Wow, when I got my Kramer SM-1 the thing seemed too good to be true. The fit and finish was great. The nut was at the right height. The bridge height and the action was just right. I could pull up a mile. Beautiful color (orange). Frets were all level, and no pokey fret ends.As far as being too good to be true, well it did have a stupid flaw. Someone at the factory forgot to put a ground wire to the trem claw. I had to take it to the warranty repairman. Took the repairman 10 minutes to fix it. Four inches of wire and two blobs of solder was all that was needed. Warranty job, so fixed for free. Almost.After 6 months of ownership of this guitar, the warranty guy gave me a call to tell me that Gibson never paid him, and that he was going to submit the claim one more time, and that I was to pay him if Gibson didn’t. When I first brought the guitar to him for the repair, he wanted 50 bucks. I said hold on there man, this is a warranty job. He decided to do the job right then and there, even though he couldn’t get authorization that day.Anyway, I wound up having to call Gibson and told them what happened. They were apalled. Gibson customer service really isn’t that great. I’m still waiting on parts for another guitar from the for the last 6 months. Gibson did straighten the warranty guy out though, and they paid the repairman. Apparently the repairman didn’t submit the claim properly.Well aside from that one issue, the guitar is perfect. The blade pups for the neck and middle… read more sound awesome and so is the HB bridge pickup. SD JB I’m told. This guitar, aside from my ground wire issue, was as perfect as perfect can get. If you are looking for a shred guitar, sheik one of these out. The placement of the neck in relation to the body just feels right, unlike my Jackson soloist, which feels foreign.

Sound
The sound of this guitar, with the JB bridge pup is totally awesome for hard rock and metal. Also, the SD cool rails in the middle and neck positions sound great. The neck pickup in particular really sings. The pickup compliment really makes this guitar outstanding.

Features
Has a nice little wrench holder on the back of the headstock. Just keep a penny in your pocket in case you have to remove the wrenches from the holder as it is set up to tighten and loosen with a coin or a flat head screw driver.

Ease of Use
There wasn’t really a learning curve for this guitar. Every feature on this guitar is quite intuitive.

Quality
Very well made guitar. The Floyd Rose is great. Keeps it in tune better than any other system out there. This guitar comes with a FRT 1000 Floyd Rose trem. I think it’s fit and finish rivals that of the OFR. Anyway, it handles all the abuse I dish out on it, and stays perfectly in tune.

Value
This guitar delivers everything that one would expect from a one thousand plus dollar guitar, and then some.

Manufacturer Support
See my previous comments

The Wow Factor
The finishes offered on this guitar are spectacular. I get so many compliments on the looks of my guitar.

Musical Background:
Playing guitars since 1983 and building and working on them since about 1984

Musical Style:
Classical, Rock, and Metal read less