I own a Nightswan reissue in Aztec. I have zero problems with this guitar and the tone will crush your skull. As a guy who's always played Kramers and have owned an 87 vintage Baretta, a Pacer 6000, and a Stagemaster, a vintage Nightswan was out of my reach financially but these give me the chance to own one that for all intents and purposes is a Nightswan.
Was seriously impressed with the reissue. No QC issues what so ever and it sounds and plays great. The neck is super comfortable, vastly prefer the R2 to the R1. I also think the JBs sounds great together.
Ok to be honest I only had one Kramer guitar back in the early 80’s and selling it has been the biggest regret of my life. Now I have been an Ibanez guy since Kramer closed shop and I have a pile of’em! I have some high end Ibanez guitars like the JS2480 and I love every damn one of them. Now having said all that. I have bought a SM1H, a Snake Sabo Beretta and a Nightswan (just like yours) and these are my Go To guitars! These are my most played guitars by far! My Nightswan is simply a damn pleasure to hold and play. Folks if you have any misgivings about Kramer, DONT! Kramer has it going on!
2 months ago i wanted to buy an Pink PRS SE to have a 80s lookin and feeling guitar. Went to a Big Guitar Shop here near me in Germany.. The Nightswan was standing out for me of all the 100s of guitars standing there in the Shop. I just fell in love looking at it. I tried a Tribute and Studio Gibson, a PRS, a violett Jackson and i had to try the Nightswan, all the Guitars were in the prince price of about 1000€. I ended up buying the Nightswan, im so in love with the Guitar. Its my 8th and my best Guitar i owned in the past 15 years . I have a Cort g350 and a Yamaha Pacifica 612 VII FM, had few Ibanezes in my past, had a Epi Les Paul, all kinds of Strats, had 2 Jacksons.. And the only 2 Guitars that ever perfectly fit was a Jackson dinky and this Nightswan.. The Nightswan is by far the best one that sits soo good in my hands and lets me just play everything with ease and it looks just so 80s..
The big differentiation between the Nightswan and the rest of the Kramer line up is the 24.75" scale length. The pacer and SM1 are both 25.5". I'd assume the R2 nut and JB bridge pickup are choices to widen the appeal of the guitar rather than cheaping out. It would be nice to get a more accurate reissue though.
I look at these reissues the same way I do those little modernized Nintendos that let you play the classic games (emulated) without investing in a vintage system and cartridges. And I mean, I don’t have a problem with that. People want the nostalgia or just the experience without the hassle or expense. That’s great! The Nightswan is a rad guitar. But is it the Real Deal? Nah. Close enough for most people? Sure.
Yeah absolutely, the way they are designed is for mass appeal based on the name recognition alone - sadly an all too popular trend right now, but can't argue with the $$$
Honestly having owned a vintage Swan the R1 nut was to some a weak spot on that guitar. It was very narrow but the spacing put the e strings really close to the edge of the fretboard. They were known to easily roll off the edge of the fretboard I didn’t mind the nut but it was a valid issue. The R2 is the more popular option for a reason imho
They did the Aztec style graphic recently, so I wouldn't be surprised if we see a lightning graphic next year or the year after as long as they aren't discontinued.
@@totallyradguitars959 the lightning graphic was tied to the Buddy Blaze lawsuit with Dean. He did the Nightswan and the ML so there were some serious issues that I believe Gibson wanted to avoid. Especially considering Gibson’s suit against Dean for copyright probably wouldn’t have helped to be using a graphic tied to an iconic Dean guitar lol
I got one of these and after 4 weeks of sanding,tweaking, filing, crowning,polishing and replaced the tuners I can safely say its OK.....it had a lot of issues also the high E slips off the edge of the fretboard because the neck was not lined up with the Floyd Thanks for uploading
That High E issue seems to be common on these. This specific example I'm playing doesn't have that problem but I've seen multiple people with the same problem you are describing with the frets and neck pocket alignment.
Now there are some kramer nightswan original on the market. Looking forward a comparison of original vs. reissue! (But I think if we drop a Full Shred on the reissue it might sound very similar)
I'm in the school of thought that the pickup is all that matters for tone - same Full Shred in a new or old Nightswan, if mounted the same exact distance from the strings, will sound identical. I have a 1990 Proaxe - same neck as a Swan. Personal preference, but I far prefer the 80s necks to this one. These are still nice for the price - no way I'd buy an 80s Swan the way they are priced now, I prefer regular Pacers, especially Deluxes.
@@totallyradguitars959 totally agree! I think I would get an reissue, set it up myself, and change the necessary elements, such as the bridge, the bridge pick up, the electronics, and the tuners. I think it would sound amazing too.
I was impressed when Gibson bought the defunct Kramer line and revived it but as you say you have to nitpick a few obvious details that are overlooked just to streamline Indo production. I don't know about the nut but the pickup, the SD Full Shred should be the pickup of choice. They should also have the white Aztec finish, not the polka dots as Vivian Campbell intended back in 89. With the Sambora Jersey, the Nightswan was the first "signature" Kramer.
