Jolex Posted February 10, 2013 Posted February 10, 2013 Love my Heritages and am gassing for something with P90's. Been looking out for and H137 but not really ready to pull the trigger, considering a Hamer Newport with Phat Cats. I realize these are apples and oranges but would love some discussion on these guitars or others to consider to add a P90 axe to my stable. My 2 cents: H137 - love the slab board but not 100% sold on the Lollars; plus different bridges ??? Newport is a '99, pristine, with Bigsby (*drool*) and I love the Phat cat tone. Plus, Hamer's are totally undervalued guitars and can be had for less than an h137. BUT...i sort of feel like a "true" P90 axe should be an LP Junior/Special style slab body...Oh, I've got BAD GAS... Chime in please! Thx.....
Number8 Posted February 10, 2013 Posted February 10, 2013 Love my Heritages and am gassing for something with P90's. Been looking out for and H137 but not really ready to pull the trigger, considering a Hamer Newport with Phat Cats. I realize these are apples and oranges but would love some discussion on these guitars or others to consider to add a P90 axe to my stable. My 2 cents: H137 - love the slab board but not 100% sold on the Lollars; plus different bridges ??? Newport is a '99, pristine, with Bigsby (*drool*) and I love the Phat cat tone. Plus, Hamer's are totally undervalued guitars and can be had for less than an h137. BUT...i sort of feel like a "true" P90 axe should be an LP Junior/Special style slab body...Oh, I've got BAD GAS... Chime in please! Thx..... I may soon be posting a 2010 H137 for a very reasonable price ($1000 plus shipping). Whatdayathink?
rockabilly69 Posted February 10, 2013 Posted February 10, 2013 H150 with Throbaks, or a cheaper excellent alternative, "Shed" P90's!
bolero Posted February 10, 2013 Posted February 10, 2013 I've been gassing for a P90 Heritage lately as well
Billgelder Posted February 10, 2013 Posted February 10, 2013 I have owned a few Hamers ovwer the years, they are very hit or miss. Some are very nice and some just plain suck. I would say go for the H 137, if not a PRS Starla with P90's. I love my Starla X, it is very light and has a great P90 sound. I use it mostly for open tuning and slide.
schundog Posted February 10, 2013 Posted February 10, 2013 For the power chord rockin' I was banging away at last night through my KBP810 Tweed Deluxe, nothing but the 137 would do. I tried to change guitars a few times, but nothing else gave me THAT sound. My H-137 is one of my all-time favorites. Get one if you can. Hamers are fantastic guitars, that, and this is simply MY opinion, are butt-ugly. YMMV. That said, compared to the rest of the Heritage family, the 137 is the ugly-duckling, too. That's what makes it so ironic that I keep coming back to it.
Thundersteel Posted February 10, 2013 Posted February 10, 2013 I was playing my H150 w/P90s last night through my Mesa LSS, and I was getting some nice tones. It's a great combination for blues! I also had a Newport with Phat Cats (bought it used), and I was very impressed with that one as well. For build quality, you can't beat a Hamer!
SouthpawGuy Posted February 10, 2013 Posted February 10, 2013 I have a few Hamers including a couple of Studios from the last six or seven years and I have to say the fit and finish, quality and attention to detail is outstanding, absolutely top notch. I feel that comparing Hamer and Heritage to each other is like comparing Fender to Musicman to G&L. There are similarities but they're different animals. Personally out of the five manufacturers I've mentioned the ones I connect with the most are Heritage and G&L, I'm sure others would choose Hamer and Musicman. There is after all a reason why there's more than one flavour of ice cream. btw ... this is ugly ? and this ?
Number8 Posted February 10, 2013 Posted February 10, 2013 Question: Heritage only uses Lollar P90s in their H137s, correct? Barring a custom order of course. I just pulled the back cover on my 2010 137 and it just says "P90s". I am 99.99999% confident that these are Lollars based on what the prior owner told me, their sound, their appearance, and the fact that the Heritage website and brochure says they only use Lollar P90s, but I would like to confirm.
High Flying Bird Posted February 10, 2013 Posted February 10, 2013 I put Phat Cats in my daughter's 137. Sounds fantastic.
SouthpawGuy Posted February 10, 2013 Posted February 10, 2013 Question: Heritage only uses Lollar P90s in their H137s, correct? Barring a custom order of course. I just pulled the back cover on my 2010 137 and it just says "P90s". I am 99.99999% confident that these are Lollars based on what the prior owner told me, their sound, their appearance, and the fact that the Heritage website and brochure says they only use Lollar P90s, but I would like to confirm. Any picture I've seen of Lollar P90s has "Lollar" on the back My own 137, pictured above, was bought used and it had Duncan stacked P90s installed, I presumed probably done by the original owner. I know that any brand of pickup can be sent to the factory to be installed in a custom build, I seem to remember Brent had Fralins installed in his custom 137DC a few years back.
