Kramer Focus 111S

I BOUGHT THE OLDER VERSION OF THIS FOCUS 111S. STRAT STYLE. IT IS METALLIC MAROON WITH THE BLACK PICK GUARD AND PICKUP COVERS. CHROME DOME KNOBS WITH 5 WAY SWITCHING AND TWO TONE ONE VOL. KNOB.
TUNERS WERE SWITCHED OUT BEFORE I GOT IT.

THIS IS THE OLDER VERSION WITH THE JK991..... SERIAL NUMBERS. NO IDEA HOW OLD IT REALLY IS. BUT FOR IT'S AGE IT IS IN GREAT CONDITION STILL !! SMOOTH SILENT SWITCHING AND KNOB MOVEMENTS.

THE ACTION IS FAST TOO. CONCIDERING IT HAS A FATTER NECK THAN THE SQUIERS. IT REALLY FILLS THE HAND IN GOOD.
ROSEWOOD FRETBOARD, BODY TYPE ?

THE SOUND IS THE BEST I HAVE HEARD FROM A CHEEPER GUITAR. WAY BETTER THAN THE SQUIER !! SQUIERS ARE THIN AND NOISEY !! THIS KRAMER IS DEEPER AND BASSIER SOUNDING WITH LOTS OF SMOOTH SOUNDS !!
GREAT FOR PLAYING SLOW SONGS. WHEN YOU NEED A QUIETER SOUND.

WORKS VERY WELL WITH MY DISTORTION, REVERB, TREMOLO AND CHORUS. WITH A DELAY PEDAL ON IT IT REALLY TAKES YOU TO SOME GREAT PLACES !!

I USE THIS GUITAR FOR MY MAIN ONE NOW !! WHEEEE : D

WELL THE ACTION IS GREAT FOR ME, THE STRINGS ARE SET KINDA LOW. THIS THING STAYS IN TUNE GREAT TOO ! NOT A HEAVY GUITAR EITHER,NOT A FEATHER, BUT JUST RIGHT.

FROM THE LOOKS OF IT WHEN I GOT IT ... IT WAS TOSSED AROUND QUITE A BIT ! THIS THING STILL HOLDS UP GREAT !! ALL THE DINGS AND DENTS JUST ADDED ROAD WORTHINESS CHARM TO IT.

I FIND IT TO BE VERY DEPENDABLE. WHEN POLISHED UP, IT GLEEMS FANTASTIC WITH TI'S METAL FLAKE MADNESS ! THE NECK LOOKS LIKE IT WILL LAST ANOTHER 100 YEARS HA, HA, HA : D

WELL, NONE. I'M IT'S SOUL SUPPORT SERVICE TEAM NOW.

I WOULD BUY ANOTHER ONE IF THIS ONE EVER LEFT MY SIDE. I BOUGHT IT USED, AND RECOMMEND IT ANYONE LOOKING FOR A SOLID WORKHORSE !!
IT'S GREAT TO TAKE ALONG AND NOT WORRY ABOUT GETTING IT DIRTY LIKE YOUR NEW $$$ ONE !

THIS 111S GUITAR NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH THE NEWER VERSIONS !!
THE OLDER ONES ARE WAY BETTER !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is a Kramer Focus 111S model. It was likely made in 2002 or 2003 when I bought it. According to the headstock, it originates from Indonesia.

It's your standard Strat-style guitar: three single-coil pickups, 21 frets, a volume pot, two tone pots, and a three-way selector switch. Being an extremely cheap factory job, the guitar is made of plywood (a nato/alder mix, according to the website). The finish is black with an orange burst, that looks fine and is well-done, but looks kind of muted next to a genuine Stratocaster with a burst-style finish. The bridge is a vintage-style fulcrum tremolo, which is surprisingly usable with the proper setup.

It has Kramer factory tuners that are sporadically reliable, but should probably be replaced if you're going to be taking the stage with this guitar. Ditto for the nut. The neck is has a thin profile that sits comfortably in your hand, and decently big frets. The strap buttons work fine, as long as your strap doesn't suck.

I'll give it an 8. It has plenty of features, and since I'm not a big feature guy, any more than what this guitar has would be overkill. That said, it does not have my ideal features, which would knock any guitar down a couple of points in my book.

I play hard rock/heavy metal. If this is your thing, you're probably going to want to make some modifications (as I did), but out of the box, it is usable. The single-coil pickups are of surprisingly high quality for the price, but the sound and feel that they yield while distorted isn't ideal. That said, they sound absolutely beautiful for cleaner sounds. Learn to play "Sultans Of Swing" and have a field day with them.

This guitar does feed back a lot while distorted. Judicious use of the volume pot, and keeping your strings from resonating freely, is absolutely imperative onstage. A noise gate would be a wise investment as well. Its tone is very bright, and not as thin as you might expect for a guitar made of cheap wood and single-coil pickups.

One thing I was really surprised by (and this was a gamble, since I bought this online and thus could not try it before hand) was the natural resonance on this guitar. With an appropriate setup and a fresh change of strings, the unplugged tone of the guitar easily beat out many much higher-end models I have tried. I would not expect such high quality tone out of plywood and cheap metal. This is a quality that most (nay, all) guitars in the $100-$500 price range do not have... and this doesn't even cost $100!

The sound gets an 8. It may not do what I want it to do, but it does what it was built to do very well. And it gets a favorable tilt for having the sound of a guitar many times its price. You'll probably not be blown away, but you may just be impressed.

The setup from the factory was pretty much as you'd expect: haphazard, crap strings, and whatnot. The pickups were fine, and the build of the instrument itself was actually fine. I didn't notice any significant flaws, which honestly came as a surprise for (again) a cheap foreign guitar. From some of the horror stories I've heard about buying online, and buying from Musicyo, I think I must have lucked out. This is a pretty fine guitar for the cheap price.

That said, like most budget guitars, there is no perfect setup. You will probably uncover some string buzz at some point along the neck. However, it isn't pervasive enough to hurt the overall sound of the guitar. It is still very playable. And by the way, with the proper tweaking, as well as a replacement nut and locking tuners, you can get some pretty good mileage out of the trem bar. It's at least as stable as the bar on a decent Fender.

As I've mentioned several times, the parts are pretty low-grade, but the only major hardware issues I had were the cheapness of the selector switch (replace it!) and the potentiometers, which really drop off around the 50% mark and suck the treble right out (replace them!). These parts are pretty inexpensive, and Kramer could get away with charging maybe 15 or 20 dollars more for the guitars if they'd just put some decent knobs in. $100 may not be $80, but it's still pretty damn cheap.

I'll call this one a seven. Mostly good, with a few glaring issues.

I've gigged with this guitar and traveled with it many times. It can and will withstand live playing. Just keep an eye on the hardware, and bring a backup with you. I've never had a problem with the parts, but the possibility is always there.

One thing I would like to mention is, be sure that the wiring is soldered into place securely. I've had the wires detach from the input jack twice. Check the solder! You do not want this to hapen during a gig (fortunately for me, it's only happened offstage, at home).

Gig with it. Play the hell out of it. You'll be fine, as long as you have a backup handy (conventional wisdom for ANY guitar, not just this one). I give it an 8. Aside from the wiring coming loose, which is a big enough problem to take off a couple of points, it's good to go.

Kramer's customer support rules. A 10, easily. Email them a question and they'll probably get an answer to you--written by a living, breathing human being--on the same day.

