kramer vintage bass

[Precision345]

Can anyone tell me any information on this bass? I know that it was discontinued in the late 70s and that's pretty well it

[Jeff Scott]

That's a 450B, I used to have it's single pickup brother, the 350B; mine was made in the first few months of Kramer making instruments, in the Fall of '76. Great sounding bass with a nice (to me) feeling neck, thin and narrow, not quite as thin as a Jazz Bass, more in between a Jazz and Precision, like an early '70s 4001, really.

They are a bit heavy so use a good strap.

[Precision345]

thanks, that's pretty much what i had read about it
I jam with it a lot and i find it has a great sustain with the aluminum in the neck and a good sound
quite heavy as you said, i will need to invest in a better strap as after a few hours my shoulders get pretty sore from carrying the weight

[dannylectro]

I played a 450B for several years in a punk band in the early 80's. Great treble snarl, playability, and durability - mine was terribly abused. Really, really heavy if I remember correctly. I played through an Ampeg V4 guitar amp into a no name 2X15 with JBLs. Killer punk band sound...

[KramerBassFan]

A nice wide leather strap with strap locks would be a good choice.

[Jim C]

I have been told that aluminum necks are subject to tuning changes based on temperature swings more so than wood.
Do you guys find this to be true?

[Zooberwerx]

Originally Posted by Jeff Scott

That's a 450B, I used to have it's single pickup brother, the 350B; mine was made in the first few months of Kramer making instruments, in the Fall of '76. Great sounding bass with a nice (to me) feeling neck, thin and narrow, not quite as thin as a Jazz Bass, more in between a Jazz and Precision, like an early '70s 4001, really.

They are a bit heavy so use a good strap.

My first decent bass was a Kramer 250 (I think) which sported a single chrome-covered pickup and black pickguard.

Riis

[sanderic]

I have an aluminum neck DMZ 5000. No tuning problems. I believe the neck is closer to a Rickenbacker scale and taper than a Fender.

[Lo-E]

I had the later version of this bass, the one with the shorter top horn. (EDIT: it turns out, the model I had was the DMZ5000 - in bright orange!) The short top horn made it too neck-heavy to keep, so I ended up giving it up, but while I had it I really enjoyed playing it - as long as I was sitting down! It had a great feel, great sustain and it sounded terrific on recordings. If I had owned the type you have, with the longer horn, I'd probably still own it.

I never had problems with tuning stability, by the way.

[GM60466]

nice bass with a real ballzy sound

[johnson79]

I played one in a shop years ago. Very nice bass from what I remember. I'd like to pick one up at some point.

[Precision345]

Originally Posted by Jim C

I have been told that aluminum necks are subject to tuning changes based on temperature swings more so than wood.
Do you guys find this to be true?

I've had a little bit of trouble with the neck on my 450b. It can go really out of whack if you don't keep it in the right pitch. Very susceptible to humidity and also it depends on what gauge of strings you have on it to keep the neck nice and straight.

[Precision345]

Originally Posted by dannylectro

I played a 450B for several years in a punk band in the early 80's. Great treble snarl, playability, and durability - mine was terribly abused. Really, really heavy if I remember correctly. I played through an Ampeg V4 guitar amp into a no name 2X15 with JBLs. Killer punk band sound...

Cool! Mine is really heavy and in near mint condition. I play it thru a traynor dyna bass 400 head with an amped half stack with two "10s in it

[Primakurtz]

I have 2 350Gs. Love them! No tuning issues.

If you ever need to replace the pickup(s), the EMG HB works really well.