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

1985-1986 New Jersey, USA
22 Fret, very fast neck!
One slanted humbucker, one volume knob(the pot is so smooth, much better than I have seen...)
Humbuckers brand and model are unknown...but they are so sweet!
Passive
Neck is smooth and sweet, a little wider than my FlameKat, but not quite as thick.
Body...very classic strat, but a little more contor
Finish, it was born White...now its cream due to age...
Original Floyd Rose, (all hardware is black)older style, takes a wilkinson arm...stays in tune perfect!
Tuners are original West Germans...Grovers I believe...
nothing included...not even the trem arm...but a $3 arm and some flat black spraypaint, and it looks perfect...
Oh, it has the coolest thing...an alen wrench holder on the back of its headstock...
10 in my mind, I hate switches and knobs...
9 since most people like them...

So so so Glam rock, Playing Stryper,Crue and Poison all night...it is so perfect for metal and Glam rock...and a little Aerosmith bluesy sound...The sound...Is very sweet...my brother came over and played metalica all afternoon and just loves it!
I am using a 60watt solid state amp with a 12 inch speaker, and a Digatech rp 300...no noise...the sound is just what I wanted...between it and my FlameKat, I can cover all the bases I need...lots of variety in sound...very surprising...

The action had been set perfect...tune it once and divebomb all night, and never have to tune, never seen one so solid...pickup is set perfect, no flaws...Guitar center set this up sweet before I found it...
It is heavyer than a strat, but isn't a brick...
Finish wise, there are two nicks, but aren't visable...

this thing survived the 80's and the 90's, so I think its going to be fine in my care...The hardware will totaly last, The finish shows no sign of wear, strap buttons were odd, but nice, till I put straplocks on it 5 minutes after I got home...now, no problems...
See my FlameKat review on this...I'd say this thing is Tele strong, no problems here...

The Kramer Company is now dead, and somebody is running around in its clothes...never delt with the musicyo, and hope never to unless they expand the usa line on their stienbergers...

I suck as guitarists go, but rock as a bassist...
Carvin Bass, Zeta Bass, Yamaha '86 bass, SWR Super Redhead bass amp, Martin D15, Epi FlameKat, Kramer 85-86 Baretta, Zeta Amp, Digetech rp300, two djembes, one dij,and the hotest roadie on the planet...(I am marrying her next year!)
If it were stolen, I'd send my team of highly trained ninjas after them, if that didn't work, I'll send my mom (then you are in some serious trouble)...Lost it? who looses a guitar, its like looseing a kid?...I'd say you left the guitar at the grand canyon, and hauled your nunamaker butt back to Louisana...
I love this thing...I have wanted to be Oz Fox since I heard stryper in the 6th grade...it just needs a stryper paint job!
I compared it to most jacksons/ESPs/BCRich/ and this just rocked too hard not to get it!!!
I MISS THE 80's!!!!

Funny story! In the summer of 1985, I went to the local dump with my grandpa. He used to let me dig around and see what I could find. After finding a bunch of screwdrivers, forks, spoons and knives, I came accross a box. Knowing what I know now, it was the same kind of box a guitar would come in. I was 14 at the time. I grabbed the box and found it to be filled with what else? A disassembled electric guitar! It has a non tilt banna headstock with maple board, 22 frets and the Floyd locking nut, the body was your basic Baretta body routed for a non slanted humbucker and routed for a Floyd and one volume. All the paint was sanded off of the body and the neck was untouched. Absolutely no hardware was to be found anywhere in the box. I took it home with me needles to say.

After being assembled it sounded excellent! What more could you say about a Kramer Baretta.

After the parts were inspected by our local guitar shop, it was determined that the neck and body went together. With a little help from some birthday cash, my dad and my grandpa, this junkyard Baretta was turned into one of the greatest guitars a young headbanger could ever ask for. I had a black Floyd Rose installed, Seymour Duncan Distortion pickup and a 500K volume pot as well as some black tuners. Schaller I think. The local luthier/repair guy found a Kramer neck plate and screws and set this baby up just right. It cost a grand total of $350 plus some change. After all was said and done, this catagory is and was a 10.

Still have it and it's still going strong.

No comment

In 1985, every kid on the block wanted a Baretta. The list of pros playing them was growing, Mick Mars, George Lynch, EVH....ect. I didn't have the cash to buy one and my dad didn't realy take my playing seriously. I knew how to play when I found these parts at the dump, but all I had to play on was a cheap spanish acoustic. No I wasn't a poor Mexican kid scrounging around at the dump. I was a poor little rich Mexican kid dumping shit we didn't need anymore. I come from a long line of guitar players. I'm the first to go electric and play something besides Mexican music. This guitar changed my life and scored me a kick ass Marshall half stack in the process. I left my Baretta in the natural sanded finish for a while, but my cousin painted a killer skull graphic on it with an airbrush. He painted the rest black and dipped it in urethane. It kicks ass to this day. The headstock says Kramer on it, but does not say where it was made. The guitar shop guy said it was a Baretta so thats what I have called it ever since. The headstock is black with Kramer in gold.

