CRAVE Guitars says…
Thumbs up: Contemporary aesthetics, all‑original condition, unique construction, excellent (legendary) pickups, well‑engineered hardware, vintage prices
Thumbs down: Divisive image, mini pickup selector switch, zero fret and aluminium nut, ebonol fingerboard, frets, materials and weight, non‑original case
Decree: A fabulous, unique part of vintage electric guitar history that was ahead of its time, dared to be different and still stands out from the otherwise mundane multitude. Forget preconceptions and give one a go… but not this one, I’m hanging on to this exquisite gem, thanks
Not For Sale
Model Description:
Kramer Guitars was founded in 1976 by American luthier Gary Kramer in Neptune, New Jersey. Early Kramer guitars featured innovative aluminium necks from 1976 to 1985. The Kramer DMZ Custom Series was originally manufactured between 1978 and 1982 superseding the 200/300/400 series instruments. Apart from the headless ‘The Duke’ models, early Kramer guitars and basses are readily identifiable by their distinctive aluminium necks with split ‘tuning fork’ headstocks. By the way, DMZ doesn’t stand for ‘De‑Militarised Zone’, it is an abbreviation for the DiMarzio pickups used by Kramer as standard. There were basically four models in the DMZ Custom Series range:
- DMZ 1000 – maple/walnut body with 2 DiMarzio Super Distortion humbucking pickups, 22 frets, a Schaller bridge and slimmer body and horns
- DMZ 2000 – walnut/maple body with 2 DiMarzio Dual Sound humbucking pickups and 2 coil tap switches, 22 frets, crown fingerboard inlays, a Badass bridge and more bulky body outline
- DMZ 3000 – maple body with 3 Dimarzio single coil pickups on a 5‑ply black pickguard, a Fender style bridge and 1 volume, 2 tone controls and 5 way pickup selector switch
- DMZ 6000 – maple/walnut body with a distinctive double scoop (like an Alembic), 2 DiMarzio Dual Sound active pickups and 20 frets. Made in limited numbers
Some of the specifications were interchanged during the DMZ Custom Series’ 5‑year‑long production period, so the above is only a guideline. Kramer started to transition from aluminium to traditional wood necks from 1981, losing the one thing that made them unique to start with. After several years in the doldrums and facing stiff competition, Kramer went out of business in 1991. Eventually, Kramer became a subsidiary of Gibson Guitar Corporation in 1997. To‑date, the current Kramer line up, manufactured by Gibson’s Epiphone division, doesn’t include any aluminium neck guitars or basses. For many, the now‑vintage ‘alumi‑neck’ Kramers are the only ones to have. While vintage values are increasing and DMZs don’t come up for sale on a regular basis, good ones can still be picked up at reasonable prices. Cool and relatively rare for sure.
Guitar Description:
Here we have a really, really cool Kramer DMZ 1000. Seriously, how [deleted] cool is this ‘Made in USA’ guitar? Freezingly, frigidly, frostily cool. It is clear from opening the case that this awesome guitar means serious business, makes no compromises and takes no prisoners. There are literally no other guitars like these out there. The body shape is quite radical and clearly aimed at attracting the hard rock/heavy metal guitarists of the MTV hair metal variety. The natural finish is very much of its time and the striped body looks very impressive. The slim pointy horns give the DMZ a modern aesthetic, although they look like they may be a bit vulnerable. Thankfully, maple is a rock hard tone wood. The original double cream DiMarzio Super Distortion humbuckers with traditional pole pieces certainly stand out and look sublime against the maple. The bold design also epitomises the rock‑oriented musical culture of the day before synth pop tried to oust guitar‑centric music. Despite its diminutive size, the DMZ 1000 is quite a hefty instrument, weighing in at just over 9 pounds, primarily because of its maple/walnut and aluminium construction. Remember though that heavy guitars were all the rage back in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Marketing departments suggested that heavy tone woods were great for sustain, rather than the fact that light tone woods were in short supply! The DMZ, though, exudes a sense of a guitar built for heavy rock. This beautiful example is in fantastic all‑original condition with barely a mark to indicate its age. Sadly, it doesn’t have its original Kramer hard shell case. The beautifully engineered Schaller bridge and tuners are very solid and the unusual zero fret and aluminium ‘roller’ nut arrangement is absolutely one‑of‑a‑kind. The synthetic ‘ebonol’ fingerboard only adds to the exclusivity of this wonderful guitar. Playability is very near faultless with a great feel. When it comes to tone, the Kramer DMZ sounds just as good as it looks and works for a wide range of genres, making it far more than the one‑trick‑pony the design and pickups may suggest. OK, it’s not a Travis Bean but what a great underrated and overlooked guitar this Kramer DMZ is. This is genuinely a classy, inimitable instrument and one for the more adventurous guitarists wishing to stand out from the crowd, rather than be just another part of one. Fine by me. Vintage prices are increasing relatively slowly.
Features:
- Made by Kramer Guitars in Neptune, New Jersey, U.S.A. in 1980
- Solid maple double cutaway with 5 contrasting longitudinal walnut strip inserts and a natural gloss polyester finish. Slight forearm contour
- Cast aluminium bolt on neck with bonded maple inserts, split ‘tuning fork’ aluminium headstock with no logo
- Unbound synthetic ‘ebonol’ fingerboard with aluminium roller nut, zero fret, 22 jumbo frets and aluminium dot markers
- Fingerboard radius: 12″ (305mm)
- Original Schaller M6 tuners
- Nut width: 15/8” (42mm)
- Scale length: 25” (635mm)
- Original chrome plated hardware
- Original dual exposed cream DiMarzio Super Distortion humbucker pickups
- Original passive electronics with mini 3-way pickup selector switch, 2-volume and 2‑tone controls
- Original pots, black speed knobs, 3 chrome strap buttons and ¼” jack socket. No pickguard
- Original Schaller 455 integrated bridge and wraparound tailpiece
- Weight: 9.2lbs (4.17kg)
- Non‑Original Hiscox ABS moulded hard shell case
Trivia:
In the after‑market pickup industry of the early 1970s, the DiMarzio Super Distortion DP100 humbuckers started an after‑market replacement pickup revolution. The super‑powerful pickups were designed to overdrive valve amps into distortion and discerning guitarists couldn’t get enough of them, retrofitting them to just about any guitar able to take them. These pickups quickly became the industry standard by which all others were compared. A 3‑conductor version was made available, the DiMarzio Dual Sound, for series/parallel or single‑coil operation. The balance between power and tone has been difficult for competitors to match for decades. Perhaps only Seymour Duncan and EMG came close. DiMarzio spawned a whole industry of boutique pickup makers for the 21st Century. These classic ‘hot’ pickups have such a strong reputation that are still in production today. A whole article could be written on these highly renowned pieces of electrical engineering alone. Not here though.
Unlike pretty much every other guitar worth its salt, there are no Kramer manufacturer logos to be found anywhere. The small neck plate has the serial number and the obligatory, ‘Made in USA’, and The tuners have the typical Schaller ‘S’ on the casing. That’s it.
The Kramer fingerboard material, called ‘ebonol’ and similar in appearance and feel to ebony wood, is actually a synthetic paper and phenolic resin compound related to the material used to make bowling balls.
Detail Gallery:
