I think Blazer definitely has a point! More than one actually. If his post was a legal brief, I'd tell my client: "Looks like they caught us, we better settle!"
When I first saw that bass, my immediate reaction was to be reminded of Martin Turner's Explorer bass built by Hamer in the seventies (albeit with sixties TBird pups and long scale).
And Hamer started out as a Gibson customizer after all. That solitary Hamer tuner might be a telltale giveaway and not just a coincidence. (Or a tongue in cheek nod of the luthier to the true origins of this "Gibson" - I kinda like that idea, a Da Vinci Code bass!!!). And the headstock cries Hamer too (it's actually beginning to grow on me visually and also has the huge advantage that this bass fits into a Gibson Explorer GUITAR case comfortably and snugly).
The outsize cavity speaks hugely for Blazer's theory. What's more: The cavity of a Gibson Explorer body which this is supposed to be is oval not trapezoid! When I opened it yesterday (not yet having read Blazer's thread) I thought to myself:"My, what a huge cavity for just two pots!"
Closer visual (the walnut fin is not quite opaque, but almost) and aural (the bass sounds dark, phat and warm even with the Pyramid rounds I strung it with yesterday) inspection has, however, revealed that both body and neck are mahogany after all, so the only remaining questions are:
- Did Hamer do short scale maho necks with large volutes that were baseball bat fat?
- Did those necks feature the typical Gibson truss rod nut like this one does?
Whatever. But certainly the body reeks of Hamer. So there we have it. My first Hamer. It was about time!
I have no regrets. Just like women, a little mystery surrounding a bass makes it attractive. In a way it is the souped up and boutiquized replica of the "Owned by Car Salesman" (when those still existed, remember?) Explorer bass replica I own of the original few fifties Explorers (three in all) Gibson made. The bass sounds surprisingly vintage dark and warm, not at all the angry piano ring you might expect from the looks. Mild treble and mids are there, but the overall sound is more that of a low-frequencies-emphasized "soft cushion" without being muffled or without attack and contour though.
Uwe