I purchased mine junior year of high school in 1987 with every penny I saved cutting peoples lawns and working part time jobs. I wanted this guitar so bad I stayed home for two whole summers while my friends partied down the shore just to save the money. It was well worth it but trying to get it how I wanted, I had to wait if I remember what was to be almost a year and it took me to have to call the store I bought it from almost two times a week to check on its status and I was a real pain to those people but they had my money in full and I thought a year was just really absurd. When I got no satisfaction from them after 6 months they gave me Kramers number down in Neptune NJ ( I luckily only lived 45 minutes from them) and I hounded them constantly to get my guitar. The reason why it took so long was because the dealer I ordered it from told me that I could get it in Candy Apple Red with Chrome Hardware and a Maple Neck and fingerboard and Kramer then tried to tell me at the time that this guitar was not offered that way which pissed me off to no end so much so that I threatened to call the better business bureau on them and the dealer. I still got no satisfaction until 6 mos. later when I put my foot down and told them they had 30 days to complete it or I was to go to the dealer and get every penny back. The dealer kept telling me at the time I could only get Black or White and low and behold 30 days passed and the guitar showed up like I wanted it. So needless to say mine is (was...read on) a 1987 model just like I wanted it, Candy Apple Red Body, Chrome Hardware(Schaller Tuners/Original Floyd Rose) a Seymour Duncan JB Humbucker, 1 Volume knob, maple neck and fingerboard and the pointed black angled back headstock with the gold lettering and the word American in gold script after the Kramer logo. It was in its time premier and one of a kind.

At the time I ran it through a Marshall JCM 800 Stack with a Yamaha SPX 90 II for effects. I used the preamp out of the Marshall and went into a Speaker simulator came out of that with two wet cabs left and right and a center dry cabinet. The whole thing was powered by a Carvin Mosfet 1000 Power Amp and it sounded just so huge. This guitar was a big part of it. But I grew tired of the JB Humbucker and down the road started messing between a Di Marzio Super 3 and a Gibson Open Coil 500T Hunbucker. I also pulled the volume knob and put in one that was of a 500K status.

The factory setup was just plain out awful. A lot of buzz was noticed and so I took it to the local guy in the area and had it professionally setup. At the time I was not too fond of the satin finish on the neck and fingerboard and this guy stripped it down to bare wood for me. Now I was really happy.

This guitar held its own for about 300 live gigs plus recording and practice over the next five or six years. I would never do anything without a backup but I hardly remember needing to use my backup.
NOW FOR THE CRAZY PART: I think it was around 1995 I was in my basement and bored with the Baretta so after a few too many beers, went down the ol' basement and tore it apart. Man I took everything you could off of it then tried to strip off the Candy Aplle Red what I THOUGHT was paint and after getting off the clear I founfd that UH OH, it was a vinyl like laminate. My younger brother came home, laughed his ass off then Mr. Fixit tells me not to worry as he hooks up a wire stripping head to the end of a high speed drill and rips the color off the body. When he was done it looked like it went through a warzone and it took a lot of sanding to bring it back. So then I painted it exactly like Eddie Van Halens 5150 Guitar and slapped it back together and used it like that for the next year or so. I never messed with the headstock though. Well time passed and once again I ripped it apart and stripped the paint and resanded then went to work painting it Pearl white with extra pearl coat. I never put it back together and it just sat in pieces until about 4 months ago when I decided to take everything out of the case and bring it back to life. I started to familiarize myself with my ol gem and as I picked up the neck it slipped out of my hands and the point of the headstock dropped less than 8 inches to the floor and the whole headstock broke in two. I was bummed cause I loved the neck more than anything on the Baretta. So now I researched my options and low and behold I ordered a new neck from Warmoth Guitar Products in Paullyup Washington. This neck is exactly the same circumference as the Peavey Wolfgang as Warmoth had it digitally scopped and reproduced it. I am waiting on the neckbut opted for the regular strat headstock. I bought two so I always have a backup. Both are Birdseye Maple Necks but one is a Birdseye Fingerboard and the other is Rosewood. Being the neck broke I can only give it a 6 and I think thats going overboard.

As I said earlier, customer support at the time was awful, and with the lack of satisfaction they gave me it's no wonder they went belly up.

Overall I loved this guitar, and I can't wait to put it all back together once the necks arrive. It has become my experimental frankenstein of sorts as now I am primarily using just the Line 6 Vetta Combo with 2/12 Vetta Extention Cabinet and Floor Controller and my main axe has been of all things now a Peavey Custom Shop Wolfgang Deluxe as Peavey likes to call it, as well as a PRS Mark Tremonti Signature Singlecut and a Parker Nitefly M. But I bet when I bring the ol Baretta back to life its gonna scream like old times and if I could find another one, once I find what I've missed all these years I'd probably search for another and keep it original. Heck at the time where could you find a nicely built American Made Guitar for $650 bucks. Nowhere!! If I can figure out how to send pics of it in pieces and what happened to the neck over this computer just e mail me with a return address and I'll do my best. And oh yeah one last thing. Try putting the DiMarzio Super 3 in it with a 500K volume knob. It absolutely screams!!!