My overall rating for this guitar is an 8. I'm tempted to give it a high 7, but the ultra-low budget price is a deciding factor. It can easily compete with most guitars that cost more than three times as much. I'd buy it again. Hell, I HAVE bought it again. I've modded my original, and I decided that I wanted a second one that I would leave stock.

I've mentioned two things in this review that I'd like to expand upon before I send this in. One: I'm not a big features guy. In fact, I generally prefer my guitars to be as bare-bones as possible. Two: I have made several changes to my original Kramer Focus, even though I liked the stock version enough to buy another one. To this end, I'll detail what I did to my first Kramer, and how it fares with the new modifications.

In its current state, my Focus has a replacement nut (normal plastic, like on most guitars), Schaller locking tuners, and a Seymour Duncan Hot Rails (awesome pickup, great brown sound with moderate gain) in the bridge. I have removed both the middle and the neck pickups, as well as two of the three knobs and the selector switch. All that's left is the bridge pickup, which runs straight to the volume pot, then to the jack.

For the volume, I put in an Ernie Ball replacement part that I got for under $10, and it makes a world of difference. The Hot Rails cleans up well now, without the drop-off and horrible treble loss. The pot resides under the last knob on the guitar, towards the edge of the body. I removed the closer knobs, since I have a bad habit of rubbing the closest knob with the side of my hand when I play, which messes my volume up.

Since my aim with this particular guitar is obviously to get things as simple as possible, I also took off the trem bar and installed all five strings in the tremolo cavity. In this stage, I'd definitely give the guitar a high 9. The only reason it doesn't get a 10 is because the wood and metal parts are still low-grade, and will probably break down on me one day.

So, the stock model gets an 8. My version gets a high 9. Since the version you're reading this review for is obviously the stock version, the overall rating will ultimately be 8.

This is one of the new Kramer focus 111s made in China. The body is made of laminated wood. I think it's nato and alder plywood used on the body. It's a basic no frills strat copy with 3 single coils and 21 frets. It has the basic strat layout of 2 tone and one volune control. The neck is one solid piece of lower grade maple with some economy rosewood used for the fretboard. It has a strat style tremelo that works o.k.

I have owned a couple other plywood guitars before this Kramer and they both sounded bright and punchy. This Kramer focus is more subdued in both tone and volume. It's just not as loud as my other 2 plywood body guitars. The guitar is better suited for rythem playing and less suitable for lead playing because of it's overall thin tone. I don't know about upgrading these pickups. It would like putting expensive tires on a cheap import automobile.

Well it looks like a 100 dollar guitar. In no way, shape or form could this guitar be at the same quality level as a made in Mexico Fender guitar. It just has a much cheaper look to it. The surf green paint is nicely done. The paint job is the best aspect of the guitar. The nut was cut a bit sloppy but it seems fine. A couple spots on the rosewood fretboard where the frets end needed a bit of wood filler. The neck itself seems a bit buzzy on the lower strings even after a truss rod adjustment. The chrome on the guitar looks decent as do the chromed volume and tone knobs. The strings looked tarnished and so did the frets. The frets were not polished or dressed. I taped the rosewood fingerboard with electricians tape and lightly sanded the frets with 800 grit sandpaper to remove most of the oxidation. The frets look a bit better now.

I'm sure this would make a good rythem guitar in a band situation.

This guitar was purchased during the musicyo.com December sale. The regular focus was on sale for 59 dollars and my deluxe was 10 dollars more. The surf green color that I chose sold out very fast. Actually the only reason I purchased the guitar was because of the color. This is a more vintage sounding instrument because of it's thin tone. I find this guitar lacks sustain and volume. I don't think this guitars tone and sound is good enough to warrant putting expensive pickup replacements in it. The Kramer Focus 111s is best suited as a beginners guitar or as cheap knock around guitar for a more experienced player.

im not gonnna repeat everything everyone else has said but here are the basics

1 volume and tone tone knobs
made in indonesia
21 fret
5 way selector
strat style guitar
comes with a few little wrenchs to do adjustments
3 single coil pickups

ive been playing for 2 years so i dont know really
but i think it sounds really good especially for the price 80 bucks
i play a little of everything and i think it sounds pretty good combined with the right pedals
the only problam is that it buzzes almost like its hitting metal

see now i like the vintage sunburst finish on it i think its awsome and im happy to say its a tough guitar because i have accedentally dropped it a few times with very little damage

i think it would withstand some live playing. i wouldn't recommend it though. id be a good spare or backup
the finish lasts really well
*now i found that the strap buttoms were loose but there is a very easy way to fix it. take the strap button out and put a tooth pick in the hole and cut the toothpick at the top of the hole so it dosen't stick out and then screw in your strap button with the toothpick inside

i have never had do deal with it

ive been playing 2 years.
i have a vamp 3 amps and some other odds and ends.
i would not buy another one just because i can afford a better guitar now
i wish it had better pickups
its stays tuned well for a very long time

Pretty much your standard double cutaway strat copy: thrtee single coil pickups; floating termelo system; sealed tuners; one volume, two tone controls...5 way selector switch

I play classic rock--everything from the Fifties to the Seventies...Anything a Strat would be good for, this Focus is good for...Surf, etc...The bridge pickup is hot--the other two are adequate

I bought the guitar from Music Yo! When it arrived, I expected to have to adjust the truss, set pickups, etc. In fact, it arrived set up nicely. Frets were well dressed, action nice and low, neck straight..The wood doesn't seem to be of the very highest quality, but it is more than serviceable...

SInce this guitar arrived yesterday, I cannot say, but it seems solid enough. I like the fact that the volume and tone controls are metal versus plastic...Strap buttons seem a bit shaky, but so waht? If they come out, super glue them in wioth a matchstick...

I have purchased two of these guitars. The sloid color finish (surf green) is cool. The "sunburst" leaves a lot to be desired. It is more like orange surrounded by a black ring..

Clueless here

I have been playing since 1958! This is the best guitar deal I have seen! No it isn't as souped up as my American-made Fender Strat. But it cost $89 and not $890!!! What a great value! A very playable instrument I would have no problem gigging with(I'd keep an eye on the strap buittons though). My main rig is a Fender Bandmaster amp and the aforementioned Strat. I also have a Les Paul Custom. If my American Strat is the standard (a 10), this guitar is easily an 8--at a fraction of the cost.

Music Yo! took my order on a Monday. On Thursday, the guitar was in my hands. They are in Tennessee. I am in Illinois. And no, I don't work for Music Yo! I work at a college.

If you are a parent looking for a cool, serviceable, yet inexpensive guitar, this is it! Look no more! You will not find more bang for the buck. There are a lot of crappy Strat copies out there for about the same price. They are junk!!! BUY A KRAMER FOCUS 111S. I don't care if its from China or Kalamazoo! This is a helluva good deal!

See the other reviews. The neck is amazing for the price.

Ok, this is my first and only guitar, however I have been playing for over a year now and have played a lot of other peoples guitars. By no means is this the best guitar I have played, almost all the guitars I have played excelled this one, with the exception being the Encore strat copy. However, those guitars were all far more expensive than this one.

For the price, this guitar sounds really good. I play metal and punk, it works pretty well for both styles, I use the neck pu for metal and the bridge for punk. The other pickup configurations sound only slightly different to the neck pickup so not very useful really.

The tone knobs actually work and I can hear a difference if i twiddle with them, unfortunately the volume is not very responsive and you get no output unless you turn it up over halfway, it does the job though.

The bridge pickup gives a bright clear sound while the other configurations sound heavy and bassy. I play through a Laney 30W all valve combo.

