Kramer Barretta 522S

Early model 522 with the 2 over 3 headstock and straight string pull (a good thing), 24 frets, neck through body, full 3/4" spacing between strings at bridge.

I bought the bass because of the neck -through design and the string spacing. It was stripped (lots of work), the body contoured and the headstock reshaped and refinshed with a light sealer. Note that the neck is 3 - piece maple and the body is 2-3 1.5 inch pieces of alder glued to each side of the neck.

Stock electronics were replaced with EMG-HZs and custom electronics

Sounded dull acoustically until the many, many layers of paint and filler were stripped off. The whole bass, except for the fingerboard, was muffled by the finish. Sounds warmer now even with the reduced size of the body after reshaping. B string was floppy so a hole was drilled through the bridge and body to pull it through. Sounds MUCH better now.

The revamped electronics really opened up the sound. The magnets in the stock pickups actually were not wide enough so the b-string volume was less than the others. new electronics include volume w/ push-pull for active or passive operation, pickup pan, passive tone with push pull to split HZ humbuckers to single coils and a stacked EMG BTS electronic circut. I usually run the bass passive and kick in the circut when needed to punch out phrase or jam. 7 with the old pickups, 10 with the electronics!

A few high frets needed to be leveled out. The fret ends were also rounded off with steel wool for a more broken-in feel. Was a bit rough before but feels pretty good now.

This bass is a great starting point. The strap buttons were replaced quickly with strap locks and the bridge and tuners are super-solid.

N/A This bass is probaly out of warranty at this point!

Again this bass was a good starting point. With a total layout of about $350 and a lot of labor, i'm pretty satisfied. I've been playing seriously for about 14 years and have owned Spectors, Pedullas and Yamahas. The sound is very flexable which is perfect for what I play (hear samples at trumpdawgs.com). The bass is now nice and light yet still feels pretty solid. If I had the ends, I'd have someone build me a bass with the same dimensions but higher quality wood and a rounder fingerboard radius (12" vs. 15")

It's got all the bells and whistles, sans active circuitry. I have a two-year-old version of the 522S/P which has Quadrails.

Very good. I've got good ears, and I haven't heard anything less than $1K that's any better, and certainly not for the price. The pickups are plenty hot, quiet (even when played next to a computer), and allow a wide range of tones. Nu-metal to jazz, it's all accessible with a switch and 3 pots. I play through a J-Station and listen on headphones (I'm in a studio apartment), but I've played it on a number of amps, and its sounded good through each of them. If I had a MIDI pedal for my J-Station, I could get do a close approximation of any tone on the planet, with the exception of the fretless tone. (IMHO, the only way to get a decent fretless sound is to play a fretless bass.)

My one "complaint" is that the 5th string is a little floppy. Heavier gauge strings would take care of that, but as I play a lot of metal, the flop actually gives a nice, menacing character to those KoRn-esque thumps.

I had to adjust the tuning at the saddle, but other than that, I've had no need to do anything else. I understand that MusicYo instruments typically have troubles with initial setup, but I haven't had any problems in that regard with this or the $70 Focus I bought on a whim.

After two years in a box in storage units, and after several journeys in moving vans, I just had to tune and go when I picked it up again. No hissing or crackling in the pots, no loose fittings or strange rattles, and I only need to tune the thing once every few months. I don't do gigs, but even so, it's had violent encounters with doorframes, tile floors, etc, and there's just a few scratches on the bee-yootiful paint job.

They've got good documentation online, last I checked, but otherwise I've not used MusicYo's support. As I can only speak for the docs ...

