New Guitar: 1987 Robin Medley

I picked up this early Robin recently for a great deal. I’ve been on the lookout for some early Robins - I really have the hots for an RH-1 or RH-2 right now (early Tokai made models) but for now, this ESP-made Medley will have to do. The body shape is a bit smaller than USA made Medleys that came later, but this has the same cool reversed-pointy headstock as those, painted black as was the style of the time, with a bold white logo.

Despite the body having a rear trem spring route, these guitars came stock with a Kahler 2700 series tremolo mounted on the top, similar to ‘86 Charvel model series guitars. It’s quite strange to have the trem route and see the underside of that Kahler bridge but it doesn’t get in the way at all - just unique. This is my first 2700 bridge and I like the ease of adjustment to saddle height and even string spacing it allows without too much effort, unlike a double locking bridge.

The pickups sound great, although the bridge humbucker appears to be wired in parallel instead of series - and attached to a push-pull coil tap on the tone pot (probably not factory). After moving around a few wires, it’s back in action and sounding as full as ever. The pickups are Japanese made OEM pickups - not any familiar Dimarzios or Duncans to compare to, but it’s very middy and high output as expected for a more “shred” oriented guitar like this one.

The neck also shares the same 3-piece maple configuration as Kramer necks of the time (also made by ESP) but this one is well worn in and not as glossy - but it’s hard to say if there was any difference since I don’t have any other Robins from this era to compare to. Either way, a great feeling neck with a familiar shape to me as a Kramer collector and a great change of pace with the Kahler bridge. I hope to find a few more to add to the collection!

New Amp: VHT Pittbull 45

Recently, I’ve been trying to get rid of combo amps and focus more on heads. With my studio setup, it’s easier to collect and stack the heads and just run long speaker cables to a cab positioned by my mics than move around combos - so one amp I never thought I’d own is a Pittbull 45. When this head popped up on Guitar Center’s used section, I jumped on it - only 165 or so head versions were ever made of this amplifier.

This one dates from 1996 and is actually amp #0007 made - James Bond would be proud (even if it has an extra zero). This means it’s very early in the run and uses an EL84 powered spring reverb circuit - very cool. It is definitely one of the most lush and amazing sounding reverbs I’ve heard in an amp but it has one major drawback - it clearly affects the tone when engaged, even if the mix is turned down. Luckily it’s footswitchable but there is enough of a volume and tone change I think it’d be hard to really make the best of live. I’m just recording at home and can work around it no problem - but it’s no surprise to see that later Pittbull 45’s had a revised tube reverb circuit powered by an EF86 tube - likely similar to my 50/CL’s EF86 tube reverb.

In addition to the EL84 for the reverb, this amp is powered by a quad more EL84’s (for 5 total) and sports a 5AR4 tube rectifier. The feel of this amp, especially the clean channel, is just plain inspiring. Later models had a Class-A mode switch on the rear but this particular amp is restricted to Class-AB. I would love to play one of these in A mode but I really find it hard to believe it could get much better than this.

The drive channel is much less like the modern VHT/Fryette tone you might expect - it’s warm, bright, and full with incredible touch sensitivity. With the gain rolled down, the footswitchable “boost” has a more pronounced effect too - great for punchy solos or even enough gain for classic metal. This is a pretty stark contrast to my 50/CL which can hit metal tones right off the bat, and adding the boost is only a small push further. That amp is also far darker and tighter - still one of my all time favorite tones - but certainly less capable of accurately portraying some classic rock tones.

One other surprise is that this amp is VERY loud, and hard to tame. There is no overall master volume unlike my 50/CL (which sounds great even at low volumes), only the channel volumes which really only open up in the first quarter turn - which is quite loud at that point. Luckily, squeezing a volume box into the FX loop makes it much more manageable and keeps the volume tamed for home recording just fine.

I’m not sure exactly what I expected from this amp but the lower gain and brighter tone really blew me away - another one of those “best kept secrets” and probably an amp very few would realize makes such a perfect vintage rock machine (especially with the “Pittbull” line being mostly considered to be “metal” amps). I can’t wait to find even more tones in this one.

New Video: Jet City JCA22 Review

A quick run through of this Jet City amp, in this case the 22 watt 1x12 Combo, but shares the same basic design and circuit as the JCA50/100 models. This amp punches well above its weight especially for the price, and the EQ section feels very interactive and can get you a wide range of tones. Additionally, the simple design makes it a great platform for modding so if there is a tone you can’t get stock, you can probably get it through modding, and it’s also a great amp to learn some simple mods and circuit changes on.

