I started playing in '85 so those old Kramers are very nostalgic for me. I'm really glad to see that they're still making them and they still sound just as great as they did back in the day.
Easy way to pay homage to VH without paying a license fee, as the "diver down" is actually a thing used by divers from before that album ever came out.
I have a 1984 Kramer Baretta, white body, rosewood fret board. I saw that well known picture of Eddy from a Kramer promotional poster. My guitar is identical to that one, but it has "Baretta" on the head stock. Such a unique piece of engineering with the Floyd Rose system and locking nut at the base of the head stock. I have the Allen wrench in the back of it for the "saddle mounting screws" and the locking nut. Sucker never goes out of tune, just little adjustments with the fine tuners. Heavy guitar. People are shocked when they pick it up, but that maple gives it such a great sound. I remember changing the strings at my buddy's house back in 84' and they were freaked out that I was cutting off the ball ends. They did not understand the Floyd Rose system, which I have taken apart several times. Simple, yet amazing piece of engineering. One volume knob, one pick-up and I have adjusted the truss rod at the base of the neck like he pointed out in the video. It has the two piece neck design. Everything about the guitar is special and unique. I will die with it. I might donate it before I croak, unless I meet some young lad worthy of its greatness because I have no kids. This guitar was built and meant for one thing: Metal Devastation and it delivers in spades.
My first guitar with a Floyd Rose was a white version of this same guitar. I had a TREM TOOL attached to the back of the head stock too. What's old is new again.
Ah...takes me back to where the Super Strat was taking the 80's metal scene by storm. One pickup, one volume, a Floyd Rose, a flat 16 inch radius neck profile...LOVE IT!
Just picked one up in red ! also it comes with a coil tap function. I dont care for that white stripe, why i just got red. My neck has some great flame going through it too. Gave it too my tech, a few issues, one was the post were sticking too far out the body on the floyd in to the body. and the pickup was sitting rather high. Small issues. All sorted now with ultra low action. The guitar just SMOKES!! The fret finishing is spot on, the guitar is also so resonant. Acoustically sounds very loud. My tech said its a quality guitar. Dont let wheres it made put you off. I actually went to try the new evh version, i was lucky they had the new batch of kramers in the store to try. Compared side by side and without doubt the kramer blew the evh away. The neck feels great on it, like an old friend 12 inch radius so it sits in the middle of my EVH music man and peavey wolf. floyd stays in tune no probs. Go try, you'll want to take it home. Just remember a great setup will make it great so haggle on price for it when buying.. I may get another before they discontinue them again.. I have some very high end guitars, id put this right up next to them now. Been playing it all day.
I still have my original Kramer Pacer, with 2 Seymour Duncan's and a Floyd. Love that thing. Glad they stuck with all maple, wish they would have slanted the pickup.
I always thought the single humbucker on a strat is pretty damn good looking. And mounting the tools in the headstock is awesome. I have a bucket full of guitar tools and no idea what goes to what.
A! Bought one, love it! Mick Mars fan here, the reason I wanted one. Great price from Zzounds and this thing rocks, a bit on the pink side but what the hell! Thanks for the video!
Mick Mars is a huge reason why I've been looking at buying a Kramer. Did you get the 84 or the baretta vintage? Also does it do a good job getting a Motley Crue type tone? I'm trying to figure out the difference between the 84 and the baretta vintage but they seem pretty much identical other than the fact the baretta vintage has a slanted pickup
I have an '84 Kramer Pacer...bought it new...it has schaller tuners...the neck is made by ESP...has an original floyd...i put a dimarzio super distortion in it about 3 months after i got it...needless to say it is a beast...it kicks ass for 35yr old guitar...i love it!!!
I just acquired a Kramer Baretta Special, the cheaper version of this one in vintage white and the thing is a killer. All the 80's wet sound is right on the spot. It just feels great and it's an instant bond. It's only $245 Canadian or $170 greenbacks.
I still have the Kramer Stagrmaster Custom I bought new in 1987 or '88. It is a neck-through-body design, Super Strat with deep cutaways, 24 fret Ebony fret board and 2 single coil Duncan staggered Stat pickups and a Duncan JB Custom humbucker in the bridge position. There are 3 mini toggle switches - one for each pickup, a volume knobs and no tone knob. Black hardware adorns the beautiful flip-flop red paint job. This guitar series was made start-to- finish by one luthier ( each guitar, not the entire series. At least I think there was more than one luthier building them...). Anyway- gorgeous guitar and Ive pretty much kept it in it's original hard shell case all these decades. Afraid to mar it! Oh yeah! A Floyd Rose trem system, also in black...
Spring tension adjustment is a screwdriver job, not the 2 Allen keys behind head stock. Where’s the Floyd Rose bar and the pinched harmonic dive bombs?
I bought my first guitar and it was one of the earliest if not the first Stryker versions. It was a hunk of junk but, it was all i could afford back then. that was in the early 80's. Kramer was just getting started.
Max,my dude,you need to get your hands on a Charvel Pro Mod Series.The San Dimas are awesome 80´s shredmachines and they recently released the DK24 with roasted maple necks and what not.
greekfreak1980 Good call! I Just took delivery of a Charvel DK24 Okoume wood body (plain, satin finished wood body, think Nuno Bettecourt sorta style) with a Floyd. It’s not the roasted maple neck but has a killer ebony fretboard. Seymour Duncan Full Shred bridge PU and Seymour Duncan Jazz neck PU. Absolutely phenomenal guitar! I think Maxx would dig them!
