No problem. From what I hear all of the issues come from the same QC inspector. Some subscribers have sent me pics of the same problems with the same qc signer. Crazy.
I got this guitar too and it also had sharp frets but it took me 30 mins to shave the frets down. & now i cant stop playing it. Its awesome and was worth it imo. Plus it made me a better guitar tech haha @@wante3202
Mine just came in.. totally not set up..I got it for like 245 euros.. not a bad price but the strings a too high and there is fret buzz.. so yeah. .. It's not a good experience for me so far.
Excellent review. Thanx for it. Have changed my mind about buying one. Pretty sure not all of them are like that, but why take a chance, atleast at this point.
Well !!!!! Thank God I watched this video Mike. I was just about to order one from Amazon tomorrow. But I'll make a different choice now. Thanks for the video !
Where'd you order yours? I'm gonna grab one of these puppies from zzounds but I have got damaged goods from them before but for 29$ a month I can't beat it
Mine just came in.. totally not set up..I got it for like 245 euros.. not a bad price but the stri gs a too high and they're is fret buzz.. so yeah. .. It's not a good experience for me so far.
Yes i just got one it had a number of issues and this was from sweet water they are supposed to inspect them. Kramer has nice guitars and I am glad they are back but they need to get the crap together. I bought 2 kramers one was made in China and that is the one that was bad. The second was Indonesian it was good, just food for thought.
It's a crap shoot now. I've had many good Kramers. This is the first bad one. In the end its the QC inspector that squiggled on the sticker that's the real issue. What a shame. Mines, a china built one BTW. Thanks for watching.
@@FultonStreetBeats i got a Baretta (not the Baretta Special) a few months back and other than a setup, the quality and playability was great. Too bad that this one wasn’t up to par. Great video though!
I returned one of these to Sweetwater because of the uneven string positioning you showed. However the issue was not the neck, it was actually the bridge routing being crooked. Luckily Sweetwater made it right and sent me a new one which I have had no issues with.
Love the guitars but I got the first pre covid focus the trem block on it was steel not pot metal!! and one on the best fret jobs I ever saw fast forward after covid I got the newer green one and pink of those 2 the pink one is the best green one really like yours but I kept mine currently needs about 3 or 4 frets done and only way to play it right now is with the truss rod bowed like robin hoods bow.i was about to get one idk did it ever work out for you?
Wow, loose tuners? I mean one ok, but all of them? And the strings not being centered with the fretboard really annoys me. Hate when that happens. This is a NAME brand. We expect more because we are paying more. Come on Kramer!
Did you see the part with the claw not centered and hitting the body? No way is that a floyd Rose claw in it. It's cut like a 4 year old got his hands on a grinder. PLUS I found the neck needs a shim. Action it sky high. SMH
here in the UK i've been trying to buy a guitar for a while and realised you can only buy unfinished, very bad quality guitars, unless you spend around a thousad, and even then there's no guarantee of a good guitar, so i'm building my own baretta.
I got one too about a year ago & it was almost as bad as yours on the set up. I didn't have the neck & fret issues (thankfully) but most other things you'd expect Quality Control to spot were missed. Dreadfully loose & wonky tuners, Floyd Rose was a joke, pick up heights terrible, selector switch fell apart, jack socket fell apart & cut out intermittently. After several hours of patient TLC it was playable & sounds OK - imho there appears to be very little QC & it's definately not what I expect from a Gibson owned brand. Chinese build.
Mike, that guitar was put together by a 4 year old and it was their first day on the job, a very drunk person or most likely by someone who just does not care about anything. How can a normal person string up a guitar and NOT notice the neck and tuners were loose?!
And how about the QC inspector that signed off on it? It's like the guitar just got thrown in a box but never had any final setup. Thanks for watching Nick. Hopefully, I can work out something with zzounds and bring it to where it should be.
I wanted to get this or a baretta special but i might just build a parts guitar. Or at least get one from a store where i can make sure its okay. This reminds me of my friend having to send back multiple Epiphone Ghosthorses for egregious issues. A good one is good but Gibson and friends seem to have some intense quality issues.
