Hamer Standard Flame Top

When Neo-Classical Metal Demanded Serious Hardware.. Remember those glossy guitar magazine ads from the late '80s? While everyone else was chasing hair metal excess, Marty Friedman was quietly revolutionizing what instrumental guitar could accomplish, armed with technical wizardry that made Paganini sound like warm-up exercises. One of his weapons of choice? This exact breed of Hamer Standard - which promised "powerhouse rip-your-face-off sounds" - and actually delivered.

You've seen plenty of flame-top guitars trying to look expensive, but this Standard earned its visual drama through sonic substance. That two-piece flamed maple cap over solid alder body creates the perfect balance of snap and warmth - alder's balanced frequency response provides the foundation, while the maple top adds articulation that cuts through even the most complex neo-classical arrangements without getting muddy.

Here's where Hamer's practical wisdom shines through: that set-in alder neck joint delivers sustain for days while maintaining the kind of upper-fret access Friedman's compositions demanded. Those crown inlays aren't just royal bling either - they're navigational aids during the kind of lightning-fast scalar runs that separate weekend warriors from true practitioners of the neo-classical craft.

The Duncan Designed humbuckers might not carry the boutique cachet of hand-wound pickups, but they understand their assignment perfectly. Clean settings reveal crystalline note separation essential for complex arpeggiated passages, while high-gain scenarios deliver the controlled aggression neo-classical metal requires - enough saturation for sustain, but clear enough that every note in those diminished seventh arpeggios rings through distinctly.

That simple control layout - two volumes, one tone, three-way toggle - keeps things practical when you're navigating Vivaldi-inspired compositions at breakneck speeds. The 24¾-inch scale length strikes that Gibson-style balance between comfortable fretting and adequate string tension.
Sometimes the most effective tools are the ones that get out of your way and let the music speak.

Features:
Flamed maple top
Alder body
Set alder neck
Ivoroid Binding on body and neck joint
Crown inlays
Duncan-Designed humbuckers
2 volume knobs, one tone knob, and 3-way toggle pickup selector
Tune-O-Matic bridge
Chrome tuners
24-3/4" Scale length