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Joined:
January 2006
Posts: 5881
Location: Colorado Rocky Mountains | Depending upon the parent manufacturer, and without doing substantial amounts of empirical research, it seems that the differential in the going rate between new US-made guitars versus their off-shore counterparts is somewhere between 2-to-1 and 3-to-1. The Elites and Celebrities are good examples. Same with Fender’s American series versus their Standard series. For Gibson and Epiphone, some of their fancier models can push it to 4-to-1. However, Hamer seems to be an exception. The cost difference between their new US and offshore models starts at about 6-to-1 and goes up from there. I wonder if this reflects the fact that their US models are all truly hand-made customs? Since Hamer is still allowing their name to be put on the headstock of their offshore products, it seems likely that they wouldn’t be too pleased if the quality of the offshore product was horrible. I’m not saying that the US models aren’t worth their price, but rather, that maybe the offshore Hamer products represent terrific deals. Anybody ever do a side-by-side comparo on a Hamer offshore model and its US equivalent? I wonder how much handwork goes into an offshore model? Based on what I saw at NAMM, there was no noticeable difference in the appearance and overall finish of Hamer’s offshore models compared to their custom shop equivalents. Of course, my only basis is looking at one against the other against hanging on the wall. I’ve never played an offshore Hamer model, although I do own two US models. |
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Joined:
July 2003
Posts: 3111
Location: Nashville TN. | Materials and labor costs.
The USA ones are works of art.
Imports are a deal. |
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Joined:
December 2003
Posts: 13996
Location: Upper Left USA | Yup...
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Joined:
December 2001
Posts: 7247
Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | Originally posted by PEZ:
Materials and labor costs.
The USA ones are works of art.
Imports are a deal. I agree. MCS guitars has a similar philosophy to what I believe Hamer is doing and I found Schecter may be doing this as well. They make some phenomenal hand made guitars, but their imports are actually quite good and worthy of the name as well. Just as a side note, in the early 2000's BC Rich (HHI) was having some issues with production in the US, and their less expensive import line... well... it just blew away anything they were putting out of their so-called Custom Shop. I had an NJ Series Bich that was absolutely flawless. It's only drawback was the finish on the tremolo was not lasting, and it had Duncan Design pickups that just didn't cut. But build quality, weight, fit and finish... all superb. |
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Joined:
January 2009
Posts: 379
Location: Alagoas, Brazil | I have an Epiphone SG that I like a lot. It was my first electric guitar, and it is still a guitar that I will play everyday. I've been thinking of substituting it for a Gibson, but couldn't find a Gibson that would be able to replace it.
I only have one Hamer, and its an American made. The imports don't seem to be sold anywhere.
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Joined:
July 2010
Posts: 53
Location: USA | I'd like to try playing a Hamer one day, maybe next time I'm in a guitar shop that has them. I can't really weigh in much on the quality of either, but I've never bad things about any Hamer guitar. I see some on ebay going for around $100-300, if those play well they are certainly a steal. |
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Hamer: US versus Offshore
