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Guitars that you relate to the 80's.

31K views 85 replies 45 participants last post by  Zoot 
#1 ·
I'm sure there are many different brands and models. I know of most of the Ibanez, Charvel, Peavey, Kramer, Carvin, BC Rich and other brands. What I'm looking for right now is something very 80's in looks, preferably of good quality. A few examples:
http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTYjMojRepjjWWPSWcR2MFWUqLiVM1O0h3_O2V9Vg6ZZaoA-CHS&t=1
http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQ7a2R-6zH3iMgjC-2Kvt3vGApaD08H0Ui26nusIpkWqC8F0gSNTA&t=1

Bright is good!

Can you think of a model that might be forgotten?
 
#14 ·
Like this one? http://www.hackolutions.com/gear/oldgear/jacksonstryperrhoads/jack92rhoads-stryper[1].jpg

I actually like Stryper, and Oz Fox played great looking guitars. At the moment I'm unsure about superstrat with cool graphic/paint or odd shape (everything else than superstrat, really). I like the RG/superstrat guitars, but they require some hairy finish to be cool. Three-tone sunburst won't do it... :)
 
#18 ·
Grover Jackson obtained ownership in Charvel's Guitar Repair of Glendora, California in the 1970s with a promise to bolster Charvel's business. Wayne Charvel eventually sold his interest to Grover Jackson on November 10, 1978, which gave Jackson control of the business and the Charvel brand[1].
Jackson Guitars originated in 1980 when guitarist Randy Rhoads approached Charvel with an idea for an individualized guitar. The collaborative design effort between Rhoads, Grover Jackson, Tim Wilson, and Mike Shannon resulted in the creation of the Concorde, an innovative revamp of the traditional Flying V[2]. The Rhoads designs were such a departure from Charvel's Stratocaster based brethren that Grover elected to label them with his own name.
Throughout the Heavy Metal heyday of the 1980s, the Jackson brand was associated with high-quality, American-made, custom instruments, and was endorsed by many popular guitarists of the period. In addition to the original Randy Rhoads models, the 1980s spawned distinctively designed Jackson models such as the Soloist, King V, and Kelly, all of which remain icons of the brand.
 
#20 ·
Wikipedia is pretty damn cool.....

Kramer had no association with Charvel/Jackson that I see, but ESP was involved in making neck and bodies for Kramer.

Early-to-mid 1980s
A chance encounter between Dennis Berardi and Eddie Van Halen's managers on an airplane flight set the foundation for Kramer's meteoric rise in the 1980s. Eddie was interested in a tremolo that stayed in tune, which the Rockinger system offered. A meeting between Eddie Van Halen and Kramer execs took place, and Eddie was sold. At the meeting, he reportedly quipped that he would help make Kramer the "#1 guitar company in the world."
By 1983 the Rockinger tremolo (sometimes dubbed "The Eddie Van Halen tremolo") had been widely replaced by the Floyd Rose system. In addition, Kramer once again offered Schaller tuners on their guitars, tapping Schaller to produce Floyd Rose tremolos as well. Kramer was the only guitar company offering Original Floyd Rose tremolos stock on their production guitars, a competitive advantage of Kramer over other guitar manufacturers of the period.
In late 1983 Kramer switched from the "beak" headstock design to the Gibson Explorer-like "banana" headstock design. This distinctive look also helped rank Kramer highly with guitar enthusiasts. One notable Kramer guitar was the Baretta model, which was a single-humbucker instrument similar to guitars Eddie Van Halen used on stage. The Kramer Baretta was the flagship of the Kramer line and helped popularize the single-pickup 1980s guitar design.
By late 1985 Kramer began installing Seymour Duncan pickups in its guitars, in favor over the more vintage-sounding Schaller pickups. When the sales figures came in, Kramer was the best-selling guitar brand of 1985.
In 1986 Kramer switched to the radically drooped "pointy headstock" design, no doubt influenced by the pointy designs of Jackson/Charvel and other manufacturers such as Hamer and Washburn. Schaller locking tuners, Floyd Rose tremolos, Seymour Duncan pickups and exciting graphics by talented factory artists such as Dennis Kline helped propel Kramer to become the best-selling guitar brand of 1986.
Late 1980s

Kramer continued its success into the late 1980s, with the majority of hard rock and glam metal artists from Mötley Crüe's Mick Mars to Whitesnakes' Vivian Campbell being major endorsees. Almost every rock guitarist in the late 80's had at least one Kramer in their arsenal.[citation needed]
By 1987, Kramer was using ESP Guitars exclusively for manufacturing its necks and bodies. The "American Series" of instruments were ESP parts, assembled in Neptune, New Jersey. The Striker and Aerostar series were made completely in Korea, while the Focus series was made and assembled by ESP Guitars. Some early Focus guitars were also made in Japan by the Matsumoku company.
The first sign of trouble came in 1987, when a massive labor strike hit Korea. At this time, Kramer was starting to fall behind on its orders to guitar stores. Kramer was also becoming overextended financially due to artist endorsement deals, advertising, and royalties to Floyd D. Rose.
In addition, Kramer embraced the excess of the late 1980s-producing slick and fluorescent guitars, losing its thought leadership in the guitar manufacturing arena, and damaging the image of the brand. Similarly, the image of the Kramer brand was being tarnished by an influx of Striker and Aerostar guitars-made cheaply and with cheap components.
By 1989, Dennis Berardi had started Berardi/Thomas Entertainment, Inc-an artist management company. Seeing promise in a young band out of the Soviet Union, Gorky Park, BTE started managing the group. To help promote the band, the infamous "Gorky Park" guitars were made, reportedly to be given to guitar dealers as promotional pieces. BTE banked on the Gorky Park guitars to help promote the group. When the Russian band achieved only a mild measure of success, this was a significant, and final blow to the first incarnation of the Kramer company.
 
#21 ·
I like the ideology of Jackson, but never really tested any of the good ones. They are so expensive here it's considered rude to even touch one (US$5-6k - US custom shop).

I do check eBay regularly for interesting models. I've considered Robin and other makes. Jackson is a good candidate, ESP too... This is hard!
 
#23 ·
You can get a GREAT USA Jackson for $1000 off of eBay, it needn't be a custom shop model. I got my SL-1 for $1100, but that has a flame top and came with EMGs (not the standard Duncans). A plain color would have been cheaper. Of course, with all those standard graphics they still sell, I wouldn't bother with a plain one myself :) Get a Bengal or snakeskin used and you'll be happy with it.
 
#24 ·
Def Leppard clips always caught my attention cause Collen always had
a new cool jackson to show off.



I have an old guitar player which its back cover is this pic.I almost had a heart attack
when I saw it.I used to keep it around my bed and every night before sleeping,
I kept my eyes fixed on it........it never fell down the skies.................mean God lol
Hey Vivian thanks for hundreds nights dreaming with it :(

 
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