Artist because it was partly hollow and would keep most of the Les Pual flavor. A store owner brought a Sunburst and the Newport so I had to choose since it would either be all solid or all hollow. I sure am glad because the timing was awesome when I had to settle the insurance and the store owner picked up these 2 USA Hamers within a week. I decided the hollow vibe was more what I missed, so I put my name on it FAST! I did communicate with the company regarding the serial # and the finish which looked different than their website, and get this -they even put personal attention to doing their finishes in order to compliment the wood of each individual instrument.That's how it should be done. Oh -they also payt a premium for their wood so that they can have first pick when it comes into the country, and they onl sell somany USA Hamers a year so that they don't skimp on quality and craftsmanship. Seems like a FINE operation they got going.

Naturally, it's a beauty. When you think that an electric guitar doesn't rely on construction AS MUCH as an acoustic instrument, it's interesting to hear the difference when a company makes a point of building their stuff like it does matter. You get a pretty well perfect instrument, be it electric, and the tone is right there to prove that it's worth it to go the extra mile in design and construction. Does it sound better than a really 335? I don't know, but I am willing to bet it will cream most of them out there. The spruce top is what makes so much sense to me, along with the hollow body. You get all the 335 vibe, with a smaller body, more resonnance and just as much punch. I thought the name was a little geeky, and that it was an all-jazz oriented guitar, but noone can knock the build or sound. It's equally good for rock (335 tone) and fusion (think John McLaughlan) and even jazz (to a lesser degree cux it's not a deep-body fully hollow jazzbox). I find it best for blues. I won't use the word "value" because they are way pricey when nesw, and Hamers are known to NOT hold their value in the used market. Too bad, but not too many people should be selling their Newports to begin with!

2001 Newport Pro. Soild Spruce top and Mahogany hollowbody. Tune-o-matic bridge. 2 humbuckers. 22 fret, Gibson scale, highly playable Mahogany neck/ Rosewood fingerboard.

I play mainly Blues/Rock originals and have a total blast with this Newport Pro. Great percussive attack followed by rich sustain. Very versital instrument in it's 3 positions. Bridge and Neck have familiar Gibson flavors with more articulation. Use the volume control for various shades....dig in for wails on the edge of feedback and back off for cleaner passes. The Middle is wonderful as well and shows off the guitars acoustic properties. Germimo Masonette and Matchless Lightning are my amps.

Well, the guitar just looks and plays great. Beautiful Spruce top in natural with medium brown Mahogany back, sides and neck. Rosewood fingerboard has a very nice grain pattern to it.

Hamer has a wonderful rep in this area and I have no concerns. Be smart with a hollowbody and you should be fine.

No probelms.

I really like this guitar. I changed the PU's (Seth Lovers) to Fralin Unbuckers because I thought the unwaxed potted thing in combination with the hollow style was too thin and had a tendency to add noise. The Seth Lovers might sound really good in a solidbody...I just don't know since I haven't tried them out in one yet. Most people love the PU's.... so it's up to the individual. I personally think Hamer USA produces consistantly excellent guitars and share the top with only a handful of companys.

This is a 2003 model made in the USA, and I don't even think they were done building the guitar when I placed my order, so theres proof that Hamer is no mass-producing company. This is similar to the Gibson 335, except this is a true hollowbody, without the sustain block. It has 2 humbuckers, 22 frets, stop tailpiece, 2 control knobs. Basically, this is meant to be a simply hollowbody guitar with vintage design. That's all it is, and I don't need a thing more out of a guitar than what this one offers. Not sure on woods, but I believe it has a solid spruce top, mahogany back, neck, and sides, and a rosewood neck. Again, I'm not sure on the brand of tuners, but I believe theyre Grover Imperials. The neck is nice and thick, unlike the 335's. The closest neck I've played is one of Gibson's 58 historic reissues that they've done recently. The body itself is the perfect size, not as wide and thin as the 335, but nowhere near the thickness of a true jazz box. elsewhere. Lastly, it comes with a beautiful solid case, much like the ones the expensive gibsons come in.

