Hamer Guitars: The Ultimate Hamer Fan Resource! Amazing Custom Guitar Designs by Jol Dantzig. Handmade Guitars

Mike Chapman Visits Workshop

As much as we enjoy the solitude of our rural location, it's always great to have visitors make the trek into the woods to see us. This Friday, legendary producer Mike Chapman did just that. If you're not familiar with Mike's CV, I'll just direct you to his Wiki page for an astounding (and also incomplete) account of his acomplishments up 'til now. This was all the more fun for me because I've been a fan of his production and songwriting since the early 1970s when I was a confirmed Brit Music maniac. Over the years, we both worked with many of the same artists: Blondie, The Sweet, Lita Ford and The Knack. If you doubt the seriousness of his guitar playing, just listen to a collection of the songs he's penned or played on. His stamp is all over pop music spanning the decades. He's currently working on over a dozen projects simultaneously!

Here's Mike and Dave in the Workshop going over exactly where Mike would have his name on the headstock. Just as his reputation for precision and detail in the studio would suggest, Mike has very specific requirements and ideas about how his instruments should be too.

Here we are in the "The Vault" looking at the billets of figured maple. By the looks of that solid gold Rolex on his wrist, I think Mr. Chapman knows quality and timeless style when he holds it. We're looking forward to crafting a guitar in collaboration with him.

Surf's Up in Newport and Monaco: Scott Totten Checks in from the Beach (Boys)

Today brought a nice email and some photos from my old friend Scott Totten. Scott is a mega-talented journeyman guitarist and is currently the musical director for The Beach Boys. Yep, for real. Can't you just hear his Newport 12 string on "Help Me Rhonda"? 

Or maybe the jangly tones of his Monaco III on "Surfin' USA''  all while singing five-part harmonies (without auto-tune)!

Here's what Scott had to say:

Hey Jol, The top on my Newport 12 string is about the most beautiful I've ever seen.  It plays every bit as easy as a 6-string! The Monaco III is an incredibly versatile guitar, there are so many tones it can get.  And plays so smoothly, I actually use heavier gauge strings and it still feels great.  All that PLUS a great Bigsby! 

Scott

This is all pretty cool stuff for those of us in the shop who grew up on that surf stuff. 

But Scott isn't just about surf music; he's a true guitarist's guitarist. He paid his dues playing every night on Broadway for shows like Rent and Les Miserables. One of the first times I got to hang out with Scott, he was in the touring band for Tommy  and he got to play some of the best power chord songs ever written, under the direction of Pete Townshend himself! 

Here we are with fellow Tommy band member and Hamer player, Rick Molina in the orchestra pit in San Francisco in the mid 1990s. So if you want to know every chord in every Beatles, Beach Boys or Who song, Scott's your guy. Thanks for checking in Scott.

Talladega Guitar Neck Joint Video

In response to some emails asking about the Talladega neck joint, we've made a short video about the process. Obviously the video compresses the procedure somewhat, but I think you'll get the idea. 

Be sure to pause the jukebox music on the RIGHT hand column first. Enjoy!

Wiring the Artist Ultimate Guitar: Win a Hamer Fleece

Our recent post about the Artist Ultimate saw Todd leveling the finish before the final clear coats. This morning, he's finished buffing and is wiring the guitar. The Artist Ultimate receives a pair of humbuckers that are built by Seymour in his lab room as opposed to the shop. They are truly hand-wound and are signed by the man himself. Each pickup is measured and then cataloged so that if the owner should want a replacement, Seymour could match it exactly.

As you can see, this pair is serialized #65 which matches the guitar's serial number. That means this guitar is the sixty-fifth Artist Ultimate ever made! The instrument is delivered with all documentation and signed certificates.

We also shoot the electronics cavities including the pickup routs with a nickel based paint from Belgium. It's the most effective (and expensive) stuff there is.

Todd is soldering the electronics using twisted-pair, oxygen-free copper wire from Monster Cable. The toggle switch is custom made for us by Switchcraft with 24k gold contacts. The cavity is closed up with a grounded aluminum cover plate to complete the shielding.

Here are some shots of the finished details that we looked at in the woodshop.

Check out the crisp miter joints and the large pieces of shell in the purfling.

You can almost read the reflection of the Guitar World magazine cover in the headstock. Who is that on the cover?  I've got a black Hamer fleece jacket for the first correct answer.

Even the Ivory nut is shaped and buffed to a high gloss.

A little bit of set-up and play testing, then we wait a day to test it again. Any final adjustments can be made at that point, and then it's out the door. Somebody is going to be happy!

