Calum_Barrow

I have an old Kramer knocking around. I painted it for an art project, and now it just needs assembling. Got a Bill Lawrence to shove in the bridge and some Floyd Rose to go on it. FR-II I think, even though it doesn't say it anywhere on it, but it'll do. Once it's assembled I'tll have cost me like £30 in total

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Double Neck Project - Winner of 2006 GB&C "Best guitar build from scratch", "(Best) Most expensive build" and "Best Idea" awards - FINISHED!

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SenorSmiley

I like Kramers but for 80's sound I like a Les Paul better because my favorite 80's players mostly used Gibson.

The amps most big players of the 80s used were Marshalls. Most of the bigger players used plexi series Marshalls and the older models. The JMP series was big as well.

There are a lot of different 800 series models. The one thing most people used was a Boss overdrive (not distortion) pedal to drive the amp.

The piece everyone wanted back then was the MP-1 by ADA. It was a tube preamp that a lot of the bigger players used. The other units that were popular were the Alesis Quadraverb and the Yamaha SPX-90. These were really studio units but suited the guitar tones of the time. Eventide processors were very expensive but were pretty popular.

As time went on the later 80's players really preferred Soldanos and Metaltronix amps. The former are still popular. The latter were designed by amp guru Lee Jackson and were pretty amazing. Both Lee and Mike (Soldano) started out as guys that worked on Marshalls.

Some other processors that were big were the Digitech GSP-21 & Twin Tube. These came with cool footswitches and presets by awesome players (KK Downing, Bruce Kulick, etc...).

Hope this helps for people looking for 80's amp info.

METAL RULES

Chex

Would a JCM800 combo work? Head+Cab is a bit much for just my bedroom ^_^

What do you use?

I mean on their 1995 tour he was using Fender amps and getting so much distortion, don't know how he does it :\

I know he uses a DS1 but they get flamed on these forums.

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ENGL Fireball
Framus 2x12
Ibanez RG1570 - DM Breeds
Epi Les Paul - Warthog Pup
MXR 10 Band EQ
TS9
ISP Decimator
Boss DD3
EHX Holy Grail
EHX Small Clone
Dunlop Crybaby

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10rdcKp317I - New X-men Theme Vid

SenorSmiley

Be careful using an old Fender cabinet with a JCM 800 if it has original speakers. Marshalls run a lot louder then Fenders and if you have a 100 watt model it could be bad for it.

gingerbreadaxe

Quick question: How versatile are these guitars?

monty_williams

Big Kramer fan here, I've got 4. A 1985 Baretta Reissue, 2 1984 Pacer Imperials, and a 1985 Pacer Imperial that I'm putting back together.

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Kramer: 85 Baretta, 84 Pacer Imperial, 85 Pacer Imperial
Gibson 68 LP Custom Shop
Fender 69 Strat
Mesa Roadster 2x12
THD Hotplate
Digitech WH-1
Ibanez TS808
Dunlop 535QC
MXR: Distortion III, EVH Phase 90, EVH Flanger, 10 Band EQ, DC Brick

SenorSmiley

To prove these were versitile these are the folks I could THINK OF that played these

Eddie Van Halen (VH)
Mark Kendall (Great White)
Elliot Easton (CCR, The Cars)
Richie Sambora (Bon Jovi, Heather Locklear)
John Stamos (The Beach Boys)
Erik Turner (Warrant)
George Lynch
Richie Sambora
Steve Stevens
Gene Simmons
Joe Satriani
John Bon Jovi
Sam Kinnison
Steve Vai
Dweezil Zappa
Rick Neilson
Elliott Easton

Buck Dharma
Vivian Campbell
Peter Frampton
Scotty Hill
Stanley Jordan

Howard Leese
Ron Wood
Kasim Sulton (Joan Jett)
Paul Dean
Reb Beach
Brad Gillis

Jeff Watson
Mark Miller (Sawyer Brown)
Nancy Wilson
Dave Hope (Kansas)
Jimi Bell
Rachel Bolan
Benji King (Scandal)
Billy Squier
Tim Bogert
Alex Belov
Richie Scarlet
Steve Buslowe (Meatloaf)
Peter Briquette
Eric Bloom BOC
Eric Britingham
Jeff Labar
Jan Ianenkov
Joan Jett
Chris DeGarmo
Frank Carillo
Scotty Hill (Skid Row)
Michael Lardi (Great White)
Billy Childs
Ricky Byrd
Trevor Bolder
Mick Ronson
Eddie Ojeda (Twisted Sister)
Glen Burtnick
Randy Jackson (Zebra)
Dave Amati
Bobby Bandiera
Adam Bomb
Gerald Carboy
Larry Hansen
Michael Fath

