Hamer Guitars

Last updated
Hamer Guitars
Company type Private
Industry Musical instruments
Founded1973;51 years ago (1973)
Headquarters Arlington Heights, Illinois
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Paul Hamer, Jol Dantzig and John Montgomery
Products Electric guitars
Parent KMC Music [1]
Website hamerguitars.com

Hamer Guitars was an American electric guitar manufacturer founded in 1973, in Wilmette, Illinois, by vintage guitar shop owners Paul Hamer and Jol Dantzig. The company's early instruments featured guitar designs based on the Gibson Explorer (The Standard) and Gibson Flying V (Vector), before adding more traditional Gibson-inspired designs such as the Sunburst. Hamer Guitars is generally considered the first "boutique" vintage-style electric guitar brand that specifically catered to professional musicians, and was the first guitar manufacturer to produce a 12 string bass guitar. [2]

Contents

The company was incorporated in Illinois in 1976 by John Montgomery, Jol Dantzig, James Walker and Hamer. It was acquired by Kaman Music Corporation in 1988, which was purchased in turn by Fender Musical Instruments Corporation in 2008. Hamer offered a wide array of electric guitars and electric basses and since its foundation, placed an emphasis on producing high-quality instruments with vintage aesthetics as well as creative innovations. [3]

Kaman marketed a lower-priced line of Asian-built instruments called the Hamer XT Series and Slammer by Hamer, which was discontinued in 2009.

After a 4-year hiatus since Fender had discontinued the Hamer models in 2013, the brand was re-introduced as a subsidiary of KMC Music, which announced the return of imported only Hamer Guitars at the NAMM Show that same year.

History

The first Hamer guitar, a Flying V bass, was built at Northern Prairie Music, a vintage instrument shop in Wilmette, Illinois, owned by Hamer and Dantzig. The shop catered to musicians who were interested in high-quality instruments. This first instrument served as the basis for a new company called Hamer Guitars. [3]

Hamer began publicizing its instruments in 1974, with small black-and-white ads in guitar magazines. Hamer Guitars Inc. was incorporated in Illinois in 1976 by John Montgomery, Jol Dantzig, Paul Hamer and James Walker. In 1977 the company set up shop in Palatine, Illinois and employed seven workers. At this time the primary woodworking was being subcontracted to the Tom Holmes Company in Nashville, Tennessee, with the painting and setup (stringing) being done in the Palatine shop. Prior to that point production had been one-off custom variations on the original "Standard" and "Flying V" guitars built by either John Montgomery or Jim Beach. The new arrangement with Holmes allowed Hamer to broaden its offering by building a more mainstream instrument called the "Sunburst." Before this expansion Hamer's customers were limited to big-name touring groups such as Kiss, Bad Company, Wishbone Ash, Jethro Tull and Savoy Brown. In the late 1970s to the mid-1980s Def Leppard used Hamer guitars and basses.

Cheap Trick on stage in 1977 with their Hamer instruments: Rick Nielsen (left) with a standard model and Tom Petersson with a 10-string bass CheapTrick1977.jpg
Cheap Trick on stage in 1977 with their Hamer instruments: Rick Nielsen (left) with a standard model and Tom Petersson with a 10-string bass

To appeal to a broader market, Hamer introduced its first production guitar, the Sunburst, 1977. Production was reportedly around 10 guitars per week. During that time, the company gained more popularity due to the high-profile patronage of Cheap Trick guitarist Rick Nielsen and that group's use of Hamer eight- and 12-string basses. In 1978, Frank Untermyer joined the company as part of Hamer's attempt to expand its business worldwide. Untermyer served as a partner and international sales manager.

A 1980 "Special" model HAMERSP80.JPG
A 1980 "Special" model

In 1980, Hamer moved to larger quarters in Arlington Heights, a suburb of Chicago. It was at this point that all manufacturing processes were brought in-house, with Dantzig overseeing manufacturing and design. The staff had grown to 12 and Hamer Guitars continued to launch new models, such as the "Special", "Cruisebass", "Prototype", "Blitz" and "Phantom". Paul Hamer, the company's president, and chief salesperson, left in 1987 to pursue a career in retail. Kaman Music was then approached to handle sales, while the remaining owners concentrated on manufacturing. Kaman Music agreed to purchase Hamer in late 1988.

