Kramer Focus VT-211S - Journey to the center of a cheap Strat mod!!

I bought a 150 dollar Kramer... Is this cheap guitar nothing more than a flimsy Strat copy, or is there something more to be seen.... A Kramer of old, or Gibson's take on an acclaimed classic?!
At the time of this posting, this guitar is currently on sale - and this guitar seems to come on sale frequently, so check frequently!
Kramer website: www.kramerguit...
Sweetwater: www.sweetwater...
Let me your your experience with this guitar - and be sure to share those mods!!

[@oldsledpurgatory3595]

I picked one of these up a few months ago and I guess I got lucky with the quality control. No fret sprout or fretting issues: played nicely right out of the box. Made some mods and wound up with a guitar I really like. Got a video up on my channel explaining what I did to fix the problems that it had.

[@nilesthrompton]

Nice! Great videos on your channel! Its really not a bad guitar for what you get, as long as you put in the work. The mahogany body and neck are probably worth the 150 dollars or so you're putting down on this axe... And fret sprout is a manageable issue.

[@JanetGraceMuse]

I watched it hoping for the answer to my tuner questions. You did a really nice job on yours as well.

[@REDKLOK_-_The_Original]

I love these focus's. I got the bright red one with the kit. I modded the hell out of it. I replaced the tremolo with a wilkenson one, which i had to fill in the original screw holes and redrill for the new bridge. Their trems are different in size compared to other standard ones, so you really can't find a block to replace the cheap one, you need an entire whole tremolo bridge and probably need to redrill for its dimensions, like i did. These bodies are slightly thinner than most strats, but I'm sure most replacement necks will fit. I put Lollar pickups on mine and only paid 60 bucks for a perfectly fitting case from Kramer. Of corse i also had to resize the holes for wilkenson tuners, so these require a decent amount of work, but for the work and the extra parts, its a wonderfully playing guitar with great sound. Its my main guitar and I added a metal arcade button kill switch in the pickguard volume hole and have a master volume and tone AND a 5 way super switch to tap the humbucker coil at the 4th position to give it that dual single coil strat sound. If you are willing to pay more for parts than the guitar itself and do the work, you will have something awesome well under 1k bucks.

[@JoeR203]

I bought several Strikers and a Baretta with a sustainer from MusicYo back in the day. The Strikers were around $220 (or $180, I don't remember) and the Baretta w/sustainer was $400. Also got a Steinberger Spirit GU Deluxe for $229. I regret selling that one.

[@Strat_inthehat]

Great review and mod! This is the second mod video of this Focus I’ve seen where the claw screws were coming up into the pickup routing pools.

[@nilesthrompton]

Thanks! Yeah, it seemed the claw screws were really long, but I think they also stuck through because the cavity was cut quite deep.

[@maxmustardman298]

Yah thats a no go, even for the base models

[@nilesthrompton]

@@maxmustardman298 For sure... I think this guitar's real value is just the neck, which is great... Beyond that, it's pretty cheap stuff.

[@maxmustardman298]

@@nilesthrompton which doesnt even have 22 frets, cmon Kramer its 2022 ;) they had a really cool model called Focus 3000 in the 80s which I guess this was modeled after, maybe they gonna come up with a higher tier version of that at some point

[@nilesthrompton]

@@maxmustardman298 I hope so! Gibson's actual Kramer re-issues are pretty good... I consider this just a budget strat copy, and not part of the actual 'Kramer line' that Gibson is putting out. With that said, the neck definitely has that old 'K Slim' profile that Kramers are famous for, so they got that part right.

[@gopilotmusic]

Great info Old Niles! Thank you. Could you tell us which tuners you used? Looking to replace in my vt211. I usually do my own repairs and setups. Haven't changed tuners before though. Did you need to modify the pegholes? Any important detail you could give would be appreciated a whole bunch!