Do you have calipers? Can you measure the frets and tell me if they are Jumbo or medium Jumbos? The info use to be mediums on the Kramer web site and Jumbo on the guitar music web sites online. I emailed the Kramer company and they said they would email the factory and they never got back to me. But now I notice the spot Kramer like what you are playing has mediums jumbos on the info and jumbo on the other kramer guitars in this series.. I want to get the black noghtswan but I am needing the fret size.
Hey, I do have calipers however I already sold this guitar so I can't get a measurement for you - sorry! I will tell you that they feel like medium jumbo to me. They are definitely larger than my tele (mediums) but not nearly as large as my Robin (super jumbo) - that's as close as I can guess though.
Not sure about the differences in the baretta / pacer models, but I guess there would be different machinery and retooling involved making the nightswan to the exact vintage specs, as it also had a 7/8 size body. So different body, different neck, different pups, paint jobs, probably way lower numbers produced, it all adds to the manufacturing costs. You can use the same tooling and materials for all the baretta and pacer models. Maybe there's gonna be a custom shop option sometime ;)
The vintage nightswan bodies weren't the usual "7/8" shape, they were more rounded and had a really thick upper horn and bigger lower horn scoop - exactly the same shape as the one they currently produce. The current Baretta and Pacer guitars have different neck profile specs according to the site as well. So that's what I'm not understanding I think - they took the time to retool to build different lines with different neck/body/hardware specs, but still didn't get it right with the Swans. According to the Kramer website for the current "original" series: Nightswan 24.75" scale 16" fretboard radius R2 nut Barettas 25.5" scale 12.6" fretboard radius R2 nut Pacer Classic 25.5 scale 14" fretboard radius R2 nut Just odd that they are all different but not different in the "right" way (to me of course, just my opinion)
@@totallyradguitars959 fair points, wonder where the scaled down body thing comes from then, Ive read it in a review and heard it from people who have a vintage Nightswan. I guess its depends on what body it compares to, fender strat shape most likely.
@@maxmustardman298 Yeah, it's a bit smaller than a strat shaped body. I'm not sure the exact origin of "7/8" but usually that's referring to the 87 and later Pacer Custom/Sustainer/Imperial bodies which were previously "soloist" style bodies, retroactively called "large soloist" bodies on forums and collector groups. Those have sharp radius edges instead of a smooth curve like a strat body (and previous strat-style Kramer bodies). Maybe I should do a quick video just showing the different Kramer body shapes. The Swan body is its own completely unique shape that isn't shared by any other model. Since the Swans came out in 87 and so did the 7/8 bodies there's probably just some confusion around that since they all come from roughly the same time, 40 years ago, and the body shapes aren't "named" in catalogs anywhere from what I can find.
The reason epiphone put 2 JBs and not a Full shred was they though the JB was more versatile than than the Full shred. Also, epiphone put an R2 nut because most players are familiar with that size than the R1. Finally, if you ask Epiphone they tell you that the new night swan isn't a reissue.
@@totallyradguitars959 It´s not so unremarkable, you get a short scale super strat with mahogany body, those specs aren´t easy to find. I´m trying to find a good Charvel 750xl and this is the closest thing so far (without the set neck in this case).
The real Floyd is made from hardened steel to 90 Rockwell and the Korean Floyd's scrap metal pot metal and isn't hardened 290 Rockwell so there is some sustain taken away on the Korean and it doesn't resonate either and there's a couple other little things they did online to judge the difference between the cheap versus the original but it did show a boost in resonance and sustain
I wish it came with an original Floyd Rose and was made in the USA. I know it would cost more. But still. I think the trembucker sized pickups are an upgrade myself.
Hey man just a helpful bit of advice. I was skipping ahead to hear the sound demos and however long the intervals are on skip (10-30 sec?) and damn near every time i skipped you said “Umm” i do that shit too with video stuff? But just something to be mindful of for quality control. Cool video though!
Yeah I know :/, I don’t read from a script this is all just “off the cuff” so I do that subconsciously. I thought of trying to read from a teleprompter but I don’t want it to be too stiff, and I refuse to do jump cuts like everybody else haha so it is just going to take me some practice and hopefully I can do that less as I do more videos
Hi mate. Need to add mu 5 pence to it. Why R2 rather than R1? R2 is wider (by 1.60mm) and lower (by 0.15mm) resulting in faster action and wider spacing. Why is that? I think the evolution of how we are playing now plus parts easy to obtain on the market make guitar makers go this way. I know that we all have sentiment to the old guitars that we've learn to play on but in reality newer designs re easier, specially for beginners and that's where the market is. Now i have to notice difference between all those models you have called the same in specs: nightSwan is shorter scale guitar with 24 frets, normal blokes might not see that as important issue but sure it is in the way you are playing it. 24.75 have this tendency to bend easier, make Floyd react to it smoother and ensure that strings after bends going back faster to their natural position. I think this is very important factor differ this guitar from Pacers and Barettas. Not going to say anything about pickups, yes their are not as in original model but if you look closely nothing else is :) Anyway pups are very personal choice and easy to change. Now, something that troubling me a lot: Kramer website!!! The nightSwan you are holding on have stated medium jumbo frets there, where Aztec suppose to have jumbo. Is it a glitch or those two Swans are different???