Nothing about this guitars sound is perfect, but its alright and it doesnt sound bad in any way. So for the price its bloody excellent.

Only major dislike is that with my 30w all valve (all valve meaning its about 3 times as loud as its power rating, so really its 90w solid state)I cant turn the volume on my amp up beyond 2 on the distortion channel without getting loads of feedback. Grrr, im gonna get a pedal to remove the feedback, im pretty sure they exist.

So, pretty mediocre but very good value. Ill give it a 7.

When I got it, it was reasonably well set up, no major problems but I lowered the action anyway.

The neck is well fitted and there are no flaws in the finish except there is no varnish in the neck hole where you adjust the truss rod, but nobody looks in there anyway and i havent had to adjust the truss rod.

The finish is quite good, no flaws, its meant to be lake placid blue but in most light it looks green, im not really bothered. The neck is smooth and the frets are nicely done with no sharp edges.

Hehe. Hmm, if I had any sense, I wouldnt gig with a #70 guitar, but I have gigged once with this and it stood up to it fine.

The hardware is all fine except the plastic bit on the end of the pickup selector falls of occasionally, but i just clip it back on and its fine. Ive seen it happen with more expensive guitars than this.

The strap buttons are solid, its all gravy. Tremelo is kind of stiff, it feels like it might break if youre not careful. To test this theory I gave it some real rough treatment and its fine, stiff but durable.

Never contacted them and I probably never will even if it breaks. At #70 id rather try and fix it myself, at least if i mess it up its no big deal. This is the sort of guitar i wouldnt mind fiddling around with, changing pickups etc.

Its good for the money. If you're broke, buy it. If you can afford a little more get something a bit better, but NOT AN ENCORE!!! If it were stolen or lost id be a little bit pissed off cos i havent got another guitar, but I wouldnt buy it again, id get something better. Its a great guitar if you're just starting to learn, especially as the neck is as good as some #200 + guitars ive played. By no means a bad guitar, but not very good either. Its the guitar embodiment of "O.K." its like a car which gets you from A to B, only in a guitar form. Great value though, my friend is impressed because the neck is nicer than his guitar's and it was cheaper.

(BTW, I've had this guitar about 2 years now so I'm VERY familiar with it)
decal says "Made in Indonesia"
21 frets
three single coil pickups
1 volume & 2 tone controls
5 way selector
Black finish
Rosewood fretboard

Like another reviewer, I also bought this guitar primarily as a vehicle upon which to mount my GK-2A hex pickup. But I was pleasantly surprised by the out-of-the-box tone of the guitar. Frankly, I thought the sound of all three stock pickups were great--and I've spent more money just buying pickups alone for other guitars--including the $230 I just spent buy Fralins for my stock Fender Nashville Tele. I don't feel a need to change the pickups in this guitar--to my ears, they have a great traditional strat tone

Here again, I was pleasantly surprised. There were no appreciable flaws in the finish of the model I received. I did adjust the action a little--I like very low action. I also adjusted the saddles a little to tweak the intonation but it wasn't off too much really. The neck is outstanding--as good as any I've played. Frets are nicely dressed--no rough edges anywhere. I did install a tremelo-stabilizer kit although I'm not really sure it needed it as it held tune very well even without it.

I have to knock it a little here--but hey, *it's a $70 guitar!!!* The pots are crap. The selector is poor quality--they won't hold up for long under stage use. A $25 wiring kit from Stew-Mac solves the problem and is very much worth the cost and effort. If you've never worked on a guitar before--here's your perfect low-risk chance to learn. After all, your total investment in the thing would still be under $100. If you screw it up--make a clock out of it and give it away for Christmas! ;-) One note of caution: a standard 5-way selector will not fit without about another 3/16" or so of additional routing in the cavity which must be done very carefully in order not to bust through the back of the guitar (I used a Dremel with a cutting blade and just fudged it). The stock unit contains a square box-enclosed under-sized switch. The tone knobs are knurled metal, but press on types with plastic inserts--no set screw retainer.

never needed it

I've been playing guitar on and off since 1967. I've owned tons of guitars--I won't bore you with the list but the most expensive guitars I ever owned were an original 1973 Les Paul Custom and a 1982 Fender "the Strat." I've never been rich enough to afford a real high-end custom shop type guitar so I can't compare to those, but this guitar is *well* worth $70 considering its performance at a fraction of the cost for standard "name" brand guitars.

If you're a parent trying to buy a guitar for a beginning student--you can't go wrong with this. If you're a teenager on a tight budget trying to start your first band--this is a great choice. If you're a semi-pro with a 'Paul looking for a cheap way to get that Strat sound into your line-up or just have a backup guitar (or place to park your GK-2A), this is a good choice--if you can do the mods. If you're a full-time pro, what are you doing here reading this about a $70 guitar? ;-)


Except for the fact that it has my GK-2A pickup on it--if this guitar were stolen, I would consider that the poor sap must be really desperate for a guitar, wish him the best of luck with his karma, and go buy another one--'cause at these prices, it wouldn't be worth raising my blood pressure over it.

No Need to Rehash what others have indicated other than mine said made in China. It's your standard strat copy with the same typical features.

I have owned other strat copies (Squire made by Fen???). And this $60 treasure far surpasses it in every catagory. This guitar suits my style of playing from country, blues to classic rock and see no reason why it would not perform in other styles as well with the right equipment. Again my rating reflects the bias of the price tag and that it is not a American Fender Strat with a price tag over $1800.

I ordered the vintage Sunburst finish which I really like and which was absolutely perfect--NO FLAWS ANYWHERE!!!! The setup from factory was OK, but not to my liking. The action was too low especially between frets 1&2. This was an easy fix. I just used the allen wrench it came with and adjusted the neck slightly and no more fret buzz. For a $60 price tag I am in shock with the quality of this guitar so my rating will reflect that.

Everything seems to be made solid and was built with durability in mind. I don't gig and expect this guitar will outlast me.

Haven't had a reason to deal with them. They have a very helpful website and the shipping was incredible bar none!! So my rating is based on only that fact.

LOST??? I think not, come on be real. However, if it were stolen I would be dissapointed, but could understand why someone might want to steal it. It's a great guitar for the money and looks and sounds like your more expensive guitars costing hundreds more. In fact, for $60 I think I stole it! What d'ya think?

2001 Korean Strat Copy. Pretty standard, I'm not going to bore you with the the same features everyone else wrote.

I play everything from Eagles to Metallica. This guitar sounds great. I did purchase the optional pickup guard with two single coil quadrails and a humbucker. Trust me, this is the way to go. For $60 this upgrade made all the difference in the world. I liked the sound before, but after the upgrade the difference was unbelievable. If I had known how much better it would sound, I would have bought the upgrade three years ago. Definitely worthwhile. It also stops the slight humming noise the old electronics produced.

The finish is excellent. Mine is lake placid blue and now has a white pickguard instead of the blackone that came on it. It looks great and has held up superbly. After three years i still don't have a scratch on it and I play it almost everyday. Granted, I play it in my home and I take very good care of it. I bought a case for $80 and this has proved a very worthwhile investment.

The factory setup was great. I did lower the strings a bit and a couple of them buzz a bit but only because I like them really low. It does not come through the amp at all and is only noticeable when playing without the amp. The neck is straight and the tremolo works fine although I don't use it very much. The guitar stays in tune quite well but I would like to upgrade the tuners someday.

I don't know about live playing but I don't see why it wouldn't hold up. The hardware should last a long time. I've got three years under my belt and it's all perfect. The finish is still perfect as well.

