Love it! I’m such a fan of early Kramer’s. There was just always something about the neck and radius combo that just right in my hands. No strat has ever come close to the way those felt, to me. I used to have a Focus Beretta style, and I absolutely loved that cheap guitar. The guitar of my dreams came in the late ‘80s with the Stagemaster series. I had just gotten out of the Air Force and was 22, and no money. No way I could afford one. I just used to drool over the add with arched top and the beautiful lines. Fast forward 30 years and I find one on EBay in the HSS I wanted. An 89 Deluxe II with the original case! I great condition. I’ve replaced the pickups with a Duncan Custom and two Antiquity Texas Hots. It’s all I hoped it would be. I’m now 55 yrs old, and it was worth the wait.
It doesn't get much better than that. I've still gotta get my 87 Pacer Custom up and running. Just bought a neck for it and I'm about to give it a complete overhaul on it.
I love those Kramer's,... And I miss those 80's Glam-rock / Heavy metal days. In my collection I have the original Baretta's and the Nightswan. I also own the newly released Kramer 'Snake' Sabo Baretta, and the Pacer 'Bengal Tiger' But nothing beats the original Kramer's ! You cleaned up the Kramer Pacer 'Imperial' real nice Steve !
Great video, good job on the restoration! I'm always glad to see these fixed up and taken care of - sadly too many of these got beaten up in the 90s, and they still get disassembled and parted out even now. Like you, I also really love the earlier beak necks - and the later necks - but there is a period of time I'd say late 83 to 85 where the necks all seemed to be a little different, like they were trying a lot of new things to see what stuck. It's probably the most iconic era because of the banana headstocks and EVH stuff. I've had some cool necks in that time frame and some ones that I just didn't get along with, but like you said too there are lots of people that dream of those banana necks. There were also a lot of suppliers in that era, ESP made the vast majority of the beak and pointy necks, but the banana heads came from a couple of makers all with slightly differing dimensions and construction methods, so no two Kramers in that era were the same it seems. You also mentioned the Fender "P" headstock being shaved off - that is absolutely true. I actually have one where the beak is oddly shaped and it's original, very clearly it was a "P" shape and they just cut the end right off, clear coated it, and called it good.
Nice one Steve! Mine is an '83 Imperial in white with EMG's, that's the way I got it, one day I'll get around to replace with the Duncan's. I also have an '85 Deluxe in Trans Red w/Black hardware in mint condition which I custom ordered in lefty back then. It has the Duncans HSS. Total price was $1200 Canadian. Custom order fee was $50, LOL! I still have the brochures and pricelist which were mailed to me from Kramer, Neptune NJ. It has a flat black neck plate with a 4 or 5 digit serial #, can't remember. Thanks for showing.
Steve...I have the same guitar...it’s an ‘84 Pacer ...I bought it brand new in 84 at Bills Music House in Catonsville MD when I was a kid...a couple months later I put a Dimarzio Super Distortion in the bridge...other than that, its all stock...it’s a beast of a guitar and I play it everyday!!!!!!
SFB, I had a Strat head pacer imperial i bought in 1982 at 8th street music in philadelphia when i was 18 years old. I was a EVH freak and he did that ad with the white beak Pacer so i had to get one!. A music store i dealt with named 8th street music had a brand new strat head Pacer leftover with the rockinger trem. Nice guitar but the 1982 Charvel san dimas strat i found a few months later destroyed in everyway it so i dumped that Kramer and have been a Charvel freak since!
Sweet axe! I have to disagree though about mixing active and passive pickups. I use to agree with that about 25-30 years ago. However I have an original Kramer Nightswan Aztec from 89-90 and I put installed a Seymour Duncan active heavy metal live wire in the bridge and kept the JB in the neck. I have a push/pull volume pot for the pickup selector switch and I can split the JB with a mini switch. It can go mild to wild, the tone varies are pretty diverse. I copper shielded the whole guitar, all cavities. When you turn up the volume it's dead silent till you hit a not, even with the high output Metal live wire. This and my Kramer Dave Sabo signature guitar are my favorites, I still have a 96 Hamer Californian as well, something about those guitars from that era are just awesome! Great video, cheers!
