Satriani with Surfing with the Alien Pacer

[Midnight_Highway]

Hi guys,

Recently someone posted al vid of Satch holding his "Surfing" Pacer--and though he's basically slamming Kramer in the video, it's a cool (and rare) sight. I can't seem to find it, can someone post the link if they know what I'm talking about? :)

Thanks doods.

George

[PacerPete]

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[KramerUK]

Didn't see that last time around, good to see him talk about it, strange that he found it wouldn't stay in tune though :sctratchhe

He must have still be taking out when he started with Ibanez, otherwise why scrub the logo, and he must still have a soft spot for it, just look at his white JS Sig :)

[Midnight_Highway]

Thanks Pete, that's the one. :thumbsup
Yeah kind of sucks he is hatin' on the Kramer... But it's kind of true, some of the early Pacerd were kind of hit or miss. :)

[Louie Music]

Looks as if Joe got a bum Kramer, which is a shame because if he had picked whichever one next to it hanging on the wall, he might have got a real winner that would have made him love Kramer.

Either way this is a damn cool thread and video.

Thanks for sharing! :thumbsup

[Midnight_Highway]

Yup, you're right on the money Louie. If only he'd gotten a "good" Kramer. Artists would get the good stuff direct from the NJ factory, looks like Joe got a bum Pacer in a Guitar Center..

[KramerUK]

From the sound of it, it was down to price at the time, midnight blow out, young guitarist who wanted a double hum 25.5 scale.
And its interesting hear it had a non fine tuner on there to start with

[Midnight_Highway]

It's a really early one for sure Paul, check out the exaggerated Gumby shape too. :thumbsup

[moku]

well, we should archive this rare vid, for it's own sake, but maybe we can consider taking it off this thread. it doesn't do good for kramers if we're trying to promote it, no? the pacer he's got was a bad one, so should we widely disseminate this to the world?! :brow

[brokrguy]

Let me sum up Joe's comments:

This Kramer Pacer sucks
It won't stay in tune for 5 seconds
The body is cracked, the neck plate is warped
The Pacer sounds like shit - no sustain and no tone
Kramer only succeeded because they came out with a 25.5 scale HB guitar like EVH's

I did like this thing I could do with this "dead" trem bar, though...:D

Now tell us what you think of your Peavey amps, Joe, and throw them under the bus, too...

:thumbsup

[Vengeance]

Kinda funny actually.

I've never been a big fan of his guitars so :P

[DethConsumer]

Did you see the neckplate on that thing! Hahhahah! Oh Man!:D

[mmmtacos]

Well, let's see. The neckplate is warped............hmm....how'd that happen unless you cranked the screws down unevenly - You suppose that had anything to do with it getting a crack in the body?...............:whistle

[Kostas Dee]

:D
Hey Joe why dont you give it to me man,i kinda love it that thing.. :lol

What a great player..:urock

[Toca]

Gosh, makes me wanna send him a nice pacer just to rectify his impression. Similar thing here in Croatia. Only Kramers that were sold in stores in the late 80's were overseas 100 series. So when I speak about Kramers with some "experienced" players, rarely any of them think of Kramers as "serious" guitar company.

[Midnight_Highway]

The reason the neckplate is warped, this would happen if you didn't remove the rubber gasket before tightening up. Here's one of mine with this problem. :)
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_QubetTjZ7dw/SuyobkXg3vI/AAAAAAAAEk4/czqqPvI8pU0/s800/IMG_1091.JPG

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_QubetTjZ7dw/Suyocc2VTxI/AAAAAAAAEk8/AdQff32vgw4/s800/IMG_1092.JPG



I agree with you guys, if only he had a "good" Kramer, I think it would've blown away these Ibanez's he endorses. :strat :strat

I think it's hilarious though, he slams the Pacer but he did record the most important album of his career with it. :) So I take it with a grain of salt, I think it's still an important record of Kramer in there. Heck, even Lynch and EVH badmouthed Kramer at one point or another. Kind of cool to see. :lol

I wonder if there's more to it though, he took the Kramer decal off the headstock, so clearly he played the guitar even after it was no longer "cool" or after he had other endorsements.

[JGB]

I'm a little surprised he isn't more sentimental about the guitar. There was a guitar player or guitar world article within the past year or so about what he used to record Surfin' with the Alien and there was some time devoted to the Pacer.

[styxer06]

comical to say the least.
all i know is My Krapper Kramer stays in tune all year while dropped out of an airplane into dirty snowbanks in 40 below weather......well maybe not ALL year long... but...:D

[styxer06]

also its funny seeing this and my friend has a S470 and I had to keep setting up and tuning it for him. old school fixed bridge guy. he did get a nightswan and i havent had to touch it.
Jim

[pel666]

I don't think he is dissing Kramer, he is stating the facts on the Pacer...what amazes me is that his guitar tech went over and over and over again on it to get it in better shape without too much success. I mean, the neck is obviously loose for a reason where I can imagine the extreme tightening of the neck screws also contributed to the warped neck plate. Add to that the fact he is using two very loose springs (look at the length of them to get the non fine tuning OFR level) it's no surprise it is not stable enough for touring. Indeed, Kramer missed the boat there...not having supplied Satch a follow up model with the improved OFR.

Give me half a day, and I'd get that puppy up and running like never before :whistle

[KramerUK]

You know what, I'm guessing he is in fact very sentimental about that Pacer, after all why keep it all these years ;)

[telesc3]

It's a shame that that he's dissin Kramers. It would have been great if he had gotten his hands on a good one. But i have to ask. With who he is don't you think he could have gotten a different Kramer to try?

[Fopasko]

his guitar tech must SUCK!!

[R_SK]

Shame to see that he got a bum Pacer. But I'm sure he could still play the hell out that thing.

[Rick S]

When Joe got that guitar he was a normal everyday guy. A nobody. Why would Kramer give him a guitar at that time?:scratchhe On Surfing he used the Pacer for a couple of songs. I don't blame him for not liking Kramer. Cripes, Kramer was a mess with QC. That Pacer is a completly different guitar than his JS line. Overall IMO the JS is a way WAY better guitar.

[hunter008]

way to trash it joe.hey at least he's honest about what he didn't like about it.but it does sound like he got a bum kramer.too bad he didn't get a better 1. never heard of his band the squares,wonder what they sounded like.

[kramerpacer]

"not a very good guitar"? I got a couple Kramer Pacers from that era (B series) that'll smoke any Ibeenhads he has, tone or otherwise, guaranteed. :)