Jay Jay French
Cain Roberts (Alice Cooper)
Liz Chizm
Justin Clayton
Falicia Collins
Mick Mars
Thaddeus Castanis
Jeff Golub
Kenny Dubman
Barry Dunaway
Marshal Grant
Ray Moulton (Billy Cobham)
Rick Defonzo
Randy Dorman
Bernard Edwards
Ian Hill (Judas Priest)
Doug Wimbish (Rolling Stones)
Lenny Colton
Joe Franco
Rick Harper
Julian Lennon
Jerry Hensley (Johnny Cash)
Lol Creme
Steve Lynch
Keith Mack (Scandal)
Scott Metaxas (Prophet)
Tracii Guns (Guns & Roses)
Andy Timmons
Ted Nugent
Duff McKagan
Carmine Rojas
Robert Parissi (Wild Cherry)
Don Kieselbach
Dave Kiswiney
Mark Mendoza (Blackfoot)
Nile Rogers
Chuck Jacobs Kenny Rogers
Nick Moroch (Lenny White)
Hank Williams, Jr.
Rick Pierce (Q5)
T. M. Stevens
Derek Holt (Climax Blues)
Randy Rand
(Autograph)
Paul Pesco (Madonna
Keith Richards
Dee Snider
Jimmy Ripp (Yoko Ono)
Joe Perry (Aerosmith)
Dennis Pepa (Death Angel)
loyd Rose
Nancy Wilson (Heart)
Michael Ray (Wendy O)
Michael Rutherford
Snake Sabo (Skid Row)
Derek St. Holmes ( Nugent)
Chris Oliva (Savatage)
Kim Simmonds (Savoy Brown)
John Siegler (Roger Daltrey)
Phil Sousan (Billy Idol)
Nikki Sixx (Motley Crue)
Steven Van Zandt
Bob Wootton (Johnny Cash)
Keith Scott (Bryan Adams).
Peter Sears (Starship)
Alex Such (Bon Jovi)
Leslie West
Wayne Parker (Glass Tiger)
Greg Lake
Jon Butcher
Dave Meneketti (YNT)
Gary Talent
Michael Wilton (Queensryche)

etc...

Tom Anderson was their head designer and the Kramer Elliot Easton looks a heck of a lot like a TA



THE MAN

Sendrith

i've got a new striker from musicyo. Got it a couple years ago.

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gear in profile

m1dnight

i just got a second hand karmer striker, its a lovely guitar, but i restringing it today and it was a bloody nightmare, can any of you offer tips on restringing them?

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bokuho

For the '95 These Days tour (the one that is on the 'Live From London' video/DVD, aka Best. Guitar solos. EVAH), it did come down to the DS-1, as far as I can tell. I used one with some small Fender combo amp some time back and it came pretty close tonally, so I figure that's what it is on that tour; Fender amp (any of them; in my experience, most Fender amps and cabs all sound the same, it's the preamps and heads that make all the difference with Fender) and a DS-1 pedal, job done.

Of course it helps if you have the same pickups as him too. Off the top of my head I don't remember the exact pickups he was using on that tour (I know it wasn't actually the same as the ones in his signature Strat back then), but they were really very hot, or at least the bridge humbucker was. My Jersey Star's stock pickups aren't actually quite hot enough to get the '95 tone.


And this may sound repetitive, but for something that can comfortably fit in a bedroom? Again, just go right to Fender, and have a nice distortion pedal on-hand (not overdrive; he used overdrive when using his '59 Les Paul on the 95 tour, but when he was using the strat and double neck, it was distortion, and throughout the earlier days, he used distortion exclusively; for the newest albums though, I'm pretty sure it's overdrive for everything). Fender do a truckload of decent combo amps, the more you pay the nicer they get, just take your pick based on what your price limit is - you can't really go wrong.


EDIT:
Oh good lord if this isn't a fake... so tempted to bid on it...
80's Richie Sambora Kramer, signed

DSOTM80

A Boss DS-1 is a good pedal. It pretty much hasn't changed since it first came out. I used to like it, then hated it and now like it The problem I found is through a solid state amp it sounds like crap which is why I think maybe it gets a bad wrap here. Most try it on a solid state amp and go meh dont like it. Through a tube amp though thats another story, you can get many tones out of it. I guess that would be the biggest difference.

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2003 Music Man Axis Pacific Blue Burst

rockr09

Does anybody know if a Pacer-1000 is any good? I found one in my local pawn shop for $150. Its cream colored, has chrome hardware, has a LFR, has 1 vol knob, and 1 slanted humbucker at the bridge. It looks almost new too, but I though pacers have been out of production for a while. It also has a maple neck and banana/hockey stick headstock.

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bokuho

That's the same for everything though. SS amps never handle distortion or overdrive well except at very, very low levels, and even then they're nowhere near great. Any guitar and any pedal will always sound worse through a SS amp than a tube amp.

DSOTM80

Check out vintagekramer.com

If I remember correctly, in the 80's the Pacers were the USA made models but theres no such thing as a Pacer-1000. Focus-1000 was an 80's Kramer made in Japan. Maybe they got the names mixed up?
Does it look something like this?


Here's a link for more info
http://www.vintagekramer.com/focus.htm

EDIT:
By the way where is this pawnshop? If you don't decide to get it do they have a website address? I'll buy it or buy it off you

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2003 Music Man Axis Pacific Blue Burst

rockr09

^Its in Mississippi, and they don't have website address I think. I'd be surprised if they did.
I'm almost certain is said Pacer-1000. I held it and played it and all that fun stuff.
It looked like the one in the pic except it had chrome hardware. And I think a hockey stick headstock but then again those two headstocks are similar and I could have mistaked it.
And I've already checked that website.

I'm really wondering if this is a good guitar cause I have already missed out a old 80's kramer that was $100, and only needed a few things fixed up.

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DSOTM80

I'd get it just for the fact that it looks like its a Japanese made Kramer from the 80's and $150 but thats me. Though you did give me a good idea to go and check pawn shops in my area :P Thanks

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2003 Music Man Axis Pacific Blue Burst

.:Darkness:.

We need more photos of kramers!

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EVH92

^ ok



and my favorite guitar of all time...

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METAL MILITIA1

anyone know we're i can try a kramer vanguard in Melbourne Australia. Because i really wanna get one but ill have to get it off musicyo and i wanna try it first