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The Kramer Club

#61
BigOldHarry said:
I think you need to create two clubs: Aluminum neck Kramers and non aluminum neck Kramers... The wood neck ones were all well and good, but were all made off shore and were more or less just like Charvels, right? But those metal neck beasts were COOL
Click to expand...

Oh, I know. :hyper:
No dissing of wooden necked Kramers, please. :D
I personally have both...
Not all of the wooden necked ones were made off shore, but by the mid 80's, they were. ESP was making the Forum Series.
They weren't really like Charvels. Sure, the headstock looks similair to many, but Kramer's and Charvels are too very different things.
And the reason alot of people say that is because they only ever see the common Strikers and other dregs of Kramers bass making.
The Forum series was where it was at with Kramer basses.
Kramer Forum's 1 and 2 are on the same range with USA Spectors and USA Jacksons. (Not custom shop Jackson's though, but Kramer did have a Custom shop too...)
In fact, The whole point of Kramers Forum series was to put out a Spector bass with a Pointy Headstock and Superstrat style body. (to some extent at least...)
Believe me, my user name is not an exaggeration at all. :smug:

Thanks.
 
#64
very similar :)

F-3.jpg

P1010228.jpg

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#68
I need to take pictures of my kramer FORUM III and maybe you guys can help me find out when was it made!
Mine is similar to the one posted by amimbari. Neck thtough, all black, rosewood fretboard, no toggle switch for the pickups, It has two separate volume pots and two tone pots. The pickups are spector, and it has an active preamp.
There is a serial number stamped on the control cavity lid, but nothing that i've seen on the bass itself. That's a shame because if that lid was misplaced i'd loose that number.
To be honest, I'm not a huge fan of the bass's looks... still i love it, it was my first bass, i got it from my brother, who bought it used from some music shop. So i have no idea of the bass's previous history.
I've been fooling around with the idea of defretting it since i can't afford to get a fretless. DO you think that might be a good idea, or would it not make a good fretless?
I'm not playing this bass much lately, but it seemed to me its sound was a bit too muddy and lacked definition... any suggestions on how to change this?
Anything you can tell me about the FORUM III series? I'd love to know!
 
#69
Kramer info?
I think you came to the right guy! :hyper:

I'd recommend not de-fretting it. :D
Your bass is most likely made from 88-90. Made in Japan, by ESP.
The Forum Series was Kramers flagship line when it came to basses. (from 87-90 that is).

They had the AWESOME Forum one, with Active EMG's, Neck through, came in any color you could want, Claw Inlay, bound Ebony Fretboard, and sculpted body.... if you ever see one, let me know. :D

The Forum Two was The same, except bolt on.

The Forum Three was similar. It had Spector pickups, a flat top, and almost as many colors as the Forums 1/2's. It had a bound Rosewood fretboard, and diamond MOP inlays.

The Forum Four was the same as the Forum Three, except it was bolt on. However, It is not uncommon to find Forum Four's with no binding, and no diamond inlay.

When the Forum Series was put into production, they originally had Kramer Branded Schaller bridges. By 88-89 They started using Spector Bridges.
During 87 the first year of production, Forums had One Volume, One Tone, and a 3 way toggle switch.
But by 88, Kramer had switched to a Spector Pre amp, (Forum 1/2's Got EMG's) and Two Volumes, and two Tone pots.
The Forum Series had Binding all on the Fretboard and head stock in 87', but by 90', it wasn't uncommon to find Forum 3's and Forum 4's that never had any binding, and never even had Truss Rod Covers. It is also not uncommon to have Forum Three's and Fours with simple Clay dot inlays.

And Honestly, the Serial number means quite little, and the bass can only be dated by the hardware, and electronics. Kramer was pretty bad when it came to serial numbers, and Some Forum basses don't even have serial numbers! (Such as my own Forum Three).

It also helps that none of the Kramer Production records have ever shown up since Kramer Went Bankrupt.

Kramer Forum basses have been used by people such as Duff Mckagan, Eric Brittingham, Rob Mckillop (of eXodus) and Billy Childs of Britny Fox.

The Forum Bass line was produced up until 90', when, unforunately, Kramer Guitars was forced into bankruptcy.

I love Kramers for a reason. To most bass players out in the world, Kramers are total Crap basses that are only good for having a shiny as hell finish.

WRONG. :smug:

Because of this, you can acquire many Kramer basses for quite cheap, also due to the fact that Unless you are knowledgeable on Kramers, it can be VERY easy to mix a Plywood bodied Striker with an Awesome, top of the Line Forum Two.

If i left ANY thing out, PLEASE say so.

Thanks.
 
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#72
KramerBassFan said:
the Serial number means quite little, and the bass can only be dated by the hardware, and electronics. Kramer was pretty bad when it came to serial numbers

To most bass players out in the world, Kramers are total Crap basses that are only good for having a shiny as hell finish.