I had a black hockey stick Baretta. Serial number Dxxxxx made it a 83 or 84 I believe. I replaced the stock Schaller with a Seymore Duncan Distortion pick up. The guitar of course had just a volume knob and the original Floyd Rose Tremelo System on it that was not free floating. The rosewood neck was wide and thin and the frets were spaced like a Stratocaster. It was also a bolt on neck using 4 bolts. The back of the neck was naked maple without a stripe. The Floyd locking nut was poorly installed and required a lot of readjustment. The hex wrench holder on the back of the headstock was cool. Schaller tuner. Thick epoxy like paint that was tough. I think the wood was body was ash. A medium weight guitar.

The intonation was a problem but remedied by reworking the locking nuts placement. The stock Schaller pick up was brittle sounding and the Seymore Duncun Distortion pick up was a significant upgrade. The unfloating Floyd made tuning quick and easy. The tone never emulated the van Halen thing to well but it did have a very round tone that had a tendency to emulate Ingwie Malmsteens sound very closely. Not a whole lot of bottom end chunk like a Les Paul but it was ok.

Again the locking nut was not the best install. I had to move the nut a little toward the bridge to intonate the guitar and shim the nut higher because the strings would rattle on the first fret. Everything else was good but it never felt like a high quality instrument such as a Les Paul does.

The guitar was strong. I played it everyday for hours for 6 years and the frets help up good. It never failed me. Much stronger than a Les Paul!

No idea

Having short fingers the large scale and wide width was not too great for me. I prefere the Les Paul scale. Most people bought these to play in a van Halen style and the guitar allowed for that. I really did get some amazing solos out of that guitar. It really had a big sound. Hard to discribe. Not really like van Halen even though I was using old Marshalls. It was more like Malmsteen or Richie Blackmoore. Maybe early Black Sabbath too. Maybe had more to do with the old Marshalls. Yet the guitar was amazingly expensive for it's time. I recently sold it for $600. There seems to be a cult following on these early hockey stick head models. I wish I hadn't sold it now. I feel like I lost a good old friend.

Mfg in 1986 not in ths U.S. 22 frets, solid black in color, wood type-unknown. 1 Volumne pot. I got it off ebay for $300. Came equipped with a seymour duncan "JB" humbucker. Orig. floyd rose. The works. Also came with a EVH d-tuna (works quite well)

Great for hard Rock/ metal sounds. or a REALLY fat clean tone. I haven't had to much trouble with feedback or any noise even at high-gain settings. What this guitar does, it does it well.

The guy I got it from professionally set it up with super slinkys (9-42) Great action playability, for being 16 years old looks SURPRISINGLY good. Black... my favorite color :)

Seems sturdy enough for my use.. but I also don't play 12 hourse a day either... I have kahler straplocks installed, those are highly suggested.

N/A

It works great for my uses. I won't tell you what it can't do, cause I do not really know. I like a lot better than the new kramers, and ibanez guitars (just my preference).
If it was stolen or broke in half I would try to replace it.

this is a mid 80's model, ser#E3500 made in Neptune, creme with black pointy headstock(they used to have the "hockey stick" style headstocks, but this is after that. Black Floyd. came with a JB pickup which was great, but i swapped it for a Duncan Distortion- i'll put the JB back in one of these days.
other than that, not alot of features as this is a one-knob axe. for a little tone variation, i wired in a resistor on the vol pot to brighten the tone when vol is turned down. i also installed a 3way mini toggle for Series/Split/Parallel use.

i'll never forget that summer in '85 when, armed with hard earned lawn mowing money, i strolled into the music store to buy that fender strat i had my eye on. lo and behold, i plugged in this baretta and fell in love with it. I couldnt believe how the guitar wouldn't feedback at loud volumes...at all! cool! It had alot of scream and was very playable. Plus, the Floyd blows away any old Fender tremolo.

I have seen better paint finishes. you can see the woodgrain texture through the paint and some orangepeel. i may try to color sand the thing one day if i feel like it. after all these years of gigging and traveling with this instrument, it only has one tiny scratch on it and no dings or paint chips. The action is excellent and the fretboard is even throughout its length.

heck ya. this is a tough guitar. since there aren't alot of electronics in there, you really dont worry about a solder joint breaking or something coming loose. some of the floyd parts a little rusted, but im not complaining.

never tried.

i like the simplicity of it. one p/u, one knob, just dots on the fretboard, no binding, etc...just a no nonsense rocking axe.

Kramer couldve done much better with the case, however. it is the crappiest HSC i have seen. I would never fly with this guitar unless i got a metal flight case.

