In this GP Classic interview from July 2007, Joe Satriani talks about what went into making his album "Surfing with the Alien" as well as his magic trem on his Kramer guitar.
I was an absolute Eddie Van Halen fanatic around 1984-1988. No one could come close to him, as far as I was concerned ( in terms of tone and composition). Then. . . that all changed when I bought Joe's album, " Surfing With The Alien. " I still love Eddie but Satch really opened my ears to even more unique playing methods.
Thanks for posting this. 1st time I've gotten a good look at the Kramer Pacer. It would be so cool if Joe ever did a deep dive into the guitars he's used over the years.
It's quite an eye opener to realize that all of his magic gear and endorsements didn't come along until after he made his first two (and most iconic) records.
I like that story of that last guitar. I have three(maybe 4 or 5) guitars like it. All are completely different makes and models but each have their own character and still play them, when they let me. I have Mother Goose(acoustic/electric cutaway), with it's loose, wobbly neck. I'm continually adjusting the truss rod because it slips out now and again. I've felt like throwing it(I have more than once, never too hard to damage it). But when it's in it's sweet spot it plays and sounds like no other. There's no room to get into Sally(Yamaha SGB????), Frankie(Custom/homemade unique electric my late cousin/guitar brother Russell picked up in Concord). I need to get some pics and post it on fb & twitter..
IIRC it's a parts Strat possibly, Boogie Bodies parts. His wife Rubina painted it. I read an interview where he said that it had a Duncan '59 in the neck and a Custom or Custom Custom in the bridge, and that he used it to record Echo.
Personally i dont like that pacer, i just hate the headstock and soo on, i just dont like that version, but kramer did the pacer custom series with oversized soloist bodies and other super strats like stagemasters, barettas, liberties and many more U.S series with pointy headstocks.
that white guitar is basically a cheap one available to anyone back in the 80s. certainly not the very expensive ibanez models he plays now. yet look what he created with that thing. also, a lot of people may not know that the entire surfing album was recorded for just $13,000. on two of those kramers, the white one seen here and another one, same model. he switched pickups between songs to get the sounds he wanted, used a boss drum machine on all songs except satch boogie because he could not afford to pay a drummer for all songs.
you’re leaving out a guitar that he used on surfing, he had a hardtail partscaster that was according to him a “boogie bodies strat” with a maple body and ebony board neck. According to joe he would swap out pickups with that guitar depending on what they were doing in the studio
I think maybe Ibanez is paying Joe to slam the Kramer...or it's in his contract or something. Not of This Earth and Surfing were the best tones he's ever had IMO.
