Guitar fever strikes again!

[VAiN]

I had a 5150 II half stack. Rarely used the high gain channel on it. Actually a more versatile amp than people give it credit for. The trick to Peavey amps is knowing how to dial in the EQ. Most people don't know how to dial in a good sound.

I have an original 'block letter EVH' 5150 half stack. Lately I've been finding myself using the 'clean' channel and dialing that in. I can get some nice not over the top distorted tones from it.

[Nitro Express]

[QUOTE=VAiN;1932059]I got a good deal on it. I was following this guy on eBay for a while then started contacting him and worked out a deal. I got it for $1000 + shipping. I think I made out pretty well. It's in amazing shape, plays and sounds great too. A real rock machine. It's also heavy as fuck.[/QUOT

I always liked the Kramer Pacers. I have one of the reissues with the Seymour Duncan JB and Jazz pickups in it. Kramer used to have a duck decoy manufacture called Sports make all their bodies. I think the necks were made by ESP in Japan. All they did in Neptune was assembly. I think those early Pacer bodies were maple so that would explain the weight. The thing is you can do everything with a Pacer a Les Paul can do plus you have the wiggle stick.

[VAiN]

[QUOTE=Nitro Express;1932061]

I got a good deal on it. I was following this guy on eBay for a while then started contacting him and worked out a deal. I got it for $1000 + shipping. I think I made out pretty well. It's in amazing shape, plays and sounds great too. A real rock machine. It's also heavy as fuck.[/QUOT

I always liked the Kramer Pacers. I have one of the reissues with the Seymour Duncan JB and Jazz pickups in it. Kramer used to have a duck decoy manufacture called Sports make all their bodies. I think the necks were made by ESP in Japan. All they did in Neptune was assembly. I think those early Pacer bodies were maple so that would explain the weight. The thing is you can do everything with a Pacer a Les Paul can do plus you have the wiggle stick.

it's definitely maple. It's heavy. I've played a few of the reissues and they don't have the feel of the early 80's models. They're nice and all, but just not the same. And I've never picked one up that didn't need a major set-up.

[Seshmeister]

I didn't know that maple was so heavy until I looked it up there, heavier than mahogany and nearly twice the weight of basswood.

Half my guitars have maple necks and over the years I've decided that's my favourite but I don't think I have any where the body is (apart from neckthru sections).

http://www.bellforestproducts.com/info/popups/average-dry-weight/?s=6

[Seshmeister]

I got a good deal on it. I was following this guy on eBay for a while then started contacting him and worked out a deal. I got it for $1000 + shipping. I think I made out pretty well. It's in amazing shape, plays and sounds great too. A real rock machine. It's also heavy as fuck.

With the Brexit currency exchange rate these days I don't know if I could go that high without trying it first - I've seen them advertised at $1500+ so you did do well.

It's funny the way Kramer prices fall away with late 80s ones sometimes going for a few hundred or less.

[Nitro Express]

[QUOTE=VAiN;1932063]

it's definitely maple. It's heavy. I've played a few of the reissues and they don't have the feel of the early 80's models. They're nice and all, but just not the same. And I've never picked one up that didn't need a major set-up.

Oh yeah. Everything Kramer made in the early days had maple bodies. You get a brighter sound but with hum buckers through a blazing amp I like the sound of maple. Might be too bright for single coil pickups. But I always thought the best sounding rig Eddie ever played through was his Kramer Pacer bodied 5150 guitar through a Marshall with the Bradshaw mod. He really got great tone live using that.

[Nitro Express]

I didn't know that maple was so heavy until I looked it up there, heavier than mahogany and nearly twice the weight of basswood.

Half my guitars have maple necks and over the years I've decided that's my favourite but I don't think I have any where the body is (apart from neckthru sections).

http://www.bellforestproducts.com/in...ry-weight/?s=6

Maple is a heavy dense wood that's good for making things that have a lot of wear and tear. Great for guitar necks. For guitar bodies the big leaf maple out of the pacific northwest tends to be used more than the hard rock maple from the northeast. That hard rock maple is really dense stuff.

[VAiN]

With the Brexit currency exchange rate these days I don't know if I could go that high without trying it first - I've seen them advertised at $1500+ so you did do well.

It's funny the way Kramer prices fall away with late 80s ones sometimes going for a few hundred or less.

The maple necks always seem to get more since they're rare. I'm beyond happy with the purchase.

[Nitro Express]

The maple necks always seem to get more since they're rare. I'm beyond happy with the purchase.

Also a bit of trivia on that bird's beak headstock. Kramer was selling guitars with Strat styled headstocks and Fender sued them. So they cut part of it off and wallah. The birds beak headstock as seen on the "Jump" video.

[Nitro Express]

Haha! The good ol days. Ed is quite the drunken schmuck in this.

[Nitro Express]

The pickups on those old Kramers were pretty good. I think they were made by Schecter.

[VAiN]

Also a bit of trivia on that bird's beak headstock. Kramer was selling guitars with Strat styled headstocks and Fender sued them. So they cut part of it off and wallah. The birds beak headstock as seen on the "Jump" video.

I've played a few of the 'lawsuit' headstock guitars and the necks I've played have been very fat. Not in a bad way, but definitely not thin. I'll add one of those to the collection at some point.

[VAiN]

Haha! The good ol days. Ed is quite the drunken schmuck in this.

This is always fun to watch.. good old Eddie..

[Nitro Express]

I've played a few of the 'lawsuit' headstock guitars and the necks I've played have been very fat. Not in a bad way, but definitely not thin. I'll add one of those to the collection at some point.

The three bolt Strats had beefy necks. Also in those days necks were built by hand and could vary. Today on CNC equipment it's more consistent. Kramer was transitioning from the aluminum necks to wood necks at that time. I have no idea if the law suit necks had the same fretboard radius as a Fender. Really it was the time people were starting transform the Strat into being a better rock and roll guitar. Eddie wasn't the only one tweaking that design.

[Nitro Express]

Here you go. Humbuckers in a Strat in 1976. Before Eddie came onto the national scene.