Hamm Guitars
07-28-2008, 06:10 PM
I just got back from the East Coast, and while I was down there I grabbed my older brother's 1982 Ibanez Blazer (Basically a Strat Copy). I found it in his basement, covered in dust with 5 accoustic strings installed on it - it had been sitting on the stand for so long that the rubber from the guitar stand had attached itself to the guitar - my brother says he hasn't played it in years.
When I was a kid I used to go over to my brother's apartment and play this thing - it was miles above anything I owned at the time. This thing has been out on long term loan, pawned, stolen and returned. Some people had borrowed it for so long that they took it upon themselves to mod it. When I picked it up last week, it had seen better days.
The guitar has an ash body finished in metallic red, brass 6 point trem, originally came with three single coils with 2 phase reversing switches (as well as a five way selector), 1 volume and one tone all with brass and gold hardware. Much of the gold has long worn off, so it looks like brass and chrome now.
Currently, the bridge pickup has been replaced with a Dimarzio Super Distortion (an old 2 wire version), the pick guard has been hacked up to accomidate it and the guard has the tip broken off by the jack.
These things aren't going for bags of cash or anything, but they are pretty good guitars.
The guy in the following video demos the exact same model at 3min 30 seconds
http://www.youtube.com/swf/l.swf?video_id=MpOdJBg_qc4&rel=1&eurl=&iurl=http%3A//i.ytimg.com/vi/MpOdJBg_qc4/default.jpg&t=OEgsToPDskJwNVZWp4BklnlNDD6gdmoK&fs=1&hl=en
I'm sitting on the fence as to if I should fix it up and put it back to its original configuration (replace the pickguard and the original bridge pickup - not going to refinish it or anything like that), or should I customize it further and clean up the current hack job. As far as customizing it, I think all I would want to do is replace the pick guard and relocate the jack (which is not reversable). Anything else would be minor and easy to change back to original if the desire ever struck me.
The guitar has lots of mojo, and I have run accross the odd old guitar and wondered why it was never left alone, hence the fence sitting.
When I was a kid I used to go over to my brother's apartment and play this thing - it was miles above anything I owned at the time. This thing has been out on long term loan, pawned, stolen and returned. Some people had borrowed it for so long that they took it upon themselves to mod it. When I picked it up last week, it had seen better days.
The guitar has an ash body finished in metallic red, brass 6 point trem, originally came with three single coils with 2 phase reversing switches (as well as a five way selector), 1 volume and one tone all with brass and gold hardware. Much of the gold has long worn off, so it looks like brass and chrome now.
Currently, the bridge pickup has been replaced with a Dimarzio Super Distortion (an old 2 wire version), the pick guard has been hacked up to accomidate it and the guard has the tip broken off by the jack.
These things aren't going for bags of cash or anything, but they are pretty good guitars.
The guy in the following video demos the exact same model at 3min 30 seconds
http://www.youtube.com/swf/l.swf?video_id=MpOdJBg_qc4&rel=1&eurl=&iurl=http%3A//i.ytimg.com/vi/MpOdJBg_qc4/default.jpg&t=OEgsToPDskJwNVZWp4BklnlNDD6gdmoK&fs=1&hl=en
I'm sitting on the fence as to if I should fix it up and put it back to its original configuration (replace the pickguard and the original bridge pickup - not going to refinish it or anything like that), or should I customize it further and clean up the current hack job. As far as customizing it, I think all I would want to do is replace the pick guard and relocate the jack (which is not reversable). Anything else would be minor and easy to change back to original if the desire ever struck me.
The guitar has lots of mojo, and I have run accross the odd old guitar and wondered why it was never left alone, hence the fence sitting.