NancyJohnson Posted May 10, 2020 Share Posted May 10, 2020 A couple of months back a Hamer Quad Bass sold on eBay for £800. Did anyone here buy it? It was in a pretty sorry state. I'd just be interested in seeing whether it's being given the TLC it deserves. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lfalex v1.1 Posted May 10, 2020 Share Posted May 10, 2020 (I didn't buy it) That's quite a thing. More Tuner than the Pacific and more controls than a nuclear power station! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pea Turgh Posted May 10, 2020 Share Posted May 10, 2020 That bridge would be permanently crying if it were human - look at it! How do you even play something like that? I’m off to find out on YouTube... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted May 10, 2020 Share Posted May 10, 2020 More importantly with only a single saddle per course how do you play it in tune above the fifth fret? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lfalex v1.1 Posted May 10, 2020 Share Posted May 10, 2020 1 hour ago, Pea Turgh said: That bridge would be permanently crying if it were human - look at it! How do you even play something like that? I’m off to find out on YouTube... Down-strokes with a plectrum, I guess! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prowla Posted May 10, 2020 Share Posted May 10, 2020 It is quite something, isn't it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prowla Posted May 10, 2020 Share Posted May 10, 2020 43 minutes ago, BigRedX said: More importantly with only a single saddle per course how do you play it in tune above the fifth fret? That's the way all multi-strings are, isn't it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted May 10, 2020 Share Posted May 10, 2020 1 hour ago, prowla said: That's the way all multi-strings are, isn't it? Not at all. All the good ones have individually adjustable saddles for each string in a course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lfalex v1.1 Posted May 10, 2020 Share Posted May 10, 2020 (edited) 2 hours ago, BigRedX said: More importantly with only a single saddle per course how do you play it in tune above the fifth fret? I see what you're getting at, but for ease of manufacture/set-up, Hamer assume (or specify?) that the two octave-higher strings are of the same gauge. They should behave in a fairly similar manner as far as intonation is concerned. If the Fundamental string is twice the gauge of its two higher-pitched buddies, I reckon you'd get close enough. My issue with that approach is that in reality the intonation for each group of strings would probably end up being a compromise that sounded workable rather than correct intonation per se. Edited May 10, 2020 by Lfalex v1.1 Auto correct! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warwickhunt Posted May 10, 2020 Share Posted May 10, 2020 One being used live! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warwickhunt Posted May 10, 2020 Share Posted May 10, 2020 I'd have bought that if I'd seen it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NancyJohnson Posted May 10, 2020 Author Share Posted May 10, 2020 (edited) 54 minutes ago, warwickhunt said: I'd have bought that if I'd seen it! /I check eBay for Hamer basses daily and this one must has been up and sold in a very short time. I round the listing buried as a Worldwide listing seller and not a UK based one (even though the sale was London based). I would have honestly pulled the trigger on that one within seconds. No brainer. That said, god knows how many £££ it would take to bring it up to scratch. Edited May 10, 2020 by NancyJohnson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon. Posted May 10, 2020 Share Posted May 10, 2020 Oh man, this is a beast! Always has a hankering for a multi-string, especially to see how they work when doing chordal stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NancyJohnson Posted June 19, 2020 Author Share Posted June 19, 2020 (edited) I was just perusing Talkbass and there's a thread up there about this bass. There's a degree of conjecture, but it appears it's a 1978 model, built for John Glascock of Jethro Tull. Serial number 0119. The bass was shown on the Hamer stand at the 1978 British Musical Instrument Trade Show, before it was passed over to John (John died in 1979, aged 28, of heart failure). Somewhere along the line, it changed hands and the owner was the late Paul Raven of Killing Joke/Prong/Ministry (also deceased, also of heart failure); someone on Talkbass found a video of him using the bass when he was with The Hellfire Club. The guy who got it appears to be a dealer (there's photos of the bass in a shop) and only joined TB in March looking for information on the instrument. Given the questions he's been asking, reckon he's pinching himself at his good fortune and didn't know anything about what he was buying...he's already mentioned on TB that he's going to flip it ('It'll be on sale soon'). How that bass ended up on eBay for £800 is still beyond me, but given two of its previous owners died of heart failure, I don't know whether it's jinxed! *The owner has a Reverb page. https://reverb.com/shop/homzs Edited June 19, 2020 by NancyJohnson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted June 19, 2020 Share Posted June 19, 2020 On 10/05/2020 at 14:52, Lfalex v1.1 said: I see what you're getting at, but for ease of manufacture/set-up, Hamer assume (or specify?) that the two octave-higher strings are of the same gauge. They should behave in a fairly similar manner as far as intonation is concerned. If the Fundamental string is twice the gauge of its two higher-pitched buddies, I reckon you'd get close enough. My issue with that approach is that in reality the intonation for each group of strings would probably end up being a compromise that sounded workable rather than correct intonation per se. IME with 8 string basses (I've owned two) the difference in saddle position between the main and octave strings is such that if you only have a single saddle for all the strings in a course it will never sound in tune above the 5th fret, and no amount of compromise between the ideal positions for each string gives anything workable. With decent strings you could get away with a single saddle for both the octave strings in each course on this, but the main string is always going to need it's own separate saddle for intonation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.gif.9ad672bb8b84505709f76b39c8c256ec.gif)
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.