Glenn Tipton of Judas Priest playing a Hamer Phantom GT Glenn Tipton en 2008 au Luxembourg..jpg
Glenn Tipton of Judas Priest playing a Hamer Phantom GT

From this era stems the appearance of Hamer models for heavy metal pioneers Judas Priest. Glenn Tipton's designed and used two very iconic Hamer guitars: the non-production Hamer GT Custom, introduced in 1986, and the Hamer Phantom GT. Especially designed by Tipton, the GT Custom has a unique design, loosely based on a classic asymmetric V design but optimised for balance, sporting either Seymour Duncan and EMG pickups. The Phantom GT followed the more traditional design of a superstrat double cutaway guitar, equipped with EMG pickups. Both guitars are still used by Tipton on stage as of 2020. [4]

After five years with Kaman, Dantzig left the company in 1993, moving to California to begin a design and consulting business.

In 1997, Kaman Music relocated Hamer to a smaller shop in New Hartford, Connecticut, home of Ovation Guitars. Ten of the 42 employees were relocated to New Hartford along with Dantzig, who was re-hired as technical director. Untermyer had the dual role of general manager of both Hamer and Ovation. Hamer then began concentrating on a core of high-quality designs targeted at the high-end and collector market. Brand Manager Frank Rindone assumed all marketing, advertising and sales responsibilities. [3] Along with its parent company Kaman Music, Hamer was acquired by guitar giant Fender Musical Instruments on December 31, 2007.

Hamer lives in Chicago, where he operates a retail framing business. Dantzig left Fender in 2010 to build instruments under the Jol Dantzig Guitar Design name. Untermyer left the company in 2012 and now oversees the global supply chain of guitar manufacturer C. F. Martin & Company.

In December 2012, Fender announced that Hamer would no longer produce guitars and the company would cease to operate. [5] [6]

As of January 25, 2017, KMC Music announced at NAMM 2017 the re-introduction of imported Hamer Guitars with five models. [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fender (company)</span> American musical instrument manufacturer

The Fender Musical Instruments Corporation is an American manufacturer and marketer of musical instruments and amplifiers. Fender produces acoustic guitars, bass amplifiers and public address equipment; however, it is best known for its solid-body electric guitars and bass guitars, particularly the Stratocaster, Telecaster, Jaguar, Jazzmaster, Precision Bass, and the Jazz Bass. The company was founded in Fullerton, California, by Clarence Leonidas "Leo" Fender in 1946. Andy Mooney has served as the chief executive officer (CEO) since June 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fender Jazzmaster</span> Electric guitar

The Fender Jazzmaster is an electric guitar designed as a more expensive sibling of the Fender Stratocaster. First introduced at the 1958 NAMM Convention, it was initially marketed to jazz guitarists, but found favor among surf rock guitarists in the early 1960s. Its appearance is similar to the Fender Jaguar, though it is tonally and physically different in many technical ways, including pickup design, scale length and controls.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fender Precision Bass</span> Model of electric bass

The Fender Precision Bass is a model of electric bass guitar manufactured by Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. In its standard, post-1957 configuration, the Precision Bass is a solid body, four-stringed instrument usually equipped with a single split-coil humbucking pickup and a one-piece, 20-fret maple neck with rosewood or maple fingerboard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Superstrat</span> Electric guitar design

Superstrat is a name for an electric guitar design that resembles a Fender Stratocaster but with differences that clearly distinguish it from a standard Stratocaster, usually to cater to a different playing style. Differences typically include more pointed, aggressive-looking body and neck shapes with increased cutaways to facilitate access to the higher frets, an increased number of frets on the fingerboard, a contoured heel at the neck joint facilitating easier higher fret access, the usage of humbucking pickups, and locking vibrato systems, most commonly the Floyd Rose.

The Ovation Guitar Company is a manufacturer of string instruments. Ovation primarily manufactures steel-string acoustic guitars and nylon-string guitars, often with pickups for electric amplification. In 2015, it became a subsidiary of Drum Workshop after being acquired from KMCMusicorp.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">EMG, Inc.</span>

EMG, Inc. is the current legal name of a company based in Santa Rosa, California that manufactures guitar pickups and EQ accessories. Among guitar and bass accessories, the company sells active humbucker pickups, such as the EMG 81, the EMG 85, the EMG 60, and the EMG 89. They also produce passive pickups such as the EMG-HZ Series, which include SRO-OC1's and SC Sets. There is also a series geared towards a more traditional and passive sound known as the X series.

