Kramer Baretta

USA Baretta. about '87,has the 'Neptune Usa' thick backplate.
Original Floyd Rose, 1 x Seymour Duncan zebra humbucker. Color:candy apple red/metallic red. It has Schaller machine heads.

I bought mine used about 6 months ago...I did not really know they were that good! As someone else says,those USA barettas have also an excellent pedigree...when I bought mine,I suddenly remembered COUNTLESS photos of countless players during the 80's that used those guitars..not just Van Halen.
I dont particularly know much about Van Halen although I obviously respect him and know his pupular stuff...but basicly,I did not buy that brilliant guitar because of Van Halen,but because I think highly of the guitar! (but of course Eddie as well...anyway,you get the idea)

Sound is EXCELLENT! very sustainful and a big pick attack...,those are surprising because they are very light guitars but do not at all sound the way light guitar generally sound...it fills my room with volume even without amp attached! VERY loud guitars and surprising attack and sustain...before I bought mine,I tried another Baretta USA long ago and I remember I was VERY impressed by it's deep sound,either amplified or not. Trhu a good tube amp,those guitars are instant gratification. At least the USA made...I think the Focus or the other stuff should not be considered the best Kramers...but those USA baretta's certainly are!!!!

I have read on Ed Roman's website about him slagging off Kramer...well,he's full of krap. He's just full of himself...those Barettas are amongst the greatest. And bear in mind that I feel bad about my guitar unless it sounds GREAT. Very good to me is not enough...what I look for in a guitar is BAGS OF TONE first and foremost,and then playability and lastly,looks.

I also am not very fond of pointy guitars,but this one is really an exception because is,and feels, like a beautiful guitar.

I really do not remember liking any other pointy guitar....even expensive Hamer Chaparrals,although high in quality ,had what I thought a weak sound.
Generally I think Gibson have a very strong sound,and even less popular guitars such as Washburn Falcon or Stage.

But that metallic red Baretta is really a joy...very alive sunding,and the other great thing is,once you strap it on it really feels like Mythril sword....so light and supple. They are also excellent for long hours while sitting down..only in that case you have to be careful because the downward pointing headstock easily gets slammed by the amps or keyboards that you have liyng around

Really,this guitar is a great guitar.Other similar type guitar such as Ibanez RG 700 or whatever,sounds like crap in comparison

This one sounds like what Ibanez guitar should have sounded but never did,I have always found Ibanez guitars papery-sounding,weak and impersonal.
Those Baretta USA kicks ass....even if you are an older player and play mainly blues,I would highly recommend those guitars because of their deep and rich sound ....definitely a keeper. Brilliant nice guitar.

I prefer nonlocking Wilkinson bridges,but the thing about those real Floyds is that the guitar stays in tune after many hours of playing...so in the end,more power to people because they spend less time tuning guitars up and more time making actual music.
If I really get picky,I would also prefer a slightly flatter fretboard and the tallest frets,but I can get it modified,and on that monster guitar it's definitely worth it!

I'd give it 11 out of 10 if I could

As i said,those guitars are top-notch....many guitars are ,see PRS,or others,but they dont really have a great feel when you play them...this one does,and it's really a bargain because nowadays they can be had for the price of a cheapo crap new guitar.

I remember when I tried the other many years ago,it retailed at about # 800....I have now basically the same guitar,bought for # 290...wow

absolutely killer guitar...I really feel confident playing thru the Baretta USA. a great guitar. Highly recommended...I would play anything with this (If I could play anything,that is!) blues,rockabilly,fusion,jazz,rock.

naturally,it's amazingly suitable for metal virtuoso stuff....yeah,the Baretta USA is tres cool. excellent! no regrets whatsoever and absolutely no complaints from me (and I am a born moaner)

Kramer American D Series (84-86)with Made in USA flat stamped on back. 22 frets stunning rosewood finger board. Strange circuit board type graphic and original Floyd Rose trem. One hot Duncan humbucker, Schaller machine heads. Ultimate balls to the wall rocker!!

