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Kramer Baretta Special Electric Guitar - Candy Blue

Solidbody Electric Guitar, with Mahogany Body, Maple Neck/Fretboard, 1 Humbucking Pickup, and Tremolo - Candy Blue
20 Write review Item ID: KPBSCBCT
$229.00

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Kramer Baretta Special Electric Guitar - Candy Blue
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$229.00
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A Rock Icon for Everyone

The Kramer Baretta Special solidbody electric guitar delivers rock-ready performance, explosive tone, and big value. It's loaded with an open-coil "zebra" humbucker, builts with Alnico V magnets for a vibrant voice that begs for distortion. And despite its low price, the Baretta Special is equipped with high-quality hardware like Kramer Deluxe die-cast machine heads, and a Kramer Traditional tremolo bridge. Guitarists at Sweetwater love the single volume knob control scheme — it's all you need to rock. Whether you aim to mod it in the future, or love it as-is, the Kramer Baretta Special is sure to exceed your expectations.

Kramer: rocking hard since the '80s

Kramer guitars were at the forefront of the '80s metal scene, with endorsements from pros like Eddie Van Halen, Neal Schon, Richie Sambora, and others. Kramer guitars have been the guitar of choice for some of the hardest rocking guitarists in the world, and you can tap into that experience yourself with the Baretta Special. You're getting more than a great value with the Kramer Baretta Special, you're getting a guitar that's built to rock.

Kramer Baretta Special Solidbody Electric Guitar Features:

  • Value-packed reincarnation of the iconic Baretta guitar
  • High-quality hardware includes die-cast tuners and Kramer Traditional tremolo
  • Open-coil "zebra" humbucker with Alnico V magnets packs a punch
  • Real mahogany body and maple neck, a classic tonewood combination
  • Simple control scheme, just a single Master Volume knob

Additional Media

Electric Guitar Buying Guide

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Tech Specs

  • General
  • Number of Strings 6
  • Left-/Right-handed Right-handed
  • Body
  • Body Type Solidbody
  • Body Shape Baretta Special
  • Body Material Mahogany
  • Color Candy Blue
  • Neck
  • Neck Material Maple
  • Neck Shape Slim
  • Neck Joint Bolt-on
  • Radius 12"
  • Fingerboard Material Maple
  • Fingerboard Inlay Dots
  • Number of Frets 22, Medium Jumbo
  • Scale Length 25.5"
  • Nut Width 1.679"
  • Nut Material Molded Plastic
  • Hardware
  • Bridge/Tailpiece Kramer Traditional Tremolo
  • Tuners Deluxe Die-cast, 14:1 ratio
  • Electronics
  • Bridge Pickup Alnico V Zebra Coil Humbucker
  • Controls 1 x master volume
  • Miscellaneous
  • Strings .009-.042
  • Case/Gig Bag Sold Separately
  • Manufacturer Part Number: KPBSCBCT1

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Customer Reviews

4.7 out of 5

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It lives up to the many positive reviews on you tube and just about any where else. For the money, this axe is hard to beat.. mine came out of the box ready to rock..just had to tune it and that wasn't far off. The pickup is hot! Frets are smooth, fast neck feels great, action was perfect for my liking.. nice and low with no buzz.. I did clip the cap, and remove a spring on the trem, and lube the nut..very fun guitar to play.. it will scream through my Boss ME 80 and Randall and 5150 combo.. so yea, the reviews your seeing while doing your research are legit.. if your thinking about it.. get it.. it won't disappoint
by Wayne on
Music background: just a hobbyist that loves to crank distorted guitars!

Wow, way better than the best YouTube review

Disclaimer: I bought mine used from a local store. This is a review of the Baretta Special only.

Wow, simply surprised at how great this sounds. I picked this up last night used looking for a second Guitar that I could drop tune permanently without a Floyd rose. The reviews on YouTube are mostly positive in my opinion so I did expect it to be decent. But when I plugged it into my Boss ME-80 that I I have set up for my Kramer Pacer, this Baretta just growled.

