Kramer Striker Custom 211 Electric Guitar
With a high-output Alnico V bridge humbucker and single coil pickups in the middle and neck positions, the Striker Custom shreds.
Overall User Ratings (based on 13 ratings)
Submitted October 1, 2012 by Nathan K in Brevard, NC
"Kramer is BACK!"
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I bought the Kramer Striker 211 Custom with the Kramer branded licensed Floyd Rose in Tobacco Burst colors. When this guitar arrived I was pleasantly surprised to see a flawless product. The action was high but I was able to adjust it just by lowering the tremolo to get really nice and low action with no buzz or dead frets. I have given this guitar it's first full workout in a live performance setting and it passed with flying colors! I am just a tiny bit concerned with the durability of the trem system especially under vigorous whammy abuse, but time will tell. All other hardware is fit and tight and seems to be of decent quality. The stock pickups are excellent. I am a tone chaser and I almost always change out stock pickups especially in lower end guitars. But I honestly do not see any need to change them, they are really nice. This guitar features a 5 way switch and each position provides very useable tones although I prefer the bridge humbucker only 90% of the time. I read the humbucker is based on the Gibson PAF and it gets real close. It's bright and harmonically rich but not brittle sounding. It cuts through a mix easily but I attribute some of it's brightness a bit to the maple neck and fret board. This guitar really rocks, not in a metal head's way. but it nails classic to 80's rock. The humbucker splits really well and the neck single coil is really good. I am not a fan of any middle single coil pickup so I don't use it, but there was no other option available. The neck is awesome for shredding and really comfortable. The fret work was perfect and the guitar is balanced well, no neck dive issues at all. I would say this guitar is a bargain for it's price. Anyone looking to check out new Kramers would do well to start here without breaking the bank. If there line is as good or even better than this I am going to buy another Kramer soon.
Musical Background:
25 years recording and performing musician
Musical Style:
Rock and worship
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Submitted September 6, 2012 by Nathan Kawa in Brevard, NC
"Kramer is back!"
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I am a guitar child of 80's music. I remember when everyone and their brother had a Kramer. Unfortunately I never owned one of the 80's versions and that's a good thing because I don't have a bias towards nostalgia when writing this review. First impression out of the nicely packed box was that the fire burst finish was vibrant and good looking and flawless. I immediately noticed that the action was higher than I like even after keeping the guitar stock. Since that didn't cut it, like I do to almost all my bolt on necks, I added a shim under the neck and viola, the action is nice and low, low, low. I then changed the strings like I always do to new guitars with a set of GHS Boomers 9 - 46 gauge. The Floyd Rose is licensed but seems to be of reasonable quality and it's in a nice smokey chrome finish. I needed to adjust the Floyd's tension and level it to the body which didn't take long at all. I am pleased that it stays in tune very very nicely even with some whammy abuse. These may sound like problems to a beginner guitar player, but they're not. Every guitar player should how to adjust and set up a guitar. Almost everything is adjustable, so learn how to do it and save yourself lots of aggravation and start enjoying your instruments more by getting the most out of them.
The humbucker on this guitar is crisp and crunchy. Not overly bright, but I am sure the all maple neck contributes to some of that snap. Harmonics are easy and everywhere, anywhere you want them. I love that. The full humbucker tone is good for anything up to hard rock. Sorry metal heads, there's some mids here. All pickups produce good clean tones, tonally between a Strat and Tele and in humbucker mode, like a warm humbucker. No complaints for these stock pups.
I think the build quality is very good and overall the guitar feels built to last. I think it's a good bargain. I am impressed enough to consider my next purchase being another Kramer.
Musical Background:
Guitar Player, 25 years, Performaing and Recording Musician
Musical Style:
Rock, Worship
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Submitted March 25, 2012 by cory k in chatsworth, CA
"kramer 211 custom"
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BANG FOR YOUR BUCK.
Sound
very bright. pickups are ok but we all end up changing them even if we have a les paul. so i like that i payed less to get alright pickups n i will spend 160 more and have amazing pickups by dimarzio.
Features
floyd rose is killer, looks n feels great. 5 way treble switch helps and one volume n one tone knob do a really good job. i had a les paul(epi) with push pull coil tap and 2vol 2 tone. that guitar had less range than this. i notice a huge difference with the tone knob.
Ease of Use
fretboard is fast and easy. smooth maple for the warm sound. the neck is wider than most but it actually helps.
Quality
mahogany body with maple top. yeah thats quality.
