NHD 1978 Sunburst

[cornjulio]

So here are a couple of pictures of my 1978 b&c Sunburst that I recently aquired. It's an absolute stunner. The one piece neck is definitely on the slimmer side but that is my only concern. Might get used to it. I know it's just a maple veneer but it does look very nice, flames and all, maybe not the depth of a thick piece of maple wood I suppose.

it had different tuners installed at some point. Were Grovers that bad in the 70s? The former owner had Grovers reinstalled but you can see the extra holes on the back. Everything else is in excellent condition. The original red plush case has silver hardware, latches and hamer logo in silver too.

Didn't know these existed.

 

 

Edited March 5 by cornjulio

[kizanski]

Awesome!

What serial number?

[cornjulio]

8 0598 😉

[kizanski]

8 minutes ago, cornjulio said:

8 0598 😉

Must have been late 1978.

I had 8 0213 and it had a shim under the bridge (pre Sustain Block).

[cornjulio]

A black sunburst is still one of my favourite conundrums! Pretty sure the sustain block is original to this one. didn't look like anythink else was ever installed. would the base plate/ shim have been of the exact same size?

Edited March 5 by cornjulio

[kizanski]

I should have written, "...it originally had a shim under the bridge..."
It had been modified before I bought it with a lefty Fender style trem of all things.

The shim was close to the same footprint as the bridge, but not exact.
There are a bunch of photos of them on the board if you can find them.

Or "The Book".

[cornjulio]

Proud owner of the book I am 🙂. But I've never seen those sunbursts with the shim in the flesh. I used to be fascinated but the idea of it but it probably is a little less sturdy etc.

Edited March 5 by cornjulio

[VECTOR]

I own Sunburst 8 0574. Seems to be a late one too. She is equipped with the sustain block and not with the shimmed bridge.

[Dave Scepter]

Dibs!.. on any of them 😃

[tommyh]

I have 8 0253. It has a shimmed bridge (and bullseye Grovers).

Edited March 6 by tommyh

[Vintage Hamer-Lover]

On 3/5/2025 at 5:55 PM, cornjulio said:

So here are a couple of pictures of my 1978 b&c Sunburst that I recently aquired. It's an absolute stunner. The one piece neck is definitely on the slimmer side but that is my only concern. Might get used to it. I know it's just a maple veneer but it does look very nice, flames and all, maybe not the depth of a thick piece of maple wood I suppose.

it had different tuners installed at some point. Were Grovers that bad in the 70s? The former owner had Grovers reinstalled but you can see the extra holes on the back. Everything else is in excellent condition. The original red plush case has silver hardware, latches and hamer logo in silver too.

Didn't know these existed.

 

 

Congratulation, Cornjulio! A very nice '78 Sunburst: bound and crowned, in excellent condition. And a very cool price.

I discovered her at Kleinanzeigen, too. And offered to drive to Freiburg at once. But I was in second position, 6 hours too late...

Good that she is in the HFC. Have joy and fun with her. And if the necksize won't fit to Your pleasure or any other reasons to dispart, please send me a message

[Disturber]

This is mine. Came with a creme switch selector tip, which I think is the original one. I put on the long black Rickenbacker tip.
80409

[topekatj]

32 minutes ago, Disturber said:

This is mine. Came with a creme switch selector tip, which I think is the original one. I put on the long black Rickenbacker tip.
80409

Nice, one piece top!

[donner]

8 0358 with shimmed bridge and Bullseye Grovers here!

 

Edited March 7 by donner

[cmatthes]

5 hours ago, topekatj said:

Nice, one piece top!

Every single original (veneer top) Sunburst ('77-'85) has a one piece top.

[donner]

80358 shortly visited by 80360

80360 went on to a member here, see her here:

 

[BoogieMKIIA]

Sunbursts are what comes to my mind regarding old Hamers. They nailed vintage beauty. Never played one but would love to. Too bad they didn’t build a lot more later on.

I’m guessing the thick mahogany with thin maple veneer is a big part of the sound. A Studio Custom seems to lean to a slightly thinner, brighter tone. Can anyone speak to tone differences between the Sunburst, Special FM and Studio Custom models regarding body construction? Maybe there are too many other variables to generalize.

[topekatj]

12 hours ago, cmatthes said:

Every single original (veneer top) Sunburst ('77-'85) has a one piece top.

I never realized this to be the case!

[VECTOR]

25 minutes ago, BoogieMKIIA said:

Sunbursts are what comes to my mind regarding old Hamers. They nailed vintage beauty. Never played one but would love to. Too bad they didn’t build a lot more later on.

I’m guessing the thick mahogany with thin maple veneer is a big part of the sound. A Studio Custom seems to lean to a slightly thinner, brighter tone. Can anyone speak to tone differences between the Sunburst, Special FM and Studio Custom models regarding body construction? Maybe there are too many other variables to generalize.

If I compare my guitars I would say the 78 Sunburst ist on the brighter side and delivers very shiny, sparkling harmonics. If you are searching for a guitar that can do all the fine nuances - an old Sunburst is the one.  My friend owns a 80 Sunburst that seems louder but the sound and feel is comparable. It does not sound like a LP in my opinion.  If you are searching for a LP-ish rock machine you should go for a Special FM or a Special Korina Jr.

My 93 Sunburst is way different sounding than the 78. Fat is the word that describes it best. There are so many differences as bridge, maple cap, pickups so that I would say they are completely different guitars with the same name on the headstock. 

So I think these guitars share the same shape but every model could be your main guitar in your particular style of music. And this is imho the connection between the most Hamer US guitars - they are made to be main guitars and you (theoretically) need only one guitar

[velorush]

13 hours ago, cmatthes said:

Every single original (veneer top) Sunburst ('77-'85) has a one piece top.

🤣

[Vintage Hamer-Lover]

# 8 0313

. Had a headstock repair in 1984 by luthier Peter Coura (+) in Frankfurt. Great instrument, quite a thin shim plate, accentuates precicely.

I was told, she was made 2nd August 1978. Don't know if that's correct...

 

[Travis]

I used to own 8 0111 B&C many moons ago. The neck was a medium/full, not super chunky but not thin by any means. The bridge was shimmed with pickguard plastic where most of the others I’ve seen used rosewood, or some other wood. Compared to my old ‘95 Special FM, the Sunburst had a darker, “woodier” tone to it. Neck pickup was smooth and the bridge pickup was a little thinner. By comparison the Special FM was brighter and tighter, with a more modern sound. 
 

here’s an old thread I started with a ton of sunbursts. Mine was the first post. 
 

 

Edited March 7 by Travis

[Vintage Hamer-Lover]

14 hours ago, Travis said:

 

 

What a great thread! Travis, thank You very much for this tipp! I opens further doors...

I just discovered the thread from August 21, 2010  "Early Hamer production #'s, How many are left?" Serial Steves post about production  amounts:

"There were 96 '77 Sunbursts (plus 4 or 5 prototypes, depending on who you ask).

There were 511 '78s.

I have every '78 Sunburst in the Registry."

 

Where do I find this registry?

[cornjulio]

What a cool thread so far. lots of insights. I always wondered about the one piece veneer tops. Good to know that this was generally the case with the early Sunbursts (and Specials, Vectors and Standards?) Maybe the thinness of the veneer would have made it mor difficult to bookmatch the tops?

Anyway, took my guitar outside for a shot of the top.

Edited March 9 by cornjulio