Kramer Guitars
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[edit] Introduction
Kramer Guitars is an American manufacturer of aluminum-necked electric guitars and basses in the 1970s and wooden-necked guitars catering to hard rock musicians in the 1980s; Kramer is currently a division of Gibson Guitar Corporation. The company was founded in the late 1970s by Dennis Berardi and Gary Kramer, a close friend and associate of Travis Bean, to manufacture aluminum-necked guitars. Gary Kramer, Dennis Berardi, Peter LaPlaca (a Vice President at Norlin, parent company of Gibson), and investor Henry Vaccaro joined forces to open a plant in Neptune, New Jersey. Soon thereafter, Gary Kramer moved to Los Angeles, and his connection with the company would become in name only.
[edit] Aluminum neck period
Introduced in 1976, early models featured the trademark "tuning fork" aluminum-reinforced necks with a fretboard made of ebonol--material similar to one used in bowling ball production. Other features of the necks included aluminum dots, and a zero fret made out of Petillo fretwire. Unlike Travis Bean, Kramer went beyond the idea of a neck forged entirely out of aluminum, due to both its weight and its feel. Instead, Kramer opted for wooden inserts in the aluminum necks. The inserts, set in epoxy, were usually walnut or maple. The bodies were made of fancy woods--such as curly or birdseye maple, walnut, and koa. The hardware was top-notch as well: Schaller tuning keys and bridges; Schaller and DiMarzio pickups; custom-made strap pins; aluminum cavity covers. Kramer's "alumi-neck" line lasted roughly until 1982. Out of this early part of Kramer history were born some exquisite musical instruments; truly a fine example of American lutherie. Generally, the ratio of basses to guitars produced was about 4:1, primarily because bass players were more willing to experiment. By 1981, Kramer had the tools, and the experience, to take guitar mass production to a new level. Switching to wooden-necked instruments both held the promise of keeping production costs low as well as being able to appeal to traditionally-minded guitar players.
[edit] Wooden neck period: first steps
Kramer first released wooden-necked guitars in late 1981, following Charvel's lead on producing instruments that essentially copied the strathead headstock shape from Fender. Although it isn't clear whether a lawsuit from Fender ever materialized, Kramer stopped releasing guitars with the trademark Fender headstock shape after only a thousand or so instruments were built. Instead, Kramer opted for a "beak" or "circumsized Fender" headstock reminiscent of 1960s Kent guitar headstocks.
As an important side note, wooden-necked instruments represented Kramer's first foray into offshoring the production of guitar components to Eastern Asia. Tuning keys and vintage fulcrum tremolos were made by Gotoh in Japan, while the necks were made by Japan's ESP Guitars and shipped to New Jersey for fretting and finishing.
Kramer executives saw that the guitar techniques of the early 1980s demanded a high-performance tremolo system. Kramer partnered with a German inventor named Helmut Rockinger, and installed his bulky tremolos, precursors to Floyd Rose systems, on its instruments.
[edit] Early-to-mid 1980s: the Kramer renaissance
A chance encounter between Dennis Berardi and the manager of Eddie Van Halen on an airplane flight set the foundation for Kramer's meteoric rise in the 1980s. Eddie was interested in a tremolo that stayed in tune, which the Rockinger system offered. A meeting between Eddie Van Halen and Kramer execs took place, and Eddie was sold. At the meeting, he reportedly quipped that he would help make Kramer the "#1 guitar company in the world."
By 1983, the Rockinger tremolo (sometimes dubbed "The Eddie Van Halen tremolo" was out, and the Floyd Rose system was in. In addition, Kramer once again offered Schaller tuners on their guitars, tapping Schaller to produce Floyd Rose tremolos as well. Kramer was the only guitar company offering Original Floyd Rose tremolos stock on their production guitars, a competitive advantage of Kramer over other guitar manufacturers of the period.
In late 1983, Kramer switched from the "beak" headstock design to the "banana" headstock design. This distinctive look also helped rank Kramer highly with guitar enthusiasts. One notable Kramer guitar was the Baretta model, which was similar to guitars Eddie Van Halen used and this single humbucker model utilized a pickup mounting ring instead of the pickup directly mounted into the body as Van Halen had wanted. The acoustic Kramer Ferrington was also a very popular guitar and though it was a fully hollow steel string acoustic, it shared the superstrat shape the Kramer electric helped to popularize along with Jackson/Charvel and Ibanez.
By late 1985, Kramer began installing Seymour Duncan pickups in its guitars, in favor over the more vintage-sounding Schaller pickups. When the sales figures came in, Kramer was the best-selling guitar brand of 1985.
In 1986, Kramer switched to a "pointy headstock" design, no doubt influenced by the pointy designs of Jackson/Charvel and other manufacturers. Schaller tuners, Floyd Rose tremolos, Seymour Duncan Pickups, and exciting graphics by talented factory artists such as Dennis Kline helped propel Kramer to become the best-selling guitar brand of 1986.
[edit] Late 1980s - the ending of an era
By 1987, Kramer was using ESP Guitars exclusively for manufacturing its necks and bodies. The "American Series" of instruments were ESP parts, assembled in Neptune, NJ. The Striker and Aerostar series were made completely in Korea, while the Focus series was made and assembled by ESP Guitars.