Cheap. Versatile. Nice tone. Normal people don't have the money for custom or vintage basses, and this is a fine bass for anyone on a budget less than $1K.

one of the heavier basses out there, with a thick, chunky alder body, a neck-thru maple neck, two passive but medium-high quality "dual rail" humbuckers, two volume pots. one tone pot, a useful but mildly confusing 5-way switch, rosewood fretboard, 24 very well done frets, and japanese-made gotoh tuners. didn't come with anything but a really crappy 10' cable, a couple of wrenches, and a cardboard box. for a bass that cost me 210 bucks (dirt cheap in my book), it lacks nothing. however, mine came with an excessively twangy G string, and a really flat, dead, truly awful B string that sounds like a rubber band through a 500k tone pot that's all the way down. but that's the only thing keeping it from being a 10.

i'm playing through an amp that sucks for bass (peavey 112. i have no idea why it sucks - it's great for guitar if not for the lack of reverb), but i can tell this is a formidable ax. the strings are fairly large, but the bass is very easy to play due to the very thin (but not fragile-seeming) neck and wide string spacing at the bridge (for guys with large fingers like myself). i play melodic metal (think metallica's fade to black, or sanitarium), and it works quite well (at a recent gig, i managed to pull off the second solo in orion on this thing). i guess it'd work for pretty much any style. the 5-way switch, while somewhat confusing, is very useful and makes the bass quite versatile. the thing doesn't really have a very distinguishable sound (it's just plain good), except for the massive sustain, which makes it very versatile.

i have one major complaint about it: the pickups are a fraction bigger than EMG 5-string humbuckers (about 1/4" inch in both dimensions), which i fantasized about putting in until i took measurements. i'm not complaining about the stock pickups, they're plenty good, but EMG's nonetheless are much better. i wonder if gibson did this deliberately (i'd also have to ditch the rotary switch if i wanted EMG's). i'll find a way around this, but keep this in mind.

setup was pretty bad, but i'm not going to complain because i don't expect any better (and it was shipped to soggy, sweaty, furnace-like florida from presumably a more favorable climate). i didn't adjust the pickups, they were fine. truss rod needed adjusting to raise the action to playable levels, and the intonation had to be set. nothing was wrong that requried more than 10 minutes of fiddling, so i give a 10.

can't say i've dropped it yet, but i don't anticipate any problems. then again, i've never had a guitar crap out on me (and i own 2 besides this), so i really can't say. i always gig without a backup, and i've gone through at least 5 gigs/practices that lasted more than 6 hours (just about non-stop), and nothing's ever failed (except for a stupid little Y-cable, but that's another story). it seems pretty solid, especially since it's a neck-thru. i've adjusted the truss rod and intonation since i first got it, but only because i did it wrong the first time (was in a hurry to play).

no opinion. i don't deal with companies and never have. if they ship me shit in a box, i fix it. if i can't fix it, which hasn't happened yet, then i'd call.

i have been playing three years, fairly seriously, guitar and bass. i own the peavey 112 that's going to get ousted by a hartke 2115 sometime soon, as well as an ESP M207 and an M307 (that's being paid for). and then there's the slammer j-bass copy that i've had since i began playing bass and that i've wanted to subject to pyrotechnical experiments, because it's such a piece of shit, if not for the gorgeous finish (deep metallic blue). if i wasn't practically broke, i'd buy it again. since i am, if it was stolen i'd either curl up in a corner and cry, or go hunting. this is the second-best bass i have ever played (nothing can beat a washburn rb2502, even though this one comes close, but i can't afford one). my only real complaint is the really shitty B string it came with, and that the pickups can't really be replaced. the neck-thru sold me, although if i'd known about the rest of the bass, i'd have gotten it anyway. i very strongly recommend it to anyone who can't afford a custom-made one, beginners to professional players.

24 frets, 5 string, solid body. Controls 5 way rotary thinest to thickest, bridge volume, neck volume, treble. 2 soapbar Dual rail humbuckers, passive pickups. wood maple and alder. Gotoh tuners. Rosewood fingerboard.

It suites my music style well. I play black metal and the neck thru construction makes it sound great. I play it thru a Digitech BP200 bass modeling proccesor and an Ampeg BA210SP. The heavy wood makes the sound resonate very well. I only have on fret that buzzez. But I have upped my string guages so thats probably why. I think its a dark sound. The guitar is a little heavy to do quick stuff on.

Everything was its crappy factory settings. I had to buy new string adjust the action, pickups, truss rod and tuners and knobs. The nut broke on me when i was changing my B string and the peice shot across my room. Controls were nice and tight.

this bass is very solid. the wires inside snapped because the output kept turning over time and pulled the wires apart. strap buttons are nice and solid. I had to adjust my truss rod once. The finish isnt to good. I dont sit around with the guitar, i only play standing up and the finish is wearing away. I can see the wood on the edges of the body. you can only see that in certainly bright lights, so if you were in a dark show i wouldnt worry about it. I could depend on this guitar.

