EDIT* I forgot to mention in the video to feel the difference in a reverse headstock string tension vs normal headstock string tension you would need to leave the nut unlocked.
Have you ever seen the video ,,does wood, strings ,frett effect the sound or pick up,,,vary interesting when u see all the 2x4 ,body less, homemade vs name brands,,
@GeneralTHC I have JS32T and could tell the difference when playing Solos vs my Ibanez RGT6EXFX. They are both string thru body but the ibanez is neck thru not bolt on.
Far beyond flattered and humbled...thank you so much Robert! Killer intro tune and playing BTW...period correct, melodic metal that's totally "on the money"! Well played, mate...well played!
I have a Beretta special. My options to get the trem to stay in tune were replace it with a Floyd or replace the neck with one with a straight-pull headstock. I changed the neck. Now it stays in tune. ... I love how you can handle that stupidly-hot pickup. It's a whole different world from what I'm used to. Those ouch harmonics are beautiful!
If I hadn't bought a black one the month before I would get this... almost upset with my rep he didn't tell me about this one coming. Nick is great, I learned quite a bit from his articles in the 80s on how to play. Been a fan since the first album! The person who designed the pickup designed the Wolfgang pickups for Peavey (Not the EVH ones) back in the 90s as well.
Cool guitar, but that bright / clean maple fingerboard seems out of place with the paint job. I’d love to see one with a dark ebony fingerboard. Just my $0.02.
I tried a regular Baretta and the pickup sounded awesome and the tremolo was one of the best I had ever played. The only reason I didn’t buy it was that the maple fretboard was glossy and sticky, making bends and slides almost impossible to play. If it had an ebony fretboard or even a satin maple fretboard, it would’ve been a perfect instrument
I'm pretty impressed with the Kramer Striker I just bought. I did have to change tuning keys on it, that was it. I put some GHOTOS on it and hot damn the guitar rocks!
Nick went on a hell of a redemption arc, from the 91 death of hairspray, to being savaged on Beavis and Butthead, to working at Marshall and now this. You love to see it.
Disagree epiphone has constantly ignored Kramer fans. Pushing Les Paul models, hasn’t released the liberty, and not bring back more 80s models. Another huge slight is not making holoflash or lightning graphic finishes instead trolling fans with hot dogs. Now people are asking for a jk 8000. If they decide to bring it back epiphone will ruin it by taking forever to release it, too expensive, or skimping on the quality.
Totally. Kramer is 100% pure 80's! For them to not bring back the old models just shows a complete disconnection with the fan base! Those holoflash finishes were SICK. Jackson brought back the crackle finish and it's selling like water! I hope Kramer wakes the fuck up too.
Kramer can’t use the lightning flash graphic, Dean copyrighted it for the Dime, even though the Nightswan was out before that. Unfortunately Kramer never bothered to copyright the design 🤷♂️
I have 2 Kramer guitars from years ago. A 1984 in red. And a 1984 5150. I was a Sr. In High School in 1984. Jump was on the radio everyday and it was incredible !!!
@@RollerCoasterFenatic it makes sense because Nick is a lefty but I’m talking about the more expensive options they offer. This and the SM-1 are the most expensive lefties Kramer offers on Sweetwater. Why can’t we get the really nice ones, too?
I was living in England the first half of the '80s (military family) so Nick was a bigger part of my early guitar years than Van Halen or any of the hair metal players of the era. He's a really underappreciated dude so I'm glad to see him getting some love.
the fact that they made this before they made a jk8000 reissue despite kramer being asked repeatedly for the last 2 years to do so is exactly whats wrong with that company
yes! I do love this. Wish I’d had it when i covered Rock you to Hell- now steaming-! And yes, you bet they make lefties! Mr. Bowcott would have nothing less!
wow- as of 8:30am AZ time they still have some in stock! I missed out on snatching a MXR RR104 Rhoads Signature Distortion-sad. now those things are popping up for resale for $700+. lame
Thanks Robert for the video,(I didn’t even make it to the end before hit the link and bought one) been a Grim Reaper fan since the early eighties when “see you in hell “ came out! Reading all those magazines articles he used to write back in the day , Nick is long overdue.
yeah Kramer Rocks 🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻just got a lefty red pacer classic and going to put some locking tuners on it soon, my only issue was that mine had a little fret sprout on the neck, but that was easily remedied with a soft sanding sponge from stumac after I did that put a fresh set of Daddario 9-42 strings on It and it was ready to rock. It is pure 80s nostalgia for someone like me a gen-x who grew up in the 80s
The Nick Bowcott Kramer is a killer guitar!! I have one and can’t put it down! I absolutely love the neck! Nick is a great dude he deserves his own signature series guitar!
SWEET guitar.! Of course, they do make a left handed version (with no upcharge) since Nick is a lefty...👍 I still have my lefty white Kramer Baretta I bought new in the late 80s.