@@TheAxe4Ever A friend has the 2018 San Dimas in neon yellow,quartersawn maple neck, Duncan JB/59,Floyd 1000 series,push-pull coil-split and the tone knob has a special ''bypass''function.When you turn it up to 10,it deactivates the tone knob completely. Too bad they discontinued the neon colours but they introduced some cool new metallic and satin finishes lately.
greekfreak1980 Yep. It’s called a “no load” tone control. Which I love on mine because I always used to just disconnect the tone control on all my guitars. With this control you can take it right out of the circuit (and it really works! You can hear the bump in the signal when you have it all the way up) but still have the tone control if you ever want it. The Floyd 1000 series on it is VERY close to the original. Works great! I’ve had just about every color of guitar since 1985 and decided I wanted to go with a stripped down, wood look for a change. Awesome awesome axe! I’m gonna do a little review of mine on my channel soon. Your friends guitar sounds like it’s pretty sweet too!
@@TheAxe4Ever Yeah,the coolest thing on the San Dimas is the coil-split or ''Six-Pack of Sound'' like they call it. In full humbucker mode it's like a Petrucci guitar (Pos.1:full bridge hum,pos.2: hum splitted/ inner coils.po.3: full neck hum) with the vol. put pulled it's: pos.1: outer coil of bridge hum only,pos2.:outer coils of bridge and neck hum in parallel mode and pos.3: outer coil of neck hum.
I just bought a san dimas charvel pro mod HH-FR. I LOVE it. I got it for like $500 in mint. I love how they moved the volume knob down and the tone pot has a no load position. It feels so satisfying playing Iron Maiden on this thing.
Love my 80s shredders! I have 9 different ones. I had a Tiger Kramer like Satchels from a few years ago that I hated. I’m hoping they made the neck profiles more close to the original on these!
I have 4 new Kramers one of them is the satchel tiger stripe , its the only one with a fat fender neck. Buy another one im sure you will like it better
My guitar was a Kramer guitar with a Strat body but a 1950's neck. I could shred on it like no other! Especially because I have fairly small hands like John 5!
I bought one of those at a swap meet in the early 90’s for $75. The finish was horribly scarred, so I covered it with duct tape and used a chain as a strap. Went over great in the biker bars.
How's the pickup sound at low volumes, that pot seems to get really cocked-wah at low setting with stock PU. Maybe the pot is doing it. Otherwise the neck impressed me a lot on the 2019 Special.
Thumbs up for White Lion mention. I bought a bunch of Kramers from MusicYo.com (no longer around). My Striker is my screenname photo. I also have a Baretta with a sustainer. That was $399. The Strikers were $179--$229 depending on pickup configuration. I also bought a Steinberger Spirit GU Deluxe (in white cuz Vito Bratta is awesome) for around $279. I wish I kept that because you can't find them that cheap anymore. If you can find them at all.
Bought a Kramer Focus 6000 back in 1985 brand new for $500 since I couldn't afford the extra $300 for the Baretta. It is my best guitar I've ever had. Turns out being made in Japan back then wasn't as bad as people thought since it was made by ESP. Its hands down my favorite guitar and still play it all the time and I've had plenty of guitars over the years including Baretta's. Not sure that the new Kramer would live up to any of the old stuff.
Max I'm sorry for making such a long message but I have a Ibanez GIO and it has a wammy bridge, and I'm trying to put a hardtail on it. And I got a few questions... #1 there's a wire in the back of the guitar soldered on the claw that holds the pressure for the springs, what does it do... #2 what do I do with it when I put the hardtail bridge on the guitar?... #3 do I have to do anything to the hardtail bridge before or after I install it?... #4 does the hardtail bridge need a wire for it anywhere?... if you dont want to answer this message plz make a video about it so I can figure out how to do everything I need to do to it🙂
What I'd really like to find, is a video comparing the Kramer 84, to the Kramer Vintage. The vintage has a lot of similarities, but there are some differences as well, like the pickup and neck. As far as I know, they both use the same pickup, but it's angled on the vintage (so I'm curious if that changes the sound/tone), and I've heard the neck is different. I'd mainly like to know because I have a Vintage, but I'm not very happy with the neck profile. I grew up in the 80's and playing guitars from that time period, and it seems like a lot of these newer necks are, like, thicker/deeper. more like U profiles than the sort of shallow C my hand works best on. So I like my kramer, but if I go over to an oddity I created myself, by using a crazy dayglo pink Baby Dean ML body, mated to a 25.5 scale maple neck from a Moridira Hurricane it's, like, *Holy Crap!*. Suddenly *EVERYTHING* is SOoooo much easier to play. Suddenly I'm able to play faster and better, with so much less effort. It's nothing to do with the setup, like action or anything, because I do all the setups myself. It's just *that* neck works so much better with my hand. From what I remember, my old Kramer Focus 2000 (I believe it was from about 1986) had a very similar neck. Anyway, I heard the necks on the 84 were different than on the Vintage, which gives me hope that maybe it'd fit my hand better :\
Hey man I love the video on the Kramer a Kramer 1000 was one of my first guitar actually was my second guitar back in 1986 and believe it or not i still have it and love it even more than when I got it anyway just thought I’d share Kramers are my favorite
I travel all over the country for work, and music stores everywhere in the U.S. say that they can get a Kramer guitar, but haven't seen one in years. You have to order one just to see if it's worth buying.
