Biz Prof

My favorite post from that thread: "At least there’s a cap under the shrink. Could have just had a wire instead and still fooled a lot of tgp."

I guess one could accurately state that the "PIO-looking" cap was full of Mojo.

Well, it's been done before, but not to the lengths Rick would go. https://wlos.com/amp/news/local/racing-themed-casket-takes-beloved-wnc-racing-fan-on-victory-lap

Verily. The Franklin Mint says, "Hold my beer."

"And you may find yourself....in a fungible house....with a fungible wife."

You really don't even need an actual musical instrument. An old kitchen appliance will do just fine to render hip hop pablum.

Nah, they were slotted for those gauges from the factory. Try some graphite first.

Graphite power (from a hobby shop, for example) works well. On nuts that are molded in black, I've actually used ground up pencil "lead", as it's mostly graphite. Just curious: what gauge high E and B strings are you using?

Methinks that "may also be used as a self-defense weapon" was an undocumented feature of the Tele Custom.

I really don't think there's a mediocre or bad Hamer double cut. They're all great designs.

Unless the nut is severely worn and causing buzzing and/or intonation problems, I'd stick with the OEM "Lubritrak" nut. It is at least equal to, if not superior to, a Graphtech or Tusq nut. Chances are, an Arlington Heights-built Hamer was set up by Curt Meissner. The dude was/is a setup master.

For the record, the Hamer-branded Schaller vibrato system is catalogued as a Schaller 370 Floyd Rose licensed tremolo. Parts are readily available.

It's a mucho different rout. Try a set of Mojotone '56 Quiet Coil pickups instead. Thank me later.

I defer to Ben on most-things-Centaura, but we diverge on the SSL-1/JB issue. In my Cent, I currently have a SD Screamin Demon in the bridge (which, coincidentally has a much lower output than a JB), an ancient SD 1NQ in the middle (this was the '80s precursor to the now-ubiquitous STK-S4, and a SD Lil Screamin Demon in the neck. Outputs are much better matched, although I'll likely switch out the 1NQ with higher-wind true single coil unit to add more pop to the in-between positions.

Yes, it's a 1990. Stock pickups are a JB in the bridge and SSL-1s in the neck and middle positions. The mini "thick" switch introduces a cap into the circuit that acts as a frequency "boost" to fatten up the tone/lean out the tone, depending on its setting. Many longtime Centaura aficionados convert those to bridge pickup coil taps. Pros: small, dinky body, wide/flat neck, excellent fit and finish, nice balance, weight, and looks. Cons: wide/flat neck (for some), mismatched output of OEM humbucker/single coils, somewhat smaller than '80s-era jumbo frets.