Kramer is celebrating 50 trips ‘round the sun with a special anniversary collection that refinishes its high-performance electric guitar lineup in a metallic gold finish. And we’ve got to say that Kramer guitars have never looked better.
Okay, there will be some devotees of the brand who can’t look past some of the graphic finishes – who wouldn’t want a green cobra on the front of their guitar – or any of the more lurid paint jobs that were its stock-in-trade in the ‘80s, back when Kramer was the premier shred brand in the US.
And okay, maybe the Eddie Van Halen red-black-and-white striped Kramer takes the cake. It’s Edward Van Halen.
But c’mon… Look at all that gold.
This 50th Anniversary Collection has got us like Humphrey Bogart in The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre, and there is plenty to choose from here.
Six of the current Kramer lineup is represented. There’s the neck-thru SM-1 HH, the Volante, the NightSwan, the 84, the Pacer Carrera, and the Baretta. All come in Anniversary Gold, with contrasting black hardware, black pickguards on the Volante – no pickguards on the rest because there has always been something utilitarian about the Kramer aesthetic. Speed above all else.
That sort of thing caught the imagination of legions of players in the ‘80s, among them was Aljon Go. Go is now the product manager at Kramer and he has lost none of his affection for the brand
“I’m incredibly proud to be celebrating Kramer’s 50th Anniversary with this stunning collection of limited-edition guitars,” says Go. “Performance has always been at the core of what Kramer stands for, and that spirit is deeply personal to me.
“My very first electric guitar was a Kramer, a Christmas gift from my parents in 1988. That guitar lit the spark for a lifelong passion, and when I pick up these 50th Anniversary models today, I feel that same sense of excitement and inspiration.”
There is everything a growing shredder needs. There is the 10” to 14” compound radius ebony fingerboard, jumbo frets, skinny necks, the Floyd Rose 1000 Series double-locking vibrato.
Kramer isn’t playing around with the pickups. The Volante comes with a pair of Kramer USA Neptune humbuckers, the rest with one or two Evolution PRO humbuckers.
“These guitars honour our legacy while delivering the tone, playability, and reliability today’s players expect,” says Go. “I hope guitarists around the world connect with them as strongly as I always have.”
All ship with a gig bag, and the price is amenable too, with the range starting from £949/$999 street for the single-pickup Baretta. The Volante HHFR will set you back £1,199/$1,1299.
Find out more over at Kramer.