I've had my '84 Kramer Focus 1000 since... well,1984!! What's totally kick-*ss about it is... it's a 1st run, meaning, it was made with all leftover American parts!!! Same woods,metals... bodies both stamped out in the same facility!! The only difference between my Focus 1000, and the American Barretta... was: the pick up, and around $850+... EVERYTHING else the same!!
I own a prototype black 1983 Kramer Focus 1000V serial#oo1 (named Raven) .....the V body shape is much tighter cut than their stock Vz - almost like an arrow - with floating Floyd Rose trem with grover original tuners, upgraded at time of original upgrade- locking nut- DiMarzio HOT pups that growl....an Indian Rosewood board with a 3 pc hard rock maple neck ......just an absolute glorious beast !!!!!!!! She's stored away now to keep her in a safe place away from damage ........I playd in a hardcore punk band- - 'Snoopys Tapeworm' in very early 80z -she was pushed thru a full stack (Ampeg stock 2*4x12z cabs) 1976 Ampeg V4 all STILL original 100wt head ....still sitting in my front room like artwork.......amp looks like a time machine from decades long ago - takes 15 mins to warm her up in stand bye til she flies - amps in near mint condition, original caps n transformer and tubes!!!......I used only a boost volume pedal/wah in the front end and used it's mint bouncey spring tank for reverb sweetness .........the guitar just blazed thru the amp flawlessly and distorted at noon , pure tube clipping !!!!.............I worked day n nite 2 jobs to save every penny back than 36+ years ago to buy the gear!!!.........the Kramer was built for speed with a flat 12radius profile and D shaped neck that is finished with a satin warmness.......I played her for 5 years til I was to afraid it would get wrecked at a show (we all were a bit crazy madness maniacs back than) - at that time- the prototype guitar cost me $1100 and was worth every penny saved! When people see her they just drop jaw at how sleek the design is....the body is one of solid maple so the guitar weighs close to 9pounds (yep-crazy , maple on maple prototype ) but looks like she should only 5 1\2lbs or less til picked up........ Just a solid deadly machine!!!........she will be given to my son soon so he can eventually pass her onto his children and hopefully the guitar lasts generations forward thru time!!! Kramers ruled the early 80z ....
Hello!. I have a Japanese Krammer Focus guitar from the 80s, but I don't have the key to its tensioner. Could anyone tell me what is the model of this key? Greetings from Brazil.
I just realized how far forward of the Floyd that pickup is mounted. My Jackson and Carvins with just 1 pickup, the pickup is just in front of the floyds. Interesting why the Kramer is so far forward?
That Kramer guitars badass I love it and I used to have one back in the 80s but it would never stay in tune I don't know about these newer ones but mine would not stay in tune back then so I went for the old trusty charbel
Very cool..Your tone was killer on this. I'm really happy Kramer is back. I PERSONALLY don't care where they are made if the quality is there. I owned 2 kline graphic painted Beretta's and I owned a Stagemaster in the late 80s, and they are killer looking and playing guitars. You can't get much simplier than one humbucker and a floyd, but I love it. We really use our hands to make music anyway. Our hands and our mind, so if the guitar plays well, sounds well, and looks cool, I'm all in.. Would love to try one if the new Kramer Vivian Campbell guitars. They were bad ass with two humbukers, and floyd, and short Gibson scale. Just killer. Hope they manufacture lot's of those types of guitars too.. This is the best time in history to buy a guitar and related gear..
I NEED one of these in black, with Rosewood fingerboard! Love the Barettas, but the eighties colored bodies and the maple fingerboard might be a tad bright for my taste
Yo Danzig, I didn't read the description, my timestamp is 1:03, you said something about jacking off a volume knob, and Did you end up liking the guitar?
I have a 2019 antique white 85 Baretta reissue. It's built like a tank! Heavier than my LP and Explorer. The neck feels like the good ol days of mid 80s Kramers. The frets feel awesome and the Floyd 1000 is solid. I prefer a recessed Floyd, but I dig the tuning stability on this non recessed set up. With all 3 springs it's harder to dive bomb so I removed 1 spring. Only problem is that the bridge floats way too high in standard tuning, but not at a half step down. This is now my designated half step down guitar which is where it should be as most of the famous Kramer players were usually tuned a half step down anyway. The Seymour Duncan TB 4 sounds as 80s metal, hair metal, rock as it gets. It has it's own sound. The coil tap is neat, but I never use it. I'm going to put a standard 500k volume pot in it eventually. Great axe. I got mine for $499 before the prices went up and the antique white is no longer available.
Cool I've got the neck and the bridge. Please get me the body because the neck pocket on the laminate body I've got is busted. So are the tremolo posts for the original Floyd Rose I've got from it.
I love the look of the Kramer guitars, but there isn’t much in the way of reviews on guitars like the baretta or the striker 211 on the Long and McQuade or Sweetwater, so I’m hesitant to get one. This video should restore my faith.
