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Picked up a Kramer Project Guitar today

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  • #16
    All, thanks for you interest!

    I put the first coat on this morning. Still debating if I like the colour. I am looking for an Olympic white, or something similar. Colour choices in spray paint at the local hardware are fairly limited. The other consideration is a French Blue. See Steve Via's Sound Theories.



    Colour is a sort of Pearl or Vintage. Any Comments.

    Here is the back route: Still trying to identify what the hell I purchased for $250!

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    • #17
      Not sure if that neck is a newer Gibson or maybe an older Sport...the truss rod cover looks newer though :think:

      Single volume pot in the cavity and looks like a barrel output jack was in there too. That Floyd has the older screw posts and is fairly worn so that leads me to believe it's a hacked up 84-85 Baretta.
      Drive Fast Cars & Play Cool Guitars!!!

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      • #18
        The seller posted it as an original Baretta. When I saw it, I was skeptical and talked him down. Others have thought it was a newer neck. There is some fret wear, so it is not overly new. The cover looks like someone got it from ebay. The routing on the bridge pickup looks professional, with the repair done on the upper side. When I first saw it, I thought someone rotated the pickup and filled the space. But after removing the paint, I think the routing was original, with a repair done at one point. Anyway, I am trying to bring this thing back to the land of the living.

        I am on my second coat of paint. Is is possible to get a really good finished job using spray cans? I am sanding with 600 wet/dry between coats but I have a long way to go to get a factory finish?

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        • #19
          Originally posted by Radiohead View Post
          I am on my second coat of paint. Is is possible to get a really good finished job using spray cans? I am sanding with 600 wet/dry between coats but I have a long way to go to get a factory finish?
          Once you seal it with lacquer you have to use various wet and dry papers and a lot of elbow grease to get a nice glassy finish but yeah, you can get good results with spreay cans.
          http://www.amazon.co.uk/Steven-A.-McKay/e/B00DS0TRH6/

          http://http://stevenamckay.wordpress.com/

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          • #20
            Almost Finished

            Hey All,

            I provided lots of TLC to rehabilitate this Kramer Barretta. Overall, I am pleased with my first attempt at a project guitar like this one. It was a great project and I think I'm hooked.

            I could use some advice on the following: Low E & A Strings will not stay in tune and the output sounds undefined. Does anyone have any suggestions. I just completed the assembly today, so maybe the guitar needs a few days to settle with String tension?

            2nd Issue is that the guitar is very soft. I put about 3-4 coats of paint, with about 20+ coats for Varnish. The finish marks very easily. I am missing anything? Perhaps Ureathane would have been a better choice?

            Again, thank you in advance for your comments.
            Last edited by Radiohead; 12-19-2009, 06:01 PM.

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            • #21
              The thing you are missing in the finish department is the materials you used unfortunately. Varnish really isn't designed to go over paint.
              Custom Guitars, Refinish and restorations.
              http://www.learnguitars.com

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              • #22
                radiohead,
                congrats on the snag. you did good paying $250.
                the bad news is that it's not a baretta body. not sure if it's even a kramer body. the guitar is a mutt. i have about 30 vintage kramers and none of them have the rounded off edges like that on the body and also the roundish edges of the trem cavity on the back. the lower bout, the side where the volume knob is, is too big. baretta bodies also have a flatter butt. the body you have is rounder. the headstock shape points to a kramer, but the logo looks like it's a decal. the frets look like extra wide frets (might be the picture). kramer don't use wide frets.
                what does the neck plate say?
                to determine the wood, w/o seeing the grain closeup and on the side wall of the floyd cavity and neck pocket, i'm guessing it's ply(?) although it might be aldar.
                barettas came with schaller strap locks. what kinda strap buttons are those?
                basically, it's a mutt. but 250 is not bad; the floyd and neck would make up that; even after market necks cost over 1 bill. plus you're having fun doing the makeover, and you plan to keep it. i would enjoy her. she's happier now with you as the owner
                i've had no luck with painting a guitar w/ spray can. but here's one for your reference.
                good luck!

                Comment


                • #23
                  Some Final Pics

                  Thanks for the Replies,

                  Learn Guitars - I will check your site. I can se myself doing this again, so it will be good knowledge for next time.

                  moku - I fiqued it was a mutt, so I'm not too disapponinted. I considered the same logic you mentioned when I purchased it for $250. It came with a Fender Gig bag that I sold for $25 bucks on Craigslist so I really only piad $225. It came with the Original Flyod, Schaller Tuning Heads, and GFS VEH "Brown Sound" Pick up on it. I have ordered an EVH pickup which they say will be in around Feb.