Thundersteel Posted February 10, 2013 Posted February 10, 2013 This! ^^^^ Ugly? No freakin' way! Here's mine: Here's the Newport I used to own: Oh, and since the OP is talking about Lollar P90s, I have to include my H150:
Jolex Posted February 10, 2013 Author Posted February 10, 2013 I know Jay Wolfe used to carry Hamer's as well; can't be that bad if he stocked 'em. Fender broke them. I'm easily sold on the H137 but the Bigsby and the idea of putting another quality brand in my stable is enticing. Alas, I can't have both and can't play either... decisions, decisions...BTW - I appreciate all the opinions...thx!
Thundersteel Posted February 10, 2013 Posted February 10, 2013 Found this on Gbase: http://www.gbase.com/gear/hamer-newport-korina-2006-natural-korina#
pegleg32 Posted February 10, 2013 Posted February 10, 2013 It's hard to beat a 150 with P90's. You can find a used one from $1,000 to $1,500 pretty easily.
Number8 Posted February 10, 2013 Posted February 10, 2013 Any picture I've seen of Lollar P90s has "Lollar" on the back I was referring to the back cover not the back of the pup. My own 137, pictured above, was bought used and it had Duncan stacked P90s installed, I presumed probably done by the original owner. I know that any brand of pickup can be sent to the factory to be installed in a custom build, I seem to remember Brent had Fralins installed in his custom 137DC a few years back. I was referring to the back cover, not the back of the pup.
pressure Posted February 10, 2013 Posted February 10, 2013 I have a Hamer Newport 90 and its a totally Fab guitar.
SouthpawGuy Posted February 10, 2013 Posted February 10, 2013 And this is the other Studio .... It's a Studio Mahogany, i.e. one piece mahogany back with a two piece carved mahogany top, no maple cap. Finish is jazz burst. Pickups are SD 59s. The neck reminds me very much of the 137.
GASguy Posted February 10, 2013 Posted February 10, 2013 I have two Newports that I like very very much, one in Korina, one in spruce/mahogany, but they both have Seth Lover pups. I also have a Korina Artist with S Duncan custom shop Ultimate handwound pups. Note the flame figure in the top of the Korina Artist Hamer makes a great guitar IMHO, but I must say my Heritage guitars are my favorites.
Guest HRB853370 Posted February 11, 2013 Posted February 11, 2013 For the power chord rockin' I was banging away at last night through my KBP810 Tweed Deluxe, nothing but the 137 would do. I tried to change guitars a few times, but nothing else gave me THAT sound. My H-137 is one of my all-time favorites. Get one if you can. Hamers are fantastic guitars, that, and this is simply MY opinion, are butt-ugly. YMMV. That said, compared to the rest of the Heritage family, the 137 is the ugly-duckling, too. That's what makes it so ironic that I keep coming back to it. Gonna have to disagree with the ugly duckling comment on the 137. Yeah, MMDV. Simplicity is beautiful. Make sure its sans PG though. The PG does it no justice.
Guest HRB853370 Posted February 11, 2013 Posted February 11, 2013 And this is the other Studio .... It's a Studio Mahogany, i.e. one piece mahogany back with a two piece carved mahogany top, no maple cap. Finish is jazz burst. Pickups are SD 59s. The neck reminds me very much of the 137. I have been counting your guitars and you have at least 5.
Blunote Posted February 11, 2013 Posted February 11, 2013 And this is the other Studio .... It's a Studio Mahogany, i.e. one piece mahogany back with a two piece carved mahogany top, no maple cap. Finish is jazz burst. Pickups are SD 59s. The neck reminds me very much of the 137. Looks like the mirror image of a great guitar.
schundog Posted February 11, 2013 Posted February 11, 2013 SPG, you have great taste in guitars, and you are obviously a great photographer; but NONE of your guitars EVER show any nicks or scratches!!! You DO play them, right?! haha. I certainly didn't mean to offend regarding the Hamers; I've owned 2 of the XT (offshore) line, a sunburst and a Standard, and they were both incredible bang for the buck. I played T-Steel's Newport, I think it was, at a PSP, and was blown away by the quality. I ALMOST bought another offshore Hamer the other day, a used red Echotone (335 copy) for $250, but when I plugged it in, the treble controls were on top, and vice versa; backwards! It was a deal breaker for me, shame on me. I still should have bought it. Nice guitar. I guess I just don't like the three-in-a-row controls, along with double cut solid bodies. The double-cut thing has bugged me for a long time regarding my wonderful H-170. I have issues....
SouthpawGuy Posted February 11, 2013 Posted February 11, 2013 SPG, you have great taste in guitars, and you are obviously a great photographer; but NONE of your guitars EVER show any nicks or scratches!!! You DO play them, right?! haha. Thanks, the camera does all the work I just put in on a tripod, set it to timer and aperture priority and it does the rest. I usually buy used and generally in mint condition where possible, I do like to look after my gear, even guitars I have twenty years are in top condition. I've been playing both Hamers quite a bit lately, they have a different vibe to Heritage, both brands are fine instruments.
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