Hi Max from the UK, another cheap Kramer I have just come across over here is the Strat style Kramer Focus VT211S for only £109 gbp so cheeep!!!- they do it in the purple color you liked on the Baretta model you reviewed 2020, I would be be most interested in your honest review on one of these if you could manage to get your hands on one BTW I think your channel is very entertaining & professional too.
Man, does anyone remember exactly WHEN they started removing those behind the headstock toolkits? I have always thought it was such a stupid, purely-greedy thing to do to take such a good idea away....
@@Ricardo_Samano sure generally yes....but then you put them in your case or your guitar toolbox...the idea of having essential tools stuck behind the "useless" portion of the headstock always struck me as being genius...
my 1984 came with a compound radius or something like that , i would have preferred a wider neck near the nut but the neck is very good quality great quality fretwork as well it is a good guitar no complaints about quality
A solid white Striker 600ST was my very first guitar, back in the day and I have no idea why I bought it. Neck was too thick and I couldn't keep it in tune. Ended up ditching it for an Ibanez PR1550 which was the best guitar I've ever owned.
Same here. Focus 6000, stark white with black hardware, headstock and pickups. It is Super Strat configured with 5 selector toggle switch, 3 selector kill switch, 2 tone knobs, 1 volume, humbucker in the bridge, single coils in the middle and neck, floyd rose and rosewood fingerboard. It's pretty heavy though but I still give it some love playing on my knee with a foot stand classical style.
I like the Vintage Baretta. The headstock is shorter, the logo is the old font, the pickup, Duncan JB, is angled and the truss rod adjust is on the headstock. All aesthetic. I like the all maple construction of 1984.
The guitar this is based on, Eddie’s original 5150 Kramer, came BEFORE the Baretta. It had a Pacer body, a not-slanted pickup, the neck was based on Frankie, and the headstock was based on a Explorer (Ibanez Destroyer). This all preceded the Baretta. Max is incorrect in calling it the “Kramer 84 Baretta.” It is not a Baretta. The Baretta is based on IT, not the other way around.
I started playing in '85 so those old Kramers are very nostalgic for me. I'm really glad to see that they're still making them and they still sound just as great as they did back in the day.
Have a 1984 Stryker 100st. Love that guitar...
@dark day Hahahaha... I second that!
Scott DePasquale dude 😂
@Scott DePasquale You're a white nationalist that boasts about "patriotism". You're quite the opposite, racism disguised as patriotism. Hahahaha
@@damone70 how do you even know what color he is ???
Looks like a Van Halen
Diver Down tribute.
Easy way to pay homage to VH without paying a license fee, as the "diver down" is actually a thing used by divers from before that album ever came out.
Muff Diver
@Jacob Tobias yup
Exactly what they are doing.
@@DouglasRosser
Nah, it’s a crooked fishing lure.
I have a 1984 Kramer Baretta, white body, rosewood fret board. I saw that well known picture of Eddy from a Kramer promotional poster. My guitar is identical to that one, but it has "Baretta" on the head stock. Such a unique piece of engineering with the Floyd Rose system and locking nut at the base of the head stock. I have the Allen wrench in the back of it for the "saddle mounting screws" and the locking nut. Sucker never goes out of tune, just little adjustments with the fine tuners. Heavy guitar. People are shocked when they pick it up, but that maple gives it such a great sound. I remember changing the strings at my buddy's house back in 84' and they were freaked out that I was cutting off the ball ends. They did not understand the Floyd Rose system, which I have taken apart several times. Simple, yet amazing piece of engineering. One volume knob, one pick-up and I have adjusted the truss rod at the base of the neck like he pointed out in the video. It has the two piece neck design. Everything about the guitar is special and unique. I will die with it. I might donate it before I croak, unless I meet some young lad worthy of its greatness because I have no kids. This guitar was built and meant for one thing: Metal Devastation and it delivers in spades.
I still own an 87 striker and a 84 barreta! Love em like I love a Jackson soloist, 80s everything is the high end.glad to see the reissue
I got an old Kramer, just sitting around.. I may have to breathe some life back into it.. Thanx Maxx...
My first guitar with a Floyd Rose was a white version of this same guitar. I had a TREM TOOL attached to the back of the head stock too. What's old is new again.
Love Kramer guitars being an original 80S rocker it just feels right after all I lived it all
I graduated high school in '84. I was playing, and still have my '79 Aria Pro II Les Paul Custom. Makes me want to break out the Rubik's cube.
I'm about ready to see if I can beat my Megamania score on Atari 2600.
Aria Pro had some nice bass guitars back then too! Miss that company.
Also 84 grad....also love Aria Pro....right on brother!
@@trance9158 they still make stuff
@@garnetbezanson1404 they do? I'll have to see if they have any decent basses then.
Ah...takes me back to where the Super Strat was taking the 80's metal scene by storm. One pickup, one volume, a Floyd Rose, a flat 16 inch radius neck profile...LOVE IT!
I like both kinds of music, Heavy & Metal..
That thing is a cheeseball. Dorky retro. Love it.
Hell yeah Kramer's are shred machines.
Gary Heighway what u think of the assault 220?
