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Im drawn to these and have always wanted one. Are they (were they) good players? What shape is the neck? What is a fair price to pay for one used?I won one on ebay over the weekend, but the reserve wasnt met.. ticked me off
thanks


Originally Posted by BloodRoseIm drawn to these and have always wanted one. Are they (were they) good players? What shape is the neck? What is a fair price to pay for one used?I won one on ebay over the weekend, but the reserve wasnt met.. ticked me off
thanks

I got mine for about 80 bucks...somebody had replaced the floyd with a Gamp;L tremolo, put an LSR roller nut on it...finish was pretty beat up.

I ended up buying an ibanez destroyer at the same time for about 120 that had a floyd, so i just transplanted the bridge, and viola. was a pretty *****in guitar, especially for the money.

The neck had a 1 5/8quot; nut, and started out on the thin side, but had a pretty wide taper...So up around the 12th fret it started feeling a bit fatter. Not huge by any means, but a good amount of wood.

I liked the way it played, but didnt completely agree with the neck (wanted somthing a little bit fatter), and now its sitting in my garage, stripped of paint, waiting to get an EVH paint job . And a warmoth neck...but thats a ways in the future...

I'd say dont go anywhere above 200 for one, 250 if its in good condition... they're cool guitars, but you can get em cheap.

They were OK guitars at the time. Nothing spetacular, but I liked them better than the Ibanez Roadstars. Stay away from the Striker series of guitars: they were complete pieces of junk.


Originally Posted by MattPeteThey were OK guitars at the time. Nothing spetacular, but I liked them better than the Ibanez Roadstars. Stay away from the Striker series of guitars: they were complete pieces of junk.

Ditto. Plywood=****ty.

Ya Strikers were god awful.. I owned one for a few years in the 80's.... yuck! The Focus series were not too bad but nothing to write home about either... I think the Focus series had some real wood in the body.... whatever it was..

WhoFan

I too had a Striker back in the day. A Duncan JB made it sound nice tho!

I think the Focus models were made of solid maple or poplar. There were solid, I know that. Not bad guitars but I'd search for an American series model instead. BUT, starting in late 1986, ESP made the bodies and necks for Kramer. They were just assembled in the U.S. in the NJ factory. The Focus series were assembled overseas. You should be able to snag one for under $300 depending on condition.

A Kramer Focus 3000 was my very first guitar. I bought it used for $299 back in the late 80's. I wasn't too crazy about it, but it had a real floyd rose and sounded decent. After I bought my Ibanez a few years later I decided to see what kind of wood was in the Kramer by hacking at it a little. To my surprise, it was real solid alder, not plywood. I gave it some respect after that. Today, it has a Warmoth neck, new paint job, new pickguard, two classic cover 59's and a hot stack in the middle. Sounds great. The body is very resonant (despite now having a swimming pool route under the pickguard).

I guess my point is that they can be good guitars but if I got it for $299 more than 15 years ago, you should be able to get it for a whole lot cheaper.


Originally Posted by ErikHI think the Focus models were made of solid maple or poplar. There were solid, I know that. Not bad guitars but I'd search for an American series model instead. BUT, starting in late 1986, ESP made the bodies and necks for Kramer. They were just assembled in the U.S. in the NJ factory. The Focus series were assembled overseas. You should be able to snag one for under $300 depending on condition.Oh yeah, Id much rather score a sweet Baretta or something, but the price on those is going up. Maybe one day down the road. Right now Im looking for a cheap fix.


Originally Posted by BloodRoseOh yeah, Id much rather score a sweet Baretta or something, but the price on those is going up. Maybe one day down the road. Right now Im looking for a cheap fix.

And now is the time to snag one before they get out of range. Sure, it may take a while for that to happen and it may not happen at all but they are going up. There's some good ones out there. Don't pass one up if you find one for a good price.

they've got a baretta round here for about 400 w/ a duncan. Nice guitar, but I already got my focus 1000 for my EVH project.

My focus is made out of 3 pieces of alder, and is a real nice, resonant body. Had an american pacer too, and that one was made up of about 6 pieces of alder. Not so resonant.

So...not all the americans are necessarily better


Originally Posted by krankguitaristthey've got a baretta round here for about 400 w/ a duncan. Nice guitar, but I already got my focus 1000 for my EVH project.

My focus is made out of 3 pieces of alder, and is a real nice, resonant body. Had an american pacer too, and that one was made up of about 6 pieces of alder. Not so resonant.

So...not all the americans are necessarily better

This is very true. It's a good bet that your pacer body was made by ESP. The earlier pacers had 2 or 3 pieces and were much more resonant.


Originally Posted by krankguitaristthey've got a baretta round here for about 400 w/ a duncan. Nice guitar, but I already got my focus 1000 for my EVH project.

My focus is made out of 3 pieces of alder, and is a real nice, resonant body. Had an american pacer too, and that one was made up of about 6 pieces of alder. Not so resonant.

So...not all the americans are necessarily better

My 1988 American Standard Strat has at least 5 glue lines that you can see thru the finnish at different angles of the light... Still is an amazing sounding guitar... I'd prefer the 1 piece and 2 piece bodies as well but this one strat made up of many boards still sounds amazing!

I do not see many Kramers come up used around Toronto... I've seen 2 over priced American series and a few Strickers and one Focus over the last 10 years.... I should of bought the Focus i saw! It was only $250 and was a sea foam grean colour... Had good pickups... I turned it down as the Floyd looked really rough!

WhoFan