New Guitar: Kramer Stagemaster Arch top

This one is truly special - an arched top, 7/8 “mach 2” style Stagemaster Deluxe in a stunning metallic blue finish. It’s a rare occasion that I truly splurge on something I have to have - most guitars I buy I collect with my mind squarely on whether or not it is a good deal, so when this one popped up on Reverb a day or two after Christmas, it was very out of character for me to buy it.

I have been looking for a Stagemaster with dot inlays for some time, and had some cash set aside for that purpose - this doesn’t quite meet that criteria but at the moment I have 3 other Stagemasters, two in transparent Rose and another in Champagne, and the idea of adding one with a nice cool blue color ultimately was impossible to resist.

It arrived in good shape but without a case, something I will remedy immediately as a guitar this nice certainly deserves a case! It plays incredibly, and while some may not like the swapped pickups, it works out nicely since two of my other Stagemasters have factory Duncans. I already have one with EMG’s, and this one with Dimarzios means I have all of the common pickup brands covered too. This is definitely a keeper for me and I’m very pleased - what a great guitar to end the year on. Now hopefully I can work up the willpower to sell some in 2023! Happy new year!

New Amp: Marshall JCM900 Mk III Model 2100

Well, this is now the 4th JCM900 Mk III I’ve purchased. I know that’s excessive, but I really love these amps - I’m just finding it difficult to find one in good condition for a reasonable price. I’ve had two other heads, both in extremely rough condition - just like this one is, aesthetically. I remember returning those heads before, as they both had internal issues as well (loose tube sockets, burned out traces on the PCB, etc). This latest addition is pretty ugly - but functionally it is in much better shape than those two so I’ll likely be keeping this one.

As expected, it sounds fantastic. I did a lot of A/Bing between this amp and my 2501 combo (same preamp circuit) and they sound extremely similar, and that’s exactly what I wanted. While I love that combo, my new studio is really built around shelving designed for heads and that’s what I’d prefer to have, so I’m looking to get rid of my combo amps, at least any combo amp that has an equivalent head version.

New Amp: Another Marshall JVM410H

I know - another duplicate Marshall head - but I happened to see this in my local Sam Ash for an absurd price, and I was able to convince them of a further discount on top of that! I’ve had the JVM before, and while it isn’t my favorite Marshall (I felt the TSL was just as good and much cheaper) it does have some unique features and some really great channel/mode switching abilities so it’s a great amp to have in the collection. Plus, I never had the chance to do a schematic review or tone comparison video with my original JVM410H, so now I’ll be able to do that.

It’s in very good condition, and the first year model, and also included the 6-button footswitch which allows you to switch channels, modes, reverb, and master volumes - very well featured amp for live performances. Each channel and mode also dictates which gain stages are used, so it can emulate classic Marshall sounds very well, although this amp does have quite a bit more background noise than something like a 1987x or 2203 has at the same distortion levels.

Grab one on Reverb here: Marshall JVM on Reverb

New Amp: Fender Super-Sonic 100 Head

I have played Fender Super Sonics a number of times in stores, and always thought they were pretty decent amps, with truly fantastic clean channels and a usable, if not the best, drive channel. I originally was searching for a 60 watt head, but then I played a 22w head in a store and really fell in love with the reverb sound of these amps.

Fender also made a 100w version but this was short lived, lasting only a few years and not moving many units. This amp not only has the onboard reverb like the 22w, but a few additional and unique features. The most obvious one is the clean channel’s gain and middle controls - the 60 and 22 versions only have the classic volume/treble/bass configuration. On the “burn” channel, this amp also has a “Notch Tune” knob which shifts the mid frequencies around. The last notable feature is the auto-biasing feature, which is a small electronic control with a digital display on the rear panel, which allows you to not only use mismatched power tubes, but also run those tubes in hot, cold, or neutral bias settings - very interesting although I don’t notice a massive tonal change doing this.

