NGD - Into the Lair of the Hallmark King...

[Surfysonic]

NGD - Customized Hallmark 65 Custom! Visited Bob Shade of Hallmark Guitars today (we're both in Maryland). Super great guy and his mancave is to die for in rock/geek memorabilia. Super blown away by the high quality, fit & finish for the very, very reasonable cost. Super comfortable to play and sounds outstanding.



Bob is super gracious...and I have a sneaking suspicion he is also the real Captain America...



I'm a happy happy joy joy boy...also, he has some wicked Mosrite amps - never had seen them before! Also - Speed Racer's Mach 5 plushie!!



At home - inside my mancave...















More accurate representation by stepping back so the flash isn't right on top of the guitar. From the photos on my pc, you can see the small flake sparkly goodness even from afar! Also, special appearance by snoozing Basil...





Outside shots....









Amazing photos from Bob...

[wproffitt]

Great looking guitar! Meeting a builder/business owner who takes such pride in their products is a lot of fun for me, so this sounds like a great time. Enjoy it for many years!

Also, Mosrite amps?

[Embenny]

Wow, that is absolutely gorgeous and you look appropriately thrilled. I love the pickups...well, actually, I love everything about this guitar.

Don't Hallmarks have pretty small necks? I know you like your baseball bats.

[Surfysonic]

Great looking guitar! Meeting a builder/business owner who takes such pride in their products is a lot of fun for me, so this sounds like a great time. Enjoy it for many years!

Also, Mosrite amps?

Thanks, wproffitt! Mosrite amps, who knew? Not me!

Wow, that is absolutely gorgeous and you look appropriately thrilled. I love the pickups...well, actually, I love everything about this guitar.

Don't Hallmarks have pretty small necks? I know you like your baseball bats.

Thanks, Mike! While I prefer chunky necks, I've learned to make do with C shapes and slightly slimmer (Squier CV guitars). Making use of my calipers, I did some side by side comparisons with the Hallmark 65 Custom.

Squier CV '50s Stratocaster

1st fret: 0.796
12th fret: 0.873

Squier Paranormal Offset Telecaster

1st fret: 0.822
12th fret: 0.857

Fender American Vintage Stratocaster ('60s C Shape neck)

1st fret: 0.849
12th fret: 0.972

Hallmark 65 Custom

1st fret: 0.803
12th fret: 0.934

So, yeah, it's on the slimmer side at the 1st fret but then becomes bigger than the two Squiers at the 12th fret. When holding the 65 Custom neck and then my AV '65 Strat's neck, the Hallmark doesn't feel that much smaller.

[Chippertheripper]

That’s sick.
I’d have never pictured bob as a long haired rocker type.
I probably had him figured as a white haired fellow in a Hawaiian shirt with a white mustache.
I had a shade trem on a sg I played in a certain band for a bit, but I gave that guitar to my nephew.
A mosrite-esque something is for sure on my bucket list.

[BoringPostcards]

Drop dead gorgeous guitar! Good score!

[Surfysonic]

That’s sick.
I’d have never pictured bob as a long haired rocker type.
I probably had him figured as a white haired fellow in a Hawaiian shirt with a white mustache.
I had a shade trem on a sg I played in a certain band for a bit, but I gave that guitar to my nephew.
A mosrite-esque something is for sure on my bucket list.

Thanks, Chipper! Bob is such a kind, soft spoken soul. Super easy to work with, too. He has so much cool memorabilia - Ramones, Rockabilly, Surf, Punk, The Munsters, etc. - all kinds of cool stuff. He even has that giant silver Red Baron helmet used for Bob Larrivee's Red Baron kit car.



I'll have to research the Mosrite amps he has to see what they're about. Apparently, the one I was using my guitar with has built in fuzz!

*Update - I found this YT video on the Mosrite BG-500 (1x15 JBL D-130F speaker) and BG-1000 (2x15 D-130F speakers).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDhbgn9E6Rs

It's well worth watching the whole video for getting some good info on these amps and a reissued Fuzzrite pedal (as compared to the in-amp version). It looks like these amps are solid state. Along with reverb and tremolo, they both have a built in Fuzzrite effect. They sound amazing to me.

