New Guitar: 1985 Robin Wedge Custom

This is a guitar I have long lusted after, and it’s been on the “wanted” list of my about page for years. They didn’t make many of these, and I’ve missed a few and regretted it. I finally spotted one online and pulled the trigger.

Robin guitars, based in Houston TX, was originally run out of a more regular guitar shop called “Rockin’ Robin Guitars,” which opened in 1972. By 1982, Robin had built their first guitars through Tokai in Japan (I still want one of these). By the mid 80s, they were having models made by ESP, also in Japan, and shipped to Texas for final touches or upgrades, and that’s where this model comes in.

In 1985, along with a handful of other more well known models such as the Medley and Ranger, came the Wedge. The Wedge had two different types - the Standard, which was a bolt- on neck, and the Custom, as pictured here. The Custom was a set-neck guitar, made from mahogany with custom triangular inlays and a fully bound ebony fretboard and headstock. The Custom could come as mine, with a fixed tune-o-matic style bridge, or could have a Kahler installed at Rockin’ Robin upon arrival to Texas. This model is where the pointy “blade” style reverse headstock first originated - early prototpes had the more rounded style reverse headstock similar to the Tokai models. This headstock of course made it onto future models and became the standard Robin headstock shape on models like the Medley all the way until they were discontinued. According to founder David Wintz, less than 200 Wedges were ever made between both models.

Robin transitioned to USA manufacturing in 1988, and by then the Wedge was long discontinued.

It’s surprisingly comfortable to play sitting down in the “classical” position, but it won’t sit straight across unless you squeeze your legs together. Standing up is much more natural, although on mine there is some neck dive as it’s a bit heavier than the body. Playability is excellent as expected of an ESP-made guitar from this era, and it’s quite similar to my Kramers (also ESP made) from the same time frame - that’s a good thing in my eyes.

This particular Wedge is in very good shape with minimal dings or scratches, but sadly it must’ve been dropped or fell down on the lowest point if the guitar is held vertically because a small piece of wood is missing. Someone sanded this down flat and repainted it, and they did a very good job of it because it’s hardly noticeable, but it is clear on a close inspection.

Still, I’m thrilled to finally have my hands on this rare beast, and especially with its original form-fitting case. I can’t imagine how difficult it would be to find a case otherwise! It makes a great pair with my Ibanez XV500 as well - two radically shaped guitars, made in extremely limited quantities, from 1985. I suppose now I need a Kramer Triaxe. I particularly love the detail and beveled edges of the body shape, looking at it closer it has a lot more going on besides the sideways V-shape.

More pictures available here

I think this one definitely qualifies as a “totally rad guitar.”

New Amp: 2004 Soldano Hot Rod 50X Plus signed by Mike Soldano

I’ll admit, I splurged on this one and probably paid a little too much. I had my heart set on an Avenger, and I finally was able to check that one off my list just a few months ago. I thought my Soldano GAS was through, but when I spotted this red tolex, white chassis Hot Rod I decided it was worth a shot.

It has two less power tubes than my 100w Avenger, but gains an extra preamp tube for the effects loop. This amp design is closely related to the budget Jet City models such as the JCA50 or the JCA22 which I am intimately familiar with - I did my first ever amp circuit mods on a JCA22.

The first Hot Rod amps were basically more budget minded SLO’s, lacking the crunch mode and the large DeYoung transformers that made those amps famous, starting production in 1991 with the single channel 50w model. 100w models came later in 1994, and the plus version, like mine, started in 1995. These were made until 2005 before being replaced with an updated version for 2006, which removed the slave out from the rear and added a depth control to the front panel, sort of combining together the Avenger line and the Hot Rod line into one (aptly named the “Hot Rod Avenger”). There is also a Hot Rod 25, introduced in 2012.

The naming can be a bit confusing, but the original Hot Rod amps had two inputs and a very stripped down 6-knob, single channel design. The plus models added the second channel but sacrificed the low input. The Avengers first came out in 2003, and were similar to the single-channel Hot Rods, with the same two inputs and one channel, adding the depth control, and removing the effects loop along with a few tweaks to the voicing for more aggressive tones. This was during the era of ever-more-complicated multichannel amps, and a sizable number of guitar players really wanted that stripped down amp design, thinking even having the effects loop present negatively affected the tone - I’m not sure I believe that myself, but I’m sure that had a part in influencing the Avenger design.