Cheers and yeah, I know why they did R2, I guess I’m just disappointed that it wasn’t a replica of the real thing, and that’s what I would’ve preferred. Pickup swap is no big deal but… I sold this guitar off anyway, just wasn’t for me. As for fret sizes, I have no clue - someone else emailed me asking the same question and they couldn’t get an answer from Kramer either, but I suspect they are all medium jumbo and it’s just a typo on the site by someone who isn’t a guitar player and just skimmed the word “jumbo” in the add copy and didn’t realize the “medium” was important. Cheers
@@totallyradguitars959 got mine yesterday, jet black model. Yes you are absolutely right, it is nothing like the original so calling it reissued model would be very miss leading. Pickups are ok, need bit of extra gain on the pedal in my case, but happy to confirm that frets are actual jumbo size! Maybe just Polka Dot comes with medium?, not sure. Overall it is decent guitar! First Kramer for years that had no issues at all!
I still have my original Kramer Nightswan Aztec I bought new back in 89-90 , I was really excited when these were released till I tried one. I really love the R1 nut for me and it's just not the same at all. I changed a couple little things on mine, Fu-tone Titanium parts on the Floyd and the Brass big block, also swapped the fullshred for a Seymour Duncan heavy metal Live wire. I can revert I back to stock anytime. It was a big let down, I agree 100%, should have has the fullshred and the R1 nut. I ended up getting the Kramer Dave Sabo signature model instead and honestly much happier with that then if I kept second guessing the newer Nightswan. I do want the SM1 though as well, it plays super sweet! Love these Kramer videos, I've always been a huge fan. Unfortunately my Kramer 300st was stolen, and back in the day I sold my Kramer Focus 1000. Great video, Cheers!
another great video. the Baretta (Vintage) has a neck profile true to at least some of the '85 Barettas. and as i am sure you know, regardless of the specific nut, the overall neck profiles on these rereleases are quite different in comparison to one another--different radii, etc. for example the '84 and the Baretta (Vintage '85) are wholly different, etc.
Yeah, I liked the '85 Baretta models I've played, the board feels a bit flatter than this one. If they were going to do different neck profiles etc anyway I was hoping this one would be a little more "authentic." I didn't do a video but I also had a 2006 '85 Baretta reissue - the made in USA one. Now THAT was a beautiful guitar, done right. Wish I still had it.
amen. the greatest mystery in the Kramer universe is why they don't release a holy grail with exact specs. tweak the Baretta to match the white one in the famous Kramer ad--but let the paint dry----. the sales would be off the charts---.
Since we are being critical, while your review talked about the things you thought should have been different. When would we think it would be a good time to talk about the quality of the components it does have ? Like the neck thickness, the set-up action and intonation? Seriously does it play well on a scale 1-10? overall what do you think is the build on par or slightly better than say a esp/ltd?
I talked about the components in the video - JB, FRT1000, nice pot, crappy switch. How well it plays has more to do with the way I set it up than anything related to the factory - and through that lens, it plays about average compared to anything else I have, but no extra special sauce to it. Action and intonation are both adjustable as on any guitar like this. Build is the same as any other Indonesian made guitar by Samick, since it's made by the same people in the same factory, with the same tooling. There's nothing wrong with it, it's just a very average quality guitar in my opinion.
Thanks! I like the Aztec finish a lot more than the polka, but I got this one before they announced the Aztec. I'm pretty tempted to get an Aztec myself and I'll just swap in my own Full Shred, and sell off this polka dot one.
I do mention it, I'm glad they got that detail accurate to the real Swans, but it's really a minor difference from the other models, just like the ebony fretboard.
The SMH-1 has a humbucker and two single coils. Plus, it has a good flamed veneer. Don't know how else you want the SMH-1 to differentiate itself from the other Kramers. Also, you are asking too much for a mass produced guitar at the cost they are selling them for. If you have an issue, just mod it.
That model did not exist when I made this video. And what else is there to say? It’s a guitar with a JB, the tone is like a guitar with a JB in it. No need to mod, sold it and bought something I liked better - just my opinion.
These days are there any companies putting top notch quality materials as these vintage guitars? I like the way these metal guitars feel, i like the super light weight, thin, one piece ergonomics of these guitars. I recently tried this guitar and also a jackson blue soloist and loved the way they feel. Im not a pro but i know some fast metal/punk rhythm.
