[bigsteve]

i was in calgary alberta last month,went in to a bookstore called chapters.
was browseing the bass mags,up pops an ad w / tom petersson proclaiming "hoffner,on tour w/tom petersson and cheap trick".this was a full page ad.whats up w/this guy?
long since gone from hamer,then chandler,six months ago he was endorsing his own model 12ver from waterstone,now hoffner(or is it hofner?).
he had a 4 string in the ad.i can't remember if this was a import magazine or not.
think hoffner will try a 12ver soon?

[Mobster]

I don't get it....

I mean, is he that hard to work with that he can't stay with one company? Or is he that much of a mercenary that he jumps ship everytime a company makes him a better offer?

Or is it a little of both?

[alpep]

with some of those guys they will pose for a pic with a free guitar and a check.

[gregc]

Hoffner a rip off of Hofner???
gregc

[Smakutus]

The Hofner thing was before he switched to the Waterstone 12ers.. I've never seen him play a Hofner live but he was playing more 4 string bass on stage the past few years so maybe he does now.. What the hell... Get a new bass or two a year for sitting and getting your photo taken with one? Where do I sign up? It's not like anyone is getting rich off Hofner basses.

His 4 string bass sounds suck after you hear him play a 12er.. Sounds like he's playing through guitar amps. Ohh he is!

Hamer needs to get Tom back in the fold.

Outt..
Jeff.

[Hamerica]

Gotta agree with Smack on this one. I have seen Tom with a Hofner prior to Waterstone. He needs to come back to Hamer. Jol, Frank, Frank, and Kim should try to get a shot of the older Endorsess with the new Hamer of their choice. Modern Vintage. Hmmmm. I like that.

[bigsteve]

from what iv'e heard,the split came when tom said he wanted royalties from 12 string bass sales.said it was his invention.
hamer said no,and that was that.don't know if thats true,but
if it is,i don't think you will see tom back at hamer anytime soon.

[Hamerica]

Tom had the "idea" for a 12 string bass. He didn't build it. There is a Hamer Tone article out there on this that lays out the ground work pretty good.

My question would be, who has the patent on the 12 string bass. Does Hamer? I know they built the first sucessful one but I don't know if they own the patient.

Hamerica

[Mike Lee]

At this point it's been more than 17 years since the first 12 string was produced, so any patent would have already expired. Hamer could go for a trademark, or trade dress claim like Gibson did with PRS, but it's probably not worth the legal costs.