Opinion on Schecters

[Wolf ov Fire]

This is, as I understand it, pertaining to the rules. I am not being specific as to how many strings the guitar has, if it is extended range, and if it is modified or not.

Formalities aside, I would just like to ask what are your guys' general opinions about Schecters? What do you like, not like? How do you feel about wood choice and quality? How do you feel about the pricing? Just anything, post how you feel.

[Wolf ov Fire]

Okay, good, moved to the proper forum

[The Reverend]

The general attitude here is that they're horrible, but my own personal experience has been the exact opposite.

The necks tend to be in the middle of the neck thicknesses I've played. Fretwork on the mid-level guitars is outstanding, as is everything else. The lower end of the Schecter line can have some shoddy QC, as can any cheap guitar, I suppose. Most come with great or at least passable pickups, which when considered with the relative affordability of them is really cool. If you're going baritone, they have a few six string, 30" scale models I believe, and all ERG's are 26.5" which is fairly decent unless you want to play really low and don't like thick strings.

[Mordacain]

I had a Schecter C-1 Classic that was quite nice. Was a nice mix of Les Paul sound / feel with Superstrat look and balance.

QC on it was quite good, certainly better than I've experienced on most Epiphones I've played and actually fit and finish was a little better than my last MIM Stratocaster and Indonesian Ibanez.

The neck was pretty comfortable for me but I'm good with anything smaller than a Gibson 50's profile most of the time. Overall, their mid-tier stuff is good quality, especially for the price.

Personally, what really sets Schecter apart in their mid-tier price range is the use of high-quality components like Seymour Duncan / EMG pickups and TonePros hardware.

[K4RM4]

My C1 FR was my first guitar over 300 usd. So i put a lot of time into researching and looking around okinawa. Luckily there are two guitar stores litterally 5 minutes away from me that both carry several different schecter models. Neck thickness is not a big deal for me, i love my schecter C1FR, C7, and Omen ex-7, but i also have an Ibanez S5470 (purchased recently) and RG5EX1 that i play a lot as well. So for me Schecters were a sort of rite of passage into high-mid range guitars and allowing me to play an instrument that was much more carefully crafted than my B.C. Richs that cost maybe 250 each. And i'll tell you...graduating from those mass mass mass produced, low QC'd B.C. Richs, to my C1, was like night/day. Totally opened my eyes as to what a great guitar feels like and should feel like and helped springboard me into my much more expensive S5470 because i now know some of the nuances to look for in craftsmanship.

My C1 FR was set up near perfectly out of the box. I changed from 9's to 11s and dropped it to Drop C tuning. It was my first experience with EMG actives as well and holy crap does that thing sound so metal. Versatile as well with the coil taps, tone controls and ultra stable floyd rose. The only complaint i have comes when i stand too close to my computer during recording, the pickups tend to pick up the electrical frequencies coming off of my computer more than my guitars with passive pups. Thats no fault of the actual guitar, just the pups, i still wouldn't think of changing them out for passives though. Anyway, i'm off in left field now so i'm going to end there.

[Sephael]

Love my Damien FR 7. Would have went for the elite version but it was a pawnshop find Great quality overall, the only 'bad' thing I can say about it is that the 7 string Floyd that it shops with has the sustain block bolt spacing on a 6 string Floyd instead of the spacing of an official FR 7. Caused me to have to exchange the first brass block I ordered, but you are more likely to find replacement blocks designed for 6 string FR so it isn't really a bad thing.

[7StringedBeast]

I have owned two Schecters, one 2001 C-1 FR with Silver Sparkle top, and a C-7 ATX that I still have. I really like both, and my one and only complaint about them are the minor finishing flaws that any mass produced guitar has...I am very very picky.

I have had a problem with the frets of my ATX and had to completely refret the guitar, but Schecter payed for it so that's fine and now it is perfect...I have posted a thread about it somewhere.

[cacborg]

I love my two Schecters, for what it's worth. I have a C-1 plus, that as Mordacain said, seems like a good mix of LP and Super Strat. I also have a C-7 Hellraiser FR, which is awesome too, but is a little on the big side, and has a slightly thicker neck than, say, an Ibanez 7 with similar specs. Both guitars have set neck joints that are virtually heel-less. I'd personally stay away from the lower-end models, but the mid-to-upper level models, such as the C models, are a win every time.

[MaxOfMetal]

Originally Posted by The Reverend

The general attitude here is that they're horrible

I can't say I agree with this. There are dozens, if not hundreds of happy Schecter players on here, and models such as the C-7 Hellraiser, ATX, and especially the Loomis are held in pretty high regard.

