For some time, I've been having an internet friend rave about the striker. Now, this guy is not a Kramer fan boy. He has approximately 17 guitars ranging from Jackson, Ibanez, Fender. He's a huge Fender HM Strat fan. Also, he is big into putting together his own mutts. Been playing for years and years. Very tallented on the guitar and has a wonderful George Lynch style (yes, I'm a Lynch fan boy). Here is a link to his soundclick site. Laughing Parrot

I met him on the Kramer forum while trying to find info on my first guitar purchase. It came down to the Jackson DXMG and the Kramer Striker. To make a long story short, I chose the Jackson DXMG. I think the selling point was when someone told me that the Jackson would feel more solid than the cheap striker.

For months I've been hearing him rave about his striker, how playable it was, how nice the neck was. My curiosity began peeking but just wasn't convinced that a brand new $250 guitar could be worth much. He explained to me how Gibson had purchased Kramer many years ago and how Kramer had fallen from grace. That Gibson wanted to bring the Striker back and put it at a price point that was incredibly low to get the public's reception on the new guitar.

Despite being skeptical I made an impulse decision to purchase one. My guitar arrived on Friday and I must admit. I was very surprised.

Price
$249.00 at Amazon, but you can get it through other distributions.


Pro's and Cons

[u]Pro's[/u]
Its an awesome guitar, even though the price may indicate otherwise, it really is a great feeling guitar.

[u]Cons[/u]
Probably not the highest quality pups, but, I'd let others judge for themselves. I don't care for the electronics cavity plate. A somewhat flimsy plastic plate which sits on top of the body mounted with wood screws. Having said that, the back of the guitar has a curvature to it, which, would involve extra machining to get the plate to sit flush with the body, which in turn would increase the price of the guitar. A bit of a con, but understandable and I don't mind given the price.

The Body
It's an alder body with a somewhat arched top. It's got a curvature on both the front and back. I thought it was a very nice touch. My Jackson has a flat top. The craftsmanship on this guitar seems to be every bit as solid as my Jackson DXMG. It's nice beefy feel despite it's thinner appearance. Not what I was expecting. I was expecting some lightweight feeling guitar.

The paint job is solid black with some glitter specs thrown in. It's just the right amount. You really don't notice it from a distance, but do see it when it's up close. The only negative thing I can say about the paint is on the back of the guitar. Looks like there was some kind of dry water drops or something on the paint prior to the clear coat. Not really noticeable unless you are looking close. Again, it's a $250.00 guitar and I don't expect supreme at this price point.


The Neck
Maple neck with a maple fretboard. The frets were all seated properly. The inlays are all nice and smooth. It's a very nice feeling neck that's thin and smooth, perfectly straight with Gotah tuners. The turners are smooth and firm. The neck sits in the neck cavity nice, tight with no slip and slippage.


Electronics

[U]Pickups[/U]

The Striker comes with three split coil rails. Quad rails for the bridge and single rails for the middle and neck. As far as tone and quality? I'm leaving out my opinions as I've not really formed one yet, besides pickup tones are subjective anyway.

[U]Controls[/U]
The controls seem to be one area that might need attention. I've noticed that the volume control seems to not have a nice even increase/decrease in volume. Can't comment on the tone control other than to say it's a push pull for splitting. I don't personally care for tone controls. I may yank it out someday, not really worried about the splitting anyway.

[U]Switch[/U]
It's a 5 position switch. Not much to say about a switch. It works what else is there?

[U]Electronics Cavity[/U]
Fully shielded electronics cavity. All wiring was done very well, no sloppy blobs of solder anywhere. Didn't expect to see a shielded cavity at this price point.


Bridge
It's a licensed Floyd Rose. It's solid steel (from what i can tell). Don't have much of an opinion other than I don't care much for the block which is some kind of inexpensive pot metal. Other than that, it works, everything seems nice and tight on it. It's not going to be as high quality has an original Floyd Rose or Gotah (or take your pick). Again, $250.00 price point.


Overall Assessment - Summary
I'm incredibly happy with it. It's a very nice guitar, one of those hidden gems and most likely passed over because of the price tag on it. People like me see a lower price tag on it and come to an easy false assessment of "it must be a throw away guitar at this price". This is a fantastic guitar. Plays excellent (Ok, a little setup is required on the owners part, but isn't that the case with anything you get by mail). Has an outstanding tone very solid feeling.

Would I buy it again? In a heartbeat. If nothing else and you're a tinkerer like myself, then this is a great base (no not bass) guitar on which to slowly upgrade and turn into your dream guitar.