I don’t often visit the listings on MusicGoRound, but I do check occasionally and happened to spot this one - I’m guessing before anyone else did because it was very fairly priced. It arrived without a case but very safely packed (Guitar Center could use a lesson from these guys) and really great condition. This came from the Kenosha WI location, so top marks to them.
This is a fairly unique and uncommon model that only existed in the early wood-neck Kramer era, only made from 1982-1983. Most of the ones I have seen are similar to this example, although they were technically available in other color combinations almost all of them are cream colored bodies with red tortoise pickguards, and this is the second one like that I’ve had. My first one (an earlier serial number) has a maple fretboard and oil finished neck, but this one has a rosewood board and glossy lacquer - just enough of an excuse to keep both!
The key feature of “The Pacer” models is the pickguard and triple single coil pickup arrangement, and all of these models came with gold/brass hardware and the Rockinger bridge. Very early examples have the Strat style “P” headstock shape, but most of these will have the beak shape as they came out later than the more common Pacer models like the Imperial or Special. There is a late “The Pacer” in the 1983 catalog which sports chrome hardware and an Original Floyd Rose, and by this time the Pacer Deluxe also existed with its black pickguard, many more color options, and H-S-S pickup layout. I have never seen another “The Pacer” equipped with a Floyd besides the one in the catalog. Interestingly, these models also used 11-hole pickguards, while the later Pacer Deluxes used the “vintage” 8-hole guards (which Fender only used from 1954-1959, excepting reissue/signature models).
There are a few changes from stock on this one. First, all of the fine tuners on the Rockinger have been replaced, which is too bad - those screws are impossible to find, though it is pretty minor. Next is the removal of the Rockinger locking nut, replaced with a standard string tree. If I happen across a Rockinger string lock I’ll restore it, but they are nearly impossible to find and objectively a downgrade so I’m not too fussed about it. Last, the knobs would’ve been gold or brass metal dome knobs, but this one has more standard strat-style knobs, and it’s been rewired to be volume/tone/tone (it originally would’ve been vol/vol/tone, though with 3 pickups I can see why a master volume makes more sense).
Speaking of wiring, the pickups have also been swapped out for a full set of Adder Plus Corporation single coils, which was a small boutique pickup maker based in Illinois that operated from roughly 1988 until 2009. Here is the archive of the Adder Plus website for some more information on these pickups. The ones in this guitar are called APC “Slicker Blues,” have 1993 date codes, and patent pending text (later ones I’ve seen for sale have patent numbers listed). I will say these are fantastic sounding pickups and I really like them, a little hotter than a standard single but not overly raspy or thin, and the middle is reverse wired for hum cancelling in positions 2 and 4. These were apparently designed by Mel Lace after his brother “half stole” the design for the Lace Sensor pickups which Fender used in the late 80s Strat Plus (first year 1987). Later, Lace separated from Fender and became a whole operation still in business today offering much more than just single coils. I’m sure there is an interesting story to dig up there but I’m just happy with the way they sound and I’ll leave it at that.
Great guitar and very pleased with it - time to find it a nice hard case to live in when it’s not being played.