Read left to right: each fret is a decade. The top strips are the companies that controlled the name; under them, where each product line was built.
Pick any bar on the neck. The card shows the dates, the quoted passage behind them and the source, and any rival version of the same date.
Each decade is a fret. The top strips show who controlled the name. The strips below them show where each product line was built, one group per line.
Hatched strips with a country stamp are plants outside the USA. Outlined strips are versions of a date that sources disagree on; they sit in the same place as the version they compete with.
The stamp on a card is the grade of the sources behind the dates, from primary company documents to community posts. Every card shows the passage it rests on.
Every plant on record, overseas ones first, with the product lines each one built. Press play to watch the brand move: lit plants were building that year, faded ones had already been left behind.
Showing every plant on record. Press play to watch Kramer change hands and move, from 1976 to today.
An era is a stretch of one product line where the controlling company and the plant stay the same. These rows are computed from the dated ownership and production facts, never typed in. 5 eras
| Line | Years | Controlled by | Built at | Grade · sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kramer USA (Neptune NJ, BKL era) | 1976 – 1990 | BKL Corp. / Kramer Guitars | Kramer Neptune, 1111 Green Grove Road | secondary[1, 2, 3, 13] |
| Kramer ESP-built imports (Focus, Aerostar; BKL era) | 1985 – 1987 | BKL Corp. / Kramer Guitars | no plant on record | secondary[1, 2, 3] |
| Kramer ESP-built imports (Focus, Aerostar; BKL era) | 1987 – 1990 | BKL Corp. / Kramer Guitars | ESP Tokyo factory JP | secondary[1, 2, 3] |
| Kramer under Gibson (Epiphone-built, 1997 onward) | 1997 – 2018 | Gibson Guitar Corp. / Gibson Brands, Inc. (2013) / Gibson, Inc. (2024) | no plant on record | secondary[1, 2, 4, 3, 5] |
| Kramer under Gibson (Epiphone-built, 1997 onward) | 2018 – now | Gibson Guitar Corp. / Gibson Brands, Inc. (2013) / Gibson, Inc. (2024) parent: KKR Credit Advisors-affiliated funds (controlling) with other 2018 noteholders incl. Silver Point Capital and Melody Capital Partners (Gibson) | no plant on record | secondary[1, 2, 4, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12] |
Every model on record, by year introduced, and the last year it was made where that is known. Open a row for who owned it and where it was built while it was made, or follow the name to its full history.
| Years | Model | Line | Grade · sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 – 1978 | Kramer 350B Standard bass · bass | Kramer USA (Neptune NJ, BKL era) | secondary[2] |
| 1976 – 1979 | Kramer 450G Deluxe · electric | Kramer USA (Neptune NJ, BKL era) | secondary[2] |
| 1976 – 1978 | Kramer 350G Standard · electric | Kramer USA (Neptune NJ, BKL era) | secondary[2] |
| 1977 – 1979 | Kramer 650G Artist · electric | Kramer USA (Neptune NJ, BKL era) | secondary[2] |
| 1978 – 1982 | Kramer DMZ Custom 1000 · electric | Kramer USA (Neptune NJ, BKL era) | secondary[2] |
| 1980 – 1981 | Kramer Gene Simmons Axe · bass | Kramer USA (Neptune NJ, BKL era) | secondary[2] |
| 1981 – 1982 | Kramer Duke Standard · electric | Kramer USA (Neptune NJ, BKL era) | secondary[2] |
| 1983 – 1984 | Kramer Pacer · electric | Kramer USA (Neptune NJ, BKL era) | secondary[2] |
| 1984 – 1986 | Kramer Baretta · electric | Kramer USA (Neptune NJ, BKL era) | secondary[2] |
| 1984 – 1987 | Kramer Focus 1000 · electric | — | secondary[2] |
| 1986 – 1988 | Kramer Paul Dean Signature · electric | Kramer USA (Neptune NJ, BKL era) | secondary[2] |
| 1986 – 1987 | Kramer Gorky Park · electric | — | secondary[2] |
| 1987 – 1990 | Kramer Forum I bass · bass | — | secondary[2] |
| 1987 – 1988 | Kramer Elliot Easton Pro I · electric | — | secondary[2] |
| 1988 – 1991 | Kramer Richie Sambora Signature · electric | — | secondary[2] |
Pick the year your Kramer was built to see who owned the name and which plant built each line that year.
Every numbered marker on this page points here: the document, its grade and the passages relied on. An era is computed, so it cites the ownership and production facts it was derived from. A fact marked “no source” has no claim attached yet.
See something wrong, or know a better source?