The History of Hamer, Part Four. Well, we near the end of the long tale of Hamer USA Guitars, a saga that began in the early 1. American guitardom. For this installment we bring the litany of Hamer guitars up to dateEclipse. Not resting on its laurels, yet two more new Hamer models debuted in 9. Eclipse and the Mirage. The Eclipse Model GECS was a new asymmetrical offset double cutaway design with short horns, the upper somewhat larger and rounded, the lower more pointed, and a rounded lower bout. The body and glued in neck were all mahogany with a black faced three and three Hamer headstock and screened logo. The 2. 2 fret rosewood fingerboard had a 2. The Eclipse sported two Seymour Duncan mini humbucking pickups with three way select, one volume and one tone control. The bridge was a Wilkinson Hardtail Wrap Around, and the nut a Lubritrak. We Buy, Sell and Trade Vintage Guitars Amps Effects. Need to sell your guitar or bass Youve come to the right place, we buy guitars Were always buying vintage. An Eclipse 1. 2 String was also available with the same specs. These were offered in Black, Cherry Transparent, Candy Green, Ferrari Red, and Vintage Orange. The Eclipses were eclipsed in 9. Mirage. The Mirage, also introduced in 9. It had just slightly offset double cutaways with a slightly extended upper horn and a slightly deeper treble cutaway. Otherwise it was similar to the Sunburst. The body was mahogany with a carved, figured koa top with a glued in mahogany neck. The 2. 2 fret rosewood fingerboard had a 2. Hamer three and three head. The Mirage was equipped with three Seymour Duncan single coil sized humbuckers all perpendicular to the strings a Hot Rail at the bridge and two split rail Vintage Rails. These were controlled by a five way select and one volume and one tone control. A mini toggle bypassed the volume control for instant lead mode. Fender Lap Steel Serial Numbers' title='Fender Lap Steel Serial Numbers' />The vibrato was a non locking Wilkinson VSV vibrato combined with chrome locking Sperzel tuners. Finish options included Cherry Transparent and natural. In 9. 5 the Mirage was joined by the Mirage II, which differed in that it had a carved maple top and two Seymour Duncan humbuckers, with three way select and no bypass switch. Finishes included 5. MMGS7/Classic-Series-72-Telecaster-Custom-Electric-Guitar-3-Color-Sunburst-Rosewood-Fretboard/510475000064069-00-750x750.jpg' alt='Fender Lap Steel Serial Numbers' title='Fender Lap Steel Serial Numbers' />Burst, Honey, Kool Blue, Red Transparent and Tobacco Sunburst. Otherwise, it was similar to the Mirage. The Mirage and Mirage II lasted until 9. Mirage Maple Top essentially the Mirage II with a flamed maple top, Seymour Duncan 5. JB humbuckers, and locking Schaller tuners. This model came in honey, kool blue, and red transparent. The Mirage Maple Top disappeared after only a year. Artist Archtop, et al. In 9. 5 Hamer introduced the Artist Archtop Model GATA, the Studio Archtop Artist, and the new version of the Cruise. Bass. The Artist Archtop sometimes also called the Artist Arched Top or Archtop Artist fun, eh was very similar to the Sunburst Archtop, introduced in 9. And like the Sunburst Archtop, the Artist Archtop played more name games as it evolved. The Artist Archtop was an equal double cutaway as with most Hamers, upper horn slightly extended with a mahogany body and ivoroid bound carved flamed maple top. Other features similar to the Sunburst Archtop included a mahogany neck, Hamer three and three headstock blackface, a bound 2. There were two primary differences first the Artist Archtop was a semi hollowbody with a sound chamber and f hole, and the second was in pickups, which were Seymour Duncan Seth Lovers. After the relocation, the Artist Archtop became known as the Artist Custom, the name it carries today. Also introduced in 9. Studio Archtop Artist. This was essentially the same as the Archtop Artist, except it lacked body and fingerboard binding, and had dot inlays. Sap Rfc Connection Program Id. The original version also had a Wilkinson Wrap Around bridge, although by 9. By 9. 6 the name had changed to become simply the Artist Studio Model GATA SO. Sq1qhb513o1_500.jpg' alt='Fender Lap Steel Serial Numbers' title='Fender Lap Steel Serial Numbers' />In 9. Artist. This model remains in the line to this day. There would be further variations on the Artist Series, as it became known, but well come back to this in a moment. Cruise. Bass. In 9. Hamer brought back a number of variations on the venerable Cruise. Bass, the original of which had run from 8. The first had the sleek offset double cutaway body similar to the Phantom guitar, with pointed horns the upper extended, glued in neck, and a three and three headstock, which changed to a four in line. The new version Model BCRS was redesigned to have a much more rounded form, much closer to a Fender bass design, just slightly more exaggerated waists. The upper horn remained extended, but was much thicker. The body was now made of alder, and the maple neck was bolted on, with the four in line headstock. The pickguard was a natty laminated tortoise affair, sort of oval extending under the strings from the neck, but with a kind of batwing extension over the treble cutaway horn. The rosewood fingerboard was now 2. Replacing the former P and J style pickups were a pair of Duncan Vintage Jazz J style units, one pickguard mounted, the other on the top near the Gotoh bridgetailpiece assembly. I got back into palying steel last year following a 20year lay off. I picked up a used Carter Starter to make sure I really was inetrested again, then went looking. Owners Photos. Bob Grissoms 3A in olive drab. Bob writes Here is a picture of my 1951 3a painted like a M38. It has 61,000 miles and no rustControls remained two volumes and a tone. Color options in 9. Alongside the four string Cruise. Bass was the Cruise. Bass Five Model BC5. T. The Five was essentially the same as the four string except for having a 2 Tek bridgetailpiece mounted through the body, and the addition of a fifth tuner on the bottom of the headstock. Also part of the 9. Cruise. Bass line was the 2 Tek Cruise. Bass Model BCRT. This was identical to the Cruise. Bass except for having the 2 Tek through body bridge assembly. Finally, all three Cruisebasses were available in fretless versions Models BCRTF, BCRSF, and BC5. TF identical except for a Madagascar ebony fingerboard inlaid with maple markers. These remain in the line today. Standard Revisited. The Hamer Standard, the upscale Explorer copy that started it all back in 7. However, in the new vintage environment of the 9. It met the same specs as the original, with a one piece mahogany body, bound bookmatched flamed maple top, glued in mahogany neck, droopy six in line headstock, twin humbuckers, finetune, stoptail, three way, volume and two tones. It was available in two versions the Custom Model GTSC and Standard Model GTSS. The Standard Custom had a bound rosewood fingerboard with crown mother of pearl inlays. The Standard had no binding on the fingerboard, and dot inlays. In 9. 59. 6 Hamer produced a limited number of Korina Standards, versions of the original Gibson Explorer of 5. These featured korina bodies with unbound rosewood fingerboards, dot inlays, covered humbuckers, and black pickguards. Korina is a term which is generally applied to a lightweight mahogany like tonewood known as African Limba. It is sometimes incorrectly applied to guitars which look similar but are made of other woods, such as ash. The Standard Custom remains in the line to this day. The Standard lasted only through 9. Import series. Relocation. In 9. 7, KamanOvation found itself with excess capacity in its New Hartford, Connecticut, factory and operating a second Hamer factory in suburban Chicago. This did not really make good business sense. Double expenses and not operating at full capacity at one plant that could easily absorb the other operation. The decision was made to consolidate all guitarmaking activities in Connecticut, and the Illinois factory was closed. The move occasioned a realignment of the product line. Some models were dropped, others renamed, and new ones added.