The Electra Forums

I got in touch with Ben Chafin earlier this week about any updates on the new Electra guitars, as nothing seemed to be current as far as latest news, etc. -

Also I had asked about any Boilermaker guitars that might be available -

He gave me the ok to post his reply:

"Hi -

How’s it going? I hope all is well with you.

We are still selling Electras. We are no longer using dealers. Just selling direct. I did go to the NAMM show in January and met with several of our suppliers.

We are in the middle of changing factories. The old factory’s quality was slipping and they had become non responsive. Time to make a change!

I also was able to make some headway with the Magnaflux pickups and we are close to having them in stock. Probably in 2 months.

I am also still working on the MPC effect cartridges. Getting the boxes made has been a problem but I am in discussions with an injected molding company to have them made again.

We still have one of the Boilermaker prototypes in stock. The blond all maple one. We kind of like keeping that one around! ;-]

Thanks,
Ben"

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RCSBlues

Sounds great. I was wondering if the pickups we're going to happen. The modules would be great also. Would love to have a few more to put in my 310. Also thanks for breaking the silence in this room. Still need a replacement toggle switch for my 13' Omega pick up selector.

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SlmGuy

Don't know about the pickup selector switch, but -

Try this for MPC toggle switch:

DPDT 6 amp lever switch:

https://www.radioshack.com/products/dpdt-6amp-lever

Comment from the page -
"This was the exact replacement for my Electra MPC guitar switch that I had searched everywhere for with no luck! Fortunately a friend had mentioned that Radio Shack might have something like that and I was ecstatic to find it since that is a vintage guitar...now I can keep it original looking!"

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RCSBlues

Hey, the toggle on the 2013 omega should be just a good quality import 3-way toggle. Should be able to get them from anywhere (China?) for just a few bucks. GFS (guitar fetish) has several for around $10 (before shipping) as an example. You can likely get the same stuff from ebay with shipping from China very cheap (including shipping, but will take a while to get here). Mine still works. Maybe yours is ok and just needs to be tweaked or cleaned? They seldom go bad. These are the switchcraft-style so the contacts can be bent and adjusted. As far as the knob, any metric knob should fit, but even if not it is generally easy to thread (tap) plastic. I put a metal knob on mine - just because.

GFS also has rotaries if you were wanting to do the vintage omega thing, but the electra "tear drop" knob and 5-way ring are tricky to find. I know the knob used to be available, but I have not seen one anywhere for a while. The "1-5" poker chip ring is not currently made in the same style as far as I know.

Good Luck!

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Thorny

Thanks for the input. The selector was acting up off and on when I got it. Took the cover off and found the wires are so tight ( short) I kinda think it pulls on the switch. I tried to clean it and finess it a bit but just made it worse. Both pick ups work but only one comes through. MPC is still good, just have to spray the switch regularly to keep the static and drop out under control.

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SlmGuy

Using any dirty switch or pot, sometimes just wailing on it (switching it back and forth repeatedly) will frequently knock the dirt off the contacts if a cleaner spray is not available. Of course, deoxit dn5 is the good stuff if you have to clean it. But it always happens when one sits for a long while.

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Thorny

True, also on an mpc you sometimes leave the selector on a certain position when using it for a particular sound. I'm just going to replace the Omega switch.

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SlmGuy

I'm still around, and still rocking my Talon.

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"GREAT Googiley moogilie Jack...jumpin jehosephat, hot dang and all".
- jdwhealton

Deoxit DN5 gets my vote - great stuff!

I 'm not having any MPC problems, but just in case, I ordered 4 of these a few weeks back just because they were still available -

And they were BOGO -

https://www.radioshack.com/products/dpdt-6amp-lever

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RCSBlues