edgar_allan_poe Posted July 14, 2005 Posted July 14, 2005 Beautiful guitar! I don't like Hamer's single cuts, but for some reason, the Monaco III appeals to me. They seem to be pretty rare though so I haven't gotten the chance to try one out yet.-Austin +1 For sme reason, the Monaco really appeals to me. The Elite on the other hand.....well....
cmatthes Posted July 14, 2005 Posted July 14, 2005 I hope I'm going to join ya in the M3 Club sometime this year.My favorite new Hamer model in years - those things are amazing!
Monacosis Posted July 14, 2005 Posted July 14, 2005 belgian,glad your long wait is over. it's a beauty!My M3 is the only guitar I pick up these days; sold 3 guitars since I got it!mike
Roxie Fan Posted July 17, 2005 Posted July 17, 2005 Very nice looking guitar! Really love the look of those M3's! I custom ordered a Monaco 3 Goldtop with custom wiring. Don't know if the maple vs spruce has an impact tonewise? Instead of the chicken head 5 way, I had them replace it with a 3 way toggle for standard neck/bridge operation. The middle p'up was always on but I had a 3rd knob added to bleed in as much or little of it as needed. It was GORGEOUS, bound F holes, locking sperzels, prettu grain back....only thing was the P90 toneI was hoping for was NOT there. Fedback like a howling coyote...Could be the wiring job was the culprit or the Duncans just weren't up to snuff. I tried for months of p'up height adjustments, tone knob variations, amp settings, etc...I finally gave up and had to sell it. I thought about buying Lollars or other replacement p'ups but couldn't bear the disappointment if they didn't help not to mention dropping another $300 on an already high dollar custom order. I hope your experience is the polar opposite of mine and you find tonal nirvana! Goo luck with that exceptional piece...
foodermon Posted July 17, 2005 Posted July 17, 2005 congrats on a very sweet guitar..! I'm sure it's killer in person! slowly but surely my GAS for a Monaco 3 grows... tick tick tick tick.Happy Birthday too!
ac15 Posted July 20, 2005 Posted July 20, 2005 Roxie Fan,I saw your custom Monaco III on Ebay (had to be yours from the description) and briefly considered buying it since I had decided I wanted one (I never did bid though). It looked awesome and it was a tasteful design idea on your part but I really wanted the 5-way switch. I ended up getting one from Willcutt guitars (you can see it on their site under "recently sold merchandise). It's a tobacco sunburst with black pickups and ebony fretboard and tuning pegs. Like you, I was unhappy with the sound. I found out from Hamer that they use the Duncan custom P-90 in the bridge position and Duncan "Hot" P-90 in the middle and neck positions. I have had those same pickups on a guitar I bought used and I didn't like them at all. I decided to order a set of Lollars before I even got the guitar, as I have used his pickups before and like them. I contacted him and it turns out he makes a set specifically for guitars with 3 pickups. The pickup swap completely brought that guitar to life. It's a night and day difference. Prior to the change I found the "inbetween" sounds not to my liking and it was tough to get a great clean sound out of the guitar. Not anymore. I recommend that anyone with doubts about the sound of that guitar take a hard look at those pickups. They are the only weak link on that guitar. I love the guitar now. Here's a link to the one I bought:http://www.willcuttguitars.com/details.asp?stock_id=3533Steve
Hamerica Posted July 20, 2005 Posted July 20, 2005 Beligan,Excellent choice and happy bithday.Looking forward to hearing the Tone Report.
ArnieZ Posted July 20, 2005 Posted July 20, 2005 Belgian,Really beautiful guitar.. As many have said my GAS for a Monaco3 is closing in on explosive I don't know how much longer I can hold out!ArnieZ
Roxie Fan Posted July 21, 2005 Posted July 21, 2005 AC15....I actually sold it to Kiz who sold it to the Ebayer. Maybe I was too hasty in selling it without changing the p'ups but the thing fed back like a banshee, which led me to believe it was also the custom wiring combined with the wrong P90's. I wish I'd gone the route Badger Dave did and got mine with h/bs (but w/bigsby)and ebony board. I was really looking for a less expesive Johnny A. type guitar and Badger's probably nails it.
ac15 Posted July 22, 2005 Posted July 22, 2005 Roxie fan,Too bad it didn't work out for you with the Monaco III. Your custom goldtop design is still one of the coolest Monaco III's I've seen so it was a great idea. This guitar has changed hands a lot. Where does the saga end? Is Ebayer happy with it or is it still on the move? This axe has a lot of history so far in its young life.
serial Posted July 22, 2005 Posted July 22, 2005 You guys are killin' me with these things. I decided that I was only going to pick up two more guitars-a good Strat and a good LP. The MIII is just so tempting...
Roxie Fan Posted July 22, 2005 Posted July 22, 2005 ac15...it really was a piece of art that sounded like a piece of ***t. Hamer's quality is second to none. I think I got too fancy with the whole wiring job. I've been toying with the idea of a another goldtop M3 but with mini humbuckers instead...or a humbucker Monaco. The new gold finish is to die for....
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