Anyway, back to the Hot Rod. This is a great sounding amp, with the classic Soldano lead tone - bright, punchy, and extremely clear. It sports all Mercury Magnetics transformers. The “normal” channel also sounds quite good, although it shares the EQ with the overdrive channel so it does have some limitations there. Still, it feels quite natural when switching channels, keeping the same core tone with less gain and a hair brighter with the preamp knob set at half or below. The overdrive channel gets quite gainy but can be a little loose on the bottom end without a boost, but its open character means it’ll take that boost very well. I’ve played it a few times boosted with a Klon Clone and it takes the natural tone of the amp and kicks it into high gear, or alternatively using a Boss SD-1 or Tubescreamer and the bottom end tighten up while the mids get more prominent - great for solos or metal rhythms, especially with lower tunings. Truly a staple of high gain tones, and for good reason - and quite different tonally from its estranged family (Rectos and 5150/6505’s).

This particular amp was signed by Mike Soldano at some point, but it isn’t dated. I speculate that it must’ve been pretty recent, perhaps the amp had a health check in Seattle and that’s when it was signed. The amp is in absolutely minty shape so either way, it was very well taken care of.

More photos available here

New Guitar: Kramer Baretta I Claw Neck

I spotted this online and figured I’d roll the dice on it. It arrived in a case with no packing/bubble/paper inside or in the box either - by some insane stroke of luck, nothing was damaged (thanks GC). It’s a very early Baretta I, F39xx with the first run of Claw inlay necks.

Some quick history: The Baretta evolved from the Pacer Special as a single humbucker guitar built for straight forward rock and metal players - obviously heavily influenced by Eddie Van Halen. The first models actually called “Barettas” came out sometime in 1984, although there are some guitars that are very similar (the so called non-tilt “grails” from late ‘83, but there was never any official document calling them Barettas at the time). Pickups were originally Schallers but quickly became Seymour Duncan JB’s - always in reverse Zebra color. These Barettas initially had the tilt-back banana headstock shape, then the pointy with block logo in the early E1xxx plate range, then gained the Pyramid or “descending” logo somewhere around E9xxx. At the same time, a new body shape was designed for the Pacer custom - this is usually called the “sololist” or “sharp radiused” body - and by E7xxx this spawned a submodel called the Baretta II. These also started with the block logo pointy necks, then pyramid logos shortly after introduction. Neither the Baretta or Baretta II got recessed floyd routes until roughly E13xxx. Around this time, the Baretta was renamed “Baretta I” to follow the same naming convention with the Baretta II. Serial plates from around F1xxx until F3xxx were lost - never used on factory production Kramers, though these plates still pop up quite often as they were sold at the firesale or to various collectors. By the time the serial plates turned black (instead of chrome as before), the Baretta I and Baretta II both had recessed floyd rose bridges and additionally, a body contour carved out of the lower horn to improve upper fret access. The Baretta I retained this body shape from this time all the way up until Kramer went out of business in April 1990. Baretta II’s got one last upgrade, moving from the large soloist body shape down to the “7/8” sized dinky body shape by F5xxx, which had the same features (lower horn cut and recessed floyd rose bridge). Very late 7/8 bodies have the lower horn carved on both sides of the body - but that’s a topic for another day.

The first claw inlay necks with the 12th fret Kramer logo appeared in this F39xx range, and that’s what this guitar has. In fact, out of the hundreds of vintage Kramer’s I’ve cataloged over the years, this is the earliest factory serial number example I’ve seen of a claw neck. These necks were available all the way until the end of the Baretta in 1990.

For anyone interested, as an avid Kramer collector I do keep a catalog of Kramer serial numbers and guitars for sale, and reference the VK registry (which hasn’t been updated in a while - good thing too) along with archived forum posts and other resources. It’s fairly common for people to buy vintage Kramers and swap necks or sell other parts, so nothing is a sure thing anymore - it’s been 34+ years since any Kramer left the factory so who knows what could happen in that amount of time. I’ve done this myself, for example I swapped the maple neck from E8377 to my Deluxe E8192 - a relatively harmless change that is still completely period correct. However, there are people who don’t know or don’t care about period correct history so you have to watch out for things that are wildly off - and with Kramer, documentation was poor, catalogs didn’t reflect many changes or even whole models, warranty neck replacements and lots of other oddities and small batches mean that it’s a convoluted mess to collect these - plus the confusion attracts some bad actors who want to take advantage of the situation. There are some signs, patterns, and trends that can be tracked though - I can spot a modified guitar with great accuracy, unless the whole thing is exactly period correct in which case I don’t really care if a neck was swapped for another because there’s no difference - Larry Luthier could’ve grabbed either one in the factory on that day in 1987 depending on how many beers he’d had so why do I care now 40 years later exactly which neck it came out of the factory with. What does bother me is parts that are used way outside of serial range, for example a claw neck on a C-plate body or some other mismatch of parts that was never possible (ex. Pacer Deluxes were never available with claw necks or reverse headstocks from the factory).

