Kramer Charlie Parra Vanguard vs Snake Sabo Baretta
Reasons to Get
Kramer Charlie Parra Vanguard over Snake Sabo Baretta
Reasons to Get
Kramer Snake Sabo Baretta over Charlie Parra Vanguard
Other Key Differences
Kramer Charlie Parra Vanguard vs Snake Sabo Baretta
Shared Features
Kramer Charlie Parra Vanguard vs Snake Sabo Baretta
Common Strengths
- High-Quality Nut
Common Weaknesses
- Neck-Through Build
- Pickup Alter Switch/Knob
- Weight Relief
- Stays in Tune (Evertune)
- High-Quality Frets
- Compound Radius Fretboard
- From a High-Quality-Standards Country
- Luminescent Sidedots
- Strap Lock
- 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- Active/Passive Preamp
Table of Contents
Price History Comparison
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Which One is Better Overall?
After going through our comparison algorithm, the results show that the Kramer Charlie Parra Vanguard is probably the better product overall with its final score of 71 compared to the Kramer Snake Sabo Baretta's 67 score, although not by a lot.
The Kramer Charlie Parra Vanguard wins when it comes to sound, playability, build quality, value for the money. This means that it wins over the Kramer Snake Sabo Baretta in every aspect.
However, there's still a reason to choose the Kramer Snake Sabo Baretta instead. If you got small hands, you'll probably feel that the Kramer Snake Sabo Baretta is easier to play.
Which One is Better for Beginners?
If you're looking for your first guitar to learn how to play, the Kramer Snake Sabo Baretta is the better choice.
The Kramer Snake Sabo Baretta meets 4 out of our 8 criteria items for beginner friendliness, while the Kramer Charlie Parra Vanguard meets only 3. This takes into account the type of frets, scale length, nut width, bridge type, fretboard radius, and neck profile to determine the easiest combination for new players.
New Player Friendliness
Kramer Charlie Parra Vanguard- Easy-to-use bridge
- Tall frets
- Comfortable neck
- Comfortable shape
- Comfortable fretboard
- Narrow nut
- Short scale
- Locking tuners
New Player Friendliness
Kramer Snake Sabo Baretta- Comfortable shape
- Tall frets
- Narrow nut
- Comfortable neck
- Comfortable fretboard
- Short scale
- Locking tuners
- Easy-to-use bridge
Nevertheless, when it comes to choosing an instrument, you should pick the one more compatible with your personal style. Still, below we'll try you to give you our results as objectively as it's possible to help you decide.
Kramer Charlie Parra Vanguard Overview
- From Kramer's 2021 Artist series
- Charlie Parra Signature
- Made in Indonesia
- 6 strings
- 24.75"'' scale
- 12.6" Fretboard Radius
- Mahogany body
- 3 Piece Maple neck
- Ebony fretboard
- Bridge pickup: EMG 57 (Humbucker/Active)
- Neck pickup: EMG 66 (Humbucker/Active)
- 1 volume and 0 tone Dome knobs
- 3-way Switch
- LockTone Tune-O-Matic bridge
- Slim C Bolt-On neck
- 24 Jumbo frets
- Mini Die Cast tuners
- Weight between 7.6lbs (3.4kgs) and 8.5lbs (3.9kgs)
- Compare Specs >
Kramer Snake Sabo Baretta Overview
- From Kramer's 2020 Artist series
- Snake Sabo Signature
- Made in Indonesia
- 6 strings
- 25.5"'' scale
- 12.6" Fretboard Radius
- Alder body
- 3 piece Maple, natural Satin finish neck
- Indian Laurel fretboard
- Bridge pickup: Kramer 85-T Double Black Open Coil Humbucker (Humbucker/Passive)
- 1 volume and 1 tone Dome knobs
- Floyd Rose 1000 series Tremolo with EVH D-Tuna Drop D Tuning System bridge
- K-Speed SlimTaper Bolt-On neck
- 22 Jumbo frets
- Black Chrome Mini Die Cast tuners
- Weight between 7.4lbs (3.4kgs) and 8.45lbs (3.8kgs)
- Compare Specs >
Sound Quality Comparison
The wood used in an electric guitar or bass is not as important to determine the final tone. However, some people prefer specific wood types, so we'll take a look at those first. Then, we'll take a look at the electronics to determine the versatility and sound quality of each instrument.
