Kramer '84 Baretta!

[Mxzx]

I just happen to know a few things about Kramers!

 

[poeman33]

I just happen to know a few things about Kramers!

 

[chucho]

Here is my '85 Custom order, all original with receipt.

I have the same '85 custom plate Baretta, except with a rosewood fretboard and all black h/w.

Sweetest axe I had until I found my Dean TC Z & V.

The banana head Barettas & Pacers were the absolute BEST guitars Kramer put out. The point head & ESP neck profiles turned me OFF of them.

 

[Oldpunk]

I sold my '85 Ripley which was one of two made for EVH to my brother in law a few years ago. Bought it from my old guitar teacher who was buddies with them growing up. Thing is worth a lot more than I sold it for. I will try to find some pics....it had one bartolinni pup with independent vol and pan control for each string along with a custom pre amp designed just for him. I can buy it back anytime as a part of the deal but dont have 2.5 k to spend right now.

Yea no b.s., EVHs old white Ripley, best guitar I've ever played or owned.

 

[dreyn77]

Oh yeah definitely some VH themes built into the gear no doubt.
I'm sure he used the standard guitars somewhere in time in a factory somewhere, but his was unique.
maybe he was still mucking round with pedals in his signal path and making a VH sound with standard kramer product but I doubt it.

I'm sure he learned heaps from the kramer experience.
I can hear that in his peavey wolfgangs. but overall they're very different products.

I recon ed's probably taken home some kramer product and recorded it with his gear and heard something he didn't like so the guitars didn't make it into his stable, but the fame contract needed to be fullfilled and so the photo shoot took place.
sitting on the harley at the petrol station etc...

at the time I was in no doubt that his guitar was his guitar and it wasn't able to be bought.
maybe the guitar with the wooden block mounted on the back was a schaller pickup model or the other guitar with the plexi glass mounted on the back was the schaller pickup model but we'll never know.
we'll only see photos of this custom guitar stuff.

the sounds were lost into the stratosphere, (if they ever existed at all)

I did see a 5150 kramer but the owner had built it himself. I never heard it through an amp, either.

the Vh pickup will 'dirty up' the sound at a earlier setting than the kramer pickup, but the Vh dirty sound is no way near the over the top sound of the kramer/schaller.

they're very different pickups.

 

[Derek S]

Can anyone give me a quick lo-down on what these old Kramer solid maple, one vol/no tone knob guitars sound like? I've never owned or played a maple guitar - very curious about the tone. Possibly compare it to the other popular tone woods. For reference, I love alder super strats, as well as mahogany with maple tops. basswood is cool too with the right pickups - how does maple measure up with those? Say for example, darker than maple topped guitars but brighter than basswood (?), etc. A quick google turns up that they're heavy-ish but not much talk about tone. I have one in my sights (a vintage 80's baretta in NOS condish), may pull the trigger...

 

[dreyn77]

this is a strange technique you're introducing derek.
cause these maple guitars have custom pickups made for master volume amps.
which blow away the older idea of getting tone from the guitars you've been mentioning.

it's the new era and 'tone' is in the electronics. NOT the parts.

the electronics were blasting the amps and not giving the other stuff a chance to make changes in tone.

the wood was that way cause they needed to carve the top & back of the guitars and ended up with a tiny thin strat shape but it still needed to hold the strap screws in the wood, rock solid.
so maple was the chosen wood for the finished shape.

the accoustic tone isn't much to speak of but the electric tone blows all others out of the water.
think over the top electric boosting of tones. tones to the MAX!

I have the striker 1000 and it's got a massive HOT angled humbucker which rivals a W.A.S.P. sound.
people hated them.
no adjustable pole pieces in the humbucker.
plywood and it's real light as.

the all maple 1986 kramer I have has had some idiot in the guitar and he removed the seymour duncan designed pickup out of the bridge.
but I know it's sound from the other 2 pickups in the guitar.
it's also mounted on an angle.

it's a HOT pickup but a reduced level pickup. purpose built for a kramer concept and not a seymour duncan concept version.

once again people HATED them and ripped them out of the guitar and then promptly sold the guitar a few short years later.
you'll find them in bargain bins across big cities.

people wanted gibson or fender at these times. not kramer so they went out of business not long after the 90's started.

 

[dreyn77]

this is what people said in the 90's. "oh, I want the tone of these old fenders! I hate kramers! ", etc...

late 86 comments like "I LOVE gibsons now again! I hate those new guitars! from companies like kramer! I love the Gunners sounds! I've gotta get me a gibson!"

