Kramer guitars... Love em.....

B

BloodRose

Professional Scapegoat
Back in their heyday, I drank all the kool aid and drooled over all the ads in the mags....

Couldnt afford one as all my money went into my moto cross racing habit. I did manage to buy a cheap Striker model.

Anyhow, fast forward a few years... Back in 87, a few months before I got married, I bought a used Focus V. Had to pawn it after getting hitched. Anyhow, have always still oogled over them and Charvels..

A few years ago when I went thru my guitar rolling phase, I owned several Focus models and a Baretta. And bought a Pacer off a forum member here. I hate having sold most of them, especially one black Focus 6000. I got really cheap and once I changed pickups, That guitar had the most amazing woody sound. Sounded just like the solo in Poison's Fallen Angel..

Cutting to the chase, I still have the Pacer. Im sadly needing to downsize my herd and going thru some of my axes to see who has to go. I got the Pacer out today. Now, I LOVE Charvel necks and Charvels period, but everytime I get that Kramer out, it just screams at me : "I should be your #1!!!!!"

It feels great, sounds amazing and is light, which is great for my glass back.. Today, I pulled her out of the case, and plugged up to the tuner. Im thinking after months in the case, its gotta be out.. Was almost in perfect tune. The 2 hardtail guitars I got out needed a bit of tuning.
Anyhow, plugged it up and sounded amazing and played great.. Definately a KEEPER!

So, I know the Focus models are generally pretty awesome, but for you guys that own or have owned old US Kramers, are they normally great all around, or do I just have a special one? I ask because I'd like to add another to the stable one day if they are typically good. Love to have a bunch, including some with graphics, but space and budget wont permit that.. haha
Id REALLY love to have a Pro Axe model!! But those are rare to find and very pricey.

Thanks for reading my long winded Kramer love history. Any other Kramer fans, post em and show some love!!
 
Re: Kramer guitars... Love em.....

I don't know about the Pacers, but I'm glad not to be the only one awake at this ungodly hour. I hope you find more Pacers that you love, with graphics.
 
Re: Kramer guitars... Love em.....

Forum-bro metalchurch is another Kramer guy. He knows about everything Kramer related. Someone send him the kramer signal!
 
Re: Kramer guitars... Love em.....

I’ve only got one Kramer. A Focus 2000 and I love it. It’s comfortable to play and sounds huge.
My LP Standard is still my #1 but the Kramer is my definitely #2. And I have 11 guitars.
 
Re: Kramer guitars... Love em.....

I have only my '88 Baretta left with the Kline NYC paint job. I've had several others including another Baretta but from '87 in Candy Apple Red, an '83-'84 Focus 2000 in Candy Apple Red and a Striker that was complete crap but the neck was nice. Once the Baretta I came out with the scoop and the shapes started to change, I lost interest. Around late '88 until the doors closed, they looked like any other ESP or Jackson from the era and lost their uniqueness, IMO. I love my Baretta but if I was looking to add another one to the stable, I'd be looking at earlier years, early to mid-'80's.
 
Kramer guitars... Love em.....

ErikH said:
I have only my '88 Baretta left with the Kline NYC paint job. I've had several others including another Baretta but from '87 in Candy Apple Red, an '83-'84 Focus 2000 in Candy Apple Red and a Striker that was complete crap but the neck was nice. Once the Baretta I came out with the scoop and the shapes started to change, I lost interest. Around late '88 until the doors closed, they looked like any other ESP or Jackson from the era and lost their uniqueness, IMO. I love my Baretta but if I was looking to add another one to the stable, I'd be looking at earlier years, early to mid-'80's.
Click to expand...

I have mixed feelings on the Kline paint job graphics.
While I certainly don’t know much about art, the designs I’ve seen don’t particularly grab me. I think it’s just that the subject matter seems to lack that certain “something”. They are just uninteresting designs.
 
Re: Kramer guitars... Love em.....

Gtrjunior said:
I have mixed feelings on the Kline paint job graphics.
While I certainly don’t know much about art, the designs I’ve seen don’t particularly grab me. I think it’s just that the subject matter seems to lack that certain “something”. They are just uninteresting designs.
Click to expand...

He had to paint them pretty quick. He would knock out a bunch in a very short time to meet demand. He couldn't really sit and be a Picasso on them, for lack of a better phrase...LOL.

The guy does great work and some of his stuff outside of guitars is incredible.
 
Re: Kramer guitars... Love em.....

ErikH said:
He had to paint them pretty quick. He would knock out a bunch in a very short time to meet demand. He couldn't really sit and be a Picasso on them, for lack of a better phrase...LOL.