[@nilesthrompton]

For sure! These are the ones - they were a direct drop in, with no mods necessary. The existing tuners were really terrible, as you know, and are like 13:1 I think - really poor gear ratio. These are 15:1, and are way smoother and more stable: www.amazon.ca/Musiclily-Sealed-Electric-Guitar-Machine/dp/B075N7C329?pd_rd_w=RsZzF&content-id=amzn1.sym.fb61762c-e8c2-402e-aa93-080b70a16c59&pf_rd_p=fb61762c-e8c2-402e-aa93-080b70a16c59&pf_rd_r=9TRSHD2D6WK8WGZN2D0A&pd_rd_wg=JWgHK&pd_rd_r=3ecf9129-27b9-469f-8517-87e78267b5d4&pd_rd_i=B075N7C329&psc=1&ref_=pd_bap_m_rp_25_i

[@gopilotmusic]

@@nilesthrompton Right ON! Thanks so much! Gotta say I really like the feel of the neck..has kind of a chunky feel to it..makes it fun to play..hand doesnt tire I notice..first time I heard of Kramer..I rock more with it, for sure 🤙🤘😎🎸✨🛸

[@HesheR82]

Lol was the Kramer vs Kramer line from the movie title ? I got it if :)

[@douglepong]

I actually like the stock single coil pickups and humbucker. :(

[@angusorvid8840]

Cool mod. Does it have a swimming pool rout? I'm asking because I was thinking of getting one of these Kramers and popping in a preloaded double bucker pickguard I want to use that's just sitting on my work desk doing nothing.

[@maxmustardman298]

I dont think so, saw another video of someone taking one apart and it did have specific routes

[@jedijo1990]

Those pickups are alnico v not ceramics

[@JanetGraceMuse]

Hi! Really nice mod. Thank you for sharing. I got the teal one, and I'm currently waiting on the inner guts, hss pickups,caps, pots. I'm going with the Free-way switch by StewMac. I can't wait to do the wiring on it. Mine arrived with extended frets needing a complete taped fretjob. I fell in love with that smooth maple c neck and the mahogany body. That alone was worth the bux fifty. The rest will be playtime. You can watch my baby luthier pods on my channel as I progress. One question that is truly twisting my tangles is what tuners to go with that will be drop-ins. Does anyone have an answer to this? Do they exist? I'm trying to purchase a set of locking tuners in a gold tone and not wanting to spend more than half a Benny on them. Any and all recommendations would be so greatly appreciated. THANKS! Peace/Out. JG

[@nilesthrompton]

Glad you liked it! You can actually use any vintage style tuners (e.g. klusons, fender deluxe, wilkinsons) as the posts will fit the existing bushings. The closed back tuners were originally conceived as a way to 'replace' vintage tuners, so they use the same posts.. Only difference is spacing between posts on the kramer vs. Posts on a guitar drilled for vintage tuners - with the kramer spacing being wider. I'll be posting a video in a few days which shows (briefly) how vintage tuners can be installed on this guitar so stay tuned!

[@davidratti5031]

Stew Mac has kluson tuners that r a drop in replacement tuners so check it out look under semi closed tuners I believe

[@vladalucard7265]

I bought this Guitar for my daughter,which Plug and Play tuners for this Guitar?

[@nilesthrompton]

It was these ones - though it looks like the black version is no longer available -www.amazon.ca/Musiclily-Sealed-Electric-Guitar-Machine/dp/B075NBBJ9M?pd_rd_w=RsZzF&content-id=amzn1.sym.fb61762c-e8c2-402e-aa93-080b70a16c59&pf_rd_p=fb61762c-e8c2-402e-aa93-080b70a16c59&pf_rd_r=9TRSHD2D6WK8WGZN2D0A&pd_rd_wg=JWgHK&pd_rd_r=3ecf9129-27b9-469f-8517-87e78267b5d4&pd_rd_i=B075N7C329&psc=1&ref_=pd_bap_m_rp_25_i&th=1

[@vladalucard7265]

@@nilesthrompton thank you, is it Plug and Play fit? Withoud drill new holes or Something Like that? Sorry for my English,i'm living in Germany ☺️

[@nilesthrompton]

@vladalucard7265 For sure, no extra holes needed to be drilled. It was a tiny bit tight on getting the screws into the holes, just because the dimensions are off by a very tiny amount, but just open the screw holes a tiny bit and everything should fit fine.