I havent had to deal with the company.

I have been playing for eight months (serious) couple months before with a 4 string. I would buy this bass again. Its very different not many people in the black metal use these basses, mostly ESP or B.C.Rich and expensive ones like that. Its so dark and evil, like me and my music. my shoulder gets tired from the weight but its better sound so... i shouldnt complain. My favorite feature is the solid neck thru construction at an affordable price. I wish it had skull inlays. This bass kicks ass!

I purchased this bass new in February of 2000. Note that it is not the 522S/P model currently available at Musicyo. At the time of this submission the 522/S bass, which does not have the pointy-headstock, is no longer available. This 522/S has Gotoh tuners on both sides of the headstock and the old block style Kramer logo.

Sticker states made in Korea. Bass came in a Gibson/Epiphone box. Solid neck through construction and two passive Dual Rail humbuckers. Two volume, 1 tone and 1 plastic "chicken head" type 5-way switch knob. Die cast bridge. Black hardware and painted finish. Price did not include a gig bag.

I use different instruments for various music styles. I changed the strings because the frets are soft and I didn't like the sound of the original strings. I put on GHS flat-bright strings and the bass now provides a full dark sound. I play through a Peavey TKO 115S and it can rumble like a herd of elephants.

I am pleased with the rock and jazz tones I can obtain. The sustain is lengthy and harmonics ring out clear. I do not use this bass for slapping styles, funk or anything requiring a crisp bright sound.
Overall this bass meets my needs however I would rate it higher if it provided more variety.

The strings buzzed out of the box. I spent several hours getting it set up correctly. While I expect to set up a new instrument to my liking I did not anticipate having to tighten down the bridge and change the strings. I also replaced the plastic 5-way switch with a matching metal knob.

The bridge has only one row of screws securing it to the body; consider how a box lid could pivot if only nailed on one side. It would be stronger if it had two rows of screws. Also the rear of the bridge does not sit flush on the body as the wood is contoured.

The neck has a smooth comfortable feel. It is thin and wide. The frets are well polished and with the flat strings are not wearing excessively.

From a distance this is a black beauty! Looks real classy and mysterious. Up close the middle string does not align with the dot inlays. Also the side markers at the 24th fret are crooked, a couple of little things that diminish the overall quality of this enjoyable instrument.

I have had this bass for almost two years now. The neck has not required any adjustment and so far the bridge has held up. Sometimes after I play I notice silver specks on the fretboard. I am glad I switched to flat wound strings!

The black finish still gleams and appears rich and deep. I have not needed to do anything other than perform routine maintenance on this bass.

As is I would be comfortable using this for light gigging and recommend a backup for any instrument. If I were a heavy player I would replace the bridge.

While I have not contacted Musicyo about this particular bass I have made other purchases that required exchange. I have found the company very responsive and professional however only has email as a means of communication.

I have been playing off and on for about 15 years now. I have 3 other basses, (Ibanez & Fender 4 strings and a Steinberger 5 string) and find I pick this one up most often. It is a joy to play and an exceptional value.

I have not found a better bass in this price range. The 522S/P's are now less expensive than what I originally paid for this model. I would definitely buy it again if I needed a replacement and chose not to upgrade to a more expensive instrument. I really like the neck through construction and the solid feel. Time can slip by while playing this bass!

This is a used Baretta 522S Bass purchased on Ebay (4 months old).
This Bass is in deep piano black with black hardware and black PUs.
14 degree tilt headstock,brass nut, cast bridge, Gotoh tuners, Neck-
Thru construction, 2 humbucking PUs. Passive electronics with a 5-
position switch with position 1 being the thinnest sound and position
5 being the fattest sound. Neck has 24 frets and is a little wider
than my Fender Active Jazz V. Neck Thickness is quite a bit thinner
than my fender (very comfortable). PUs are of the Dual Rail type and
are actually dual coils. Neck material is hard maple and body wings
are alder. In general Bass has a "all of a peice" feel. Solid.