Play mainly hard rock / metal, Sabbs, Halen, Crue, Dokken and the list goes on. This guitar was born to rock. My main guitar is a peavey wolfgang with the hottest pickups I ever heard until now. I have 11 good guitars but none of them inspire me enough to put my wolfgang away because it is superb. However, my Baretta has achieved the impossible. After a clean up, setup and restring I plugged into my amp and just freaked.THIS IS AS GOOD AS A WOLFGANG! and in fact has more bottom end.

Fantastic condition for it's age, and the construction and action is amazing. Also has a great pedigree and a sense of history.

This guitar could scare the crap out of any NU Metal bozo with a dropped A, 5 fret (with a dusty end baritone!!)

Kramer, gone but not forgotten.

Been playing 20 years. my setup is simple no nonsense rock! Wolfgang / Kramer Baretta in to a Keeley modified Boss SD1 overdrive into a Boss GE7 eq into a Marshall DSL50 head loaded with Groove Tubes which sits atop a Marshall 1960 AC Cab loaded with 25 watt greenback celestions. (Metal Heaven) No dusty end on my necks!

This is an American series 1987 Kramer Baretta. It has a Seymour Duncan JB humbucker slanted at the original Floyd Rose bridge. It also features a Kline waterfall graphic. The body is heavy (maple maybe?). Schaller M6 mini tuners. All hardware is black chrome. Poiny headstock witk the K in Kramer big and the letters getting smaller towards the R. 22 medium jumbo frets on a (10 inch radius?)rosewood fretboard. Perl dot inlays. The hard rock maple bolt on neck is neither a boat neck nor a thin one. It's just right. The body was Schaller straplock ready! One 500K volume pot. No tone control. I'm giving this a 10 because this has all of the features I'd ever want on a guitar. It has a Seymour Duncan zebra JB humbucker slanted at the ORIGINAL FLOYD ROSE! bridge. It also features a Kline waterfall graphic. The body is heavy (maple maybe?). Schaller M6 mini tuners. All hardware is black chrome. Poiny headstock witk th K in Kramer big and the letters getting smaller towards the R. 22 medium frets on a (10 inch radius?)rosewood fretboard. Perl dot inlays. The hard rock maple bolt on neck is neither a boat neck nor a thin one. It's just right. The body was Schaller straplock ready! One 500K volume pot. No tone control. I'm giving this a 10 because this has all of the features I'd ever want on a guitar.

This guitar has a loud thick warm tone. It's very professinal sounding. There are no dead spots. It can be crunchy with power chords. And it can play real sweet lead solos. It has tons of sustain. I had never owned a Seymour Duncan JB equipped guitar before. And now that I have, I'm sold on these pickups. They have a nice round sound with lots of power. I play rock and metal. Especially 70s and 80s stuff. And this guitar covers it all very well. It does have a rich full sound. Maybe because the pickup is slanted. I replaced the output jack because the original was loose and was causing the sound to short out. While I was in there I copper foiled the compartment case. The only thing that I've noticed is that the D string sometimes makes a twanging sound. I'm not sure what it is. It may be the locking nut is worn out. I'm not sure. When I turn down the volume I don't lose treble, courtesy of the factory installed .001 capacitor on the volume pot. The ORIGINAL FLOYD ROSE! is very smooth.

The only thing that I've found wrong with this guitar is that the D string does buzz a little when played open. I'm not sure why. It may be a worn place on the locking nut. That can be replaced. But other than that, the rest of the action is very low without fret buzz. About 1/16 of an inch at the 22 fret! This is one very well made guitar! The nut lines up just right to the fretboard. Everything lines up just right. ORIGINAL FLOYD ROSE! This guitar was in very good shape when I received it. The previous owner said that he had taken very good care of it. And that he was the original owner. He even gave me the original inspection tags!

This guitar is very dependable. Schaller tuners, Schaller manufactured ORIGINAL FLOYD ROSE! Schaller strap locks! What more could a person want?!

