opinions on Kramer Baretta Reissues...

[beachjammer]

Hey guys,
I've been wanting an old Kramer Baretta pretty badly. I've been watching them on ebay and they're either beat to crap, out of my price range, or not the model/year I'm looking for. My favorite is the 85 that had the rounded, tilt back headstock. I don't like the pointer style ones that said "American" on them that came later on. So I found out that they made an 85 reissue. I saw this one on ebay

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Kramer-Baretta-1985-Reissue-lowered-price-/330638240210?pt=Guitar&hash=item4cfb9329d2

This is pretty much what I've been looking for. I was wanting either a red or white one. I'm wondering if anyone has played one though and their thoughts on it. Also, does anyone know where these reissues are being made at?

Keith

[horns666]

Fine, I had one for a while ..VH striped. Man that was a long long time ago. I just couldn't play a striped guitar. It was nice and it fell in my lap really. Just stay away from the old Focus series..those were labeled "shit" from my friend that bought a few Kramers Back in the day..

[moku]

i have a white reissue (among other vintage barettas). i can say that the neck is flatter than the vintage ones and it plays as smooth as butta really well made. gibson also improved some of the flaws of the vintage ones (floyd inserts, scarf joint problem, etc.). highluy recommended.

[xbolt]

Fine, I had one for a while ..VH striped. Man that was a long long time ago. I just couldn't play a striped guitar. It was nice and it fell in my lap really. Just stay away from the old Focus series..those were labeled "shit" from my friend that bought a few Kramers Back in the day..

The reissue Retta were built by Gibson USA.


The Focus line was mainly made by ESP in Japan...(a few by Matsu)
The counterpart to the JC Model series...but came with a Floyd Rose, Gotoh tuners and Alder body.

The only shit part were the PUs...easy fix.
I have a few nice ones with this upgrade...

[Hellbat]

The reissue Retta were built by Gibson USA.


The Focus line was mainly made by ESP in Japan...(a few by Matsu)
The counterpart to the JC Model series...but came with a Floyd Rose, Gotoh tuners and Alder body.

The only shit part were the PUs...easy fix.
I have a few nice ones with this upgrade...

I had a white one like this in 1986. I put in a Duncan JB in it. It was a great guitar. I traded it in for my Model 5 and don't have too many regrets but it was a nice guitar.

[beachjammer]

I really like the white one and the red one in the first couple pics! What are the bodies made out of on the older focus models like the red one? What worries me about those is that I had a friend that bought a new focus back in 88 and the body was ply...

[xbolt]

None of the Focus are ply...Most were Alder, a few were Maple (Heavier) or Ash (Trans colours).

Your friend might have bought a Stryker, they were the cheaper line and were often ply.

[moku]

yeah, strikers were made in korea, not japan.

[thetruthguy]

I'm diggin the new 2011 ones, especially the pacers (the higher end ones). Only color options suck .... only bengal and honeyburst, which are both nice, but I'd like to see some different options.

[moku]

here' my reissue:

[beachjammer]

That's awesome! There's one like that on ebay right now but it's too high IMO.

[moku]

that one that's on there now is way too much.... probably the brother of that alienation seller or something

if you're patient, you'll land one some day. no rush. they'll turn up.

[lepard]

The Focus guitars from that time period are great, 100% ESP. Just change the pickup out and they are equal to the USA version. The Korean Strikers are the ones that are considered crap.

[Snoogans]

The Focus series are good guitars, but I was never fond of the non-tilt headstocks. No big deal really, just didn't look right to me.