Kramer american baretta I, 1986, SN# E7074, black. Standard baretta I, pointy headstock, block style logo. Read the other reviews for a discription. the only modification is an EMG 81 active humbucker with push/pull volume control. There is not much on this guitar in terms of features, but what is there is of the best possible quality.

With the EMG, this guitar only delivers a 80ies Rock/Metal sound, but it does this very convincingly.

80ies schredder machine, no complaints here. top quality hardware, very low action, great neck.

Very solid construction, except for the headstock which has already been broken once (a comon problem with these guitars). Hardware and electronics are still in excellent condition.

The old Kramer company went belly-up in 1990, the new Kramer by Gibson people are not very helpful/interested. No rating here.

Great rock guitar, but not very versatile (ahum!).

This guitar was made in 1986 or 87, back when kramer was THE guitar company for heavy metal guitars.

I bought this guitar used, so it wasn't exactly stock (sadly enough).
22 frets, maple neck w rosewood fretboard, strat-style body with one rear-loaded humbucker at the bridge position. Original Floyd Rose.

As I said, this guitar wasn't stock. One of the previous owners had switched the Duncan JB for a EMG 89 and modified the coil-split volume-knob to on/off switching.

The neck isn't really thin, but it's not fat either. It's somewhat fatter than my FR-422 neck but thinner than my MIJ strat neck.

Basically, this guitar had everything I was looking for. Too bad about the pickup though.

Unplugged, this guitar sounds amazing. This is probably due to the way the Floyd is mounted. The trem rests against the body of the guitar and doesn't pull back. this means that the vibrations transferred from the strings to the bridge are transferred from the trem to the body. GREAT sound unplugged.

Some people say that EMG pickups will give a sterile tone. I don't agree, yet. The tone I get from this one is clearer than that of my fr-422, which sounds a little muddy. much clearer.

Obviously, this guitar was made for lead playing primarily. But it's also good for rhythm. As long as you're not into a more soft sound that is...

Never bought a used guitar before, so I didn't know what to expect. The guitar was set-up alright, and it wasn't too bruised. The rear cover for the trem springs was gone though and there were small wear marks there.

Of course, what would you expect? A used guitar can never get as good a finish as a new one.

This guitar would definitely stand up to live playing. The only thing I'd be worried about is the wiring (which wasn't impressive) and strings breaking. But on the other hand, I would like to think this is only normal standard.

the old company is gone and the new gibson-owned kramer company isn't very helpful.

I've been playing since I was 9. I have 3 guitars, 1 kramer FR-422S/D, 1 kramer Baretta and 1 MIJ Fender contemporary stratocaster.

This guitar has the best sound for lead-playing of all of my guitars. Mainly because of the better pickup.
If it was stolen, I'd definitely get a new one. Well, first I'd get a gibson to beat over the head of the bastard who stole my guitar....

I love how simple this guitar is. No fancy pickup configuration, no fancy cut-out for the floyd. Why make it more difficult than that? rather 1 great pickup than 3 mediocre ones.

I only wish that the original Duncan JB was still in it...

I believe it was made in 1998, this of course being after gibson usa bought out the kramer name.the id sticker said GIBSON USA, but i have been told recently that the new kramers are being made by SAMICK, an oriental outfit that makes economy guitars. pickups are H-H duncan quad-rails w/ a master volume, push/pull tone-tap,and 3-way switch.its a 22-fret FAST action neck-through the radius is amazingly flat... perfect for my style of playing1...Gotoh locking tuners. string-through body bridge, paired w/ the neck through... incredible sustain. reverse headstock... triple black finish

i play contemporary christian music so versatility is vital to me. however this guitar only has one good sound, but WOW is it ever good. i play through all LINE 6 stuff... but even that wont clean up this sound... its a little rough even on the cleanest silvery bell effects, so i had to go get another strat to play on the soft stuff. the pickups have been soaked in adhesive... this keeps them from being microphonic, while still letting the actual signal feedback without pickup whistle. this guitar was made for feedback.the bridge pickup puts out a great meaty, yet refined sound

i play live with this guitar all the time and it can take a beating. as for the durability of the hardware its great... of course i've replaced it all... just because i wanted gold hardware and not black.if i only needed one sound... i would use it w/ out a backup, actually i use to. but lately ive been needing some glassier tones... so i usually bring along either my tele or one of my strats and a danelectro. the finish is very thick... but britle, its got a few chips in it, from where ive bumped it on stuff.

i'm my own tech... so i do all repairs/customizing myself. its been pretty easy to work on. as for having things done professionally, that may be a different story

being 16 i havent had a lot of time as a competent musician to experiment w/ different guitars. ive been playing for about 4 years... and i have devoted all of that time exploring the deepest realms of music theory and guitar repair. to my credit i have put together a small recording studio, i run sound for my school's chorus, i hold an apprenticship as an assistant to the repairman at a local music store. i own fender strats(2) telecaster, tele copy by samick, yamaha acoustic electric, washburn acoustics(2) a kramer 'duke' bass and a carvin bass

This is a mid' 80's Kramer Baretta. Relatively low numbered at serial E 8749, my Baretta was proudly made in Neptune, New Jersey, United States of America in the 14th day of February, 1986, 4 years after Kramer decided to switch from aluminum to all wooden guitars.

