Guest Luthier Series: Jol Dantzig

[Jol Dantzig]

Mr. Dantzig -
Thanks and Welcome!

As someone who's been part of the industry for quite some time and in several capacities, is there one accomplishment/innovation/title you'd like to be remembered for?

Also, in your long line of artist-relationships, is there one that stands out from the rest as the most rewarding for you?

Thanks again!

I usually don't think about how I'll be remembered. I'd rather be known as a kind person because in the end, that's all that matters.

I've had so many experiences with wonderful, creative people over the years that it's hard to single one out. I loved working with Vernon Reid, he reminded me to see things in an artistic way again after I had gotten too far into the business end of things. I'll always be grateful to him for that.

There have been other artists who were so self-centered and rude that it confirmed my commitment to only working with people who viewed me as a fellow artist and collaborator, and to them I say thank you for that lesson too.

[scottish]

Jol, i posted before but it was earlier and i guess it slipped through the cracks.

1st off, as everyone has mentioned, thanks so much for doing this. It is truly an honor.

My 1st question refers to the T-51. Was there any specific reason it was discontinued and is there any plans to bring a traditional tele style guitar back?

Second, i was wondering if there was any specific influence or reason for the 3 inline vol vol tone controls as seen on the artist models, as opposed to staggering the arrangement or something?

Thanks
Grant

[fkennjr]

Is there anything, that when you look back on, you think, maybe that wasn't such a good idea?

[Jol Dantzig]

Thank you for the responses to my previous! I wont se so skeptical of the chambers in the Standards then as it sounds very well thought out. Hopefully Ill be able to try both before I buy. But there are no dealers near me..

Would be great to see the imports rise too. Epiphone products seem to be more consistant and it would be GREAT to see more brand recognition for Hamer.

Im at work now, so couldnt read all the most recent posts, but appears that the question of reviving some sort of Super strat type of guitar has come up a few times.. I Know you are a forward thinker and probably dont want to relive the past, but there does seem to be a growing shred movement. Will there be a Hamer model to meet this market??


Again, thank you !

I had a blast making those designs, but that was then and there are so many people doing it now. We even named the Californian as sort of a tip of the hat to guys we admired. Like we were in an arms race... "OK man, you think you're cool... how about 27 frets?"

Never say never... but I have Mike Shannon's phone number at Jackson if you need it! My buddies over there make those superstrats every day.

[Jol Dantzig]

Jol, i posted before but it was earlier and i guess it slipped through the cracks.

1st off, as everyone has mentioned, thanks so much for doing this. It is truly an honor.

My 1st question refers to the T-51. Was there any specific reason it was discontinued and is there any plans to bring a traditional tele style guitar back?

Second, i was wondering if there was any specific influence or reason for the 3 inline vol vol tone controls as seen on the artist models, as opposed to staggering the arrangement or something?

Thanks
Grant

The T-51 was the salesman's idea, until it didn't sell. Great guitar though. The Talledega is our new T-51.

The three-in-a-row control layout is a styling cue that links our guitars right back to the very first Hamer, the Standard. So subtle I almost forgot myself..

[Jol Dantzig]

That is AWESOME! I had been wondering if there was any relation.

Do you like Misfits at all? If so, just the stuff with Glenn singing? Or do you dig the albums done with Michael Graves?

what is your opinion of carbon fibre guitars?

Do you think carbon fibre will ultimately replace all tonewoods in the construction of guitars (for whatever reasons) or do you think there will always be guitars built using wood?

Thanks for taking the time to answer our questions!

I'm sorry man, that was just a joke. When people ask me if I'm related to Glenn, I tell them that, and then start singing "Mother, tell your son to clean up his room, tell him to do his homework too..."

Well, you had to be there I guess.

We've made a few carbon fiber guitars here, and they are not cheap to make. The whole time, people are playing them they are comparing the sound to their wooden guitars, so what's the point really? It's like a plexiglass piano. They have their place, but it's not what I want to do.

[scottish]

The T-51 was the salesman's idea, until it didn't sell. Great guitar though. The Talledega is our new T-51.

