Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Guitars, Amps and Effects => Topic started by: JacksonRR on August 23, 2011, 01:16:03 AM
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Almost new guitar day. Agreed earlier today to pick up a 1984 Kramer Focus 2000. It'll happen tomorrow. All's I know at this point is that ESP made it, it has the OFR it came with(supposedly never used it much) and it's had one owner. As long as the neck is straight and all that regular stuff I think it's a done deal. I need a guitar that's not V shaped for well, because. Here's the pics I have of it, do you guys know anything about these that would make you pull out last minute?
(http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/9585/focusheadstock.jpg)
(http://img638.imageshack.us/img638/7809/focusbody.jpg)
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Based on the Kramer Pacer guitar
Made in Japan by ESP before they were as big a deal that they are now
Hardware is top notch - swap the pickups and you shpould be very happy
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Kramer has a very convoluted history, but most of the older ones I've played have been very capable guitars.
Congrats!
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Is that a massive headstock and TINY neck?
Oh no wait, it's 2 pics :D
Congrats on the NGD, looks like it'll be a belter ;)
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Sweet. Thanks guys. There wasn't much pressure for the price, but that puts a bit of spice in my day to know it's probably a good one. The guy did swap the pups. It has some Peavey pups from a Wolfgang, but I also have a few sets in the drawer here. Should be an impulse buy I don't regret!
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Nice purchase! Looks good and the headstock has a bit a Suhr-shape.
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And we have ourselves a Kramer!
Definite pluses: The Floyd is so original it doesn't have to say it and yes it stays in tune. First thing I did was make that man's eyes pop out of his head by beating the living hell out of it.
The pups are awesome, but the bridge has to go. I agree with everything except it's soft feeling bottom end. It's not THAT bad, just not what I'm after. The neck pup is splendid and can stay. I misquoted the guy earlier. The pups came from a USA Peavey Vandenberg/V-type. I thought he said EVH Wolfgang on the phone.... whatever.
Sustain for days and awesome tone, acoustically and plugged in. Really surprised here, like really surprised.
The fretboard is some damn gorgeous Rosewood. I know my pic is shitety, but trust me, it has some grain that rivals Ziricote but without the color variance.
Minuses: Two odd holes near the trem. I took a pic of that.
The neck is really fat. "Worse" than Gibson fat. I know it contributes to the aforementioned sustain/tone so I'm gonna hold back and not alter the neck profile where I'd obtain a small degree of extra comfort. It won't be my soloing guitar, but I have a really good feeling about using it for rhythm tracking. I prefer thinner necks, but thick ones don't slow me down or anything so it's neither here nor there I guess.
The frets are teeny and halfway to needing a fretjob. I'm thinking I will take my luthier friend/mentor up on his offer to learn a refret and do it with this neck. He's gonna smack me when I show up with SS wire though.
All in all, best $125 I've ever $%&#ing spent. Pure joy at getting this underrated piece. I was thinking of a refin, but I'm thinking I'm just gonna let this dude be himself until the end of time. It isn't a perfect axe, but it's a fit. :D
PICS!
(http://img163.imageshack.us/img163/5779/photo096xk.jpg)
(http://img841.imageshack.us/img841/1935/photo097a.jpg)
(http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/947/photo098h.jpg)
(http://img804.imageshack.us/img804/3246/photo099g.jpg)
Also NKD. New keg day. I'm icing it down here before I stick it in my little fridge I modded to keep my quarter kegs cold and easily dispensable. Went with a Michelob Amber Bock this time. It's a dark lager and better than a few overseas brews I've had of the same type. I liked it in the bottles and it's even better in a keg. I still need to purchase a nitrogen setup so I can pour Guinness, but that's for another day. :lol:
(http://img823.imageshack.us/img823/6100/photo100qk.jpg)
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RE - the two screw holes by the bridge - bet a previous owner had a washer or coin screwed to the body to wedge under the back of the tremolo to make it only go down (no up-pull) like EVH used to do on his Frankenstrat
Yes - the necks were big on old Kramers with smallish frets - they got slimmer by about 1986
$125 - that was worth it just for the Floyd alone!
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nice! for $125, hard to go wrong :D
EDIT: change the volume and tone knobs, they don't really suit it (imo) for some reason (which is weird, because normally those strat knobs do suit superstrats). Maybe even just change them to black?
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Yeah, I purposefully left out the price tag in the beginning. You know how our sick little musician minds work. I wanted to see what you gents were thinking without adding that to the mix as it was already affecting mine. :wink:
Jonathon, did not know that about the EVH coin thing. Makes sense with how close it is to where the trem would touch down pulling back on it. There is a small partial circle indentation in the paint right there about the radius of our quarters and I was trying to put 2 and 2 together, but hadn't even thought of that. Good call, man.
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It needs to be a quarter from 1971 or it wont sound right
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:lol:
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:lol: That makes sense too. I tried a 1984 and it was all scooped, a 1992 and it was all mushy, but a 1971 might do the trick although a bit compressed.
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I lied. I couldn't stop at just the fret job. Removed the paint, thinned the neck(thanks Jonathon for the advice there), stained it, burned it, sanded it, did those last three a bunch more times, routed a Caparison style heel carve in, routed a 45 degree bevel around most the body, adjusted the headstock shape some, put the chrome Floyd on something else and put a Kahler 2700 Killer on it that was laying about and added recessed straplocks. Here's the test fit with some EMGs that were in the pickup box. Tru-oil time now I think. I'll take some better pics in a week. This is from the phone. Past the bevel you can see, the color matches the headstock and neck. I tried taking a pic of that, but you couldn't make much out with the crummy light/camera combo.
(http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/3608/photo120m.jpg)
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That is very cool.. a bit sad to see an original go for ever but we're not talking 59 Les Paul are we? :P
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Well, that looks a million times better in my eyes. Good work.
Now go find a real camera :D