I think the really high end materials are reserved for the custom shop type stuff coming out of Fender, Charvel, Jackson, ESP etc. But even though the quality of materials is lower, the fit/finish of lower end guitars has gotten far better over time. There's no reason why a good artist can't shred just as well on a $300 guitar vs a $3000 one these days.
@@totallyradguitars959 are there any good custom shops in the Orange County area that you know of ? I would love to play and hear a top notch custom guitar and see if the difference really is that big
@@EM-km8em Many years ago you could go to the Carvin showroom and play their in-stock guitars, I'm not sure if you can still do that now that it's Kiesel but they are in the San Diego area. Otherwise I'm not really sure - I mostly collect exclusively used gear so newer custom shop stuff is something I can only dream/speculate about. I'm in Orange County too - Florida though. Cheers
I love mine. However, the stock hardware is crap - thus the price point. So I replaced the tuners, the nut, the Floyd, and the pots and the guitar is top notch. If the wood is good, the guitar is good. And this is a really good guitar with some higher quality bolt ons.
hoping this is just the start for kramer. Maybe some japanese guitars in the future so you can get a super high quality kramer. They aren't going to be a modern metal go to brand but if the quality is high and price is low we can get a whole new generation of kramer fans.
Now's the time to cash in on 80s nostalgia so I'd love to see a couple of higher end models. I think these are selling pretty well so it might happen, but they are probably trying to avoid what happened last time with those USA reissues they did 2006-2008ish, the 85 Baretta and Pacer Imperials. Beautiful guitars but they did not sell very well, but that may have had more to do with the economy's downturn at the time than anything they did. The right guitars at the wrong time.
This is EXACTLY what I've been saying, they need to stop pussyfootin' around with these Kramer wannabes and actually use the vintage ones, and reproduce them EXACTLY how they were in the 80s, spec wise of course. You'd appeal to the vintage guys and probably sell them so much better
you spent the entire vid talking about how its not the same as an OG 80s one and didnt bother to talk about how THIS one plays or feels. didnt even touch the whammy bar either lol
Not sure what you mean - I talked through the guitar part by part, and of course I'm going to compare it to a vintage one. I can't really describe how it feels, you'll have to go play one for yourself. To me, it felt similar to other budget indo guitars with decent hardware and there's not really much worth talking about. Whammy bar feels like any other floyd rose. If you like them, enjoy it, but from the perspective of a vintage Kramer collector it just didn't speak to me. Cheers
If they had gotten those details right I'd have bought two or three. I can always swap in a full shred myself but nothing I can do about the R2 neck...
@totallyradguitars959 JB is such tired overrated pickup that guitar manufacturers keep using I'd prefer to have a Full shred added just for variation. Nothing is comparable to the 80s vintage Kramer guitars which was my first guitar to own
@@AcceleratingUniverse It's the little breakdown part in "Still of the Night" by Whitesnake. In the recording it's played by strings (cello maybe?) but I kind of sounded it out years ago for guitar
all these cheap kramers same like all indonesian evh,jacksons,ibanez..etc with that korean floyd rose have tuning/intonation issues,unless the bridge is fixed to the body!
.... what? Spellcheck your comment, I don't understand what you are asking. Original swans had a JB middle and Full Shred in the bridge, that's how this one should've been.
I own a Nightswan reissue in Aztec. I have zero problems with this guitar and the tone will crush your skull. As a guy who's always played Kramers and have owned an 87 vintage Baretta, a Pacer 6000, and a Stagemaster, a vintage Nightswan was out of my reach financially but these give me the chance to own one that for all intents and purposes is a Nightswan.
Thanks for that...I couldn't afford the Nightswan back in the late 80's...so I lucked out with a beautiful used "No Bozos" Baretta...
Theres no such thing as a “Pacer 6000”….. Lol
I think he means the Focus 6000
Was seriously impressed with the reissue. No QC issues what so ever and it sounds and plays great. The neck is super comfortable, vastly prefer the R2 to the R1. I also think the JBs sounds great together.
What did the original nightswan have? Was it a pair of full shreds?
@@countzero5150full shred bridge and JB in the middle.
Ok to be honest I only had one Kramer guitar back in the early 80’s and selling it has been the biggest regret of my life. Now I have been an Ibanez guy since Kramer closed shop and I have a pile of’em! I have some high end Ibanez guitars like the JS2480 and I love every damn one of them.
Now having said all that. I have bought a SM1H, a Snake Sabo Beretta and a Nightswan (just like yours) and these are my Go To guitars! These are my most played guitars by far! My Nightswan is simply a damn pleasure to hold and play. Folks if you have any misgivings about Kramer, DONT! Kramer has it going on!
