Well, we near the end of the long tale of Hamer USA Guitars, a saga that began in the early 1970s and is today a great success story in American guitardom. For this installment we bring the litany of Hamer guitars up to date Eclipse Not resting on its laurels, yet two more new Hamer models debuted in ’94 – the Eclipse and the Mirage. The Eclipse (Model GECS) was a new asymmetrical offset double-cutaway design with short horns, the upper somewhat larger and rounded, the lower more pointed, and a rounded lower bout. The body and glued-in neck were all-mahogany with a black-faced three-and-three Hamer headstock and screened logo. The 22-fret rosewood fingerboard had a 243/4″ scale and dot inlays. The Eclipse sported two Seymour Duncan mini-humbucking pickups with three-way select, one volume and one tone control. The bridge was a Wilkinson Hardtail Wrap Around, and the nut a Lubritrak. An Eclipse 12-String was also available with the same specs. These were offered in Black, Cherry Transparent, Candy Green, Ferrari Red, and Vintage Orange. The Eclipses were eclipsed in ’98. Mirage The Mirage, also introduced in ’94, was another upscale model in an upscale world. It had just slightly offset double cutaways with a slightly extended upper horn and a slightly deeper treble cutaway. Otherwise it was similar to the Sunburst. The body was mahogany with a carved, figured koa top with a glued-in mahogany neck. The 22-fret rosewood fingerboard had a 251/2″ scale, dot inlays, and a Hamer three-and-three head. The Mirage was equipped with three Seymour Duncan single-coil-sized humbuckers (all perpendicular to the strings) – a Hot Rail at the bridge and two split-rail Vintage Rails. Vroom 1964 expectancy theory pdf printer. These were controlled by a five-way select and one volume and one tone control. A mini-toggle bypassed the volume control for instant lead mode. The vibrato was a non-locking Wilkinson VSV vibrato combined with chrome locking Sperzel tuners. Finish options included Cherry Transparent and natural. In ’95 the Mirage was joined by the Mirage II, which differed in that it had a carved maple top and two Seymour Duncan humbuckers, with three-way select and no bypass switch. Finishes included ’59 Burst, Honey, Kool Blue, Red Transparent and Tobacco Sunburst. The numbers appear as the 5th and 6th digits in the serial number. This information has not been officially confirmed by Epiphone. F-Serial Numbers on Les Paul Standard '59/'60 Models and Tribute/Plus Models The latest serial number system used by Epiphone has not yet been completely deciphered. The new 'F' models are made in China. A Note on Hamer Serial Numbers. So for example guitar #8 0196 was made in 1978 and was the 196th guitar to be numbered using this system. Similarly # 8 21416 was made in 1988 and was the 21416th guitar to be numbered. These numbers are printed using ink or paint (black on most but yellow on black and dark coloured instruments). Otherwise, it was similar to the Mirage. The Mirage and Mirage II lasted until ’97 or ’98, when they were replaced by the Mirage Maple Top (essentially the Mirage II with a flamed maple top), Seymour Duncan ’59 and JB humbuckers, and locking Schaller tuners. This model came in honey, kool blue, and red transparent. The Mirage Maple Top disappeared after only a year. Artist Archtop, et al In ’95 Hamer introduced the Artist Archtop (Model GATA), the Studio Archtop Artist, and the new version of the CruiseBass. The Artist Archtop (sometimes also called the Artist Arched Top or Archtop Artist -fun, eh?) was very similar to the Sunburst Archtop, introduced in ’91. And like the Sunburst Archtop, the Artist Archtop played more name games as it evolved. The Artist Archtop was an equal double-cutaway (as with most Hamers, upper horn slightly extended) with a mahogany body and ivoroid-bound carved flamed maple top. Other features similar to the Sunburst Archtop included a mahogany neck, Hamer three-and-three headstock (blackface), a bound 22-fret, 243/4″ scale rosewood fingerboard with crown inlays, finetune bridge, stop tailpiece, twin humbuckers, three-way select, volume, and two tones. There were two primary differences; first the Artist Archtop was a semi-hollowbody with a sound chamber and f-hole, and the second was in pickups, which were Seymour Duncan Seth Lovers. After the relocation, the Artist Archtop became known as the Artist Custom, the name it carries today. Also introduced in ’95 was the Studio Archtop Artist.
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