Fender shuts down Hamer production!
 

Woah...
http://www.vintageguitar.com/12816/f...er-production/

The times..... they are uh changing.

perhaps i'm not reading into this enough but is there a reason why?

I'm sorry to hear this, but I can't say that I'm totally surprised. I don't think too many people have been using Hamers since their heyday sometime ago.

Still, RIP producers of the first 12-string bass.

Sounds to me like they want to limit the number of different brands they're producing and concentrate on the biggest selling ones. It's probably a smart move on Fender's part. A company with too many irons in the fire can lose focus on what's important.

Hamer was basically the redheaded stepchild no one wanted after the Fender buyout of Kayman, and its hard to have hard feelings for FMIC about this given Hamer's long term struggles with turning a profit.

They made great, great instruments, but a business must ultimately make money. Especially after incurring significant debt during the Kayman buyout.

I, for one, will never let my Hamer go.

In a way I think its better to see the brand ended than to watch it languish like has for the past few years.

I haven't seen a new Hamer anywhere for years and years. I'm only surprised they were still around.

Old news. They priced themselves out of the marketplace. Hamer employees are now producing Guilds as FMC owns both brands. They were already a niche manufacturer (as of late), and then raised their prices significantly.

..and I love Hamers, I own 2 so no hatin' going on here...

I have a different theory. All of those Slammers were eating into Squier's sales so Fender just decided to shut down the company.

Oh that's right. This is old news from this morning RIGHT?

those bastages !!! I'm not surprised.

Last month, actually.

Man I was just getting ready to order three of those.

I tried to order a Standard guitar (the Explorer shaped one) from their Custom Shop about 3 year ago with the famous 80's boomerang neck inlays and they basically told me 'no way, not for you or anyone else ever again'. Now I can't even play guitar due to arthritis, but I would have kept it if they had let me buy it. I think if their Custom Shop will not remake a classic instrument for you from their heyday then maybe folding up that tent is the way to go.

That Cruise bass with the 2Tek bridge was interesting but they cost too much to make. I just picked up an 80's Cruisebass here that might be a keeper.

Always wanted a Monaco bass but the price never made it possible.

Well it's much worse.

Hamer has been the one brand which manufactured all over the planet, in a variety of qualities, without ever marking anything clearly. Sure, Slammer was clear enough but for non-Slammers it was pretty much impossible to find out anything.

As a result the whole brand went down the toilet, and that killed US production in the end, too.

Worst brand management of any guitar company in the last decade.

I had thought they were out of business a long time ago. I have never in my years seen a new one. Ah well the vintage ones are now worth more. Hamer, you will be missed. 2-teks, Cruise basses and innexpensive MIAs are now a thing of legend.

Warmoth is doing the 2-Tek bridge now. For guitar and bass. Not all is lost.

Yeah, the monacos always looked really cool. Same with a lot of their other stuff. This may be one of the coolest basses I've ever seen:


http://www.hamerfanclub.com/forums/t...falcon-update/


I also really love the look of their 12s and 8s in the similar body style. Shame I could never afford one.