The original Kramer company went out of business in the early 90s. Too bad. When they were still in business they sent me a couple of catalogs for free. That was nice of them. And I still have them. They made some of the best guitars of all time.

I've been playing guitar for 28 years. I had wanted on of these guitars since I first saw people playing them in the mid 80s. I had earlier bought a Striker thinking it was a Baretta. I wouldn't change a thing about this guitar. This is the cat's pajamas as far as I'm concerned. Yes I'd buy another if lost or stolen. I may buy another anyway :).

This rock-axe is equipped with nothing more than the most essential. Floyd Rose tremolo, one Seymore Duncan zebra humbucker and one volume pot. The quality of these features however, make it more than enough. Every detail of this guitar is the best available. The neck is fat, feels kind of tele...It is a pleasure to play this thing, it just feels like it plays itself. I bought mine in pieces, and it was in terrible condition, the neck was like a banana, and the tremolo was rusty as an old Volvo. New strings, neck adjustment and a total lubrication of the tremolo(about 3 hours of work) and it was perfect. I was stunned..

For rock, blues and metal, this is the perfect guitar. The zebra hum has a wonderful fat and vibrant tone with little noise. It screams on high tones and has a sustian and twang that reminds me of a humbucking stratocaster. It even sounds a lot completely unplugged, due to the high resonating body. In some cases, when playing clean or in some solo cases, a neck pickup would help out a little. I play it through a 125w 2*10 fender amp, with various pedals, and can obtain great metal sounds from Judas Priest to Pantera, or crunchy Stevie Ray Vaughan sounds.

Since I bought mine in pices, I don't know much about the factory settup. It was extremely easy to make it perfect myself, so I suppose the factory can't fail adjusting it.

This guitar was made in 86, and has been used as working tool. On the road with numeruos gigs, and badly mistreated in general. Still it is in great condition. It will probably be around and used for decades to come. It is an extremely well built guitar.

Never needed them

In my opinion, I got this one for free and, I will not sell this one, no way. It has all the features I could possibly want, and they are all original. If it were stolen, I would replace it(even though they are hard to come by in Sweden). I am right handed, and this guitar is a lefty. Still it works great once you get used to the trem arm. My other guitar is a BC RICH Ironbird NJ-series with an EMG-81 and it too sounds great, but it is more limited to heavy metal music. If anything, I only wished it were a right hand piece.

Mine is black, with the pointy headstock and the big K small R logo. Serial is E70**, which means it's probably made in '86. It's got a bound neck with dot inlays, which apparently is quite uncommon. The lay-out is extremely simple: One Seymour Duncan JB pick-up in the bridge position, volume control and Floyd Rose (original) - that's it! The tuners are Schallers. Very simple, but the parts are the best of the best, so nothing to complain about.

This guitar was certainly made to rock, and it does it extremely well. Given that it's only equipped with one pick-up and no tone control, the sonic varieties are very limited - this is a one-trick pony. But it's the best at nailing that hard-rock sound from back in the eigthies, no surprise as this axe was the choice of not a few of the shredders of those days. It's best played through a dirty amp, but it can play clean as well, producing a nice, clean and not too thin sound. But if you play clean much of the time, you'll probably find yourself missing a neck or middle pick-up. I play it through a Marshall JCM 800 and a Marshall VS100, and it makes both of them scream. A mediocre amp like the VS100 really benefits from a quality instrument like this. If you don't mind being limited to one sound only you'll love this guitar, if not, look for another one.

I bought this used, so I don't know anything about the factory set-up, but it was perfectly set-up when I got it. VERY low action with almost no buzz - this is indeed a shredders delight. Very fast, and very comfortable. This guitar is about 17 years old, but apart from a few small scratches you wouldn't know it - the finish and all the hardware looks almost brand new.

This one is truly built to last - see above. Excellent finish, if it weren't for the risk of breaking a string, I wouldn't mind playing it without a backup.

