Hamer Artist Korina P90 - 2000
Featured in Guitar Player, March 2001
For your consideration, we present a featured guitar in Guitar Player Magazine's March 2001 issue.
This Hamer Artist Korina P90 was reviewed for a Bench Test by Shawn Hammond and won Guitar Player's Editor's Pick Award. We have verified this from photographs of the guitar from the magazine and have identified distinct grain patterns on its top to verify its identity. This example has been slightly modified from stock, with the Seymour Duncan pickups swapped 9ut for a Lollar Low Wind Soap Bar P90 in the neck position and a Lollar Standard Wind Soapbar P90 in the bridge position. The mod also saw the plastics changed (cream pickup covers and switch tip and gold knobs) but we changed the plastics back to a more-stock configuration, with the only deviation from stock being black speed knobs.
from the Bench Test article, Guitar Player, March 2001
Held in much the same esteem as Ginson and Paul Reed Smith, Hamer is one of today's top manufacturers. The company's forte is custom shop quality at affordable prices and the Artist Korina...is a stunning lightweight instrument that offers exceptional playability and rock-solid tones.
Formerly known as the Vanguard Korina and constructed entirely of African mahogany or limba (better known as Korina,) the Artist cuts a distinct look with its flawless vintage yellow finish. The extremely rigid, 24 3/4" scale three-piece neck is topped with a rosewood fretboard that sports beautifully crowned, polished, and beveled medium-jumbo frets. With its ultra-comfy, C-shaped profile, the neck is girthy enough to offer a good anchor, but not too thick to hinder playability.
The handcarved top is nicely contoured and beautifully matched...A tidy nickel paint-shielded control cavity features recessed slots that allow the volume and tone pots to match the top's arc. Nice touch!...
The chambered body adds a woderful sense of air, dimension, and ES-335-like sustain, and the low action and superb setup make this guitar an inspiration to play.
In short, the Artist is voiced gorgeously and plays effortlessly. While it might not have enough chunk for metalheads, it should get your mojo working weather you're a fan of down'n'dirty blues or all-out rebel rock. You might find a Strat with more shimmer or a Les Paul that's more ferocious, but you'd be way hard pressed to find a more-versatile two-pickup guitar. With its top-grade tones and craftsmanship, the Artist Korina is one of the most butt-kicking bargains in the guitar jungle.
This guitar is in Excellent-to-Near-Mint condition, showing signs of a pickup swap, very light playwear and careful storage. The pickup covers, switch tip, and control knobs have been swapped and the Seymour Duncan pickups have been changed to a set of Lollar pickups - as previously noted above. There are fine polish scratched on the body of the guitar which are difficult to see unless held to the light. The is a small dent on the reverse of the body near the control panel which is difficult to see unless held to the light and nearly undetectable to the touch. The gloss black face of the headstock shows some minor finish scratches. This package includes the original hard case and the previously installed cream pickup covers and switch tip and a set of gold knobs.
Korina Body
Korina Neck
Rosewood Fingerboard
"C" Neck Profile
Dot Inlays
22x Medium Jumbo Frets
Lollar Low Wind P90 Soapbar Neck Pickup
Lollar P90 Soapbar Bridge Pickup
Neck Volume, Bridge Volume, Master Tone
Tune-O-Matic Bridge with Stopbar Tailpiece
Grover Tuning Machines
24 3/4" Scale
12" Radius
1 11/16" Nut Width
USED
$2,499
This Hamer Artist Korina P90 was reviewed for a Bench Test by Shawn Hammond and won Guitar Player's Editor's Pick Award. We have verified this from photographs of the guitar from the magazine and have identified distinct grain patterns on its top to verify its identity. This example has been slightly modified from stock, with the Seymour Duncan pickups swapped 9ut for a Lollar Low Wind Soap Bar P90 in the neck position and a Lollar Standard Wind Soapbar P90 in the bridge position. The mod also saw the plastics changed (cream pickup covers and switch tip and gold knobs) but we changed the plastics back to a more-stock configuration, with the only deviation from stock being black speed knobs.
from the Bench Test article, Guitar Player, March 2001
Held in much the same esteem as Ginson and Paul Reed Smith, Hamer is one of today's top manufacturers. The company's forte is custom shop quality at affordable prices and the Artist Korina...is a stunning lightweight instrument that offers exceptional playability and rock-solid tones.
Formerly known as the Vanguard Korina and constructed entirely of African mahogany or limba (better known as Korina,) the Artist cuts a distinct look with its flawless vintage yellow finish. The extremely rigid, 24 3/4" scale three-piece neck is topped with a rosewood fretboard that sports beautifully crowned, polished, and beveled medium-jumbo frets. With its ultra-comfy, C-shaped profile, the neck is girthy enough to offer a good anchor, but not too thick to hinder playability.
The handcarved top is nicely contoured and beautifully matched...A tidy nickel paint-shielded control cavity features recessed slots that allow the volume and tone pots to match the top's arc. Nice touch!...
The chambered body adds a woderful sense of air, dimension, and ES-335-like sustain, and the low action and superb setup make this guitar an inspiration to play.
In short, the Artist is voiced gorgeously and plays effortlessly. While it might not have enough chunk for metalheads, it should get your mojo working weather you're a fan of down'n'dirty blues or all-out rebel rock. You might find a Strat with more shimmer or a Les Paul that's more ferocious, but you'd be way hard pressed to find a more-versatile two-pickup guitar. With its top-grade tones and craftsmanship, the Artist Korina is one of the most butt-kicking bargains in the guitar jungle.
This guitar is in Excellent-to-Near-Mint condition, showing signs of a pickup swap, very light playwear and careful storage. The pickup covers, switch tip, and control knobs have been swapped and the Seymour Duncan pickups have been changed to a set of Lollar pickups - as previously noted above. There are fine polish scratched on the body of the guitar which are difficult to see unless held to the light. The is a small dent on the reverse of the body near the control panel which is difficult to see unless held to the light and nearly undetectable to the touch. The gloss black face of the headstock shows some minor finish scratches. This package includes the original hard case and the previously installed cream pickup covers and switch tip and a set of gold knobs.
Korina Body
Korina Neck
Rosewood Fingerboard
"C" Neck Profile
Dot Inlays
22x Medium Jumbo Frets
Lollar Low Wind P90 Soapbar Neck Pickup
Lollar P90 Soapbar Bridge Pickup
Neck Volume, Bridge Volume, Master Tone
Tune-O-Matic Bridge with Stopbar Tailpiece
Grover Tuning Machines
24 3/4" Scale
12" Radius
1 11/16" Nut Width
USED
$2,499