I've only used them once and it was for the electar 65R amp that i bought. They were very helpful and sent me a new amp within days.

I love this guitar. I have a Yamaha acoustic and I am currently looking into a PRS Tremonti SE but for the money this is a great guitar. I have been playing on and off for about 18 years and I would definitely buy another if it were stolen.

The same. Made in china. Love the neck, its really easy to play.

I use this with a Marshall ms-4. It sounds quite nice, just as good as my friend's Fender Squier.

It sounds surprisingly nice without an amp, just like my old acoustic actually. So im gonna give this a 8 for being so nice without an amp.

Well I must say i'm very impressed here. The whole thing was put together very well, it certainly feels solid without being heavy. The neck is perfectly straight. The only flaws i noticed were a slight misalignment on one of the pickups and they had missed a spot inside a bolt hole when varnishing but it is far from obvious.

Hell yeah! Feels really solid, its a pleasure to play it. Feels like it will last 40 years. The tremelo arm works nicely. Everything was well put together. 10/10

Dunno, havent dealt with them, and dont think i will ever need to.

Not perfect of course but for a measly $70!!! What a bargain, you get such a well made, nice sounding, easy to play guitar for such a low low price. Value for money: 2 thumbs way way up!

Come on, it?s a Strat copy. What could you possibly need to know? Maple neck, rosewood board, and a plywood body. That?s about it.

I bought this guitar simply as a vehicle on which to mount a Roland GK-2A synth pickup and create a dedicated synth guitar. Still, I couldn?t resist pugging it in. It?s actually very resonant, much to my surprise. Not much to say here ? the bridge pickup is very hot compared to the others. The neck and middle pickups and combinations thereof produced mostly traditional Strat-ish sounds ? except that although it was very bright and trebly, it lacked spankiness and quack like the real thing. Despite being resonant, there is no doubt that the plywood body hinders tone generation ? it sounds like a plywood guitar. BUT, very very good for the whopping $70 I paid for it. Overall, not a tone machine of course but full of very useable and nice sounds.

: I?m stupefied. I paid $70 for a guitar and got: no sharp fret ends, nicely polished and leveled frets, a perfectly straight neck with no buzzes and good action, a perfect black finish, and decent quality hardware. Nice bridge saddles. What the hell is going on here? It?s not perfect, though ? the lower-horn pickguard hole was drilled just a hair too far inward, creating a small hump in the pickguard there. Some gloss finish slop was on the nut, and the fingerboard was slightly rough under my fingers due to some kind of compound left on the board ? 5 minutes with some 000 steel wool and lemon oil took care of that and it was smooth as could be. Overall very impressive though. Like getting a Corolla for Yugo money.

Super-thick finish and decent hardware. I doubt any problems will crop up if it's properly maintained. Strat-style guitars are notoriously tough.

Haven?t needed it. No idea, although if I got zero support with a $70 guitar I wouldn?t be surprised and couldn?t hold that against them.

I've been playing for too damn long, and own gobs of high-end gear. I suppose it does a good job of holding my Roland synth pickup. It also does it with quality that is pretty much unbelievable for the price. Plays great with no issues. I?d buy one of these in place of a Squier any day. Would be an excellent low-dollar way to get into playing without suffering the headaches of a poor-quality instrument.

Korean Made - 2003
Neck: Hard Maple
Neck Profile: Slim-Taper
Construction: Bolt-On
Body: Laminated Nato / Alder
Neck Pickup: Single-Coil
Middle Pickup: Single-Coil
Bridge Pickup: Single-Coil
Controls: 5-Way Pickup Selector
One Master Volume
Two Tones
Bridge: Vintage Style Tremolo
Machine Heads: Covered
Nut: PVC
Nut Width: 1.68"
Frets: 21 - Nickel/Steel
Headstock: Straight String Pull
Flat - String Tree between "E" and "B"
Fingerboard: 21 fret, Rosewood
F/B Radius: 12"
Scale Length: 25.5"
F/B Inlay: PVC Dots
Mine is a Vintage Sunburst finish

My music style is N/A, as I am just learning to play and this is my 1st guitar.
I'm using a Vox Pathfinder 15R which has built in tremelo and reverb, also have an echo and flange pedal to fool around with at a later time.
Pickup settings #2 and #4 are extremely quiet, with #1-#3-#5 only a slight sign of a hum.
This guitar produces exception full, bright, crisp sound. It's simply amazing for the price.
I really don't have any dislikes for the guitar that they shipped me. Simply put, it's "all good".

Set-up was very good right out of the box. I did lower the action a bit, but the intonation was right on the money.
Pickups seem to be adjusted perfectly, as is the bridge.
No factory or shipping flaws whatsoever. Once again, amazing for the remarkable low price. A buddy of mine who has played for 35 yrs looked it over upon arrival, and commented that it had the straightest neck he had ever seen. Beautiful sunburst finish too, and the frets / fretboard (rosewood) are fantastic.

This guitar will never see live playing with me, nor any other for that matter. I won't be playing in a band. BUT, I do believe that it would do just fine under those conditions.
Good sturdy hardware which is all visually appealing, the finish is dynomite, and I've yet to knock it out of tune other than playing with the action. Vibrato always seems to return to perfect tune.

I've never had to deal with customer support, but I will say that it shipped across country to me and arrived fast and in great shape.
For it's price, I'm not worried about a warranty.

Playing for only 1 month so far, and loving it. A Great guitar for a beginner OR a great cheap backup for a seasoned player. It blew away the low end fender strats for cost, sound, feel, features, cost ....
If stolen, I would indeed buy another just like it for the sake of having a good solid body guitar. I am planning on ordering a second guitar shorty to have a hollow body with humbuckers (Johnson JH-100), but that is entirely different beast and more costly (about $220).

Made in China, probably 2003. Others have provided the features, so I don't have to. Finish on my guitar is a mettalic Lake Placid Blue. I think it will contrast better with a white pickguard rather than the black one that comes on the guitar.
I paid extra for a leather strap and a TKL case, all in all about $160 including shipping. Not bad eh? That amount barely covers the cost of a Squier Affinity in most guitar stores.

I really much prefer the Gibson humbucker sound than the tinny, quacky Strat single-coil sound. I like the distorted crunchy sound of humbuckers with the Crunch setting of my Peavey Triumph. Occasionally I smooth it down for nice chunky jazzy bluesy chords. However, I do have the occasional urge to play this type of guitar. This guitar's single coils are actually quite powerful, sound like boosted Fender pickups and are louder than a Squier Affinity's. Very bright, sharp edge to it, specially on the bridge. Unfortunately it only makes one sound. The tone pots are useless, instead of gradually changing the sound, the move from bright to dull at about 8. It's a cheap enough guitar that I can play with it and change the pickups without any regret. I separately purchased the booster pack from Musicyo (2 dual rails and one quadrail) and will try it on this guitar, which other folks have reviewed as having only one sound: overdriven crunch.

The neck is wiiiide and thin, while my preference is a medium width neck with a little more "C" shape to it. The back of the neck and the rosewood fretboard were dry which some lemon oil made a lot nicer to play. The neck is slightly wider at the joint than the body (about 1/10 inch), and the gap between neck and body looks slightly wider than other Strat-clones. Maybe I'll pour some wood glue down there, might it improve the resonance of the plywood body? The tuners are not the best quality (some strings frequently out of tune), and the bridge saddles need a little adjusting. Action height is good, no string buzzing at all. Using the supplied cable, the guitar "crackled and popped" which could be because of the cable ends, or maybe it is the socket itself.
The back cover plate for some reason has two long cutout "windows". I can't figure out the reason for that. The tremolo pull uses only three supplied springs. I have not used the tremolo yet.

