New Hamer Day!

[Dave Scepter]

21 hours ago, draelyc said:

 

I'm trying to figure out how this even happened... a refret from a rushed stoner?

[draelyc]

21 hours ago, RobB said:

Sorry to hear about the condition issues. Now you’re clear to buy my 90s Centaura! PM me if interested. 

I’m failing at HFC!  I can’t figure out where the PM function is to be found! 😵‍💫

[RobB]

Click on a member’s avatar. Directly below is a PM link (an envelope). Click on the link. Send a message.

[draelyc]

Weird — no envelope icon in n my phone browser.  I’ll have to log in on my laptop & see if it shows up. 🤷🏻‍♀️

[Dave Scepter]

7 minutes ago, draelyc said:

Weird — no envelope icon in n my phone browser.  I’ll have to log in on my laptop & see if it shows up. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Make sure you're signed in...

[draelyc]

I’m signed in, but this is what I’m seeing:

 

 

[Steve Haynie]

@draelyc your own account might not be set to receive messages.  Go look into your account settings.  That would prevent you from being able to send a private message.  

[draelyc]

Welp, my brothers & sisters in Hamer, it's been quite a journey.  Here's the final update.

The good news:  My local Guitar Center's tech was able successfully to repair the popped fret & smooth out the fingerboard.  Really did top notch work, and the store manager even waived the repair fee for me.  GC sometimes gets a bad rap for customer service, but my local store has treated me like royalty.  Can't say anything but good stuff about everybody I've dealt with in the past week.

The bad news:  Once the fret was repaired, I was finally able to set the guitar up to my personal specs & preferences.  And .... no matter what I did, I discovered I just did not like the feel of the instrument.  It sounds fine, both unplugged and through my rig, and it looks absolutely gorgeous ~ I love the sunburst finish and the intricate grain of the maple fingerboard.  But it doesn't feel right in my hands, and it's not a setup issue (I made sure of that).  So in the end, I had a new (to me) guitar that I was just going to end up not reaching for and playing, not when I've got my three other Hamers and my old '92 Ibanez RG470, all of which sound great and, more importantly, feel great under my fingers.

So I have returned the guitar.  No "new Hamer day" for me, after all.  I am super bummed, not only because I was really stoked to get another Hamer, but also because it's not often I get the green light from Mrs. Draelyc to expand the axe collection.  Cue the sad trombone noises.

Sigh.  I think outside of my Ibby I might be done with Superstrats, now, even Hamer ones. 

Maybe one day I'll stumble across a USA Standard that doesn't cost eleventy-thousand dollars.  🤞

[burningyen]

Kudos to GC for treating you right.

[draelyc]

15 hours ago, burningyen said:

Kudos to GC for treating you right.

Hear, hear!

[tweed]

Was the neck slimmer than your other guitars? Was the nut width smaller? Tried a Floyd style bridge before?

Maybe that's why it just didn't "feel" right in your hands. For ME, the extra metal and slim necks just feel weird.  Maybe I'm just too Old School.

[Jim85IROC]

If you liked it otherwise,  that's an extremely easy fix for anyone that's handy, or for a tech. A little superglue under the lifted fret and the splintered wood, press the fret down until the glue dries, then scrape/sand out any squeezeout.  If the fret doesn't go all the way back, a spot level & recrown to the fret.  Chances are this is a 15 minute job for a luthier.

 

Edit:  oops, I missed the entire 2nd page.  Sorry to hear you couldn't get it how you wanted.  I guess at least the next guy gets it with good frets.

Edited June 13, 2025 by Jim85IROC

[draelyc]

On 6/13/2025 at 12:17 AM, tweed said:

Was the neck slimmer than your other guitars? Was the nut width smaller? Tried a Floyd style bridge before?

Maybe that's why it just didn't "feel" right in your hands. For ME, the extra metal and slim necks just feel weird.  Maybe I'm just too Old School.

I mean, those are great questions.  The only other superstrat type guitar I have a lot of experience with is my Ibanez RG470 from ‘92.  The Edge trem is a Floyd style trem but significantly different from the actual Schaller Floyd on the Centaura.  So yeah that might be part of it.  The Centaura’s neck was a little thicker than my Ibby’s but thinner than my other Hamers’.

Y’all are gonna laugh at my craziness, but what it came down to is that no matter what I did, set up wise, the high E string just felt way too tight.  Like, unbendably tight.  Same gauge strings as my other guitars, same neck relief, same action down to the 64th of an inch… I just could not get that top string to feel right.  
 

I don’t have that problem on the Ibanez or on my Mirage I, both 25.5” scale like the Centaura and both with floating bridges — the Ibby’s being double locking like the Centaura.  It was maddening.  If it weren’t for the locking but, I might’ve tried to file down that one but slot a bit.  But as it was… 🤷🏻‍♀️😥

And it probably wouldn’t bother anybody else but me.  But I have chronic wrist problems and have discovered that I have to get my setups feeling just right or I’ll end up paying the price.  So the next buyer might just get a good deal on a sweet axe, but I’m pretty bummed it didn’t work out.

Okay, that enough emo stuff for now, lol!!😝 

[tweed]

Y'know, I've had that high E problem on one of my guitars. Can't remember which one or how it got fixed. 

Different brand strings?  Thicker callous on my finger tips?  Finger exerciser doohicky?  I think my Senior Moments are kickin' in, can't remember. Anyway, sorry to hear that Centaura didn't work out for you. BUT, I truly believe one will come along and melt in your hands like butter!!!