Kramer 111S

The Kramer 111S is made in Korea I think. Its got 21 frets, 1 volume conrtrol, 2 tone controls and a five way pickup selector. Three single coil pickups. Its a strat body style, mine is adeep red colour (i go it off ebay so i've got no idea what the official colour name is), black scratchplate. Its got a trem, not a floyd rose, and it came with a naff cable.

I play heavy metal/rock, to be honest I've only been playing a year and I don't know all that much about what 'good tone' is, but most people say its good, and it good enough for me :). I'm using it with a naff 10 watt practice amp (which is probably why the tone isn't incredible)

From a beginner perspective, I really would warn against buying this guitar, the action was very high, and as a beginner you're a bit clueless as to what to do about that, once i'd figured it out, i lowered the action and found the frets were too high for me to get it to the level of my mates strat, so i'm still kinda screwed. Obviously an experienced guitarist could probably sort this out, but i really wouldn't recommend it to a beginner (unless they're all like this, which i doubt)

The guitar comes out of tune very quickly, but apart from that its ok. The strap buttons aren't brilliant but its generally pretty solid

I've been playing a year or so, all i own is this, a KORG AX10G efeects thingummy and a naff amp. If it was stolen i wouldn't even think about buying it again. I love the colour, it looks cool, and tone is also good, however everything else is pretty rubbish. I'd say that this would make a good backup guitar for an experienced player, but if you're a beginner, buy a strat.

Asian made Strat copy, Surf Green, rosewood fretboard on maple neck, 21 frets. I have 6 other Fender Strats and another that's a parts Strat. This guitar was incredible for the money. I consider Strats to have as many features as I can capably use, but I suppose you could have coil tap and all that, so I gave it a 9.

I play country, rock and blues, mostly just to record. Amp'ed, I go through a Pro Junior and this Kramer has 5 distinct tones just from the switch. Tone and volume controls add more, but I hardly bother.

I might consider changing the capacitor to bleed some of the harshness from the highs. The bridge pickup isn't so much twangy, it can be a little harsh. I lowered it and it was better.

The setup was OK out of the box, but I blocked the trem, then shimmed the neck one card thickness to improve the action. Once I added heavier strings and got the neck stable, this thing set up as good as some expensive guitars I have. I had to take down one high fret and it was ready to go.

General workmanship, woodwork, paint, lacquer, neck to body fit... all were very good, good far beyond the price of the guitar.

I've had it three weeks and I don't stand up to play, so I can't speak to the strap button questions. The hardware and finish seem sufficient and I'd gig with it if I still did that sort of thing, but I'd never gig without a backup, nothing against this guitar.

Originally Musicyo sent me the wrong color. I contacted them by email, (no way to phone), and they actually sent the replacement guitar before getting the wrong one back. I think they responded well, within 24 hours and deserve credit for wanting to make it right, right in the middle of the Christmas season!

I've been playing 35 years and own an embarrassingly long list of gear. (poster child for GAS here!)

I was wasting some time and thought since I hadn't hit Musicyo in a while, I'd see if they had anything new and happened to hit it during a 3 day period when the 111S was on sale for $59.99. I'd been building parts Strats and bodies were between $75 and $250, so figuring to get a body for only $59.99 and anything else off the guitar being gravy or ebay fodder, I bought one. When I got it, I liked it right away for the nicely tipped frets, the satin neck and the quality of the woodwork and finishing. When I got it home and realized how well it stayed in tune, I also realized I hadn't bought just a cheap body, but a whole guitar.

For the price, I think this guitar is better than any Squier Strat and with a minor pickup change, could be the equivalent or better to a Mexican Standard Strat. In fact, the pickups in the Kramer are more vintage sounding than the MIM Strats, which have been made much fatter sounding lately.

I'm buying 2 more just to use as platforms to build on.

2000 Lake Placid Blue-!! $69.98 Internet Special- NEW!! Strat copy. I also bought a white one (2003 model) for my friend recently. Plywood bodies. 2000 model is heavy, the 2003 has a nice weight.

I bought a DeArmond gibson styled single humbucker guitar new for $99 dollars at a local music store, a couple weeks before I ordered my first 111. I liked the sound and feel of the Kramer better, and gave th DeArmond away. I play through a Marshall 10 watt and a Fender Twin 9 volt pocket amp. Like to play vintage Santana, but I can see no reason why you couldn't turn up the gain, drop d tune and play any kind of modern garbage well on this axe.

