Gary Cooper gets a Kramer in focus

It's over a year since we last looked at a Kramer (back in our very first issue, in fact), and during the intervening period the apparently unstoppable rise of this brand has continued unchecked. Before getting down to an assessment of the guitar on the spot (the Focus 4000), I suppose I really should explain a few things about how the Kramer family has grown recently, and how it is that what started out as exclusive, high-value American-made guitars can now be bought for the sort of money which we usually expect to pay for fairly anonymous Japanese guitars.

Aware of the horrible reality that we're not all receiving record advances in six figures, Kramer have resorted to the same marketing policy as C.F. Martin (with their Sigmas), Fender (with the Squiers), and Gibson (with their Epiphones) in now having some of their range produced for them in the Far East. Unusually logically (guitar makers being what they are!), what Kramer have done is develop three series, each a version of the same guitars. Hence you can now buy a genuine US-made model (just called a Kramer), virtually the same guitar in a Japanese mid-price version (the Focus series) or, if you're really hard up, a budget version, the Striker, which is made in Korea. Sensibly, though, they've retained the fabulous Floyd Rose tremolo throughout all three versions and, instead of making do with some Oriental imitation, have arranged for genuine Schaller-made Floyd Roses to be fitted to all versions, regardless of the origin of the woodworking.

Naturally, you'd expect the US-sourced Kramers to be the best versions of each model offered, especially as they're not cheap; but the one I chose to look at was a Japanese licensed Focus variant of the original U.S. Vanguard model. Having also tried its Korean-made Striker counterpart recently (on which more later), it made for a potentially fascinating test.

THE DETAILS

Visually, the Focus 4000 bears some resemblance to Fender's Katana and Peavey's Vortex, and looks perfect for the H.M. fraternity, who know a good poser's guitar when they see one! Mind you, this Kramer Focus isn't just for posing with - in fact it balances uncommonly well for such an odd-shaped guitar; not, admittedly, when sitting down, but who could bear to keep still with one of these monsters round their necks?!

The 4000's body classes in my mind as being medium/heavy, but I can't vouch for what kind of wood it's made of, as Kramer don't say, and I don't suppose that taking my Swiss Army knife to the luscious black gloss finish would have done much to endear me to Scott-Cooper Marketing, the UK distributor. I can say, though, that the neck was hewn from a satisfyingly nice looking piece of Maple, and faced with a high grade of Rosewood into which were set medium/fat frets. These, incidentally, had been beautifully breathed upon at some stage in the Focus's brief life, as not so much as a whisper of a fret-end could be felt as I raced (all right - staggered!) up and down the neck. Furthermore, whoever had set this guitar up really knew what the typical Hard Rock player is looking for. The string height was low but not buzzy, the strings themselves looked fresh and new and the guitar came out of its box with no need whatsoever for any attention. Nice one, Scott-Cooper!

On the hardware side, the Focus 4000 features a full Floyd Rose locking tremolo system - but before we get to that, a word about the electrics. These comprise a pair of high output humbuckers wired to single volume and tone pots, with a metal flick switch for pickup selection. The volume control is perfectly positioned for little-finger 'violining' stunts, and the number and placement of the Focus's controls confirm your initial impression that this is every inch a guitar designed primarily for use on stage.

Getting back to the Floyd Rose, I don't suppose that many IT readers will need too much explanation of this time-honoured system. For those of you who do I'll have to cover it briefly, as I don't want to run the risk of boring those who already know it. Suffice it to say that the Floyd Rose is a full locking type, where the strings fasten in pairs at a nut clamp. This alien screw locked system clamps the strings against a slotted metal plate which allows positively no room for slippage. The F-R's fine tuning bridge system is part of what I personally regard as the king of advanced trems to date. To some extent, string changing on it is slow and can be a frustrating business, because you have to bend the string and then loop it down through a slot before locking it tight with an alien screw, the head of which protrudes through the back of the bridge for easy access. Having said that, locking the string at both ends does have its advantages, not least of which that you aren't reliant at all on the strength of the ball-end winding to prevent string breakages. Apart from string locking at both ends, the provision of fully adjustable (but lockable) string saddles make this a secure, sturdy device. But that's only half the story - wait till you try the Floyd Rose's action!