Here’s the timeline for referencing these Baretta models. Remember that serial numbers are only a guideline, some were used out of order, one box pulled off the shelf first and so on, but it’s still a useful way to track feature changes.

  • C32xx first year non-tilt “Barettas” released, very few made and quickly changed (apparently EVH didn’t like these being sold). Based on a Pacer Special with Ibanez Destroyer-style headstock (modified from a beak headstock neck).

  • C45xx non-oversized non-tilt banana headstocks show up, not just on Barettas but rarely other models too

  • C55xx angled banana headstock shape appears along with “Baretta” model name in catalogs and flyers. Beak headstock still in use for most models at this time, but eventually all models used the Baretta-style banana headstock shape.

  • E0xxx Banana necks phased out for Pointy. Block logo, some missing “American” script on logo, some have one-piece or skunk-stripe construction before 3-piece necks introduced. Switch to Seymour Duncan pickups.

  • E2xxx to E6xxx recessed back plates

  • E68xx Baretta II introduced, uses large soloist body of the Pacer Custom

  • E9xxx Pyramid logo replaces block logo

  • E13xxx Recessed floyd routes appear

  • F4xxx Claw necks and Baretta I lower horn scoop introduced (the Baretta featured in this post falls into this area)

  • F45xx Soloist body guitars (Baretta II, Pacer Customs) get lower horn scoop

  • F54xx Soloist body downsized to 7/8 “dinky” body, collared floyd arms show up on production guitars

  • F94xx 7/8 body contours added to rear of both horns, similar to Proaxe

  • G0xxx Proaxe introduced, mahogany 7/8 contoured body plus angled neck plate, and change to 24 3/4 scale

Hopefully that helps clear some things up for other collectors. Thanks for reading.

More photos available here

New Amp: Hughes & Kettner Triamp Mk 1

This is another amp I occasionally look for because I suspect it would be an amazing bang for the buck snag, especially with the current Mk 3 Triamp retailing for a whopping $4400. In contrast, Mk 2’s are hovering in the $1300 range and this old Mk 1 only ran me about $650. In particular I was waiting to find one that had either the original footswitch or the MSM-1 Midi controller installed - well I really lucked out because this particular one came with both!

It’s in pretty good condition all around, and it is a very heavy amp with a lot of tubes. These were available with either a quad EL34 or quad 6L6 power section - mine has EL34’s. The preamp contains 8x 12AX7 tubes, plus another 12AX7 phase inverter - so 13 tubes total. The only amp with more that I own are Mesa Triple Rectifiers, with 14 total tubes, though there’s a lot more in the power section there. Interestingly, the Fender Super-Sonic 100 also has 13 total tubes.

The previous owner did replace the back panel with a nicely cut piece of wood, which has the reverb tank attached to the back - this is normal for Mk1 Triamps, though the original back plate would’ve been a metal grate. I’ve never seen another amp mount the reverb tank this way, and the RCA cables go directly into the rear panel of the amp, where a master reverb control sits. I found the reverb to sound very good, although this is an aftermarket tank so I can’t comment on the factory configuration - but usually a bad reverb has to do with the circuit more than the type of tank itself in my experience. The drawback is that with a single mix control, it’s difficult to dial in reverb to your liking for cleans or light crunch tones without ending up with too much on your higher gain tones.

This is effectively a six channel amp as well, so it does make a few sacrifices in getting you there. These channels are separated into 3 “Amps,” where they have separate gain controls but shared EQ and master volume controls. I was pleasantly surprised at how closely matched the volume levels were between channels, but there are some issues especially on “Amp 1,” which is the cleaner side of things.

Amp 1’s two channels, A and B, are voiced noticeably apart. “A” is much brighter and spankier, but gets a very nice dirty tone with the gain turned up too. The drawback is that “B” is a bit darker and fuller sounding, so that shared master volume can be a problem here if you prefer two gain extremes - for example, using B as a crunch tone with the gain up and A for a very clean sound is not really workable in a live situation. With the controls near noon, they are closely volume matched though.

Amp 2’s channels follow the same basic voicing - “A” is brighter while “B” is darker and fuller. Both have similar amounts of overdrive available, and it seemed like anything but the most extreme settings kept the volume very close between them. This is definitely a British crunch inspired channel and the extra voicing/gain control is great for going from a rhythm or lead sound in that classic rock crunch realm.

