From: pkor@phoenix.oulu.fi (Pasi Korhonen)
Subject: Re: Kramer Guitar Parts... Where can I find the,?!
Organization: Ripoff Industries
X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.1 PL6]
Date: Mon, 23 Nov 1992 09:41:13 GMT

Dr.Love (ccocstt@prism.gatech.EDU) wrote:

: I found out this past summer that they went out of business or something?!
: I couldn't believe it!!!  I was sooo PO'd!  The freaking brand that Eddie VH
: supported and advertised!!  I bought it knowing (back then) that they'd be
: supported forever!!  ARGH!!

	Here is a little something about Kramer, written by a guy, who
	worked for Kramer for a while. It was in alt.guitar in March
	this year. 

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26 Mar 92 07:57:08 GMT             alt.guitar                 Thread 200 of 235
Article 1015                    Re: Kramer.                   Respno   1 of   2
4str@cbnewsj.cb.att.com                                 greg.a..clewell at AT&T

In article <71300@netnews.upenn.edu> karle@eniac.seas.upenn.edu (Kathleen R Arle
) writes:
>In article <1992Mar25.022740.4811@ecst.csuchico.edu> lonewolf@ecst.csuchico.edu
 (William Jospeh Bestor) writes:
>>Kramer Guitar Co. IS NOT OUT OF BUSINESS YET!
>>They are going through a bankrupcy hearing in the courts.
>>SOME DEALERS CAN STILL ORDER PARTS FROM KRAMER, but no
>>guitars. Wah!!
>>LoneWolf.
>
>Kramers suck, anyway.  
>Never met one that I didn't like.  Especially because they stuck with the old
>Floyds that have so many design flaws.  Why do people love Floyds so much?
>They have no action adjustment, intonation is a bitch, you have to clip the
>ball ends, the tone is thin and weak, you have to get the trem arm upgrade on
>some of them, and the locking nut is a pain.
>Oh, yeah, and Kramer necks always felt really cheap to me.  If it weren't for
>the fact that Van Halen could get numerous cheap parts from them and necks with
>those banana headstocks, Kramer woulda died long ago.

Hmm.  Interesting enough thread.  I worked for kramer briefly a few years
ago at their plant in Neptune, N.J. and have enough friends who worked there
I figure I could add a couple of bits.   It is true, they
were using old floyds, some people consider them classic, trems are a matter
of personal taste at a point.  I happen to have a washburn wonder bar I love.
I think, Kramer could have been a fine guitar company, at least in the ranks
of your smaller companies, like bc rich.  They wanted to be BIG, and like 
it happens sometimes, they over extended themselves to that goal, and 
quality dropped.   Only kramer I have left is a kramer "duke" bass.  It is
a steinberger weirdo shape, with an aluminium neck.  It is a really cool bass.
The sound is to twisted for me to use it as my main axe.   Excellent kramer
products were the guitars and basses they made with aluminium necks, and
of course the spectors.  There were production spectors and hand made 
spectors.  Was the root of kramers probs in the twilight days, they were 
putting out this quality handmade stuff, along side these shlocky jobbies,
whipped up with prefab parts from japan, the horror stories I could tell
you.  Say we routed out a body too much putting on a neck, we would throw
a shim in there!  Or imagine taking off your neck and reading: Good job
asshole, you just voided your warranty! (this could happen too you!).  Oh
yeah, we were a buncha slobs on the assembly line.  The factory was split
in two halves, in one half craftmen were making fine hand made axes, the
other halp was a buncha yahoos assembling the stuff kramer lost its rep 
on.  Bottom line is there really are some fine kramers floating around
in a see of cheesey ones.   The whole thing can be blamed on the management
(or lack of).  People were really un-happy there if they stayed a while.
They lost some excellent luthiers not treating them right.   They had
a great little company in place at one point it is sad really.  I wish
I could be more specific and not just rant, some general backround tho,
kramer was one of those guys working out of a garage in somebodies house
make good (riches to rags) stories.   It is a shame.  Someone is
still handcrafting spectors though (there is a god).   I would think if
you bought your kramer for under $1000. it was an assembly kramer, sometimes
you would get a good one, kind of hit or miss.   I have friends who
lingered to the end.. perhaps I will make some calls and get some more
dope on kramers demise if there is any interest.   Just my opinions
and obsevations (a bit of hearsay thrown in) of course.  ;-)   _greg
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Oh yeah kathleen mentioned necks.  One day we could be bolting on really
sweet esp necks, then they would suddenly come accross with these generic
crap necks.  Your kramers will really vary quality wise. 

	That's what Greg said....go figure....

	Pasi

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