I’ll do a proper review, but so far I find the clean channel to be absolutely superb, maybe one of the best clean channels I have available, but the burn channel is a little underwhelming at least for any kind of heavier styles. If you leave it purely as a blues or light rock channel, or for music where you are mainly playing clean and just want a little dirt on a lead, it is excellent - but it’s a bit too thick for its own good. The notch tune really makes the amp incredibly thin if you use that to tighten it up, so I prefer it way to the left to thicken up the channel’s lead punch. I do not remember having these feelings about the 22w or 60w versions - I felt the burn channel on those amps sounded fine for classic rock and wasn’t overly thick or thin. Perhaps the addition of the notch tune control affected the tone of this channel too much? I’m not sure - but either way it’s a very unique amp in my collection of mostly metal-oriented gear and a nice option to have. I’m so impressed by the cleans, I think I really need to consider picking up a proper Fender clean head that doesn’t make compromises like this one does - maybe a Bassman or Showman is in my future.

New Guitar: Kramer "Pacer Deluxe" - but it's actually a Focus 3000 mutt

You know, it’s tough these days to find good information on Kramer guitars if you aren’t already involved in collecting them. There are really great resources like vintagekramer but with so many parts mutts and sometimes intentionally misleading information (ex. Strikers with “Pacer” truss rod covers), it’s hard to fault people from getting it wrong occasionally.

On the other hand, when a “Kramer Pacer Deluxe Magenta” is listed on Guitar Center’s used listings without a picture, it’s worth the risk sometimes - and many times I’ll buy something like that sight unseen as quickly as possible to get a good deal before someone else snags it. This time though, I had some self control, and even waited until the store opened to call and confirm the guitar’s condition.

Does it say “American” on the headstock? Yes. Maple or Rosewood fretboard? It’s maple! Floyd rose bridge? Yep!

Well imagine my surprise upon unboxing this guitar to find that not only is it not an American neck, but not a Pacer body either. In fact, this is an early Focus body, which is easily identifiable as it has a heel truss rod adjustment notch (and sharp angled lower horn to neck pocket curve) , but it’s paired with a later Thousand series, tilted back headstock. Of course, the headstock also appears to have been re-logoed, or at least re-painted. To make matters worse, the Original Floyd Rose is long gone, replaced with a Musicyo era, low quality Floyd copy, and the input jack plate has been spray painted black (the paint even flakes off at the lightest touch). The serial number plate is also an odd one, a 4 digit Neptune plate with no letter prefix - this likely would’ve been on a Ferrington but possibly a spare or firesale plate too, intended for some other Korean made instrument.

The only positive I suppose, is the pickups - a Seymour Duncan SH-13 Dimebucker and a hex-pole Dimarzio of some kind… I’m not even going to bother checking to see what it is. The body has of course been routed for the neck humbucker, as well as an amateurish cutting of the original black pickguard to fit it. The wiring in positions 2 and 4 is completely out of whack, since the middle single coil appears to be the stock Focus pickup, and whoever threw this together didn’t care enough to check if the wiring was in or out of phase in those positions.

The neck seems almost salvageable, but the frets are worn so low, and leveled, that it’s basically unplayable. The strings have the tell-tale pop of dead frets, and when bending on the high strings between 5-10 or on the low strings anywhere above the 10th fret, the string buzzes then goes dead. Perhaps raising the bridge a little could save it - but nope, the bridge is completely locked in place and can’t be adjusted up or down, or even used to dive somehow.

If I sound a bit frustrated, I apologize. This is the second time in a row I have paid a hair over a grand for a maple fretboard Kramer and had a problem so severe it must be returned. This guitar was listed as a “Vintage” instrument as well, so I only have a 3-day return period on it, but don’t worry, I won’t even own this guitar for more than 24 hours. Here are some pictures of the monstrosity - pretty colors aside, what a disappointment for that price!

New Guitar: Warped-Neck 1988 Kramer Pacer Imperial

I picked up this guitar when I saw it pop up on Guitar Center’s used listings. Sadly, when it arrived, the action was ludicrously high - nearly 1/2 inch off the fretboard around the 9th fret. After lowering the bridge, it was clear a truss rod adjustment was needed, however the truss nut only had a half turn available before reaching the limit. Even after that turn and adjustment, the neck has a considerable forward bow on the bass side of the neck, however the treble side is nearly flat… classic signs of a severely twisted neck. I have read some processes for potentially recovering this issue and restoring the neck, but since it is considered a “Vintage Instrument” according to guitar center, it is only eligible for return for 3 days, and I will not know if I am able to repair it within that period of time.

