2000s/2016 Hamer Slammer "Stratojazzter" Modded Electric Guitar

I almost feel like it's silly to post such an instrument, but suffice to say I never have a lack of funky partser guitar corpses hanging around and I thought it'd be fun to at least share a soundclip of a Jazzmaster pickup mounted on a cheap Strat knock-off.

This one began life as a Hamer Slammer Strat copy of dubious quality -- these guitars are essentially worthless except as parts or neck donors. I will be honest in that I almost turned my nose up at spending $40 on it and the fact that it sat in the shop for the better part of a year available at $60 with a fresh set of strings and a proper setup should tell you all you'll ever need know about peddling cheap Strat copies without even Squier namesakes.

I have no idea if this one was a Korean or Chinese model and its original parts are of the cheapest import variety, though they at least get the job done (save the whammy... which is junk... and I have deactivated it by shimming it up with a maple block to set it firmly in place). The neck is actually straight, true, and has a truss rod that works as it should even with the set of 11s (with wound G) that I have on it. It even feels good, though I can't say much about the headstock aesthetics.  The body is something else entirely and appears to be made of something approaching pressed cardboard! Still -- it's lightweight and the "acoustic" tone doesn't seem too hurt by the material.

Obviously, I've yanked the original pickguard, its terrible ceramic Strat-style pickups, and wiring all out. In went a proper-size A500K pot, a Fender '62 Reissue Jazzmaster neck pickup, a Switchcraft jack, and a pickguard cut from a tin sign (appropriately with a $1.99 Christmas Tree Shops tag still on its rear).

The original string trees are still in use but I've covered the Slammer branding and apathetic headstock shape with a repro "vintage" hotel sticker. The tuners are now some old Kluson copies that've been hanging around my workshop as the original tuners were junk, too.

I have absolutely nothing bad to say about the fretting, radius, and stability of the neck.

As much as I want to say that I'll leave this whole rig together, that pickup may find itself wandering someday.

The bridge, interestingly enough, adjusts just fine -- as well as any Squier, anyhow.