Amp 3 changes things up a bit, with “A” being a bit of a “super crunch” channel (I’m hesitant to call it high gain, in the modern sense), while “B” is a much more saturated sounding high gain sound. It’s not really brighter or darker than A - maybe a little more hair on top - but a lot more gain available than A has even with A’s gain maxed out (which is still very tight feeling, impressive). Amp 3B definitely scratches my itch for instant gratification, it sounds and feels great to play, is voiced in a way that sounds great through both my V30’s and G12T75’s even with the EQ controls at noon, and gets saturated enough for classic metal tones and other heavier styles. It does not get nearly as saturated as many modern high gainers - this is no Diezel Herbert or Peavey 5150 kind of sound, it is much more polite than that. It also keeps it together a bit more, with less lows and extreme highs compared to something like a Rectifier or V-EQ’d Mark. I’d put it squarely in the more classic high gain territory and I’d prefer to use a boost on either A or B mode if I needed a more modern heavy sound. That doesn’t make it any less great sounding for what it does.

Here is the factory 7-button footswitch, which allows switching of any of the 3 “amps” and their A/B modes on the fly. The last button is for the effects loop, and this does not affect the Reverb - too bad. I figure they may as well have just done 8 switches so I could turn the Reverb off, and that single knob is a big limitation as I mentioned before. I haven’t used the MSM-1 yet, but I do wonder if the Reverb can be turned on/off via MIDI, which might solve the issue.

Interestingly, the Triamp Mk2 gives up its Reverb completely, so I figure others had the same complaints that I do about it. Personally I’d rather have the Reverb than not though, so while I haven’t played a Mk2, I’m very happy to have this Mk1. From what I’ve read, the Mk2’s main changes are related to the balance between Amp 1 A/B and Amp 2 A mode, so I wonder if that amp fixes my complaints about the volume differences when playing Amp 1 dirty. The Triamp Mk3 version solves that issue entirely by being a true 6-channel amp, where all channels/modes have separate gain, volume, and EQ controls, plus a noise gate. Apparently the Mk1 is more reliable as well, but that’s all hearsay - and judging by the very complicated looking internals of this amp, I’m sure it’d be a complicated amp to fix if something did go wrong.

Tangentially, these original Triamps came paired with a 4x12 cabinet that contained a quad of UK-made Celestion G12M25 Greenback speakers. I actually bought one of these cabinets earlier this month, but sadly the original speakers were all gone and replaced with some generic garbage so I had to return it. I’ve seen a handful of these Greenback equipped 4x12’s floating around in the $400-500 range, which these days is an absolute steal for that set of speakers, if they are still present. Eventually I’ll find one for myself, but I think it’s also worth noting that the original design of this amp was to be used with Greenbacks. I think that says a lot about why it excels so much in some of the more classic crunch and metal sounds. In contrast, the matching cabinet for the Mk2 switched to the more common V30 speaker, and the matching Mk3 cabinet is a H&K made speaker - no more celestions.

Overall, a really great sounding amp with great features.

More photos available here

New Amp: Rivera Knucklehead K-Tre

There are few groups of amps that are perpetually on my list to buy, with the end goal of eventually trying and comparing them all. One of those is the Rivera Knucklehead series, which started with a two channel amp which was more of a “Fender Clean + Slightly Gainier JCM800” kind of thing, back when that was a more novel idea. Next came the 3-channel Knucklehead Reverb, famously used on a handful of metal albums but most notably on Slipknot’s first few records, and sporadically since - this resulted in the KR7 Mick Thomson signature amp, which is the version that I own. Generally speaking I don’t like “signature” stuff, but I couldn’t refuse the price of the KR7 - but I’d have preferred a standard KR100.

While the 3-channel KR55 and KR100 amps were being produced, a new model called the “Knucklehead II” came out, which was a simpler design that was kind of a hybrd between the old and new Knuckleheads. The II had a fender-like clean channel, but instead of a crunch channel, the second channel of the II was an all out high gain monster. This amp seems to be pretty unpopular - someday I’ll find out for myself.

Then came this amp - the K-Tre. This is clearly based on the II, with the same headshell size and a nearly identical front panel. I didn’t realize quite how old these amps are - this one dates from 2006. The modern K-Tre Reverb is again another very similar amp, just adding a spring reverb single control for it, and that version is still available brand new today. In fact, according to the Rivera website at the time of writing, even this non-reverb K-Tre is still available, but I couldn’t actually find one for sale anywhere (whereas the K-Tre Reverb is readily available in stock at Sweetwater and other retailers).

