Framus Panthera Studio Custom

Same as told before...Great Guitar, High Quality Parts...

I play mainly Blues and Punkrock (quite funny mixing isn't it?) and this guitar rocks! You can get almost every sound out of this baby...before i had bought this guitar I was used to carry 3 Guitars, a Strato, a Teutonian Framus Tele and a Hollowbody DeArmond X-155...Now I've got my Framus and i would't need the other guitars, if they would'nt have made in my heart before...
This guitar is Versatile on the highest level!

Everything great here...the only thing i didn't like was the seamour duncan sticker on the pickup, i couldn't get it away properly...
The Ovangokol Neck is great, and the ebony fretboard is amazing! The Bolt in Neck is wonderful! Once you've got it, you'll never want to miss it!

Never had any problems!

I had to change a part of the guitar once because of my fault...i got it within days for free! Great!

I BOUGHT IT IN 2005 AND IT WAS MADE IN GERMANY. AT FIRST I SAW IT ON A DISPLAY AND ASKED THE SALES MAN TO DEMOSTRATE IT FOR ME. THE FIRST IMPRETION WAS GOOD. BUT THE PROBLEMS BEGUN LATER......

I BOUGHT IT 1000 EUROS.THE TRUTH IS THAT THIS GUITAR SUITS MANY MUSICAL STYLES BUT THE SOUND HAS NO LOW BOTTOM END AND THE HIGHS ARE RATHER PUNCHY. I AM PLAYING MANY MUSICAL STYLES BUT THIS GUITAR IS VERY COMPLEX TO USE IF YOU WANT TO SWITCH FROM SINGLE COIL NECK TO FULL BRIDGE WITH MIDDLE.

THE GUITARS SETUP WAS VERY GOOD AND AT THE FIRST GLANCE EXPENSIVE. THE SALES MAN TOLD ME THAT IT HAD AN AAA GRADE MAPLE TOP LIKE THE PRS DOES AND HONDURAS MAHOGANY BUT AFTER I BOUGHT I UNDERSTOOD MY MISTAKE THE MAPLE TOP IS A GRADE AND IT DOESN EVEN COMES CLOSE TO THE PRS.

THE MAJOR PROBLEM IN THIS GUITARS STRUCTURE IS THE OVANGOL NECK WITH THE EBONY FINGERBOARD AND THE MYSTERIUS BOLT ON. THE SOUND THAT COMES OUT OF THESE WOODS IS VERY STIFF AND BRIGHT.THE BOLT ON ON MY GUITAR IS SCREWED AND THERE IS NO WAY TO FIX IT. IWAS TALKING TO A FRIEND OF MINE WHO IS A GUITAR TECHNICIAN THE OTHER DAY AND TOLD ME THAT MANY FRAMUS HAVE THIS KIND OF PROBLEMS

I HAVENT BOTHER ANYONE BECAUSE I AM VERY DISSAPOINTED

I WISHED I HAD A GIBSON , A HERITAGE OR A PRS

My Panthera was made in 2004 in Germany. Specs see above. The possibilities with the three pickups and the push/pull humbucker split potis are amazing! i LOVE the ovangkol neck, it's really a joy to play on.

i play mostly hard rock and jazz and it suits both perfectly. i think this guitar can adapt to all kinds of musical styles.
i use it with a marshall tsl100 (1960AC box), boss super chorus, boss digital delay and a vox wah.
the sound is certainly rich and full, but as mentioned above, you can get all kinds of sound out of this guitar. of course in the beginning when you don't know the instrument yet, you have to play around a lot with the knobs to get the sound you want, but for me that's been more fun than work.

generally the set-up was very good, the only thing i had to adjust were the pickups, they were set a little too high, for me that is.
the finish and everything else is just beautiful. it stays in tune forever.
on the framus pantheras i tested in the music shop where i bought mine, the neck had shrunk a little, so the frets stood out on both sides - that made me hesitate to buy it, but that was only due to the humidity in the shop. i got mine out of the box from the factory and the frets were perfect.

the guitar seems to be solid, but i haven't had it long enough (5 months) to judge that. i hope i can depend on it. i would gig without a backup if i had to, but fortunately i don't have to.

i haven't dealt with them yet and i hope i'll never have to :)

i've been playing for about 6 years now.
i play my panthera as mentioned above through a marshall tsl100 with a 1960AC box and a boss digital delay and super chorus and a vox wah.
if this guitar was stolen or lost i would definitely get the same model again.
my other guitar is a gibson sg standard which has a beautiful tone as well, but the versatitility of the framus is unbeatable. plus, in europe, i think you can't get a better guitar for your money. if you buy PRS, gibson or any other american guitar, you have to pay the shipping, toll and most importantly the name.. so i think for europeans framus (as well as patrick eggle, sandberg, etc.) is the way to go.