The 2000 model had set-up problems. The action needed to be lowered at the nut, a couple high spots filed down on the frets, the volume controll and cable jack were loose, tonality wasn't adjusted at all. The white 2003 model came set up PERFECT. No problems. No adjustment needed.

I'd say these are dependable guitars. The only thing I'd worry about is the tremelo screws stripping out of their holes, because plywood is cheese. The tuners are such cheese that they will loosen up internaly and jam tight whereever you leave 'em, thus keeping the instrument in tune.

I was going to get the 2003 one, and it was still $69.99 (on sale). The day I wanted to order, they had gone up 10 bucks. I e-mailed them and asked for the old price. They e-mailed me back and said "sorry", but at least they responded.

O.K., I just had to have a 69 dollar Statocaster electric guitar- Period! It's the same thrill as buying a new $4,500 Gibson, -just the other extreme. I'm glad I bought it. This guitar could take you to the top, like Johnny Ramone's Mosrite and Jimi Page's Dan Electro. If this guitar was lost or stolen, I'd buy the Music-Yo 12-pack of Focus 111-s guitars.

Standard strat copy: 21 frets, 1 volume knob, 2 tone knobs, 3 single-coil pickups w/5-way selector. Nothing special. Made in Indonesia.
I got the black one with the accessory package--meaning it came with 100 picks (of varying color), a gigbag, tuner, headphone amp, and a 6' cable.
The tuner it came with sucks royally, but it's functional.
The cable stopped working within the first 2 months of use.
The picks are halfway decent, as is the gigbag. These are nothing special.
The Epiphone "Ear-Plug Personal Guitar Amplifier" is okay, and it's something to start with if you can't afford an amp right away. And it's handy if your practice amp burns out (like mine did--Fender Frontman 15R) and you can't afford to buy another right away.

I'd say these accesories are worth the extra money I paid over the original $70 price tag, despite that I had to buy a new cable almost immediately and (after 3 years of hating it) a new tuner as well.

I like to play grunge and hard rock, and this guitar is pretty alright for that. The single-coil pickups make ungodly amounts of noise, so I find myself using the in-between settings on the 5-way pickup selector quite often to alleviate this. Aside from that, sound is okay. Excellent beginner guitar, as it was for me. Once you're more experienced however, you'll probably want to replace the pickups just as everyone else has suggested, and rewire some of it. This guitar is solid, and has great potential if you have the know-how and desire to upgrade it, and it's the best value of any strat out there. It's excellent for learning, and all you need for it to be as good as an expensive one is a new set of pickups. My best friend spent $1500 on his Fender and he's told me that mine would be about as good if I would just replace the pickups.

From what I've read this thing is made of plywood, although I think it's actually pressed wood. Hard telling though, on account of the laminated finish. Action is pretty good, though not the best. The whole thing came in without any flaws and well put together ("Inspected and assembled in the USA," says the sticker. They did their job well.) and is--dare I say it?--a pretty guitar.

This guitar feels like it will last forever. It's rock-solid--withstood many a beating and drops to the floor, and the finish has barely a scratch. The strap buttons are on tight; I've never had a problem with them. I've never gigged with it as I'm no rock & roll professional, but it's withstood contact with many of my friends--which says a lot, if you know my friends.

I bought it from their website and it was shipped quickly. I'm happy with buying from MusicYo. Haven't dealt any further with them.

This ultra-cheap Kramer was my first guitar, I've had it for 5 years, and I'm looking to keep it forever. I'd buy another in a heartbeat if anything happened to this one. It's an amazing guitar for the price. I give it major kudos for its solid construction because that, unlike the wiring, is difficult to fix. I really HATE the amount of noise these cheap single-coils put out though; it really grates on me, which is why I think anyone whom should keep this guitar for more than a year or two MUST have those pickups replaced.

run of the mill strat copy, sunburst finish, bolt on neck, vintage 3 spring tremolo, basic imitation strat, although the volume/tone knobs are kinda large knurled chome things that look out of place

no complaints here, guitar is completely stock like the day it arrived and I get the strat sounds I want. Good with al my efffects, good straight .

