2006 Kramer Baretta USA Reissue

Details

These guitars were made from 2005-2008 by Gibson in Nashville TN as painstaking reproductions based on a real 1985 Kramer Baretta. This one always reminded me of the one Sammy Hagar plays in EVH’s “Live Without a Net” show in 1986 - he plays a red Baretta with a matching red headstock just like this.

This guitar has a few differences from 80s Barettas. The most obvious one to me is the lack of allen screws through the back of the neck, behind the locking nut. Another difference on the neck is the abalone dots, originals would’ve had mother of pearl or clay dots, but the abalone looks great. On the body, the Floyd Rose studs are recessed into the body slightly, and are the stud/screw type instead of using wood screws as before. The last noticeable difference is the Gibson/MusicYo 91TZ humbucker pickup, instead of a reverse zebra Seymour Duncan JB as the originals had.

This guitar also came with a case from new, which I also have - it is fitted to the shape of the body too, which is a nice premium touch. The case is even made by TKL, the same as many of the vintage Kramer cases.

Overall I think they did a great job on this reissue, it’s a beautiful instrument and extremely high quality and well put together. I sold it to another collector but I do want it back sometimes. The main reason I ended up selling it is the neck - it is almost completely unfinished, and while some love the bare necks I don’t. I also think that’s a shame since the vast majority of old Kramers have glossier necks, and it was the rare Baretta with a custom order option to have the bare neck. I would’ve loved just a factory model 85 reissue instead of this more “custom” model, but oh well. Maybe with a few years of play the neck will shine up a bit more, but when I got this it looks like the previous owner barely touched it - and neither did I while I owned it.

I no longer own this instrument