Kramer Review: Quad Rod 422 Booster Pak

History:

Purchase: Ordered online from MusicYo.com. This unit is sold as an upgrade for the $69 Focus 111 guitars. It replaces the 3 single coils with 4 Dual Rail humbuckers. I bought it to replace the pickups on a Squier Strat (Chinese 1998). I assumed the fit would be close enough to please me. The cost was $60 for the complete assembly - 4 pickups, pickguard, pots, knobs, switch all preassembled!

What I Like About This Kramer Quad Rod 422 Booster Pak: The unit was relatively easy to install. The body came routed for the double humbuckers. The push-pull tone pot required drilling out the body to fit. The pickguard is the same size, but has different hole spacings. It was easy to drill for the provided screws. The difference in sound is staggering! The bass is significantly enhanced. The "thin" single coil sound is gone, but the pickups retain a clear clean tone. On the bridge position with 8! coils firing the drive level is high (can be switched to 4 coil with a push-pull switch on a tone pot.. Now my cheap Fender Squire sounds SO much better than its matching Mexican Strat(which is green with envy!). They even send a second pickguard (for earlier Focus models).

What I Do NOT Like About The Kramer Quad Rod 422 Booster Pak: The 5-way switch is a little intermittent. I was surprised by the height of the tone pot, requiring drilling. Best to check inside your axe before you order. If you are worried about drilling holes, you may want to opt for single-coil size humbuckers (ex. Seymour Duncan Scorchers from Guitar Center).

Kramer Quad Rod 422 Booster Pak Quality Rating: Very nicely assembled with good cables and tiedowns. The improved sound quality of the pickups leads me to believe they used quality components. Value is the word here. I could not buy the pieces of this set for the this low price, let alone have it assembled and ready to go.

Review Summary: Once again, MusicYo offers great value with good quality components. I have been repeatedly pleased with products from MusicYo. Good quality at a great price. Fast deliveries and NO problems.

Rating of this Kramer product: 5

This Kramer Quad Rod 422 Booster Pak Guitar Accessories Review Submitted By: Steve Barrett

Review Date: 2001-08-14