A Pawnshop '85 Kramer USA Pacer

[fett]

Am I in tune with these guys or what? This is the second time I snagged a Pacer Special (1 hum, Real Floyd with arm, EMG and real cool) that just came out on the floor. My first one was stock black. This one has a very cool paint job. Deep red and black graphic. I searched the Kramer site and didn't see this one. Based on the condtion of the body it looks original. Got it home. One of the nut lock screws took a hammer to break loose. So, then I went to change the strings. 5 out of 6 strings loosen right up. But not the high E. Liquid Wrench and a big breath, but it came loose. Took the neck off to see any writing. Just a pencilled JR. But the fretboard was starting to separate at the bottom. Glued and clamped and it should be OK. The previous owner had the neck shaved and it is done real well. $152.00. Cheap. TKL gigbag. It's great fun. Once it's all back together, I swear I will post pictures. I have to stop going to that pawnshop.

[straycat]

I saw a Kramer bass in a pawn shop the other day.Tapered Kramer logo binding, original pickups USA neckplate prefix letter A then a 4 digit number.I'm assuming ESP made(american) series didn't say Kramer American on the headstock.Pretty cool tho' bright neon orange/red.

[Wayniac]

Fett - is the Graphic kind of "L" shaped?? I have bene looking for my old Pacer ever since I sold it...

[fett]

The guitars don't say Kramer American on the headstock. If it says, "Made in USA" on the neckplate, that should be all you need. The price on my guitar was $199. I just asked the guy what's the best price he would take. He said $149. Done. The poor pawnee, I don't think he was an indian:ROTF: :ROTF: , must have got like $100 or less.

[straycat]

The logo used was sometimes an indication of place of mfg.
Small logo USA,Big K small "ramer" USA, Tapered logo followed by "american" is ESP japan assembled in the USA.
Prefix letters on the neck plates told MFG as well prefix F was USA prefixs's with multiple letters were mfg japan and Korea.IIRC. Lets see some pics the one you landed sounds cool.

[fett]

Fett - is the Graphic kind of "L" shaped?? I have bene looking for my old Pacer ever since I sold it...

No. but it has a black lightning bolt that runs diagonally from the upper horn to the toggle switch with other neat stuff on the bod. The one thing I learned from going to the Vintage Kramer site is there are lot of variations.

[straycat]

+1 Kramer did a lot of variations. There were 3 variations of the Marylin Monroe graphic.

[sonicsamurai]

omg wow!! pics! pics! pics!

[fett]

So I have the body all set up to take pictures and try to do Photobucket. But, NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. The fukking batteries are dead and need to be recharged.

[RR05xx]

Cool grab. I grabbed an '84 floyd off a kramer back in the day and remember feeling bad about it. .. . .. or maybe not

Actualy a great sleeper 80s guitar for the moment. But just give ebay some time.. .. .

[fett]

It has an EMG 89 in it. This guy really did use his Floyd. The deep grooves on the pup cover will attest to that. It would be fun to know it's history and where it has been and what it has seen.

[krimson]

The logo used was sometimes an indication of place of mfg.
Small logo USA,Big K small "ramer" USA, Tapered logo followed by "american" is ESP japan assembled in the USA.
Prefix letters on the neck plates told MFG as well prefix F was USA prefixs's with multiple letters were mfg japan and Korea.IIRC. Lets see some pics the one you landed sounds cool.

There is certainly is a great deal of confusion when it comes down to the big question "where is my Kramer made". Actually, most serials that started with one letter followed by numbers were typically assembled in the usa but made by ESP overseas, for example B34528. Serial BF4563 would be an example of a guitar made entirely overseas. There are a few serials that are the exception, some of serials that began with A and B were we re-used on overseas Kramers. For the the avid Kramer fanatic those are easy to spot because the neckplates changed over time. Most "American" kramers with A or B serials would have Strathead or Classic headstocks with standard engraved neckplates, while the overseas kramer with the A or B logo would have pointy headstock and die-cast neckplates.

[shredhed]

This should help

http://www.vintagekramer.com/parts2.htm

http://www.vintagekramer.com/serials.htm

[fett]

This should help

http://www.vintagekramer.com/parts2.htm

http://www.vintagekramer.com/serials.htm

Yep. That's where I get my info. Great site That's why I buy 'em for $149. They can be had for the price of a vintage Floyd.

[charvelguy]

I picked up a Focus 3000 in great shape at a guitar shop in Uptown for 125.00 last summer. It has no visable playwear..needless to say, the floyd alone is worth the price. Same place on the same day also I took in a nicely broke in HM strat for 185.00.