2 months ago i wanted to buy an Pink PRS SE to have a 80s lookin and feeling guitar. Went to a Big Guitar Shop here near me in Germany.. The Nightswan was standing out for me of all the 100s of guitars standing there in the Shop. I just fell in love looking at it. I tried a Tribute and Studio Gibson, a PRS, a violett Jackson and i had to try the Nightswan, all the Guitars were in the prince price of about 1000€. I ended up buying the Nightswan, im so in love with the Guitar. Its my 8th and my best Guitar i owned in the past 15 years . I have a Cort g350 and a Yamaha Pacifica 612 VII FM, had few Ibanezes in my past, had a Epi Les Paul, all kinds of Strats, had 2 Jacksons.. And the only 2 Guitars that ever perfectly fit was a Jackson dinky and this Nightswan.. The Nightswan is by far the best one that sits soo good in my hands and lets me just play everything with ease and it looks just so 80s..
The big differentiation between the Nightswan and the rest of the Kramer line up is the 24.75" scale length. The pacer and SM1 are both 25.5". I'd assume the R2 nut and JB bridge pickup are choices to widen the appeal of the guitar rather than cheaping out. It would be nice to get a more accurate reissue though.
I look at these reissues the same way I do those little modernized Nintendos that let you play the classic games (emulated) without investing in a vintage system and cartridges.
And I mean, I don’t have a problem with that. People want the nostalgia or just the experience without the hassle or expense. That’s great! The Nightswan is a rad guitar. But is it the Real Deal? Nah. Close enough for most people? Sure.
Yeah absolutely, the way they are designed is for mass appeal based on the name recognition alone - sadly an all too popular trend right now, but can't argue with the $$$
Honestly having owned a vintage Swan the R1 nut was to some a weak spot on that guitar. It was very narrow but the spacing put the e strings really close to the edge of the fretboard. They were known to easily roll off the edge of the fretboard I didn’t mind the nut but it was a valid issue. The R2 is the more popular option for a reason imho
Just whining from this guy doing the video.
@@dane4453Yeah when you’re rich and you have every damn kramer model you’re gonna find a reason to bitch… kind of annoying to watch.
Great review. So glad that you are uploading again.
I would buy one if it had the lightning strikes paint job and I would install a Full shred in the bridge.
They did the Aztec style graphic recently, so I wouldn't be surprised if we see a lightning graphic next year or the year after as long as they aren't discontinued.
@@totallyradguitars959 the lightning graphic was tied to the Buddy Blaze lawsuit with Dean. He did the Nightswan and the ML so there were some serious issues that I believe Gibson wanted to avoid. Especially considering Gibson’s suit against Dean for copyright probably wouldn’t have helped to be using a graphic tied to an iconic Dean guitar lol
I got one of these and after 4 weeks of sanding,tweaking, filing, crowning,polishing and replaced the tuners I can safely say its OK.....it had a lot of issues also the high E slips off the edge of the fretboard because the neck was not lined up with the Floyd
Thanks for uploading
That High E issue seems to be common on these. This specific example I'm playing doesn't have that problem but I've seen multiple people with the same problem you are describing with the frets and neck pocket alignment.
Now there are some kramer nightswan original on the market. Looking forward a comparison of original vs. reissue! (But I think if we drop a Full Shred on the reissue it might sound very similar)
I'm in the school of thought that the pickup is all that matters for tone - same Full Shred in a new or old Nightswan, if mounted the same exact distance from the strings, will sound identical.
I have a 1990 Proaxe - same neck as a Swan. Personal preference, but I far prefer the 80s necks to this one. These are still nice for the price - no way I'd buy an 80s Swan the way they are priced now, I prefer regular Pacers, especially Deluxes.
@@totallyradguitars959 totally agree! I think I would get an reissue, set it up myself, and change the necessary elements, such as the bridge, the bridge pick up, the electronics, and the tuners. I think it would sound amazing too.
Matching late 80's shirt 👏
Found that one at a TJMax for $6... couldn't resist!
that decibel count on the wall...xD (i guess to keep neighbours happy), great video once again
Great vid. Would love to see one on your teal Kramer (Horizon style one). Thanks!
Reverse head, deep wide lower cutaway. HH nothing in neck. Thats what.
Whats the difference between R1 and R2 ?
I was impressed when Gibson bought the defunct Kramer line and revived it but as you say you have to nitpick a few obvious details that are overlooked just to streamline Indo production. I don't know about the nut but the pickup, the SD Full Shred should be the pickup of choice. They should also have the white Aztec finish, not the polka dots as Vivian Campbell intended back in 89. With the Sambora Jersey, the Nightswan was the first "signature" Kramer.
Do you have calipers? Can you measure the frets and tell me if they are Jumbo or medium Jumbos? The info use to be mediums on the Kramer web site and Jumbo on the guitar music web sites online. I emailed the Kramer company and they said they would email the factory and they never got back to me. But now I notice the spot Kramer like what you are playing has mediums jumbos on the info and jumbo on the other kramer guitars in this series.. I want to get the black noghtswan but I am needing the fret size.
