Looking for advice/review on Kramer guitars

[Wozza1970]

OK I'm an Ibanez addict with a dead RG 560 and a signature Ibanez UV7 (friggin' awesome guitar) however I find myself in the position of having to buy a new (quality) guitar with a small budget and cannot in no way afford to buy another decent ibanez. I live in an area in which I just can't go down the road and try out tons of guitars and through trolling the web have decided I like the look and price of the new '10 model Kramer striker series.

So in essence - how do Kramers perform/sound/feel ? and will I be severely let down after playing nice Ibanezes for years or pleasanly suprised ?
I would especially want to hear from people that play or have played both regularly.

Do Kramers cut it ?

 

[mcmetal]

Some of the 80's kramers played nice but i can't vouch for any of the newer ones.I wouldn't usually buy a guitar i couldn't play first though.I've bought 2 older 80's ibanez pro line v's off ebay but i already owned one so i knew what to expect.

Even with that in mind none of my v's feel exactly the same or play the same.Then again i've been playing my original v for 23 years and it's worn in all the right places and just feels comfortable.

 

[slowmotion]

I love kramers, but with few exceptions, everything after 1990 was pretty dodgy imo. They also smeared their own good name with masses of korean plywood shockers. I've got a few but they've been retired in favour of an Edwards.

I haven't played the current crop of strikers (can't get past what they did to the logo) but the previous run was pretty good value for money (value for money, not particularly high quality). The trems are licensed I believe and the pickups might want swapping out later. Either way, they have nothing on the older ones.

If I were you, I'd be looking at a 80's pacer or baretta. Check out vintagekramer.com for heaps of info. They made some rad guitars with original floyd roses, good SD or Shaller pickups and hardware and can be got for cheap on ebay and unwitting pawn stores (general rule OFR = good, licenced or FRII not so much). The Japanese Focus line was made by ESP (as were many USA kramer necks) and are awesome bang for the buck.

As for being like an ibanez, maybe not so much... Kramers were usually poplar, alder or maple bodied (or mahogany for the Nightswans) with Seymour Duncan pickups where Ibanez are largely basswood with Dimarzios.

 

[ido1957]

The 80's Kramers were better and if you shop around on eBay you can pick one up cheap.

 

[Wozza1970]

Some of the 80's kramers played nice but i can't vouch for any of the newer ones.

I love kramers, but with few exceptions, everything after 1990 was pretty dodgy imo.

I haven't played the current crop of strikers (can't get past what they did to the logo)

The trems are licensed I believe and the pickups might want swapping out later. Either way, they have nothing on the older ones.

The 80's Kramers were better and if you shop around on eBay you can pick one up cheap.

Thanks for the input guys. I think at least 75% of people would say older is better about almost anything ( except for food ) "They don't make 'em like they used to" and I would agree. I did a lot of reading in a forum totally dedicated to Kramer guitars and most posts echoed everyones sentiments exactly, older=better and many like slomotion hated what they did to the logo. However the logo doesn't bother me as I'm a Kramer noob and not used to any particular look but if Ibanez changed the look of my favourite models in any way I would have a fit. With that said, of those that had played the new series most were impressed and some felt that they could get used to the changed logo.

I found these stats just for interest sake:

■Recessed Floyd Rose
■1 humbucker w/ 2 single coils
■Volume bleed mod
■1 vol. 2 tone
■3-way selection switch
■Thorn inlays
■Black Nickel hardware
■Mahogany body w/ Flame Maple top
■Maple neck and fingerboard
■24 frets
■25.5" scale
■colors: Fireburst, Trans Black and Trans Purple
■MSRP $633

I managed to find a "review" on youtube of the exact model I have been looking at and even though he is a rep he more essentially a guitar player. He went to town on the whammy and it stayed in tune - a must. He also seemed very impressed with the neck and I got the feeling that it's thinner than previous models which is right up my alley being used to the wizzard necks on Ibanezes.

I feel at this price I can put some Dimarzio EVO's in it and keep just within budget. I think I'm sold .............