Guitars Are Functional Art - 1990 Mick Mars Vintage Mirror Top Telecaster

Hello this Johnny from AXN Guitars. In this installment of Guitars Are Functional Art we are observing the details of this authentic Kramer 1990 Mick Mars Telecaster. I think, my Brotha, this is a piece of Functional Art.

This specimin I have here is a 1990 Kramer Mick Mars. Its from the run of guitars manufactured by Kramer during the late 1980s and during the period when print advertisements featuring Mick Mars and his Kramer Guitars were in circulation.

Kramer Neptune NewJersey had no log and no records exist indicating how many of these collectible Kramers were manufactured. Thats because these were manufactured in Japan. So the thing about these production guitars is that they were only sold in Japan for the Japanese market. So that means that we didnt get any of these here in the USA in the 80s.. Bummer !!

One note I must make is that Mick’s Kramer Teles that he played live were done as semi-custom builds. If you look close at the video footage below you’ll see that they differ in a few minute ways from the production model i have pictured here on this blog.

The MM Kramers produced for sale were sort of re-productions and I haven’t seen any live footage of him playing an actual production model Mick Mars Kramer. The necks i can say for sure were ESP/Kramer manufactured. I’ve concluded they are production model necks or proto-types to the production model MM Kramer necks..

A known fact man… ESP Japan was making 100% of all the Kramer guitars in the late 80s through to 1990s. Neptune NJ stopped manufacturing guitars before that time. From my research ESP Japan had a custom shop in Tokyo Kramer was using to manufacture artist model guitars and certain special high end guitars.

Mick did play these Mirror Top Teles though whether they were custom or not. You can see Mick Mars using his personal Kramer with Motley Crue in the below video of the Moscow Peace Festival i think it was filmed in late 1989..

I have a couple things to add to this blog post see as I did own this guitar for a very long time…

Before so, though, Id like to thank my friend Bengt from Sweden who bought the Mick MarKramer from me in 2022. The shipping company took a very long time to deliver and Bengt was quite patient! Above is a video of the MM guitar I sent to Bengt in Sweden!

Now on to the MM Kramer I owned and sold. The Mick Mars Kramer Production Guitar sold in the late 80s has a neck that is quite different from any Kramer. The headstock is a different shape than any other guitar. The MM necks feel and aesthetics is very very close to a vintage 1980s Charvel and more like a Charvel and very much like a 1983-1985 Charvel than not. Also, the body was a 2 piece center Joined maple wood and very heavy! Mick made mention of that in various interviews yet the MM Kramer is truly an awesome and rare vintage Kramer guitar. It was Functional Art.

You can see detailed pictured at my earlier blog post here >> AXN Guitars Post KramerMick Mars Telecaster

I hope you enjoyed this installment of Guitars Are Functional Art here and check out our AXNguitars!

Moscow Peace Festival. Click On This Image To See Video ( use your back button to get back )

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