There already exists a technique (mostly used on bass guitars) called hammering, but Ken McCaw’s Hammer Jammer is a device that takes all this to the next level.
Ken McCaw dreamed of making a guitar accessory that’s useful not only to the ones who are new to this musical instrument, but also to the ones who otherwise couldn’t play it at all.
As McCaw explained the target audience for the Hammer Jammer is represented by “Young, up-and-comers who are looking for a new way to enter the music world, and handicapped (including older players with arthritis) and disabled Vets, because it does enable them to still play guitar, with the chord hammering techniques at least.”
Furthermore, he admitted that using this device won’t be easy from the very beginning: “There is a learning curve. It does take time. For many, it’s not an instant device. Requires new techniques, but that’s why it produces new techniques and styles.”
Hammer Jammer will go through some changes in the future, in order to expand its compatibility: “We just plan to make the base slightly wider to accommodate more guitars, especially classical/nylon string guitars which generally have wider necks. We had a long list of people, especially in Spain, who wanted to use the Hammer Jammer, but it wouldn’t fit.”
The developer of this guitar accessory stated that Hammer Jammer brought some joy into the lives of people who couldn’t otherwise play guitars: “We sold a number of units to Veterans and Vets’ spouses, some of them telling us how sad their husbands were because they had fingers missing from combat, or whatever, but now they had the possibility of hammering the strings with their arms or disabled hands, and by using open tuning with the left hand, it would be possible for some without any fingers to at least bang out respectable sounding chords. It’s a small market, granted, but it is real and getting people to donate for that specific purpose helps us re-tool and gets the vets a unit to try.”
Backing the project with $65 or more on Kickstarter should get people a Hammer Jammer in October of this year, provided that the crowdfunding campaign is successful.
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