I've owned the guitar for five days, so I don't know about its durability. It's a cheap plywood guitar, what do you expect?
Let me say though that American companies have transferred enough "guitar technology" to the Chinese manufacturers that the quality is acceptable for such low prices, in fact value for money is really high. I speculate that Gibson pays these makers about US$40 for each guitar. Shipping from China, taxes, inventory overhead, etc. make up another $20 of the cost. If I critized this guitar I would actually be rude!

No idea, never dealt with them.

I've played simple rock songs on (You Really Got Me, Wild Thing, Mustang Sally, etc)and off for the last 30 years. I can play some blues. I am strictly an amateur who plays for his own pleasure and nobody else's. I play in my basement and don't let anyone else hear me sing or play, that's how bad. I prefer to play this through either the Peavey Triumph valve amp at clean setting or a Crate 20W solid state with slight overdrive. It's a nice addition to my little collection of other cheap guitars. None cost more than $400. Perfect for when I want to play the quack/cluck thing. Do I like it? Buyer's Remorse: I actually wish I had saved up a little more to buy one of Kramer's Korean made super-Strat types. I would have been happier.

I will not bore you with the details again.

The pickups hum like a swarm of killer bees, but I've never been a fan of single coils. Positions 2 and 4 are much quiter though, so I use those.

The sound/tone is slightly better than I expected. It sounds even better when masked by up to 20 effects pedals.

Having read all of the other customer reviews, I wasn't sure whether I was going to receive a pleasant surprise or a total shambles.

I received the latter. The worst set up and finish I have ever seen in the history of the entire world.

The action was very high and the saddles were not in correct ratio to the fingerbord radius/string height. Intonation was also way out and the trem was screwed right down. Pickups were very close to the strings.

The finish on the body is not too bad (vintage white), apart from a couple of cracks near the neck pocket.

The neck finish is terrible! bits of dust in the (uneven and sagging) finish. They must have coated the neck while standing next to a sandpit on a windy day!

Some parts of the neck have no coating at all, with the bare wood showing. It's quite rough to the touch. I could excuse this as a one off, but I bought 2 other guitars form musicyo.com at the same time (Vanguard & Striker) and BOTH had the same problem - to a lesser degree.

Surprisingly, there wasn't any fret buzz, even when set quite low. However, The nut slots were poorly cut, causing the G and B srings to 'rattle' when played open. I managed to remedy this with some graphite/pencil lead shavings in the slots.

Gibson/Kramer should be ashamed of themselves. Quite simply - a disgrace.

I wouldn't want to gig this - I'd be too embarrased. I'll probably just use it for experimenting.

I received the guitar/s within 48 hours of ordering, which is pretty damn good as I'm in the UK. Having said that, it's FedEx that do the deliveries, not Musicyo, so they can have an eight because their shipping rates are excellent.

Despite the total slagging I have just given this guitar, The fact remains that it cost only #43.67 ($69.99 at the time).

If you can tolerate a poor finish and know how to correctly set up your guitar/iron out minor faults, then you will have an instrument that is playable and doesn't sound too bad.

Finally, I have to mention that I am deeply suspicious about some of the rave reviews of Kramer/musicyo guitars. There is a possibility that some of the reveiws are written by musicyo staff to increase the overall scores. (I'm not stating this as fact, so please don't edit this bit out)

I would be happy for any genuine customers who are pleased with their instrument to email me and restore my faith, as the prices are so tempting that I may consider further purchases.

Made in China 2001, 21 frets, laminated body, Maple neck with rosewood fingerboard, ceramic magnet single coil strat pickups and controls with a 5 way selector, strat style body with silver metallic paint, synchronous tremolo. Supplied with allen wrenches for the bridge saddles and truss rod.

I play a variety of styles through an Ampeg Gemini II and a Kramer K-15R when I don't feel like firing up the Ampeg. The Kramer Focus has the usual kind of single coil noise when the selector switch is in positions 1, 3 and 5 and noise cancellation in positions 2 and 4. I really like the sound of the type of strat pickups that are in this guitar. I think they sound better than the ones in a Squier Strat that I have.

I wasn't expecting this guitar to be set up very well and once I got a chance to check it out I found I was right - it wasn't set up very well right out of the box. In fact it was almost unplayable. The tremolo attachment screws were turned down far enough that the tremolo didn't pivot and the saddles were adjusted too low on a few strings. The neck is ok except it wasn't radiused properly at the heel on the treble side. It is actually a little high in that area causing the saddles for the first three strings to be raised higher than they should need to be. I found that one of neck attachment screws was broken and needed to be replaced. The paint on the body is a nice color but is rather thin in some areas around the edges, so you can kind of tell the body is made of laminated plywood. If I was a beginner and didn't know how to adjust a strat style guitar for playability, I would have been pretty disappointed with this one. The tuners seemed unreliable to me so I replaced them with Grover Rotomatics. The original string trees were the round button type and had some rather sharp edges where they came into contact with the strings. I replaced them with GraphTech string trees.

I don't think the parts used on this guitar are inferior in any way that would effect reliability with the exceptions of the tuners and string trees.

I didn't deal with Musicyo on any of the defects this guitar had.

I've been playing for close to thirty years and have owned a couple different Fender Strato's and various Gibsons. My knowledge of strato construction and setup came in very handy as far as this guitar is concerned. Since it was a inexpensive guitar and in rather sad shape when I got it, I decided rather than go through the hassle of sending it back and all, that I would try to make it playable and use it as a platform for experimentation. Once I got it setup to be playable I found I actually liked the sound of the pickups and that the guitar had good sustain characteristics! I also liked the appearance - the silver metallic paint with black high gloss plastic and the chrome dome knobs. I shielded and star grounded the electronics per the instructions found on the guitarnuts website and tried some other modifications. These improved the sound so much that I really love the quality of tone and the strato-sound I get out of this thing. I wish I had these pickups in a Squier Strat that I have! The weight of the laminated body must contribute to the really nice sustain it has. And that is the reason I've decided to sell my modified Kramer - it's too heavy and it kills my shoulder after a half hour or so! But I will miss it's sound and looks.
I wouldn't discourage anyone, beginner or experienced from trying out a Kramer Focus 111S. You may get one that plays just fine out of the box and the modifications I made to mine aren't really necessary - as I said mine sounded good to me before I made them. I would be prepared, if you are a beginner or someone on a tight budget, to exchange one that is defective if needed or to have an experienced player or tech you can rely on evaluate the thing and tell you if adjustments need to be made, etc. I think they're definitely worth the price if you get one thats good or just looking for something to experiment with.

The Kramer Focus 111S guitars that I have are near excact copies of a Fender "Squier" Strat and are much better. The Bodies are solid and heavy so you know they means business. The necks are slim and feel nice. The shape of them is exactly like a strat so they are super comfortable. I own two of these guitars. One is Sunburst with a Rosewood fingerboard and the other is White with an American Flag pickguard and a Maple fingerboard. There is nothing missing as far as features are concered, so I'll give them both a 9.

Both my Focus strats can make just about any sound that I need. I can play anything from the Smoothest Jazz to Van Halen on these bad boys. The Rosewood fingerboard gives my Sunburst Focus smooth tone(I like to play on that one when I practice at home.) While The Maple fingerboard makes my white one sound extra "crisp" which is great for playing with my band because the sound really "Cuts" through.