The first sign of trouble came in 1987, when a massive labor strike hit Korea. At this time, Kramer was starting to fall behind on its orders to guitar stores. Kramer was also becoming overextended financially due to artist endorsement deals, advertising, and royalties to Floyd Rose.
In addition, Kramer embraced the excess of the late 1980s too readily--producing slick and fluorescent guitars, losing its thought leadership in the guitar manufacturing arena, and damaging the image of the brand. Similarly, the image of the Kramer brand was being tarnished by an influx of Striker and Aerostar guitars--made cheaply and with cheap components.
By 1989, Dennis Berardi had started Berardi/Thomas Entertainment, Inc--an artist management company. Seeing promise in a young band out of the Soviet Union, Gorky Park, BTE started managing the group. To help promote the band, the infamous "Gorky Park" guitars were made, reportedly to be given to guitar dealers as promotional pieces. BTE banked on the Gorky Park guitars to help promote the group. When the Russian band achieved only a mild measure of success, this was a significant, and final blow to the Kramer company.
[edit] 1990s-present: From bankruptcy to a new beginning
Sadly, the original Kramer company effectively came to an end in 1991, mostly due to financial problems. The company had been spending huge amounts on advertising and endorsements, and then lost a lawsuit with Floyd Rose over royalties. A notorious firesale of surplus necks, bodies, and hardware was held out of New Jersey.
By 1995, Henry Vaccaro owned the Kramer Brand; in addition, he was the only one of the original partners interested in continuing in the guitar business. He tried one last time to produce Kramer guitars from surplus parts, in the Neptune plant, but only a few hundred were made.
The Kramer Brand was sold out of bankruptcy to Gibson Guitar Corporation.
Henry Vaccaro started making aluminum-necked guitars under the name Vaccaro Guitars, but that, too, was short-lived. Gibson now owns and manages the Kramer brand via the MusicYo.com website. They now produce reissues of original Kramer models, along with all-new models. Additionally, in 2005 the original founder and namesake of Kramer Guitars, Gary Kramer, has started his own guitar company labeled Gary Kramer Guitars.
The internet greatly helped fuse the interest of Kramer collectors around the globe. In the mid 1990s, pioneering sites Kramer Krazy, by Terry Boling, and Kramermaniaxe, by Mike Mojabi helped spark a renewed interest in these instruments. Beginning in 2002, VintageKramer.com, by Mike Wolverton, and KramerForum.com, by George Tarnopolsky, have become the primary voice of Kramer Musical Instruments enthusiasts worldwide.
Original Kramer guitars are now highly collectable, after being considered virtually worthless in the early 1990s. They regularly fetch high prices on eBay and other auction sites. Kramer collectors hold a Kramer Expo every year in Nashville, Tennessee, near the Gibson plant, to showcase and celebrate Kramer guitars.
[edit] Kramer models
Kramer Aluminum
- Kramer 250, 350, 450, and 650 Models
- Kramer DMZ Series
- Kramer XL Series
- Kramer XK Series
- Gene Simmons "Axe"
- Kramer "The Duke"
- Kramer Challenger
- Kramer Stagemaster {Aluminum)
Kramer USA and American
- Kramer Baretta
- Kramer Classic
- Kramer Liberty
- Kramer Pacer
- Kramer Condor
- Kramer Pioneer Bass
- Kramer Stagemaster
- Kramer Sustainer
- Kramer Triax and Enterprize
- Kramer Vanguard
- Kramer Voyager
Kramer USA and American -- Signature Models
- Kramer Elliot Easton Model
- Kramer Floyd Rose Model
- Kramer Gorky Park Model
- Kramer Nightswan
- Kramer Paul Dean Model
- Kramer Steve Ripley Model
- Kramer Richie Sambora Model
Kramer Overseas -- made in Japan
- Kramer Focus
- Kramer JK Series (Made for Japanese market)
Kramer Overseas -- made in Korea
- Kramer Aerostar
- Kramer Forum Bass
- Kramer Ferrington
- Kramer Metallist
- Kramer Regent
- Kramer Showster
- Kramer Starfighter
- Kramer Striker
[edit] Conclusion
Kramer Guitars was more than just a guitar company; it was an absolute influence on the rock industry and rock guitar. The company struggled early on to find its niche; however, after abandoning the aluminum neck idea, it became a legend. Kramer had very famous endorsees such as Edward Van Halen, Richie Sambora, Mick Mars, Vivian Campbell and countless other high-profile guitarists in the 1980s.
Kramer's exclusive use of the Floyd Rose tremolo, Schaller tuning keys, and Seymour Duncan pickups held it to a higher standard, above and beyond other makers in the 1980s. The Original Floyd Rose Tremolo is still marketed and sold to this day by Floyd Rose and a former Kramer executive. True to their late 1980s slogan, "A Step Ahead," Kramer delivered by innovation. In turn, Kramer found its spot in guitar history--outselling Fender and Gibson two years in a row.
[edit] External links
- Vintage Kramer site, with much detailed history ("most of it true" according to the site).
- Gary Kramer Guitars History page List the most detailed account of how the Kramer Guitar company got started from Gary Kramer's point of view.
- Kramer Guitars Official home page at the Gibson site.
- KramerForum - discussion about Kramer Guitars and Basses, instruments that defined an era.
