Is Kramer a good guitar brand? Does Kramer make good guitars? Who uses Kramer guitars? What country are Kramer guitars made? Who made Kramer guitars? Do you have any idea about the Kramer Guitars? Though not at the same level of popularity as the Fenders, Gibsons, and other top guitar brands, I believe it would still be worth talking about this guitar brand, as it has some significant contributions in the history of the development of the guitars throughout the years.
So, what is Kramer Guitars, and how did it all start? Kramer is an American manufacturing company of stringed instruments like the electric guitar and bass guitar. Established in the 1970s, Gary Kramer, Dennis Berardi, and a close friend from the guitar company Travis Bean decided to make guitars that come with an aluminum neck. Kramer, Berardi, and investors Peter LaPlaca and Henry Vaccaro decided to built-up a plant in Neptune, New Jersey subsequently.
Kramer introduced in 1976 its tuning fork head aluminum-reinforced guitar necks, one of its famous trademarks in the music industry, with its fretboards made of Ebonol, which is a similar material used in making bowling balls. Other popular features of the neck are that it has aluminum dots and zero frets.
Most of the guitars manufactured by Kramer in the 70s usually come with bodies made of high-quality Maple or Walnut, but most of its earliest versions come with bodies made of Koa, Bubinga, Afromosia, Shedua, and Swietenia, which are all exotic tonewoods. The hardware attached to the guitars is known to be of high quality as it uses Schaller pickups, tuning keys, and bridges; however, it also sometimes comes with DiMarzio pickups.
It was only in the early 80s that the company started to release its first wooden-necked guitars. After the company started to have financial problems in the 90s, Kramer was sold out to Gibson because of bankruptcy. As of now, Kramer guitars are all made in Samick’s factory located in Indonesia.
Top Kramer Guitars
Kramer SM-1 H
An updated version of one of the more famous Kramer guitars, the Stagemaster Mach II, throughout the years, the Kramer SM-1 H comes with a mix of old and new features that gives the guitar an excellent bang for buck value.
The guitar has a Mahogany body with a double cutaway design, making it very comfortable to play with. It also has a Mahogany neck and an Ebony fretboard with a white binding, which gives the guitar a darker tone, perfect for playing rock and metal genres.
One of its unique features is that it only has one pickup, which is a Seymour Duncan JB SH-4 bridge humbucker, perfect for playing with heavier genres. It only has one volume knob, making the guitar very easy to play with without having to think of any other controls.
It comes with a Floyd Rose 1000 Series tremolo bridge, which is great for playing with a tremolo bar, as it has impressive tonal stability. Its K-speed SlimTaper neck and 24 jumbo frets give you the comfort to shred as you have additional frets to play with.
Kramer SM-1
One of the electric guitars under the updated version of Kramer’s Original Collection, the Kramer SM-1 is an excellent guitar for its value, having high-quality features you only see in top-notch guitars but comes with a more budget-friendly price tag.
The guitar has a Mahogany body with a double cutaway and a neck-thru design. It also has a Mahogany neck which is called the K-speed SlimTaper C-profile neck, which gives the guitar a very comfortable feel, especially when you are playing fast licks and shreds. It also has an Ebony fretboard, giving the guitar a darker tone, perfect for playing heavier genres.
It comes in a three-humbucker pickup configuration, which is all Seymour Duncan pickups, giving the guitar a great tone that many musicians would love to hear. It also has a volume and tone knob control and a five-way switch so that you can have many options for your guitar’s sound.
It is equipped with a Floyd Rose 1000 Series Tremolo bridge, perfect for dive bombs, as it allows you to play anything using the tremolo bar while being able to hold its tone without any issues. It also has 24 jumbo frets for additional notes to play with when you need them while you are shredding. This guitar is made in Indonesia, so you can be sure that it is affordable but still comes with a high-quality build and sound.
Kramer Charlie Parra Vanguard
One of Kramer’s best V-style in its collection, the Kramer’s Charlie Parra Vanguard is a signature guitar under the company’s 2021 Artist Series. Since signing, it has been Charlie’s second signature guitar under the brand.
The guitar comes with a V-shaped Mahogany body and a three-piece Maple neck. It also has an Ebony fretboard with 24 jumbo frets, which gives the guitar a dark tone perfect for playing rock and metal genre with its additional tones that you can shred to.
It comes with an HH-pickup configuration and is equipped with a pair of active humbuckers: an EMG 57 for the bridge pickup and an EMG 66 for the neck pickup. It has a three-way pickup switch selector, so you can choose a lot of guitar voicings that will be perfect for your playing style. It also has a volume dome knob.
It has a LockTone Tune-O-Matic bridge, which gives the guitar excellent tonal stability, even with the heavy playing it is designed to be used for. It comes with mini die-cast tuners for additional stability also. Lastly, this guitar is also made in Indonesia, which makes it very affordable, but it is still built with excellent quality in mind.
Kramer Nightswan
A fan favorite from Kramer’s extensive collection of electric guitars, the Kramer Nightswan is a great electric guitar with top-level features under the brand’s 2022 Original Series. Aside from its impressive build and sound quality, it also has a unique appearance with its polka dot feature.
It comes in a Mahogany body, a C-shaped bolt-on neck made of hard Maple, and an Ebony fretboard, which is perfect for playing heavier genres such as rock and metal, where you have to play fast with shredding and tapping techniques.
The guitar has an HH-pickup configuration, and it is equipped with two passive Seymour Duncan JB SH-4 humbuckers, which is great for its high output. It has a three-way pickup selector switch with a volume control knob, allowing you to choose the guitar voicings that would be perfect for your playing style.
The Nightswan comes with a Floyd Rose 1000 Series tremolo bridge, which is designed for being able to sustain the guitar’s tone even with the heavy use of a tremolo bar. It has Kramer Deluxe 14:1 ratio tuners and has a free tremolo bar to use with, depending on your preference.
So, is Kramer a good guitar brand? If you are looking for entry-level or mid-tier electric guitars, Kramer guitars would be a great option you should look into. They have a great build quality and impressive guitar tones considering the respective price tags that they come with.