Made in Germany 2004. 22 Frets. 2-piece bookmatched top.
HSH configuration. master volume knob, tone knob, single coil volume knob, with the latter two being push/pull-knobs for splitting one HB to SC mode each. 3-way switch for HBs, SC in middle position is controlled only by its own volume knob. 2-way "lead switch" which makes the bridge HB go straight to output without passing any further controller.
Seymour Duncan pickups SAPH1N / SAPS1 / SSH5, passive electronics.
Mahogany body, flamed Maple top, Ovangkol neck, Ebony fingerboard. The "bolt-in" Ovangkol neck is some Framus specialty. It is untreated and gets enough humidity from your sweating hand. This is care i like to do! Bolt-in means it is like a bolt-on neck which goes fairly deep into the body. Stable and replaceable.
Body style is similar to Les Paul, a bit smaller, but likely as heavy. Framus Tunomatic bridge, Framus chrome tuners (non-locking). Electronic compartment can be opened without screwdriver.
Shipped with Warwick Deluxe Rockbag (Warwick is part of the Framus group).

This guitar is all about versatility. I play a lot of styles between pop and thrash metal, and everything sounds great. If you take the SC volume knob as an on/off switch, you have 17 different pickup combinations! Whatever you need from soft clean (3 single coils) to biting high-output (lead switch) sounds, Panthera Studio has it.
I'm not quite happy with the single coil volume knob, since turning it on or off takes too much time in some situations. I also have it either on 100% or 0%, so some switch solution would have worked just fine for me. Maybe I'll change that some time.
Another small flaw is using the master volume when the SC is turned on, cause it softens later than the HBs.
Now I've written as much contra as pro, but everything else is just about perfect...

Strings have been set a bit low over fretboard and pickups, but that was not really a problem. Finish is beautiful and well done in general, but with one flaw: there's a strip of about an inch near the electronic compartment where the finish looks pale. Since that spot is hooded by my waist, I don't care. I also got it quite cheap, 940? instead of 1400? in the nearest guitar shop :) no 10 points here though.
No further complaints, fretwork, action, everything else is done very well.

This guitar withstands everything. Absolutely stable and bulletproof. However, nuclear war could damage it. Tuners feel marvellous and there is absolutely no detuning. In short, everything's perfect here.

Never had to deal with it and it seems like I won't ever have to.

I've been playing for about 6 years now. My previous two guitars were Epiphones and the difference is formidable, especially when it comes to the most important thing: sound. It cost as much as the two Epis together, though. The other guitarist in my band has a Gibson LP, which is quite better than Epiphone, but I would never exchange my Framus for it.
If it were stolen or lost, I would commit suicide. Answering the question, I would get the same model again, if I could afford it, heh.
I love it, because it's so perfect. My favourite feature is the lead switch, it supersedes bricolages for better output.
I'm still thinking about buying one more guitar, but that would be a baritone. Tuning down to A finally is something this guitar is not good at.

Made in Germany in 2002, 22 frets. Two Seymour Duncan humbuckers and 1 SD single coil. Passive electrics. Master volume and tone with push/pull coil splitting. A 3 way switch operates like a Les Paul and a 2nd 2 way switch bypasses all electrics and gives flat out bridge HB. There is also a blend control for the middle single coil pu. Sounds a bit complicated but is actually quite easy to operate and gives a wide range of sounds. The body is one piece mahogany with a thick arched bookmatched flamed maple top. The top is superb - as good as my PRS Artist with a fantastic high gloss black to red sunburst finish. The neck is unfinished/oiled - with a very attractive lightly flamed wood which looks like walnut. The neck is wide/medium with an ebony f/board, jumbo frets and pearloid inlays. If you've tried a Warwick bass it will look and feel familiar. The bridge and tailpiece are high quality Les Paul style (probably Schaller) as are the non-locking three a side machineheads. The neck is "bolt in" which gives a fairly elegant and very solid join. The body shape is original but overall it is roughly like a compact Les Paul with possibly a slightly thicker body.

Huge range of sounds but essentially Les Paul/PRS territory. This is a quality guitar with quality pickups. Unlike some other guitars with complicated switching all of the sounds are good and usable with some great strat "in between sounds".
I have not had the guitar long but it is clear that it was designed to be a versatile instrument but the great thing is that none of the sounds is a compromise - they are uniformly excellent.

I have quite a few top name guitars and I have not been as impressed as I have with this guitar - I've never bothered to write a review before! Framus haven't tried to copy anyone else. The fit and finish is superb, the action is low and the frets and fingerboard are as smooth as silk - better than PRS and Gibson.

Time will tell but my impression is that Framus have used the best materials and hardware available and build quality is as good as anything out there. I would happily depend on it.

I understand the UK distributor for Framus (and Warwick) has gone into liquidation hence I paid less than half price. I also understand that Framus/Warwick will distribute direct in the future. I cannot comment on the quality of support.

I have been playing for 30 years and own a lot of gear - Fender, Gibson, PRS, Guild, Warwick, Vigier, Marshall, Boogie, Laney, SWR etc.
I like this guitar because it is slightly different but at least as good as the well known models and, in my experience, much better than most. I doubt that Framus sales will ever really threaten the big brands but they deserve to if they keep up this level of quality and if you see one of their guitars you should try it.