Extreme Home...errr.. HAMER makeover

[JeffB]

I'd been wanting to do this since the day I bought the guitar, and finally 8 months or so later, got around to changing it.

I also decided to mess around with some different pups for S&G's. I don't have the luxury of being able to own many guitars these days, so gotta swap pups around when I'm feeling a need for a little variety tone-wise. That is a Custom 5 and a JazzN. One of the mounting screw holes on the C5 was stripped right out of the (sealed, new) package, and I ended up using black electrical tape as reinforcement on the screw and a touch of solder after I got it to the general height as the spring tension would cause the pup to drop all the way into the pup cavity on the high E side. Really annoying and frustrating, but I think it will work out OK. Haven't had much time to play it, 15 min, at late night volume so no real tone report as of yet.

The "after" pic sucks. Indoors, tonight, with flash, I will take better ones during daylight tomorrow, but I think you'll get the gist.

before (all black, nickel covers)

UPDATED BETTER PICS further downthread
and after- dimarzio vintage height rings and speed knobs.

[guitarkid]

Man that's a sweet Hamer!

[JeffB]

Thanks bro!

[Pink Unicorn Horsey]

Good god! That's one gorgeous guitar, man.

[BTMN]

Sweet!

[MetalManiac]

Nice , but to be quite honest?; I doubt very seriously any of us staunch Gibbo guys would trade ANY of our Pauls for that.
I certainly wouldn't even begin to consider trading my '05 Standard for it.

[BTMN]

Maybe not trade your LP but definitely you should want one. That Hamer would give ANY LP a run or should I say the runs. It is every bit as well made as a LP if not better and everything on it and in it top notch.

OMNSHO!!

[Aceman]

very VERY tasty appointments

[MisterE]

That's beautiful. Hope you solved the mounting hole problem.

[JeffB]

Thanks everyone, took some much better pics

[Rand-O-Monium]

Sharp!!!
Looks tons better,IMO...

[jeremy]

Nice , but to be quite honest?; I doubt very seriously any of us staunch Gibbo guys would trade ANY of our Pauls for that.
I certainly wouldn't even begin to consider trading my '05 Standard for it.

ive sold all my gibsons and still lust after one of those in tobacco. best singlecut carved top guitar available for my money.

[ErikH]

That looks great, bro. I like the cream rings much better. Wasn't so sure on the gold knobs at first when you told me but they look great. Very "Standard" like.

[H8Red442]

Second set of pics looks much better than that first pic after the change. I still don't get the attraction to cream pickups or rings but it works with the binding. Not sure about the gold knobs, but if you dig it.

I did dig the original look too though.

[CapoFirstFret]

You missed one very important touch. The switch tip needs to be cream! Otherwise, good change bro. I like the new look much better.

[Rich_S]

Love it. Hamer > Gibson any day in my book. I'll add yours to my list of "want" Hamers, right behind the black "Sunbusrt" and the sunburst "Standard" (those names make NO sense at all) that Heritage-boy just picked up.

I just installed a used 59N that had previously had its holes drilled out for direct-mounting in my Tele, and came up with a few handy tips for returning such pickups to height-adjustable condition.

1. Use brass 4-40 nuts. The little #3 size that match standarad HB height screws are impossible to find. I found 4-40 brass nuts and pan-head stainless-steel bolts in the parts drawers at my local Ace hardware store. The bolts aren't 1958 authetic, but they look good.
2. The "brass" nuts are important - you can solder them. Soldering steel is tough, soldering stainless is nigh on impossible. Brass is a cinch.
3. Drill the holes in the ears out to "clearance" size for the bolts. You don't want left-over threads or a too-small hole interfering when the bolts are threaded through the new nuts.
4. Clean the oxide off the pickup ears and the brass nuts. I used a brass-bristled wire brush (also from Ace) but sandpaper or Scotch Brite would work, too. Keep steel wool away from pickups, unless you want them covered with little steel fuzzies forever.
5. Tin the bottoms of the pickup ears with a thin coating of solder. I used the same 25-watt Weller iron I use for amps and pedals, but I put in a larger tip for better heat transfer. You want the nuts on the bottom of the ears so the spring tension is lifting them up and supporting the pickup, rather than trying to pull the nuts off tops of the ears.
6. After the ears are tinned, assemble the bolts, springs, and nuts on the pickup ear. Crank the bolts down so the spring tension holds the nuts firmly in place against the thin layer of solder.
7. Heat the nut and ear with the iron. Add some more solder around the edges of the nut to form a fillet, and to help with heat transfer. Once the nut and tab are up to temperature, the tinned solder will flow and bond with the underside of the nut. The spring tension will pull the nut firmly down into the melted solder. Let the whole thing cool before removing the bolts and springs.

[JeffB]

Thank you all.

Last nights pic was pretty bad, but it does give some indication of just how crazy the flame is on this guitar. Every little angle change makes for a very different look on this guitar. Sometimes you get a big wide flame, sometimes narrow, sometimes none, sometimes cross grain, etc. Eventually I want to have the guitar re-finished in a nice see through red of some sort. I am not overly crazy about see through black and most flame tops, like on the PRSi or Dean I have had where they stain black to make the flame pop out from the primary color, but Hamer just kind of does it right for my tastes. Still my old Hamer Standard had an even nicer top. Both tops have that depth to the flame up close that makes it look like little mountain ranges.

I forgot to order the switch tip, grrrr. Soon.

Ive had way more than my share of production and a couple Custom shop les pauls. The only thing I miss about them is the control layout and extra tone control, and the 12 inch radius. Hamer uses a 14.5 inch radius. Gibson radius is a little easier on my CTS. Im not posting to convert any gibson fans, just posting pics of the new look cos I dig it. Yeesh.

[jeremy]

i wish the hamers had four controls too. thats my only real complaint. last one i had i put a concentric pot in the last spot so i could have two tones. didnt look that great though

[Simon_F]

Looks great Jeff - actually I like both the before and the after

I use the bridge tone on my LPs but hardly ever touch the neck tone, so if I had one of those Hamers I'd probably wire it so the tone only works on the bridge pup.

[PoorMan]

Looks awesome. I like the changes you made.