Not a Fender Strat, but a nice cheap clone...

kerc · December 21st, 2005, 09:36 AM

...And most important of all, my very first electric. A Hamer Slammer DA3 bought in 1999 when Musician's Friend had them on clearance for $99. I decided I wanted to learn guitar again, so I ordered it along with a small Vox AC-1 mini-amp (which I still have too).

Solid wood (basswood, maybe), thin black finish, lot's of dings, scratches and bumps, naturally aged pearloid pickguard, a very nice and smooth neck...Only had to replace the pickups eventually, they were too bad.

Yeah, not a real Strat, but I love it anyway. :D

ashtray · December 21st, 2005, 10:06 AM

Shoot - I had one of those in red, back in 1999. Played it for a graduation mass actually. Looked really nice, especially with the MOP pickguard - but alas, the contours weren't even close to a real strat's, and I think the body was plywood. Neck was a bit on the thin side for me, and the fret ends kept poking out. Pickups weren't anything special. After a short while I traded it for something else I didn't keep very long either.

But I really enjoyed it when I had it - looked good if nothing else for the price!

agent2x4 · December 21st, 2005, 10:09 AM

There's no reason for you not to like it! Some of my favorite guitars are/were "brand X" models.

For that price, plus maybe some pup/hardware switching, you can easily have a guitar that'll rival a real strat, or any other guitar for that matter. For some folks, the headstock issue will always get in the way of an otherwise delightful guitar.

kerc · December 21st, 2005, 10:09 AM

You know, they had two models--the DA3 and the PAC3 or something like that. I'm pretty sure the DA3 are solid wood--a 3-piece body, in fact...You can see the seam "bumps" under the finish at an angle...

About the neck, I think I might have lucked out!!! :D

Stratosaurus · December 21st, 2005, 01:53 PM

I'm pretty sure my Dad had two of those. One was black, and it played AWESOME for the price. It had a lot of dings in it but it felt right. Slap some Van Zandts in it and GO, basically.

Another one was spray painted purple by a previous owner. It played OK, but it was the beater. Everyone should have a hundred-buck beater to noodle with (and let friends noodle with).

December 21st, 2005, 09:36 AM	#1 (permalink)
kerc Tele-Holic Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: San Antonio, TX Age: 38 Posts: 700	Not a Fender Strat, but a nice cheap clone... ...And most important of all, my very first electric. A Hamer Slammer DA3 bought in 1999 when Musician's Friend had them on clearance for $99. I decided I wanted to learn guitar again, so I ordered it along with a small Vox AC-1 mini-amp (which I still have too). Solid wood (basswood, maybe), thin black finish, lot's of dings, scratches and bumps, naturally aged pearloid pickguard, a very nice and smooth neck...Only had to replace the pickups eventually, they were too bad. Yeah, not a real Strat, but I love it anyway. :D __________________ Hey, try to play your guitar daily!

December 21st, 2005, 10:06 AM	#2 (permalink)
ashtray Tele-Holic Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Ventura County, CA Posts: 688 6 Photos	Shoot - I had one of those in red, back in 1999. Played it for a graduation mass actually. Looked really nice, especially with the MOP pickguard - but alas, the contours weren't even close to a real strat's, and I think the body was plywood. Neck was a bit on the thin side for me, and the fret ends kept poking out. Pickups weren't anything special. After a short while I traded it for something else I didn't keep very long either. But I really enjoyed it when I had it - looked good if nothing else for the price! __________________ "I need another Tele like I need another hole in my wallet."

December 21st, 2005, 10:09 AM	#4 (permalink)
kerc Tele-Holic Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: San Antonio, TX Age: 38 Posts: 700	You know, they had two models--the DA3 and the PAC3 or something like that. I'm pretty sure the DA3 are solid wood--a 3-piece body, in fact...You can see the seam "bumps" under the finish at an angle... About the neck, I think I might have lucked out!!! :D __________________ Hey, try to play your guitar daily!

December 21st, 2005, 10:09 AM	#3 (permalink)
agent2x4 Tele-Holic Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: WI Posts: 663	There's no reason for you not to like it! Some of my favorite guitars are/were "brand X" models. For that price, plus maybe some pup/hardware switching, you can easily have a guitar that'll rival a real strat, or any other guitar for that matter. For some folks, the headstock issue will always get in the way of an otherwise delightful guitar.

December 21st, 2005, 01:53 PM	#5 (permalink)
Stratosaurus Tele-Meister Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Southern Oregon, USA Age: 29 Posts: 282 3 Photos	I'm pretty sure my Dad had two of those. One was black, and it played AWESOME for the price. It had a lot of dings in it but it felt right. Slap some Van Zandts in it and GO, basically. Another one was spray painted purple by a previous owner. It played OK, but it was the beater. Everyone should have a hundred-buck beater to noodle with (and let friends noodle with).

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