Even though I'm one of their biggest critics, I can say honestly that they make some pretty solid guitar for the price, with that second part being emphasized.

I've seen, played, and worked on some with some pretty rough fretwork and some suspect materials, but in that price range it's somewhat par for the course.

[The Reverend]

Originally Posted by MaxOfMetal

I can't say I agree with this. There are dozens, if not hundreds of happy Schecter players on here, and models such as the C-7 Hellraiser, ATX, and especially the Loomis are held in pretty high regard.

Even though I'm one of their biggest critics, I can say honestly that they make some pretty solid guitar for the price, with that second part being emphasized.

I've seen, played, and worked on some with some pretty rough fretwork and some suspect materials, but in that price range it's somewhat par for the course.

My perspective is probably skewed, since I'm a happy Schecter owner, and get butthurt when people poop all over them.

It's important to emphasize that for the price, they're pretty good. My first seven was a Damien 7, and for only being $300 it was actually not a bad guitar. The only thing I'd say to watch out for with Schecter guitars is the huge heel the bolt-ons have. It's definitely not comfy for work on the higher frets. Try to look for their set-neck options, as the heel on those is quite a bit more practical.

[L1ght]

I was about to say lol, I honestly see a new NGD schecter everyday in both the 7 string and standard sections.

[broj15]

necks are thicker than ibanez (not by much but the schecter "round C" profile compared to ibanez' "flat D" makes it feel bigger), Good choice of name brand parts on mid level ($600-$1000) guitars such as EMG/ Seymour Duncan/ Dimarzio pickups, Floyd Rose/ TOM bridges, and Grover tuners, and, IMO, great scale length on most seven strings (26.5"). Build quality is pretty good, setup is usually pretty good, and thier variety of finishes on 7 and 8 strings is much more varied (notice, i said varied, not better) than Ibanez. I would still be keeping my C7 hellraiser if it wasn't for Ibanez making the RGD series meaning i canget the longer scale with a thinner neck. The one thing i can't stand about schecter is thier inlays. The "active bolt" inlay IMO ruins the C7 black Jack atx.

Edit: As the reverend already stated, The bolt ons have a pretty substantial heel but the set necks have a nice gradual curve. However, i have a problem acessing the 21-24th fret on my schecter. It feels like the lower horn is just too close to the neck for me to comfortably fit my hand in there, thus causing me to have to bend my wrist into a wierd angle.

[AwakenNoMore]

I own 3 Schecters I'll tell you my opinions as they are from different time periods.

My first purchase was my Scorpion baritone (6 string S-1 body shape, you have check the specs in Schecters past catalogs on their site) This thing is amazing aside from slight neck dive. Amazing quality and options and the attention to detail was higher than expected considering the price. Guitar sounds MASSIVE, in contrast its also pretty light weight.

Second was about a year ago an old almost forgotten urge to get an Avenger popped up. I chose the Damien Elite Avenger with Floyd Rose. Out of the box it was almost perfect setup wise, only really had to lower the action. Great quality nice balance and feel.

Third purchase was the most important to me, I was finally able to track down a 2001 A-7 (my first Schecter GAS) even after being a used guitar 10 years old this thing is simply stunning! Almost brand new.

Some people will try to tell you Schecter necks are too big and feel like baseball bats, those people have tiny little girl hands and whine like little girls even though the Schecter necks are literally only 1mm thicker than the ibanez necks >_>. owning 3 very different Schecters I can tell you mt personal experience has been extremely pleasant, I can tell you I want to buy at least 3 more.

[Dylan7620]

My experience with them comes from friends owning them and working at a guitar shop. Most of what I focused on was the mid-higher standard production stuff (hellraisers and similarly priced models) so that's what I'll be commenting on.

On paper, they're great. Good specs for a good price with a lot of popular bands using off the shelf models or close to it. They seem to disappoint me just a bit when I get one in my hands. They're almost always "good" but never "great" when I put them through their paces. I'd usually grab hellraisers to show people what EMGs sound like since they come with genuine actives, were decently set up from the factory and for demo purposes EMGs generally sound like EMGs. They can take a beating like a tank, my buddy tried to flip his ATX7 and the strap lock stripped out sending his guitar flying 10ft+ across stage landing face down, it had a minor stress crack . I guess I'm somewhat indifferent to them overall. For me they're the equivalent of a point A to point B car. I can't really say anything truly negative about them but I would never have GAS for one just like I would never lust after a Toyota Camry.

No offense to those who love them!

[Ninjahat]

Good, Played My Buddies Damine elite 7, It felt good! To much hate around here I think! But, I have Yet to Play a Schecter-8, so maybe the necks on the 8's blow?