Construction follows certain "in-yer-face" approach : Offset double cutaway alder body, premium maple neck, "pointy" headstock, 22 fret rosewood fingerboard with mother of pearl dot inlays, all black hardware, including six on a side German Schaller tuners and German original Floyd Rose tremolo mounted on the body (recessed cavity was not an option at the time, so the unit is top mounted) and just one volume pot controlling an unbelievable Seymour Duncan "zebra" passive pickup (probably an early '59, a JB or a cross in between, since resonant characteristics are roughly similar to either the former or the latter) which was mounted "angled" in order to profit from an ideal canceling/picking frequency ratio. Originally priced above $ 2,000, this is a guitar to thrive for, no matter what collectors a nowadays feeling or believing. This instrument pertains to the "Baretta Custom Graphics" collection, which usually depicted brand logos, babes, Armageddon scenes or landscapes. My babe features one of the most beautiful art work graphics I've ever seen on a guitar top. Some sort of an "outerspace" landscape. Look for pictures at my web site below to appreciate.

When it comes to discuss features on this one, the issue gets tricky. For sure, a guitar that doesn?t have more than one pickup, one volume and a tremolo unit should not qualify as "something with tons of features" but who needs that you nailed the real thing. I?m afraid that this review is not coming out the way I always try to present my guitars to you, but I?m just too subjective, in particular seeing this great axe and cheap stupid little things with the "Kramer" logo under the same category here. Do not get me wrong, those guitars might be an amazing contribution to marketing, industrial strategy, tax planning and branding, but they?re just not a Kramer Baretta. No xenophobia! I usually welcome Japanese and even Korean guitars, which could many times rival American quality standards, but this is a different story. Just get the full story at http://electricguitar.50megs.com (my personal page) if you care.

Let's bargain for a "9" in order to be consistent with Harmony Centra''s regulations. For a classic, only "10" is deserved, but the Baretta is a bread-and-butter guitar. Hope you'll agree.

Answering to how does this guitar suit 1980's rock sound should be, to say the least, an understatement. This guitar IS 1980's rock sound itself.

Be advised beforehand: I'm an 80's guitar freak and a hardcore collector of guitars from that era. In my opinion, HM (from glam to shred) is the correct, educated way to play and Eddie's tone is THE tone. From said standpoint, is obvious that this is a "one sound" guitar, so reviewing that sole sound is the appropriate way to do it. This is not just one of the most true metal sounds around, this is the real thing!. No one will be coming close (and trust me on this one, I should know). Plug this and you?ll be holding an icon from the 80's, the epitome of the "Super Strat". Along with Charvel and Jacksons, the Baretta was good enough for Edward Van Halen, Warren De Martini, Jake E. Lee, George Lynch, so chances are it will be good enough for you too. Hi gain is the natural way to go with this piece, and all the load HAS to be handled by the Seymour Duncan itself. Afraid? Don't be, because that little zebra pickup delivers BIG TIME. If you love this tone, you are all set... but stop right there, because there?s nothing more than that. The Baretta's clean tone is just too aggressive for most players, with a marked tendency to exaggerate chorused or flanged lines. Bottom end is explosive and high end is ear piercing. For enhanced results, I decided to add an EVH D-Tuna to the original Floyd tremolo unit and was able to exploit the widest possible tonal spectrum out of this guitar. I?m still shocked.

I tried this out with several rigs, from a Marshall 1981 full stack to a Korg Pandora and results were identical. If this is your cup of tea, poison yourself with a Baretta (profit from other?s uneducated opinions or just plain stupidity while they're cheap!).

Of course I did get the guitar used, (there's no any other way nowadays) but plays better than most brand new ones. Since I acquired it for my collection, everything is original and 100% mint, exception made by -almost invisible- normal wear and tear. There's not much to break here, so you can expect the same for you. The only minor problem (exceptions to this rule) is that lots of Barettas became Heavy Metal casualties through the years. Be wide-awake for refinished ones today and counterfeits in the future.

This guitar rock solid. Period. It might become your axe of choice in no time, but still you'll definitively need other guitars if you play a variety of styles live. If reliability is the key, there's nothing more solid than a Baretta.