Woods Used in Both
Maple is one of the most popular necks for good reasons. It is a strong wood that is relatively cheap to make and looks beautiful. The highest quality maple is the hardest that comes from North America. Find out more about Maple.
Woods Used in the Kramer Charlie Parra Vanguard
Ebony is a high-end wood, so it is not cheap. It's only used for fretboards because it's also very heavy. It does an excellent job as a durable material while looking elegant. Find out more about Ebony.
Mahogany is a fairly rare wood nowadays. It's used mostly for bodies due to its relatively lightweight. Gibson popularized it with their Les Paul guitars during their golden years, so this wood has a lot of good reputation behind it. The most expensive type comes from South America and it's still used by Gibson even today. Find out more about Mahogany.
Woods Used in the Kramer Snake Sabo Baretta
There are many types of Laurel, but East Indian is the most common for guitar building. Its color can vary from dark to light brown with black lines. Many people find its tonality similar to Rosewood, which favors the warmer frequencies. Find out more about Laurel.
Alder is the most popular wood that Fender uses in most of their guitars nowadays. Even though they say it's because of its balanced tone with an emphasis in the upper midrange, it probably is because it isn't too expensive, and it's also pretty lightweight—more than Mahogany. Find out more about Alder.
Winner: Kramer Charlie Parra Vanguard.
Pickup Configuration
The Kramer Charlie Parra Vanguard has an HH configuration while the Kramer Snake Sabo Baretta has H pickups.
Double Humbucker (HH) is the choice for people who want a fuller, more round sound with tons of mids and lows. Humbuckers also get rid of the hum noise that plague single-coil pickups. They can work out for almost any genre going from Djent to even Jazz.
On the other hand, A single H pickup gives you the advantage of having a little longer sustain (all other things being equal) because there will be less magnetic fields from other pickups affecting the strings' vibration. However, they also give you the least versatility because you won't have other pickups at different distances from the bridge to create different tones. A single humbucking pickup is used for noiseless high output, which is used mainly for Hard Rock genres.
Pickups Quality
The Kramer Charlie Parra Vanguard has pickups from a more specialized brand than the Kramer Snake Sabo Baretta. Its pickups should simply give you a better, fuller sound, although it all depends on what type of music you're going to play. We recommend these pickups for Hard Rock and similar genres.
You can purchase similar pickups to the Kramer Charlie Parra Vanguard's and use them on any guitar:
The Kramer Charlie Parra Vanguard's pickups are Active while the Kramer Snake Sabo Baretta's are Passive.
Passive pickups are what most guitars use. These have a normal output that works well for most genres. However, Active pickups are the preferred choice of heavy metal players because they offer extra output thanks to their 9v battery, which results in a heavier, more distorted sound. Bear in mind that achieving a completely clean tone with them won't be easy. So if you want to also use clean tones, you might want to avoid Active pickups.
Winner: Kramer Charlie Parra Vanguard.
Versatility Comparison
Some instruments offer you more ways to explore your creativity than others. Below you'll find how both compare when it comes to versatility.
Switch Options
The Kramer Charlie Parra Vanguard gives you 3 switch options while the Kramer Snake Sabo Baretta gives you 0. This means that the Kramer Charlie Parra Vanguard gives you more options to find the right pickup combination for the type of sound you want to achieve
Neither of them come with some kind of coil split or pickup mod option. This makes both lacking in terms of versatility.
The Kramer Snake Sabo Baretta doesn't come with pickup switching options.
When evaluating versatility, we also take into consideration bridge and neck joint type, number of frets, switch options, amount of pickups and more.
Winner: Kramer Snake Sabo Baretta.
Final Sound Quality Scores
Build Quality Comparison
When it comes to build quality, we like to take into account everything used to build the instrument. This includes materials, hardware and the quality control expected depending on the country where it was built. Let's see how the Kramer Charlie Parra Vanguard compares to the Kramer Snake Sabo Baretta.