I play mainly blues and jazz. When I bought it, I was more into blues, but 6 months later, I'm getting into jazz more, so in order to get a better sound, I'll increase the guage of the strings from 10's to 11's, and see if it helps. Out of the box, it's still a great guitar for jazz, but it just doesnt have the punch on the first and second strings that I hear on the old Charlie Christian tunes. Of course, he used a big Gibson jazz box, so those jazz purists may stick with one of those, but If you're into the blues and so much more than just jazz, there is no better guitar than this newport pro. It's unmatched in versatility, especially when paired with a good tube amp. My own setup is a 71 super reverb, and a borrowed TS-9 reissue. Nothing more, and I don't need anything more. Eventually I'll get a Silver Mod TS-9 from AnalogMan, and maybe one of his BiComprossors, but I'm in no rush.
If you have a Marshall, or something similar, you may run into muddy sounds when playing clean, which I thought was due to the pickups (SD Seth Lover's). When I sold my JCM600 for the Super, all problems were solved, and the pickups have remained in place.
As others have said, is has a great woody sound, not too bright, and very full on the neck pickup with the tone turned down to about 7. The tone knob itself is tapered, and is effective on every setting from 10 to 0. To me, 10 is too bright when added to the bright switch on the old Fender amps, but if your tone is on 10, ts-9 on full drive, bright switch off, neck pickup on, and reverb around 4, you'll find a textbook blues sound, straight from 'red house'. Any tone you could want, from Rockabilly to Jazz is in this guitar, and the beautiful thing about having 2 pickups and 1 tone knob, is how easy it is to find that perfect tone. Feedback is minimal, and very controlable. Its there when you want it, and not there when you don't want it. Much like the physical features of this guitar, it's sounds are very simple, and in the case of this, nothing but simple will do. I highly reccommend keeping effects to a bare minimum, just to retain the simplicity of the guitar's sound, which is ruined when fed through a chain of pedals. A good overdrive, maybe a wah or compressor or phaser or something, is all you need. If even that. Besides, at $1500, who wants to go spend another $500 or more on effects that just ruin the sound of this near-perfect guitar? This guitar and a good tube amp are about all the effects anyone needs, I can't stress it enough. Not many guitar/amp combinations can sound so good without some effect pedals in the middle, but this combination can, so dont ruin it if you have it!

Finish:
Beautiful Jazzburst, that almost seems 3-dimensional. The only flaw on the whole guitar was a minor knick in the finish, less than a millimeter long, which still takes me 5 minutes to find. The wood beneath is beautiful. This one doesn't have all of the fancy designs like some of the flame maple guitars do, but again, this is a simple guitar, and I personally do not care for flame maple tops.

Action:
The action from the factory is as low as any guitar I've played. I have raised it to my own preferences, and also because it has been fretting out on the 1st string. Even where I have it now, it is still as low as anything I've played, and if not, I don't care, because it's more comfortable than anything I've played. The neck is also a perfect fit for me, not too big, not too small, just right.

As for the rest of the details, I have no tuning problems at all, the only time its noticeably out of tune is when it's been in and out of the case for a week without getting properly tuned. I recall having something rattle on the guitar when I first got it, but if I did, I don't anymore, so either my guitar tech fixed it, or I'm just out of my mind. Everything else is exactly perfect, just as it should be, being a Hamer USA product.

This is the most durable guitar you'll ever play, and the finish will last forever. That's a fact. As long as your not using it as a baseball bat onstage, you should need no backup. The hardware is top notch, I've had no problems, the strap buttons are huge, unlike Fender's, and will hold a strap no problem. No need for squeaky strap-locks! If this did crap out on me while playing live, I'd stop the show and fix it, because I'd be far more likely to run into problems with my only backup, which is a 1985 MIJ 62 RI strat. And those are great guitars too. Fortunately, Im confident this would never breakdown, I havent even broken a string in my 6 months on it, and even though I dont often break strings, I know it has something to do with the way this thing is built. This is American craftmanship as it was meant to be, don't let the big name companies fool you with their ideas of "American Craftmanship." They've all forgotten what they're doing, and the small guys like Hamer and Rickenbacker are the only ones to count on.