Jan Akkerman Guitar Trivia for Friday

I got an email from my friend Hank, directing me to a YouTube clip of a live performance of Focus doing their "signature" tune  "Hocus Pocus". This brought back some strong memories, for the guitar Jan played in the clip had passed through our shop back in the day. 

Jan brought it to us as a Les Paul "Professional" model with the walnut stain finish and big ugly low impedance pickups. Our job was to put a maple top on it and rout it for standard humbuckings and a four control set up; which we did. The woodwork and finishing was performed by John Montgomery in our basement workshop, and I finished it up with the assembly and wiring. I had almost forgotten about Jan and his famous hybrid guitar, but remembered something else when prodded by Hank's email today.

Here's  my photo of Jan, Backstage at Chicago's Aragon Ballroom, sampling one of our first guitars—a maple-topped sunburst-color flying V. This had to be around 1973-74. I wonder where that guitar is today? 

Have a great weekend everyone!

Jon Herington Checks in From Steely Dan Tour

Since the last post about Jon Herington's Talladega Pro we've been on pins and needles. Despite the large number of tours and studio dates we've made instruments for, it's always hard to wait for the news. Jon is a great musician whose opinion we value highly; I think this quote from the Steely Dan website says it all:

"SD's New Guitar Guy" — arguably one of the most coveted slots in the annals of popular music. And also, potentially, one of the most intimidating; few musical roles receive the same amount of examination, discussion, and debate as does this one. But Jon is handling it all with "perfection and grace"

It's rainy and cold here in New Hartford today, but this email from Jon lit up our shop like the mid-summer sun.

Hi Jol,

The Talladega is awesome! I'm using it a lot, and not just to give it some playing time and to check it out, but because it feels so good to play and because it sounds so good. I can't believe how perfectly you guys nailed the neck specs - it's the most comfortable Fender scale guitar I've ever played. I'm using a great amp which is kind to all the guitars I've plugged into it, but I believe I can hear the quality of the chambers in the guitar - a little airy kind of openness to the tone which I really like. With the single coils, it will do the Fender Tele thing but with extra elegance; less "cheap" grit, maybe, but more beauty, which, depending on the context, I like going for. It's a big tone, though, basically, which again, seems to be a combination of the longer scale, the good wood, the chambering , and the great workmanship. We've been in some noisy spaces, electrically, and I notice the unbalanced Unbuckers tend to buzz a bit more than "normal" humbuckers, even in double coil mode, but I do like the availability of the single coil tones, and I'm using them at times. My hope is the wiring of the theaters will be better than these studios. All in all I'm loving playing the guitar, and I've been reaching for it first most of the time.

We'll stay in touch about it. I hope all's well with you.

Jon

Wow! Thanks Jon. The thrill of making a guitarist's day hasn't diminished over the years. High fives all around the shop were had, and another chapter in the Hamer book begins as Jon embarks on the SD tour. We'll be sure to check in with him as the Tally gets some road miles on it.

White Vector Onstage

Tom Dumont posted this photo from the No Doubt tour and I couldn't resist putting it up here. The guys look so 1980s in this shot. I could almost imagine Tom with a pearl white Scarab II up there.

Have a nice weekend everybody!

Guitar Neck Joint Comparison

We've gotten some emails and at least one comment on the blog asking about the Talladega neck joint. It really differs very little from our usual full-width, tapered joint as found on all of our other models. One difference is that it doesn't protrude into the neck pickup cavity, which is like the Monaco model. This is primarily a function of the single cutaway design. 

Still, as you can see in the photo above, there's plenty of gluing surface available—even more than our double cutaway necks. It's actually much larger than the one used on the Standard model guitar which is no slouch in the sustain department. Just for fun, I put a "traditional" shouldered tenon neck in the photo on the far right just for contrast. That neck has been in our shop since the 1970s and came from Kalamazoo. Take a look at how much bigger our primary gluing surface is! 

Another factor is that our neck joints are tapered at the same angle as the fingerboard which creates pressure on the sides of the joint when being glued. On a straight sided tenon like the one on the far right, the only clamping pressure during bonding is on the bottom. The transmission of vibration is carried through much more area, and that makes for a more lively guitar.

Mothra Visits Guitar Workshop

This little guy was outside our loading dock, recuperating after a battle with a small bird. It has a wingspan of about five inches, about the size of a finch! Seriously, I'd never seen one this big—except in movies. It's name is cecropia, which is a silk-moth.

Not wanting it to get crushed by a truck, Mark scooped it up and put it in some grass by the river where it could rest up to fight another day. Sorry for no guitar content, but some days it's not about the guitars.