NGD - Kramer Stagemaster Celebrity Owned!

NGD or New Guitar Day! I have been looking for one of these top-quality neck-through Kramer guitars for a long, long time! Really I have wanted one for 25+ years, when I had to 'settle' on a Pacer American, since the Stagemasters and Soloists that I lusted after, were out of my price range. So I found one, on an internet search, at a New Jersey dealer and it looks promising. This particular guitar may even have been previously owned by a well known Rockstar, to boot! This particular guitarist is not known for ever playing a Kramer, or any 80's type of guitar, for that matter. The seller doesn't want any more for the guitar, for the rockstar connection, so I figured that I would take a chance, since it is clearly in excellent condition, and it is a 1986 Standard Model, with only one hum, my personal fave and 1st choice. After buying the guitar, I did my homework, to verify the history of this guitar, and I actually come up with something! Here is a teaser pic, I will add more to the story and a ton more pics, in the next couple of days! :headbang

A couple more pics from the video. I will say that the video and album were released in 1987. The album went platinum and spawned three top 10 hits, including the song for this video. Believe it or not, the bands previous 5 albums sold even better, with all going multi-platinum! (Thanks, Wikipedia! lol) Any guesses?
The guitar is [U]prominently[/U] featured in the video. It is like a 6th member of the band!

This guitarist is not well known for playing any kind of 80's superstrat style guitar. This is really a testament to how nearly every player picked up a Kramer, Jackson/Charvel, Hamer, or BC Rich, back in the 80's.

So here is the answer to the riddle!

Alright, so here is cool part of how I found the guitar, and then conclusively linked it to Mick Jones.
I found the Stagemaster on a gbase search. The ad stated that it was previously owned by Mick Jones. Honestly, I could not have cared less, I liked the guitar for what it was. A really cool Stagey, in excellent condition, in my preferred pickup configuration, with a non-recessed Floyd. I did do a quick internet seach, and could not find any pics, or anything whatsoever, linking this guitar to Mick Jones. The seller didn't want any more for the guitar, than it was worth, street value, so I gave the NJ guitar store a call. They were cosigning the guitar for Matt Wells, who is a NYC amp guru, and owner of One East Recording Studio. Coincidentally, Foreigner has recorded at One East. So I bought the guitar and then contacted Matt Wells, for some additional info. Here is what he had to say;
"He [Mick Jones] cleaned out a locker several years back. This [Kramer Stagemaster] was one of many items that I purchased. I've never seen a picture of him playing it but that doesn't mean there is not one out there. He got rid of a lot of odds and ends, things that were used for recording. This guitar probably had Floyd appeal. I think he only performs with LP's. That's all I know.
It came in a 70's fender case which I kept. If you give me a mailing address I will mail you the inventory ID tag that is taped on it.
The rest of the guitars were pretty much non events. An Ovation, a fernandes strat with a funny preset tuning bridge, a kay banjo, a casio midi controller, a couple of cheap basses and a cool mandocello that needed a lot of repair and other stuff he had no interest in."
Now I had no doubt that the guitar belonged to Mick Jones, but I was very, very curious and wanted definitive proof, i.e. a photograph, video, something. So I did a little detective work of my own. I knew that the guitar was manufactured in 1986, so I did a search of all of Foreigners recorded works from 1986-1993, which told me which albums they put out, and also the singles. My first stop was Youtube, hoping that I would find a live video from that era, with a shot of (now my) Stagemaster. As far as still pics, there are none out there, that I could find, Mick appears to have used Les Pauls, exclusively, although there is one weird pic of him playing one of those Hondo/Mako extreme pointy guitars!? Youtube had virtually no live videos from this era Foreigner, so I was resigned to check the regular made for TV videos. The album 'Inside Information' was released in 1987, so it was first. The biggest hit was 'Say You Will' which doesn't even feature the band, at all. Next was 'I Don't Want to Live Without You' and again, no luck.
So I tried 'Heart Turns to Stone', a song which I always really liked from Foreigner, Mark II. As soon as I saw the shot of Mick, in silhouette, carring a guitar, I just knew it was my guitar. As you would figure, Mick is well featured in the video, as he is, IMO, Foreigner. Which means the guitar is also very prominently featured. You can even see on the 24th fret, there is a blank inlay, no 'KRAMER' engraved. There is also a bit of the corner of the block inlay, that is missing, it looks like it was sanded away, before the guitar was fretted, this is clearly visible in the video. So, cool, in a word! To now own a fantastic Kramer Stagemaster, previously owned by Mick Jones, and prominently featured in a Music Video, made me pretty happy.
I have been a fan of Foreigner since Foreigner 4 came out. I can remember staying home sick from school in 1982 and listening to a 'double-shot' of Foreigner 'Long, Long Way From Home' and 'Juke Box Hero' on my am/fm stereo headphones, and just rocking out! lol Here are a few more pics from the 'Heart Turns to Stone' video:

and the best one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7Sn6mOpxt4&nofeather=True

I will post up some pics of the guitar, as she is today, soon. With just a little bit of setup, she plays phenomenally well, and sounds great!
Here is my guitar as she looks today. Other than one nasty ding, down near the rear control cavity, it is in outstanding condition. Hardly any players wear, minimal swirl marks. It really looks like a time capsule, like it was put away 20 years ago, after only a year or two of very light use. Practically zero fret wear, and a nice chunky neck, when compared to a Jackson Soloist or a Charvel strat, which is a welcome change.
It did need a bit of tweaking, to get into playing condition, though. The low E saddle pivot was completely frozen, and I had to soak it in 3 in 1 oil, then WD40, while working it back and forth over a couple of days. The Floyd arms screw in collar was also loose, but aren't they always?! The input jack was also dirty and crackling, but a bit of contact cleaner and simply using it, took care of that. The paint was also starting to delaminate, under the Floyd, only slightly, and the entire piece was intact, so I used a thin, hot superglue to re-adhere it. This was likely caused by the factory 'massaging' of the Floyd route. As frequently seen on Kramers from this era, the route was opened up, a tiny bit, after the paint was applied. So there is some area, with a super clean route, that is bare wood. Funny how they had to do this on so many guitars, and couldn't fine-tune the routing process, so that it was the same, and correct, every time. It really speaks to how each guitar was given a great, hands-on setup, at the factory. The intonation was perfect, which was a nice bonus. The past few guitars I have acquired, needed a major overhaul, in the intonation which on a Floyd is a major PITA. I also scrubbed the Floyd with a toothbrush and 3 in 1 oil, just precautionary, there was no surface rust, as there usually is. I also did the normal hardwood splinters and woodglue into the strap pin holes, and a few of the trem/cavity screw holes needed this treatment as well. I touched up that ding with black touch up, which I had on hand. I plan on color matching the candy red with automotive touch up, and doing it correctly, in the future. The pickup was adjusted a tad low, for my tastes, but thats it. The angled JB pickups give a noticeable different sound than the standard mounted F-spaced Duncans, that I am used to. It may just be nostalgia, but the sound really reminds me of my old '86 Pacer. Here are a few pics;