At 65, I have no idea how much longer he'll be doing this. For anyone interested in one of his guitars or basses, you may want to reach out to him sooner than later.

Drop dead gorgeous guitar! Good score!

Thanks, BP!

[DeathJag]

Oh yeah! I have always, always loved the sound of clean Moserite guitars. Ramones can keep their awful distorted tone, but the later Ventures always sounded just aces. Earlier JM Ventures are divine, but also a common sound. The Moserite tone takes it further which I love, and I've always wanted to play one. I kept hearing about how close together the strings are, and how skinny the necks are, that I gave up on that dream.

So, how are you getting along with that neck? Can you blaze around for the surf style?

Also, I wanna hear it through your '62 Showman!

Dan

[Nevets]

Very cool guitar. One of these just popped up on the local Craigslist. Tempted.

[Surfysonic]

Oh yeah! I have always, always loved the sound of clean Moserite guitars. Ramones can keep their awful distorted tone, but the later Ventures always sounded just aces. Earlier JM Ventures are divine, but also a common sound. The Moserite tone takes it further which I love, and I've always wanted to play one. I kept hearing about how close together the strings are, and how skinny the necks are, that I gave up on that dream.

So, how are you getting along with that neck? Can you blaze around for the surf style?

Also, I wanna hear it through your '62 Showman!

Dan

Getting along great with the neck, Dan! I guess it's really how I adjust holding the neck compared to a fuller neck. Trying to play it like it's a chunky neck only results in fatigue after 20 minutes. Adjusting my play style allows me to play a lot longer now. I'll always want chunkier necks, especially for my Fender guitars. My new Musikraft neck for my latest JM build is a big C-shape (1st fret: 90, 12th fret: 99). I wasn't sure if I should go for the boatneck for that build. Maybe I'll give it a try on the next one.

The Hallmark 65 Custom is such a lovely instrument. I was playing a number of surf tunes this morning through my '63 Showman/SurfyBear Classic Reverb Unit. The guitar came stock with D'Addario 10s. I'll keep them on until they wear out. I'll probably get some of the stronger D'Addario NYXL1149 after I first try my D'Addario XL 1149s. I'm fairly conservative with the wiggle stick. Hopefully, there won't be any string breakage near the ball ends.

Very cool guitar. One of these just popped up on the local Craigslist. Tempted.

Enabler Mode ACTIVATED: Go for it!

[Surfysonic]

Just before turning in last night, I shut off the lights to my mancave. I turned on my iPhone's flashlight in the darkness and shown it around the 65 Custom. It was a glittery light show! As still as I could be, I took a photo with my Canon PowerShot digital camera with the flash off to try and capture the guitar's small flake's sparkly goodness. It's not a perfect shot. Tonight, I'll try taking another photo with my Lumix digital camera on a tripod for a more steady shot.

[LVC]

So the sparke blueburst is a custom finish, right? Was there much of an upcharge?

[Surfysonic]

So the sparke blueburst is a custom finish, right? Was there much of an upcharge?

The custom paint work was an extra $650. Along with the $999 for the guitar, I was all in at $1650 - pretty awesome cost for a "custom-designed" guitar. Wayne Jarrett did the amazing finish work.

I basically wanted something similar to the Hallmark Les Fradkin Signature 60 Custom (had a used one at one point but foolishly moved it on) called "Surf Pearl"... (photos from Fripperton on Surf Guitar 101)











...but I wanted a more aqua center and darker blue edges - I was going for a Midnight Surf or Deep Blue Sea vibe. I especially wanted those amazing pickup covers (Bob's Ocean Pearl), which are similar to Les Fradkin's but more blue in line with the finish on this guitar. I think Bob calls the body finish teal burst, which works for me!

If interested, I recommend joining the Hallmark Guitars Owners and Fans Group on Facebook. You can check out some other incredibly awesome finish work on Hallmark guitars by Wayne.

[Surfysonic]

Finally got around to making a YouTube video playing my new Hallmark 65 Custom through my '63 Fender Showman and SurfyBear Classic Reverb Unit. Great googily moggily, this is a fantastic sounding and playing guitar! Watch for those sparkles now and again throughout! Thanks again, Bob Shade and Wayne Jarrett!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_8XPiK5bSw&t=8s