Kauer Guitars Super Chief
The Kauer Super Chief makes its channel debut — and it is an absolute dream machine. Welcome back to Edge of Breakup.
In this episode the Kauer Guitars Super Chief takes center stage — outfitted with a Lollar Firebird Neck and Lollar Mini-Humbucker Bridge, into the Benson Amps Monarch with the Benson Amps Germanium Preamp, Caroline Guitar Company Arigato Phaser, and Echo Fix EF-X3 Chorus Echo.
🎸 Kauer Guitars Super Chief: https://www.kauerguitars.com/instruments/super-chief
The Super Chief is Doug Kauer's personal favorite model in the Kauer lineup — a 15.5" wide semi-hollow with Kauer's proprietary I-beam internal construction, the largest body they build. The I-beam keeps the top and back from vibrating against each other while still allowing the chambers to resonate, producing a sound Doug describes as unrivaled in the lineup for clarity and punch. He has five of them himself, which says everything.
This particular build is a genuinely special configuration. Taos Turquoise on the front, natural back, sides, and neck — white body binding with tortoiseshell purfling. Maple top over roasted flame maple back with Spanish Mahogany core and neck. Wenge fretboard. Full specs:
Maple top / Roasted Flame Maple back / Spanish Mahogany core and neck. White binding with Tortoiseshell purfling. Taos Turquoise front finish, natural back/sides/neck. Standard C neck profile (0.86" at nut / 0.91" at 12th fret). 1.70" nut width. Wenge fretboard, 22 Jescar 47095NS frets, 12" radius. Keystone inlays. Sperzel Open-Backed Locking Tuners. Descendant bridge. Mastery Vibrato. Plek'd.
The pickup configuration is Kauer's signature Lollar Kauer Mini's setup: Lollar Firebird in the neck and a custom Lollar Mini-Humbucker in the bridge with a blank chrome faceplate — styled to look uniform from the front. The Firebird's mid-forward bark and the Mini-Humbucker's tighter, more articulate bridge character cover the full range of what the Super Chief's large semi-hollow body can do. The middle position blends them in parallel throughout the second half of the demo.
The Benson Amps Germanium Preamp is the sole gain source here — its servo-biased germanium transistor stage providing warmth and harmonic complexity from clean boost through edge-of-breakup. No additional fuzz or overdrive in the chain.
🎸 Kauer Guitars: https://www.kauerguitars.com
🎸 Lollar Firebird + Mini-Humbucker: https://www.lollarguitars.com/lollar-pickups
🔊 Benson Amps: https://www.bensonamps.com/guitar-amplifiers
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🎸 Kauer Guitars Super Chief | Taos Turquoise | Lollar Firebird (Neck) + Lollar Mini-HB (Bridge) | Mastery Vibrato | 15.5" Semi-Hollow | Plek'd
🎛️ Benson Amps Germanium Preamp | Servo-Biased Ge Stage
🎛️ Also: Caroline Guitar Company Arigato Phaser | Echo Fix EF-X3 Chorus Echo
🔊 Benson Amps Monarch
Recording: Universal Audio Apollo x4 | Lauten Audio LS-208 | Royer R10 & R121 | Sennheiser E906 | Ableton Live 11