Completely playable out of the box, intonation and action perfect for me, no problems with neck or frets. Sunburst finish was good. only problem so far is the chord jack is loose and the saddle for the D string had a flaw which caused the string to break very very often. My tech fixed both problems in about 5 minutes and no charge

I speciffically bought the guitar to travel with and to play when large amounts af alcohol might be present. I have dropped it, spilled beer on it and let everyone and their brother play it at parties, I replace the broken strings wipe of the stains and its good to go again. I treat this guitar like it cost $69(it did) and it takes it all for the last two years

I have been playing off amd on gor over 20 years, but am by no means an expert. The guitar i got for $69 brand new has been truly great for the price. Unfortunately I think buying a guitar online is a bit of a crap-shoot, from my limited experience all the Kramer Focus 111s have been good, and I believe Musicyo is decent to work with. What I don't understand is why anyone would buy one off an individual on Ebay for $25 to $45 more than Musicyo sells them for. All Krmaers come from Musicyo, buy direct and save your money, and the guitars are made overseas not "by Gibson" as some sellers claim. GMI, the parent company of Gibson, bought the Kramer name, but the gibson guitar company doesn't make Kramer guitars. I would replace it in a heartbeat if it were lost, stolen or destroyed. Even though the price has risen to $74.99 it is still the best value out there. considereing the price the guitar is a 10, you could probably sell the parts and get more than you paid.

21 frets, three single coils, 5 way selector...standard strat style. came with the hex key you need to adjust the bridge

This guitar suits my music style good...it can do good punk, alternative, and harder rock...it's also good for making fun of country. It has good sound. It's not the greatest thing in the world, but for only being $85, it ranks up there with decent $300 and $400 guitars. I didn't like the factory strings - had 10-46 - but I replaced them with fender 9-42.

The guitar was put together quite well. I didn't have any problems when I got it...the only problem I had was when my friend hit the head into the wall. You can see the ridges in the wood on the body if you look at it JUST right, but you can hardly tell...but, for being $85 at musicyo.com, it's excellent.

The hardware WILL withstand live playing...the hardware does seem like it should last...the strap buttons are nice and solid, and I can depend on it. I wouldn't gig this guitar without a backup - it was made so you can play one song with it and bash it off the stage, but I'm cheap and it's an excellent guitar for the money.

never dealt with them, but it seems like they would do well.

I've been playing for about a year and a half. I have a squier Stagemaster HSH, and a Gibson ES-335, and a few others. This is no gibson, but it is really a steal. They're made from plywood for us punks to bash them off of the stage, but I'm cheap. But really, the action and playability is really great.

Ok you just paid less than you should have for this thing and you got 2 tone 1 volume and a 5 way selector with 3 pickups and a Whammy Bar string through body set up. Now the Machine Heads suck big time but they will hold up fine since it is a starter guitar.

I have played this guitar for a while and I still get a buzz from the lower strings. It's the neck I know but it still does what it was designed for. Turn your amp up enough and you will forget the buzz you get. Hammer ons and Pull offs are a pain here since they never seems to hold their sound long enough but hey you get what you pay for.

Looks great, Holds up to major beatings, but is nothing I would play on stage.

You aren't going to break this thing but gigs are out of the question.

Never tried them but their policies look great.

The BEST starter you could get for this price. Anyone out there who is looking for their first serious style guitar get this one.

Strat-like guitar, bought last year.
21 Frets
volume, 2 tone, 5 way selector
3 single coil pickups

I just started playing when I bought this guitar so my "style" would be whatever is easy, I enjoy classic rock though and is my intended "style" I guess.
Right now I am playing it through a Fender Frontman15 with reverb
I was using a borrowed Sunn dymos
It sounds great.

The frets were very smooth no sharp edges
The set up from the factory was OK, The strings were a little high
which made playing difficult for me, however I have a friend who has been playing longer than I have been alive and it was fine for him. After some minor adjustments the action is just fine.
I got the Lake Placid Blue finish which just looks beautiful. No flaws or or anything. I have received many compliments on how this guitar looks. However I think a white pickguard would look better on it, instead of the black one that comes with it.

I have no experience "live" playing but I suppose it would
Again this is my first guitar, but I have had no problems with it
The finish has seemed to last, it has been slightly dropped a few times and not even a scratch

No problems to report.
Bought it from musicyo.com
it arrived when they said it would

Been playing a little over a year, I also own a Takamine Jasmine acoustic guitar.
If it were stolen or lost I would definately get another one, for 70 bucks it is great.
I love the guitar, the only complaint I have is the bar is in the way and awkward, but I don't really use it anyway so I took it off.

The same features that come with a standard kramer focus 111s! ! ! Note all the rating are for the factory setup and not for the crap o've done to this guitar.

