Short-Scale Pic

[mc2NY]

Back to the long argument on short-scale basses.

Here's a shot I just did of a pair of Hamer B4S short-scales....the rarer 4-string version of the more common 8-string and 12-string version Hamer builds.

These two were custom made for the late Howie Epstein, session player and producer, most known for being the longtime bassist with Tom Petty and the Heatbreakers.

These are different than the normal factory spec in that the neck profiles flares out to more of a Jazz/PBass profile at the body end, making finger play easier. The goldtop w/white EMGs is also custom bling.
Mid-90s builds with SEQUENTIAL SN#s!!

Epstein owned seven or eight Hamers....8- an 12-strings, these two, some of the 90s Cruisebasses...also a black 8-string custom remake of an 80s Cruisebass with a set-neck.  I also have his custom Cruisebass 4-string with 2TEK bridge, in a custom flipflop color close to a Sherwood Green w/matching headstock. Great bass.

There is some video footage of Howie in the studio playing the red one floating around.

[leftybass]

Mine:

[mc2NY]

Hey....can a mod move this up to The Bass Zone?

Sorry....These Hamers look like old 50s Gibson EBs and I put it here by mistake.

[uwe]

I didn't know that Epstein played stuff like that, I always thought he was the no-frills Fender JB type ... Wasn't he (before his unfortunate drug-related death) a singer-songwriter in his own right and got the (side-)job with the heartbreakers pretty much on the strength of his backing vocals, so-called-Timoth B. Schmidt-effect? I very much prefer the style of his prede- and successor Ron Blair. Epstein's bass playing did everything it had to do no and not much more, he did come out a bit more on the Echo CD I find, wasn't that his last one with the band as the drugs had begun taking their toll?

Anyway, the fact that he had all these Hamers show that he was obviously a little more committed to bass playing than I previously thought! Though Hamer and Petty/Heartbreakers doesn't really "fit" in my book.

[gearHed289]

Yeah, I wouldn't have expected him to have those kinds of basses. I had an original Cruisebass back in the 80s. Never managed to get a good tone out of it. If I knew then what I know now, I would have dropped some T-bird pups in there! I've seen a seafoam green Cruise 8 string somewhere. This is my B12S that I bought from Baz.

[mc2NY]

Epstein had a number of pretty cool basses and other instruments. Those 90s Hamer Cruisebasses are basically hot-rodded Jazz Basses. He played on a lot of other artists records and produced a lot. And yeah, Petty stole him from (I think) Del Shannon's back-up band when he produced some sessions for Shannon and heard Epstein's harmony vocals.

I have a file somehwere of his collection that his family sold off after he died.

Vintage 67 Hofner, 69 Dan Armstrong, Bison Bass, old PBasses, old Gibson acoustic 6-string and F2 mandolin, Ric elec 6-string,  Rick Turner Bass, Wal Bass, Vox Cellestion, all the Hamers and other stuff.

He had a Ric clone someone built him that looked exactly like Ric had built it but like no bass model that ever existed. I tried to buy it buy a guy up in Canada snagged it. Oh....found the pic of that on my HD......One of those that got away that I sonetimes think about.

**OH....that Hamer seafoam Cruise 8-string mentioned above...that's one of mine. I got it from Gary Shea of Alcatrazz, the original owner. He plays it in that Live in Japan DVD.

[clankenstein]

wow that 'ric' looks cool.is it a long scale?