Kramer 650G

1978/79 650G Artist, bought second hand for $800 and worth every cent.

Aluminium neck with ebanol fingerboard, MOP crown inlays. Body is a highly figured walnut(?) with a birds eye maple centre section. Pickups , both humbucking are completely covered and have real wood surrounds. Aluminium backplate to control cavity (2 Vols, 2 Tones)and pickup height adjusted from the back of the guitar. Fenderish type of bridge.

I play mainly blues/electric folk and this guitar has the clarity and fluidity that makes playing a joy. I normally put this through a Peavey Ultra 2x12 combo and it sounds superb from clean through crunch to outright overdrive. By playing around with amp settings, a thousand top quality sounds can be got. You would have to seriously try to make this guitar sound bad.

A dream to play. I don't know whether its the fretboard material or the low action, but freting and bending notes is effortless - almost liquid.

As regards fit and finish, the only minus is a fair bit of fresh air around the neck whre it is attached to the body. I cant imagine that a guitar of this obvious quality was like this originally, more likely down to possible wood shrnkage. Anyways, the stability of the set up is rock solid and the neck would need a sledgehammer to move it.

Live playing? I'll be long dead before this thing wears out. This is a top quality, professional guitar. Solid as a rock.

I would imagine back in 1978 that an outfit like Kramer would be on the ball. Lets climb into the time machine and try it.

I have been playing for over 30 years and made some of my own guitars and bought many more others. I wish I could have afforded one of these in 1978 because it would have saved me a fortune wasted elsewhere. If it were lost, I would become a recluse and thrash myself daily with sprig of gorse, If it were stolen, I would beat the perpetrator to death with a sledgehammer and put the remains through a blender. Then I would buy another one so that I could enjoy playing it in jail. This guitar has it all, doesn't need anything extra, nothing different.

Read my description of my 450G. This one is the same, but the body is burled wallnut with a mid-section of very nice birds'eye maple. Crown shaped MOP inlays at1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 12, 15, 17, 19, & 21. The neck is the aluminum/mahogony classic design w/ ebonole fretboard and spetzel locking tuners.

See 450G description. Amazing tone from the density of materials, along with all the sustain anyone should ever employ. PU's are hot, but quiet and responsive.

Flawless design, Heavy, but balanced and tight. Action is at ground zero, as far as playable action goes. This is one of the finest guitars ever put into production in the US, and it is as functional and beautiful today as it was in 1978. Materials are awesome, workmanship amazing, and finish is like a coat of glass. A true players dream, and one within the financial reach of most. I can't say enough abouth this guitar.

Bulletproof and totally dependable. Not so much as a scratchy pot after thousands (seriously) of hours of enjoyment.

n/a
not needed with such a fine guitar, for any dammage sustaind would surely be the owners fault

As fine an instrument as has ever seen production in the states . Don't let the Kramer immage of the 80's (EVH, hair-metal, Korean imports, etc) mar your perception of this instrument. I am thankful for the dung heaps of day-glow strats and pointy axes Kramer made following this era because it made this guitar a true bargain by association. Even Eddie disassociated himself from the company toward the end. There were 3 distinct phases of Kramer, and the first is responsible for these solid works of art. This is not a Travis Bean copy, or you'd have to say that TB's were Veleno knockoffs and that Gibsons were copies of ancient designs. THis is a historic, well-made, playable, guitar with a price range that is a total farce of the vintage-guitar industry.