I totally was not expecting the throatiness and clarity. It has plenty of.Chunkiness for palm muting and the highs scream, and harmonics straight from hell.

If you're an 80's hair metal fan/player, you just have to add this to your collection. For relatively $, this guitar is undervalued. I almost like it more than my new Pacer.

One other thing, the website photos do not do the actual paint job justice (nor do my photos). I really didn't want blue based on the images, but in person, it's badass looking. Don't let the image color deter you.

NOW BUY THIS GUITAR!
by Donald McDade from Houston TX on
Music background: Drummer, Guitarist, some gigging

For Beginners to Professionals

For Beginners to Professionals the Kramer Baretta specialist gotta be the best budget guitar on the Market. I have owned several guitars over the years an honestly this guitar is really worth it and I keep it with my high end guitars. Perfect for modding or play it with the original hardware you wont regret it.
by Erick from Newark, NJ on

My first Kramer; definitely won't be my last!

I've always wanted a Kramer, and decided to take a chance on this one. Guitar arrived safe & a day early than expected; well done Sweetwater. Pictures don't do the candy blue justice, you have to see how gorgeous it is to believe it. I thought I would have to replace the stock pickup, but I don't; it roars & sings nicely. I spent a few minutes setting up the tremolo (removed the middle spring to make it easier to dive) and lubricated the nut to help with tuning stability. I also made a small modification to the volume pot (removed the capacitor on it) and I'll upload a video of that in a separate review. The build quality is stellar too; the finish looks amazing as I said, no sharp fret ends, which is common on lower-priced guitars, no fret buzz. Overall, I'm satisfied with the Baretta Special; so much so, I find myself looking at plenty more Kramers to add to my collection.
by Michael Diamente from Woodland Park, NJ on

3yr Update

Bought my Baretta Special just about 3yrs ago now. So this is basically just an update on it.
For the last 2yrs, I've been gigging in 2 bands, 4-5 times a month minimum. Playing at weekly Open Mics and all that sort of stuff. While this is not my main gigging guitar, it does see a fair bit of use.
It's still completely stock, except for changing the volume knob and removing the Treble Bleed capacitor. Which was recommended by players, in countless reviews. With the Treble Bleed in place, the Volume control, is basically an On/Off switch. There's nearly ZERO volume function. Simply remove the backplate, bend that capacitor a few times until it snaps off.....Boom! Fully functional Volume control w/a good taper to it. Actually works very, very well after that.

None of the hardware feels like it's super high quality. But nothing on it, has failed me yet, in 3yrs. Tuners are smooth and pretty stable. The nut on mine was cut well and doesn't bind or catch when bending notes. I don't use the trem at all, but I've come across numerous reviews, where players have mentioned that it is very possible to setup and use for moderate action.
The neck feels great, the shape and fret board radius are great for your standard 80s Shred/Rock/Metal stuff. Fret edges are rough. There's no denying that. Some people might be more put off by that, than I am. It noticeable, no question. But not to the point where it physically hinders anything I'm trying to do. The frets themselves feel really good. Not overly Jumbo, but big enough.
The pickup is fun, aggressive, moderately chunky and again, actually sounds/functions pretty decently, especially for a guitar at this price point.
I also have a Black one, w/a Rosewood fret board and while it plays/performs/functions every bit as good as this one. It doesn't quite have the same lively feel that this one does. But again, at the price point we're talking about, I have no real complaints.
The accompanying pic and vid are from a gig this last weekend (yes I flipped the mic around after I took this pic. LOL) and it performed great through 1/2 a set. I used it for the first several songs, that were 1/2 step down. just so I didn't need to muck around with switching up tunings, mid-set. No tuning issues or anything to complain about at all.

I did mark it as 4.5 Stars.....Just because, being honest, it's a cheap guitar and it's not going to meet everyone's standards
by Sweetwater Customer on
Music background: 37yrs playing. Playing weekly gigs right now.
See also: Solid Body Guitars, Kramer, Kramer Solidbody Guitars
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