The factroy set-up was fine but like everybody I adjusted the action to suit my stlye. The strings that came on these guitars were not as good as the Dean Markley 10's I always use. Change those strings!!! The Pickups were set just right for me and I really like the nice frets on these guitars compared to the wimpy frets on the Squier strats which are really bad. Of course I cant say that my Kramers play as well as a $1000 U.S.A. made Fender Stratocaster but they still rock the house every night!

Every part of my two Focus Kramers have been totaly strong and reliable. I really play alot on these two (especially the Sunburst one) and I have had no problems yet.

They both work fine so I've never had to deal with customer support, and that's the way I like it!

These are realy cool guitars. The best part about them is that they sound good compared to other Strat copies and they have'nt had any electronic problems or anything like that. That's really what it's all about for me!

BASICLY, WHAT YOU EXPECT IN A STRAT CLONE: 3 SINGLE COIL PICKUPS,5 WAY SWITCH, VOLUME & TONE CONTROLS. INTERESTINGLY, THE GUITAR COMES WITH TELECASTER TYPE KNOBS, WHICH I KIND OF LIKE, EVEN THOUGH I RARELY USE THEM.
I'VE REPLACED THE BRIDGE PICKUP WITH A CARVIN AP11, AND REPLACED THE PICKGUARD WITH A BLACK PEARLOID ONE FROM WARMOUTH.
I ALSO REPLACED THE TUNERS WITH NO NAME REPLACEMENTS FROM MARS.
FOR $69. YOU DON'T GET A LOT OF BELLS & WHISTLES.
THE BODY, AS FAR AS I KNOW IS NATO LAMINATE. THE NECK IS MAPLE, AND IS THE BEST PART OF THE GUITAR. IT HAS A ROSEWOOD 21 FRET BOARD WITH DOT INLAYS. THE GUITAR CAME WITH 2 ALLEN WRENCHES...1 FIT THE TRUSS ROD, THE OTHER DIDN'T FIT ANYTHING!, AND A MOLDED PLASTIC CORD WHICH WAS NOISEY AND WAS DISPOSED OF IMEDIATLEY.

I PLAY BLUES, ROCK,, FUNK, FUSION AND FOOL AROUND WITH SOME JAZZ.
I USE A CRATE GT80 AMP WITH A DIGITECH GENESIS 1 THROUGH THE EFFECTS LOOP, OR JUST THE GENESIS 1 DIRECTLY INTO THE BOARD.
I'VE PLAYED OFF AND ON FOR 34 YEARS. AT ONE POINT I HAD TO SELL MOST OF MY GEAR. WHEN I BOUGHT THIS GUITAR, IT WAS JUST TO SEE WHAT $69. COULD POSSIBLY GET ME.I REALLY WANTED A STRAT TYPE GUITAR TO PLAY WITH.
I FOUND THE SOUND TO BE A BIT NOISEY IN THE 1, 3, &5 POSITIONS, MUCH LIKE YOU'D EXPECT FROM A VINTAGE INSTRUMENT.THE PICKUPS SEEMED TO HAVE MORE OUTPUT THAN MY '66 STRAT, THOUGH, WHICH PRETTY MUCH MADE UP FOR THE HUM.
IN THE 2 & 4 POSITIONS, THE HUM WENT AWAY AND YOU CAN GET SOME NICE CLEAN KNOPFLER TYPE SOUNDS.
THE BALLANCE WAS PRETTY NICE IN ALL 5 POSITIONS, THOUGH, AND YOU CAN GET A NICE VARIETY OF TONES FOR JUST ABOUT ANY STYLE OF MUSIC.

MINE IS CANDY APPLE RED. THE FINISH IS VERY NICE, EVEN AFTER ALMOST 3 YEARS OF PLAYING IT. I ADJUSTED THE TRUSS ROD AND BRIDGE AND INSTALLED DIADARIO 10'S AND COULDN'T BELIEVE HOW FAST THIS THING PLAYS. I HAVEN'T USED THE TREM BAR, SINCE I'M AFRAID TO USE A TREM BAR ON ANY CHEAP GUITAR.
THE FRETS WERE NICE. MUCH BETTER IN EVERY REGARD THAN MY DAUGHTER'S SQUIRE AND I EVEN LIKE THE ACTION AND SOUND BETTER THAN MY 2002 STANDARD STRAT WHICH WAS ABOUT 4 TIMES THE PRICE OF THE KRAMER.
AS STATED ABOVE, THE BRIDGE PICKUP WAS REPLACED.THIS WAS BECAUSE THE ADJUSTMENT SCREW WAS STRIPPED. THE OTHER 2 WERE FINE. THE TUNERS WERE NOT TOO BAD, BUT I GOT A GOOD DEAL ON THE NEW ONES WHEN THE LOCAL MARS CLOSED, AND THEY WERE A SLIGHT UPGRADE FOR ONLY $10. THE PICKGUARD WAS REPLACED FOR COSMETIC REASONS, AND LOOKS DAMN NICE! THE SWITCH AND POTS ARE NOT THE BEST QUALITY AND MAY ALSO NEED REPLACING DOWN THE ROAD.BUT THEY STILL WORK FINE. THEY JUST HAVE A CHEAP FEEL TO THEM.I HAVEN'T HAD ANY PROBLEMS WITH THE STRAP BUTTONS, BUT I USE THIS GUITAR SITTING DOWN MOST OF THE TIME.DON'T FORGET THIS IS A $69. GUITAR. EVEN WITH SHIPPING AND THE UPGRADES I'VE ONLY SPENT ABOUT $160.

I'VE PLAYED IT FOR ALMOST 3 YEARS AND I STILL LOVE IT.THE NECK IS BETTER AND MORE STABLE THAN MY STANDARD FENDER STRAT AND TELES WHICH ARE BOTH NEWER.EVERYTHING STILL LOOKS, SOUNDS AND PLAYS BEAUTIFULLY. I USE THIS GUITAR FOR DAILY PRACTICING, RECORDING AND SIT DOWN SESSIONS WITH MY FELLOW SENIOR CITIZENS AND MY DAUGHTER. SHE ALSO USES IT ALMOST DAILY SINCE IT'S SO MUCH NICER THAN HER SQUIRE.I'VE GOTTEN MY MONEY'S WORTH OUT OF THIS THING SEVERAL TIMES OVER.I WOULDN'T USE ANY INSTRUMENT ON A GIG WITHOUT A BACKUP. AND I HAVEN'T REALLY USED THE STRAP BUTTONS MUCH.BUT I REALLY ENJOY PLAYING THIS GUITAR AND I DON'T CARE WHO KNOWS IT!

I ORDERED IT FROM MUSICYO.COM. I GOT IT IN LESS THAN A WEEK. AND I HAVEN'T HAD TO CONTACT THEM OR KRAMER ABOUT ANY PROBLEMS.

I'VE BEEN PLAYING SINCE 1969.I PRESANTLY OWN A FENDER STANDARD STRAT, FENDER STANDARD TELE, TAKAMINE SANTE FE, IBANEZ TCY15, GUILD S300D, AND A SIGMA ACOUSTIC, A CRATE GT80 AMP, PEAVEY R15, DIGITECH GENESIS 1,DANELECTRO, DUNLAP AND BOSS PEDALS.
THIS IS THE GUITAR THAT I PLAY THE MOST OF THE LOT. IT WORKS WELL WITH ALL MY OTHER GEAR, RECORDS WELL, AND PLAYS LIKE A BITCH WHETHER I'M PLAYING BLUES, FUSION, OR METAL.FOR THE PRICE, IT'S AMAZING.

