Kramer Barretta Special - My Thoughts And Review After One Year Of Ownership - Van Halen Shredder 

Definitely a reasonable price to satisfy the EVH needs. I spent $500 and got a used Kramer '84. Need the Floyd man!

Great suggestions! Anyone thinking of buying one as others said go with an Indonesian made one which is better than the Chinese ones. If it doesn't say made in Indonesia on the back of the headstock then look at the serial number. First six digits are most important! For example 210329: 21 is made in 2021, 03 is month of March and 29 is Indonesian factory. If the 29 says 13 then that is the Chinese factory.

righteous demo, keep em comin my friend excellent

Not too detract from how cool that Baretta is (because it is damn cool!). But did anyone else notice how sharp that Les Paul was looking just chilling there?! I'm not even a single cut guy and I love the look of that build. You knocked it out of the park with that build sir!!! Awesome playing as always and another great video. Thanks Marty!!!🤘🔥💪

I've got the purple one! Back when it was 179.00, great value for the money! Thanks Marty

They are great budget guitars to modify I play mine all the time!!! Great video Marty!!!

The bridge is listed as a Fender "Vintage". Amazon had them for $18.50 recently. Not only is the bock bigger I think the saddles are a bit better.

Nice review, amazing playing🤘🤘🤘

I just ordered the exact same guitar.! I Will order a Vega trem system in gold shortly after.

bought one white a year ago. made in Indonesia. changed to locking tuners and EMG 81. plus the fender trem. for $179 bucks great guitar

I really appreciate the real, in the room, spontaneous playing...rather than the synthetic acts that I see alot on YT.

Love these guitars! Have a few of them. Keep rockin Marty!

I bought one about 4 months ago I got purple I love it the neck is sweet for the money I've never played a $200 guitar with as nice a neck as this one has the paints great the body's good has great sustain I really like it I believe its the best guitar you can buy for $200

I told you I was going to get one, but I went with the Sterling Ernie Ball right now. I still want one. And awesome review! Love the Sammy OU812!

great sound, and playing 🙂

I bought the purple one now just need to buy some guitar skills I practice daily. I enjoy your videos

Great Marty! If the bridge you bought has the countersunk holes underneath to create a butter knife edge I HIGHLY recommend the PRS style screws. Makes a MASSIVE DIFFERENCE in the way your tremolo functions, tuning stability and dive. You can even float the bridge. I have 2 of these, one I got for $100 from a kid on offerup, it was brand new. I molded that one, Floyd locking nut and a Schaller 2 point bridge with roller saddles. I developed a locking block which fits any Mexi Strat or the stock Baretta bridge made of brass. Locks the strings at the bridge like a Floyd. Works perfectly, I've tested it on 5 of my guitars, 3 are Baretta Specials, one is a Kramer Focus, one a PRS Santana SE. A locking nut like a Floyd Rose Gotoh, or behind the nut locks like a Kahler or Fender System 1 work as well. Deeper dives and tuning stability. I'll be showcasing them on my upcoming channel.

Also bought my Kramer a year ago (in blue). While it’s not the best guitar I own (can’t compare with my Fender American Pro Deluxe II Tele), it is by far the most fun guitar to play. It’s super easy to play, and the tone from the (stock) pickup is superb. Nice review, Marty! And I agree…a must to clip the capacitor.

I bought the same one. I put Floyd non fine tuners and locking tuners I play it a lot and to me for what I got in it I couldn’t be happier. Wish I could of got something like this at this price in early 80s with inflation this would be under 100 bucks then.

I have one same color. New Grover locking tuners, Graphtech nut, Duncan JB, Brass saddles, Huge Brass block. Thing is a Beast..

Great to see an update on this one . I have a blue one also .Came with the worse fret sprout I"ve ever felt. I think the neck is stable now to clean them up and start modding !

31 yr Anniversary of Def leppard Adrenalize, perfect time to do a white lightening solo tutorial Marty😂🎉

Great stuff Marty love my KBS - these ones were made in Indonesia. Newer ones are made in China.

I have 3 of them. Great guitar for the price. Made in Indonesia

Wow on the tones of this afforable guitar....I was thinking about one more SG, for a hardrock bridge pickup tones,....until I heard this little blue baby :) Thanks for sharing your experience!

Nice looking and sounding guitar ....👍

Marty…thats a very nice guitar for the money…I have an old Kramer from around 83-84 and its got an esp neck with that skinny 41mm nut…don’t know if its cuz I’m so used to it, but damn is it comfortable…I love it…rock on bro👍

Cool guitar Marty. I seriously considered buying one recently. Still might if I get a wild hair.

Great video 2thumbs...I really enjoy it. Have a great day.

Still have mine got it when they were $169 so inexpensive put hipshot locking tuners and a Wilkinson big block steel bridge still under $300 have to say that the stock pickup sounds great 👍

good sunday morning stretch on the kramer

That sounded great Marty! Can I ask what your signal chain is? I see some great gear in the background, so im hoping its real amps and effects. But either way it sounded great!

Truly....Made To Rock Hard! 😉👍

I have 2 of these blue ones, they are beautiful in person. A couple suggestions. The stock bridge block is crap, but you can but Mexi Strat blocks which fit the bridge plate holes, whuch gives you the increased mass. Musiclilly brass blocks are a thing of beauty. Plus the stock saddles sre better than the bent steel strat saddles. Another thing is use PRS screws which have grooves which provide the knife edge. Best money you can spend on this guitar.

