NGD Blue '85 Focus 3000 like new!

[errbt]

For a guy who supposedly isn't buying guitars right now, I'm not doing a good job of playing that role!

After forcing myself not to go for a couple very cool guitars in the Klassifieds (mr. whipper's beauty of a trans black Pacer mutt and Muttsnmongrel's CL find LP Studio) at amazing prices, deciding I just could not be adding any more guitars right now, first I succumbed to the great deal from bacon for his Epiphone Les Paul Plus Top blue burst (pics soon), and now this beautiful '85 Focus 3000 off the 'bay, and with a good condition hard case to boot! I just couldn't ignore this one...the pics were just too mesmerizing, it's the prized full 'nana headstock which is the only Kramer one I really love, and I've been on a blue kick in recent years - still love my red guitars, but blue has jumped in as my "1B" favorite color:




(yeah, so the that trem arm will have to go...no biggie, I've got three or four OFR arms laying around)

Headstock almost perfect!

Even the back is near mint!

We'll see in a few days, when she gets here, if she's as good as she looks in those pics (asked the seller to unlock/detune the strings and IMOBILIZE that headstock inside the case, so hopefully I won't have to deal with that which shall not be spoken ). Stay tuned...

UPDATE 6/3:

Well, at first I was a bit taken aback upon the guitar's arrival. She got here safe & sound, but the body had more dings than the pics revealed (let's just say the seller was definitely an expert at flattering angles & lighting EDIT: reading back over the listing, I guess there is only one major ding, on the side near the input jack, that he didn't mention). Still, overall great shape for her age, and the frets are great (in need of a polish though). However, as I plugged her in and played I was quickly shocked by the amount of buzzing, especially in the 14 fret and up range. As I sighted down the neck, it appeared the guitar had a slight "rising tongue" as Dan Erlewine would say, causing this buzzing. Raising the bridge posts, even a fair amount higher than I'd ever normally do, and there was still buzzing up there. Noticing that there was more up bow in the neck than I usually go for (I want straight as an arrow or slight relief if there is too much buzzing), I went to tweak the truss rod tighter to take care of that and also see if it could deal with the hump at all, and to my dismay the rod wouldn't go any tighter. It had already been crunched as far clockwise as it would go!

At this point I felt a bit sick, thinking I was going to have to return another 'bay Kramer (I'd sent back a red 3000 a month or so ago because the bridge pickup had a bad coil and the frets were shot even though it was listed as "in working condition" and in good shape). I decided I should spend some more time with this one to be sure. I also realized that at some point someone had shimmed the nut (due to open string buzzing I assume), but it was too high and the first several notes on the G string in particular were sounding WAY sharp! First I got the nut shim the hell out of there, tweaked the intonation on a couple strings, then gave in and went for more relief than I would normally want, and kept going bit by bit looser on the rod, until I thought the high register buzzing was tolerable. Still, it seemed like a slight hump could be seen, and I was damn annoyed that the guitar seemed to have a faulty rod that wasn't capable of straightening the neck completely (even if a straight neck wouldn't have been the best, I wanted to be able to. Again I considered contacting the seller, possibly just to haggle on a bit of $$ back, but I decided to go back to the great Dan Erlewine Guitar Player Repair Guide again first. Long story short, I loosened and removed the truss rod nut, cleaned out the area around the exposed rod, noticed there was a spacer added, went to the hardware store (I was going to try putting some washers on for spacers of my own to try to help with the "seizing up before straightening" problem - see my upcoming post in Tech Talk about that whole heap o' pain in the ass ), came back dissapointed, put a dab of oil in the adjusting nut, put it back on, and went back tightening gently right to the limit, and seemed to be able to get her cranked carefully a bit further than before. Also took the opportunity with the neck off to remove the cardboard shims that were near the inner end of the pocket, which allowed me to bring the bridge posts down (they were way high...thankfully the holes were not ovalled). Still there was buzzing just to the point of coming out of the amp, but, by the time I was done doing an accurate intonation adjustment on all the strings, the buzz had lessened and, more importantly the hump/rise/whatever was GONE! The guitar now has just a touch more relief than my red 3000 (which is nearly flat), just a hair higher action, and plays and sounds KILLER.

Easily the most work I've had to do yet to get a "new" guitar into playable shape, but it was an encouraging exercise in not giving up and sending what should have (and thankfully ended up being) a great guitar back (I would have offered it up here first, but thinking it had a bad truss rod, I would never have been able to ask what I 'd paid for it, so back to the seller it would have gone).

Anyway, to the pics:








Minty Floyd goodness:

Sisters porn :

For whatever reason even in the sun she looks darker blue and less aqua than in real life - actually I wish she looked JUST like in the pics:

[sixstring]

That one looked in great shape. Congrats & hope it arrives safe.

