LeftyBassist.com

https://reverb.com/item/66611464-1990s- ... ctric-bass

I own one of these in a SB finish (Retro Burst they called it). They're....OK.

The company was founded by Henry Vaccaro Sr. (and his son), founder and owner of the original Kramer Guitar Co. in the 1970’s (Before selling it to Jackson in1993). Vaccaro launched in 1997, continuing the aluminum neck design that Kramer began, purchasing the V neck patent. They have a huge advantage over the 70's aluminum Kramers, however, in that these basses are a very manageable weight. (I've never encountered a vintage aluminum Kramer that didn't weigh over 10lbs). There were US made models and Korean made models, though I don';t know if any MIA lefties were ever made. Mine is Korean made, even though the sticker on the neck heel says, "Asbury Park NJ". The QC issue on mine is the nut is cut too short for the neck width (Doesn't effect the string spacing or sound however), apparently a common problem with the Korean manufactured ones. I'm not sure how you can tell a MIA from a MIK model, but maybe someone else can chime in (Oh, Carmine!). I do like the sounds of this bass though. Punchy with sustain. Several high profile musicians were playing or endorsing Vaccaro, (The Edge, Lenny Kravitz, Kid Rock, Billy Idol), though I can't find any bassists of note.



Well I'll be damned moment: I haven't pulled mine out in a long time, but in reviewing the specs and picking it up again I never realized that these were 34" scale. The much shorter V headstock always gave me the impression the bass was short scale. It is not.

The ones in the ad you posted have a Schaller 2000 bridge, Sperzel tuners and diamond-shaped inlays. I guess that's what sets them apart visually from the MIK model?

More detailed pics and weight in the CL ad:
https://losangeles.craigslist.org/sfv/m ... 22855.html

I think Jeroen hit on the key differences (Schaller bridge, Sperzel tuners) and I would add Ebonal fretboards and Duncan Basslines pickups... the Korean models (designated as V2) had rosewood fretboards, and proprietary Vaccaro bridges, tuners and pickups.

Henry Vaccaro Sr. was one of the original founders and partner of Kramer Guitars. He retained the rights to the original Kramer aluminum neck patent and invested 6 years into redesigning and developing the new Vaccaro aluminum "V-neck" design: a double "T" rail extrusion that begins at the V- shaped headstock and runs the entire length of the fingerboard to the 22nd fret:

Henry: "I realized the potential in the tremendous sustain and attack generated by the old Kramer aluminum neck design- plus it would never warp or twist. The problems associated with it was that it was too heavy, non adjustable- and the exposed cold aluminum back of the neck could be uncomfortable for players. We set out to do away with the negatives, and we largely succeeded!"

The Vaccaro "V-neck" retained the ringing sustain, superior attack, exceptional note definition and unique clarity of the earlier Kramer design, but was significantly lighter. And being fully encased between maple and the fretboard maintained the natural wood feel of a standard wood neck without any exposed aluminum. The V-neck was also fully adjustable and ensured playability and stability over and above the performance of conventional wood necks, along with with a lifetime guarantee not to warp or twist.

Vaccaros were only made from 1998- 2002, so its not like there's a whole lot of them out there. I have couple of these: The Red Sparkle 4 string (8.5 lbs) has Basslines pickups in it, and the 5 string (9 lbs) is very rare, especially in a lefty... string spacing is pretty tight for a 5 but for some reason it feels fine here. (btw those V2 decals aren't sticky and can be easily moved/ removed). As an evolution of the original Kramer aluminum neck concept, I really like the design and ergonomics of these. Both are very balanced, comfortable to play, and "punchy with sustain" is indeed a spot-on description.

Great info, thanks! (And that 5er is indeed super rare). l I know the Korean models were assembled in NJ, but were lefty MIAs with the appointments you mentioned ever made? That red one of yours seems to have the Vaccaro bridge and Gotoh tuners, but Basslines PUPs. Some sort of hybrid of parts?

My understanding is that the MIA guitars were primarily only available as built to order from Vaccaro's New Jersey shop under the stewardship of original Kramer luthier, Phil Petillo. So I suppose it's possible that someone ordered an MIA lefty bass... but I've never seen one.

Given the apparently limited production capacity at the NJ shop, I assume that the more accessible V2 line was their best option to increase output for retail sales and manage costs by outsourcing manufacturing of some of the major components to S. Korea, then assembling in NJ. I'm using the terms "retail sales" and "accessible" pretty loosely, because they still didn't (or couldn't) seem to build enough to support any major retail distribution. But 20+ years later their relative scarcity makes them even cooler, right?

The Red Sparkle is a "hybrid" of sorts... back in the day I also had a Black one, so for a side by side comparison of the original Vaccaro PUPs to the Basslines as offered in the MIA versions, I swapped them out myself on the Red one. The Vaccaro PUPS sound fine, but no question the Basslines accentuate everything that's already good about the bass sonically... more punch, more depth, enhanced sustain, and just a much beefier tone overall. Definitely worth doing.

Thumbs up, thanks!