The guy does great work and some of his stuff outside of guitars is incredible.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I’m only familiar with his work on the Kramer line. I’m sure you must be an amazing artist if you are being asked to do this type of work.
 
Re: Kramer guitars... Love em.....

I've been into Kramers since about 2001 when I discovered them via my first eBay purchase of a Candy Blue F3000 Mutt with a Maple BCR Outlaw Neck, Chrome Schaller Tuners/OFR and a homemade single hum/single volume pickguard with a DiMarzio Super Distortion. Had been a bar band player's guitar. It was a cool mess but I really liked it's vibe overall and fell in love with the Floyd.

Since then; I've had an '86 Stagemaster Custom, '86 Kline Space Baretta, an EE SC3 Mutt, a few Pacer Custom I and Imperials, etc. and overall there were so many variations (USA Kramers started with Floyds in '83, then went to ESP for necks and bodies around '86), manufacturers (Kramer USA, ESP, Lasido) and models that there was a lot of variation. Some I wish I had kept such as the Stagemaster Custom, SC3 Mutt and Fully Bound Maple Board Tele Custom I put together, but, some were kinda dogs in the way they were slapped together fit and finish-wise.

IMG-5318.jpg


IMG-5319.jpg


At this point I find the Beak Headstock USA Models (especially the necks) to be the best (I have two Kramers now - '83 Maple Neck & Body Sunburst Pacer Imperial and '86 Classic II Mutt with '83 Voyager Lefty Neck) but there is a ton of variance in quality of fit and finish on the early USA ones. Kramer also used a bunch of different body woods; Maple, Poplar, Alder, Ash, and a few Mahogany models...to me...the Maple, Ash and Mahogany sound best.

GTR-0-KRAMERS.jpg


All that said; there are a couple of USA Beak Neck Imperials on eBay right from a guy in Colo Springs that are priced pretty fairly (IMHO) - a red maple body w/rosewood board neck and a mutt trans green with rosewood Voyager neck. Prices have definitely varied and seem to be high on Vintage Kramers right now...especially if you're looking for a Nightswan.
 
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Re: Kramer guitars... Love em.....

It was maple early on for Baretta prototypes and a small number in early '84 and that's it. The rest were poplar or alder, depending on which was less expensive at the time. The NightSwan was mahogany (body made by ESP and shipped to NJ for the rest) and was the ONLY one to be mahogany out of NJ.

I don't know if the Stagemaster and Liberty were mahogany or not but they were shipped from ESP Japan to the US ready to sell. The ProAxe was mahogany but at that point, the company was all but done and folded the following year.
 
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Re: Kramer guitars... Love em.....

I've had a few, though not nearly as many as Muttznmongrels (they are fewer and more expensive in Europe). At their best they are great guitars, although I don't think even the more expensive ones are terribly consistent. If you are buying them as pieces, finding the right neck/body combo might take some time, for instance, as the neck pockets can differ somewhat in size. That is excusable, I suppose, for a pre-CNC guitar.

What I've always liked about Kramer lookswise is that their designs bridged the gap between the traditional rocking Stratocaster and what were to become the more typical metal guitar: they move from one to the other during the decade of so they made superstrats. My favourite is the late-era Baretta I, which has a body that is softly curved like a strat, rather than the more angular metal designs that Jackson favour, but also has a large scoop in the lower horn. That is not only practical, but it is a unique and instantly recognizable look. I tend to favour the banana neck and later eras, and especially the ones with a recessed Floyd, which removed the need for neck shims, but the earlier ones can be great too.
 
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Re: Kramer guitars... Love em.....

My first "real" guitar was a Focus. I don't remember what model exactly, but it was HSS with a Floyd. I basically destroyed it with mods over the years and finally sold it to an old roommate.
 
Re: Kramer guitars... Love em.....

"Beware" of MusicYo Gibson-era Kramers

Theyre surprisingly tolerable ultra-cheapies... but definitely still cheapies

Bought one new as a present for a cousin when I was a teenager, it was like $99 shipped.
 
Re: Kramer guitars... Love em.....

Ayrton said:
My first "real" guitar was a Focus. I don't remember what model exactly, but it was HSS with a Floyd. I basically destroyed it with mods over the years and finally sold it to an old roommate.
Click to expand...

If it had a pickguard it was a 3000. No pickguard is a 6000.
 
Re: Kramer guitars... Love em.....

And regarding the F-3000, 6000, etc.; during the later end years the pointy necks were the same necks as on the “American” Series.
 
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