Thanks for the video brother, I have had some horror stories with QC for like 5 different guitars now it's really off putting, i actually work in QA (QC) for another industry and seeing all this physically makes me sick. Sorry you had this experience
Yup I picked up a new Nightswan at a music store the first thing I did was feel the frets and they were just horrible like yours. I would never I mean never buy a new Kramer owned by Gibson. If you’re going to get one buy a vintage one.
I bought a new Kramer illusionist swirl, $1500 Canadian plus tax. Top string was falling off neck. Same bad alignment. Returned it and they put it back on wall. Then I got the evh bumblebee and fred sprout was bad. Damn. Both of these were made in Mexico.
The budget Baretta has zero quality issues it may be a pain in some areas but those are design concerns but not quality. I bet they are made in a different factory.
Two years ago I bought my second Gl200mt george lynch signature for 800 bucks it was just like this... the frets were a WRECK I was like.... ESP/LTD really guys? Really?
I literally just went through this with a baretta special, it was a pile of crap. There was finish cracks at the neck pocket, there was a crack from the neck almost to the pickup, tuners were loose and the route for the trem cover on the back was off. I went through Zzounds so it wasn't an issue, I sent it back and they sent another one and it was perfect. I wasn't too mad really due to the price point and was bought as a modding platform, but I at least want the body and neck in good condition on a new guitar. The shoddy workmanship makes me nervous to buy anymore Kramer guitars tho.
All Gibson products are making me nervous these days. I actually called them to make them aware, and they really didn't care . Not even an I'm sorry for your inconvenience.
My Baretta was perfect I think the older ones had issues. Would have been a good idea to document the serial #. I was a quality engineering so I tend to look for trends and bound the problem.
@@bluwng bought it like a month or so ago, so it's a new one. Was told that the antique white was the worst about the cracking due to being so thick. All the other was QC issues. The one I got as a replacement was perfect
@@matthewdameron8746 thanks. I really like my Baretta and I am an expert in setups but I ind of feel there is something a little of for me. It’s good but not ideal, like dating a really nice and beautiful girl which you like but missing some chemistry.
I almost made you an offer for that Striker. Almost. The last 10 years or so of my life has included acquiring a number of luthier tools and techniques to the point where none of the problems you mention up to 6:57 seem beyond my capabilities. I haven't yet researched the guitar, though, so let me get back to you. ... Okay, I'm back a little wiser. While it is true that I fear few if any guitars, there's no way I can justify any guitar over $300 having any of the issues you revealed. I've considered a particular slightly-improved-Strat clone that a number of UA-cam reviews have been kind to. Its price is considerably lower than the lowest price I saw in my quick look at Striker prices. Even so, I have yet to see a video that blasted the guitar for more than having a push-pull pot that was hard to push or pull. I saw that in one video and no more. My opinion is that that single guitar either got unlucky in the push-pull pot lottery or (more likely) that particular guitar took a shot or shots to that pot. At the price point of this guitar ($289 USD base price) which does go lower, the buzz is that you get a guitar that punches well above its weight class. You can't say that about the Kramer. It was obvious just passed through. I can't help but wonder, though, if something was wrong with the person who should have been checking this axe. Kramer should never have allowed this guitar onto the streets. Once you see a production gaffe like this one, it's hard to unsee it. Stuff like this is why when I buy a guitar these days, it's either very cheap or it's used.
It happens from time to time. Like anything, people overlook or make mistakes. It's the person who signs off on the mistakes and physically puts their mark on the QC sticker that is the real problem. I will probably be fixing the issues if zzounds and I come to an agreement. However, I'm thinking Kramer should be made aware of this also. Thanks for watching.
@@FultonStreetBeats Thank YOU for the video. Also, I'm sure your viewership would like to know how this mess comes out. I certainly would. Oh, and if they decided to give ME a discount on it, it would be HUGE! I mean, those mofos didn't send you a guitar; they sent you a guitar KIT partly assembled! I would recommend that Gibson start investigating new manufacturing partners, because I bought a $49 Glarry that, while (expectedly) unplayable on arrival, nevertheless lacked some of the issues of that benighted Kramer. For instance, the fret ends on that Glarry weren't too bad. I had no finish-related problems to reach my notice, either. Even if those issues had been apparent, they would be obviously more easily tolerated at that price point than the far higher price of the Kramer.