Country of Origin
The manufacturing country can tell a lot about the build quality of an instrument. Both in this comparison where made in Indonesia.
Indonesia is becoming the most popular country for guitar building because they can make good instruments for a low price. Some people think that they're 'the new China' when it comes to build quality. But the truth is that Indonesian guitars are more consistent, although Chinese quality has improved a lot in the last few years.
Winner: Tie
Nut Material
If you want your guitar to stay in tune and sound good, you need a well cut nut. Nut quality can be inconsistent even when comparing two copies of the same model. The best way to make sure you're nut will be well done is by getting a nut made by an expert company like TUSQ or Micarta.
The Kramer Charlie Parra Vanguard has a Ivory Tusq nut. Ivory used to be considered the best material for guitar nuts due to its beauty, durability, and the rich harmonics and sustain you could get from a guitar with it. However, the way to obtain it is simply unethical. Enter TUSQ ivory nuts, which are made synthetically to imitate ivory. Technically, it's better than ivory because it is consistent piece-to-piece, while natural materials can vary a lot, even if they're made from the same.
On the other hand, the Kramer Snake Sabo Baretta comes with a Locking nut. Instead of a regular nut, this guitar has a locking system that will lock down the strings at the nut, preventing it from getting out of tune. It removes one of the disadvantages of tremolo bridges, tune stability.
Winner: Tie.
Fret Material
Most fret wire is made of nickel silver. This material eventually wears down after a lot of use and most instruments end up needing a complete fret replacement. However, some expensive models come with stainless steel frets. This is what you should aim for if you can afford it.
Unfortunately, none of them come with stainless steel frets.
Winner: Tie.
Bridge
The perfect bridge for you will depend on your playstyle because they all have advantages and disadvantages. However, some bridges are more expensive—like Floyd Roses and Evertunes—and thus add more value to a guitar.
The Kramer Charlie Parra Vanguard's brige is a Fixed. It's a simple bridge that is very beginner-friendly since it doesn't require any set-up. You can swap strings easily. It might also give more sustain since it doesn't have complex moving parts that make the strings lose vibration. However, it doesn't have the same versatility as a tremolo bridge.
On the other hand, the Kramer Snake Sabo Baretta's is a Floyd Rose. This is a double-locking bridge system that allows you to perform techniques like dive bombs and pinch harmonics. The locking nut allows your guitar to stay in tune even after the most intense tremolo usage. The disadvantage is that it takes more work to change the strings and set up everything correctly.
Since we need to be objective, the most expensive type of bridge will be the winner of this section. In the end, this doesn't matter if you're not going to use the bridge for its original purpose, so choose the bridge that fits your playing style better.
Winner: Kramer Snake Sabo Baretta.
Tuners
Both come with regular tuners. The Kramer Charlie Parra Vanguard's are Mini Die Cast while the Kramer Snake Sabo Baretta's are Black Chrome Mini Die Cast
Winner: Tie.
Neck Joint
Contrary to popular belief, the difference in sustain and tone that some neck joints give to a guitar is simply unperceivable—if they're all well built. However, some of them do have advantages over the others.
Both have a Bolt-On neck joint. This neck is joined to the body by 4 bolts that you can simply unscrew. This allows you to replace the neck or take it off for travel. It's the most common and cheapest way to build a guitar.
Winner: Tie.
Here is the list of features that were considered when choosing the winner in the Features subcategory:
Kramer Charlie Parra Vanguard
- Expensive Wood
- Ivory Tusq Nut
- Top Brand Pickups
- Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
- No Locking Tuners
- Made in Indonesia
- No Neck-Through Build
- No Push Knob or Extra Switch Option
- No Weight Relief
- No Luminescent Inlay
- No Tremolo
- No Compound Radius Fretboard
- No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- No Strap Lock
Kramer Snake Sabo Baretta
- Locking Nut
- Tremolo
- Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
- No Locking Tuners
- Made in Indonesia
- No Expensive Woods
- No Top Brand Pickups
- No Neck-Through Build
- No Push Knob or Extra Switch Option
- No Weight Relief
- No Luminescent Inlay
- No Compound Radius Fretboard
- No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- No Retainer Bar
- No Strap Lock
Final Build Quality Scores
Playability Comparison
Let's now compare their playability. Bear in mind that the instrument will feel different depending on your hand size and play style. That's why you should always test before buying. But if you can't or want a second opinion on it, we can still take a look at each of the important measurements of the instrument for you. This way, we can predict how easy a guitar might be to play, or how different it will feel compared to the other.
