The Legacy Begins in 1976
The Kramer Guitars Years
In 1976 Henry Vaccaro Sr. became Co-Founder and CEO of Kramer Guitars and helped bring to life one of the most revolutionary ideas in modern guitar design: the aluminum neck.
These early Kramer instruments delivered exceptional tuning stability, strong note attack, and extended sustain, offering real performance advantages for working and touring musicians. At a time when reliability and consistency were constant challenges, the aluminum neck changed expectations of what a guitar could be.
Artists Noticed Immediately
Across genres, Kramer aluminum-neck instruments were embraced by players who valued clarity, precision, and durability.
Stanley Clarke, Johnny Graham of Earth, Wind & Fire, 10cc, Kansas, Hank Williams Jr., The Johnny Cash Band, and The Jacksons were among the early adopters who carried this innovation onto world stages.
What began as an experiment quickly became a movement.
The Eddie Van Halen Moment
By the early 1980s Kramer reached Eddie Van Halen at a pivotal moment in rock history. Eddie recognized the performance advantages, but the original aluminum design proved heavier than his playing style demanded.
That practical feedback marked an important turning point.
Kramer evolved toward wood neck designs that better suited the changing needs of players, and with the rise of MTV the brand exploded into the cultural mainstream.
The MTV Era
During the wood-neck era Kramer became one of the most visible guitar brands of the decade, seen in the hands of artists such as Mötley Crüe, Bon Jovi, Whitesnake, Skid Row, Great White, Queensrÿche, Loverboy, and The Cars.
It was a defining chapter in modern guitar history.
A Question That Never Went Away
For Henry Vaccaro Sr., the original challenge remained:
How do you keep the clarity, sustain, and stability of aluminum while eliminating the weight?
The Birth of Vaccaro Guitars
In the 1990s that question led to a new solution.
Henry Vaccaro Sr. and Henry Vaccaro Jr. launched Vaccaro Guitars around a redesigned concept: an aluminum core wrapped inside a traditional wood neck.
This hybrid approach preserved the tonal benefits of aluminum while delivering the feel and balance players expected from a modern instrument. That idea became the foundation of Vaccaro Guitars and a new chapter in the family’s design legacy.
The Vaccaro Era
Under the creative direction of Henry Vaccaro Jr., Vaccaro Guitars built a reputation as a true alternative to mass-market manufacturing.
Independent and forward-thinking artists were drawn to instruments that balanced tradition with innovation and refused to follow trends.
Players from this era included
The Edge, Fountains of Wayne, Lenny Kravitz, Hole, Porno for Pyros, Billy Idol, Kid Rock, Everlast, Nancy Boy, Jane Jensen, Ira Dean, and Stevie Salas.
These were artists who valued originality, tone, and guitars with real character.
The Story Continues
Today Vaccaro Guitars continues that same spirit.
What began in a small New Jersey factory more than five decades ago now lives on as a modern brand built on experience, innovation, and family heritage.
We didn’t read this history.
We lived it.
the next chapter
The Next Chapter
Vaccaro Guitars is not a restart.
It is a continuation.
For more than five decades the Vaccaro family has been part of guitar innovation, solving real problems for real musicians. What began in the 1970s with the revolutionary aluminum neck at Kramer evolved in the 1990s into Vaccaro Guitars, a boutique brand built around a bold idea: combining the power of aluminum with the feel of wood.
Those early Vaccaro instruments earned immediate respect. Players recognized the sustain, clarity, and stability of the aluminum-core neck, and the guitars quickly developed a loyal following. Rather than chase rapid expansion, the company chose to protect the integrity of the brand and let the instruments speak for themselves.
Today, original Vaccaro guitars remain highly sought after, a testament to their originality and lasting quality.
Built on Experience
This new chapter is built on everything learned along the way.
At the center of modern Vaccaro guitars is a newly refined aluminum-core neck. Re-engineered for greater mass and smarter material distribution, the design delivers enhanced sustain, improved note clarity, and superior tuning stability while maintaining the familiar weight and balance of a traditional wood neck.
The feel is natural.
The performance is elevated.
The goal has always been the same: preserve aluminum’s immediacy and articulation while restoring warmth, comfort, and playability. The neck is designed to disappear in the player’s hands and reveal itself only through sound, consistency, and confidence.
Innovation Beyond Electric Guitars
Vaccaro now extends that same thinking into acoustics with the company’s first titanium-core neck platform. Titanium’s strength and resonant properties create exceptional sustain, projection, and harmonic response without sacrificing feel.
The result is an acoustic guitar that speaks clearly and evenly across the entire fretboard.
Design with Intention
Under the creative direction of Henry Vaccaro Jr., every detail matters. Sound, feel, and visual identity are treated with equal importance.
Shapes are intentional.
Materials are chosen for tone as much as presence.
Nothing is added for effect.
Nothing is left unresolved.
Forward, Not Backward
This is not nostalgia.
It is evolution.
Vaccaro Guitars is simply the next expression of an idea that began more than fifty years ago.
Fifty Years in the Making.
The Story Continues.