I've been playing for about 12 years now, and other than this one I own a Kramer Pacer as well (plus a Yamaha acoustic and an old Hohner strat). I have also owned a Ibanez RG270. I really love this guitar - it's got history and it's a high-quality instrument, plus it something not everybody ownsm which is especially nice in these (boring) vintage Fender and Gibson days... :-)

This is an update to the below "Submitted by: SiR pSyChO sExY69 at 11/07/2003 09:18" reviewed guitar...

I disassembled the guitar and...
-parted out the Original Floyd and Duncan JB bridge and 59 neck pickups over eBay. Then replaced the Old Floyd, it was visually worn and had some pitting and rust w/a much cleaner black Floyd Original that I had acquired.
-replaced the Duncans w/a New Dimarzio Tone Zone in the bridge and a Vintage Dimarzio SDS1 in the neck. Although the Duncan pickups sounded good...I like the Tone Zone & Super Distortion Single 1 better with a Maple Fretboard...has that "early eddie" tone.
-struggled w/replacing the Warmoth neck with a NOS Kramer Elliot Easton Pro I Rosewood Board neck...but just couldn't bring myself to change out the partially scalloped "raw" maple board Warmoth neck...so I cleaned and oiled it 3 times (fretboard and back)until it felt nice and smooth, then, added a replacement "Kramer" Logo in gold to the already black gloss finished Strat Shaped Headstock. Clear coated over the logo.
-set up w/.10-.46 strings.

***Absolutely love it...it's not mint and it's a "parts mutt", but it's certainly a "looker" and a "player". Love the sound, love the look and it's a pure joy to play. I've had people drooling over it since I got it. Had a couple of guys follow me into a local guitar store the day I took it in to have the pickups installed. A couple of employees who were on smoke break and followed me right to the repair department. This one is another "keeper" to go along w/my 91 BC Rich Maple Board Gunslinger, 88/89 NOS Parts Kramer Elliot Easton Pro I Pacer Imperial Rosewood Board Mutt and 03 Warmoth Maple Board Tangerine Orange SRV Floyd Rose Tribute Strat.

Modified Kramer Baretta Kline Outer Space Graphic (really nice one w/a view as if you were in the space shuttle orbiting the Earth and coming around cresting the earth on the lower bout and the moon in the distance on the upper bout. Body is sort of on the heavy side, probaby Maple. Original Flody Rose and All Hardware in Black.

Modifications include...
-Warmoth Birdseye Maple/Birdseye Maple Board Neck, 22 Jumbo Frets, Fender Strat Headstock Classic Small Shape, Scalloped from 12th-22nd Frets
-Professional Route for a Neck Pickup...Duncan Lil 59...and added 3 Way Toggle
-Replaced Bridge Pickup w/a Duncan Screamin' Demon w/a push/pull coil tap.

Features are solid, useable and provide plenty of tonal variety. No Complaints.

Awesome. Really love the sounds that I'm able to get from the Duncans and the Maple Board Neck just tops it all off. Covers all the bases sound wise...unless you're looking for EMGs or Active Boosts etc...if so...look elsewhere...cause this baby is staying "80s".

All of the above...excellent...even w/the Warmoth Replacement Neck (nice tight fit/low action). Body was well taken care of and is in excellent shape...especially the graphics.

It appears to have lasted this long...why wouldn't it. Rock Solid 80s KRAMER GUITAR!

Sadly...Kramer is long since dead...the Gibson/Musicyo crap doesn't even compare...the only similarity is the name "Kramer".

Fantastic Value INDEED...Warmoth Scalloped Maple Board Neck, Seymour Duncan Pickups, Solid Wood Body w/Factory Custom Graphics, Original Floyd Rose...everything I could want...or need for that matter.

I was around during the 80s but only started playing guitar in 1989, an Alvarez acoustic 6 String, which I practiced and played upon solely for 2 plus years. Was a real acoustic snob for that time...wanted to keep it "organic". Duh?!?!?