@@edwinstovall3334 I actually called Gibson today. They really just kinda passed it off as an oh well. Didn't want a pic of the QC inspector sticker or even pics of the problems. SMH. Not even a "We are sorry for your trouble. " Zzounds never got back to me either. I'm not impressed so far. I just bought a Leo Jaymz Tele that looks, sounds and plays like a High end guitar for 179 bucks. Insane good quality. the video is going up soon.
@@FultonStreetBeats I guess that means I won't be buying any Gibsons, Epiphones or Kramers new any time soon. No loss to them or me really, since I wasn't in those markets in the first place. Still, I don't like the idea of doing business with any company that shows no more interest than they showed in so shoddy a guitar with their name on it.
bought the same but in jumper red and it also had MAGOR QC issues. fret sprout was the worst ive seen in 30 plus years, one of the bolt holes on the locking nut was stripped a lug was upside down also my tuners were loose except for one... sent it back and bought a baretta special it was set up perfectly and had zero qc issues.
Well that's a punch in the gut.... I was seriously eyeballing that guitar in red, but now I'm not so sure. Sure I can fix some of those issues, but shouldn't have to when spending that kind of money. Sure it's not $1,000, but still it's not nothing 🤷♂️
What the Hell Kramer! I'm shocked by this. Dude they should just send you a new guitar for the trouble. Unacceptable. I love my Baretta specials, never an issue. But now I would never by a Striker.
Sooo my personal opinion on who ever sold you this guitar is responsible for all these mistakes. If you order from Sweetwater. It is up to Sweetwater to make sure their guitars are setup properly. I would never expect an out of box guitar to be anywhere close to set up and QC. It is up to Sweetwater to make sure there is no nicks and chips in pain. When you are massively producing stuff there are bound to be mistakes. If I ordered the guitar from Kramer website even, I would expect it to come not set up even if it was advertised. People just don’t handle packages well and especially with the rose it’s going to get bumped out of tune and tension.
Just found your channel. Subscribed. Holy crap, man. That is probably the biggest POS I've ever seen. They really should be ashamed that it ever left the factory like that. Like you, I have guitars cheaper than that, that are MUCH better. It sucks you had to deal with that after being excited to get one.
I be that if they put older children to work building them the screws might actually be tight and the inspections might actually be qualified by experience. I just bought the same guitar and what a joke. I finally broke the truss rod loose and was able to set it up properly. first i had to rebuild the thing. Kramer needs to fire China.
I seriously just received mine today.. I haven't yet plugged it in, but for instance, the selector switch feels seriously wonky.. The tension spring claw is not centered There is literally saw dust still inside of the routed trem cavity!! 😂 The frets feel ok. (No sharp edges). but there is a few unleveled frets around the low e. The strings are way to high to begin with Pickups were nit put in dead center. to far on the low string side Tuners not straight and tightened down Neck not 100% straight.. And there is still excess ground wire dangling from the weld to the spring claw.. I'm literally afraid of plugging this thing in 🫣
Was gonna pull the trigger on one. This saved me some cash!!! Thanks brother!
No problem. From what I hear all of the issues come from the same QC inspector. Some subscribers have sent me pics of the same problems with the same qc signer. Crazy.
i did pull the trigger 3 hours ago :(.
I got this guitar too and it also had sharp frets but it took me 30 mins to shave the frets down. & now i cant stop playing it. Its awesome and was worth it imo. Plus it made me a better guitar tech haha @@wante3202
Mine just came in.. totally not set up..I got it for like 245 euros.. not a bad price but the strings a too high and there is fret buzz.. so yeah. .. It's not a good experience for me so far.
Excellent review. Thanx for it. Have changed my mind about buying one. Pretty sure not all of them are like that, but why take a chance, atleast at this point.
Good to know, I am think about getting a Kramer Striker. I'll keeep this in mind and look for any possible issues
Well !!!!! Thank God I watched this video Mike. I was just about to order one from Amazon tomorrow. But I'll make a different choice now. Thanks for the video !
Guess you had bad luck. Mine is flawless. No issues whatsoever
Where'd you order yours? I'm gonna grab one of these puppies from zzounds but I have got damaged goods from them before but for 29$ a month I can't beat it
Mine just came in.. totally not set up..I got it for like 245 euros.. not a bad price but the stri gs a too high and they're is fret buzz.. so yeah. .. It's not a good experience for me so far.