I just bought a Pacer Vintage in Tiger Stripe!! Can't wait til it comes in!!
Great to see kramer back in business. Speaks volumes about the guitar industry these days.
The red is Rams blood harvested on a full moon🤘
Love the sound of maple on maple - Tight, defined and metal!
Just picked one up in red ! also it comes with a coil tap function. I dont care for that white stripe, why i just got red. My neck has some great flame going through it too. Gave it too my tech, a few issues, one was the post were sticking too far out the body on the floyd in to the body. and the pickup was sitting rather high. Small issues. All sorted now with ultra low action. The guitar just SMOKES!! The fret finishing is spot on, the guitar is also so resonant. Acoustically sounds very loud. My tech said its a quality guitar. Dont let wheres it made put you off. I actually went to try the new evh version, i was lucky they had the new batch of kramers in the store to try. Compared side by side and without doubt the kramer blew the evh away. The neck feels great on it, like an old friend 12 inch radius so it sits in the middle of my EVH music man and peavey wolf. floyd stays in tune no probs. Go try, you'll want to take it home. Just remember a great setup will make it great so haggle on price for it when buying.. I may get another before they discontinue them again.. I have some very high end guitars, id put this right up next to them now. Been playing it all day.
I love Kramer guitars!!! It's the sound that made the 80s stand out so much.
I still have my original Kramer Pacer, with 2 Seymour Duncan's and a Floyd. Love that thing. Glad they stuck with all maple, wish they would have slanted the pickup.
I picked up the 85' vintage Baretta with the slanted SD-"JB" pickup..sounds and plays just like my original 85' Baretta.
I always thought the single humbucker on a strat is pretty damn good looking. And mounting the tools in the headstock is awesome. I have a bucket full of guitar tools and no idea what goes to what.
Lol same I recently found my one missing backplate screw for my charvel, was in the bottom of a cup of stuff
A! Bought one, love it! Mick Mars fan here, the reason I wanted one. Great price from Zzounds and this thing rocks, a bit on the pink side but what the hell! Thanks for the video!
Mick Mars is a huge reason why I've been looking at buying a Kramer. Did you get the 84 or the baretta vintage? Also does it do a good job getting a Motley Crue type tone? I'm trying to figure out the difference between the 84 and the baretta vintage but they seem pretty much identical other than the fact the baretta vintage has a slanted pickup
Krammer has a winery here in Paso Robles Ca. Lots of cool guitars in the tasting room.
I have an '84 Kramer Pacer...bought it new...it has schaller tuners...the neck is made by ESP...has an original floyd...i put a dimarzio super distortion in it about 3 months after i got it...needless to say it is a beast...it kicks ass for 35yr old guitar...i love it!!!
I love Kramers. I've got a music yo Kramer and is been my main axe for years.
Cool! Diver's flag paint job is right up my alley.....I am a diver!!!
Sick videos man, love the content
Thanks Alex!
Its the guitar originally made for Van Halens Diver Down CD.
I just acquired a Kramer Baretta Special, the cheaper version of this one in vintage white and the thing is a killer. All the 80's wet sound is right on the spot. It just feels great and it's an instant bond. It's only $245 Canadian or $170 greenbacks.
Sounds great and looks the part for the era,kind of a simple but awesome look to it.
Kramer has always had the most awesome looking down turned funding head.always love the sound a Kramer makes even the cheapest ones.
Such a beauty 😍
I always liked that hockey stick headstock. Neat stuff
I still have the Kramer Stagrmaster Custom I bought new in 1987 or '88. It is a neck-through-body design, Super Strat with deep cutaways, 24 fret Ebony fret board and 2 single coil Duncan staggered Stat pickups and a Duncan JB Custom humbucker in the bridge position. There are 3 mini toggle switches - one for each pickup, a volume knobs and no tone knob. Black hardware adorns the beautiful flip-flop red paint job.
This guitar series was made start-to- finish by one luthier ( each guitar, not the entire series. At least I think there was more than one luthier building them...).
Anyway- gorgeous guitar and Ive pretty much kept it in it's original hard shell case all these decades. Afraid to mar it!
Oh yeah! A Floyd Rose trem system, also in black...
Wow! Heel adjusting truss rod and all! Sweet. I'm getting excited over here in NJ
The body on the 84 is Alder. The body on the Vintage with the tilted pickup is Maple. Both have Maple necks.
Spring tension adjustment is a screwdriver job, not the 2 Allen keys behind head stock. Where’s the Floyd Rose bar and the pinched harmonic dive bombs?
I have a Kramer Focus 4000 Flying V that is still a favorite of mine. Well built and still plays great.
I bought my first guitar and it was one of the earliest if not the first Stryker versions. It was a hunk of junk but, it was all i could afford back then. that was in the early 80's. Kramer was just getting started.
So Bad Ass love the 80s shred machines.Always liked Kramer Barretta the most!🤘🎸🤘
one pickup, one volume knob, love it!
Max,my dude,you need to get your hands on a Charvel Pro Mod Series.The San Dimas are awesome 80´s shredmachines and they recently released the DK24 with roasted maple necks and what not.
greekfreak1980 Good call! I Just took delivery of a Charvel DK24 Okoume wood body (plain, satin finished wood body, think Nuno Bettecourt sorta style) with a Floyd. It’s not the roasted maple neck but has a killer ebony fretboard. Seymour Duncan Full Shred bridge PU and Seymour Duncan Jazz neck PU. Absolutely phenomenal guitar! I think Maxx would dig them!