Mine are the 3 single coil configuration. Same features as everyone else has mentioned. Alder/nato laminate body, 21-frets, maple neck, rosewood fretboard, 5-way switch, etc. Basically they are Fender Strat copies, made in Korea by Samick I believe. Pretty simple in the features department, but it does what an electric guitar is designed to do.

I can't imagine a style of music you could not play on these things given a good amp setup or amp simulator. I cover everything from punk to thrash to blues and some classical (using a BOSS Acoustic Simulator) with just this one type of guitar...and the sounds are top notch. I run it through a Line 6 POD to an 60W Nady PA for electric sounds and through the BOSS pedal to the PA for acoustic sounds. The single coils give the usual single-coil noise in the 1-3-5 positions, but I only use them in the 2-4 positions, so that cancels out any hum.

Clean sounds are magnificent. I use the emulation of the Mark IIc+ clean channel for my clean sounds, and I get some of the most beautiful tones. The single coils really shine on clean settings (no surprise here), but what really made my jaw drop was that...

With the bridge and middle pickups together, you get a real thick chunky sound using the Rectified/Insane amp models. I can totally clone Petrucci, Hetfield, Hammet, Dimebag, even Dino from Fear Factory sounds with the Insane mode - with single coil pickups!!! Total shocker!

Rich/Full sound or bright...believe it or not, both! Maybe it's just the versatility of the POD. I guess it's true...the type of amp you're using is the biggest determining factor of your sound. For the sake of comparison though, if you plugged it in to a cranked Marshall stack and then plugged in a Les Paul (or similar humbucker guitar), the Kramer would be less distorted and brighter. The thing is, it's easy to make this guitar into an overdriven beast (POD, decent distortion box), but it's very hard (or impossible if you have a high gain amp) to get good clean sounds from a humbucker guitar.

As far as sound goes, I have 3 Kramer Focuses, and they all sound identical. No need to change amp settings in the middle of a gig. If you break a string on one, grab another, and you're set.

Finally, the people who are saying this guitar doesn't sound good either got a lemon, don't have decent amplification, or just can't play very well. I hate to admit it, but these guitars sound better than my Carvin (which cost about 10 times as much as one Focus)!

The setup on arrival was very playable. I just had to tune, plug in, and I was jamming in no time. I did lower the action, but that's just my personal preference. It was completely playable on arrival though. No flaws whatsoever.

These things seem built like a tank. I guess time and use will tell though. The hardware seems really sturdy, but the tuners seem kind of cheap. Easy and not to expensive to change. I'd definitely trust this instrument without a backup, but I don't trust myself to not break a string, so I'll always use a backup (another Kramer Focus of course)!

I e-mailed them and got a reply the same day. They ship hella fast. I ordered on a Thursday, got the guitars the following Monday. The warranty is either 30 or 60 days, but I know I won't need it. These guitars are built to last.

I've been playing for about 8 or 9 years, mostly just playing along to cds and figuring out tunes from rock bands that I like. I've owned and sold an Ibanez RG, Parker P-40, Epiphone Les Paul, and Line 6 Spider. Now I have the Kramers, a Carvin, a POD, a BOSS Acoustic Sim Pedal, a PA, Fender Champ, and a Mesa/Boogie Subway Rocket. I think I might sell the Carvin now (the only thing it does better than the Kramers is acoustic sounds, and that's only because of the piezo bridge - the coil splitting for single coil magnetic sounds is a joke!). I'd totally buy the Kramer(s) again if any of them were stolen. I love the sounds out of these guitars and the versatility when combined with the POD and BOSS Acoustic Simulator. The only things I wish they had were better tuners and piezo bridges, but for 80 bucks an axe, that's just pushing it.

I'm really picky when it comes to guitar tone. That's why I've tried so much gear. When I plugged in and got the settings right on the POD, I knew my search was over. Amazing that $80 guitars can outshine $1000+ guitars.

2002 model. I believe they're made in china. 5-way pickup, maple neck and fret on the old glory model and maple neck w/ resewood fret on the sunburst. closed tuners, tremelo bar. I bought a sunburst finish (the cheapest Kramer!) and an old glory model w/ flag pickguard. YOu can check out the description at musicyo.com.

When I first read these reviews, I thought the people that were submitting them must have been employees.
But let me tell you, I have been playing 2 1/2 years now. I have a MIM fender telecaster, a DeArmond set neck, a couple of washburn solid top acoustics, and a Ibanez strat. I hardly use my tele now, as I love these Kramers!!! I think I will sell my fender because I'd rather play the Kramers and there's no sense in keeping the tele around just because it's a Fender. The necks on the Kramers are so comfortable- more comfortable than any other guitar I own or have ever played.
Okay, the pickups are wired pretty hot- but I kinda like it. someday I may replace the pickups and the tuning gears- although it does stay in tuned pretty well. I play it everyday for a couple of hours and I may have to adjust the tuning maybe twice a week. Yes, it's a cheap guitar, but it's so much fun to play that I'd buy a third! But I need a third one like I need a hole in my head. But I was so impressed with the value that I will undoubtedly buy a Kramer acoustic 12 string before this christmas!! You've got to try one of the focus electrics! For 80 bucks you just can't go wrong. Even the tremelo (whammy) works relatively well and doesn't throw the guitar out of tune unless you really yank on it.

Maybe I'll sell the tele and buy the acoustic 12 string even sooner.

I like the sounds. It rocks! I thought the pots were good too. Cheap pots drop out between 0-3 and 7-10, but these you can hear gradual increase in volume even at 0-3 and 7-10.

the sunburst was ready right out of the box!- except for minor tuning. The old glory needed some slight saddle adjustment, but not too much. The nut is cheap (PVC) but the notches seemed to be cut good and the strings fit good. the finish is surprisingly good, too.

Well, I wouldn't gig without a backup, but that's just me. Although I have owned these 2 Kramers for over 7 months and haven't had a single problem. Someday I will probably change tuners and then maybe the nut and pickup, but it could be quite a while before I do that. So far they are fine.

Haven't had any problems. 1 yr warranty. the usual thing. I think musicyo is pretty good to deal with.

If it was stolen I would definately get another one. I just love them!

1999 Indonesian strat copy, 21 frets, 2 tone pots, one volume pot, 5 say selector switch, 3 single coil pickups, maple neck, rosewood fingerboard, alder solid body (I've done my research. These Indonesian ones were the only good ones Gibson made. Since then they've turned out crappier Korean and Chinese guitars), gloss black finish, black pickguard, black pickup covers, chrome hardware, strat style trem, regular no name tuners. Really it's just a strat with a different name and better looking head.

I play a punk influenced grunge/hard rock style and it fits perfectly. Under distortion (Danelectro Fab Tone) the bridge pickup is able to cut through anything, the rhythm able to chunk away, and the middle is a happy medium of the two. Clean I like the rhythm pickup and the rhythm/middle blend because it's nicely deep and rich (for a strat. I know regular Gibsons are better at the thing, but I've yet to hear a strat beat the thickness of this guitar). I've played some Fender and Squier strats and this one sonically beats them out in every way. Better sustain, chunkier, more subtle, everything. The only sonic problem is a difficulty in making artificial harmonics scream like I can with a humbucking guitar, but that's just another single vs hum difference. So in relation to the mainstream Fender strat, I'm giving it a 10.