                  The guitar was refinished before (very poorly as you can see from the pics) and there was a decal on the headstock. I believe the body is alder (or some other soft wood). It is not plywood. It has a kramer plate on the neck. I was thinking that it was a Kramer Neck (possibily from a Reissue and Kramer body (not a Barretta).

                  I added the big brass block from Flyod Upgrades and the D-Tuna. I also put in a new Duncan 500Hz volume pot.

                  Here are a few pics of the final. Finish is great for a first attemp, but I definetly made some first time mistakes.








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                  • #24
                    oops, didn't see the second page.. I like the aged-ish white on that guitar..
                    Last edited by warlok; 12-20-2009, 03:32 PM.
                    Every man dies... Not every man really lives!!

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                    • #25
                      Looks great now

                      Probably a mutt but that body rear control cavity route is all Kramer...no doubt there.
                      It is just like the ESP/Japan Foci routes.



                      What is strange is the narrow type neck plate and screw hole locations like the early US pacers...Does the neck pocket have just one set of holes?



                      Another distinguishing feature is a barrel input jack (US series) vs input jack w/plate(Foci series)



                      Last edited by xbolt; 12-20-2009, 09:18 PM.
                      Drive Fast Cars & Play Cool Guitars!!!

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                      • #26
                        Xbolt - You have some nice guitars there...

                        I have a USA Jackson that is my dream guitar. This is my first experience with Kramer. I must admit, I have bad GAS for a real Barretta or an 85 Reissue. In researching this project, I came across Mean Street Guitars. I am seriously considering picking one up.

                        Does anyone out there have any experience with this builder/business?

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                        • #27
                          the paint job came out real nice. congrats again!
                          can't believe the spray can came in vintage white :think:

                          xbolt, good to see you here! yes, the control cavity shape is kramer. now that i see that it has a barrel jack, it's probably a kramer body. taking a better look at the wood grain, it looks like alder.

                          neckplate does look strange; the neck pocket doesn't seem to have more than 4 holes from the pics. but radiohead would be able to confirm whether other holes were covered up.

                          several of the kramer forum members have bought from meanstreet guitars. their price is a bit high in my humble opinion.
                          i usualy check ebay, craigslist, or here: http://www.chrisguitars.com/ or here: http://www.guitarattic.com/ug.htm (of course i'm not related to these sellers in any way). sometimes they have kramers for sale.

                          good luck and, again, great job in the restoration!

                          Comment


                          • #28
                            Thanks for the Props...

                            I found the colour at Home Depot - Ivory Bisque, covered by 20 coats of varnish. As per Learn Guitars, varnish is probably not the correct finish for the project. I do not think it will be durable enough. If anyone knows what should be used, please point me in the right direction.

                            The neck pocket did not have any other filled in holes. If the base plate is from the body (which it likely is) then serial number puts it as:

                            Range - D0001-9999 (from Vintage Kramer Site)

                            Notes:
                            1984-late 85 "Banana" or "Hockeystick' headstocks (C5000s-E2000s) - Necks Made by LaSiDo, Sports - Bodies by Sports
                            Chrome and black plates both of which are flat stamped.
                            Some black plates are stamped without Made in USA and some have the entire "Kramer" word stamped rather than outline cut stamped as earlier models do.


                            Since the neck had a second set of holes and was cracked at the heal from being attached without pilot holes, I assumed the neck came from somewhere else (a member responded earlier in the post suggesting the neck was from a 85 Re-issue). The screws securing the neck were very close to the edge of the neck. I had some concerns that this would re-stress the repaired cracks in the heal of the neck, so I filled in the holes in the neck and body and relocated the plate.

                            BTW - I just closed deal to buy a 1984 Kramer Re-issue - White. I should get it next week.

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                            • #29
                              I have a compressor and a good set of spray guns but had to do the last guitar with rattle cans.
                              Sealer, primer, acrylic lacquer color, then acrylic lacquer clear.
                              Trick is to make sure you have a very good quality base, then let it dry between coats.
                              All aerosols take a long time to dry, so although it took 2 solid months I still need to wait another month for the clear to dry properly.
                              It looks very nice but takes far too long.
                              1961 Fender Jazzmaster:


                              The pickup covers look white but are actually cream colored Lindy Fralins.
                              Reflection just below the trem is an overhead light.

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                              • #30
                                Cygnus X1

                                WOW - That is an incredible finish. In the pics it looks like the Red is actually flex paint?

                                I would love to see others project guitars... I think I will start a new thread...

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