The most interesting feature, and the reason why I wanted to hold onto it, is the maple fretboard pointy neck, with a bound headstock but dot inlays on the 12th fret. I have seen this type of neck with a rosewood board, but I have only seen maple necks three ways in the pointy era:

• Pointy headstock with block or pyramid logo, no binding, dot inlays.

• Pointy headstock with pyramid logo, bound headstock, 12th fret “kramer” inlay

• Pointy headstock with pyramid logo, fully bound, dot inlays (extremely rare)

I have never seen this specific combination and for a while, I wasn’t sure it even existed. It’s a very early black F serial number plate, F5412, and while serial number doesn’t exactly identify the year or features of vintage Kramers (since they were used out of order quite often), it still provides a general guideline. It’s not too far off my black Baretta F4821, which has the same neck configuration except with the rosewood fretboard. On the other hand, I have another Pacer F6463 which has the 12th fret “Kramer” inlay instead of dots - this guitar lands right between those two so I think I can reasonably say sometime around this period is when those inlays started to appear at the 12th fret on most models.

Otherwise, I can’t really report much else on it - the pickups sound good as expected, with a JBJ in the bridge and a Jazz in the neck. The 7/8 body shape is comfortable and cool to play as always, and the floyd rose feels as solid as ever. It’s really a shame about the twisted neck because this would be a very nice instrument otherwise, and I hope someone who is able to repair or repurpose this is able to get their hands on it next.

New Amp: Diezel Einstein 50

This amp popped up at my favorite semi-local guitar shop - Jimmy’s Vintage Music. This is where I bought my 2008 Splawn Quickrod as well as my Marshall JCM800 4x12 cabinet. He is local only - no shipping or online sales, which means he has some really cool trade-in gear and great prices.

I’ve been interested in acquiring a Diezel for a while, and this amp has a particularly amazing sounding demo by Ola Englund on youtube (12 years ago!) that I actually downloaded as an MP3 and listened to in my car back in college - that’s how much I liked the tone. That’s a long time to wait for an amp, but I just never could find one for a great deal, and I kind of moved on to looking for a Herbert or a VH2 in my budget range. Once I saw this, only an hour’s drive away, I knew it was the right time to grab one.

Unlike most of my deals, which are all outright purchases (that result in the selling of something else I own via Reverb/Ebay/etc), I took my 1984 Kramer Floyd Rose Signature guitar with me as a potential trade option. I wasn’t sure if it would be something that Jimmy would be interested in, since 80s shred guitars are a bit of a different demographic from his usual selection, but we were able to work out a fair deal that I think benefited both of us - I’m sure a metal amp like this Diezel was just as weird for him to have in his shop.

I played it only for a few moments in the store, since I knew I wanted it anyway - so I brought it home and really let it rip. Wow! What an amp - the 3 different modes on channel 1 are superb in their own ways, and the lead channel may as well just be the 4th mode on that switch - the transition is seamless. That also means when playing, you’ll always have that thick sounding high gain sound available, but you can choose your second sound from anything clean, crunch, or an alternate high gain sound. All of the tones are excellent so far, and I’m very impressed with the sound and how tight the low end is despite the full sounding bass frequencies, even with a guitar tuned to A standard. I’m looking forward to spending some more time with it, and especially comparing it to some of the other high gainers in my arsenal, especially other German made amps like my ENGL’s. I’d like to add a Herbert to the collection still, but this has definitely dulled my need to do that since it seems to have very similar tones, just lacking some of the Herbert’s features (like the adjustable mid cut) - although I’m sure once I play a Herbert I’ll understand the differences more clearly.

New Amp x3: Bogner Uberschall, Twin Jet, and Goldfinger GF45

I picked these amps up quite some time apart, but I wanted to combine them here since it was a bit of a saga to get everything situated correctly.

First up, the hard one, a Bogner Uberschall Twin Jet.

This amp has a quad of KT88 power tubes, and while the lead channel is theoretically the same as the regular Uberschall, it lacks the clean channel, and instead has another gain channel. I expected this to be more of a two metal channels, similar to something like a VHT Pittbull CL or other amps with identical gain channels, but the Twin Jet’s rhythm channel is more of a crunch channel than anything else.

