Kramer Baretta

[Doughboy]

Does anyone have the new Kramer Baretta reissues?

I'm wondering how they stand up to the classic original 1984 Barettas?

Also, since they're made of solid maple, does anyone know how much they weigh?

 

[Chris O]

Read on!

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=168563

 

[charvelstrat81]

other than getting a NOS or a closet classic from 1983-87 these are the next best thing

 

[RG955TT]

Can no one tell me an approx. weight or what the neck profile is like on one these? I asked this in the other thread too...

 

[charvelstrat81]

Can no one tell me an approx. weight or what the neck profile is like on one these? I asked this in the other thread too...

they are very,very close to the original
heavy maple body with the same basic neck profile, not a flat wizard or even a charvel san dimas profile
it is more rounded and thicker. they play real sweet. i owned a 83 and played one of these re-issues
and if i had the $$$ at the time i would have bought it.

 

[Doughboy]

Apparently these are VERY heavy guitars at 10lbs +.

As much as I'd love to get one, that's just too heavy for me.

I may put on together from scratch, but it's going to be hard to find a Baretta body due to it's unique shape & an authentic banana headstock.

 

[charvelstrat81]

Apparently these are VERY heavy guitars at 10lbs +.

As much as I'd love to get one, that's just too heavy for me.

I may put on together from scratch, but it's going to be hard to find a Baretta body due to it's unique shape & an authentic banana headstock.

They vary but yes these are NOT light.
I actually like the weight of them, and the natural tone is huge.
You can hit a chord unplugged and it really rings out.

 

[Doughboy]

Apparently these are VERY heavy guitars at 10lbs +.

As much as I'd love to get one, that's just too heavy for me.

I may put on together from scratch, but it's going to be hard to find a Baretta body due to it's unique shape & an authentic banana headstock.

They vary but yes these are NOT light.
I actually like the weight of them, and the natural tone is huge.
You can hit a chord unplugged and it really rings out.

Reading about the history of the Kramer Barettas, they came in maple, poplar & then a hodgepodge of whatever was available wood including Alder & basswood.

If you had an 80s Kramer, it could've been any wood, as they used many different companies to build their bodies.

A 10lb guitar would destroy my shoulder & back.

 

[charvelstrat81]

Apparently these are VERY heavy guitars at 10lbs +.

As much as I'd love to get one, that's just too heavy for me.

I may put on together from scratch, but it's going to be hard to find a Baretta body due to it's unique shape & an authentic banana headstock.

They vary but yes these are NOT light.
I actually like the weight of them, and the natural tone is huge.
You can hit a chord unplugged and it really rings out.

Reading about the history of the Kramer Barettas, they came in maple, poplar & then a hodgepodge of whatever was available wood including Alder & basswood.

If you had an 80s Kramer, it could've been any wood, as they used many different companies to build their bodies.

A 10lb guitar would destroy my shoulder & back.

You are correct about kramer using whatever wood but by chance all the baretta's i played and owned had to be maple due to the weight of them
Every one of them was heavier than any of my alder,poplar guitars not to mention the tone was very vibrant and bright even unplugged.
These were all pre pointy headstock baretta's though.
kramer never used basswood in 1983-85 that i know of.
after that basswood was probably used.

 

[Doughboy]

Apparently these are VERY heavy guitars at 10lbs +.

As much as I'd love to get one, that's just too heavy for me.

I may put on together from scratch, but it's going to be hard to find a Baretta body due to it's unique shape & an authentic banana headstock.

They vary but yes these are NOT light.
I actually like the weight of them, and the natural tone is huge.
You can hit a chord unplugged and it really rings out.

Reading about the history of the Kramer Barettas, they came in maple, poplar & then a hodgepodge of whatever was available wood including Alder & basswood.

If you had an 80s Kramer, it could've been any wood, as they used many different companies to build their bodies.

A 10lb guitar would destroy my shoulder & back.

You are correct about kramer using whatever wood but by chance all the baretta's i played and owned had to be maple due to the weight of them
Every one of them was heavier than any of my alder,poplar guitars not to mention the tone was very vibrant and bright even unplugged.
These were all pre pointy headstock baretta's though.
kramer never used basswood in 1983-85 that i know of.
after that basswood was probably used.

Apparently the original Barettas were maple or poplar & then later, it was anything else that was available.

Not too familiar with poplar, but it sounds like a better weight choice than maple.

As much as I want to go 100% authentic & get maple, if the guitar is too heavy to play, it will just sit around & collect dust.

 

[rupe]

They used whatever ESP sent them...they bought bodies and necks, not woods.

 

[splawner]

My Kramer weights 9 lbs....

 

[charvelstrat81]

They used whatever ESP sent them...they bought bodies and necks, not woods.

I thought that started when the pointy headstock necks first showed up?
So the 1984 baretta is actually a ESP?
Man i gotta go play some more ESP's then!

 

[Doughboy]

Kramer bought from ESP & then several other manufacturers. Depending on the year, the exact same could've been made up totally different parts. Kramer never made anything. They just assembled the guitars.

If it wasn't for Eddie, they'd be a small footnote in the annals of guitar history.

 

[Guitarnobody]

They do look cool.

 

[Doughboy]

They do look cool.

IMO, the coolest 80s guitar EVER.

 

[charvelstrat81]

They do look cool.

IMO, the coolest 80s guitar EVER.

that blows away what eddie had!

 

[Doughboy]

They do look cool.

IMO, the coolest 80s guitar EVER.

that blows away what eddie had!

Eddie's frankie is in a whole other category & not comparable to any other guitar in existence.

You can't compare his original striped guitar to any Kramer, since it wasn't even a Kramer.

 

[Alex Stanley]

Abalone Vintage is probably asking ten billion $ for that. They absurdly overprice everything.

 

[Doughboy]

Abalone Vintage is probably asking ten billion $ for that. They absurdly overprice everything.

The original 84 Barettas are hard to find or over priced.

The new reissues are too heavy & don't have the old school black Kramer decal, which imo, HAS to be there.

So I'm forced to do an 84 Baretta build from scratch. This way I can have an alder body, compound radius & stainless steel frets as well.