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The Kramer Club

#843
Here are 2 of my 4 Kramers; '78 450B and '81 The Duke deluxe (both leftys). The other 2 are a lefty Forum III that's being modded and refinished at the moment; and a righty Duke that's scheduled for a lot of mods, including a new lefty body. I like Kramers! :)
 

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#844
GIBrat51 said:
Here are 2 of my 4 Kramers; '78 450B and '81 The Duke deluxe (both leftys). The other 2 are a lefty Forum III that's being modded and refinished at the moment; and a righty Duke that's scheduled for a lot of mods, including a new lefty body. I like Kramers! :)
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What makes the Duke "deluxe"? I have a Duke.

I find it somewhat uncomfortable to play. Feels like the 1st fret is far away.
 
#845
Pair o' Dukes 2.JPG Actually, the correct name is "The Duke Special" - I misspoke. The only difference is the pickup and the controls. The righty Duke on the left is a "standard" (simply "The Duke"). It's supposed to have a plain, rectangular humbucker pickup,
rather than the DiMarzio Twin J that this one has; but it's a Kramer, so...:whistle: The volume and tone knobs are small, plain black ones, and the mini toggle switch should be a 2-way one (which this one is). The lefty Duke Special has the Dimarzio pickup, larger control knobs, and a 3-way switch. I can switch between the whole pickup; half of the pickup (either coil-tapping, or actually splitting it; not sure); or, a weird "phase" option, which uses half of each pickup in a "/" configuration. Still trying to figure that one out. :rolleyes: I'm afraid I can't help you with the neck, though; mine feel pretty much just like any of my other short scale basses, and the neck length from the heel to the nut/zero fret is the same. It does have 24 frets, though, instead of the usual 20 or 22. Maybe if you close your eyes and pretend it's a Hofner...;)
 
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#846
GIBrat51 said:
View attachment 409274 Actually, the correct name is "The Duke Special" - I misspoke. The only difference is the pickup and the controls. The righty Duke on the left is a "standard" (simply "The Duke"). It's supposed to have a plain, rectangular humbucker pickup,
rather than the DiMarzio Twin J that this one has; but it's a Kramer, so...:whistle: The volume and tone knobs are small, plain black ones, and the mini toggle switch should be a 2-way one (which this one is). The lefty Duke Special has the Dimarzio pickup, larger control knobs, and a 3-way switch. I can switch between the whole pickup; half of the pickup (either coil-tapping, or actually splitting it; not sure); or, a weird "phase" option, which uses half of each pickup in a "/" configuration. Still trying to figure that one out. :rolleyes: I'm afraid I can't help you with the neck, though; mine feel pretty much just like any of my other short scale basses, and the neck length from the heel to the nut/zero fret is the same. It does have 24 frets, though, instead of the usual 20 or 22. Maybe if you close your eyes and pretend it's a Hofner...;)
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Thanks! Mine is a special, it would seem.

Maybe the nut seems farther away because the head is missing.
 
#853
I bought a tbx tone for my 710st and I cannot get how to property wire it. I have all sorts of diagrams but they're confusing and I can't really see where it all goes ( cap, resistor) and I even have the duff bass wiring and it still is confusing and I am not new to this sort of thing. As it is I like the toggle but NOT the VTT layout
 

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#856
dickseacup said:
Did The Duke bass ever come with two pickups (not the two single-coils in one slot, but two separate pickups; neck and bridge)?
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No, not as far as I know; there really isn't a lot of room on that body. and the control cavity might get in the way, too. I seem to remember seeing one or two modded ones; but since they weren't leftys, I didn't pay a lot of attention. Somebody has tried just about everything at one time or another, though. If you want to try it, good luck; and post pix, please!:)
 
#857
GIBrat51 said:
No, not as far as I know; there really isn't a lot of room on that body. and the control cavity might get in the way, too. I seem to remember seeing one or two modded ones; but since they weren't leftys, I didn't pay a lot of attention. Somebody has tried just about everything at one time or another, though. If you want to try it, good luck; and post pix, please!:)
Click to expand...

Thanks. Found one for sale but it appears to have a bucker in the neck and bridge. Perhaps modded by a previous owner. I'm waiting on clear photos to see what's up with it. I'd really prefer a black Steinberger XP2 to match my GP4S guitar, but...
 
#860
Woohoo, just ordered a used Duke. No clue when it will get here, probably not until the end of the week. In a couple of the pre-sale pics, the toggle switch is sticking straight up. Good indication this is the Special version? It didn't occur to me to ask if it was 2-way or 3-way until after I'd paid. I'll post pics when it gets here.
 

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