@@ironandzinc bought it new at a dealership or?
@@ironandzinc so it only needs a good setup? That's not the end of the world and very common with low priced guitars.
Yes i just got one it had a number of issues and this was from sweet water they are supposed to inspect them. Kramer has nice guitars and I am glad they are back but they need to get the crap together. I bought 2 kramers one was made in China and that is the one that was bad. The second was Indonesian it was good, just food for thought.
It's a crap shoot now. I've had many good Kramers. This is the first bad one. In the end its the QC inspector that squiggled on the sticker that's the real issue. What a shame. Mines, a china built one BTW. Thanks for watching.
What a shame. This looks terrible. Was thinking of buying the Kramer Nite V, but now I’m not so sure. Great video as always, brother!
The night v looks great in pics and was actually next on my list. But now I'm second-guessing. Thanks for watching brother.
@@FultonStreetBeats i got a Baretta (not the Baretta Special) a few months back and other than a setup, the quality and playability was great. Too bad that this one wasn’t up to par. Great video though!
I returned one of these to Sweetwater because of the uneven string positioning you showed. However the issue was not the neck, it was actually the bridge routing being crooked. Luckily Sweetwater made it right and sent me a new one which I have had no issues with.
I picked up one of these off the rack at a store and couldn’t believe how bad the frets felt.
I bought one and mine was had a lot of set up issues too
mind you i bought mine new off the rack so maybe that is why i had no issues... the guitar thou i got the jumper red with the maple neck.
Love the guitars but I got the first pre covid focus the trem block on it was steel not pot metal!! and one on the best fret jobs I ever saw fast forward after covid I got the newer green one and pink of those 2 the pink one is the best green one really like yours but I kept mine currently needs about 3 or 4 frets done and only way to play it right now is with the truss rod bowed like robin hoods bow.i was about to get one idk did it ever work out for you?
Wow, loose tuners? I mean one ok, but all of them? And the strings not being centered with the fretboard really annoys me. Hate when that happens. This is a NAME brand. We expect more because we are paying more. Come on Kramer!
Did you see the part with the claw not centered and hitting the body? No way is that a floyd Rose claw in it. It's cut like a 4 year old got his hands on a grinder. PLUS I found the neck needs a shim. Action it sky high. SMH
@@FultonStreetBeats yeah I saw it all. There should some QC and setup.
And I have Freret buzzes on the first front Floyd was way back
here in the UK i've been trying to buy a guitar for a while and realised you can only buy unfinished, very bad quality guitars, unless you spend around a thousad, and even then there's no guarantee of a good guitar, so i'm building my own baretta.
I got one too about a year ago & it was almost as bad as yours on the set up. I didn't have the neck & fret issues (thankfully) but most other things you'd expect Quality Control to spot were missed. Dreadfully loose & wonky tuners, Floyd Rose was a joke, pick up heights terrible, selector switch fell apart, jack socket fell apart & cut out intermittently. After several hours of patient TLC it was playable & sounds OK - imho there appears to be very little QC & it's definately not what I expect from a Gibson owned brand. Chinese build.
Hey bro, what kind of guitar is the yellow one at 14:15?
I got the 2206 seri number as well.. could have something to do with this particular shotty QC?
Not sure. But a possibility.
I have a 1986 striker 600st great guitar needs better pickups but no problems with it guitars today it's like polishing a turd
Thanks man! You saved me from wasting my money on this trash!
Mike, that guitar was put together by a 4 year old and it was their first day on the job, a very drunk person or most likely by someone who just does not care about anything. How can a normal person string up a guitar and NOT notice the neck and tuners were loose?!
And how about the QC inspector that signed off on it? It's like the guitar just got thrown in a box but never had any final setup. Thanks for watching Nick. Hopefully, I can work out something with zzounds and bring it to where it should be.
@@FultonStreetBeats , the response from zZounds would make a great follow up video.
I was legit abt to buy it!!!
I wanted to get this or a baretta special but i might just build a parts guitar. Or at least get one from a store where i can make sure its okay. This reminds me of my friend having to send back multiple Epiphone Ghosthorses for egregious issues. A good one is good but Gibson and friends seem to have some intense quality issues.
