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Are 1980 Kramer Guitars Any Good?


Bbreaker

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You mean 1980 specifically or '80s in general? I'm assuming you're talking about post-aluminum neck era which was '70s I believe. I think the early '80s USA Kramers were pretty well-built. I always wanted a Baretta with that banana headstock.

 

They later introduced the import Striker and Focus lines. I bought a Striker Baretta and it was crap. Plywood body, crappy electronics, non-locking Floyd Rose. My brother bought a Focus and that was actually pretty nice with solid woods, good electronics and a locking Floyd. At some point in the mid-late '80s I lost track of the Kramer line. They just had too many different product lines by then.

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Gee,BB, you live in NJ.I would have figured you were pretty familiar with Kramer or knew someone that worked for them in Neptune.There are sites out there dedicated to Kramers though I don't have a link offhand.

 

I;m not sure offhand when Kramer changed the line from the metal neck guitars to more traditional designs.Would hve been circa 1980 or so.For a while there they were the hottest brand going.I actually thought some of the later production stuff was really nice like the neckthrough Stagemaster series.Whether they actually made them or just unloaded containers from ESP is a subject of some dispute.Anyway the 80s various "USA" models can be pretty nice for superstrat style instruments if you are into the whole Floyd Rose thing,though they made a lot of different models and its hard to generalise as there were changes over time.The import lines were the Focus and lower level Striker series and probably some other stuff as well.Coulkd you be more specific? Before they made a deal with FR the MIA stuff used various different tremolos and the earliest models had Fender type headstocks IIRC.

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I am using a mid-80s kramer focus neck on my homemade guitar. I think it sucked when it was on the kramer, but I have gotten many compliments on the nice big frets and neck contour. I replaced virtually everyhting else on the Kramer it was on when it was whole, but I used it for possibly hundreds of gigs. It's all in what you're willing to deal with and compensate for, I guess. I'd buy another one, though.

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I wanted to know what forumites thought of 80's Kramer guitars.

I do know people that worked and managed at Kramer.

They have interesting stories of mismanagement and imports that are passed off as Made In USA.

Many of those USA neck throughs are ESP guitars with Kramer on the headstock.

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I have an '89 Striker ST-600 that I have a love/hate relationship with it. I love the pickups on it but I think the rest of components are crap. I hate the 5-way selector because it's crapped out almost since the guitar was new. I also hate the Floyd Rose because the t-bar doesn't stay tight and literally clanks around in the fitting. The body is the non-countered type (no beveling) which just looks cheap and the finish has bubbled/cracked/chipped in a strange.

 

As for the whole Made In USA thing, I think that they all say that on the truss rod covers even though it's not true.

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Gee,BB, you live in NJ.I would have figured you were pretty familiar with Kramer or knew someone that worked for them in Neptune.There are sites out there dedicated to Kramers though I don't have a link offhand.


I;m not sure offhand when Kramer changed the line from the metal neck guitars to more traditional designs.Would hve been circa 1980 or so.For a while there they were the hottest brand going.I actually thought some of the later production stuff was really nice like the neckthrough Stagemaster series.Whether they actually made them or just unloaded containers from ESP is a subject of some dispute.Anyway the 80s various "USA" models can be pretty nice for superstrat style instruments if you are into the whole Floyd Rose thing,though they made a lot of different models and its hard to generalise as there were changes over time.The import lines were the Focus and lower level Striker series and probably some other stuff as well.Coulkd you be more specific? Before they made a deal with FR the MIA stuff used various different tremolos and the earliest models had Fender type headstocks IIRC.

BB lives in NJ?...

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I own an '83 Pacer Imperial with 2 HB's and an original Floyd Rose, in Tobacco Burst (body and neck very similar to a Strat), with a chicken-beak headstock. It was my #1 up until about 3 years ago. The build quality is generally excellent, and easily exceeded the quality of what Fender was putting out at the time.

 

My only 2 gripes were the pickup selector (a frail little thing that somehow never snapped off after 20+ years of playing and gigging), and a very unusually-designed input jack (which was flush to the body without any external screws, and near-impossible to tighten permanently once it gets loose). Other than that, I've had no problems at all with it...

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I've owned quite a few Foci and one Striker. The necks are great (on all of the above) but the Striker components are not good. Most of the Focus models are well built and have quality components--they were made by in Japan by ESP; the Strikers (and aerostars, if you're unlucky enough to own one) were made elsewhere. My Striker was Korean, and once you got past the fact that it was plywood and that the Floyd II should never have worn the "Floyd" name, the guitar was okay.

 

The Focus sported: an Original Floyd Rose, Alder body (most of 'em did, anyway), and a great neck. The early ones didn't even have the goofy headstock. Pickups were generally "powersound" (Kramer generic, but pretty high output), but I've seen a few with OEM Duncans. Someone stated before that Kramer often used whatever parts were lying around--so, sometimes you got lucky & your Kramer had better components thrown on there than it was spec'd out to have.

 

If you happen to be hunting for one of these on the bay or at pawn shops, make sure the OFR hasn't been replaced with a POS before you purchase. Foci often are purchased and then dismantled for the good parts, then reassembled and sold with crappy components...

 

Here's my Focus 3000 (with aftermarket SD JB):

f3000_10.jpg

 

The body is extremely comfortable and the Kramer necks must be played to be appreciated.

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If they were made in the USA before 1985 they are excellent. Ive heard that most of the ones that were "made in the USA" after 85-86 were actually imports as well. I own an 82 Pacer with the Rockinger tremelo unit and it is the best guitar Ive played. I love Kramer guitars!

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Whew! Mine was made in '83 or so. I'd never heard that about some "US" ones being imports. Sounds like they deserved to go out of business. Mine's nice though-I bought it used in '83 or '84. I replaced the microphonic Schaller bridge pu with a Bill Lawrence.

 

Don't know why my pic's come up so small-it looks almost exactly like GibsonQC's except for the headstock and a maple board, but mine's a U.S. Pacer.

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