That said, I don’t actually get to find out myself because this amp was very poorly packed and as a result, severely damaged in shipping. All of the power amp tubes were completely shattered inside the head shell, broken glass was inside the amp itself, half of the preamp tubes were cracked while the others had their pins bent, and the lights that show which channel is selected appear to be knocked out of place. I opened this amp up, mostly to vacuum out the broken glass and see if it is salvageable - but it has some of the most extreme damage I’ve seen on an amp like this. There are capacitors with broken zip ties, disconnected from the PCB, the fiber cabling for the lights is knocked out of place, and broken glass all over the place inside.

This of course went to UPS shipping claims, but after just under 3 months of inaction, and me stuck in possession of this broken amp, the store manager of the GC that shipped this was able to refund me and have me drop it off at my local GC (originally, UPS had ruled they would pick it up from me, but never contacted me or arrived). In spite of the issues, I have to commend the GC who sent this (GC Warwick RI) for their handling of the situation. Still, I’m disappointed I won’t get to compare this Twin Jet, with its extra set of presence/depth controls and KT88 power section, to the EL34 Uberschall I also picked up.

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This one I purchased on a bit of a whim, I had no idea what to expect from this one, and it’s kind of funny looking front control panel always put me off - it makes me think of some of the weirder 50’s era amps, and I figured the tones would be more like that, but I couldn’t resist the price.

After more research, and especially after it showed up and I played through it, I was very wrong. In 60s mode, it’s a Marshall type tone on the drive channel with a wonderful blend control for adding more brightness and trebly character. This channel can also switch to an 80s mode, which introduces more gain, although I found this mode to be a little bit underwhelming in comparison to some of my other modded Marshall type amps, but it’s still extremely usable if you need a bit more gain out of this channel.

The real highlight for me though, this has to be the absolute best clean channel I have ever played through, so far, on any amp. It sounds truly fantastic, very elastic, while staying full sounding and not too bassy. Even better, there are two bright switches, which can be flipped in different combinations to alter the tone even further and of course, add more snap.

There is also a spring reverb which sound fantastic, with a nice tail without getting too many reflections even on the gain channel, and that adds to it even more.

And last feature, there is also an adjustable boost feature, the amount of which can be set from a small knob on the rear panel. This boost can be turned on for either channel, and it adds a lot of flexibility - it’s a clean type boost, which can add a little bit more gain if you have the channel gains turned up, but not too much, and it’s not a huge volume spike either. Really well thought out and useful boost that adds some texture and cut to the tone without influencing it too much.

The only issue with this amp is that the footswitch has been inconsistent, at least on my example, and when I first plugged it in, caused the lights all over the amp to flicker and freak out. When the cable of the switch is twisted at the exact right angle, all works as intended - a very unique 5-button switch for an amp with only 2 channels, if that says something about the features of this amp. The footswitch also screws in to the back panel to secure it, very interesting idea, but the same screw in connector at the switch itself seems to be the downfall of this one, likely it got pulled, dropped, or perhaps even damaged in shipping (since the box came missing a huge chunk out of the side with the corner of the amp poking out… no bubble wrap… come on GC!). Still, it’s a keeper, even if just for that clean channel alone. I’d love to hear the ‘77 mode on the new GF45SL, especially since I didn’t love the 80s mode on this one, that might be just what it’s missing.

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The last one, and the good news: an Uberschall EL34. This amp arrived in decent condition, and sounds just like you’d expect from an Uber - thick, full, and heavily saturated. It’s bassy without being overwhelming, and with some EQ tweaks can do the rectifier wall-of-sound tones, but a few other changes and it has a much tighter sounding low end good for more technical riffing. I’m really impressed, and it’s such a staple of studio sounds I’m sure I will get some great mileage out of this amp.

I don’t find the clean channel to be particularly amazing, but it’s definitely not bad either. It stays very clean even with the gain turned up, but you can get a little hair on it at max - I think I personally would prefer the Twin Jet here but oh well!

New Amp: VHT/Fryette Sig:X

Well - it’s finally here. I have been hunting this amp for a long time and finally got my hands on it. I’m sure that statement sounds a bit hollow as I’m hunting lots of amps at any given time, but it’s very rare that I “splurge” on something - as in - pay the actual market value instead of waiting for exactly the right deal. This Sig:X popped up and the price was right at the market and I didn’t even think about it - instantly purchased.