New Video: Kramer Flip Flop Colors Comparison

I thought it’d be cool to just quickly show the differences between the four Kramer “flip flop” finishes in the same room, with the same lighting. Especially FF Pink and FF Red seem to get confused a lot, and FF White is barely indistinguishable from faded white and cream colored Kramers so I wanted to show how they are different.

New Video: Kramer Nightswan Reissue Review

Here’s my video talking about the current production (2020+) Kramer Nightswans and comparing them both to vintage Swans as well as other models in the current Kramer lineup. I really think this was close to being an excellent offering but just fell short due to small details, like the nut width and lack of a Full Shred pickup in the bridge position. Those changes would’ve brought it in line spec wise to the real ones and I would be much more likely to buy more of them if that were the case.

New Guitar: 83 Kramer Pacer Imperial with bare/oil neck

Finally caved and picked this up on Reverb after seeing the price drop a few times. I definitely splurged on this one a bit, but based on the color and neck, it was just something I had to have.

And I don’t regret it one bit, this is an exceptional instrument. The neck is a bare/oiled finish and in truly incredible shape - not a nick on the back or anything (that always bugs me). The body is a gorgeous color greenish blue, and it kind of changes color a bit in the light which looks really awesome - hard to see in pictures. Overall it’s in great shape and has all of the original parts, bridge, pickups - nothing missing. It’s very rare that I get a guitar and it doesn’t need some kind of setup or restoration but other than a quick adjustment to the neck (due to a bump it took in shipping, not anything with the guitar itself), I was up and playing this guitar as soon as I got it - nothing extra needed.

And wow is that color a looker - and the original case and warranty card too! This is definitely one of my top guitars now, and it more than deserves to be in the top few of anyone’s collection.

This is also the same kind of neck replicated for the 2008 Pacer Imperial reissues made by Gibson in Nashville TN. Originally, they based the neck on those guitars on a sample ‘83 imperial sent to them with a rosewood neck and oil finished back - just like this one. I generally prefer the glossier necks but I have to say, this neck feels very special and it is easy to see why so many guitar players from this era fell in love with this style of neck (whether from Kramer, Charvel, Jackson, or others).

New Video: Kramer Focus 2000 Review + Collector's Guide

In this video I play the only Focus I still own and talk about some of the feature changes over the years and just how great they are in terms of bang-for-buck. Especially the beak models like this one, the neck feels nearly identical to the USA Pacers of the same era, which makes sense because both model’s necks were made by ESP in Japan.

New Guitar: 1987 Ibanez 540P with rare Maple Neck

I saw this pop up for sale on Christmas Eve and even though I’m trying to reduce my spending, I couldn’t help but get myself a little gift. I have really grown to love these early Ibanez 540 series guitars, but I was missing two things - a 540P, or “Power” model, and one with the exceedingly rare maple fretboard. Well, I checked two things off of my list with one purchase with this guitar!

It arrived just before New Year’s and I was thrilled - it’s a great player, sounds good, and in overall pretty good condition. The body shape is very interesting, and it looks much more rounded on the back. It suffers from the same problem as a Tele when playing it seated, it does dig into your chest just a little bit but it does have a cutout so it’s perfectly comfortable when standing. The contouring around the body is truly inspired and unique - this is a model I wish they had continued making.

The maple fretboard is of course, everything I dreamed it would be. The back of the neck is extremely smooth, there is some very pretty quartersawn grain, and the board itself is nice and smooth without being too glossy.

As with any guitar this great though, now I want another one! That will be a tall order though, there can’t be many 540P’s with maple fretboards around!

New Guitar: 1988 Kramer Pacer Custom 2 Holoflash

I know I already have a Holo-Crackle Pacer, but I saw this one and found it particularly enticing. It is an aftermarket holoflash job, as the serial number is slightly too early for this finish, and you can ever so slightly feel the texture of the holoflash film on the top (factory holoflash jobs were under enough clear coat that it feels perfectly smooth). That said, it looks great and is a pro job, so I’m pleased.

Another stand out from this one is the neck - I’ve had 12th fret inlay necks many times, but this one is in really tip top condition and as such the guitar plays beautifully. The factory pickup combination of JB + SSL-5’s also sound great, as expected, which makes this a great guitar to just pick up and rock out while looking really awesome.