That’s awesome! I had a similar experience with my 86 Baretta, got it from GC used and it had some wonky mods, EMG pickup, holes drilled into the body. You can see it on my channel. It works but hoping to mod and restore it back like yours. Love seeing Kramer content, def do more. Cheers!
I still have mine I bought at Lasalle Music on North Beacon St in Watertown in 1984. I believe it was $690.00. Mine is a red transparent imperial, rosewood fretboard.
Steve you're the man in my book just because you busted out the trooper, but seriously I wish I had some of your skills when it comes to finishing your neck and your frets I just bought a new Pacer and the frets are terribly high, as a matter of fact the guitar was almost unplayable it buzzed so much I had to take a couple days to get a few truss rod adjustments in it's a week now and it's just about now settling down I'm used to Jackson's with wide smaller frets and they feel a lot smoother this new Pacer it's making me readjust my whole technique the thing it looks and sounds awesome but the wiring and it was horrendous if you looked at it the wrong way it cracked and popped on the back of the cavity control if you touched it like say why you were playing and your stomach hit it it would push you on the wires and make horrible noise I had to rewire all the electronics and I use that vintage wire that you're talking about that stuff is great it made the guitar sound so much smoother and better and quieter so like I said I can do the wiring and an electronics and stuff like that but man this is really need a lot of work for me to be comfortable with this neck the neck itself feels good but there was frets are just so tall and all this is like a grater going over compared to the Jacksons I've been playing for the last 20 years. I don't like to see more jazz pick up in the neck at all I split the coil and it sounds like a buzzing mess. The body on the new ones is also Maple and man it is a lot heavier than my older Jackson's are I have a bad back and it's a strain on it somebody said that body was like they must be nuts. The Floyd 1000 on it stays in tune great but it's supposed to be still like the original floyd only made in a different country yet where the paints rubbed off of it already it's copper looking or zinc looking like the Floyd specials and that bothers me a bit
one thing that always outweighs the stew-mac shipping is they sell genuine shaller made in Germany Floyd parts you Know what you getting loving the rebuild awesome sound with those duncon's and being able to do series & parr & out of phase sounds awesome on this vids congrats
They used the Fender Strat headstock in '81, but Fender sent them a cease and desist letter. They took a band saw to their existing stock, cutting off the distinctive Fender round ball and the new headstock was born, roughly 1982.
Looks nice man. I have a Washburn from the 90's or maybe late 80's that I'm thinking about fixing up. It will probably cost more than it's worth though. Good decisions aren't really my thing though lol
I had a Midnight Blue slight burst with a couple of stars painted in. It was a Pacer with the same headstock as VH press release. I bought it used . Anyone have an idea what year that was with that finish on a Pacer?
got a mid 80s focus 6000. its the bees knees. Do you know anything about the narrow neck at the nut? its the narrowest neck ive played but cant find anything about that neck size. its 41mm at the nut
So im going to have to buy one of those Files, there's 3 different Z files , centered, offset, offset safe. I probably am not leveling, biggest thing is flat but there's some groves (indents) i want to take care of. Which File do you think of those 3?
I'm using the Original, whichever one that is. They came out with the other ones later. And you must tape off the fretboard or risk indentations in the wood.
@@SFBGuitar yeah, i F*$d up my gloss finish a bit on my LTD birdseye fretboard even using the fret guards just polishing them, it moved a bit and i hadnt taped the edges of the cheap guards or board. Im assuming i could possibly polish it out a bit, however, like yourself, I only restring once per year or so. LOL, I just checked and it was November 2018 when I last restrung that one, looks like Ive got something to do tomorrow night. I put a small piece of masking tape on the neckplate with gauge, brand month and yr
Nice job! I bought creme colored version of that in '83 - first guitar with a Floyd in Sam Ash NYC back then! How does the vintage one compare to that Indonesian one hangin on the wall?
Kramer def needs to bring the rosewood boards back, nice and dark almost black like back then. Cant stand the light replacement woods they use nowadays.