I emailed the company a few questions before I bought it, and got prompt, friendly response. From what I've heard, others have been dealt with equally as well. Fortunately, I don't need to test them, because the guitars they make seem like theyll never break.

Ted Brown Music Co. was also very nice and very helpful, which is good, because they're the only Hamer dealer in the Seattle area anymore.

Ive been playing about 4 years now, and Ive tried out about every guitar I've ever seen at the local Guitar Center. If someone were to ask me what my dream guitar would be, I could honestly answer "The one i own." That's something not many guitar players can say, and I'm proud that I can. I spent over a year researching this guitar and my Super Reverb amp before buying them, and I could not be more pleased. If you want the best respresentation of a thinline hollowbody, get the Hamer. It's half the price of it's nearest competitors. The same goes for the Silverface Super Reverb I got to go with it. It's half the price of the Blackface that gets all the credit. Just because you get what you pay for doesnt mean you still can't save a couple thousand dollars.

This is a 2000 model, USA made Hamer, 22 frets all 100 % accessible with hand-carved, solid spruce top and a mahogany back carved from one piece of wood. I bought it used through Ebay. I already knew Hamer quality, because I own an Artist Mahogany that is a super slick, sweet sounding axe. I like the Newport even better. It has two humbuckers, both Duncan Seth Lovers. They sound good, but the neck pickup was a little too bluesy for me, as I mainly play jazz. I called Kent Armstrong and he hand-wound a new 12 pole jazz humbucker just for this guitar. He even personally stayed on the phone with me when I installed it to make sure I did it right. With the Armstrong pickup, this guitar sounds so sweet and woody. Really fits nicely with a good spring reverb amp. The body is a double cutaway with a three piece (lengthways) mahogany neck and binding everywhere, including up the sides of the frets for a smooth, comfortable neck. Came with Grover Imperial tuners, which I switched for regular Grovers, since the long buttons got in the way of each other. My only other modification on this guitar is Graph-Tech saddles. Not only do these saddles practically eliminate broken strings, but they also smooth out the sound compared to the steel Schaller saddles that come stock. Of course, Hamer electronics are excellent, all hand-wired. The neck is so easy to play; not an extra-thin shredder neck, but slim enough for my short fingers to get around while still having enough chunk to fill the palm. The body is about 2 inches thick, much like an ES 335, though a little smaller across the lower bout, but truly hand carved with sexy lines and soft curves. Plays great, feels great, sounds great, a true dream guitar for the jazz/blues player.

The sound is just a litte bright for me with the stock Seth Lovers, but the Armstrong jazz pickup in the neck sweetens the tone and gives much better string definition. If I want to play SRV, I can switch to the bridge pickup and get gnarly twang. Although it is a hollow body, the top is a good 1/4 inch thick at the F holes and I haven't been able to make it feed back, even when I play it directly in front of an amp. You just have to play a Hamer USA to understand, but this guitar has such a great vibe, you can feel the tone in your chest when you strum a chord.

I bought this guitar used but very well cared for. It was very well set up. I haven't done any adjusting except for resetting the bridge when I put in the graphite saddles and setting intonation. The top is beautifully bookmatched. There are no flaws I can find anywhere: no glue visible, no binding gaps, frets smooth and polished. Truly a fine example of the best American craftsmanship. If you are interested, you should take the virtual factory tour at:

http://www.hamerguitars.com/?fa=workshop

What you will see is a standard guitar that is built with more care than you will get from Gibson's custom shop.

Hamer USA puts 14 coats of hand-sanded lacquer on each guitar, so their finishes are thick and durable. I just don't want to bump it into anything that would crack the finish and ruin the looks. Except for the remote possibility of a string breaking, I'd definitely play without a backup.

I haven't had to have any warranty work done, but their customer support answered questions within 24 hours when I was trying to find out some of the features of the guitar.

I've been playing for 30 years, but seriously for about 3. I would replace the guitar if it were stolen, but I would cry because the vintage natural finish is very hard to find and I wouldn't want anything else. I have owned many guitars and played hundreds. This has ended up being my favorite of them all.