Everybody knows this: Kramer (the real deal) sunk ages ago (in 1989). In 1997 the Gibson corporation acquired the Kramer trademark, along with a handful of others (including the equally prestigious Steinberger) in order to kick start their "internet" global niche project, Music Yo, moving all "Kramer" production to Korea. The corporate strategy of Music Yo was the exact opposite than the one that fueled KBL: low profile, complete separation from high end production and affordability. Unfortunately, customer care was left out of the equation. Music Yo neither offers any background or whatsoever information on real Kramers (I can understand that) -with a few exceptions here and there-, neither pay any attention to customers outside EU or USA (that?s harder to swallow). Everything they sell is so cheap, that no one seems to care. Even while Music Yo's market achievements are impressive, and for sure their products will provide a bunch of kids with an absolute beginner's fine alternative, I'm damn sure that these days should be remembered as sad days in guitar history.

Anyway, there's nothing much behind Music Yo than a mere commercial website. Since KBL is now defunct, I'm regarding Music Yo as permitted assigns. Not helpful, not friendly, no nothing (just send 'em you're check and wait at home for something to arrive, then eat it yourself).

My Baretta is, boldly put, irreplaceable. I?m the proud owner of more than 30 guitars, which might be visited at HTTP://ELECTRICGUITAR.50MEGS.COM
Among those, the Baretta shines comfortably. Own a piece of the history of rock (and cheap! Isn?t life good at times?)

This is probably my most dumb review ever, but how can you review a classic? It's a Kramer Custom Graphic Baretta dude!

Good old american made! I can't believe I would be able to buy an American made guitar so cheaply. Anyways, a humbucker pick up (dunno what kind, it's black, and the "magnet part" look like screw holes). One volume knob, Floyd Rose tremolo system, 22-fret ebony overlay on a maple neck. A nice red color.

Nice nice nice metal sound. I can't stress this enough. If you love the sound of steel, or metal, it's great. This guitar is perfect for industrial sound (guitars in industrial music?! nay!). Whenever I put it through my overdrive, it picks up some weird radio signals, but it's damn cool for some of the songs. I only have one complaint, without the overdrive or distortion, it's hard to hear the high end, like the extreme high B to e. Some how I managed to get the A to phase shift, dunno how.

I got it used, so it had some body damage. I like it though cause it didn't affect the sound too much. I think I am the only one who likes the dings and nicks. It adds character.

The guitar will occaionaly go mute on me, but it's nothing too major. I'll be the first to ommit that I treat my guitars harshly. It's my test too see if they hold up in the long run. And this one will. I love playing it live (only did it twice, but it was fun none the less).

Never had to deal with them.

Great guitar. I this is my 3rd guitar (I got a Peavy Milestone Bass frist, and then an Ibanzes fender knock off). I love this puppy once I figured out how to set the bastard up right. I love the harsh sound, I love the look, so do the people that have seen it. It's going to take a lot to make me sell this baby!

Year? '85-ish? Serial E7522. 22 fret rosewood neck. One volume control & that's it! One pickup - humbucker that looks like a black and a white single-pole pickup taped together. Dark pink with blue metalflake (Hot Pink?). Lots of scratches & chips. Strat-style body with such a comfortable cutaways at the waist & wrist back. All the other edges are dead straight. Floyd Rose (rusty from beer & sweaty gigs). Black Schallers & a lock-nut. Lovely wide neck for big hands (I can't play a Tele - it's like a friggin banjo!). Allen keys (wrenches)held in a clip at the back of the headstock so you can't lose them at aforementioned drunk'n'sweaty gig. Neat! It has almost no features or controls to get me confused, so I give it a nine.

Loads of sustain. Just unbelieveable. Note bending is easy - 2 tones up no problem. I've used it for noise stuff, heavy dub/metal/industrial where I simply use it as a sound source. Through twin Marshall Club & Country combos (for stereo pans & delays) and a Quadraverb, Boss Stereo Delay, Flanger, Autopan, Roland JetPhaser, Colorsound Wah-wah, DigiTech variable pitchshifter (mainly using an octave down for a real manly sound), Mackie 200 mixing desk. Great for those extended solos. You can play it really expressive Hendrix-like and it sounds big, fat and soulful with just a clean valve sound. I've also used it for Funkadelic-style Eddie Hazel business and even Reggae! Such a joy to play! Totally versatile. Remember, anything more than one pick-up, one control knob is just too complicated.

Low, low action that plays right all over the fretboard without buzz and still manages to sound fat. Even with very light strings (I use Dean Markley 740 XL). Any flaws? Yeah, the body's mashed and all the metalwork's rusty! So?

This guitar bounces off the stage about three feet every time. It's solid & heavy and will take anything you (literally) throw at it. The finish is hardcore. You have to be careful to bounce it in the right spot though, cause the jack socket's right on the bottom and you can snap the jack. I always use it without a backup. It never goes far out of tune (even with *excessive* use of the Floyd Rose) and I've never broken a string since I bought it. I change them before every gig, though ... even if that's every day.

Sorry? Something could go wrong with such a simple, rugged device?

Playing 24 years. I also have a Burns Trisonic, Maton ElToro, Hofner Verithin, Epiphone Bass, Hammond B3, Yamaha DX7, sequencers, etc, etc. If it were stolen I'd definitely have to get another just like it. I love it! I wish it had the jack socket in the front, like a Strat, so I could bounce it better.