Hi Steve, great job as always. I was wandering if and when you review the ñew Neural DSP Archetype Petrucci plug in? I think you will be blown away!! Hope you check it out and let us know what you think. Marry Xmas from The Netherlands.
Love it! I’m such a fan of early Kramer’s. There was just always something about the neck and radius combo that just right in my hands. No strat has ever come close to the way those felt, to me. I used to have a Focus Beretta style, and I absolutely loved that cheap guitar. The guitar of my dreams came in the late ‘80s with the Stagemaster series. I had just gotten out of the Air Force and was 22, and no money. No way I could afford one. I just used to drool over the add with arched top and the beautiful lines.
Fast forward 30 years and I find one on EBay in the HSS I wanted. An 89 Deluxe II with the original case! I great condition. I’ve replaced the pickups with a Duncan Custom and two Antiquity Texas Hots. It’s all I hoped it would be. I’m now 55 yrs old, and it was worth the wait.
I need to send you pics of my restored 1983 Kramer Pacer. Mine is Candy Apple red, too. I love it! Maple body. She is heavy!!!! Tone for days...
I have a new generation Kramer 84 and it’s one of my favorite guitars.
Very nice restoration. I have a 1986 Kramer Focus (as best I can tell) that is currently stripped down waiting for the same kind of love.
I know right...early Kramer dating is freakin hard to pin down....the were all over the place!!!!
YESSSS BRING BACK THE VIDEOS PLZZZ!!!!!!!!!!!
It doesn't get much better than that. I've still gotta get my 87 Pacer Custom up and running. Just bought a neck for it and I'm about to give it a complete overhaul on it.
I love those Kramer's,...
And I miss those 80's Glam-rock / Heavy metal days.
In my collection I have the original Baretta's and the Nightswan.
I also own the newly released Kramer 'Snake' Sabo Baretta, and the Pacer 'Bengal Tiger'
But nothing beats the original Kramer's !
You cleaned up the Kramer Pacer 'Imperial' real nice Steve !
Great video, good job on the restoration! I'm always glad to see these fixed up and taken care of - sadly too many of these got beaten up in the 90s, and they still get disassembled and parted out even now.
Like you, I also really love the earlier beak necks - and the later necks - but there is a period of time I'd say late 83 to 85 where the necks all seemed to be a little different, like they were trying a lot of new things to see what stuck. It's probably the most iconic era because of the banana headstocks and EVH stuff. I've had some cool necks in that time frame and some ones that I just didn't get along with, but like you said too there are lots of people that dream of those banana necks. There were also a lot of suppliers in that era, ESP made the vast majority of the beak and pointy necks, but the banana heads came from a couple of makers all with slightly differing dimensions and construction methods, so no two Kramers in that era were the same it seems.
You also mentioned the Fender "P" headstock being shaved off - that is absolutely true. I actually have one where the beak is oddly shaped and it's original, very clearly it was a "P" shape and they just cut the end right off, clear coated it, and called it good.
Nice one Steve! Mine is an '83 Imperial in white with EMG's, that's the way I got it, one day I'll get around to replace with the Duncan's. I also have an '85 Deluxe in Trans Red w/Black hardware in mint condition which I custom ordered in lefty back then. It has the Duncans HSS. Total price was $1200 Canadian. Custom order fee was $50, LOL! I still have the brochures and pricelist which were mailed to me from Kramer, Neptune NJ. It has a flat black neck plate with a 4 or 5 digit serial #, can't remember. Thanks for showing.
Great job fixing that badass Kramuh up Big Steve! I freaking love that guitah!
Steve...I have the same guitar...it’s an ‘84 Pacer ...I bought it brand new in 84 at Bills Music House in Catonsville MD when I was a kid...a couple months later I put a Dimarzio Super Distortion in the bridge...other than that, its all stock...it’s a beast of a guitar and I play it everyday!!!!!!
Guitars and tube amps are much more entertaining and fun than building RC cars & airplanes... Drones are likely the next rabbit hole for me!
SFB, I had a Strat head pacer imperial i bought in 1982 at 8th street music in philadelphia when i was 18 years old.
I was a EVH freak and he did that ad with the white beak Pacer so i had to get one!. A music store i dealt with named 8th street music had a brand new strat head Pacer leftover with the rockinger trem.
