Kramer ID Help

[CoryT56]

Trying to ID this guitar to help a friend reduce their gear.  Any help is appreciated. Thx

SD 4875 is on the back but no info on the headstock - Looks like a shorter scale guitar

[Stewart D.]

it appears to be a later (1987+) Striker-line model--made in Korea.  if the floyd says "floyd rose II" that would further confirm.  (that the neckplate says "neptune NJ usa" does not at all mean the guitar is american.)   the woods used in these varied, but they were made cheaply to compete with for example fender's squire line.  obviously this is the lower-cost baretta-type.  (the above is not intended to reflect poorly on the guitar!  it looks in good shape and as usual with a set-up or whatever could be a nice catch.)   

[CoryT56]

Thank you for the information! If selling, what would be a good price?

 

 

[Stewart D.]

sure.  impossible to say without knowing its condition.  (maybe go to reverb.com and check sold listings for something similar?)   

[sparquelito]

Fjestad's blue book puts that model as being made between 1984 and 1987. Worth $600 to $700, in that condition. 

😁

[PurdyDot]

$600 to $700 sounds pretty optimistic for a Striker.
In the end, what a guitar is *really* worth, is whatever someone will pay for it.
So it's quite possible that somebody might buy a striker for that much (the case probably helps with value), but the problem -at least in my book- is that Strikers are plywood guitar.
You can upgrade the pickups, electronics, knobs, tuners, and tremolo, and still have a "Kramer Guitar", but you can *never change a plywood body into a solid-wood body*. It just wouldn't really be a "Kramer Guitar" any more if you tried to change out the body.
And if it's no longer a "Kramer Guitar" than it loses whatever mystique that particular name was lending to the value of the instrument in the first place. Which would beg the question: "If you aren't really worried about it actually being a Kramer, and only want something that *looks* like a Kramer, why not buy something cheaper?"
That leaves strikers in an awkward position, because there are still *plenty* of good examples of solid wood bodied vintage Kramers on the market in this price range, which begs the question: "Why buy a plywood Kramer, if you could buy a solid wood Kramer for the same price or possibly cheaper?"
And the very fact that there are still so many solid wood Kramers available for less than this, means that the prices for other Strikers in great condition have gone down in prices to dirt cheap.
Which begs a third question: "Why buy a nice, but expensive, Kramer Striker, when there are tons of nice, but cheap, Kramer Strikers readily available?"
I have no reason to disrespect, or devalue, anyone's instrument.
I'm just attempting to point out the problem of trying to fetch a price like with a Striker.
There's just a really awkward situation with those particular guitars. Since the buyer would have to be someone who wants an Old Kramer Guitar enough to pay that much for one, *but not know enough about Old Kramer Guitars* to realize that they could probably get one as nice as this for probably half the price, or to realize that they could probably get a higher end solid wood model for around this price, although maybe not quite as pretty.
Essentially, (if it's sold online) it would probably have to be to a buyer that knows virtually nothing about Kramer Guitars, but is still willing to plunk down $600-$700 for one, just for it's looks and it's name.
In a store, in person, it could be sold for looks +name +plus sound/playability, which could potentially convince a potential buyer that it sounded and played well enough to be worth that price, despite being plywood. But online buyers cant hear/touch the instrument.
Possibly a link to a video of that instrument being played might help convince potential buyers of it's value?
ZX series Kramers, and probably all of the other plywood Kramers have to face the same sort of probem in the used market.
And of course, with new "Kramers" being sold these days, one has to balance buying a new Kramer, which are looked down apon by a lot of the old-kramer crowd, with buying an old plywood kramer, which the old-kramer crowd often refer to as "firewood".
Which is a shame, because I don't think they are *bad* instruments. but because of the place where they fit in the market, they are practically valueless unless a buyer just happens to fall in love with one and makes a purchase based on emotion without doing any research.
In this context, I say "essentially valueless", because in so many cases they are worth more if they are broken down and sold as parts, and because their potential price point is already pretty well stocked with higher-end/technically-more-valuable kramers.
Still, people buy instruments based on looks, names, and emotion every single day, so, like I said, it's *possible* that one could sell for that much, but those kinds of "value" estimates should be taken with a grain of salt -considering this market.
If it was a focus, then the price would be more in line with the market, or if it were a baretta it could probably be priced up a ways, a pacer even more.
btw, not claiming to be an expert. I'm just a fan of old kramers myself, so I just happen to have been watching prices and seeing the trends, that's all.
Anyway, best wishes to all those wanting/needing to sell these. I feel for ya 😕