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Kramer Baretta FR 404S/D: Fully Loaded
by Nic Deckard
Reposted with permission from the May 2000 issue of Guitar One
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| When grunge ended the reign of
hairspray/spandex metal in the early ‘90s, it wasn’t only big-hair bands that
fell out of favor. Indeed, any guitar
with a pointy headstock and a Floyd Rose was deemed fatally uncool as retro
fever took hold. While a number of
“pointy” makes like Ibanez, Jackson, and B.C. Rich remained buoyant until the
current metal resurgence, Kramer, it seemed, sank with all hands. Kramer’s demise was a bummer, but their
capability for turning out excellent high-performance guitars has brought them
back-with a vengeance. The new line of
Kramer is available directly over the Internet via the Music Yo! Company, and
it may be the best mouse click a shredder could make.
Specs Appeal
The Baretta FR-404S/D sits at the top of the
Korean-made Kramer range and is loaded with impressive features. The heart of the Baretta is its Canadian
hard-maple neck-through body design and the American alder wings that make up
the body. This expensive construction
technique pays off with a smooth heel-less neck joint, enhanced sustain, and
structural solidity. The neck itself
has a slim profile with a flat 16” radius on the Indian rosewood
fretboard. Offering a full two octaves,
the 24 medium-large frets have been crisply finished and highly polished for a
smooth feel over the whole board. It’s
great that Kramer hasn’t wussed out with the headstock: The reversed “banana” peghead proudly
displays its heritage, and the skull and crossbones Gotoh machineheads are just
too cool.
The double cutaway body features deep
contours, a small-edge radius, and rear-loaded electronics, giving the Baretta
an uncluttered, modern look. Hardware
is another area in which the Baretta impresses, with a full complement of
hi-tech components. Each of the twin
Quad-Rail pickups are actually two single-coil size humbuckers mounted
together. In standard mode, these act
as high-output humbuckers controlled via the three-way selector switch and
volume and tone controls. A pull switch
on the tone control splits these four-coil pickups into two-coil, effectively
producing mini-humbuckers in the bridge and neck positions.
The Floyd Rose-licensed Kramer tremolo
system is one of the most evolved versions of this double-locking design. In addition to height-staggered saddles and
hardened knife-edge inserts, the two bridge bolts sit in a separate steel
plate. This plate reinforces the small
amount of wood left by the routing for the recessed tremolo, a notoriously weak
area.
Finally, Kramer has included a d-Tuna on
the low E saddle. This clever piece of
hardware was designed by Eddie Van Halen and allows the E string to be dropped
to a D with a simple twist of the knurled barrel. As the tremolo system is of the floating type, the d-Tuna doesn’t
work perfectly as is. It requires a
shim to be fitted between the front of the trem block and the body, preventing
the trem from being pulled sharp. This
feature is really a generous freebie, as the original saddle bolt is also
included, and there are full instructions available on the web site should you
choose the d-Tuna setup. Kramer also
offers the guitar without the d-Tuna and with a straight string-pull headstock
(FR-404S) for $239.
The Creds to Shred
This Beretta arrived with a
great setup straight out of the box. A
set of light strings and low action begged for some metal histrionics up near
the end of the fretboard, which it accommodated effortlessly thanks to the
pared-down heel and slim profile. The
tremolo performs really well with huge range and solid feel, not to mention an
unshakeable grip on tuning. Although
the FR-404S/D helps make light work of riffs and barre chords, it shines most
brightly when playing leads due to its unhindered, comfortable access to every
nook of the polished frets.
Thankfully, it has the tones to back up
its slinky feel and high build quality. The Quad-Rails are the Sumos of the pickup world-obese, sweaty
ass-kickers with a rib-breaking punch, as demonstrated in the music example on
page 48. And although they have a
formidable output, the still retain a focused edge and avoid becoming overly
compressed and mushy (even the neck unit, which produces a detailed legato
tone). The split mode offers another
set of extremely good tones, perfect for cleaner sounds and lean, snarly rock
vamps. The split bridge pickup isn’t
far removed from a Les Paul Junior tone, while the neck position is smooth and
woody for the bluesmen. Maybe Garth
Brooks isn’t likely to rush out and buy one, but the Baretta is far more
flexible than it looks might have you believe.
Web Feat
The FR-404S/D has a heap of tempting features, not
the least of which is the through-neck construction and nuclear pickups. However, the real selling point for this
slinky rock machine is the ridiculous price tag of only $259. By selling directly through the MusicYo! web
site, the company can offer these guitars at a fraction of the price expected
for instruments of this pedigree. Surf
your way to www.musicyo.com, and paddle home with a bargain.
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