Postby JimPage » Wed Sep 23, 2009 7:17 pm
What Don describes so well is exactly what has happened with the two Hallmarks I have: the black-and-white Stradette and the 60 Custom fire-sparkle burst.
Folks just can't seem to believe how attractive they are. Of course, the guitarists go nuts over how they play and sound, and the high-class build quality, but everyone remarks on the beautiful finishes. One of the best descriptions is that the 60 Custom "looks like the finish on a cigarette boat," and, if you know what a cigarette boat is (think "Miami Vice"), you can see how apt that description is.
I had the Stradette at the office a couple of weeks ago and my boss said that it took the guitar "to a whole new level." A guitarist said it looked "like a Hofner with an attitude."
My favorite thing about these two guitars is that, after years of shunning electrics, I have finally found a brand that is fun to play. The only other electric I have felt comfortable with was a Rickenbacker, and I prefer the Hallmarks over that.
Too bad I found them so late in life, but so it goes! These are MUSICAL things, and really compel the player to practice and improve. The looks are just icing on the cake.
And having discovered this forum adds to my enjoyment. Seeing what Ed Elliott and Danny Ellison have built has made me want a sunburst, now, but my wife would throw me out of the house!!!
--Jim
• '99 Martin D-41
• '67 Mosrite Celebrity II
• '72 Mosrite Celebrity III
• '83 Tokai TST56
• '10 Hallmark Barris Krest
• '10 Hallmark 60 Custom
• '10 Hallmark Stradette
• '50s Tele Clone
• Basses: Ashbory, Hofner, 51RI Precision, 5-string, fretless
. That's my favorite Ventures album: Tomorrow's Love, Gone Gone Gone, and (of course) Slaughter on 10th Ave have been favorites for about 45 years. That lead sound has always been kind of hard to replicate (a Red Rhoades fuzz box might help?), but the 60 Custom gets me much closer right off the bat than the Gretsch Nashville, Strat, or Jazzmaster.