My practice buddies, Albert & Gary (a couple of great friends back in the day), were playing a modified Strat and stock Gibson SG at the time (Al still has his SG and Gary moved on to a Les Paul) and I eventually switched to a Fender Japan Strat which I modified heavily. That one is long since gone. I've only recently discovered the joy of these old Kramers in the last 2 years. I wish I'd known about them sooner. This is my third Vintage Kramer Super Strat (second one I've kept) and all I can say is that these guitars are great, high quality parts, super playability, comfortable and they kick major ass tonewise. I don't think I'll ever pass up a good deal that comes my way on a decent model Vintage Kramer Guiar. Matter of fact...I'm in the process of assembling another one from vintage parts now! :)

The price was ridiculous! It's an early 90's US Barretta, American series, black, rosewood fingerboard and three-piece maple neck with binding. It has one Seymour Duncan JB zebra humbacker, a volume knob, Schaller tuners and Schaller Floyd Rose(stating Floyd Rose only, but there's a "Made in Germany" imprint on the inside). What I don't like is that the trem arm is not being plugged in, but screwed in, which is a pain in the a**.
Anyway, I never bought a used guitar in such a perfect shape. It looks like fresh from the factory and all the hardware is 100% healthy. It even came with the original hardshell case.

It already sounds great before it's plugged in. Very "alive", Strat-like sound. Pluged in, it has a very sweet, singing tone. It doesn't sound really hard, due to the light wood used for the body and that's why it can be used for any musc style. It sounds especially good for Yngwie Malmsteen kind of stuff, very transparent and lots of attack. It's not the right guitar for extremely hard stuff like Death/Thrash, cause it sounds too "twangy" for that.

The setup was awful, but tat problem was solved within 15 minutes. Adjusted all the stuff (trem, pickups, tuners tension), new strings (9's), a short steel wool treatment for the fingerboard and we were ready to go. It plays like a charm. Action is (at 12th fret) 1.5 mm for high E and 1.8 mm for low E. No buzz, good balance, very comfortable to play.

The best hardware available, three-piece neck will probably never brake and due to the rather simple design, there's not much that could go wrong...

They don't exist any more.

I've been playing for 18 yrs. now. I own a Hamer Centaura, a beautiful Eko M-24, Carvin Strat which I assembled myself and now this beauty. My Nr #1 is still the Eko, but this one will also get a lot of work. I dreamed about this guitar back then when I was a 15 year old kid, 'cause it was so good looking and many pros played it. I only wish it had a neck pickup as well, but it's not that important. It awakens some childhood memories and that's just a beautiful feeling.
If it goes on like this, I'll soon need an extra room for the guitars :)

Sold to me by my cousin. It came in a box in pieces. The body was sanded down to the finish, but the neck was untouched. It was in brand new condition and was not played hardly at all. My cousin got it new, but wanted a Gibson SG. He was a big Cars fan and wanted the Rick Ocasek look. Anyway, it had a humbucker, DiMarzio I think and an Origional Floyd Rose, one volume.....you know what the specs are. All hardware was black. It had the Kramer big to small logo. It was good enough for me, I wanted one. I give it a 10!

Once I got it back from the paint shop down the street ( got it painted white ) I went to work and put it together. After a damn good setup I took it home and plugged it in. It was killer! Everything I expected.

After construction and setup it was near perfect. I will give it a 10 by my standards.

Still going as of today. Frets lasted through the 80's, 90's and this century.

My cousin got it from his dad who bought it from a customer of his for $25. My cousin can play anything, but wanted a Gibson SG. I was the first person to get ahold of it. After it was repainted and put back together and setup, you would never have thought it was ever taken apart. I played it in my band as my main guitar for a couple of years and after needing some more pickup options it became one of the 5 guitars I took with me to shows. I still play it and it brings back some good memories.

Follow up from last review...
It came with 10s on it and I play 9's so I thought I had a evening of trem adjusting infront of me...nope...perfect...so I opened her up...It has dual tremsetters in an odd mount...thats why the tunning is awesome...I still luv it...
be excelent to each other, and Party on dudes