Spector (bass) Bass guitar manufacturing company

The Spector Musical Instruments is an American manufacturer of instruments. Spector produces electric guitars, acoustic and electric bass guitars; however, it is best known for its solid-body electric bass guitars, particularly the NS-2. The company was founded in Brooklyn, New York by Stuart Spector in 1976. Its current headquarters are in Long Island, New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charvel</span> American electric guitar brand

Charvel is a brand of electric guitars founded in the 1970s by Wayne Charvel in Azusa, California and originally headquartered in Glendora, California. Since 2002, Charvel has been under the ownership of Fender Musical Instruments Corporation.

The Fender Toronado was an electric guitar made by Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. Introduced at the NAMM Show in 1998, it is a part of the "Deluxe Series" of Fenders produced in Mexico, generally to higher specs than most "Standard" models.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Latin Percussion</span> Brand of percussion instruments

Latin Percussion, also known as LP, is a brand of percussion instruments, specializing in ethnic instruments and Latin percussion.

The Fender Mustang Bass is an electric bass guitar model produced by Fender and Squier. Two variants, the Musicmaster Bass and the Bronco Bass, have also been produced from time to time using the same body and neck shape.

Jolyon C. Dantzig is an American artist, songwriter, designer, guitarist, luthier, author and one of the founders of Hamer Guitars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KMCMusicorp</span> Musical instrument company

KMC Music is an owner and distributor of several brands of musical instruments. The company is currently a subsidiary of Canadian corporate group Exertis | JAM.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fender Jaguar Bass</span> Electric bass guitar

The Fender Jaguar Bass is an electric bass guitar currently manufactured in Mexico by the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation.

Aria Guitars Co. is a Japanese manufacturer of musical instruments. The company, sited in the city of Nagoya, produces electric, acoustic and classical guitars, electric basses and ukuleles through its brands Laule'A, Mojo Gig Bags, Fiesta, José Antonio, Pignose and Kelii.

Tacoma Guitars was an American manufacturing company of musical instruments. It was founded in 1991 as a division of South Korean company Young Chang. Instruments were manufactured in Tacoma, Washington. The company and brand name were later acquired by the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. The Tacoma plant closed, and production ceased, in 2008.

Electric guitar design is a type of industrial design where the looks and efficiency of the shape as well as the acoustical aspects of the guitar are important factors. In the past many guitars have been designed with various odd shapes as well as very practical and convenient solutions to improve the usability of the object.

Pensa Custom Guitars is an American company that manufactures electric guitars and basses in handmade fashion. The company is based in New York City. Pensa Custom Guitars was founded by Argentine businessman Rudy Pensa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stevie Ray Vaughan Stratocaster</span>

The Stevie Ray Vaughan Stratocaster is the signature model electric guitar of American guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan, based on his favorite guitar, Number One. The guitar debuted at the NAMM Show in January 1992 and began selling at various music stores.

The Fender Telecaster, colloquially known as the Tele, is an electric guitar produced by Fender. Together with its sister model the Esquire, it was the world's first mass-produced, commercially successful solid-body electric guitar. Its simple yet effective design and revolutionary sound broke ground and set trends in electric guitar manufacturing and popular music.

References

  1. Our brands on KMC Music website, 13 Oct 2019
  2. Matthes, Steve; Moffett, Joe (2013). The Ultimate Hamer Guitars: An Illustrated History. Schiffer Publishing, Ltd. ISBN   978-0-7643-4352-0.
  3. 1 2 3 Zachary R. Fjestad (ed.), "Hamer", Blue Book of Guitar Values, Blue Book Publications, Inc, retrieved July 28, 2013
  4. "Glenn Tipton - Official Website". www.glenntipton.com.
  5. "Fender closes Hamer. Are more to follow?" by Ronnie Dungan, 28 Dec 2012
  6. "FMIC Suspends Hamer Production" on Premier Guitars website, 9 Jan 2013
  7. "Hamer Guitars Announces 2017 Lineup". www.premierguitar.com. January 25, 2017.