Well I play mostly grunge and heavy rock so the factory issued pickups were a peice of crap. Also they are poorly wired! ! ! ! So I changed the neck and the bridge pickups with custom made dual rails mini humbuckers and the guitar has a nice thick sound. Also I'm using heavy gauge strings. Now my guitar can go deftony or reach a state of nirvana (Yeah, I know I'm corny). It has a full thick sound on all the pickup selection and it sounds great on clean with the right amount of bass and tanginess on the fourth position. I play this thing through a Marshall, fender amp and a poineer speaker all at the same time. Go mackie! ! ! !

I can truely say the people who put this guitar together are idiots! ! ! ! The tremelo bar is useless, the action was way off,and the pickups weren't soldered in properly. The guitar actually almost caught on fire because a couple of the gound wires were not soldered. The finish is great, no flaws or whatever. I got it in black. I actually took it apart and as great as the finish looks on the outside, the inside is crap! ! ! I've seen bum shacks that had better wood than than this piece of crap! ! ! There was a piece of cardboard painted black to separate the pickups from the tremelo springs. Also the factory tuners absolutely suck. It goes off tune all the time and two actually broke because i use heavy gauge strings. I was about to throw this piece of crap away(literaly) and i fung it across my room. To my suprise nothing broke off so i decided to fix this guitar up. I changed the tuners to gotoh, added a fender floyd rose nut and bridge, changed the pickups, changed the stap button with schaller's strap locks and readjusted the neck. Now this guitar rocks. Even though i had to spent an additional $200 on it. I love this guitar and i can honestly say that it's better than Ibanez Iceman, Fender Jagstang, and Kramer striker. I can finally retire my gibson les pauls as i now use this guitar to play live as well as recording. This guitar was meant to play rough as it survived through numerous incidents inluding three stage dives. The control knobs still sucks but i think they look cool.

As i say this guitar was meant to play rough.

Musicyo sucks!!!! ! ! They first ship me a left handed focus when i'm righthanded and then after i complained, they kept on sending me the same black focus i ordered. I had to sent back 27 of these crapass guitars back to them with my own money! ! ! ! I will never buy from them again. . . .. after i order my steinberger : )! ! !

I've been playing guitar for a good 6 years now. And this is the crapiest guitar i've ever owned. This guitar is only good for projects. Either that or upgrading everything on it. I would never recommend this guitar to anybody who doesn't know what a real guitar is or who don't know how to fix up a guitar. This guitar cost me a total of $291. But the money was well worth it as the guitar is my main guitar now. So if you have money, don't buy this guitar and look for a better guitar and if you're broke, you're screwed! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

2001 Korean made strat copy. Laminated body, 1 volume 2 tone, 3 single coil pickups, maple neck, candy red finish, standard trem.

O.K. I'm a gibson fan. Les Pauls, SG's, big humbucker man. But I play many styles of music and needed that strat single coil sound for some of what I play. This thing was cheap so I took the chance. I am well pleased. This thing sounded as good as any strat or copy that I have played. I play through a vintage fender deluxe reverb amp. The Kramer had all the strat (quack) as any strat I've played. The neck pickup is great, the middle is good, and the bridge was good. I said "was" for the bridge because I replaced it with a Seymour Duncan little 59er(Humbucker).

Well let me start by saying mine is a very sharp looking guitar. Very nice paint job, solid black single ply pickguard. It came with the standard factory setup that was not bad, but I turned a few wrenches and had one of the best playing guitars in any price range. If you can't set one up, take it to a pro. It does makes a difference. There are no flaws that I could find as far as the fit a finish is concerned. I would give it a 10 but the action was a little off for my tastes, and it has a plywood body (can't really tell it though).

It seems to be really well built. Should last a life time if taken care of. All guitars if played have normal wear and tear you have to expect. I've had no trouble with mine

Hadn't needed them, and I don't think I will.

I have been playing for over 20 years. I've owned many guitars from many different makers and this is a good one. I currently on a Epiphone Flame top G400, Les paul, Peavy mantis and the Kramer. Fender deluxe reverb amp, and lots of pedals I've aquired over the years. If it was lost or stolen I would buy another instantlly. You can't beat the price. The only thing I dislike is the volume knob gets in my way while I play. It's to close to the strings and to tall. I've had that problem with all start style guitars though. You can't go wrong with this guitar. It's a better guitar than any Squire, Rouge or any other budget start copy. Good quality great price, can't be beat.............