mirrorimij Posted March 9, 2010 Posted March 9, 2010 I'm not sure if I ever shared this photo with the HFC before. Around this time in 1997 we were winding down operations in Arlington Heights and packing up the shop for New Hartford. The New Hartford shop was officially open for business in early April. This photo was probably taken in March of 97 with the skeleton crew that was left at the time. Out of this photo only two guys remain at Hamer (Dave B and Mike S). Frank U is not in the photo because he was already in Connecticut. Kinda sad. I often think about those guys and wonder what they are doing now.
kriszguitar Posted March 9, 2010 Posted March 9, 2010 Cool photo! Actually, Mike isn't at Hamer any more either. From the Guild site:
elduave Posted March 9, 2010 Posted March 9, 2010 Cool photo! Actually, Mike isn't at Hamer any more either. From the Guild site: Frank U. said that the same guys who worked on Hamers before are still doing it, they're just tasked to work on different lines depending on the day. I don't know that MS "isn't @ Hamer anymore", exclusively, and there could be pics of all those guys working on Guilds, Ovations or Hamers. If Mike or Mike via Jol told you this directly, then that's different, but there you go. Great pic MJ. I want a Guild!
mirrorimij Posted March 9, 2010 Author Posted March 9, 2010 What is that guitar on the far left?Even looking at the original picture it's difficult to say. It looks like a Diablo body (humbucker in neck, single coil in middle, humbucker in bridge) with a reverse peghead and offset dot fingerboard. Maybe a Diablo II with custom features???I found a couple of other cool things I will post in the appropriate threads.
zenmindbeginner Posted March 9, 2010 Posted March 9, 2010 I was raised in Arlington Heights and went to Rolling Meadows high school. The Hamer brand was a local brand to me as a teenager. I got to sit in the office for a bit and admired all of the posters that plastered the walls (I was almost hypnotized by the Runaways' poster) when I picked up my Scarab that had a new neck put on it after it plum broke in two. Can you guys believe that I only paid $350 for a new neck and paint touch up? Those were the days! lol!God, I wish my Mom had the presence of mind to ask them to let me see inside the factory a bit... I was just soooo excited to get my guitar and was a bit stupefied by the whole scene that it didn't even occur to me.Arlington Heights was a great place to make guitars and was a cool place to grow up even though the town and the surrounding Northwest suburbs were really working class and weren't very "artsy".I ended up moving away the following year (1989) and I guess Hamer was gone several years after that.My metal band "Minotaur" used to practice just a short ten minute drive away from the factory. I was the best 14 year old guitar player in school district 214 (entire Northwest Suburbs) and I played the baddest brand guitar around. Ahhhh those were the dayz...Do you have any pics of the front office with all of the posters?
Stike Posted March 9, 2010 Posted March 9, 2010 What is that guitar on the far left?Don't know but I used to work with the guy holding it a few years ago.
mirrorimij Posted March 9, 2010 Author Posted March 9, 2010 What is that guitar on the far left?Don't know but I used to work with the guy holding it a few years ago.Stike- Any idea how Dave T is doing? Where is he at these days?Zen- sorry no pictures of the front office.
specialk Posted March 9, 2010 Posted March 9, 2010 Cool stuff Bob! Thanks much for sharing it, as well as any other memorabilia/tidbits you find.
veatch Posted March 9, 2010 Posted March 9, 2010 What is that guitar on the far left?Looks like Nielsen's 5-neck to me.
cmatthes Posted March 9, 2010 Posted March 9, 2010 Almost missed that Ice Pearl Snakeskin Chap in the middle there!
holLoWskull Posted March 9, 2010 Posted March 9, 2010 Man I owe some of those guys in the Arlington Heights photo a big thank you. I know the general consensus here is that the stuff out of New Hartford is the best Hamer stuff ever, but I gotta say that most of my best playing and best sounding (obviously both things are subjective) Hamers were built in the Arlington Heights factory. Not dissin' the new stuff at all, I've owned and played quite a few of them and they are fantastic in their own right...just a different vibe to them. Thank you to all the men (and women?) past and present who have gotten sawdust in their hair and hot solder on their finger tips at the Hamer factories (both IL and CT).
specialk Posted March 10, 2010 Posted March 10, 2010 Man I owe some of those guys in the Arlington Heights photo a big thank you. I know the general consensus here is that the stuff out of New Hartford is the best Hamer stuff ever, but I gotta say that most of my best playing and best sounding (obviously both things are subjective) Hamers were built in the Arlington Heights factory. Not dissin' the new stuff at all, I've owned and played quite a few of them and they are fantastic in their own right...just a different vibe to them. Thank you to all the men (and women?) past and present who have gotten sawdust in their hair and hot solder on their finger tips at the Hamer factories (both IL and CT).Big +1 to this. AH, IL and the people at Hamer made some great great guitars!
mirrorimij Posted March 10, 2010 Author Posted March 10, 2010 One more picture for Arlington Heights fans......... My handwritten notes on th eback of the photo......
sw686blue Posted March 10, 2010 Posted March 10, 2010 What an unruly bunch! Thanks for posting these photos! It's great to see the guys who make (made) the magic happen.
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