Nice guitar but the 1982 Charvel san dimas strat i found a few months later destroyed in everyway it so i dumped that Kramer
and have been a Charvel freak since!
Joe Satriani used a white one of these on the first couple of albums.
Looks amazing! Great guitars! I have the blue sister to yours and even today it feels amazing. Enjoy it Steve!
maple body, all the way... yeah! that particular attack and vicious mids... great job, Steve! Congrats
steve the guitar looks great dude and sounds great glade you got it done wow
That cleaned up real nice 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
Beautiful job on an awesome guitar !!
Mine had the allen key holder new from factory. i have same guitar in Black. Got it for my 12th Birthday.
Sweet Guitar! Looking at that, I could become a Kramer fan.
Love Kramer Guitars.
Merry Christmas Steve
Sweet axe! I have to disagree though about mixing active and passive pickups. I use to agree with that about 25-30 years ago. However I have an original Kramer Nightswan Aztec from 89-90 and I put installed a Seymour Duncan active heavy metal live wire in the bridge and kept the JB in the neck. I have a push/pull volume pot for the pickup selector switch and I can split the JB with a mini switch. It can go mild to wild, the tone varies are pretty diverse. I copper shielded the whole guitar, all cavities. When you turn up the volume it's dead silent till you hit a not, even with the high output Metal live wire. This and my Kramer Dave Sabo signature guitar are my favorites, I still have a 96 Hamer Californian as well, something about those guitars from that era are just awesome!
Great video, cheers!
What a Beauty!!!!!!!!!!!
Sweet Kramer Steve,love the color and great playing,Merry Christmas to you and family,Cheers!
Great review and great playing!
Nice work on guitar!!! Great videos
Looks and sounds great. nice tones in the Tone Zone.
Hawt shawt.. got a Kramer in 83. Got my license in 83. Saw maiden in 83 also
That’s awesome! I had a similar experience with my 86 Baretta, got it from GC used and it had some wonky mods, EMG pickup, holes drilled into the body. You can see it on my channel. It works but hoping to mod and restore it back like yours. Love seeing Kramer content, def do more. Cheers!
I like it good old days.
Yea, it’s a maple body and if you look the neck will be stamped ESP...its got that small 41mm nut size which I love...its a great neck!!!!
Looks great!
Thanks for sharing!! You Rock!!
WOW, awesome work !! Looks like as if you just pulled it out of the box !!
Awesome work and awesome guitar! Yes indeed sir YOU ROCK!!!🤘🎸😎
Nice! I missed my chance to get a black cherry Charvel Model 4 again. Unless I find a miracle deal they're priced out of my league now.
It's ALIVE!!!!!!!
The guitar turned out great!! I'm trying to locate a control cover for mine!!
I still have mine I bought at Lasalle Music on North Beacon St in Watertown in 1984. I believe it was $690.00. Mine is a red transparent imperial, rosewood fretboard.
I had one of these left handed in a blue burst.
Great Video, you did a lot of work and it looks great!!!
Great job man I love it!
Looks sharp.
Thanks Great Guitar!
Sweet find !
Steve you're the man in my book just because you busted out the trooper, but seriously I wish I had some of your skills when it comes to finishing your neck and your frets I just bought a new Pacer and the frets are terribly high, as a matter of fact the guitar was almost unplayable it buzzed so much I had to take a couple days to get a few truss rod adjustments in it's a week now and it's just about now settling down I'm used to Jackson's with wide smaller frets and they feel a lot smoother this new Pacer it's making me readjust my whole technique the thing it looks and sounds awesome but the wiring and it was horrendous if you looked at it the wrong way it cracked and popped on the back of the cavity control if you touched it like say why you were playing and your stomach hit it it would push you on the wires and make horrible noise I had to rewire all the electronics and I use that vintage wire that you're talking about that stuff is great it made the guitar sound so much smoother and better and quieter so like I said I can do the wiring and an electronics and stuff like that but man this is really need a lot of work for me to be comfortable with this neck the neck itself feels good but there was frets are just so tall and all this is like a grater going over compared to the Jacksons I've been playing for the last 20 years. I don't like to see more jazz pick up in the neck at all I split the coil and it sounds like a buzzing mess. The body on the new ones is also Maple and man it is a lot heavier than my older Jackson's are I have a bad back and it's a strain on it somebody said that body was like they must be nuts. The Floyd 1000 on it stays in tune great but it's supposed to be still like the original floyd only made in a different country yet where the paints rubbed off of it already it's copper looking or zinc looking like the Floyd specials and that bothers me a bit
Could you please share the link to the switches you used? I have a Kramer project too. Great work! 😊
Great video. Do you know what fret wire was used from the factory for this guitar?