I play classic rock and this bass suits my style to a "T". I am
using it with a Carvin RC210 600W combo with 2-10" speakers. I have
not heard any noise out of the bass yet but I use it in full humbuck
ing position 5 most of the time. In pos. 5 it has that typical Humbu
cking sound (punchy,rich,full and lacking in highs just a little). As
you turn the control towards pos. 1 the wiring goes to single coil
and the sound gets thinner. Between the two volume controls, PU
switch and tone control there are a full pallet of tones available.
Between the tube overdrive and the graphic eq in the Carvin I can
get any sound I want. It seems quiet enough for the studio as well
as stage. Two things that really stand out are the thin neck feel
and the string spacing. At 3/4" spacing this is a great bass for
those that feel most 5 strings are to tight. The Nut is spaced about
like the Jazz Bass but the strings fan out as they approach the
bridge. Very much like the Yamaha 5-strings. Very nice feel.
Great for slapping though I dont slap much.

Bass came from previous owner with the factory set-up. It was medium
-high. PUs were set-up just right and I used the bass this way for
a couple of rehersals. After a while decided it was time to lower the
strings. Since the neck seemed to need no adjustment I felt this
would not be a problem. After lowering the strings just a little I
had a bass with a feel that felt like much pricier basses. Now the
bass is easy to play for hours with no string buzzing anywhere. Body
of the bass is finished in a nice deep black with black hardware. Very
nice look and my favorite color for a bass.

I have not had the bass for very long but I've no reason to dought
the reliability. Bass feels rock solid and should feel this way for years. Neck-thru has a lot to do with that. Even the 5-position switch
has a heavy duty feel. Strap buttons are not the heaviest I have
seen but are good enough. I would guess I will never have to adjust
the truss rod as the neck feels very stable. I would use it on a gig
without a back-up.

Bought this bass used on ebay. This bass is sold only through
Musicyo.com on the Webb. I have had good customer relations with them
however you never speak to a human being. Everything is done thru the
Webb.

I have been playing for 25 years on and off. The list of basses I
have owned...Dan Armsrtong,Gibson EB0, EB-1 and EB-3, Fender Precision
,Fender Jazz, Steinberger XZ-25. Right now my Fender Active Jazz V
was my main bass with the Steinberger as a back-up. Now I think that
I will use the Kramer most of the time (at rehersals anyway) and
pick-up the Fender when I want that special "woody tone". The Kramer
is just the easiest to play and It is lighter and more compact than
the Jazz (why I bought it). I cant believe the value on this bass.
MusicYo.com is just charging too little for it. As an aside I ordered
the 5-string Tobias Bass from them and returned it for a full refund.
I did not like the feel of the Tobias (not to mention it cost twice
as much). If Bassplayer ever reviews this bass like they did for the
Tobias you cant bet MusicYo will increase the price. If this were
stolen I would go out and buy another with no hesitation. Bass does
not come with a case so I bought a Kramer gig bag from MusicYo for
$20. Very nice bag made by TKL. Lots of padding and very heavy duty.
I really think you will be pleasantly surprised with the build
quality and sound of this bass. I am,every time I play it.

Manufactured in 1998, Korea. 5 String, neck through body design, (2) "Dual Rail" passive humbucking pick-ups, 5 way rotary selector, 24 jumbo frets, long scale neck, Jazzish-type body shape, Gotoh tuners. Comes with 2 allen wrenches for setup.

I record a varied range of music, mostly rock and urban oriented pieces. Sounds good on everything, I could picture this bass fitting in with just about any kind of music. Has a great Rickenbacker sound on certain settings. Very versatile and has a nice solid low end. A little noisy in the single coil settings. Beautiful, long sustain from the neck through. Lot's of tone choices via the 5 way rotary switch. See my review on the Kramer Baretta 422s which is the 4 string model.

Unlike the setup as described in my review of the 422S, this bass came perfectly setup. I was expecting to spend another half day getting it dailed in, but I was surprised to find it perfectly set-up from the box. The inspection tags had different names, so I guess the 5 string got the more experienced tech. Finish is perfect, neck is straight, intonation already set. After tuning it I was ready to play it. What a difference from the 422S! If most of them come this way, and the 422S was a fluke, these basses are an amazing value!

