Hamer "Slammer" SB-4 Shortscale bass....

[ZenG]

Ran across the Hame Slammer SB-4 shortscale while noodling around on the Intertrap.....

I know zilch about these basses..

Do you own one?
If you do....how wide is the nut on these? (Site doesn't say)
Who makes the pups for them?
Are they humbucker? (shows they are "soaps")

Are they still in production?

What are they worth?

Read some reviews and people seem to like the "fast" neck on them.......

I did see a video of a guy playing one on YouTube.....didn't sound too bad at all (but of course it had stock rounds on it).

Thumbs up?
Thumbs down?
Facepalm?

 

[fourstringbliss]

Hamer Slammer SB4 Short Scale Bass Guitar | Musician's Friend

Invalid Link Removed

 

[ZenG]

After doing a bit of research:-

It seems Kaman Music (who handled Hamer ("Slammer" series was an offshore less-expensive model of theirs) was bought up by Fender, who then sold them under a sub-brand.

But Fender aborted it's Kaman divison in 2009 I think. And they were no longer made.

Which is strange because........KMC Music (who appear to be still in business) still advertise the "Slammer SB-4" on their site along with a host of other Hamer basses and also several other brands of bass as well as other equipment.

I think KMC is part of KMC MusiCorp....which Wiki says is a pretty big company.

Apparently Hamer guitars were quite sought after back in the 70's and they made some legendary stuff......

 

[ZenG]

"All about that bass?"........not for me....I'm "all about the neck". The neck shape/nut width is, for me , the most critical component on a bass. Everything else on a bass (provided it doesn't have any major flaws , is tweakable, moddable, replaceable or adjustable.

They don't go into detail about what"shape" neck the Slammer shorty is.

Whenever I see a shorty on the net that is reported to have a 'fast' neck I'm interested.

But nut width alone is not the determining factor for me.

For example:-

Gibson SG Shortscale Std:- 1.60" width.
RumbleKat:- 1.68"
Epi Viola :- 1.65"
EB-O:- 1.50

Of these they are all D-necks I believe....but different widths...which could make a difference in playability.

My squire Jag SS has a 1.5" nut width......but the neck shape is a "C"........and it's not as comfortable to play as the EB-O

My Ibanez SR500 has a dreamy comfortable neck on it...but that's a long scale. The Ibanez Artcore shorts are wider than 1.5 inches at the nut.

Fender/Squier Mustangs are "C" necks and wider than the EB-O.........in fact of all the shorts they make, they are all "C" necks to my knowledge.

I'm not sure what shape the Slammer is.........but if it was like the Eb-O I would overlook it's generally crappy reviews and spend a few bucks to mod it out.

To me there's no point in spending big money on a bass that, while it has good sound and is revered by the masses, still plays like your fingers have gumboots on and are wading through 3 feet of quicksand.

 

[GM60466]

I had a student who bought one. It was a total wreck that was sent back twice. Don't let the name fool you.

 

[ZenG]

Roger that........

 

[Tracy Dae]

I just got one of these this weekend in rather neglected and abused condition - but dirt cheap.

It didn't take me long to get it playable - and playing quite good. The pickups in it sound great. The person I got it from had replaced the nut with some mystery material and was not shaped correctly or attached to the bass correctly. I am not sure what kind of adhesive he used but I think I spent more time cleaning off that gummy stuff so I could attach a properly shaped nut to the bass.

Anyways, after giving this poor thing some much needed TLC and re-wired it I rather like the bass a lot. If I found another I might buy another.

Another plus is that it fits in a Gator generic LP guitar case.