Value
bang for the buck. i got mine because it is a platform. hss(i can get the rock n roll with the bridge humbucker and the clean smooth even bluesy feel from the single coils. 24frets give me more possibilities. 24frets n maple fret is rare also. add the floyd rose for impecable dive bombs. quality body n neck. the guitar is much more beautiful than i thought it would be. heavier than a strat but no where near as heavy as les pauls
The Wow Factor
ten out of ten. gunmetal instead of chrome or gold. looks great
Musical Background:
play for fun. almost two yrs experience
Musical Style:
classic rock, some metal(iron maiden) blues licks
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Submitted November 18, 2011 by a customer from msn.com
"So far, a very nice guitar for the price. I'm a true believer in the fact that you don't have to pay thousands of dollars for a"
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This review has been selected by our experts as particularly helpful.
I expect to own it forever. I'm always searching for more guitars. It's a never ending battle. I would probably replace it if it were lost or stolen.
Sound
The sustain on this guitar is amazing! Wide variety of pickup choices, and the pickups don't sound too bad through my amps. Would be a little tough trying to play blues type music on it. Very low action.
Features
Has what it needs, to do what you want with it. A humbucker and two single coils, five way selector, volume control, tone control (with tone bleed) that works pretty well. Licensed Floyd Rose, locking nut.
Ease of Use
Again, the sustain is amazing! Harmonics are a breeze (sometimes even when you don't want them). Five way selector, so select your pickups as you wish.
Quality
I gave an 8 here because of two problems, not really a big deal, but for a new guitar this shouldn't happen. 1. The volume control on mine did not work correctly. When you backed the volume all the off...the guitar could still be heard through an amp (even with the amp at very low volume). 2. When the guitar arrived I let it sit a few hours to adjust to the climate in my house. I then attempted to tune the guitar and the G string broke. The guitar was set up pretty well, but....Kramer/Gibson says that this guitar comes with .10 strings. Mine did not. It had .09's on it.
Value
Definitely worth it. Seems to be well built with decent parts. Even though the volume pot was bad...stuff happens.
Manufacturer Support
How do I start? Ok, the volume pot was bad, so I was considering sending it back to ZZounds for a replacement, but a customer rep at ZZounds told me the Transparent Purple (the one I got) would not be available until Dec 22! Did not want to wait that long and mess around with refunds and all that just to get a different color. I contacted Gibson (usually answer there emails within 24 hours) and they said to take it to an authorized repair shop and they would take care of it. I explained that I live roughly 200 miles from the nearest shop. So, the said I could send it in (I would have to pay shipping) or they could send me a new volume pot. I opted to have them send me the pot. They did, free of charge, with the capacitor and wiring diagram. I installed the new pot (with my daughter's help, (her hands are a lot steadier than mine for soldering)) and the guitar is good to go. Thanks again Gibson.
The Wow Factor
I love the color. Pictures don't do it justice. I'm not real crazy about the banana looking headstock though. But I can live with it. I got the guitar to add to my collection for the pickup configuration, maple fingerboard, Floyd Rose and it's overall looks.
Musical Background:
Hobby. Guitar, Banjo, Drums
Musical Style:
Blues, Rock, Country
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Submitted March 7, 2012 by Jason S in Jeffersonville, IN
"Nice guitar"
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I've only been playing a few years now, so I don't know a ton about guitars but so far so good. I really wanted the Pacer in pearl white, but didn't have the patience to wait until it was in stock. This guitar looks great, feels great and plays well. I did have to take it to the guitar shop and have them dress the fret ends, they were gnarly...I'm guessing from maybe sitting in a cold warehouse? Action needed to be lowered a bit too, but it plays great now. This is my first FR and it's been fun to play with. It's stayed in tune very well. All in all I'm happy with the purchase. Doesn't feel cheap. Neck is very nice, body is slick. This will make a great guitar to upgrade in the future and I plan on playing the hell out of it.
Musical Background:
Lifelong piano player, guitar about 3 years.
Musical Style:
Rock and Roll baby! And blues...can't play much rock without the blues!
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Submitted January 13, 2019 by Larry K in Frackville, PA
"A bit disappointed"
I loved the idea of the hard tail bridge, no Floyd Rose, no pain in the butt locking tuners. The finish is nice, volume and tone controls are good, switch is good, tuners are ok, stays in tune and it sounds pretty descent. I am very disappointed in the neck. Fretwork is poor, sharp edges throughout and frets are a bit small. It does not remind me at all of the old Kramer necks. It has a similar feel to a Squire Strat I own, which also has poor fretwork, where it seems like during the winter months the frets pop out the sides no matter how much finishing you do. I was hoping for a little better from the Kramer name. Overall it's not terrible, just not sure it's worth the money.
Musical Background:
Home recording, hobby, have played professional
Musical Style:
Classic Rock, Metal, Blues
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