Most chatter online is that the reverb and non-reverb K-Tre amps sound different from each other, with a few comments that the Reverb version is more aggressive and modern sounding. I have to wonder if this is a case where there were some circuit revisions along the way, so comparing a 2024 K-Tre vs a 2024 K-Tre Reverb would likely sound identical, but obviously comparing a 2006 K-Tre vs a 2024 K-Tre Reverb would sound quite a bit different because it has nearly 20 years of voicing, design, or part revisions since then.

I also think it is interesting that the Knucklehead II is considered one of the “bad ones.” It looks the same as the Tre, but the II has even more tonal shaping options - a master volume for the clean channel, and the gain channel has pull switches on all 3 EQ controls (Sweet, Scoop, and Bass Boost). The Tre’s (both my 2006 and current production) don’t have any pull controls on the gain channel. Not that more controls means better tone of course.

To make things even a bit more confusing, I’ve seen a Tre Reverb with a 1999 date code, but the earliest “II” I can find is from 2003. So I have to wonder if the “II” was designed to be an upgrade of sorts to the K-Tre models, but fell flat for whatever reason - voicing changes, or maybe the extra tweaking added by the pull controls just confused people. We guitar players are a fickle bunch, and plenty of amps have died unceremonious deaths due to “it’s complicated to dial in” perceptions even if the actual amp circuit and tone was identical to its predecessor (Peavey Butcher II comes to mind…).

So, convoluted history aside, this is a really awesome sounding amp. I find it unique sounding compared with the KR7, and definitely different than the Bonehead. The clean is no surprise - Rivera excellence - and the gain channel I’ve heard compared to a Mesa Rectifier which I can see, but the low end feels a lot different on the Rivera. It can get a little muddy if you aren’t careful with the Foundation control, but keep it in check and it tightens up nicely. Overdriven chords are extra chunky and it’s a little easier to play than the KR7, if that makes sense. It can do metal gain levels right out of the box, but a boost in front really helps keep that low end in check, so I wouldn’t pick this over say, a 6505 or Uberschall for the same basic type of sound. I’d actually put it in a very similar category to the Elmwood M90 I just picked up too, it’s an amp that has its own very unique voicing and sound, can do ultra high gain, but my favorite tones are somewhere in the “heavy crunch” territory, and I’d boost it for faster palm muted riffing. Now to try a II… and a Tre Reverb… and a K55…

More photos available here

New Amp: Elmwood M90

The first time I’d ever seen - or heard rather - an Elmwood was in an Ola Englund demo video (back when it was just “FearedSE”). I remember thinking it sounded awesome, added it to some metal playlist on my old youtube account, and promptly forgot about it for most of a decade.

But let’s face it, I have a lot of amps, so now it’s time to explore some of the more uncommon, less popular stuff. Sometimes that means quirky budget amps like last week’s Peavey Butcher, but this time, it’s this Swedish made monstrosity.

It’s a pretty small head, physically speaking, but plenty heavy with large and uniquely shaped transformers. This is the big brother to the Elmwood M60, and as far as I can tell the only difference between the two is that this M90 is a KT88/6550 equipped amp while the M60 sports a pair of either EL34 or 6L6 power tubes. Both have the same controls and features - two channels, each with drive/boosts, and a pair of master volumes. Later M60’s also have a pentode/triode standby switch for power tube operation - looks like the M90’s always operate in pentode mode.

This particular amp seems to have lived an interesting life - it was sold on Reverb over 8 years ago, and at that time it had the stock piano black plastic face panel. It was traded on TGP, this time with a new dark wood grained panel, behind a plexiglass front, and newly printed control names - before popping up again on Reverb in 2023 and then traded in to GC where I got it. It looks like they used the correct font, but they couldn’t replicate the “M90 Modena” logo that normally goes about the power and standby switches. Additionally, they misspelled “Drive” on both the channel 2 drive switch and drive amount controls - it’s a minor thing, but what a weird thing to screw up… why not just reprint?

Cosmetic issues aside, it’s a very good sounding amp. The clean channel is particularly exceptional, and adding the boost really feels great - a useful crunch setting without just sounding like a pedal, or some other sacrifice made to add some oomph to a channel that otherwise would prefer to be clean. The drive channel is very mids heavy, and can do heavier metal styles right out of the box with the boost engaged. This boost also seems to cut bass in just the right way, so it stays tight and focused just like using an external boost - I’d love to see a schematic on this one, and I’d be interested to know if this is a tube boost (I doubt it, I guess?) or a more pedal-like diode or opamp clipper.

This aggressive built-in boost with its adjustable control knob reminds me a little of a progenitor of the modern Driftwood amps. This Elmwood dates to somewhere around 2009, a solid 5 years before the first Driftwood amps came out. Of course that’s not to say that no one has ever put a tubescreamer-like circuit into an amp before or after this, just interesting the way it looks/feels on this amp.