Hey, I do have calipers however I already sold this guitar so I can't get a measurement for you - sorry!
I will tell you that they feel like medium jumbo to me. They are definitely larger than my tele (mediums) but not nearly as large as my Robin (super jumbo) - that's as close as I can guess though.
Not sure about the differences in the baretta / pacer models, but I guess there would be different machinery and retooling involved making the nightswan to the exact vintage specs, as it also had a 7/8 size body. So different body, different neck, different pups, paint jobs, probably way lower numbers produced, it all adds to the manufacturing costs. You can use the same tooling and materials for all the baretta and pacer models. Maybe there's gonna be a custom shop option sometime ;)
The vintage nightswan bodies weren't the usual "7/8" shape, they were more rounded and had a really thick upper horn and bigger lower horn scoop - exactly the same shape as the one they currently produce. The current Baretta and Pacer guitars have different neck profile specs according to the site as well. So that's what I'm not understanding I think - they took the time to retool to build different lines with different neck/body/hardware specs, but still didn't get it right with the Swans.
According to the Kramer website for the current "original" series:
Nightswan 24.75" scale 16" fretboard radius R2 nut
Barettas 25.5" scale 12.6" fretboard radius R2 nut
Pacer Classic 25.5 scale 14" fretboard radius R2 nut
Just odd that they are all different but not different in the "right" way (to me of course, just my opinion)
@@totallyradguitars959 fair points, wonder where the scaled down body thing comes from then, Ive read it in a review and heard it from people who have a vintage Nightswan. I guess its depends on what body it compares to, fender strat shape most likely.
@@maxmustardman298 Yeah, it's a bit smaller than a strat shaped body. I'm not sure the exact origin of "7/8" but usually that's referring to the 87 and later Pacer Custom/Sustainer/Imperial bodies which were previously "soloist" style bodies, retroactively called "large soloist" bodies on forums and collector groups. Those have sharp radius edges instead of a smooth curve like a strat body (and previous strat-style Kramer bodies). Maybe I should do a quick video just showing the different Kramer body shapes. The Swan body is its own completely unique shape that isn't shared by any other model. Since the Swans came out in 87 and so did the 7/8 bodies there's probably just some confusion around that since they all come from roughly the same time, 40 years ago, and the body shapes aren't "named" in catalogs anywhere from what I can find.
The reason epiphone put 2 JBs and not a Full shred was they though the JB was more versatile than than the Full shred. Also, epiphone put an R2 nut because most players are familiar with that size than the R1. Finally, if you ask Epiphone they tell you that the new night swan isn't a reissue.
Yeah - all of that makes sense - but in an effort to make the Swan have more mass appeal, they ended up making a guitar that is mostly unremarkable.
@@totallyradguitars959 It´s not so unremarkable, you get a short scale super strat with mahogany body, those specs aren´t easy to find. I´m trying to find a good Charvel 750xl and this is the closest thing so far (without the set neck in this case).
I think you hit the nail on the head.
The real Floyd is made from hardened steel to 90 Rockwell and the Korean Floyd's scrap metal pot metal and isn't hardened 290 Rockwell so there is some sustain taken away on the Korean and it doesn't resonate either and there's a couple other little things they did online to judge the difference between the cheap versus the original but it did show a boost in resonance and sustain
I wish it came with an original Floyd Rose and was made in the USA. I know it would cost more. But still. I think the trembucker sized pickups are an upgrade myself.
Hey! Love the playing. What’s the riff you played at 10:43? Sounds familiar
Hey! That's "Still of the Night" by Whitesnake
Hey man just a helpful bit of advice. I was skipping ahead to hear the sound demos and however long the intervals are on skip (10-30 sec?) and damn near every time i skipped you said “Umm” i do that shit too with video stuff? But just something to be mindful of for quality control. Cool video though!
Yeah I know :/, I don’t read from a script this is all just “off the cuff” so I do that subconsciously. I thought of trying to read from a teleprompter but I don’t want it to be too stiff, and I refuse to do jump cuts like everybody else haha so it is just going to take me some practice and hopefully I can do that less as I do more videos
Hi mate. Need to add mu 5 pence to it.
Why R2 rather than R1? R2 is wider (by 1.60mm) and lower (by 0.15mm) resulting in faster action and wider spacing. Why is that? I think the evolution of how we are playing now plus parts easy to obtain on the market make guitar makers go this way. I know that we all have sentiment to the old guitars that we've learn to play on but in reality newer designs re easier, specially for beginners and that's where the market is.
Now i have to notice difference between all those models you have called the same in specs: nightSwan is shorter scale guitar with 24 frets, normal blokes might not see that as important issue but sure it is in the way you are playing it. 24.75 have this tendency to bend easier, make Floyd react to it smoother and ensure that strings after bends going back faster to their natural position. I think this is very important factor differ this guitar from Pacers and Barettas.