This is a 1987 Kramer "American" series Baretta. 24 frets, alder body ("Shocking Pink"), one volume knob, one original Zebra (JB?) humbucker (passive). The neck is sweet. 24 fret, maple w/ rosewood fingerboard and pearl dot inlays. Classic 80's heavy metal guitar. Sharp countoured double cutaway strat shape, Floyd Rose (original) double locking trem system (not recessed into body, but rather on body). Schaller tuners (black). I got this from the original owner off of e-bay for $350.00 who bought it for a backup but only used it on the couch. Came with original hang-tags and warranty card OHSC. I am only giving this beauty an 8 because the Baretta was a no-nonsense simple rocker.

This guitar was built to do one thing and do it well... KICK ASS AND SCREAMMMM. Not very versatile but extremely well suited to rock out. The JB humbucker in conjunction with the alder body gives a very warm EVH type sound when pushed through some tubes. I love the sound of this guitar and the babe plays like a dream. They were obviously thinking "Do one thing, and do it well".

The person I bought this from took EXCELLENT care of it. I had thought I would never get one being the year 2000 and I was one of the 18 yr olds who could'nt afford one in 88. The action is super low with just a touch of string twang (not buzzing). This is very minimal and I am of the school that a guitar should sound like breaking glass so it is perfect. The fit is excellent and so is the finish. This baby looks as though it came off the store room wall. Being 13 years old when I got it. Some people would balk at a "Hot Pink" finish but it is just beautiful and really anounces that the 80's were hot.

I talked to the guy who I purchased it from and he had played it on a couple of gigs. He loved the guitar but after 13 years it was simply time to say good bye. He was nice enough to put Schaller Stap-Locs on the guitar. I would use the guitar without a backup but really who would do that.

GIBSON SUCKS AND THEY KNOW IT.

Just when I thought I would never own an "American" series Rockin 80's Kramer I stumbled across two on E-Bay. This one and an 89 Pacer Custom II. Both are fabulous for METAL. These are both irreplaceable and I am very lucky to own two MINT guitars of this era/caliber. I never compare Kramer Barettas or Pacers to other guitars because for me there is none to be made.

I own a black Kramer Barreta I purchased when I was around 19 years old. I delivered a paper route for 6 months to buy it ($693!). I was being a musician thus the paper route. It was one of the best purchases I have ever made. I still have and it's still totally stock though I'm considering changing the pickups. It has a Floyd Rose and one single Seymour Duncan humbucker zebra colored (cream/black). I the papers with the guitar stated it was a Duncan but did not state the model. I have been believing for all these 14 years it was a JB HOWEVER from reading other reviews am wondering if it is a Duncan 59. If anyone happens to know what Kramer equipped their Barrettas back around 86-87 please let me know. The guitar is bare bones simple. ! humbucker and volume. The neck is 1 5/8 at the nut and maple. I got this width back then and it seemed wide but now it feels perfect. The salesman who ordered it asked me what neck width I wanted and I did not know, I said I wanted what Van Halen had (naive or wise depending how you look at it!) he said it was classic width. The only disappointment was when I received it, it did NOT have the hockey stick headstock which REALLY bummed me out. It has a sort of Jackson looking headstock. I don't mind anymore but back then it bummed me out. I purchased it strictly because of Van Halen who was/is my favorite guitarist. Once again nothing much fancy here. It's still totally stock however I'm considering changing the pickups to Lindy Fralins or sending him the stock to rewind to my taste. Will cover in next section. I would rate it a 9 since it's simple however very efficient and suited the need I purchased it for. Bare bones rock n roll 80's style. Also I forgot to mention I'm not sure what the body wood is I think probably alder. If anyone knows I would like to know as well.