I got this guitar as a gift from another guitarist, so I don't know what condition it was in when it was fresh from the factory. Now it's perfectly set up (really an easy job to do) as far as action and intonation are concerned. I have the action set pretty low and I still get no fret buzz, even on the higher strings. The finish is perfect, nice and black and perfectly even. And as much as people before have complained about the tuners, I have never had a problem with them. The neck is flatter and thinner than any other guitar I've played and most basses I've played (only thinner one was an old Fender Bullet Bass). The nut is the only flaw I've seen on this, but it doesn't affect performance at all. It's not level, so it holds the higher strings (like high E, B, and G) closer to the fingerboard then the lower strings. Kind of helps performance actually, I'm surprised nobody has done such a thing on purpose before. But because it wasn't on purpose I'm marking it down a point.

I'm sure this guitar would withstand live playing. The hardware is solid, the finish thick, the strap buttons unmovable. All in all, it's a dependable guitar. I still wouldn't use it to gig without a backup, but that's mostly because my strap...

I've been playing for over two years and this is the guitar that's gotten me through it all. It's a great guitar and I'm puzzled as to why Gibson/Kramer shifted ops to Korea and China and started making the crappy new ones. If it were lost or stolen then god help whoever lost or stole it from me, I'll be coming down the warpath. I'd definately get another one, but I'd have to hunt pretty hard for it. No way I'd get a crappy new one though. It's worth the effort spent looking for a 1999 Indonesian Kramer Focus 111S

2000 Kramer Focus 111S, basically a strat copy. Mine is a wine red color with black pickguard. The finish looks great and has no flaws- that is the only impressive thing about this guitar. There are three very noisy single coil pickups. The tuners like the pickups are very cheap.

This guitar sounds very bad. I use a Fender Princeton 65 anp. I also have a Fender fat strat that sounds like it is from the other side of the universe compared to this Kribson. The pickups are very noisy. They sound like tin cans being kicked down the street by some snot nose kid who is mad at the world. The only way I can stand to play this guitar is with a ton of distorion. Forget trying to play anything clean.

The set up from Music Yo was pathetic. The action was so high you could run hurdles over each string.

You would have to be stupid for wanting to use this guitar for gigging, unless you wanted a cheap guitar to break onstage.

Music Yo says these guitars are made to rock hard.

I have been playing for ten years. I wanted a cheap guitar I could travel with. I am too embarassed to travel with this guitar. If someone was stupid enough to steal this guitar, they would have to be very hard up for drug money. I would try to sell this guitar on ebay, but I am too ashamed to let anyone know that I own it and I would never forgive myself for pushing this piece of crap off on someone. Gibson should be ashamed of themselves for having a company under their empire that pushes these crappy guitars off on people. AVOID THIS GUITAR!

2002 Kramer VT111S, strat-style nato alder body, medium baseball-bat hard maple neck, medium-width rosewood fretboard, medium-jumbo frets (21) tremolo bridge, s/s/s and strat-style control arrangement, tele-style control knobs, covered tuners (not cast), solid-color dark red with black single-ply pickguard, made in Korea and shipped with cheapo cord, trem bar, and third tremolo spring.

Hot winds for a kid rocker. Pickups sound very good throughout the range. Lows don't get too muddy, but generally a guitar designed for a thrasher.

Most impressive here. Guitar was delivered in flawless condition, action was set low with no fret-buzz, and intonation was dead-on. Had this guitar delivered to me so I could set it up for the son of a friend, and found that nothing was needed. Frets are excellent, though the strings feel cheap and should probably be changed. Tuners are cheap, but they seem to keep things in tune. The neck fits tightly in the pocket. All screws were tight.

The switches and pots feel very good, selector switch has a smooth positive feel and pots turn smoothly and surely.

Ordered online and it was delivered 3 business days later. 90-day return policy for any reason. Defective merchandise deal covers shipping as well.

As a hobby, I buy and sell guitars, hence my being asked to find something for under $100 for a friend. After researching everything, I recommended the Kramer Focus VT 111S. I was astounded by the quality, feel, set-up and playability at this price. I particularly like the neck, the thick slab of un-stained rosewood on the fretboard, the range of the pickups, and the quality of the switches. An unbelievable value that put my hoity-toity guitar opinions to shame. If you are looking for a new guitar under 3 or 4 hundred dollars, I don't think you will do much better. I've been playing for 30 years, have owned dozens of guitars, and I was very impressed by this one. There is better solid-body gear out there, but nothing I've seen anywhere near this price.

i really dont know where to begin because this guitar falls on its ass in every area.

im too lazy to write all the lame featuers here, read the ones from other people's reviews there are plenty to choose from. one note: mine is vintage sunburst

I play bass and this was my first guitar, and I was very excited to get it. once I got the replacement (see below) I thought this was the best guitar since the invention of pickups, but after iplayed it for a while I realize it sounds very thin and nasal, on all modes except the neck position. the neck sounds somewhat decent, earning this guitar a 2 instead of 1. i like jazz and some other random stuff (311, Pink Floyd) and this really didnt suit my styles, but it doesnt really sound good for ANY style anyway. I think the people that wrote those positive reviews were so excited about getting a guitar that they said this thing was good! haha i laugh at them.

it arrived and the neck looked like it had been cut from some weird ass tree because it was all bowed and I adjusted the trussrod but it wouldnt stay for more than 5 minutes so i had it replaced. when the new one came i adjusted the bridge and suprisingly the action wasnt too bad. i didnt like the longer scale for bending or hammers and such for some reason. the finish was horrible. its a yellow area with a very poor excuse for a fade into black around the edges. (its not sunburst, more like orange/yellow with a black stripe around the edge)

the second one i got was suprisingly durable. i throw it around but would NOT use it in a gig.

they replaced it and were very nice about it but i dont like the fact that they dont have a phone number so ill give it a 7

ive been playing guitar for about 2 years now and im ready to move on, actually ive been ready for a while but now i can affort it. im goin for an epiphone dot because it is more specific to my styles. if this was stolen i would laugh at the guy that stole it then i would thank him.

As said before, this is a very straightforward strat copy. The only things which are different are the metal tone/vol knobs and the slightly different headstock. Otherwise a strat.

Just you fairly typically unlistenable shriek in the bridge pickups, but then again sometimes I like a nice bit of unlistenable shriek. Neck and bridge are okay, but they tend to go from okay to muddy as hell at a turn of the knob without much warning. Not a patch on my the Rezomatics in my Burns, but then this is a very cheap guitar. For the price, the sound is okay. I was looking for that cheap sound when I bought this guitar, however, so it's great for that!

The action was fine, not a low as I'd like it for fretting, but I've set this up for slide. The finish was a nice metallic blue with no flaws. The fretboard and neck feel kinda horrible, not at all smooth but I guess they're wear in. No buzzing or anything like that. For the price, a very good job.

It seems pretty solid, although I'm not sure about the trem system.

The customer service people responded to my email within a few hours, and answered my query; but that was before a sale, not after!

For this price, I can't help but recommend this guitar to someone looking for a cheap guitar for whatever reason. It's as good as a cheap Ibanez or Yamaha and a damn site better than the crap Fender put out these days. They may have been hit and miss in the past, but it looks to me like they're building everything in Korea now, so I'd hope the quality should be reliable!

2001, plywood, Chinese, Strat wannabe.
3 cheesy pickups and junk hardware. Very poor quality tuners.

Very noisy on all settings except one. Very brittle sounding p/ups.

This guitar was set-up? HA!
Very poor fretwork too.

Faggiddaboutit!

Musicyo is the absolute worst for customer service. I learned my lesson not once or twice, but three times! I know, shame on me...