Kramer Striker Custom FR-424CM Mike Wolverton - May 2, 2003 Rating: 4 Bananas out of 5

The Striker Custom 424 Sunburst

The body features a thin profile compared to most standard thickness bodies. It has the “thinness” of an Ibanez model, however, it does have a little more wood. The shape is reminiscent of the old Kramer Stagemasters, and has a slight carve on the top of the guitar. The model reviewed is a Flame top Sunburst, and its really impressive looking from the moment you first lay eyes on it. Unfortunately, it does have recessed routing where the Floyd is installed, but other players like this feature, although I prefer flat-mounted Floyd installs. However, it does have the tremolo block installed to return the Floyd to a neutral position, preventing pullbacks. I assume this was designed this way to accommodate the D-Tuna that was installed on the model I reviewed. The body also features a contour cut where the neck plate attaches to the neck, and I had no problem achieving high fret access while playing the Striker.

The neck is stellar. I thought it felt familiar when I first started picking around on it. The review model has a maple fretboard, with a standard to thin profile back contour. The fretboard features a 16” radius fretboard, which is very comfortable in the hands of an old Kramer die-hard like me. Immediately after I discovered the familiarity, I got out my maple on maple banana headstock neck from 1985. They compare almost identically except for the addition of the 2 frets on the Striker model. They play very similarly, and the Striker was very comfortable in my hand. It reminds me so much of my 85 Baretta that if I shut my eyes, I’d swear that’s what I was playing.

The Quad Rail pickups are nice. They really have a nice “hot” sound that compares to my Dimarzio Tone Zone that I have installed in another guitar. No extra gain increase was needed on my amp, it was ready to go with full blazing harmonics and sustain. I’m most impressed with the bridge pickup, and the fact that it’s coil-tapped. The bridge pickup, to me, is worth the price of admission. However, the middle single coil, and the neck pickup did not impress me as much. They sounded sort of muddy, even after backing off the volume. I didn’t get that “buttery” sound I was looking for that I’m so familiar with on other guitars, but they were by no means horrid. I will say this, when I engaged the D-Tuna and used the bridge Quad Rail, it was "balls to the wall" all the way. It rocks!!!

The licensed Floyd Rose is pretty darn sturdy for the cash. Its comparative to the old Floyd Rose II put on the Striker line back in the 80’s, with bridge saddles that match an Original Floyd Rose. The setup on the bridge was excellent too; it features a perfect spring tension to make dive bombs and vibrato effortless. Although the body features a recessed route, I was still very pleased with the fact that the tremolo was blocked. The model I reviewed came with a D-tuna, although newer models on the Musicyo site do not feature these.

If I had to pick a hot selling point about this guitar, it would have to be the price. $279 for a guitar that plays 100% better than most overseas Jacksons and ESP’s, a very nice bridge pickup, and a Floyd Rose II type tremolo is just a steal. For the beginner guitarist, or even the intermediate, it’s a great value. I found myself always drifting back to it after I had put it down, which says a lot for a guitar under $300. The setup was very nice too, the action was much better than a stock run guitar off the shelf at your local guitar shop, and the guitar was perfectly in-tune, right out of the case.

The Musicyo guys have convinced me, this guitar is definitely a great value for the money. If I had the option of purchasing this guitar in the 80’s, I would have jumped all over it. You couldn’t find quality instruments at this price back then. The Striker FR 424CM is a great guitar, you can’t go wrong on this one.

To purchase a Striker Custom, go to Musicyo's website, and click the Kramer button.

For a Detailed Wiring Diagram of a similiar Striker 424, click here.



Specifications


Neck: Canadian Hard Maple
Neck Profile: Elliptical, Slim-Taper
Construction: Bolt-On

Top: Flame Maple
Body: North American Alder
Finishes: Heritage Cherry Sunburst, Vintage Sunburst

Neck Pickup: Quad-Rail Humbucker (N4S)
Middle Pickup: Dual-Rail Humbucker (M2S)
Bridge Pickup: Quad-Rail Humbucker (B4S)
Controls: 5-Way Pickup Selector
Master Volume
MasterTone with
Push/Pull "Quad to Dual-Rail" Dual-Tap Mode
- IN: 4 coils x 1 pickups = All 4 coils engaged
- OUT: 2 coils x 1 pickups = 2 coils engaged
(Bridge Pickup only. Coils closest to the neck is engaged)
- Hum-canceling in both positions

Bridge: Kramer "Floyd Rose" Licensed tremolo
Machine Heads: Gotoh SG

Nut: Locking Floyd Rose
Nut Width: 1.625"
Frets: 24 - Jumbo Nickel/Steel
Headstock: 14 degree pitch
Non-Reverse, Pointy
Fingerboard: 24 fret, Hard Maple
F/B Radius: 16"
Scale Length: 25.5"
F/B Inlay: Pearl Dots

Price: $279 via the www.musicyo.com website





Note: Ibanez and Dimarzio are all registered trademarks/patents/copyrights of their respective owners. Any and all references to Ibanez and Dimarzio are for comparison purposes.