Not going to say anything about pickups, yes their are not as in original model but if you look closely nothing else is :) Anyway pups are very personal choice and easy to change.
Now, something that troubling me a lot: Kramer website!!! The nightSwan you are holding on have stated medium jumbo frets there, where Aztec suppose to have jumbo. Is it a glitch or those two Swans are different???
Cheers and yeah, I know why they did R2, I guess I’m just disappointed that it wasn’t a replica of the real thing, and that’s what I would’ve preferred. Pickup swap is no big deal but… I sold this guitar off anyway, just wasn’t for me. As for fret sizes, I have no clue - someone else emailed me asking the same question and they couldn’t get an answer from Kramer either, but I suspect they are all medium jumbo and it’s just a typo on the site by someone who isn’t a guitar player and just skimmed the word “jumbo” in the add copy and didn’t realize the “medium” was important. Cheers
@@totallyradguitars959 got mine yesterday, jet black model. Yes you are absolutely right, it is nothing like the original so calling it reissued model would be very miss leading. Pickups are ok, need bit of extra gain on the pedal in my case, but happy to confirm that frets are actual jumbo size! Maybe just Polka Dot comes with medium?, not sure.
Overall it is decent guitar! First Kramer for years that had no issues at all!
I still have my original Kramer Nightswan Aztec I bought new back in 89-90 , I was really excited when these were released till I tried one. I really love the R1 nut for me and it's just not the same at all. I changed a couple little things on mine, Fu-tone Titanium parts on the Floyd and the Brass big block, also swapped the fullshred for a Seymour Duncan heavy metal Live wire. I can revert I back to stock anytime. It was a big let down, I agree 100%, should have has the fullshred and the R1 nut. I ended up getting the Kramer Dave Sabo signature model instead and honestly much happier with that then if I kept second guessing the newer Nightswan. I do want the SM1 though as well, it plays super sweet! Love these Kramer videos, I've always been a huge fan. Unfortunately my Kramer 300st was stolen, and back in the day I sold my Kramer Focus 1000.
Great video, Cheers!
another great video. the Baretta (Vintage) has a neck profile true to at least some of the '85 Barettas. and as i am sure you know, regardless of the specific nut, the overall neck profiles on these rereleases are quite different in comparison to one another--different radii, etc. for example the '84 and the Baretta (Vintage '85) are wholly different, etc.
Yeah, I liked the '85 Baretta models I've played, the board feels a bit flatter than this one. If they were going to do different neck profiles etc anyway I was hoping this one would be a little more "authentic." I didn't do a video but I also had a 2006 '85 Baretta reissue - the made in USA one. Now THAT was a beautiful guitar, done right. Wish I still had it.
amen. the greatest mystery in the Kramer universe is why they don't release a holy grail with exact specs. tweak the Baretta to match the white one in the famous Kramer ad--but let the paint dry----. the sales would be off the charts---.
I own several new Kramers , the necks are the same except for the Satchel model and the JS is different.
Otherwise it’s pretty much the sos !
If you ever get a chance,play a real one. You will never forget it.
Awesome! What Strings On Your Nightswan?
Thanks! Not sure - I sold this long ago. I think it had whatever .9's came on it from the factory.
Since we are being critical, while your review talked about the things you thought should have been different. When would we think it would be a good time to talk about the quality of the components it does have ? Like the neck thickness, the set-up action and intonation? Seriously does it play well on a scale 1-10? overall what do you think is the build on par or slightly better than say a esp/ltd?
I talked about the components in the video - JB, FRT1000, nice pot, crappy switch. How well it plays has more to do with the way I set it up than anything related to the factory - and through that lens, it plays about average compared to anything else I have, but no extra special sauce to it. Action and intonation are both adjustable as on any guitar like this. Build is the same as any other Indonesian made guitar by Samick, since it's made by the same people in the same factory, with the same tooling. There's nothing wrong with it, it's just a very average quality guitar in my opinion.
I believe they didn't put an R1 nut because it would be TOO small for the everyday player
I’m sure that’s why, it’s just a disappointing choice for fans of the originals
Great review. I’m looking at the Aztec one.
Thanks! I like the Aztec finish a lot more than the polka, but I got this one before they announced the Aztec. I'm pretty tempted to get an Aztec myself and I'll just swap in my own Full Shred, and sell off this polka dot one.
Yeah, bro, you totally missed out on highlighting the 24 3/4 inch scale, which makes it totally different to the other models
I do mention it, I'm glad they got that detail accurate to the real Swans, but it's really a minor difference from the other models, just like the ebony fretboard.
Loving your videos man! Where can I get a shirt?!