Mine was Indonesian I believe, and I agree the on the tremolo it’s not necessary I put a Wilkinson on mine, the nut, fret edges and the volume pot, I clipped the cap and my volume pot was still funky so I replaced it. I put a graph tech nut on mine. It’s a solid 200 dollar guitar with a set up.

I have three, the blue, red, and purple.

Cool! I bought a blue one after your first video and changed the bridge and put in a Graphtech nut. It plays really well but to be honest I bought it for the look. The neck plays real good. Could you add a PayPal link for donations? Would love to donate to your channel but I just can’t do the Superchat when RU-vid takes such a big cut. Think about it! As always though Marty, thanks for sharing!🎸🤘

Great guitar. Bang for your buck

Got the purple one. Love it. Put a EMG.

I am about to order one of these from american music supply. Thanks for the review.

I believe I may have commented on the original video...I love the look and history of the Kramer and association with EVH however; in my case I rarely use my Kramer 1984. Looks cool, sounds good but the neck is so thick, like a baseball bat cut in half which makes it really difficult for my hands.......mine is Ferrari red.

And Music Go Round had a used one at $150 in Greensburg Pa.

I had one but I could never get it to stay in tune. It had a really nice neck and the stock pickup is decent enough that you don't NEED to upgrade it. Snipping out the treble bleed cap is a must though. If you get one and find yourself thinking, "This pot sucks, it's on or off!" Snip that nasty little bugger out and see how much more usable it becomes. In the end I traded into a baretta vintage and sold the special. It would be awesome if kramer gave them the pacer classic treatment and put a fr special on them. I suppose they're to busy painting hotdogs on guitars though.

I bought the Baretta Vintage, with the Floyd Rose. It’s become my favorite guitar, and I have Gibsons, Strats, Teles etc. I still just need to figure out how to make the Floyd a bit lighter to the touch. Did you just play a section from Starfleet? A remastered release is coming out soon.

Lot of gain to pull that off

Hi between the Kramer Baretta Special and the Kramer Pacer Classic what do you prefer? Love your vídeos! Thank you.

Man that thing sounds vicious 😮 Serious Edward sound!

🤘🤘

Would be perfect with an Floyd Rose.

I have one in black I have a dimebucker for it but I'm yet to put it in

I put a tone pot in.mine aswell

The only thing I did was threw a EMG 81 in it I wanted to try something new I hated the Epiphone pickup that was in it besides that it’s mint

mine was made in Indonesia. I put Jin Ho locking tuners on it, and it's strung with 10-46 strings. I believe it came with 9 to 42s, the 10-46 feel and sound much better. Also gave it a light setup (adjusted saddles, truss rod, lubed the nut) It's a great guitar. The pickup is definitely pretty hot, but it still sounds good. tough to beat for the $190 or so I spent on it

Bought one a few years ago and Mine was made in Indonesia ???

Would you guys say its harder to mute and play picked arpeggios and alternate picking because of the small neck?

the pickups really bite- new pickup nut locking tuners and these are great stripped down guitars

I had this guitar a year or so ago... and it just didn't do it for me. They are super cool... and I was excited to get it, and have it in my collection. Especially at the price. And I mean... man it's a lot of guitar for the money. But it just didn't do it for me. Didn't quite feel right. And something about the body. Just not quite right. It had some of the worst fret sprout I have ever seen. I could have filed it down. Not that big a deal. The guitar just didn't do it for me. Went into a trade package. But then... I can't play like Marty!

Does the bigger trem block limit how much you can dive?

MEAN STREETS

I am in the middle of disassembling mine and striping to a 5150 replica. At $180 I am not too afraid of destroying an expensive model.

Do you think it's worth to upgrade the bridge to a Gotoh Floyd locking nut, or better sell it and buy the Beretta with floyd?

Needs tce Floyd. A lot of guys buy this, cos its so cheaoer than the Floyd Rose version. But they upgrade it to a floyd rose...and...i think, a non routed one, so...just screw it right on the top... But..whether you buy this one and mid floyd, or just cough uo for the FR version...it must have a floyd. It MUST! I know its tempting.... cos it looks almost as awesome as the proper Barettas and Charvel San Dimases...but the Floyd is just non negotiable in an EVH style superstrat. 🤷🏼‍♂️

I wish mine would stay in tune, i put good grover tuners on it lubed the nut, and it goes out of tune like a piece of crap, maybe swap out the bridge? but it should not be so crappy right now. idk

One year down and I realized I don't like the guitar anymore because of the poor fret access from the 15th feet to the 22nd feet

Dude, ive got a Purple one!!😂 i cant do it justice. I went on ebay and found a die cut vinyl sticker. Its a KISS one with their faces in makeup. Stuck that bad boy under the arm carve, at that angle, oh Damn!!! Its hot lol (☆.•)(*.*)(=*.*=){*.*} Thats as good as i could get them😂

I was almost sold - until I played one. Hard pass.

Too muddy

need the dark fretboards on the blue and purple

Great review. I’m planning on buying the new white one with the maple neck that was recently released. My son has a ruby red and purple one already and they play very well for the price. 🤘

13k subs Marty!! Nice

I play mine just about every day. Great guitar for $180. If I continue playing it as much as I do, I’m probably going to start modding it soon.