I wouldn't feel uncomfortable gigging this bass. See my review of the Kramer Baretta 422S.

My second order from MusicYo.com and went without a hitch. This time I had it shipped via US Mail and it arrived 4 days after I ordered it. I have no reservations about ordering from them again.

I've been playing for years and have owned a lot of basses. I heard about these new Kramers (now run by Gibson) and after looking at the specs decided to buy one. Besides, for $209 ($199 for the 4 string) how can you go wrong? The neck-through was the selling point for me and it really makes a difference. The electronics are versatile sounding enough to be used on many different styles, which was also a big consideration for me. An excellent instrument if even at twice the price, I'll probably end up buying a guitar from there too. For more info see my review of the Kramer Baretta 422S, which is the 4 string version of this bass.

2000, Korean Made... Since Gibson has acquired Kramer, they are being made in the Epiphone factory. I am pretty sure of that. Here's the list of Factory Specs.


Neck:
3-pc Canadian Hard Maple
Neck Profile:
Elliptical, Slim-Taper
Construction:
Neck-Thru
Body Wings:
North American Alder
Neck Pickup:
Dual-Rail Bass Humbucker
(N2S)
Bridge Pickup:
Dual-Rail Bass Humbucker
(B2S)
Controls:
Neck Volume
BridgeVolume
MasterTone
5-WayRotary
From "FUNK" to "FAT"
1 - Both pickup,
single-coil mode
2 - Bridge pickup in
parallel and neck pickup
single-coil mode
3 - Bridge pickup in
parallel and neck pickup in
series mode
4 - Bridge pickup in
series and neck pickup
parallel
5 - Bridge pickup series
and neck pickup series
Bridge:
Kramer 5750 Adjustable
Bridge
String Spacing:
3/4" (0.750") Center to
Center
Machine Heads:
Gotoh GB7 Die-Cast (20:1
ratio)
Nut:
Brass
Nut Width:
1.750"
Frets:
24 Jumbo Nickel/Steel
Headstock:
14 degree pitch
Straight String Pull
Fingerboard:
24 fret, Indian Rosewood
F/B Radius:
16"
Scale Length:
34"
F/B Inlay:
Pearl Dots
Finishes:
Black, Metallic Blue, Red,
and White

It came with the allan wrenches for adjustments.

I like the 5-way pickup setting on this guitar... it gives you the flexibility for a mellow sound, or a more aggressive fat drive. The pickups aren't noisy, and the sound is clean. The sustain on this is great...that was one of the things I was looking for. The Neck-thru design really delivers. Good solid rich sound.

I was really impressed here too. Consisering the 999$ list price, I would have expected nothing less than great... and that's what I got. It came with a good set of strings, and the intonation was adjusted just right. That's the 1st thing I check for. The intonation was set better than any Gibson/Epiphone product I have used. Plays well right out of the box. The build quality was outstanding... I havn't found any build problems, and the hardware/knobs are good and solid. The finish is great... It has that glossy piano black look. If you look really hard, on the back you can faintly make out the wood joints on the back, but that's getting really picky.

I havn't had this one long enough to give a good answer, but the build looks excellent, and I expect long life.

So far, Gibson has arranged and paid for any troubles I've had with their products, so I have zero complaints here. Sometimes they neglect to answer e-mails, so that's why the lower than perfect rating.

I will be the 1st to admit I'm not a bass player. I'm a drummer who is expanding horizons. I've been playing guitar for about a year, and I am judging the bass on what I look for in a guitar. Good sustain, good build quality, easy to play, and clean sound. This bass does just that. With how much MusicYo discounts these, It's definately worth checking out. It's much better looking than in the photo, and mine played nice right out of the box. Considering that the list price is $999... I'd say that $219 is a heck of a deal. I already own two Epiphone guitars, and I really like them, so I figured that Gibson would be doing good things with the Kramer name. For the cash I invested in this Bass, I'd say I got my moneys worth and much more.