Kramer guitar project

I’ve wanted a maple fretboard Kramer for a long time, but they are few and far between in the “pointy” era (86-90). After I happened across a nice sustainer body on reverb for too low of a price to pass up, I had visions of a chance to do a graphic finish and a maple board.

I lucked out and snagged a fairly beaten maple neck from Craigslist (thanks Joe!). Someone had tried to lacquer the neck and didn’t do the best job, but structurally it is in perfect shape. I personally like lacquered necks as opposed to satin or oil finishes, but this one looks to be lightly brushed on and has a few bumps along the back. I think when I have the time, I’ll do some sanding and apply some more lacquer to smooth it out, then it will be perfect.

Since I don’t have the sustainer circuitry, I picked up a GFS Modboard that’s a switchable wah or midboost. I haven’t heard it yet, but with so many free holes for switches I wanted to put something in. I’m hoping I can get a similar sound to my Charvel Spectrum’s JE-1500.

At the moment, the bridge pickup is a Gibson Dirty Fingers, which I’ve never had before - and it sounds fantastic. My neck pickup is eventually going to be a Dimarzio PAF Pro, but the one I bought used has larger holes than I have screws for right now so I just left it empty for now. 

Stay tuned as I add the rest of the parts and get to work on the finish. Really excited about how this is going to turn out!

New Amp: Mesa Mark IV

A while back, I listed my Marshall TSL for sale online. At the time, I was enjoying the 6100LM more and figured it made sense to sell it off if I wasn’t using it. Thanks to a number of interested and chatty folks I met on Reverb, I learned some new settings and grew to love the amp again, so I took the sale down. However, one person was interested in a trade for a Mark IV combo amp - which didn’t go through as he was able to sell it for cash first. While researching the trade, I started to really like the Mark IV tones and thought it would be great to have especially since it would be so different from my mostly Marshall-like collection so far.

Fast forward a few months and I found a Mark IV Medium head for a really great deal and picked it up. I specifically wanted the Medium head so that the “lead voicing” switch was on the front panel. I’m really a tweaker at heart and though I would use that switch with enough frequency plus the medium head is a better platform in case I had to place another head on top.

This is a killer amp - the high gain tones are super tight and articulate, and even sounds great boosted. Throwing a light chorus and reverb in the loop can get tones very close to Whitesnake’s 1987 album tones (even though they used a Mark III), and of course it can nail those modern metal tones such as Lamb of God.

Dialing this amp is a steep learning curve, and I understand now why players come back with such conflicting reviews on the Mark series amps. Their EQ is situated much earlier in the circuit, right after the input gain stage. This is very different to the usual Marshall style post-EQ that most high gain amps employ. On the Mark, you really need to bring up the treble control to maximum, keep the bass low to avoid flubbiness, and use the graphic EQ to shape the sound you want in the room. The idea of maxing out the treble control on a Marshall style amp is totally alien, but it sounds fantastic with this style of circuit.

Caps in this unit date to 1997, and it came equipped with 2x 6L6GC and 2x EL34’s, which sound great to me.

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New Amp: Marshall 6100LM... again

I was so thrilled with my 6100LM that I spotted another one for a very low price on Guitar Center’s used lisings, so I pulled the trigger. I figured I could keep whichever one I liked better and sell the other and pocket a few bucks along the way. This unit dates from 1995 and has the same 5881 power tubes as my 1997 model.

Turns out, this one has been modified - and poorly. Channel 1 and 2 feel about the same, but channel 3, the most exciting part of the 6100LM to me, has far less gain and less fullness. Looking inside, there is some shoddy soldering on the lead PCB and I didn’t take the time to investigate further as I’m able to return this amp for 45 days no questions asked.

New Amp: Marshall 6100LM

Finally added another Marshall to the collection! This time another 3 channel one, and from around the same era as my TSL. This one dates from 1997, very late in the production run of these 6100LM’s and is equipped with 5881 power tubes.

I’m very happy with this amp and it barely steps on the toes of my TSL. It does cover some of the same ground, but the tones of this model are definitely more classic sounding than the TSL, especially the crunch channel, though it sadly lacks the TSL’s great spring reverb.

The most exciting part of this amp for me is the “LM” lead channel - I thought the TSL had a good amount of gain but really felt best boosted with the gain rolled down. This 6100LM needs no boost to achieve the same level of gain - especially with the mid boost switch pressed in. Channel 2 is also capable of a similarly massive amount of gain with both switches in (Mode C), though it lacks the mid boost ability. Also usable on channel 3 is a “contour” switch, which shifts the mid frequencies and scoops some of it out. While I don’t usually use the contour switch, my first impression is that with that switch in and the gain turned up can get very brown sounding, and could probably do a great impression of the Unchained riff.

New Guitar: Charvel Model 4 Cobalt Blue

I grabbed this one online from Guitar Center’s used section, and it did not come with the pictured case - sadly it was very poorly packed, basically the guitar in a cardboard box with no bubble wrap or any protection whatsoever. When it arrived, the edge of the body where your elbow would was cracked through the finish and causing the thick paint to life off in a big chunk. The bridge had also slipped off its studs, but luckily the knife edges didn’t take too much damage. So, another great guitar marred by yet another terrible GC packing job - I can’t even blame UPS for this one as there’s not much they could’ve done. In fact, I’d have to commend UPS for not breaking the headstock or even chipping it - besides the damage from the body moving side to side, once I repaired the bridge and cleaned it up, there were no other issues to speak of and I was able to start playing immediately. For the time being, I’ll put a tiny line of clear nail polish over the edge of the paint so it doesn’t lift any further but I’ll have to contact GC and see if they can cover some of the repair cost… or perhaps this one will get returned, at this price.

Sour notes about shipping aside, this is a beautiful deep blue color and has the same features as my grey Model 4 I picked up last year. The JT-6 trem and JE-1200 mid boost circuit offer great tones, and I really love the inlays on this neck. There’s something special about this neck, it’s just really well put together and a great player.