This amp is no rectifier or 6505 clone that’s for sure though, for better or worse. That mids-forward sound, even when boosted, is always present. It’s a great amp for developing YOUR tone and sound, but it wouldn’t be my choice if I wanted to cover some classic Recto, Mark, 6505, or even Marshall sounds. I hate this cliche, but it truly is “kind of its own thing.” What this really means is that some people will just not like this amp, while others might love it - it’s more specialized than others in this category. I think it got a bit of a “metal” reputation, but I actually think the place it excels the most is in some crunchy modern hard rock, and I bet it would sound absolutely insane in stereo with a wider/scooped amp like the aforementioned Rectifiers.

More photos available here

New Amp: Peavey Butcher Series 2

I occasionally search for some of the older Peaveys hoping to get a good deal. Sadly I missed out on the days when VTM’s and 80s Butchers were $300 amps, and I still can’t seem to find an Ultra (teal stripe) for sale. Bravos and Triumphs are still pretty available though and those are great amps.

Anyway, I spotted this Butcher 2, with original footswitch and in mint condition. I remember when this amp came out, and at the time I was still playing my TSL most of the tone, so the idea of an amp with Clean + Crunch, but no Lead, just seemed like a straight downgrade. My view of amp tone was a lot simpler then…

So before pulling the trigger, I took another journey through past youtube demo videos - all of which seem absolutely terrible for this amp. Old marketing material barely seems to describe the amp beyond the catch-all terms like “versatile” and “brutal british tone.” At introduction in 2010, this amp was $1499 - at the time, this was a few hundred dollars more than a 6505, 6505+, or 6534+ (introduced alongside this Butcher). I can see why, if you wanted an EL34 flavored amp, and the 6534+ was introduced at the same time as a similar, 2-channel amp based on the provenance of the 5150/6505 series, you’d completely ignore the Butcher II - I know I did back then.

Taking a second look though, I was really missing you - we all were really. This is a USA made amp that is a nearly exact copy of two Marshall circuits, with a few mods that may as well be lifted straight from the Marshall or Metropoulos forums.

The clean channel is very close to the high treble channel of a 1987 or 1959 Marshall amp, with a 1n bright cap on the volume control (on this amp, the gain control for the clean channel). For reference, the 1987X uses a brighter 4n7 cap here, and the normal channel would just be the bright cap not there at all. The main change up from the Marshall is that in this case, the Gain control is located before the first gain stage, as opposed to a standard 1987/1959 where the gain (volume) control would be located between them. Two gain stages, cathode follower, and the tone stack also has the same values - mostly - except for a pair of 49k resistors in parallel with the mid pot - not sure what those do exactly so someone can fill me in there.

The crunch channel is our 2203/2204 copy, with 3 gain stages, including the exact same 10k cathode resistor on the second gain stage just like the Marshalls. The tone stack is identical on both channels of this amp - same slopes, pots, and cap values. What this ends up meaning is that you can jump from your “plexi” clean channel to your “800” crunch channel without any major upset in tone - it’s a smooth transition if you want it to be EQ’d that way. Great for classic rock.

Okay, so two amp clones packed into one, with a footswitch to go between them that’s great already. But remember there are some “mods” to talk about now!

Mod #1 Dual PPIMV’s, plus a standard MV on the clean/plexi channel: The most obvious addition, to me, is the addition of a pair of post phase inverter master volumes, that are also footswitchable. That alone is a huge plus - you can get your grind from the clean channel without needing the huge volumes a quad EL34 NMV amp would normally need to do that. The clean volume control is also a “mod” in a sense, it is a pre-PI master volume located after the tone stack - same place a stock one is located on a 2203, and the same place my personally modded 1987X has its master control. If you still want your NMV style goodness, simple turn the master and channel volume all the way up, and use the “gain” control to dial in your sound, just like you’d do on a real NMV Marshall. Of course I’m sure someone would complain if I didn’t mention that having those volumes in the signal path, even if fully opened, still places some load on the signal, and that turning down the PPIMV does not result in power tube overdrive - if you want those things, an attenuator or playing super loud are your only options. This amp provides an extremely usable compromise for most of us.

Mod #2 Punch Control: The next major mod is the “punch” control, which only works on the crunch (2203) channel. This punch control has 12 different settings, and the way it works is by changing the values of a cap and resistor on the cathode of the first gain stage. In short, selecting position “6” of the punch control (1 is all the way to the left, position 12 is all the way to the right), you have the stock value .68u of an unmodified Marshall 2203. Personally I’ve found this control to sound best in this “stock” position, but a notch or two left or right is really useful for fine tuning. I found it a bit too extreme at either end but that’s all personal preference, and admittedly with some different EQing, or a boost in front, that opens up a lot of options for this amp.

