The Extras I don't know why, but Framus doesn't advertise that the guitar comes with locking tuners and strap locks. Both are a "must have" in my opinion. And both work beautifully and are made by Framus. The rear control panel is cool. It does not use screws. You can hold the tabs down and pop the door open to get in there. Now, I really have no reason for going into the back of my guitar so screws would suit me fine. However, if you want to add more electronics that would require you to frequently open the back, like adding active pickups that use a battery, this door would be a blessing.

OK folks. I finally got myself an AK 1974! And I'm here to tell you about it so read on!

So where to start!? ……. We'll the guitar has been touted by people, not Framus, as a reissue of the original Framus Akkerman that they built from 1974-75, but this guitar is obviously not an exact reissue. It's more of a "tip of the hat" to the original. What the Framus people have done is take the positive features of the original and build a better guitar. Fortunately, for us they disregarded some of the less appealing attributes of the original, like the over-use of laminates and badly designed tail piece.

AK 1974

I guess the most important aspect of any guitar is how it plays so lets start there. First off, it's a matter of taste, so the following is just my opinion. You'll have to try one and decide for yourself. The neck on this guitar is very different than the original. It's not as wide and not as flat on the back. It's closer to a Les Paul neck than the original Akkerman.  It's also a longer scale length than the original. It's 25.5in, 22 fret. So….more like a Strat length than a Les Paul.

I like long scale guitars because I think the notes ring sweeter, so this guitar suits me perfectly. Personally, I love the feel of the neck on this guitar, and because of the longer scale length chords sound beautiful in any position. The longer neck makes string bending harder so you have to be in pretty good shape if you are going to have larger strings and do a lot of string bending. I keep 9's on mine. The neck reminds me of the neck on my Gibson Johnny A. ……..if you have ever had the privilege of playing one. For what it's worth, I sold my Gibson JA because I prefer the Framus!

Out of the box the guitar played great, but I made a few adjustments. I took a little relief off the neck and lowered the action and the thing wails.  I didn't adjust the intonation because it was dead on.

One of the really nice changes they made is the heal where the neck meets the body. The original had a very nice rounded heal, but the AK74 improves on the original by removing the heal altogether (see photos) making playing on the upper frets effortless. And speaking of the neck. Unlike the original, this guitar is a true through neck guitar! You can see this in the photo's of the back of the guitar. It has been claimed the original was as a through neck guitar, but it never was. It's actually a set neck guitar.

This guitar does not have the little frets of the original (thank god for that), but larger, beautifully polished frets that are suited for most any style of playing. The ebony they used for the fret board is very dense and perfectly polished. I really like ebony boards and this is one of the best. The inlays and they put in are flawless.

Fit and Finish I was very surprised by the quality and attention to detail when I received this guitar. I cannot find a criticism. There are no scratches, finish cracks, paint runs, over spray, etc. It's essentially perfect. And the flame maple top is beautiful.

It's a minor point, but they took the sharp edge off the side of the binding so it's a slightly rounded edge. I love little attention to detail like that. I have a very expensive guitar from a USA guitar company that shall go nameless (starts with a G) and the quality of that guitar is not near as good as the Framus. These guys did an outstanding job.

These guys did not skimp on maple for the top, or the rest of the guitar for that matter. The top is about ¼ inch thick. The original used a lot of laminates. The maple tops were solid maple, but they used a maple laminate on the back and also on the back of the headstock. The AK74 does not suffer this same fate. There is no laminate at all. The guitar is made with beautiful woods. There's also very nice flame on the back, sides and neck. Fantastic attention to detail.

Sound Well I'm not a pickup guru so this isn't a strong department for me. Besides the sound is a combination of the pickups and the structure of the guitar. I only go by what I hear.  All I can tell you is this guitar will do it all in my opinion. It is a thru neck guitar with a solid structure and good woods so it's a pretty thick sound. The guitar does it all and that 6 way is a blessing. You can get all kinds of great tone out of this guitar. Metal, rock, blues, country, jazz. You name it. This thing wails!

Case For such an expensive guitar I would have expected a hard shell case. However, after doing some travel with the guitar, I'm now hooked on these gig bags. You can sling this thing on your shoulder and off you go. It's very light because you don't have the extra weight of a hard case. And you don't have to worry about someone pinching it when you put it down because it's on your shoulder at all times. You'll have both hands free when you are checking in for your flight and won't have to worry about someone running off with your prized possession. What I really like is the extra storage compartments with the bag. You can keep all your music with the guitar. As far is protecting the guitar. The bag is very nicely padded. For more on gig bags (and other great guitar tips) check out a book by Adam St. James called 101 Guitar Tips. Here's a quote, "Gig bags with over-the-shoulder carrying straps are a blessing. Shells belong on the beach; get a gig bag".

What's missing? I love everything about the guitar. The only thing I would change is to make the body a little thicker. It's a bit thinker than a Les Paul, but I would put about another ½ inch on it, but that's just me. It's already a heavy guitar, so maybe that would be a bit much. I should mention that it is a big body, which is something that I really like. I find Les Pauls, Strats, PRS, etc., too small. I love the larger body on this guitar.

Summary My opinion. You can't go wrong with this guitar. Framus is in a competitive market, especially in the USA, and they have a competitive product. It's just a matter of getting the word out. This guitar has it all. From quality of build to a great sound. There are purists out there that would like to see a reissue of the original Framus Akkerman, but like I said earlier. Framus took the great things about the original and made a better guitar. Hats off to them.

All the AK74's come with a flame maple top. The original (from the 70's) was either spruce or maple and the maple flame generally wasn't that good. The tops on these guitars are stunning. I added a picture on this page of a tobacco burst that I think looks fantastic. Not my guitar, but I'm may get a tobacco burst soon.