I was a bit worried I’d be disappointed, I played one of these once over a decade ago before I really knew much about tone and remember liking it but that’s just not the same as having one now. I’m pleased to report though, that my expectations are absolutely met. This is an incredible amp that is a blast to play through, and it has some of the best sounds I’ve heard in it, plus it’s high customizable. The only major downfall I’m having right now is that it didn’t come with the footswitch, and I can’t find one - not a used one, not from the offical Fryette store, no response from Fryette support about it, and there’s not even an aftermarket option. That’s a real shame, I don’t gig but this is an amp that deserves to be heard, and not being able to have the option to take it out really sucks - but I’ll keep looking for that footswitch.

This amp has 3 channels, a clean, rhythm, and lead. It’s powered by a pair of KT88 power tubes which have a very immediate, punchy response. All three channels have separate EQ’s, as well as some switchable options. Each has a 100w/40w switch (not a hugely noticeable drop in volume, but 40w engages a tube rectifier), as well as an EQ switch (fat/open on clean, wood/scoop on rhythm/lead channels), a 3-way mode switch, and a boost switch. The boost on the clean channel is fixed, but the rhythm and lead channels both have a Gain II control, which is only engaged when the boost is engaged, so this allows either an alternate gain tone to be configured, or as a lead boost, or left on permanently as part of the tone - very cool. This boost can of course be activated via footswitch, so especially on the dirt channels is offers a lot of flexibility. On top of that, both rhythm and lead channels have a more/less gain switch, which unsurprisingly has a huge effect on the tones. I find the vintage mode of Rhythm with the “more” switch on to be an especially good tone, even better with the boost engaged for more saturation. The lead and rhythm channels do share a presence and depth control, while the clean channel has separate controls for that too, which is quite useful. The 3-way voicing switches are not drastic tonal changes, there is a slight increase in gain with each one going upwards, and a very minor change in stiffness and bass tightness as you select the more modern settings (like Blow and Burn), but it’s still overall the same type of tone on those channels.

I really hate when players compare an amp to the Mesa Mark’s, because those amps have such a different EQ structure from just about anything else that I don’t think anything sounds like them. That said, this amp’s lead channel, with scoop EQ and the more gain + boost on, and the right EQ settings, can sound very close to that high gain Mark type tone - really cool. Switch down to vintage mode on Rhythm, with the wood EQ and different combinations of boost/more-less/EQ controls, and it’s anything from a classic rock Marshall up to 80s hair Marshall type tones. It does these tones with a bright character extremely well - I might choose something else for darker, smoother tones (like a Pittbull) but I would be hard pressed to pick a better amp than this for those kinds of cutting rock and metal tones. This amp certainly deserves its reputation and will be staying with me for a very long time.

New Guitar: Transition-neck Kramer Pacer Imperial

I saw this one on ebay and was surprised when there was very little bidding action - I won it for a price I would consider to be far less than expected in this era of Kramer collecting. It’s an authentic Pacer Imperial with the original case and hardware, and while the body does have some minor dents and scratches it is in overall good condition aesthetically and extremely good condition in terms of playability.

The neck is the unique draw here, with a rosewood skunk stipe unlike most pointy headstock Kramers which had the 3-piece maple. This neck was still made by ESP, of course, but it has a more classic rounded shape and is thicker than later pointy necks. The story goes that these necks were originally banana headstock necks (there are quite a few skunk stripe banana necks out there) but had their headstocks shaved down from the factory (either ESP or on arrival to Neptune NJ) to match the new pointy shape the company was going with moving forward. I think this must be true - holding this headstock up very closely to a later pointy and there is a tiny bit of a shape difference, but other later pointies are all very uniform in shape. I have seen these transitional necks both with and without the “American” script after the Kramer logo - this one does not have the script and instead looks more like a standard banana neck logo job. My best guess is that the ones that have the “American” script were re-logoed for varying reasons in Neptune.

I’m not really a big fan of blocked Floyds, but this one is set up dive only, and with the great feeling neck with good frets, it’s quickly become one of my most played guitars since it allows me to quickly swap tunings or use Drop D tunings, and I absolutely adore this color.