Kramer American Showster Metalist III

Like the reviewer above I also own a Metalist III in cobalt blue. So about the finish first. It's stunning. One of the coolest looking paint jobs I've ever seen, which made me want it in the first place. It looks like, and is as hard, as automotive paint! I do have one small chip on the lower horn but since the stuff is so hard it hasn't grown at all in the ten years I've owned it. There seems to be some very strong black undercoating underneath the surface paint.

The body shape also drew me to this guitar. The horns taper to points that are under a 1/2". The rest of the body shape slightly resembles the Ibanez S-types in it's contouring, though it's definitely heavier than my s-type.

In the literature on this guitar it says there is a coil tap switch. Mine must have been altered at some point since the switch is a mini DP3T. You would think a manufacturer wouldn't put in a more complicated switch than is needed and to just get the humbucker coil tapped they would only need a SP2T switch.

Comes with an original Floyd Rose. They're all just licensed these days it seems. The bridge is now at least 20 years old and none of the chrome has stripped off. Not one speck of rust. It flutters as well as any Jackson too. Most other F.R. equipped guitars just don't bounce like that.

Looks like a two piece neck. Runs all the way through to the middle section of the headstock (which is at a slight angle) so no joint is needed. There are two small wings attached at the sides of the headstock to accommodate the tuning machines. They're still in great shape too.

I give the features a nine because it's all you could reasonably want in this type of guitar but without the kitchen sink thrown in, like a sustainer or piezo pickup. (I'd really like to throw a sustainer in there but the control cavity is already tight)

As cool as it is, this is not my main axe. It has a pretty unique tone that I don't always want. The sustain is very good but it's almost like you can hear the metal. Whether it's the bridge, trem springs, or metal inserts, I don't know. I have used it for recording though and you can hear how it sounds here. www.myspace.com/voidinthei (it was the only guitar used)

My rating is No Opinion because taste in tone is just too subjective in most cases.

The one thing I noticed that look like a flaw from the factory was the the humbucker is slightly skewed. I know on some of these American Showster models they're supposed slanted but this one isn't like that. It's just slightly crooked, like the line worker though it was supposed to be slanted but realized they screwed up just in time to make it sort-of-straight.

I have the action set a little high because the fret are getting low and flat. Time to replace the soon cause I'm sure they're the originals.

Even with high action though it's easy to play. The satin finish on the neck is fast and has a moderately thick D shape to it. Not nearly as thin as newer shredding guitars but it still feel very good.

Everything is solid and still original except maybe the tone pot/capacitor and the coil tap switch.

I have gigged with it without a backup. I would again and feel perfectly comfortable. Holding and playing this thing; you get the feeling that it is a very high quality instrument. I don't break strings so I never worry about dealing with the Floyd in that situation.

Being twenty years old you would expect more finish flaws, but besides a small chip on the treble horn (which is my fault for dropping it) it has no dings or scratches! Like I said earlier, they must have used car paint for these things!

I bought this used in 97 for $350. It's both a shame and blessing that such a well built instrument can be had for so cheap just because of a stigma towards Kramer. It was also made in Korea which for many people means another strike. They make crap and high end guitars just like Americans. I've played American strats and les pauls that shouldn't have left the factory floor.

Anyway, if you see one of these, don't hesitate to cough up the small amount it's probably going for, it really is a great deal for an excellent guitar.

Guitar is a 1989 high serial number with one Seymour Duncan JB humbucker at the bridge and two single coil Seymour Duncans at the middle and neck positions. The body is made of maple (believe it or not..according to old Kramer magazines) the neck is maple with rosewood. Guitar has 5 way selector, master tone, master volume, coil splitter switch, schaller tuning keys, Floyd Rose original trem unit and a locking nut. The body is a highly figure maple that is of the strat style shape and has an excellent paint job of cobalt blue. The neck is a 25 1/2 radius with 22 jumbo frets. The guitar has imbedded as well as exterior mounted metal plates that enhance the sustain. (does an incredible job)