Love it!
one thing that always outweighs the stew-mac shipping is they sell genuine shaller made in Germany Floyd parts you Know what you getting loving the rebuild awesome sound with those duncon's and being able to do series & parr & out of phase sounds awesome on this vids congrats
Any idea of the history and story around this Suhr style headstock?
They used the Fender Strat headstock in '81, but Fender sent them a cease and desist letter. They took a band saw to their existing stock, cutting off the distinctive Fender round ball and the new headstock was born, roughly 1982.
i have the exact same guitar in mint condition. It has the rare flicker trem though so 82/83. I probably shouldnt mess with it, it's completely stock
Looks nice man. I have a Washburn from the 90's or maybe late 80's that I'm thinking about fixing up. It will probably cost more than it's worth though. Good decisions aren't really my thing though lol
wicked awesome!
I had a Midnight Blue slight burst with a couple of stars painted in. It was a Pacer with the same headstock as VH press release. I bought it used . Anyone have an idea what year that was with that finish on a Pacer?
got a mid 80s focus 6000. its the bees knees. Do you know anything about the narrow neck at the nut? its the narrowest neck ive played but cant find anything about that neck size. its 41mm at the nut
Never give up on a battle axe !
damn this sounds perfect
Fuckin KILLER Fiddle Steve!!!! Great job... and Great video!!!
Steve guitar looks great. Did you make a video of the the leveling and crowing? Attended BU in 83.
So im going to have to buy one of those Files, there's 3 different Z files , centered, offset, offset safe. I probably am not leveling, biggest thing is flat but there's some groves (indents) i want to take care of. Which File do you think of those 3?
I'm using the Original, whichever one that is. They came out with the other ones later. And you must tape off the fretboard or risk indentations in the wood.
@@SFBGuitar yeah, i F*$d up my gloss finish a bit on my LTD birdseye fretboard even using the fret guards just polishing them, it moved a bit and i hadnt taped the edges of the cheap guards or board. Im assuming i could possibly polish it out a bit, however, like yourself, I only restring once per year or so. LOL, I just checked and it was November 2018 when I last restrung that one, looks like Ive got something to do tomorrow night.
I put a small piece of masking tape on the neckplate with gauge, brand month and yr
Nice job! I bought creme colored version of that in '83 - first guitar with a Floyd in Sam Ash NYC back then! How does the vintage one compare to that Indonesian one hangin on the wall?
Why did mine not have any writing underneath KRAMER on the headstock
Super nice. Which Duncans?
Kramer def needs to bring the rosewood boards back, nice and dark almost black like back then. Cant stand the light replacement woods they use nowadays.
Dreamy
Hi Steve, great job as always.
I was wandering if and when you review the ñew Neural DSP Archetype Petrucci plug in?
I think you will be blown away!!
Hope you check it out and let us know what you think.
Marry Xmas from The Netherlands.
Does anybody know if they ever made a mid 80s pacer with a painted neck that match body color?
Finally
The pacer American II has a maple sold body and neck also- but has one toggle switch w/3 pickups its bad a%^&^!
Hey Steve.. kramer has a new pacer Carrera. $1000. Could you check them out and do a review? Thank.
I have the opportunity to buy one (Kramer SM-1 Vintage White Korean) or one (Kramer Sm-1 blue sky Indonesia) I have to choose one of the two, help.
I had a Kramer 100st that I bought from a guitar shop. Stupid thing gave me such a headache.
Mate, that TONE. It's FAT.