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My Assault 220FR


kc9ejn

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Here's my highly modified Kramer Assault 220FR. It's one of the older ones with the ebony fretboard. I got it 2nd hand online. When I got it someone had changed the pickups out for some really crap ones (no markings on them)that were wired incorrectly. The neck had zero relief to it causing it to fret out at the 12th fret.

Mods include:

Seymour Duncan Dimebucker (Bridge) Dragonfire Power Rails Bridge pickup (Neck).

Relocated the selector switch near the lower horn.

Added a second tone control (one for each pickup).

Replaced the "Floyd Rose" with a Gotoh licensed version.

 

On a personal note, I don't know how everyone else feels about these guitars but I feel these have the potential to be awesome with a few minor changes. The only thing I'd change about the body itself is the fretboard. I'd go back to an Ebony fretboard and finish the frets out a bit better than mine were.

The controls on the other hand, I would have done differently. As you can see from my guitar, I had a huge problem switching and was pretty much forced to relocate the switch! The tremolo bar obstructs the view of the switch where it was originally located and who the hell would want to reach back there in mid song to fiddle with it? Not me! Lastly, I would have gone with a better tremolo! I admit, mine was second hand but the guitar itself was only a couple of years old and had NO signs of fret wear. But from the day I got the thing I had tuning and intonation problems even if I wasn't using the tremolo! Once I had time to really break it down and inspect it, I realized that 1)The saddles were so worn out that they all had grooves worn into them allowing the strings to slip out of the lock (one actually popped completely out while I was tuning. 2) The posts were so worn where the tremolo actuated that there was no way to properly intonate it! How does one completely wear out a tremolo and not cause fret wear?!?! Divebomb continuously for months? Idunno! I hope that someone at Gibson / Kramer sees this and hopefully makes a few changes.

These really are great guitars...just needs a little tweak here and there!

post-72185-047143700 1433898365_thumb.jpg

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  • 1 year later...

That's sweet! I just got one like yours. How do you know the year of the guitar? I think mine has an ebony board as well.

 

ECEA339F-B5F3-459D-908B-1B562874C492_zpsrvaonyzu.jpg

 

the first two digits of the serial number will be the year, the second two is the month. not sure if you are familiar with Epiphones but it's the same s/n system they use.

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  • 1 year later...

Mods include:

Seymour Duncan Dimebucker (Bridge) Dragonfire Power Rails Bridge pickup (Neck).

Relocated the selector switch near the lower horn.

Added a second tone control (one for each pickup).

Replaced the "Floyd Rose" with a Gotoh licensed version.

 

So, you've already done what I am only still thinking about.

I agree that the pickup selector is placed in a very inconvenient place, compare it e.g. with Schecter Omen Extreme. I've tried several pickup sets, but the best one so far is Giovanni GCH-2.

I think I also have ebony fretboard. It makes the guitar sound completely different from those equipped with rosewood fretboard. Every time I get a pickup that sounds warm with rosewood, the warmth is completely lost when I put it in Assault.

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