PLAYABILITY & SOUND

I've already said that my sample 4000 was superbly set up, and I know this wasn't a put-up job, as the guitar in question came at random from a box in the back of a van stacked to the roof with new Kramers, each on its way to one of the numerous UK Kramer stockists. Having established that, I don't suppose I really need to say all that much about how well this instrument played - but I will, if only because I want to confirm how much enjoyment you get from a well set up guitar, and how it makes you despair of those instruments (and you can still find them lurking on badly managed music shop walls!) where neither the distributor nor the retailer has bothered with proper setting up. This Focus, on the other hand, played like a dream right to the top of its 22 fret neck. Not a snag, not a buzz, just a lightning-fast guitar neck and perfectly suited to the role for which it's been designed.

For the figure conscious among you, the Focus's neck measured at 1 ¹¹/₁₆" at the first fret, broadening to 2 ¹/₁₆" at the twelfth. The radius was medium (which makes for easy bending) and such was the setting-up quality that no choking-off of held notes on bends was audible at all. From the all-important tremolo angle, I've come to the conclusion that, good as some of the other modern trem systems are, the feel and sensitive control afforded by the Floyd Rose produce a winning combination. What I like best about the F-R is almost impossible to put into words - it's a bit like trying to describe the taste of strawberries! If forced to attempt a description, though, I'd have to say that what appeals to me most is the way it responds with just the perfect degree of touch sensitivity to the amount of pressure you put on it, how it holds its tuning perfectly, and so on. Try it - you'll see what I mean soon enough!

From the point of view of the 4000's sound, the twin humbuckers are, as you'd expect, full of real 'blaze-away' stuff. This isn't a guitar to sit at home with and tinkle out Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head to entertain Granny. No; this is a sound to drive a Marshall stack to screaming overload with, just for the fun of seeing if you can induce spontaneous brain damage in the lady out in the foyer who runs the ice-cream stall! Subtle it isn't, but it'll overdrive anything from a small tranny combo to a Marshall - I know, I tried it, and my ears are still ringing!

CONCLUSION

Not a guitar for the lily-livered, the Focus 4000 is just about perfect for H.M. players - especially those who want an advanced trem and, like me, find the Floyd Rose possibly the best of the lot. If they're all set up as well as mine was (and I have no reason to believe they're not), then a quick trial in an obliging music shop should prove this point with no difficulty at all. Quite possibly, if you have the money, a genuine US-made Kramer Vanguard might give a better sound (although I can't see how it can actually play any better), and you might feel drawn to take that cash-no-problem option. If, however, like most of us, the sponduliks are short, then this guitar has got to be one of the best Japanese-made H.M. lead players' guitars that I've tried. It's not, however, particularly cheap (carrying an RRP of £492), but you do have to take into account the value of that Floyd Rose trem, when comparing it with other makers' offerings. And what if you still can't afford it, or can't justify so much money? Well, for an RRP of just £276.29 you could score yourself the Korean-made Striker equivalent of this axe, the 400ST. This is almost identical, except that it does without the nut lock. It retains, however, the basic Floyd Rose trem with all its delights and, having recently tried one of those models too, I can happily point you in that direction with no fears that you'll be after me with a hatchet six weeks after having bought it! True, the Striker doesn't feel quite a silky as the Focus and isn't quite as well finished; nevertheless it too sounds suitably volcano-like and represents superb value for the player who can't quite stretch to the Focus version. If money is tight, you now know where to look, don't you!

Final words? Sorry. Somehow the Kramer Focus 4000 looks a fair bit more tempting than my typewriter at the moment. Must dash. I've got some new licks to try out!

RRP £492

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