Jolyon C. Dantzig Founder and Designer of Hamer Guitars, Owner and Director of the Dantzig Design Group. Some of Dantzig’s contributions to guitar history include: • Founding of the Hamer Guitar Company in 1973 • Design of the first 12-string bass • Opened the first commercial Custom Shop • Design of the first workable electric/acoustic hybrid (DuoTone) Dantzig’s guitar designs have won six Editor’s Pick Awards in a row from Guitar Player magazine, top honors from Guitarist (UK) and Guitar World (US). As a performing musician Dantzig has played and/or sung on recordings by Freddie Scott, Wilson Pickett, Blue Guru, Jon Tiven, Shaw-Blades, Jim Carroll and Frank Black among others. Dantzig is an avid motorsports fan whose hobbies include collecting and working on vintage sports cars. He has raced at the amateur level with the Porsche Club of America, NASA, SCCA and SVRA.

Born in Evanston, Illinois, Jolyon Dantzig combined his childhood love of music, an adolescent infatuation with pop culture and a natural ability with tools to create a career and influence an industry. While still in his early twenties, he was an accomplished touring musician and had lived in England and the West Indies. Upon his return to Chicago, Dantzig set up one of the country’s first shops selling “vintage” instruments to rock’s elite and collectors. In 1973 Dantzig was a founding partner of the Hamer Guitar company. From a humble storefront he began what was to be the industry’s first “boutique” guitar company. Dantzig’s duties included the design of instruments and the systems to manufacture them. By the mid eighties Hamer had solidified its reputation as the highest quality, professional guitar maker in the US. No other small company could boast of an artist roster as deep and diverse as Hamer’s. All four Beatles, three of the Rolling Stones and every member of the Pretenders, Def Leppard and the Police (including the drummers!) owned Hamer instruments. In 1988 Dantzig and partner Frank Untermyer sold Hamer to the Kaman Music Corporation in order to expand distribution and develop the company’s long term strategy. After five years with Kaman Music, Dantzig relocated to northern California in 1993 to start the Dantzig Design Group, a graphic design and internet content company. He also served as a consultant to Kaman and a host of other music industry companies solidifing his status as a guitar guru. In 1997, Dantzig was retained by Kaman to engineer Hamer’s move to New Hartford in order to consolidate operations with their other Music companies. Dantzig’s task included the logistics of moving and the design of a new workspace. Hamer’s new shop is a bright, airy, loft-like space with beamed ceilings and natural wood floors. The feeling is more artist’s loft than factory. Nestled in a lush valley, 200 feet from the Farmington river, Dantzig and his team are now building the best Hamer instruments ever. This transition is a return to the very philosophy that first launched Hamer into the worldwide spotlight. “We’re doing exactly what we do best,” Dantzig states. “Demanding excellence within, and delivering quality throughout.”