[japkramernut]

Hey kudos man, that's a sweet looking Focus 3000, definitely looks like it should be a good player and minty! Good snag! Let us know how it plays.

[errbt]

Thanks guys, will give an update w/ pics when it arrives. Seller said they double boxed it so I'm feeling good. If it matches the great tone and playability of my red '86 3000 (with '85 neck), it will probably give her a well earned rest and take over as my #1 guitar for shows.

I also have a project loaded white '85 3000 body I plan to pair with an '85 1000 neck (have to dowel/redrill) to complete a patriotic 3000 'nana trifecta.

[KenHeartsKramer]

Congrats on that sweet 3k! There's been quite a few candy blue Kramers surfacing lately!

[kremark]

Great guitar!! There are deals to be had out there.

[errbt]

Congrats on that sweet 3k! There's been quite a few candy blue Kramers surfacing lately!

Yeah, I've noticed that too! There was a 6000 I think, and then almost at the same time, two '85 3000s, one beat up and one Kloset Klassic (the one I got). Just like about a month ago, two red '85 3000s surfaced, a beat-up one (that I won and then returned because one coil on the bridge pup was shorted and the frets were shot - not as described, and the classy seller fortunately fell all over themselves to make it right, full refund including return shipping), and a pristine one that I decided not to chase after even though I watched it right to the end. It's especially weird with the blue ones though, as I'd never even seen a blue 'nana 3000 before, and suddenly two! I guess maybe Kramers always travel in pairs like UFOs travel in threes!

[mnorton999]

I was watching that as well, that blue is

Glad she went to a Forum Bro!

[Holzar88]

Very nice.

[Full Crib]

If you ever decide to go Red, White, and....Black, give me a holla
....cause I gots two minty black 3000's down here, one of which would love to go reside in Michigan.
....I really think that candy blue would look shweeter in the FLA sunshine.

btw...thats a strange lookin neck plate on that one...ser# is positioned high

[errbt]

If you ever decide to go Red, White, and....Black, give me a holla
....cause I gots two minty black 3000's down here, one of which would love to go reside in Michigan.
....I really think that candy blue would look shweeter in the FLA sunshine.

btw...thats a strange lookin neck plate on that one...ser# is positioned high

Ha ha Bruce, this one is definitely bringing out the offers already, so you might have to wait in line!

Yes, I did note the neckplate during the auction and had a bit o' "mutt fear" (trem cavity cover also not being original), but despite the lack of logo and SN being oriented higher on the plate, the font and range are right on for Foci from that period, so I guess I'm just chalking it up to '80s Kramer random weirdness!

Anyone in the know want to chime in on that?

[mrwhipper]

Very NICE! I can not wait to see the pics when you get it!

[sixstring]

Anyone in the know want to chime in on that?

http://www.kramerforum.com/forum/sho...37-Weird-plate

[errbt]

http://www.kramerforum.com/forum/sho...37-Weird-plate

Thanks sixstring...oh well, I'll just hang on to the shred of hope that it is the original plate and the anomally was just because it fell under a workbench at ESP and didn't get found until months later when this guitar was being assembled. Maybe the NJ habits found their way across the Pacific!

[Breizman]

Nice color.

[errbt]

UPDATE 6/3:

Well, at first I was a bit taken aback upon the guitar's arrival. She got here safe & sound, but the body had more dings than the pics revealed (let's just say the seller was definitely an expert at flattering angles & lighting) EDIT: reading back over the listing, I guess there is only one major ding, on the side near the input jack, that he didn't mention). Still, overall great shape for her age, and the frets are great (in need of a polish though). However, as I plugged her in and played I was quickly shocked by the amount of buzzing, especially in the 14 fret and up range. As I sighted down the neck, it appeared the guitar had a slight "rising tongue" as Dan Erlewine would say, causing this buzzing. Raising the bridge posts, even a fair amount higher than I'd ever normally do, and there was still buzzing up there. Noticing that there was more up bow in the neck than I usually go for (I want straight as an arrow or slight relief if there is too much buzzing), I went to tweak the truss rod tighter to take care of that and also see if it could deal with the hump at all, and to my dismay the rod wouldn't go any tighter. It had already been crunched as far clockwise as it would go!

