Kramer SM-1 Orange Crush

Overall: great guitar, would buy again... Positives: Lovely, flat black ebony fingerboard not usually seen in this price range (the neck is chunkier than your typical Jackson/Charvel/Ibanez but also narrower somehow, especially around the 1st fret); great pickups (Seymour Duncan JB is great, but I was especially surprised by the Cool Rails, especially in position 4, surprisingly good for riffing and superior to the Hot Rails in my opinion). The binding's great, the inlays look good too, and the neck access is something special (generally more access than your typical Jackson/Charvel neck throughs, for example). Electronics are also solid (pots don't say Alpha, but are made in Korea and feel/look as solid as CTS pots). The fact that the guitar is entirely made of mahogany, with a neck-through construction is also great for sustain. Some people have mentioned that the action on this guitar is not as low as in other models. This is true out of the box, but can obviously be fixed. I found that the main issue for me was that the guitar required a neck adjustment (it basically came with too much relief making the action higher than necessary, totally fixable). Negatives: small quality control issues, mostly related to finish around the headstock (uneven spraying, paint pooling in some areas); Position of the tone knob (skewed, didn't fully turn if not removed and mounted back in the right place); Tuners aren't great (i.e., inconsistent feeling) but do the job since the guitar has a locking nut, and can also be adjusted by tightening the top screw. FR 1000 is simply not as good as the original. Importabtly, the base plate is bent into place, much like the FR Special series. The nut is also not as great as the original (catches strings and came slightly loose from the factory). I also ended up with a color I don't like, but I knew that going in and that's just my personal taste. Actually, the fact that I was willing to get this guitar in what I perceive to be the worst possible color, should tell you that I see this guitar as a great value guitar, technically speaking. Overall, I consider this to be a great instrument and would buy it again. I was looking to buy a Jackson Pro Series, or Charvel Pro Mod with similar specs. Having already Charvels and Jacksons in my collection I decided to give this iconic 80's metal brand a try and was not disappointed. If you work on your guitars and do your own setups, etc. this guitar is a no brainer. I changed the FR 1000 for an FR Orginal 1984 (the guitar takes a full 37mm brass block, btw, unlike my Jacksons/Charvels!), fixed the smaller electronics issues, and set it up for my playing style, including bridge height adjustments, pick up height adjustments (you can bring the Cool Rails very close to the strings to produce a sound that is, in my opinion, superior to the "chocky" sound you get from raising Hot Rails too much), new springs, and intonation. Will soon change to locking tuners for easy string changes and upgrade the locking nut with an FR/Schaller original. The guitar is a beast and, after a good intonation adjustment, great for recording, it keeps tune very well across the board. If, on the other hand, you don't work on your guitar or fuss about smaller quality control issues that will inevitably be present in a mass-produced, import guitar, then you might be disappointed, since you will most likely have to spend some money on a setup and will probably ask your tech to fix things that don't really need fixing on a guitar in this price range (e.g., paint blemishes, etc.). If you want perfection at a small price, my money would be Charvel Pro Mod (MIM). If you want a better-value guitar that requires some work on your end, I don't think you can beat this one on specs and feel. Although I cannot give five stars for those reasons, after some tweaks, I find this guitar to play as well, if not better, than my more expensive Jacksons and Chavels, while also being as acoustically loud as my Gibson, which makes me want to pick up and play it more often (similar construction specs on my Gibson).