The sound it classic 80's rock n roll. I love it. I'm a professional guitarist (guitar teacher and looking for a band) and it has served me well sonically speaking. It's not noisy at all. The body and neck feel like a part of my body now as I have been playing this guitar for 14 years now. I have no other real guitar although I own a cheapy Fender Squire I purchased because it looked like Yngwies and was actually a pretty good guitar for the price but that's for another review. Bottom it has been my workhorse for the last 14 years. The neck felt wide when I bought it it now feels perfect. The sound is great. I have played it through a Gallien Krueger 250ML and BOSS DS1 for years and it sounded great but would thin out when I lowerd the volume on the axe. I then ran it through a Peavey 5150 head and Crate 2 X 12 cab and it sounded a LOT better. I then ran it through my teaching rig which consisted of a small Crate GX20M and a SansAmp GT2 and got some REALLY GREAT TONES out of it!!! I used this simple rig to show kids not to really too much on gear but to spend their time practicing and learning how to play reall rock not this grunge/alternative crap. Currently I'm running through a Rocktron Taboo Twin mostly through the Eruption setting and I almost ABSOLUTELY NAIL the classic Van Halen tone. Un freaking believable!!! More on the Taboo Twin in a future review. The only thing I'm currently considering changing it the humbucker. I have been thinking it's a JB but now am thinking it might be a Duncan 59. It sounds great craked but when you pull the volume it tends to thin out and lose a lot of tone. Once again the guitar is totally stock with the exception of the strings of course. It sounds a lot better with the Rocktron amp but I'm still considering changing the pickups to Fralins. Maybe it's just everything I've read about Fralins has me believing my pu doesn't sound as good as it used to. Then again after 14 years maybe I need a change. I'm VERY attached to this guitar and would kill if anyone stole it. NOT KIDDING either! My attachment to the guitar and it being stock has me doubting whether to change the pickups. I might just send the pu to Lindy to rewire therefore I still have the "original" pu although it will be modded. Basically I just want it to sound good when I lower the volume on the guitar. Any suggestions anyone? Anyways I nail the VH tone and do pretty good on White Lion and Dokken circa Under Lock and Key type stuff. Good punchy sound, smooth and creamy but perhaps lacking some bite. Maybe a little TOO smooth. Then again maybe it's my hands. My students and some of their parents say I sound the same when I pick up and play other guitars so maybe the problem is my hands LOL!!! ANyways it sounds great to 80's style rock especially VH of course. It's hard but I think I will give it an 8 due to the sound being perhaps too smooth and not enough bite or growl too it.

The guitar has pretty good action and feels perfect for me, after all I've been playing it for 14 years. Pickups have not been adjusted. The only flaw is the low E string buzzes when I pick it. It does this at almost all the frets. It's pretty annoying but does not affect the sound. I'm used to it now but it doesn't bother me unless I play it un amplified. I also will probably be changing the springs and adding a WD Ent Tremsetter to avoid going fla when I bend. The Floyd itself is almost flat. It goes up but just very little, on some strings not even a half step. Other than the buzzing on the low E very good. I will rate this a 7 due to the bad buzz.

As for reliability obviously pretty reliable since I've been playing it 14 years and it's TOTALLY stock! It will definately last unless I land a gid with Ozzy or Dio a a guitarist and hit the road on a long excruciating tour. Fat chance of that though. Know anyone hiring an 80's rocker?! LOL!! Strap buttons are solid. Finish is still great would definately gid without a back up. Did for years NEVER had any problems. I would rate the reliability a 10 for hard core quality reliability and durability.

Never had too deal with Kramer as it has been a reliable and trusty part of my body for 14 years.

My overall rating would be a 9 due to the lame buzz on the E string and the current and recent desire for a slightly diffrent sound. It has served me well for 14 years and will have it till I die. If I lost it or had it stolen I really would not know what to do and it would be like losing a testicle. About the only thing I wish was diffrent was that I had gotten one with the hockey stick headstock and it the pickups retained tone when the volume is decrease. Also I would add the WD Tremsetter for the Floyd. I once owned a Washburn SS80 The Steve Stevens model and surprisingly it was almost identical to this guitar. The only diffrence was it had a neck pickup and the pickups were on the wood not on mounting brackets. The neck was the same and it had a 1 volume like my Barreta. It was a great solid guitar as well. I loved it and wish I had killed the bastard who stole it. He didin't even know what he stole. Then again he didn't take this one otherwise I would be serving a prison term right now. I love this guitar if you haven't noticed and the only changes I plan on making are adding the Tremsetter and probably sending the pu's to Lindy Fralin to mod it. If I could get rid of the buzz I would. Great and classice guitar.

This Kramer is an authentic Eddie Van Halen "5150" replica down to all hardware, paint scheme, cigerette burns and wear. The body is a sexy Kramer Baretta USA with a custom made Maple neck and enlongated hockey stick headstock. There is an original Floyd Rose Tremelo, Shaller keys and a Duncan '59 in the bridge.

Listen to Van Halens "Pamama" for this sound...it NAILS it through a Marshall amp. Top notch rock-n-roll machine. Sounds more like classic Van Halen than my 2 Wolfgang guitars. The trick is that the Duncan '59 is a lower output humbucker with a more "open" and dynamic sound. Plus, the pickup and Floyd Rose tremelo are mounted flat on the body of the guitar. Not a shread machine like a "Jem" like many might think. I've got lots of high end guitars..this one sounds AMAZING.

Looks like a worn out piece of $hit but plays like butter. Of course, this instrument mimics Van Halens own main player from 1993-1990 and it is authentic. This guitar is setup and plays better than original Baretta Kramers I have owned over the years. I found that off the shelf, original Kramer Barettas needed major action help and new pickup's. The original Schaller PAF pickups can get microphonic.

I have owned all original Kramers and they are durable.

Barettas are cool guitars and are a piece of history when rock ruled the airwaves. It is unfortunate that Gibson re-introduced Kramer as a bottom dwelleng instrument as I for one would buy a high end USA guitar with the Kramer name on it. If you want to see pics of this replica, e-mail me fl_799@yahoo.com