Hallmark 60Custom with Humbuckers and Out-of-phase mod

[HallmarkHowe]

Hi All,

I am Dave, and I have a bunch of guitars of various kinds. I write songs and do home recording, so I like to have different kinds of guitars (electric 6, electric 12, bass, acoustic) and sound options. I also play out a bit, but not much lately. I am 69 and grew up loving the pop music of the 50's and 60's.

I also like guitars in different colors. Cool guitars are like beautiful pieces of art to me.

I just got a Hallmark 60Custom in the color Plum Crazy. I love that color. I used to have a new Red Japanese Mosrite that I got from a dealer on the East Coast just before Ed Roman shut the guy down legally. I loved the looks of the Mosrite and how it played, but I didn't care for the single coil pickups. There was nothing wrong with the pickups, but I already had an American Standard Stratocaster and Telecaster, so I felt the Mosrite didn't add that much variety in sound to my guitar fleet. I also had other red guitars. So, I sold my Mosrite.

I still loved the looks of the Mosrites, but I thought Ed Roman's Mosrites were a bit expensive. When I found out about Hallmark Guitars, I emailed Hallmark Guitars and asked if I could get a 60 Custom in Plum Crazy (purple) with Humbuckers and an Out-of-phase mod. I received an email shortly thereafter saying that those modifications could be done. I then talked to Bob Shade, the owner of Hallmark Guitars, and worked with him on what I wanted.

Bob Shade was very easy to work with and fun to talk with. The Out-of-phase mod took a bit longer than he anticipated (it was the first Out-of-phase mod he had done), but that was no big deal. I was going on a little trip with my wife, anyway, and asked Bob if he would hold the shipment a bit so I would receive it after I returned, which he did! So, I got the guitar yesterday.

Pros: Beautiful Plum Crazy color, nice workmanship, it's nicely balanced (doesn't want to nosedive), neck plays great, nice alligator case (with keys and truss rod wrench), nice sounding humbuckers, good out-of-phase sound option (push-pull volume knob), cool-looking guitar. My Hallmark 60 Custom plays well, sounds good, and looks wonderful! Plus, it was enjoyable working with Bob Shade.

Cons: Cannot think of any.

Takeaway: If you want a modified Mosrite-type guitar, you might consider a Hallmark 60 Custom or a 59 Custom. The base-price for the 60 Custom was $999. You'd have to talk to Bob Shade to find out the price of each modification. He also does Humbuckers with coil tapping, so you could have both Humbucker and single coil sounds. I'm not sure what other types of mods he might do.

[FrankJames]

Welcome to the forum Dave !!

[stl80]

Welcome.
Jim