Kramer guitar serial number full#
Kramer guitar serial number series#

Ironically, Gibson recently announced some upscale “copies” of Kramer’s legendary Pacer guitars! One last irony (I promise): I’m writing this essay about the irony of Kramers for Eastwood guitars, which specializes in producing “copies” of cool designs from the past. Gibson subsequently released a line of very inexpensive Asian-made Kramers. He needed money so he sold the Kramer brand and model names to Gibson.

He wanted to relaunch the Kramer brand in the late 1990s. In one more irony, the Kramer brand name is now owned by Gibson, the company that Kramer copied for this guitar! The name was owned by Henry Vaccaro, one of the original Kramer principals. However, as we’ve seen, all but a few (made by Sports) Kramer wooden necks weren’t American-made in the first place! Apparently quite a number of these, as well as Focus bodies, have been sold as “genuine American” Kramer parts. Early Focuses had a Focus by Kramer logo, but later models moved the Focus ID to the neck plate. In yet another irony, a lot of Kramer Focus guitars have been parted out. In 1985, the Focus 4000 changed to the new Randy Rhoads shape. It appears that in 1984 the Focus 4000 became a Pacer copy. While the exact sequence is a bit confusing, the original American Vanguard “Flying V” model was discontinued in 1984. We know this is early because it has the “classic” headstock, later changed to droopy “bananas.” These are early unlabeled pickups, possibly Gotoh, but who knows? The double-locking Floyd Rose is likewise early, without fine tuners. This is a really nice guitar, made nicer by the fact that it was found as unsold “New Old Stock” in the basement of the old 8th Street Music in Philadelphia. Nor did the early ‘80s infatuation with what would become known as the “Superstrat.” The Kramer Pacer (1983), along with Dean’s Bel Aire, both vie for the status as the first production Superstrats, available in versions with humbucker/single/single pickups and the soon-to-be-ubiquitous locking vibrato system. Of course, having an endorsement of Edward Van Halen didn’t hurt. Ironically, once Kramer began moving away from its unique original premise and capitulated to the common wooden neck, it began to take off phenomenally. The irony is that these were put on guitars that today are known as the “American” Kramers! By the way, I don’t know if Kramer made the bodies for its aluminum-necked guitars, but almost all-if not all-bodies on the wooden-neck American Kramers were made by a company called Sports. There were a variety of neck providers for Kramer over the years, but two of note where ESP, a Japanese company, and La-Si-Do, a Canadian company. So, when Kramer began to use wooden necks, they logically turned to other vendors to obtain them. They were sourced out to an aluminum fabricator, which makes perfect sense and is in no way unusual, especially when a novel material is involved. Kramer designed but did not make its aluminum necks.

Actually, it’s around the subject of necks that one of the ironies swarm. Kramer began to move away from the aluminum neck concept in around 1981 with the introduction of wood neck options. Vintage 1983 Kramer Focus K4000 Electric Guitar Andy Summers of The Police was big with his headless Steinberger guitar so the Duke had a following. Kramer had a little more success when it introduced the small-bodied, headless Duke guitars in the early 1980s. Stanley Jordan, the jazz tapper, was probably their most famous player. Their guitars were kind of a niche item, well made and generally well-received by players, but certainly no threat to Gibson or Fender. Kramer, as you recall, began back in 1976 with the novel idea of building guitars with aluminum necks, sort of “improved” Travis Beans.

Kramer guitar serial number series#

Or, actually, a copy of Kramer’s “copy” of a Gibson Flying V! You almost need a scorecard! You see the potential for ironies here…įor guitar enthusiasts with a short memory, Kramer’s Focus and Striker series guitars are a cause of some confusion and, to be sure, there have been some unscrupulous people who’ve taken advantage of this fact.

It’s a knock-off of a Kramer guitar, but a copy of a Kramer made by Kramer itself. That’s why I love guitars like this 1983 Kramer Focus K4000.

Kramer guitar serial number full#

And, if there’s a guitar story that’s full of more irony than that of Kramers guitars, I don’t know about it. I love ironies, those unexpected little twists and turns that make you smile.