Remember that, even though the difference might seem small, every inch counts when it comes to feeling of the instrument in your hands. Any variation can completely change how comfortable a guitar feels in your hands.
Nut Width
The nut width will affect the separation between strings at the nut. In this comparison, the Kramer Charlie Parra Vanguard has the wider nut with 43mm (1.693'') vs 42.7mm (1.68''). This is a 0.3mm (0.013'') difference
This means that it will be more difficult to do bar chords on the Kramer Charlie Parra Vanguard, especially closer to the nut. However, it's also easier to play without muting strings accidently. This favors people with big hands.
Scale Length
The scale length is one of the things that influences playability the most. This is the distance between the nut and the bridge and will affect everything from low action allowance, difficulty to perform bends, fret separation, and even tone.
The Kramer Snake Sabo Baretta has the longest scale: 25.5". The Kramer Charlie Parra Vanguard is only 24.75" long. This is a 0.75'' (19.1mm) scale length difference.
This longer scale means that the strings need more tension to get in tune. This is good if you want to avoid fret buzz, which can happen when the strings are too loose and touch the frets while vibrating. This is especially important when playing in lower tunings. This will also let you reduce the gap between fretboard and strings (low action) to make them easier to press down. However, this higher tension will also make it harder to perform bends and vibratos as the strings will feel stiffer.
This also means that the frets have a longer separation between each other, so this will make it harder for people with smaller hands when playing some chord positions.
Another characteristic of a longer scale is that it makes the guitar sound 'snappier' or brighter. This is due to the extra separation between harmonics and overtones produced by the tension. This influences tone more than any other factor (except the pickups).
Lastly, remember that you can also affect the tension of the strings by changing your string gauge. You can use a thicker gauge for more tension and a lighter one for less tension.
Neck Profile
No single neck shape is better than others. However, most people tend to prefer a thinner necks because it doesn't get in their way when playing fast and most hand sizes can adapt to it pretty well. However, some people still prefer thicker necks for a better grip, especially if they have big hands.
Both the Kramer Charlie Parra Vanguard and the Kramer Snake Sabo Baretta have a C-shaped neck. This is what you'll find in most modern guitars. Most people feel like the thickness of a C neck is simply the less intrusive one for playing fast, while at the same time allowing you to grab the neck easily for resting if you want to.
Fretboard Radius
Most guitar fretboards are not flat; they usually have a curve or arc across their width. A curved fretboard will make it easier to perform chords without muting strings, while a flatter one will make it easier to play single notes, which is good for bending and soloing in general. The best fretboards have a compound radius that varies across the fingerboard, but they're not common since they take a lot more work to build.
Both the Kramer Charlie Parra Vanguard and the Kramer Snake Sabo Baretta have the same fretboard radius of 12.6". It's very similar to most Gibson guitars but slightly flatter, which makes soloing more comfortable. But it's not bad for playing chords as it still has a slight curve to it.
Hand Size Comfortability
Everyone has a different hand size, and that's why it's recommended to try a guitar before buying, even if others tell you that it's comfortable to play. However, we can know whether a guitar favors small or large hands just by knowing its exact measurements.
And after taking into account the scale length, nut width, neck profile and fretboard radius, we can conclude that the Kramer Charlie Parra Vanguard favors large hands more than the Kramer Snake Sabo Baretta. But it's still more comfortable for people with small hands, as you can see in the score meter below.
Kramer Charlie Parra Vanguard:
Kramer Snake Sabo Baretta:
Fret Size
Both have a Jumbo fret size. This is one of the tallest frets you can get. You won't feel the fretboard when pressing down the strings. It will give you the best sustain and all types of chords will be easier to play. However, you can end up changing the pitch of your notes if you press too hard, which is something people used to feeling the fretboard do when trying Jumbo frets for the first time.