 

[poeman33]

My Kramer certainly wasn't maple...but I did build a Maple partscaster. It was really dense Montreal Maple. It really didn't sound that great. Kinda thin. But...I lost that guitar for about 20 years...and the story would take about twenty years to tell...anyway when I got it back, 20 years of ageing had done some wonders to the sound. It had a nice sustain and rang out pretty well. But once I got some Ash Strats to compare it with, it hadn't gone up to their level yet. Side by side with a Standard Strat, and it just didn't have it.

So it was a cool experiment, but I would stick with Alder and Ash. Rory's sounded pretty damn good, but I wonder if that was in spite of the maple body, rather than because of it?

 

[Derek S]

Thanks for the input, dreyn, poe...helpful stuff.

I GOT IT! It played amazing and though I wasn't at home with my amps/cabs, it sounded great through a JCM2000, fairly balanced. It's heavy as a mutha, heaviest guitar I've ever held anyway lol, so that legend is certainly true (solid maple guitars will break your balls live lol). It's was in impeccable shape...clearly the previous owner was either a collector or just a 'fool around' type, non crazy player. I'll post a ngd thread soon. (=

 

[Derek S]

.

 

[Mxzx]

I own about 30 Kramer guitars, from Strat head to pointy, so if you need any factual info let me know.

EVH used a PAF pickup out of a '60's Gibson ES in the first frankenstrats, well documented.

His malaga purple Kramer with the stripes shows an example of a Schaller pickup, the dead give away is the 4 mounting screws to the ring.

The Striker is the bottom of the barrel Kramer model, nothing on it compares to a USA guitar. Plywood body, different pickups, etc.

*mod edit*

 

[Derek S]

OK...I did a little more research on what I actually just bought, wanted to date it and all. It seems it's one of the circa mid 2000's 1985 RI's by Gibson/Kramer. I don't mind really because I'm tellin ya, it's an extremely solid axe! It would appear to be made here in the US with the exception of the German Floyd and tuners (Schaller).

Anyway - I'm in the process of 'personalizing' it because though it rocks as is, I've been sitting on a 1983 US Kramer 'Vanguard' guitar my old singer gave me many moons ago! I'm just not a 'V' player so I stored it, waiting patiently for the day a perfect Baretta or possibly Pacer came along that I could buy at the right price and turn it into my own flavored Kramer. So it's gonna be kind of like a Hybrid Kramer. I'm going for the look of one of my long time fav guitarists from his first record (Tony MacAlpine and that white Pacer of his).

 

[crossroadsnyc]

Please keep the thread on topic, and if you want to argue please do so privately via PM. Thank you.

 

[Mxzx]

I believe that would be the Muysicyo era Baretta. Supposed to be pretty decent guitars.

http://vintagekramer.com/company62.htm

If you are looking for a Pacer, I think they are making those new again and called Pacer Classic. Seem to be going pretty cheap on Ebay. Good one too customize.

Yes, don't hack up the vintage Vanguard, just put it back under the bed!

 

[Derek S]

Yes, don't hack up the vintage Vanguard, just put it back under the bed!

Haha! Thanks but not. a. chance!! That Vanguard neck is a killer! I love it. I just can't get comfy and gel with the V body. The neck, parts and Floyd are now on the Baretta, the V body can happily stay back where it's been (under the bed ironically lol). I've been setting it all up and tweaking it...it's a beast. Very happy with how it turned out. Not sure on the pickup, but that's easy to decide and fix, especially with a box full of pickups to slap in and experiment with. Gotta make a clip first though.

 

[Mxzx]

Cool, enjoy it.

Hunt around on Ebay, those Schaller Golden 50's pickups can usually be had pretty cheap. Make a nice sound and will make it look '80's correct!

Yes, I'm guessing that is a B series Vanguard, maybe in the 3000 range? Should be an R2, 1 5/8" nut. Maple or Rosewood?

 

[Derek S]

Thanks. I made a quick ugly pickup/guitar comparison just for fun.

I used the new Kramer as well as a US Charvel (alder) with a Super Distortion...they sound very similar (which is cool - gonna leave the stock pickup in place now I think). I played the exact same chord ideas through the same amp/setup/settings. First half is one of the guitars, second half is the other...

Pickup/Guitar Comparison Crunch / Save As

 

[dreyn77]

thanks Derek, I bet you had a great time with this demo you've made. well done!

which method do you prefer derek?

 

[Derek S]

Thanks! Yep, was a quick little comparison - but you gotta admit, that stock pickup can hold its own against a proven classic...not bad! It's still too early to have a feel for which I prefer, have to record and hear the new guitar in a mix setting, but all in all, I'm happy with it - makes for a nice addition to my small stable of guitars, and being maple, kinda unique.

Here it is in stock form (well, you can see the skunk stripe of the new neck in the second shot). I'll post the new upgraded pix in a NGD thread soon...