The guitar sounds like a heavy metal lead guitar. The JB humbucker has a high output that can really scream through the solos. The sound is fat if you roll off the tone a bit. The intonation and set up could not be any more accurate. I was very impreesed by it. The two single coils are decent quality and do produce a strat like sound, but you will have to play with your amp a bit to get them. The single coils are seymour duncans, but to me sound no better than a typical alnico strat pickup. The guitar is very quiet throughout all settings. Not much buzz even with high gain settings. The guitar can produce rich tones as well as more bright tones. The tone knob has great range and really allows you to change the trem and base settings. The floyd rose works exceptionally well and is postioned well for accurate playing. My only criticism is the positioning of the 5 way selector. It is mounted more parallel to the neck than other more conventional guitars and requires some mental gymnastics when switching through the different ppositions.

The guitar is 14 years old and was most likely one of the last guitars made by Kramer, due to its very high serial number. Not many of these guitars were made. For the most part though, the guitar looks as if it has not been used in 14 years. the previous owner must have just left it in a closet. The action was perfect as well as the intonation. There is not even one buzz on the neck. The paint job is consistent and deep. I have noticed however, that there are some machine marks in the highly sculptured area around where the body meets the neck. The paint looks grainy due to the incomplete sanding in that area. I dug up some info on it and it turns out that since Kramer made this one guitar of maple, sanding the guitar was much more involved due to the hardness of the wood. Occasions did exist where machining marks could be overlooked on certain guitars. It is not noticible unless under a powerful light and up close. All other parts of the guitar are fitted well together and I am very impressed with the quality overall.

This guitar will easily withstand live playing. All components are of the highest quality and put together correctly. The finish on it is 14 years old and the guitar looks like I just bought it brand new. The strap buttons are solid but beware, this guitar is highly sculptured and because of that, the strap peg near the neck joint is more fragile. At this peg, there only exists about half the wood you would find on a strat. You run the chance of breaking the horn the peg is attached to if you put too much downward force on the guitar. So dont rest your arms on it. I would not use the guitar without a backup. It has a floyd rose on it and does not have a trem setter. Floyds brake strings and once one goes, they are all out of tune

Kramer went bankrupt in 1990 due to customer loyalty shifting away from it as players regarded kramers as foreign made pieces of plywood cheaply put together. The disdain for the comapny was a result of the striker and focus line of guitars that were indeed pieces of junk. Kramer did produce some of the highest quality guitars on the market that even today, are still hard to surpass, On its upper level guitars, Kramer used the best components but Kramer was unable to get the customer to differentiate its good products from its bad products, so, it went under. Fortunately, the guitars are built like tanks and dont break much. If they do, most reputable music repair facilities can fix them. Beware of the necks though. If they break, they are gone forever.

I have been playing for 23 years and have owned about 37 different guitars ranging from a 54 Les Paul to G&L S-500. I owned a Kramer striker when i was a teenager in the 80s and thought that it was complete garbage. I shyed away from Kramer from there on out. After reading some reviews on their upper level guitars from old guitar player magazines I decided to look into buying another Kramer. So I purchased the American Showster Metalist III in cobalt blue. I can not say enough about it. It is an absolute gem of an instrument that was built solidly in 1989. It looks taday like it just came out of the factory. And this guitar represents a shift in the way Kramer was thinking at the time. They wanted to produce incredible quality guitars for the market to pull themselves out of financial ruin. They managed to build the guitar, but failed on the finance part. Too bad though. Kramer was on the verge of really producing some of their finest work. In my book, they never reached their fullest potential. They just could not shake the 80s glam image. Kramer guitars are now at a weird crossroad. Most of them sit in pawn shops for cut rate prices. My guitar listed for 1,050 US Dollars in 1989. I picked it up for 275. And this is a systemic condition for all Kramers these days. They are all priced low because they do not move off the shelves of the guitar stores and pawn shops. If you want to pick up a great, high quality guitar that is highly versatile pick up a kramer. But above all, DO NOT PURCHASE ANY FOCUS MODEL OR STRIKER MODEL. They are junk!!!!!!!!