Hamer Californian - 27 fret model

[imaguy2]

Yah or nah?

[neilli]

The USA versions are pretty cool....

[j4vice]

Yah!
the last one I saw went for $1000+ about a year ago.

[quiksilver]

Wonderful guitars.

[MountainDog]

The USA versions are pretty cool....

Wonderful guitars.

I agree!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/MountainDog/HamerGoldCAa.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/MountainDog/HamerPurpleCAa.jpg

[Rupe]

The set neck US models are awesome but have gotten rather pricey ($1800+ for a plain white one on Ebay recently). If you can find a decent deal on one, I highly recommend them.

The bolt-ons are hit or miss...more miss IMO.

[Sinistas]

I had a Korean bolt-on I got for $200 that was fantastic...until my guitarist left it in his trunk for a week last winter.

[shredmonster]

They are OK. I had one. It had EMG's. Honestly it could not touch my PC1 in terms of tone or sustain.
It had a 1-5/8" nut - a little small for my personal preference. 1-11/16" would have been better.
Nice shape neck. But the back of the neck was shallacked - which I hate.
Great upper fret access. I like the look of the headstock.
Trem was OK - not as good as a real Floyd.

If they still made custom ones I would order one to my personal taste.
I am having a custom copy made for me by someone right now.

[quiksilver]

Hey Mountain Dog, what version is that reverse headstock Cali? I don't think I've ever seen one with a reverse headstock before. I love it!

[JerEvil]

I had one of the old hologram skulls one back around 90-91. Was a great player. Not too sure about the new ones though.

[pro-fusion]

The setneck Californians are incredibly rare. That recent white one was only about the second one I recall seeing on eBay. The USA bolt-on Californians I've played in stores were nice, like all USA Hamers. I briefly had an import Californian, and it was a total POS.

If you can get a USA Californian at a decent price (they're getting pricier nowadays), they're worthwhile. FWIW, Hamer will no longer take orders for Californians, for whatever stupid reason.

[MountainDog]

Hey Mountain Dog, what version is that reverse headstock Cali? I don't think I've ever seen one with a reverse headstock before. I love it!

It's a custom...I was told it was one of Jack Frost's guitars.

[MountainDog]

They are OK. I had one. It had a 1-5/8" nut - a little small for my personal preference. 1-11/16" would have been better.
Nice shape neck. But the back of the neck was shallacked - which I hate.
Great upper fret access. I like the look of the headstock.
Trem was OK - not as good as a real Floyd.

You sure about the nut? And the German Schaller isn't as good as a 'real Floyd'?? Mine has 1-11/16" and the trem is great.

[shredmonster]

Yeah the springs were not as tight on the trem as the Floyd - which I suppose I could have changed. It gave quite a bit when doing vibrato. Other than that it worked fine.

My Cali had a 1-5/8" nut. Neck felt small.

Still I wish they would have done the satin finish thing on the back of the neck.

The other thing was the ebony board - I much prefer maple or rosewood - which some of them may of had - I don't know.

They are nice guitars. As good as any Jackson. For me they did not contain the personal preferences that I like - that's why I always order custom these days.

[MountainDog]

Interesting that your's had the 1-5/8" nut. Regarding the gloss on the rear of the neck, yep, mine has that too, but I used some #0000 steel wool to take some of the shine/gloss off of it and now it feels more like a satin finish.