Mod #3 Built-in Boost: Both the clean and crunch channels have separate, footswitchable boosts. These are gain boosts - not volume. The crunch channel adds a switchable cap on the 2nd gain stage, which adds a lot of gain but does result in some looseness on the low end. The clean boost works in a similar way, but on the very first gain stage of that channel. I find these boosts to work really well in tandem with a bass-cutting tubescreamer type boost in front of the amp, but they are a little too muddy otherwise. That said, turning the punch control down and shaving some bass would probably tighten it up nicely, but you’d have a brighter rhythm/unboosted sound as a trade off. It’s not perfect but it’s definitely usable - this is the kind of thing that would just be hard wired on some boutique amp and no one would be any wiser, but this amp lets you have both your modded/boosted voice and the stock voice too.

Mod #4 Effects Loop: This is an easy one, but the amp has a series effects loop, which is tube buffered, and located after the EQ’s of each channel (including the channel volumes), but before the PPIMV’s. Technical details aside, this is a really effective way to set up a good loop and it sounds great so far with everything I’ve put through it, though I’m a relatively simple player when it comes to pedals.

Final Touches: I suppose these technically count as “mods” in some sense, but they are a little more “features” in a way. First is a half power switch, this is simply drops two power tubes from the circuit. The other is the “MSDI” function, which is a compensated line output using balanced XLR, taken off the speaker tap. It is simple but effective - it has a 3-way tone switch, a level control, and a very useful ground lift button.

I never thought I’d be writing so much about a relatively forgotten Peavey, but for the price and features it’s hard not to get excited about it. If I described an amp like this: “Authentic Marshall circuit clone, big transformers, switchable mods, simple controls, USA made” - you’d probably think I was talking about an expensive boutique amp, not an inexpensive Peavey. They aren’t very common, but if you happen to walk by one I’d highly encourage you to check it out, it’s a true sleeper hit.

Photos and schematic here

New Guitar: Kramer Pacer Special Rainbow Graphic

I have an huge soft spot for early 80s Kramers, and especially for those early graphic designs - geometric shapes, stripes, and patterns - as opposed to later graphics which are a little less abstract (waterfalls, planets, statue of liberty etc).

This particular guitar is one I put out a feeler for when I saw a very old picture of it - it was in the possession of a UK Kramer collector who I’d previously bought a snakeskin Baretta I from via eBay. Eventually it found its way to another UK collector who quite frankly, I hounded for a while hoping to buy it. He eventually listed it for sale but the price was a bit too high for me, and money was a little tight and I just never quite could pull the trigger on it. That sounds funny looking back through my previous gear acquisition posts but you have to understand - nearly everything I have bought on this site I bought because it was severely underpriced or I got a huge deal on it. I can count the number of things I paid full market price for on one hand… it’s just a lot easier for me to justify spending if I feel like I can flip something and at the very least break even (even if I don’t do much flipping!).

Anyway, I remember talking to my girlfriend around my birthday in April 2023 about this guitar, then again in Christmas 2023, and then lots of hemming and hawing before I finally was able to secure a reasonable deal, and better yet, one that she was going to buy for me as a birthday gift (now in April 2024). Yep - she’s a keeper, and same for the guitar!

I really love this graphic look, and the edges of the body also have an outline that follows the color gradient all the way around.

Since it’s a Pacer Special (single pickup), it also gets the show off the finish a bit since there’s more surface area on the face of the body. It has all of the other features I like about a Pacer Special from this era too - Schaller 2-in-1 pickup with coil tap, volume, and tone controls, plus a Floyd Rose bridge (although I’d kind of preferred to have a brass fulcrum trem, but that’s got to be hard to find). The neck is a very nice glossy C shape, with more traditional sized frets and is just a joy to play.

I’ve seen a few interesting variations of this graphic as well. Mine is the more common arrangement, with a red-yellow top half and blue-green bottom. However it also came in different orders - see the below picture of one that is yellow-green on top and red-blue on the bottom. I’ve also seen a Voyager with much, much wider striping and a very bold bordering line that ran around the entire body on the outside edge - I’ll see if I can find a picture of that an update this post when I do.

More photos here

Update 6/15/24 - Found it. See gallery below:

New Amp: Mesa Mark III Blue Stripe from 1989

Spotted this one online in the GC used section and figured it was worth a shot. It was described to include the footswitch, but no 1/4 cable, and fully working.

