New Kramer Baretta 1983 Reissue

  • Thread starter Thread starter Fiesta Red
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JohnnyGtar said:
Jeebus, that's pricey! The headstock just doesn't look quite right. I have a Kramer made in 1987 with a maple body and it's my favorite guitar.
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It's the correct hockey stick for that era, I think. It's the one similar to this, maybe?

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Back around 2003-2008 I was trying to find another Poplar 83 Imperial like I already owned I bought a 1983 Pacer Carrera blackout and it was a maple body. It was heavy and super bright with the floyd and just never cared for it.... I sold it and I eventually picked up another poplar 1983 Imperial with a serial number just a few hundred off of my original 83 Imperial.

I did end up with two 1983 Kramers during the search that were maple and neither stayed because I just didn't like either as much as the poplar bodies. The poplar is warmer without being dead, it has some snap like alder IMHO.

I also have a Wamoth Jake E Lee guitar that I built that is maple and it fairly heavy but not as bright as that Pacer Imperial but it might have alot to do with the bigass BRASS charvel bridge I have in it which I think is warmer than a floyd baseplate.

Here are my original 1983 Pacer Imperial twins, one has a factory unfinished neck the other has a heavy coat of polyurethane. Neck profiles are heavy heavy C almost a U profile and thick compared to most Charvels. I've owned the one on the right since 1983 maybe 84, it has been my number one guitar since I was a teenager.

I busted my ass all summer long working and saving for it..........it was like guitar heaven when I walked into Ricks music store and saw it had an unfinished neck like Ed's that was it....... I slapped my cash down of the counter. :yes: I think I was like $600.00 some odd bucks out the door with a case and tax..... but that was kinda spendy for a fiddle back then! Pretty sure I still have the receipt!

I agree 2,000 bucks is a bit much for that guitar.........:loco:
 

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I had a 85 Baretta. Headstock was not the hockey stick. Neck was unplayable thin and narrow. Sold it to an enthusiast minus the OFR for a pittance. Good riddance.
 
They always looked a bit off to me but I liked it... and this is how they have always looked.
 
I'm an avid Kramer collector, and I've had quite a few. The non-tilt Barettas never really appealed to me, but I know there is a big draw from EVH fans. The price seems ridiculous to me at first glance, but then again it is in line with MIJ Jackson's and ESP's so it's hard to fault that alone. Considering a real non-tilt Baretta runs $5k+ these days, and supposedly this one was made as a copy of a real one (like they did for the '83 Pacer Imperial reissues back in 08 etc), it seems pretty appealing to that crowd.

Something people don't seem to get about Kramers, and I get it looking at it from the modern mass production lens, but vintage Kramers had all sorts of different specifications. I'm not just talking about models with different pickup configs, I'm talking about neck profiles, fret sizes, nut widths, body woods, body shapes, etc were all over the place as they experimented and innovated over time (both good and bad). The person a few above me who said their '85 Baretta was unplayable thin and narrow - I've had '85s that had necks as thick as a Gibson 50's profile with massive frets. I've also had '85s with the same super thin and flat neck, and some in between. It makes it really hard to know what you are going to get when talking about Kramers from that era, especially 81-86 or so. Later Kramers 87-90 were a lot more consistent in this regard, closer to the modern mass produced thing where they all feel and play identically.

I hope these sell well, but it's a fringe, near "signature" model guitar, and priced accordingly. I hope it's not an indicator of future Kramer model pricing, since I've always said if they released a new USA-made Proaxe or pointy-era Pacer Deluxe, I'd buy one. But if the MIJ models are $2k+, I'm not sure I can stomach $3k+ for a USA one, at least as long as USA Fender Strats can still be had under $2k (and an HSS Fender Strat is basically my Pacer Deluxe, just without the pointy headstock).
 
TotallyRadGuitars said:
Something people don't seem to get about Kramers, and I get it looking at it from the modern mass production lens, but vintage Kramers had all sorts of different specifications. I'm not just talking about models with different pickup configs, I'm talking about neck profiles, fret sizes, nut widths, body woods, body shapes, etc were all over the place as they experimented and innovated over time (both good and bad). The person a few above me who said their '85 Baretta was unplayable thin and narrow - I've had '85s that had necks as thick as a Gibson 50's profile with massive frets. I've also had '85s with the same super thin and flat neck, and some in between. It makes it really hard to know what you are going to get when talking about Kramers from that era, especially 81-86 or so. Later Kramers 87-90 were a lot more consistent in this regard, closer to the modern mass produced thing where they all feel and play identically.
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I've found this too as far as specs -- they were all over the place. Not sure why that is/was? I really enjoy my recent tilt-back headstock Baretta. I really dig the current Nightswans too. I've replaced the pickups in each one with a different set for individualized tones


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I dig it and think it is cool !
I'm glad they are making them.
That no bozos add with Eddie made so many kids want a white Kramer, including me.
A friend from the 80's had the original guitar from the add .
He lived in the Seattle area.
He also had a dean explorer that belonged to Sammy.
Then some kind of Hammer as well.
This was in 83-84 .
Lost track of him.
might not even be alive ?
 
Chris6870 said:
Nope. You can build one better for way less than a grand..and I have.
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I'm inclined to agree. I built myself a "Pacer Special" (sort of, no tone knob, no coil tap) for under 1K Canadian last year. So paying 3K CAD for Something like that just ain't it. I like the Specs. R5 is great, but I can build it from Butala for 1/3 the price and have it be great
 
I have my own sort of 1983 Frankenkramer. That year the singer in our band and I both bought new Kramers, I went with a Baretta, he got the Vanguard ('V' body), both in white. The funny thing is, we swapped guitars often during gigs, guess we thought it was a fun little stage move lol...but over time I realized I just preferred the neck on his guitar more than mine and he agreed to let me swap them (right around the time MacAlpine, a huge fav of mine hit the scene with those ads holding the white Kramer & Beak head stock). So long story short - I still have that guitar and the neck/board is still one of the best I've ever owned. Whenever we chat he always asks if I still have "his guitar" LOL.

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That is a few hundred dollars in parts to Gibson and anyone with basic skills could assemble it. It's probably set up like shit out of the box so what are you really paying $2200 for?
 
That price is crazy. That being said I'd love to try one lol. Such a killer looking guitar
 
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