“Shred-ready guitars just waiting to be played fast and hard”: Kramer is reviving a cult classic from the 1980s – and releasing a “more modern and sleeker” LP-style design – as part of a comprehensive overhaul of the product range
Kramer has released five new electric guitars, including a revamped, modern version of the traditional Les Paul design and a reinterpretation of a long-lost cult classic.
The New Jersey-based guitar maker was a pioneer in the ’80s—which is why many of its current designs recall the aesthetics of the hairspray and spandex era—but as part of the Gibson family of brands, it’s been on quite a winning streak since 2018.
When Kramer isn’t releasing ridiculous hotdog and pixel heart finishes for its models, the company is trying to become a major player in contemporary guitar playing, with its latest release being a mix of retro revivals and modern-inspired creations.
The Kramer Assault is the most advanced of all. The guitar was launched in 2000 as the Kramer Custom and was designed as a “modern, lighter and slimmer single-cutaway” version of the Gibson Les Paul. A few selected updates have been made here.
A three-piece thermally aged maple neck with a satin finish carved into a K-Speed SlimTaper profile is a new addition and promises improved playing speed. The ebony fingerboard offers 24 jumbo frets, while the mahogany body is covered in a AAA flame maple veneer on some colorways.
Kramer Attack (Photo credit: Kramer)
Designed by master luthier Jim DeCola, Kramer Eruption humbuckers with Alnico 4 and 5 magnets deliver the hot rod sound you’d expect from Kramer, while a Floyd Rose 1000 series tremolo takes the guitar further away from its Les Paul model and into full-fledged Kramer territory.
It is available in Caribbean Blue Perimeter and Magenta Perimeter patterned maple color combinations, with additional finishes in Jet Black Metallic, Bumblebee Yellow and Vice City Pink available exclusively on the Kramer website.
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The Kramer Pacer Carrera is a “treasure find” that was a “hot cult favorite” in the 1980s but has since been forgotten. Three decades later, it’s back.
(Photo credit: Kramer)
Seymour Duncan SH-2N humbuckers at the neck and JB bridge offer “plenty of horsepower” with a “shred-ready ebony fingerboard” and a satin maple neck as other outstanding features.
Available in supercar-inspired colorways of Ebony and Defender Red, it’s the only guitar in the collection that doesn’t feature the signature Kramer headstock – here it’s instead a more Fender-esque design. In Kramer’s own words, it’s “an axe just waiting to be played fast and hard.”
(Photo credit: Kramer)
On the guitar’s 40th anniversary, Kramer says the ’84 model is “a straight-up rock classic” and the latest version has “more in common than ever with the ’80s originals.”
The banana headstock finish now matches its lightweight alder body – choose from Intruder Black Satin, Eruption Red Satin and Angel White Satin – with minimalist hardware led by an Eruption Bridge humbucker, Floyd Rose 1000 bridge and a retro-style knurled volume knob.
If minimalism isn’t your thing, the Jersey Star resorts to the “more is more” mindset. A trio of Kramer USA Neptune humbuckers are encased in gold mounts that match its Floyd Rose 1000 tremolo, with coil tap capabilities and a five-way switch that offers more tonal options for its bridge and middle pickups.
(Photo credit: Kramer)
These humbuckers were designed by Gibson’s lead engineer and product developer Richard Akers, who has decades of experience. However, we’re not entirely sure who is responsible for the star inlays, and that will likely divide opinion.
The Jersey Star is available in White Pearl and Black Pearl.
Last but not least, the Nite-V guitar is back, the guitar of choice for Prika Amaral of Nervosa. The tweaks focus on the mahogany body with through-body string routing and locking tuners. Another thermally aged K-Speed maple neck with a 24-fret ebony fingerboard is back.
(Photo credit: Kramer)
In terms of sound, the Eruption buckers return, with the offered paint finishes Royal Blue Metallic and Crimson Metallic.
