Jump to content
Why become a member? ×

Hamer B12A (Jeff Ament model)


NancyJohnson

Recommended Posts

3 hours ago, NancyJohnson said:

I was giving this some thought last night.  My wife just chipped in said, 'Why does it have to have Hamer on the headstock?  As you love Mike Lull stuff so much, wouldn't Mike Lull build you one?

This actually set me juices flowing somewhat.  Mike Lull is Jeff Ament's primary builder and Mike Lull has built two basses for me already, so umm, it's worth a punt.  Dollar is weakening against Sterling.  Might be a good time to enquire...

That is what I assumed when I said about getting it built.

Probably worth getting it done in the next year while you can still afford something from another country!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, NancyJohnson said:

Well, I've enquired.  Let's see where this goes...

 

That is a smart move, over the years Mike has been very forthcoming to several requests I had so I am sure he will be open to exploring. Thinking about it, he makes the Ament signature bird..... why not create a twelf string prototype version of that? Ament will undoubtedly want one and then he can sell you one half price for the idea :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, Frank Blank said:

Purely out of interest can I ask why it has to be a Hamer?

In all honesty, the B12A is the only 12-ver I'm getting a bit moist over, unless:

2 hours ago, HazBeen said:

That is a smart move, over the years Mike has been very forthcoming to several requests I had so I am sure he will be open to exploring. Thinking about it, he makes the Ament signature bird..... why not create a twelf string prototype version of that? Ament will undoubtedly want one and then he can sell you one half price for the idea :)

I own a JAXT4 already...I might need to have a noodle in Photoshop and design a headstock.  I've wondered for a while whether the existing Lull headstock could incorporate another eight machine heads (probably not).  Maybe it could if it was symmetrical.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've played a Jeff Ament 12. The neck was pretty much the same as the B12L Chaparral. It weighed a ton though and the body is huge. I was glad I didn't buy it. I remember it was £1600 and that was about 7 years ago.

There is a guy in Spain who did a copy (Nosiglia guitars), might be worth a punt. Certainly Mike Lull would do a good job.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

30 minutes ago, James Nada said:

Didn't Mike Lull use one of Jeff's Hamer 12s as the basis of a "new" 12er?  I think the neck was reused and grafted onto a new body.

Did I read this in Bass Guitar Magazine a couple of years back or am I misremembering something else?

Couldn't Mike Lull just make a new neck?! Shouldn't be that hard for someone as talented as him should be able to do it rather than just cannibalise a bass.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

46 minutes ago, NancyJohnson said:

A-man, you're blessed with the psyche of marathon runner...anything would weigh a ton or look enormous for you!  I, on the other hand...

You been personality testing our fellow BCer's again? :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, I've had a reply from Lull and I think the costs will be too prohibitive.

They've given me two options,

a) Door number one.  Find a donor Hamer 12-string that Lull can tear down and attach JAXT4 wings to.  They've said that while the ones they've done for JA are fine, they're heavy and suffer from something called neckdive (nope, me neither).  Whilst sourcing a Hamer shouldn't be a problem, the logistics alone would just pile on ££s onto the project given Lull are in Seattle; so factor in two/three lots of shipping, along with import duties.  There's also the thought in the back of my mind that I could be buying sight-unseen could present me with a dud as a donor instrument.

b) Paul Schuster has described a scratch build as being 'super-crazy expensive'...my current Lull pair were this anyway and they're (kind of) stock models.  I can imagine the R&D costs just spiralling out of control, especially from the perspective that they've never built one before.

So, unfortunately folks, I'm parking the Lull option.

Edited by NancyJohnson
Link to comment
Share on other sites

You saw the price of the Aussie bass, but it looks great.

Pop me a pm with your email and I will send you across what Tom Waghorn here in the UK said.

Cataldo do 12vers in the US, they may be bolt on, i which case it’s prob cheaper to go for a holiday, and bring it back in a suitcase with the neck off!

Or sit and wait one around the EU will come up

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 16/04/2018 at 17:24, HazBeen said:

Like a 12 string, so very chorusy due to 2 octave strings per bass string. Listen to Jeremy of Pearl Jam and you will get the idea.

Thanks, and to Linus27 for posting the track. Having heard it that’s not a sound i’ll be looking for, much as I love my 12 string guitar, the bass just doesn’t do it for me. So that’s one less person vieing for these rarities! 😜

Edited by Grahambythesea
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...