It arrived in decent condition, but with mismatched power tubes - it’s normal to have 2x EL34 and 2x 6L6 with these, but while the EL34’s are matched JJ’s, the 6L6’s are two different tubes. They still sound and play well, so I suppose no real complaints there.

My actual complaint is that the reverb does not work, and this wasn’t disclosed beforehand. I took a look at the basics - tubes and RCA connectors - all is connected properly but there’s just noise when turning up the reverb control on the amp’s front panel. In addition, it blew a preamp tube (cracked, white color above the getter) after a few hours of playtime. I phoned the store that sent me the amp and they gave me a run around, and after some pressing only refunded me the cost of the shipping (about $35). It’s still not worth returning the amp, as the price paid was very good for an otherwise fully working GEQ Mark III, but I can’t help but feel a little disappointed.

Either way, I’ll replace the reverb tank, which fails the continuity test and hopefully that’ll solve the problem there, and I’ve already replaced the blown tube at my own cost.

As for the sound of the amp, it’s wonderful, as expected. The “Blue Stripe” Mark III’s supposedly have the most aggressive lead channel, and I hear it. Someone before me also conveniently added a volume control on the rear panel for the Rhythm 2 mode, to better balance that with the other channels. Rhythm 2 is a fantastic sound as well, keeping the same feel as the Lead but with a little less hair and saturation - sounds amazing boosted, as an alternate texture to the built-in Lead channel.

I generally set the amp up the same way as my Mark IV - volume on 8, drive on 8, treble 10, mids 5, bass 2, and GEQ in a nice smile shape. This does make the cleaner Rhythm 1 mode get into break up with humbuckers, but it’s not too bad. Still, I can see why the Mark IV has a separate volume control for Rhy1 and Rhy2, since that’s effectively the gain control. In addition, this Mark III doesn’t have the output master of the IV, so there is no overall master volume, which makes it a little less flexible in channel switching situations. I solved this problem by placing a volume box in the loop for home practice, and removing that box brings the amp up to expected “gig volumes.”

I’m also enthralled with the pull deep function, especially on the lead channel. I can fine tune how bassy the tone is with the GEQ, but the deep drastically alters the feel of the low end when playing - much spongier, more saturated response, which I really like, especially for lead playing.

I can’t wait to do some more comparisons between this amp and my Mark IV and Mark V, especially on the Rhythm channels.

More photos here

New Amp: Splawn Pro Mod 2005

As a bit of a Splawn fan, I’ve made it my goal to try out all of the various circuits that Scott and his team have offered over the years. One of the harder ones to find are very early high/low input models, made from late 2004 to 2005, such as this one:

These early amps have two channels and no “gears” like later models. The clean channel is controlled with a simple volume knob only, and has no EQ or other frills. Still, it’s a very nice, usable and bright clean channel, and it doesn’t seem to be affected by the preamp gain setting on the overdrive channel - this is in contrast to the 2006 QuickRod where the clean is much dirtier when using higher gain settings.

This particular amp is actually a “Pro Mod,” which is identical to the Quick Rod except it sports a quad of KT88/6550 power tubes instead of the QR’s quad of EL34’s. This amp predates the KT88 equipped “Nitro” models, and documents from the era seem to imply that the Pro Mod is aimed a little more at louder, more aggressive styles and players. However, this is no super high gain metal monster - it has far less gain than Splawns 2006 and newer. The tone is a very open, less bright than a 2203, with a tad more gain and fullness - a bit more of a classic “modded Marshall” tone, while still staying faithful to the original sound. It is less congested in the mids than my other Splawns and really lends itself well to taking a boost in front, which really adds to its versatility.

It’s also interesting that this amp predates the more modern Splawn cabinet construction, and came in a shell that is much more similar to a Marshall 1959 type. While I’m a big fan of Splawn amps, I do think their head cabinets are their weakest point, based on how many I’ve received damaged in shipping, and this finger-jointed cabinet seems much more resilient.

These amps use Magnetic Components transformers (prior to the Classic Tone branding), although it has a Mercury Magnetics choke installed. By the next year, these transformers would be Heyboers instead, before eventually returning to Magnetic Components again.

Now I’m only missing two amps in the lineage. First, for a short time in late 2005, there were some QuickRod/ProMod models that had the high/low inputs, no gears, but the clean channel had a separate 3-band EQ. The other is a current production QR with the new/old and drop B+ switches - I’ve had a recent Street Rod (nearly the same as the QR preamp) but without those switches - I’d love to compare a current model in old mode against my original 2006 QR, which supposedly that mode is based on.

More photos here