At this point I felt a bit sick, thinking I was going to have to return another 'bay Kramer (I'd sent back a red 3000 a month or so ago because the bridge pickup had a bad coil and the frets were shot even though it was listed as "in working condition" and in good shape). I decided I should spend some more time with this one to be sure. I also realized that at some point someone had shimmed the nut (due to open string buzzing I assume), but it was too high and the first several notes on the G string in particular were sounding WAY sharp! First I got the nut shim the hell out of there, tweaked the intonation on a couple strings, then gave in and went for more relief than I would normally want, and kept going bit by bit looser on the rod, until I thought the high register buzzing was tolerable. Still, it seemed like a slight hump could be seen, and I was damn annoyed that the guitar seemed to have a faulty rod that wasn't capable of straightening the neck completely (even if a straight neck wouldn't have been the best, I wanted to be able to. Again I considered contacting the seller, possibly just to haggle on a bit of $$ back, but I decided to go back to the great Dan Erlewine Guitar Player Repair Guide again first. Long story short, I loosened and removed the truss rod nut, cleaned out the area around the exposed rod, noticed there was a spacer added, went to the hardware store (I was going to try putting some washers on for spacers of my own to try to help with the "seizing up before straightening" problem - see my upcoming post in Tech Talk about that whole heap o' pain in the ass ), came back dissapointed, put a dab of oil in the adjusting nut, put it back on, and went back tightening gently right to the limit, and seemed to be able to get her cranked carefully a bit further than before. Also took the opportunity with the neck off to remove the cardboard shims that were near the inner end of the pocket, which allowed me to bring the bridge posts down (they were way high...thankfully the holes were not ovalled). Still there was buzzing just to the point of coming out of the amp, but, by the time I was done doing an accurate intonation adjustment on all the strings, the buzz had lessened and, more importantly the hump/rise/whatever was GONE! The guitar now has just a touch more relief than my red 3000 (which is nearly flat), just a hair higher action, and plays and sounds KILLER.

Easily the most work I've had to do yet to get a "new" guitar into playable shape, but it was an encouraging exercise in not giving up and sending what should have (and thankfully ended up being) a great guitar back (I would have offered it up here first, but thinking it had a bad truss rod, I would never have been able to ask what I 'd paid for it, so back to the seller it would have gone).

Anyway, to the pics:








Minty Floyd goodness:

Sisters porn :

For whatever reason even in the sun she looks darker blue and less aqua than in real life - actually I wish she looked JUST like in the pics:

[KickstartMyHeart]

... I decided to go back to the great Dan Erlewine Guitar Player Repair Guide again first.

They look great there sitting side by side. It would´ve been a damn shame to have to sent the blue one back. Glad that you could work the hump out. Congrats to your latest aquisition (doesn´t call it a snag since you seem to have invested a lotta ellbow-grease in it).

[sixstring]

Putting your hands on it & getting it back into a playable state makes for a better bond & story.
Theres no love in "played great right out of the box"

[errbt]

They look great there sitting side by side. It would´ve been a damn shame to have to sent the blue one back. Glad that you could work the hump out. Congrats to your latest aquisition (doesn´t call it a snag since you seem to have invested a lotta ellbow-grease in it).

Putting your hands on it & getting it back into a playable state makes for a better bond & story.
Theres no love in "played great right out of the box"

Agreed, definitely rewarding...I do, however, base how much I'm willing to bid on how much post purchase work I think I'll have to put in to it, and the only other time I paid this much for a Focus it was PERFECT (in fit and finish...literally looked untouched from the day it was made), as Bruce can attest (it was the red '86 1000 I sold him earlier this year). So when the pics of this blue 3000 looked almost as perfect, I guess I just figured it would be "practically perfect in every way". *ducks and dodges for making a Mary Poppins reference*

I also realize I should quit whining. Compared to the work many here have done, in the end mine was easy, just a couple days of tweaking. I guess my biggest problem is more of a mental block stemming from (but also leading to) a lack of experience, especially when it comes to electronics or physical alterations like dowelling/redrilling necks, etc. (which is why I have so many "project" parts just sitting around - finding the time/getting over the lack of confidence).

Edit: looking back over my update post, I'd say the biggest thing I need to do is not sound like such a drama queen!

[metalchurch79]

Very nice indeed! You have good taste sir!

[mrwhipper]

I am glad that it worked out for you and I don't think you were being a drama queen. I am glad that you posted your setup adventures about this guitar. There is a good bit of knowledge you handed to people in this thread.

[errbt]

I am glad that it worked out for you and I don't think you were being a drama queen. I am glad that you posted your setup adventures about this guitar. There is a good bit of knowledge you handed to people in this thread.

Thanks TJ. I think I should get T-shirts made: "Everything I know about guitars I learned from the Kramer Forum...and/or Dan Erlewine"...

[Bastardo]

Great looking axes you got there...Congrats

[errbt]

Very nice indeed! You have good taste sir!

Great looking axes you got there...Congrats

Thanks guys...I just love everything about the 'nana Focus series, from the body shape (the sexiest of all the Kramers, and of all guitars in the world IMO) and headstock shape to the tonal versatility (3000s in particular), from the quality of the build and the finishes to the playability and feel! Add to that the prices they can be had for, and you have:

[tattoounknown27]

Cograds on the sweet guitar.