Hamer Guitars: The Ultimate Hamer Guitar Fan Resource!

Greg V Talladega Video Clip

One of the driving forces behind the development of the Talladega was friendship with and admiration of Greg V. The original concept (which became the Talladega Pro) got sidelined as I took the project into different territory to suit Greg's playing style. Here, he demonstrates a fraction of what that guitar is capable of.

Greg and I have talked about doing some additional clips to demo the Tally, let's hope we can get to that soon. In the meantime, enjoy the atmospherics!

Hamer Monaco Graces Keb' Mo' CD Cover

Regular readers of this blog will recall Keb' Mo's visit to the workshop. He'd already been a convert to Hamer, having comissioned a pair of Monacos after his first taste of a Korina Newport.

 

Originally outfitted with Lollar P90s, Keb found the noise level a little too much for his taste so he upgraded the guitar with a set of hum-cancelling Duncans. It didn't take long for "Big Red" to become his main stage and recording guitar.

To our delight we discovered that Keb' has a new CD out featuring some live tracks as well as new studio material. We're certainly flattered to see "Big Red" on the album cover too!

 

Thanks buddy, we're proud to be a part of your team. 

Tone in the Ear of the Beholder

Tone could be one of the most misused words in the guitar lexicon. It's a word that gets thrown around to describe any number of attributes of a guitar's (or guitarist's) sound. "Oh, he's got great tone." I'm sure you've said it yourself, but did you really know what you were talking about? Is it the touch, the attack or the bloom? Is it the balance and relative amplitude of the different frequencies—or is it all of the above and more?

Even more frustrating can be the fact that not everyone hears things the same way. I think Robert Cray has a great sound, but you think he sounds thin and weak. Who is right? Well, that's easy, I'm right—but that's another story. One can only imagine the amount of energy required to archive and serve the number words of internet babble about Clapton's "Woman Tone" or Peter Green's out of phase sound on old Fleetwood Mac recordings. 

Here's a funny little thing that occurred as we were filming Jon Herington's video segments. Jon was demonstrating how the neck pickup sound on his Talladega Pro was so fat that he used the EQ on his Tube Screamer, not to add distortion, but to cut the bass and add clarity to the notes. As he played the "undesirable" sound of the guitar unmodified, I noted that a lot of players would like to get such a sound. "It doesn't work for me" was his reply, as he forged ahead with his explanation of how he changes it to fit into the Steely Dan format. Take a look:

One of the things you can take away from this is that even a great sound may not be appropriate in every setting. Of course, I'd take it one step further and say that any sound can be used in the right place. This probably comes from spending a lot of time in the studio, dissecting mixes and adding overdubs. You learn very quickly that there's not a lot of room for big sounds once the rest of the band is in the mix. If you listen to "Outside Woman Blues" you'll hear that it's primarily the hook—and the huge holes that the rhythm section leaves for Clapton's fat sound is why, in that case, it works.

Genuine Materials for Genuine Guitars

Another week is upon us as we get on with the business of creating genuine and authentic American instruments. We like to use premium materials for their beauty and depth as well as their functionality. This morning Dave is trimming a neck with mother of pearl pieces—the biggest ones he can find. In this case, it borders a black ebony fingerboard and matching ebony headstock faceplate.

You can see the finished effect on the headstock curve at the bottom of the photo. Take a close look and you'll notice that the curved piece there is so long that you can't even see the end here. Think about how large the blank had to be in order to cut that curved piece from it. The easy way out is to use a bunch of small pieces and just angle them one-by-one around the curve. But that wouldn't be our way. Our clients are buying the effort not just the effect. Most people wouldn't know the difference, but we're not making these instruments for them.

Another place where we spend more time and money is the string nut. Reclaimed and fossilized Russian ivory has a depth and glow that is far beyond bone or synthetic materials. Not only is it cherished because it is rare and beautiful, it has a hardness and lubricity that helps the string slide through. Here, Todd has just finished setting up a Newport with a Brazilian rosewood fingerboard. We use a graduated spacing that increases as the string gauges increase. Your fingertips sense the space between the strings, not the center of the string. That's why or guitars feel so friendly to play. As always, it's the little things that add up.

Plenty of Workshop Action

As the week progresses, there's plenty of chips flyin' in The Workshop. At one end of the room Todd is working on set-up of a left-handed Korina Special with a wrap around Tone Pros bridge. At the extreme opposite side of the shop Dave is fabricating the neck for a Standard 12-string bass.

This one has a rockin' quilt top and a matching quilt headstock which is in the shot above. I asked Dave to take some photos of the process so that we can show you how we take a slice out of the same billet of maple for the headplate. It's a pretty cool little detail that we like to do on our guitars. I'll put that up a little later.

Meanwhile somewhere in between the two extremes, here I am leveling the sides on the quilt-topped Studio we featured a few weeks back. Hand blocking the finish between coats is essential to our process for a couple of reasons. It takes the orange peel out, it keeps the finish thin and it also opens up the lacquer to let more solvents escape before trapping them with additional coats. I can't wait to show this one to you when it gets buffed!

NightFire Talladega Roars on Monday

As the week begins with a cool, crisp New England morning, we're hunkered down in The Workshop doing what we enjoy. As Dave and the guys in the woodshop prep the whitewood for the paint room, Todd is tackling the leveling on a Talladega with a special finish for a special client.

The quilt maple has been finished in a color we've dubbed Night Tiger, and even with its deep hue it retains the iridescent movement within the figure that our finishes are known for. The guitar is rimmed with multi-ply binding that looks great against the dark cherry color. It's going to be a great week in the Workshop!