Thanks for the video brother, I have had some horror stories with QC for like 5 different guitars now it's really off putting, i actually work in QA (QC) for another industry and seeing all this physically makes me sick. Sorry you had this experience
It's actually so common now that it's scary. Thanks for watching brother 🙏
Yup I picked up a new Nightswan at a music store the first thing I did was feel the frets and they were just horrible like yours. I would never I mean never buy a new Kramer owned by Gibson. If you’re going to get one buy a vintage one.
I bought a new Kramer illusionist swirl, $1500 Canadian plus tax. Top string was falling off neck. Same bad alignment. Returned it and they put it back on wall.
Then I got the evh bumblebee and fred sprout was bad. Damn. Both of these were made in Mexico.
The budget Baretta has zero quality issues it may be a pain in some areas but those are design concerns but not quality. I bet they are made in a different factory.
Two years ago I bought my second Gl200mt george lynch signature for 800 bucks it was just like this... the frets were a WRECK I was like.... ESP/LTD really guys? Really?
I literally just went through this with a baretta special, it was a pile of crap. There was finish cracks at the neck pocket, there was a crack from the neck almost to the pickup, tuners were loose and the route for the trem cover on the back was off. I went through Zzounds so it wasn't an issue, I sent it back and they sent another one and it was perfect. I wasn't too mad really due to the price point and was bought as a modding platform, but I at least want the body and neck in good condition on a new guitar. The shoddy workmanship makes me nervous to buy anymore Kramer guitars tho.
All Gibson products are making me nervous these days. I actually called them to make them aware, and they really didn't care . Not even an I'm sorry for your inconvenience.
My Baretta was perfect I think the older ones had issues. Would have been a good idea to document the serial #. I was a quality engineering so I tend to look for trends and bound the problem.
@@bluwng bought it like a month or so ago, so it's a new one. Was told that the antique white was the worst about the cracking due to being so thick. All the other was QC issues. The one I got as a replacement was perfect
@@matthewdameron8746 thanks. I really like my Baretta and I am an expert in setups but I ind of feel there is something a little of for me. It’s good but not ideal, like dating a really nice and beautiful girl which you like but missing some chemistry.
I almost made you an offer for that Striker. Almost. The last 10 years or so of my life has included acquiring a number of luthier tools and techniques to the point where none of the problems you mention up to 6:57 seem beyond my capabilities. I haven't yet researched the guitar, though, so let me get back to you.
...
Okay, I'm back a little wiser. While it is true that I fear few if any guitars, there's no way I can justify any guitar over $300 having any of the issues you revealed. I've considered a particular slightly-improved-Strat clone that a number of UA-cam reviews have been kind to. Its price is considerably lower than the lowest price I saw in my quick look at Striker prices. Even so, I have yet to see a video that blasted the guitar for more than having a push-pull pot that was hard to push or pull. I saw that in one video and no more. My opinion is that that single guitar either got unlucky in the push-pull pot lottery or (more likely) that particular guitar took a shot or shots to that pot. At the price point of this guitar ($289 USD base price) which does go lower, the buzz is that you get a guitar that punches well above its weight class. You can't say that about the Kramer. It was obvious just passed through. I can't help but wonder, though, if something was wrong with the person who should have been checking this axe.
Kramer should never have allowed this guitar onto the streets. Once you see a production gaffe like this one, it's hard to unsee it. Stuff like this is why when I buy a guitar these days, it's either very cheap or it's used.
It happens from time to time. Like anything, people overlook or make mistakes. It's the person who signs off on the mistakes and physically puts their mark on the QC sticker that is the real problem. I will probably be fixing the issues if zzounds and I come to an agreement. However, I'm thinking Kramer should be made aware of this also. Thanks for watching.
@@FultonStreetBeats Thank YOU for the video. Also, I'm sure your viewership would like to know how this mess comes out. I certainly would. Oh, and if they decided to give ME a discount on it, it would be HUGE! I mean, those mofos didn't send you a guitar; they sent you a guitar KIT partly assembled! I would recommend that Gibson start investigating new manufacturing partners, because I bought a $49 Glarry that, while (expectedly) unplayable on arrival, nevertheless lacked some of the issues of that benighted Kramer. For instance, the fret ends on that Glarry weren't too bad. I had no finish-related problems to reach my notice, either. Even if those issues had been apparent, they would be obviously more easily tolerated at that price point than the far higher price of the Kramer.