WRONG. :smug:

Because of this, you can acquire many Kramer basses for quite cheap
Click to expand...
uh, that sounds Like the Charvel story 4 models 4 different setups. Also the cheapness now except for a certain few models, and people believing they are total crap because they compare them to what's out now :D
 
#75
amimbari said:
uh, that sounds Like the Charvel story 4 models 4 different setups. Also the cheapness now except for a certain few models, and people believing they are total crap because they compare them to what's out now :D
Click to expand...

And then theres the people who...
"... I like the Fendershaped headstock. That bass doesnt have it.

IT SUCKS."

Or, a personal favorite:

"That part that the strings go on is kinda pointy. Therefore, its crappy".

That basically shapes the whole conversation up... :rollno:

But hey, by all means... keep Kramer and Charvel basses on the "low end" of Fender lovers.

By allllll means. :smug:
 
#76
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#78
Yeah, 360 with ship is really good for that. :D
A guy who runs the a pawn shop here said he had one way back when...
... but then again, he tried to tell me that the neck through 24 Fret Skull tuner Kramer with Quad rails was a "rare old Kramer from the early 80's"...
Music yo, Aka Kramer by Epiphone, man.... :rollno:
 
#79
KramerBassFan said:
Kramer info?
I think you came to the right guy! :hyper:

I'd recommend not de-fretting it. :D
Your bass is most likely made from 88-90. Made in Japan, by ESP.
The Forum Series was Kramers flagship line when it came to basses. (from 87-90 that is).

They had the AWESOME Forum one, with Active EMG's, Neck through, came in any color you could want, Claw Inlay, bound Ebony Fretboard, and sculpted body.... if you ever see one, let me know. :D

The Forum Two was The same, except bolt on.

The Forum Three was similar. It had Spector pickups, a flat top, and almost as many colors as the Forums 1/2's. It had a bound Rosewood fretboard, and diamond MOP inlays.

The Forum Four was the same as the Forum Three, except it was bolt on. However, It is not uncommon to find Forum Four's with no binding, and no diamond inlay.

When the Forum Series was put into production, they originally had Kramer Branded Schaller bridges. By 88-89 They started using Spector Bridges.
During 87 the first year of production, Forums had One Volume, One Tone, and a 3 way toggle switch.
But by 88, Kramer had switched to a Spector Pre amp, (Forum 1/2's Got EMG's) and Two Volumes, and two Tone pots.
The Forum Series had Binding all on the Fretboard and head stock in 87', but by 90', it wasn't uncommon to find Forum 3's and Forum 4's that never had any binding, and never even had Truss Rod Covers. It is also not uncommon to have Forum Three's and Fours with simple Clay dot inlays.

And Honestly, the Serial number means quite little, and the bass can only be dated by the hardware, and electronics. Kramer was pretty bad when it came to serial numbers, and Some Forum basses don't even have serial numbers! (Such as my own Forum Three).

It also helps that none of the Kramer Production records have ever shown up since Kramer Went Bankrupt.

Kramer Forum basses have been used by people such as Duff Mckagan, Eric Brittingham, Rob Mckillop (of eXodus) and Billy Childs of Britny Fox.

The Forum Bass line was produced up until 90', when, unforunately, Kramer Guitars was forced into bankruptcy.

I love Kramers for a reason. To most bass players out in the world, Kramers are total Crap basses that are only good for having a shiny as hell finish.

WRONG. :smug:

Because of this, you can acquire many Kramer basses for quite cheap, also due to the fact that Unless you are knowledgeable on Kramers, it can be VERY easy to mix a Plywood bodied Striker with an Awesome, top of the Line Forum Two.

If i left ANY thing out, PLEASE say so.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the thorough info!!
My FORUM III is just like you describe it: spector pickups, spector preamp with two volumes and two tones, except it has a kramer bridge (if I understood corectly you said they had spector bridges)
there is a serial number (i guess it's a serial number) heat stamped on the plastic control cavity cover. And the model name (FORUM III) is only written on the truss rod cover, i don't see it anywhere else.
Thanks to you guys I'm starting to appreciate my bass a lot more!
 
#80
jmorbita said:
Thanks for the thorough info!!
My FORUM III is just like you describe it: spector pickups, spector preamp with two volumes and two tones, except it has a kramer bridge (if I understood corectly you said they had spector bridges)
there is a serial number (i guess it's a serial number) heat stamped on the plastic control cavity cover. And the model name (FORUM III) is only written on the truss rod cover, i don't see it anywhere else.
Thanks to you guys I'm starting to appreciate my bass a lot more!
Click to expand...

Does it have rollers that let you adjust the string spacing on the bridge?
Just for grins, what is the serial Number?
:smug:
I'm glad.... Kramers arent for everybody, but I love them.
Also, does it have a case?
 

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