@@TheAxe4Ever A friend has the 2018 San Dimas in neon yellow,quartersawn maple neck, Duncan JB/59,Floyd 1000 series,push-pull coil-split and the tone knob has a special ''bypass''function.When you turn it up to 10,it deactivates the tone knob completely.
Too bad they discontinued the neon colours but they introduced some cool new metallic and satin finishes lately.
greekfreak1980 Yep. It’s called a “no load” tone control. Which I love on mine because I always used to just disconnect the tone control on all my guitars. With this control you can take it right out of the circuit (and it really works! You can hear the bump in the signal when you have it all the way up) but still have the tone control if you ever want it. The Floyd 1000 series on it is VERY close to the original. Works great! I’ve had just about every color of guitar since 1985 and decided I wanted to go with a stripped down, wood look for a change. Awesome awesome axe! I’m gonna do a little review of mine on my channel soon. Your friends guitar sounds like it’s pretty sweet too!
@@TheAxe4Ever Yeah,the coolest thing on the San Dimas is the coil-split or ''Six-Pack of Sound'' like they call it.
In full humbucker mode it's like a Petrucci guitar (Pos.1:full bridge hum,pos.2: hum splitted/ inner coils.po.3: full neck hum)
with the vol. put pulled it's: pos.1: outer coil of bridge hum only,pos2.:outer coils of bridge and neck hum in parallel mode and pos.3: outer coil of neck hum.
I just bought a san dimas charvel pro mod HH-FR. I LOVE it. I got it for like $500 in mint. I love how they moved the volume knob down and the tone pot has a no load position. It feels so satisfying playing Iron Maiden on this thing.
Love my 80s shredders! I have 9 different ones. I had a Tiger Kramer like Satchels from a few years ago that I hated. I’m hoping they made the neck profiles more close to the original on these!
I have 4 new Kramers one of them is the satchel tiger stripe , its the only one with a fat fender neck. Buy another one im sure you will like it better
Kostadin Zhelev you were exactly right about what I didn’t like about it. That and the weight and zero sustain! Good to hear they’re improving
My guitar was a Kramer guitar with a Strat body but a 1950's neck. I could shred on it like no other! Especially because I have fairly small hands like John 5!
The intro jam was sick. Nice guitar 🎸
I love my kramer signature guitar I got in the early 80s
Very rich tone, definitely great for shredding
I had a Kramer as my first guitar. 👍
I bought one of those at a swap meet in the early 90’s for $75. The finish was horribly scarred, so I covered it with duct tape and used a chain as a strap. Went over great in the biker bars.
Max I'm happy to report I've got an A!
Great work!
I got one in 2013 and it's still one of my favourite. Not bad indeed.
Loved my '84 Kramer Striker!!
That is EVH's " Diver Down" Axe copy! I bought a Kramer Baretta Special and installed an EVH "Frankenstein" pickup in it! It sounds Amazing!!
new someone would mention Van Halen Diver Down before me.
@@assnut1000 Same
How's the pickup sound at low volumes, that pot seems to get really cocked-wah at low setting with stock PU. Maybe the pot is doing it. Otherwise the neck impressed me a lot on the 2019 Special.
@@evankeal Yes the neck has a great feel! The EVH Puckup installed sounds amazing!
Thumbs up for White Lion mention. I bought a bunch of Kramers from MusicYo.com (no longer around). My Striker is my screenname photo. I also have a Baretta with a sustainer. That was $399. The Strikers were $179--$229 depending on pickup configuration. I also bought a Steinberger Spirit GU Deluxe (in white cuz Vito Bratta is awesome) for around $279. I wish I kept that because you can't find them that cheap anymore. If you can find them at all.
I played a guitar similar to this and I loved it.
Bought a Kramer Focus 6000 back in 1985 brand new for $500 since I couldn't afford the extra $300 for the Baretta. It is my best guitar I've ever had. Turns out being made in Japan back then wasn't as bad as people thought since it was made by ESP. Its hands down my favorite guitar and still play it all the time and I've had plenty of guitars over the years including Baretta's. Not sure that the new Kramer would live up to any of the old stuff.
Max I'm sorry for making such a long message but I have a Ibanez GIO and it has a wammy bridge, and I'm trying to put a hardtail on it. And I got a few questions... #1 there's a wire in the back of the guitar soldered on the claw that holds the pressure for the springs, what does it do... #2 what do I do with it when I put the hardtail bridge on the guitar?... #3 do I have to do anything to the hardtail bridge before or after I install it?... #4 does the hardtail bridge need a wire for it anywhere?... if you dont want to answer this message plz make a video about it so I can figure out how to do everything I need to do to it🙂
I like the direct mounted pickup. The Vintage uses a pickup ring.
What I'd really like to find, is a video comparing the Kramer 84, to the Kramer Vintage.
The vintage has a lot of similarities, but there are some differences as well, like the pickup and neck. As far as I know, they both use the same pickup, but it's angled on the vintage (so I'm curious if that changes the sound/tone), and I've heard the neck is different.