The three-in-a-row control layout is a styling cue that links our guitars right back to the very first Hamer, the Standard. So subtle I almost forgot myself..

Awesome. I figured the talledega might be covering the T-51 ground. Ive never played on myself but ive heard you can really nail some tele tones with it.

Thanks!

[scottish]

While we are here, i may aswell ask you to throw your hat into the ring of the never ending poly vs nitro debate. Do you think one has tonal advantages and if so, are they outweighed by the practical aspects of applying one or the other?

[Jol Dantzig]

Jol,

My absolute favorite/dream guitar is one of yours- the red vector made for KK downing around 2004 (though he could've very well had it earlier, but was first seen with it around the time of the reunion with halford).



as lots of people from this board can tell you, ive been completely obsessed with this guitar since the first time i saw it.

now for my questions...

-when he first got that guitar, both pickups were chrome-covered duncans, later switched out for EMGs. do you recall what duncans were in it originally? yes...i actually asked if you remember what pickups you put in one specific guitar made 6 years ago. haha, sorry, can't hurt to ask though. in a guitar world interview, glenn said they were "wound for the extra midrange that [ken] likes," so i wasn't sure if they were just a middy model of duncan's regular line or if they were something from the custom shop.

-both glenn & KK have had EMGs in all their hamers for quite some time, are they installed for 9v or 18v?

-i just saw this guitar for the first time recently...



appears to be just like his other one except with a kahler, gold finish, binding, and no jack plate on the bottom wing. is this a new build, or something from earlier that just hasn't been seen before?

-echoing anti-matthes' question, what ever happened to that off-white custom build for glenn tipton? i really enjoyed watching the progress on your blog and was looking forward to seeing the finished product.


thanks for taking the time to do this, and sorry for my barrage of really specific questions on priest guitars

No worries, The Priest is one of my favorites!

We've been putting EMG 85s and 81s in their guitars for ages. They play with such light guage strings (.007") that it was the only way to get enough gain and signal/noise ratio at the time. They've just never seen a reason to change. Also, the Kahlers worked with the light strings too whereas the Floyd Rose would not. We still put Floyd locking nuts on them.

That gold guitar was made years ago.

Glenn has his new white GT model, and is still evaluating it. We are going to make some changes for him and then it will go out on the road. His Phantom GT is still his favorite, and I'd love to do a reissue of that some day. The guys in Priest are great, they don't have to endorse anything if they don't want to, so it's a pleasure to work with them. We've had some good laughs over the years.

[disturber]

Jol,
Fantastic that you take the time to do this!

I'm posting all the way from Sweden here - long distance so to speak.

1) Just curious if the reason that the bridge pickup on an old 4-digit Standard is closer to the bridge than on the newer Hamer's is that it is the same (narrower) distance as on real 1958 Korina Explorer´s and Vee´s?
And that this is the reason you made them that way, back in the day?

2) Also, will there be another open house at the factory (I'm on a plane over - just say when!)


cheers!
Mattias
Sweden

[Jol Dantzig]

gotta take a break for a while and get some things done, but I'll be back later.

In the meantime, take a look at our Workshop

[ImmortalSix]

Seems as though I slipped through the cracks on Page 2 as well ---


Do you think there is any down-market / offshore production ($400 - $700) marketability for currently high-end only guitars like the Duo-Tone or the Talladega?

Thanks for your time!

-Hunter

[dd12939]

As far as playing music goes, what is your cup of tea, so to speak? lead vs. rhythm, what genre? Do you (or have you in the past) found your own musical tastes having an impact on what you were making in the shop?

[speed2dirt]

Hey Jol,
Thanks again for doing this! You've made comments in previous posts referring to the business side of it, how Hamer is a small company, you focus on the American line, etc. I was wondering how involved you are in the business of running Hamer. When you guys started back in the 1970s, did you create a vision of where you wanted to be; what niche in the market place you'd have? What would you say your niche is (high-end guitars)? Depending on your niche, how does the import line fit with your overall vision of the company?

[parvulesco]

Jol,

You mentioned before that when choosing pickups for a guitar, you like to use those that "make it sound like itself." That being said, what are some of your favorite pickups?

