Best Cheap Shred Machines out there today...

[Phantasmagoria]

bar none ...are the new Kramers...



Seriously what's not to love?

Sound - Check (might need a pup swap at the most)

Playability - Check (They all play like butter...even the mega Cheap Baretta Special which is a seriously awesome guitar & not just for the price..)

Finish and setup - Check. (seriously good out of the box...pretty much flawless all of them)

Looks/finish - Check (Eh...... fk'n look at them!) \m/


Purple Baretta Special:

Purple Sparkle Pacer..

Green Striker..

Too bad I never got to play any of the originals from the 80's ...but these new ones totally KILL for a fraction of the cost of the original models,,

Share your thoughts :bigthumb:

 

[Mincer]

Kramers in the 80s really ended up being flooded with cheap imported plywood models that ended up in most music stores. Most stores didn't have the nice ones back then. I am certain most Kramers these days are better than the average ones back then.

 

[El Dunco]

I’ve seen a whole bunch of Barettas going surprisingly cheap and everyone who scooped ome up agree it’s the bees knee-buckets.

 

[Phantasmagoria]

They're surprisingly cheap anyway. It's shocking how well set up and finished they came out of the box (I have two)

 

[Phantasmagoria]

Kramers in the 80s really ended up being flooded with cheap imported plywood models that ended up in most music stores. Most stores didn't have the nice ones back then. I am certain most Kramers these days are better than the average ones back then.

Back then, i never even saw a Kramer here ..only in the guitar 'zines & those were all the pricey ones..

 

[Aceman]

I play those every time I see one. They are really sweet deals at $179

- Pickup is fine, you may prefer something else
- Locking tuners and make sure the nut is good

Lot of guitar for the money if you don't need a Floyd.

 

[Securb]

I do not think defining a "shred" machine is easy. Yngwie shreds with single coils, Jake E. Lee shreds with a stop tailpiece. Then applying the tag of "best" on the guitar is even more subjective. Undoubtedly the Kramer is a great guitar but if I had one here it would most likely collect dust.

 

[Phantasmagoria]

Not if You really love to Shred

The thing is you can shred on a 335 but these things were explicitly built fot it...and it shows :bigthumb:

If I were a blues guy I probably wouldn't be loading one of those purple beauties into my truck for my next gig...

 

[Top-L]

Kramers in the 80s really ended up being flooded with cheap imported plywood models that ended up in most music stores. Most stores didn't have the nice ones back then. I am certain most Kramers these days are better than the average ones back then.

I started playing after the demise of Kramer. I don't remember seeing them in any stores in 89-90. I do remember Charvels were still around (briefly).

 

[Top-L]

Seriously what's not to love?

Share your thoughts :bigthumb:

They look like a great value. The only thing is the medium jumbo frets. I love them after the first level, but after the second level... they are close to done.

I bought a Chinese superstrat a decade ago and after a few mild levels it needs new frets. They probably never expected anyone to play it so much and my bending and vibrato carved away the metal pretty quickly.

But I do love that low, close to the fret board feeling.

 

[Phantasmagoria]

I think the Baretta's are Indonesian & the other two MIC. I'd say they all had great fret jobs out of the box, but the Baretta's actually had those machine-rounded fret ends you see on much higher ended guitars..

The medium jumbo frets will probably serve me for a decade or more at least until I need to start thinking about levelling them, so not a deal breaker for me. For how little you pay for them they feel like much more expensive instruments..

The pup's in the Baretta's nd the Pacer were pretty sweet for stock pup's. I still have them in my Baretta's (though I'm thinking of swapping out the one in my Purple axe for a black SD Custom...just for variation & kicks). The only reason I swapped out the Purple Pacer' pup's was 'cause aesthetically, I'm not crazy about white pup's. No regrets ,,,the Custom 5 (b) & 59 that went in instead were a definite improvement over the stock pups (which were'nt bad at all either tbh)

Didn't care for the stock pup's in the Striker though...they may have sounded better with some height adjustment etc, but I never even tried. It's now got a Hotrails in the neck/JB in the bridge & I couldn't be happier

 

[Phantasmagoria]

I play those every time I see one. They are really sweet deals at $179

- Pickup is fine, you may prefer something else
- Locking tuners and make sure the nut is good

Lot of guitar for the money if you don't need a Floyd.

+ 1

And if you need a Floyd (surface mounted) get a Pacer for not a whole lot more $$...or a Striker (recessed) for again, not much more $$. :bigthumb:

But yeah...the Baretta is untouchable for what it is at the price it's sold at. Even the stock pup is brilliant.

 

[solspirit]

+ 1

And if you need a Floyd (surface mounted) get a Pacer for not a whole lot more $$...or a Striker (recessed) for again, not much more $$. :bigthumb:

But yeah...the Baretta is untouchable for what it is at the price it's sold at. Even the stock pup is brilliant.

I've been eyeballin' a Baretta on Sweetwater.

 

[Phantasmagoria]

Pull that trigger ..you won't regret it

 

[Securb]

Not if You really love to Shred

The Kramer is just not set up for my tastes. The biggest thing is that I am not a big fan of FR terms. I would reach past it for my Black Winter Strat with the Babicz, Dimebucker/Kahler Iceman or B. C. Rich with the Sofia every time.

 

[Mincer]

I started playing after the demise of Kramer. I don't remember seeing them in any stores in 89-90. I do remember Charvels were still around (briefly).

This would be mid 80s, maybe 83-86. Unless you got top of the line, they were pretty awful.

 

[Phantasmagoria]

B-But..b-b-b...b-b...b-b-but ....it sounds like this...

 

[Top-L]

The medium jumbo frets will probably serve me for a decade or more at least until I need to start thinking about levelling them, so not a deal breaker for me. For how little you pay for them they feel like much more expensive instruments..

Absolutely. I bought that Chinese superstrat when my other guitars were having issues, and I woodshedded on that thing for a good five years as my main guitar. If you have multiple working guitars, the wear gets spread around and its not an issue.

The other thing I didn't mention, is that when a guitar neck is not perfectly straight, having taller frets gives you a buffer when leveling. If a ski jump develops over the heel, if the guitar has jumbo frets you can get away with a level, but if the frets are short you may have to plane the board and refret.

Jumbos are good for longevity. The big advantage of medium jumbos is they take alot less work to crown IME. And when they are new they are just right.

You might consider leveling them after youve had them for a year. I'm sure they play well now, but I've never had a guitar that couldn't be improved.

 

[Phantasmagoria]

No..you're right I'm not disagreeing wit the advantages of jumbo frets ..in fact I'd like all my guitars to have them. :bigthumb:

My MIJ Charvel Pro series form the early 200's has huge ones..the biggest I've ever seen lol & that guitar shreds like a mutha! My Old Ibby Sabre (aso MIJ) from the early '90's has them too. It's the only guitar I've ever had completely re-levelled and I hardly noiced adifference after thanks to those huge frets haha.

But realistically, how much can you expect from a $179 guitar? I'm just grateful it plays & sounds as good as it does straight out of the box. And I'm guessing that's no fluke either, cuz both of mine are like that and the general consensus seems to be that they're exceptionally finished & set up always..

I mean personal preference aside (Kahler vs Floyd or w/e) if you're looking for a seriously good traditional 80's style shredder that ticks all (or most of) the boxes for pennies, there's no better axe/axes out there... and I'll stick to that :bigthumb:

Seriously...get a Kramer..

(and no, I get bugger-all if you do...no affiliations :laugh2

 

[Mincer]

I dig jumbo frets, too. But I like scalloped ones, so, they are somewhat related.