I'd mainly like to know because I have a Vintage, but I'm not very happy with the neck profile. I grew up in the 80's and playing guitars from that time period, and it seems like a lot of these newer necks are, like, thicker/deeper. more like U profiles than the sort of shallow C my hand works best on.
So I like my kramer, but if I go over to an oddity I created myself, by using a crazy dayglo pink Baby Dean ML body, mated to a 25.5 scale maple neck from a Moridira Hurricane it's, like, *Holy Crap!*. Suddenly *EVERYTHING* is SOoooo much easier to play.
Suddenly I'm able to play faster and better, with so much less effort.
It's nothing to do with the setup, like action or anything, because I do all the setups myself. It's just *that* neck works so much better with my hand.
From what I remember, my old Kramer Focus 2000 (I believe it was from about 1986) had a very similar neck.
Anyway, I heard the necks on the 84 were different than on the Vintage, which gives me hope that maybe it'd fit my hand better :\
I like the diver down paint looks amazing
Hey man I love the video on the Kramer a Kramer 1000 was one of my first guitar actually was my second guitar back in 1986 and believe it or not i still have it and love it even more than when I got it anyway just thought I’d share Kramers are my favorite
I wonder what this is designed after. Perhaps I should dive down into the 80's archives
I travel all over the country for work, and music stores everywhere in the U.S. say that they can get a Kramer guitar, but haven't seen one in years. You have to order one just to see if it's worth buying.
I've had my '84 Kramer Focus 1000 since... well,1984!! What's totally kick-*ss about it is... it's a 1st run, meaning, it was made with all leftover American parts!!! Same woods,metals... bodies both stamped out in the same facility!! The only difference between my Focus 1000, and the American Barretta... was: the pick up, and around $850+... EVERYTHING else the same!!
I have an original '84 American-made Baretta. Love it & my Stagemaster Custom 1.
Thank you! I remember seeing these a few years back. Use to own a vintage kramer 600st with flip flop paint. Oh 1 request. ..ibanez rg550 review. ..
Incredible guitar! The 84 Baretta! Thanks Max ✌
I own a prototype black 1983 Kramer Focus 1000V serial#oo1 (named Raven) .....the V body shape is much tighter cut than their stock Vz - almost like an arrow - with floating Floyd Rose trem with grover original tuners, upgraded at time of original upgrade- locking nut- DiMarzio HOT pups that growl....an Indian Rosewood board with a 3 pc hard rock maple neck ......just an absolute glorious beast !!!!!!!! She's stored away now to keep her in a safe place away from damage ........I playd in a hardcore punk band- - 'Snoopys Tapeworm' in very early 80z -she was pushed thru a full stack (Ampeg stock 2*4x12z cabs) 1976 Ampeg V4 all STILL original 100wt head ....still sitting in my front room like artwork.......amp looks like a time machine from decades long ago - takes 15 mins to warm her up in stand bye til she flies - amps in near mint condition, original caps n transformer and tubes!!!......I used only a boost volume pedal/wah in the front end and used it's mint bouncey spring tank for reverb sweetness .........the guitar just blazed thru the amp flawlessly and distorted at noon , pure tube clipping !!!!.............I worked day n nite 2 jobs to save every penny back than 36+ years ago to buy the gear!!!.........the Kramer was built for speed with a flat 12radius profile and D shaped neck that is finished with a satin warmness.......I played her for 5 years til I was to afraid it would get wrecked at a show (we all were a bit crazy madness maniacs back than) - at that time- the prototype guitar cost me $1100 and was worth every penny saved! When people see her they just drop jaw at how sleek the design is....the body is one of solid maple so the guitar weighs close to 9pounds (yep-crazy , maple on maple prototype ) but looks like she should only 5 1\2lbs or less til picked up........ Just a solid deadly machine!!!........she will be given to my son soon so he can eventually pass her onto his children and hopefully the guitar lasts generations forward thru time!!! Kramers ruled the early 80z ....
Hello!. I have a Japanese Krammer Focus guitar from the 80s, but I don't have the key to its tensioner. Could anyone tell me what is the model of this key? Greetings from Brazil.
I just realized how far forward of the Floyd that pickup is mounted. My Jackson and Carvins with just 1 pickup, the pickup is just in front of the floyds. Interesting why the Kramer is so far forward?
"Okay somebody said wood, but what kind of wood?" 😂😂😂
Honestly, I'd love to learn more on how you get such delicious tones.
That Kramer guitars badass I love it and I used to have one back in the 80s but it would never stay in tune I don't know about these newer ones but mine would not stay in tune back then so I went for the old trusty charbel
Add a D-tuna and you basically have a old school evh style guitar
Very cool..Your tone was killer on this.
I'm really happy Kramer is back. I PERSONALLY don't care where they are made if the quality is there. I owned 2 kline graphic painted Beretta's and I owned a Stagemaster in the late 80s, and they are killer looking and playing guitars. You can't get much simplier than one humbucker and a floyd, but I love it. We really use our hands to make music anyway. Our hands and our mind, so if the guitar plays well, sounds well, and looks cool, I'm all in..
Would love to try one if the new Kramer Vivian Campbell guitars. They were bad ass with two humbukers, and floyd, and short Gibson scale. Just killer. Hope they manufacture lot's of those types of guitars too..