Thanks

[StalePretzel]

This Jol dude seems like a pretty cool guy. Never bought a Hamer before but he seems down to earth. Hell, the luthier down the street is a nobody and he has his head up his own *** because he worked with Aerosmith. Pfft.

Cheers Jol for taking the time!

[BloodRose]

Man... I can barely keep up with this! My friend Chris Flemming (Fender Gretsch/Guild custom shop) is here visiting and we got to chatting and looking at stuff... but I'll try to keep pace here! Sorry if I forget to acknowledge every question or person... I'll do my best.

ErikH, The Newport Pro was a calculated step from the original Newport (which was more of a Rockabilly guitar) towards the Improv, which is a more pure jazz guitar. The Seths just seemed to work in that configuration with the trapeze tailpiece, to give the guitar that ol'-skool semi hollow sound. In the end guys, it's all about finding the pickup that brings out the character that's inherent in the guitar.

Years ago, I worked with the amazing Don Gehman, a producer whose resume is deep and wide. At one point we were testing some new tube mics in the studio for a manufacturer. We set up the new mics next to Don's collection of vintage tube mics, some of which were worth tens of thousands of dollars. As we had a singer (in this case Tommy Shaw) go from mic to mic I tried to determine which one sounded "best". I had a hard time deciding, so I asked Don what he looked for. More bass? More presence? More warmth?

Don just said something like, "pick the one that makes Tommy sound like Tommy." I asked him to clarify, to which he responded, "well, you know Tommy's voice right? Yo'u'd recognize him on the phone if he just said hello. That's because his voice is unique, so the best mic is the one that makes him sound most like himself."

The point I learned, can be applied to pickups and guitars. Pick the one that makes the guitar sound most like itself. When you find it, it will just open up the guitar to do what it does best. Sometimes you can try to bend an instrument to be something it isn't, but that's usually a recipe for failure.

That's why we audition every new design with a boatload of pickups before picking the ones we like. The guitar will tell you the truth if you're willing to hear it.

This isn't rocket science, but probably the best method avail. In your case, your guitars have so much soul on their own..
This is why I seem to have more Duncans in my guitars.. I like to accent the guitar, and not color/cover with the pickup.

Do you actually do this guaging/pickup trial for each guitar produced or is it per model?

My kids wanted to know how long it takes to build one guitar??

[tahwos]

Jol,

It's great, that you can take the time to post on the forum. I signed up just in hopes of getting a chance to have a brief word or two with a legend.

My issue; I have been playing in a live band, twice a month, for the last year. All of my guitars with little or no angle in the neck cause some fatigue in my left hand. I don't seem to remember having that problem with my Sunburst Custom or the Les Paul I traded to get it. - I sold the Hamer a few years ago, due to needing more guitars for live playing. My dream guitar is a Hamer Standard Custom, because of the grace I experienced with the neck of my Sunburst and the right hand freedom I experienced with my explorer (especially standing up).

My question; How close in design are the Standard and Sunburst, in relation to how the neck sits on the body as well as profile and radius?

I have been playing for 30 years and the most memorable moments were, the hours and hours, spent jamming with my sunburst - I could play it for days.

Thank you for taking this time and building the best guitars on the planet!

Donnie

[ParameterMan]

I'm afraid I don't have any thought-provoking questions for you; I just wanted to say I've been reading your excellent blog and have gained a lot of respect for you. I really appreciate your outlook in life and the results it garners. It's nice to know there's someone out there who's still doing things the right way. I also love it when you post pics of weather and animals and other things that make me want to move up there immediately and apply for a job with you.

Actually, I do have a question:

There's something about the guitars you guys make that transforms them into something greater than the sum of their parts, something with "soul", a "real guitar". Is this something you consciously do, and what would you say contributes the most to this result?

[Ayrton]

Jol,

Thank you for taking the time to do this.

Who's idea or decision was to to venture into the "superstrat" market with artist like Vernon Reid and Steve Stevens?

Are you happy with the designs from that time (eg: Centuara)?

Could you see Hamer getting back into that market with something more along the lines of what Suhr offers (high end superstrat)?

Don't forget me.