[@vladalucard7265]

@@nilesthrompton thank you

[@angarakarthik6620]

Anyone suggest what should I pick? This kramer or squier bullet strat?

[@nilesthrompton]

Can't go wrong with a squier sonic - I think they've improved from the bullet series. Check out the monoprice indio line as well - I've had a few of those and they haven't let me down.

[@davidlalremruata]

P90 on the neck can be sooooo good👍🎸

[@nilesthrompton]

P90 in the neck is one of my favorite sounds! Paired with a hot single in the bridge, you're in 'iconic sound' territory!

[@TheMichaelseymour]

i your new guitar channel edward norton

[@Check7his]

Excellent review. Thank you. 😂

[@motorcyclemark2889]

Music yo back in the 90s I was buying them for $65 turning them over for $150 sold a dozen or so they were as good as fenders selling for hundreds more better really

[@peteriseteris9665]

Alnico 5 pickups!

[@Hiro.the.God.]

I bought two of these, and let me tell you never again. Playing a cardboard box 📦 is a better guitar. It’s a true pos.

[@rainybeet]

This is not an out of the box guitar, it is a $200 platform. What is important is that you have a decent body and neck. $50 tuners, $100 bridge, and $300 in upgraded electronics and you have yourself a serious custom guitar for $650. It is like buying a guitar kit without having to do the finish work.

[@D-8-Tone2]

THESE ARE ALNICO PUPS!!!! Ceramic has the magnetic strip at the bottom, come on.

[@nilesthrompton]

I opened up the pickups, and they are ceramic strip magnets. In some markets I think they are selling Alnico equipped - in Canada, I think they're all ceramic. The revealing thing is the ads - in the US, all product descriptions say Alnico magnets, here there is no mention in the same product descriptions.

[@D-8-Tone2]

@@nilesthrompton 4:20 no signs of magnetic strip

[@nilesthrompton]

@@D-8-Tone2 I thought so too, but I opened them up and they were all strip magnets - they all have a plate on the bottom of the pickup, but when you take it off, you'll see the strips. The humbucker construction was identical to most cheap ceramic pickups I've seen on most budget guitars.

[@D-8-Tone2]

@@nilesthrompton weird....

[@Hiro.the.God.]

The pick ups are trash, just like the rest of this pos.

[@Hiro.the.God.]

Both necks on the guitars I bought were seriously rough, and plagued with horrible fret spouts. I’ve played 80 dollar Amazon guitars better than this trash lol.

[@nilesthrompton]

Sorry to hear - I agree quality control on these is lousy at best. Mine came surprisingly good and playable right out of the box with no fret issues, a friend bought one from the same store and it immediately needed a hundred bucks of work to get it playing decently.

[@daveyfitz961]

Bought one from Germany, total junk, fret ends nearly ripped my hand open, how the hell did it get through quality control, firewood,. Thought I'd try a cheapie as a knockabout but you get what you pay for, don't buy it.

[@nilesthrompton]

For sure - it's a gamble when you buy really inexpensive guitars. I got a good one, where the frets were fine with no sharp edges, and no raised frets - but another guy I know bought one from the same store and the frets were like daggers on the edges. Gibson has major quality issues across a lot of their budget guitars - check out my latest kramer video for even more baffling Gibson quality issues!

[@humbrertoreyes2026]

Es horrible tocar con un mago en c y lo peor que es radio 12 ,es yna pesadilla