I got a few things, kind of a "soft launch" right now though. I need to make some cooler designs: totallyradguitars.com/merch
Great splawn amps man
The SMH-1 has a humbucker and two single coils. Plus, it has a good flamed veneer. Don't know how else you want the SMH-1 to differentiate itself from the other Kramers. Also, you are asking too much for a mass produced guitar at the cost they are selling them for. If you have an issue, just mod it.
That model did not exist when I made this video. And what else is there to say? It’s a guitar with a JB, the tone is like a guitar with a JB in it. No need to mod, sold it and bought something I liked better - just my opinion.
These days are there any companies putting top notch quality materials as these vintage guitars?
I like the way these metal guitars feel, i like the super light weight, thin, one piece ergonomics of these guitars.
I recently tried this guitar and also a jackson blue soloist and loved the way they feel. Im not a pro but i know some fast metal/punk rhythm.
I think the really high end materials are reserved for the custom shop type stuff coming out of Fender, Charvel, Jackson, ESP etc.
But even though the quality of materials is lower, the fit/finish of lower end guitars has gotten far better over time. There's no reason why a good artist can't shred just as well on a $300 guitar vs a $3000 one these days.
@@totallyradguitars959 are there any good custom shops in the Orange County area that you know of ?
I would love to play and hear a top notch custom guitar and see if the difference really is that big
@@EM-km8em Many years ago you could go to the Carvin showroom and play their in-stock guitars, I'm not sure if you can still do that now that it's Kiesel but they are in the San Diego area. Otherwise I'm not really sure - I mostly collect exclusively used gear so newer custom shop stuff is something I can only dream/speculate about.
I'm in Orange County too - Florida though. Cheers
I love mine. However, the stock hardware is crap - thus the price point. So I replaced the tuners, the nut, the Floyd, and the pots and the guitar is top notch. If the wood is good, the guitar is good. And this is a really good guitar with some higher quality bolt ons.
hoping this is just the start for kramer. Maybe some japanese guitars in the future so you can get a super high quality kramer. They aren't going to be a modern metal go to brand but if the quality is high and price is low we can get a whole new generation of kramer fans.
Now's the time to cash in on 80s nostalgia so I'd love to see a couple of higher end models. I think these are selling pretty well so it might happen, but they are probably trying to avoid what happened last time with those USA reissues they did 2006-2008ish, the 85 Baretta and Pacer Imperials. Beautiful guitars but they did not sell very well, but that may have had more to do with the economy's downturn at the time than anything they did. The right guitars at the wrong time.
This is EXACTLY what I've been saying, they need to stop pussyfootin' around with these Kramer wannabes and actually use the vintage ones, and reproduce them EXACTLY how they were in the 80s, spec wise of course. You'd appeal to the vintage guys and probably sell them so much better
I've owned several of the originals and they were miles ahead of these re issues.
I'm sure what you have is a great guitar tho'.
(that's pretty much the gist of this video)
I wish they wouldn’t put those stupid linear volume pots on all of the Kramers. Easy swap, but it’s literally unusable
you spent the entire vid talking about how its not the same as an OG 80s one and didnt bother to talk about how THIS one plays or feels. didnt even touch the whammy bar either lol
Not sure what you mean - I talked through the guitar part by part, and of course I'm going to compare it to a vintage one. I can't really describe how it feels, you'll have to go play one for yourself. To me, it felt similar to other budget indo guitars with decent hardware and there's not really much worth talking about. Whammy bar feels like any other floyd rose. If you like them, enjoy it, but from the perspective of a vintage Kramer collector it just didn't speak to me. Cheers
If I had to pay $1099 or $1199 to get a full shred and a r1 neck, it would be fair
If they had gotten those details right I'd have bought two or three. I can always swap in a full shred myself but nothing I can do about the R2 neck...
@totallyradguitars959 JB is such tired overrated pickup that guitar manufacturers keep using I'd prefer to have a Full shred added just for variation. Nothing is comparable to the 80s vintage Kramer guitars which was my first guitar to own
very ancient sounding tone.. you gotta blow some cobwebs off it
also, what were you playing at 11:41 ?
@@AcceleratingUniverse It's the little breakdown part in "Still of the Night" by Whitesnake. In the recording it's played by strings (cello maybe?) but I kind of sounded it out years ago for guitar
all these cheap kramers same like all indonesian evh,jacksons,ibanez..etc with that korean floyd rose have tuning/intonation issues,unless the bridge is fixed to the body!
Ouch...
Scale length!!!!
Those tuners on that are absolute junk and Floyd's junk the pots are junk the input Jack's junk.
You should the middle was a JB and the bridge was a full shred, and then you said there “should have been a full shred in the bridge”….. what??
.... what? Spellcheck your comment, I don't understand what you are asking. Original swans had a JB middle and Full Shred in the bridge, that's how this one should've been.
@@totallyradguitars959 Im talking about what you said in your video, there’s nothing wrong with my spelling lmfao
@@helio1055 "You should the middle..." ....?