Sorry buddy. I'm an old country rocker. Fat neck Gibson/Fender vintage-ish type for me! When you demo-ed the Eppie Firebird I bought one that day! I had been him/hawing about it for awhile, but you pushed me over the edge. I love it!! Great value and plays great, sounds great! I changed the bridge saddle, that's it!! Thanks much!! 8) --gary
What this video gave me was a guilty conscience! Cause I realised I still have about 25% left on your 80's course... The most fun parts as well! Need to get back into it and man what a cool guitar.
I need that Kramer lol. I only buy reverse headstocks now to limit what buy . I have the Kramer Dave Sabo signature model with Fu-tone Titanium parts and brass big block and it's a slamming guitar!
Hey Robert, maybe a weird question; Do you get the same feel from that firebird with it's "reverse" head stock? (and reverse in quotation marks because it's the original design)
@@1972LittleC I wondered the same thing, I have the Epiphone Firebird,the same one, and a Chapman Ghostfret. Both are reverse headstock with standard nut, and yes I do feel the difference.
@@davidknipe3536 I only have 3+3 head stocks (Hamer and an Epi LPs), but if I had the money in 1991 I would've bought a 64 Firebird V. So I couldn't compare.
@@vorpalblades A Firebird doesn't have a locking nut. A guitar with a Floyd Rose or a Kahler would have one. If you think that the string binds in your nut, you have to get a set up for the string size you use. And if you want to do behind the nut bends like a lot of country players use (or like in Gravity by John Mayer) you can't use a locking nut.
Can't imagine the "feel" of the strings are any different, with a locking nut. No matter which way the headstock goes. Could just be the balance of it. I've heard players that downtune alot, prefer the reverse headstock. Something about the tension on the strings. With a Floyd and double locking system. How can it matter?
@@RobertBakerGuitar Your doing alright yourself boss. Staying positive is contagious. We can all do our part. Nick is from the oldschool. Him and Zakk kill me.
One problem I foresee is the likelihood of being arrested in Britain for playing one in public with that paint job, the government and police don’t like people displaying any Union Jack these days!
How is it possible that high strings with a reverse headstock can feel any different than a normal headstock when it has a locking nut? That doesn’t make any sense to me.
@RobertBakerGuitar Honestly, that doesn't make any sense either. Locked or not, the string vibrates between the same two fixed points. Therfore the string tension remains the same for any given pitch. There's no difference to "feel"....
@@notonyourlife7939 No, that's not right. Your correct about the vibrating length of the string being between the bridge and the nut, but when bending strings and doing vibrato, the string passes back and fourth through the nut slot. In this case the entire length of the string, from the ball to the tuner comes into play. Reversing an in line headstock with a standard nut changes the feel of a guitar immensely for someone with a heavy vibrato and bending technique.
@@notonyourlife7939you’re incorrect. It’s similar to how jag/jazzmaster bridges add tightness to the feel of the strings, with so much string length after the bridge. It isn’t “tension” it’s string tightness, which we perceive as tension. Adding tension would change pitch. There’s a rabbit hole of physics arguments you can go down with this stuff, but bottom line is the more length of string after the bridge and after the nut, the tighter the string feels under your hands
I am stoked that Kramer made a Limited Edition Nick bowcott Signature guitar. As a left handed guitarist. He was the one that got into playing guitar., case where we lived in the boondocks didnt get cable for a long time and when we did there was the company called Centel cable which was at the time only one who would came out that far then 2 years later time warner then time warner bought Centel cable. but this was around 1988ish. so when we got cable and discovered MTV and headbangers ball i discovered Grim Reapers Rock you to hell video. I was familiar with their Fear No evil and see no evil albums before that but rock to you tell is the first video i seen that i discovered left handers can be guitarists, I fell in love and Nick's ESP Rock you to hell ESP V is the main dream guitar for me. but i see he has this kramer signature. But here is the depressing part. I know for a fact by the time i can afford to buy one, save up for one. They will all be sold out especially the left handed versions which being left handed i can understand why. It would probably take me 2 years to save up enough to buy one that is if there is no emergencies that come up with my elderly brother or whatever that need the money for. So as much as i am stoked for this, i am also disappointed, because this always happens, when Ibanez did left handed Joe Satrianis, I know sometime soon the Left Handed Nita Strauss guitars will be discontinued, and now this. me stuck here taking care of my elderly brother. all i can do is dream, then let that dream fade and go away and get back to the reality i can not and will not be able to afford it and it was not in whatever you want to call it destiny or whatever for me to have those instruments so I have to live with that, the regret not able to afford them. etc. but i hope all who do buy one enjoys them and Know Nick Bowcott is one of these best left handed guitarist I put him up there with Jimi Hendrix and Tony Iommi as my top three.
Basically the thing with the reverse headstock is easy to understand, you can achieve the correct tuning of the guitar with a lower string tension and even with an FR system this lower basic tension is of course maintained, which of course means that the guitar is easier to play, ...it's a simple thing 🤷♂️
Once you lock it, how would the lower tension be maintained? You could completely loosen the strings at the tuners after it's locked if you wanted to, and it wouldn't change the string tension at all.
@@72dodge340.. precisely, because the lower string tension is maintained in the locked zone, if this were not the case the pitch would change when locked. If this happens, the strings do not rest properly on the saddle cause the angle between strings and saddle is nor correct