This is the best time in history to buy a guitar and related gear..
Love it! Can’t find these anywhereeee tho.
I NEED one of these in black, with Rosewood fingerboard! Love the Barettas, but the eighties colored bodies and the maple fingerboard might be a tad bright for my taste
Loved the striker neck on the mine back then !!!killer dude 😎
Yo Danzig, I didn't read the description, my timestamp is 1:03, you said something about jacking off a volume knob, and Did you end up liking the guitar?
I have a 2019 antique white 85 Baretta reissue. It's built like a tank! Heavier than my LP and Explorer. The neck feels like the good ol days of mid 80s Kramers. The frets feel awesome and the Floyd 1000 is solid. I prefer a recessed Floyd, but I dig the tuning stability on this non recessed set up. With all 3 springs it's harder to dive bomb so I removed 1 spring. Only problem is that the bridge floats way too high in standard tuning, but not at a half step down. This is now my designated half step down guitar which is where it should be as most of the famous Kramer players were usually tuned a half step down anyway. The Seymour Duncan TB 4 sounds as 80s metal, hair metal, rock as it gets. It has it's own sound. The coil tap is neat, but I never use it. I'm going to put a standard 500k volume pot in it eventually. Great axe. I got mine for $499 before the prices went up and the antique white is no longer available.
Cool I've got the neck and the bridge. Please get me the body because the neck pocket on the laminate body I've got is busted. So are the tremolo posts for the original Floyd Rose I've got from it.
I love the look of the Kramer guitars, but there isn’t much in the way of reviews on guitars like the baretta or the striker 211 on the Long and McQuade or Sweetwater, so I’m hesitant to get one. This video should restore my faith.
Hi Max from the UK, another cheap Kramer I have just come across over here is the Strat style Kramer Focus VT211S for only £109 gbp so cheeep!!!- they do it in the purple color you liked on the Baretta model you reviewed 2020, I would be be most interested in your honest review on one of these if you could manage to get your hands on one BTW I think your channel is very entertaining & professional too.
How are these things sold out already? This video is only a year old?!
I had a Kramer Focus. I miss that guitar up to this day.
Hello!, Where can i buy this Kramer baretta left handed? Can’t find one..... Nice guitar!
Ya’ll know that design is a real Diver Down flag, right? Like scuba divers in the water, Diver Down! Eddie did not come up with that design!
Nope but he made it popular.
You're several decades to late with that info.....SMH
The last good David Lee album
Man, does anyone remember exactly WHEN they started removing those behind the headstock toolkits? I have always thought it was such a stupid, purely-greedy thing to do to take such a good idea away....
Joe Satchton they always come in the box don't they?
@@Ricardo_Samano sure generally yes....but then you put them in your case or your guitar toolbox...the idea of having essential tools stuck behind the "useless" portion of the headstock always struck me as being genius...
1999
@@jeromea1659 thanks jeromy...if accurate, man it's been a whole generation. Time to bring it back! XD cheers for the info
@@joesatchton212 my 98 Jackson has it. So it plausible😅
Just one pickup. Sounds great to me. Cool where the allen wrenches are located. I was surprised that it is maple thru & thru. maple neck, maple body.
By any chance can you post where I could find this the link that you have does not show the diver down guitar
I have a USA made Pacer with a Barretta neck. It has a red stain finish and is nothing but death shredder
my 1984 came with a compound radius or something like that , i would have preferred a wider neck near the nut but the neck is very good quality great quality fretwork as well it is a good guitar no complaints about quality
A solid white Striker 600ST was my very first guitar, back in the day and I have no idea why I bought it. Neck was too thick and I couldn't keep it in tune. Ended up ditching it for an Ibanez PR1550 which was the best guitar I've ever owned.
Still got my Kramer 600st from 86! Just can't make myself get rid of it!
Same here. Focus 6000, stark white with black hardware, headstock and pickups. It is Super Strat configured with 5 selector toggle switch, 3 selector kill switch, 2 tone knobs, 1 volume, humbucker in the bridge, single coils in the middle and neck, floyd rose and rosewood fingerboard. It's pretty heavy though but I still give it some love playing on my knee with a foot stand classical style.
I have an 84...VH striped. Love that thing.
Made a 5150 copy.
What song is that solo from please i need to know!!!!!
could you look into the Peavey Predator EXP Plus? please
so when is this will be avalaible ???
I like the Vintage Baretta. The headstock is shorter, the logo is the old font, the pickup, Duncan JB, is angled and the truss rod adjust is on the headstock. All aesthetic. I like the all maple construction of 1984.
The guitar this is based on, Eddie’s original 5150 Kramer, came BEFORE the Baretta. It had a Pacer body, a not-slanted pickup, the neck was based on Frankie, and the headstock was based on a Explorer (Ibanez Destroyer).
This all preceded the Baretta. Max is incorrect in calling it the “Kramer 84 Baretta.” It is not a Baretta. The Baretta is based on IT, not the other way around.
When he said they got the tools my first thought was “too satisfy”
I like the tone, but is it coming from the guitar or the amp you played it through?
is this a good guitar for metal? like playing Bullet from my vallentine, metallica or while she sleeps?
If you were to upgrade the tuners what tuners would you recommend?