@@edwinstovall3334 I actually called Gibson today. They really just kinda passed it off as an oh well. Didn't want a pic of the QC inspector sticker or even pics of the problems. SMH. Not even a "We are sorry for your trouble. " Zzounds never got back to me either. I'm not impressed so far. I just bought a Leo Jaymz Tele that looks, sounds and plays like a High end guitar for 179 bucks. Insane good quality. the video is going up soon.
@@FultonStreetBeats I guess that means I won't be buying any Gibsons, Epiphones or Kramers new any time soon. No loss to them or me really, since I wasn't in those markets in the first place. Still, I don't like the idea of doing business with any company that shows no more interest than they showed in so shoddy a guitar with their name on it.
bought the same but in jumper red and it also had MAGOR QC issues. fret sprout was the worst ive seen in 30 plus years, one of the bolt holes on the locking nut was stripped a lug was upside down also my tuners were loose except for one... sent it back and bought a baretta special it was set up perfectly and had zero qc issues.
I've always had good luck with the specials also.
Every Kramer I checked out at my local guitar center had the WORST frets in the world....
i bought one and no issues at all. guess maybe a qc issue.
WOW Cmon Gibson!!!!!
Thats a very sour lemon you got there man im sorry! Hopefully you can return it for a better one. This one has way too many issues. :(
Well that's a punch in the gut.... I was seriously eyeballing that guitar in red, but now I'm not so sure. Sure I can fix some of those issues, but shouldn't have to when spending that kind of money. Sure it's not $1,000, but still it's not nothing 🤷♂️
Thats really Messed UP, Im Sorry Mike
Had to pay $75 to get it set up
What the Hell Kramer! I'm shocked by this. Dude they should just send you a new guitar for the trouble. Unacceptable. I love my Baretta specials, never an issue. But now I would never by a Striker.
I'm definitely frustrated. I hope they do the right thing. They are supposed to get back to me tomorrow.
Sooo my personal opinion on who ever sold you this guitar is responsible for all these mistakes. If you order from Sweetwater. It is up to Sweetwater to make sure their guitars are setup properly. I would never expect an out of box guitar to be anywhere close to set up and QC. It is up to Sweetwater to make sure there is no nicks and chips in pain.
When you are massively producing stuff there are bound to be mistakes. If I ordered the guitar from Kramer website even, I would expect it to come not set up even if it was advertised. People just don’t handle packages well and especially with the rose it’s going to get bumped out of tune and tension.
Just found your channel. Subscribed.
Holy crap, man. That is probably the biggest POS I've ever seen.
They really should be ashamed that it ever left the factory like that.
Like you, I have guitars cheaper than that, that are MUCH better.
It sucks you had to deal with that after being excited to get one.
The good thing is Kramer has since reached out & emailed. They said the QC issues are getting corrected asap. They paid attention. So that's good.
@@FultonStreetBeats That is good for sure. Cheers!
I can’t believe they come so awful out of the guitar shop
This is why I avoid anything Gibson /Kramer/Mesa boogie/Epiphone they think there name covers them on bad qc
I like your voice you sound like peter griffin
I be that if they put older children to work building them the screws might actually be tight and the inspections might actually be qualified by experience. I just bought the same guitar and what a joke. I finally broke the truss rod loose and was able to set it up properly. first i had to rebuild the thing. Kramer needs to fire China.
Bad qc issues,send it back or take your business elsewhere
It was awful
I seriously just received mine today.. I haven't yet plugged it in, but for instance,
the selector switch feels seriously wonky..
The tension spring claw is not centered
There is literally saw dust still inside of the routed trem cavity!! 😂
The frets feel ok. (No sharp edges). but there is a few unleveled frets around the low e.
The strings are way to high to begin with
Pickups were nit put in dead center. to far on the low string side
Tuners not straight and tightened down
Neck not 100% straight..
And there is still excess ground wire dangling from the weld to the spring claw..
I'm literally afraid of plugging this thing in 🫣
I can’t believe they come so awful out of the guitar shop
I can’t believe they come so awful out of the guitar shop