[Zado]

Originally Posted by AwakenNoMore

Some people will try to tell you Schecter necks are too big and feel like baseball bats, those people have tiny little girl hands and whine like little girls even though the Schecter necks are literally only 1mm thicker than the ibanez necks >_>. owning 3 very different Schecters I can tell you mt personal experience has been extremely pleasant, I can tell you I want to buy at least 3 more.

yep,never encountered any problems with schecs necks:It is also fair to consider that many schecters have had a certain number of different necks during the years...i tried tons of hellraisers,and many of them had very thin necks.I also noticed that the quality was better some years ago,during the period when high end schecs used to have a OFR.

Anyway at the moment there is no significative difference in therms of quality between schecs and ltds,since they are been made in the same place,i guess.Sometimes materials are different (maple neck vs mahogany one for high end models),but this might be a decision from shibuya,to extend the customer's choice.


Something that really pisses me off is that they've stopped doing interesting stuff since 2009.That year was AMAZING,it had just everything you could desire,from active metal EMG/BO guitars to the great blackjack series with passive SD and the lovely classic series (which so many metalheads hated for its inlay,don't ask me why they love birds on prs anyway),hollywood series (highest end schecs,not considering anniversary models),stiletto (H-S-S ftw) ,six,seven,many limited and tons of prototypes (blue schecter hellraisers,for example).Everything,period.I bought my green hella in 2009 and it's still amazing.


Now: no H-S-S,very few passives,no prototypes(at the moment,but in 2011 they did nothing interesting),all interesting finishes gone,always the same old stuff and something new but not very interesting.


Something went terribly WRONG.

[AwakenNoMore]

^ also they seem to be slowly phasing out their own unique designs, the 2012 has no indication of the Blackjack ATX Avenger, if thats gone i'll be sad, really really sad.

Schecter here's what you need to do (listen up dammit)
Bring back: 006,007, A-7, Stiletto B-2, Devil more Avengers (with goddamn reverse headstocks!) and stop making so many damn C-1/C-7/C-8's


I'd buy a 008 if they made one, or another Avenger 7 if they brought them back.

Blackjack SLS Avenger plox? Do it. Do it now!

[BabUShka]

I own a Schecter BlackJack ATX C1, and its amazing. This is my cheapers guitar, but its without duoubt my favorite. It feels much more exclusive and expensive than it really is, and it sound amazing. The neck is not that thick as peope think, its actually not thicker than avarage necks of LP.
The only thing I didnt like about it, is SD Blackouts. But I switched to EMG and it made it for me. Im hoping to get a descent price on my Ibanez S7 and buy another Schecter pretty soon.

[Zado]

Originally Posted by AwakenNoMore

^ also they seem to be slowly phasing out their own unique designs, the 2012 has no indication of the Blackjack ATX Avenger, if thats gone i'll be sad, really really sad.

Schecter here's what you need to do (listen up dammit)
Bring back: 006,007, A-7, Stiletto B-2, Devil more Avengers (with goddamn reverse headstocks!) and stop making so many damn C-1/C-7/C-8's


I'd buy a 008 if they made one, or another Avenger 7 if they brought them back.

Blackjack SLS Avenger plox? Do it. Do it now!

They said the avenger SLS will be relased in summer,or near that periodo,no worries
006 shape is back with the SGR series,i hope they'll use it for diamond series too,i LOVE it.

[All_¥our_Bass]

Got an omen 8, nice guitar for the money. Stock pups blow ibby ones outta the water. (and I love ibbys btw)

[abadonae]

I've owned A C-7 Blackjack before hand and after selling it i've literally just bought the newer version with coil taps and card inlays. I think they're brilliant.
For the price (in the US anyways) i'd say they're brilliant guitars. I just sold my agile interceptor pro to get my hands back on a Schecter again.

One of the biggest gripes i have read on here is people saying about neck thickness, tbh with you man i didn't have a problem with the neck at all and i have hands LITERALLY the same size as a 15 year old cousin so i know about neck thickness haha.

They sound good, look good, 9/10 the QC is fantastic and their customer service in my experience is 2nd to none.

Great guitars

[Bloody_Inferno]

My opinions on Schecter are the same as ESP: all the Japanese exclusive models have made me spoiled and knowing they're not released everywhere else in the world has made me sad.

[gandalf]

Im very impressed by the Hellraiser model !! the total cheepies are not good in my opinion, but I guess you get what you pay for

[Vostre Roy]

Owner of two different Schecters here, a 006 Elite and an Hellraiser C-7. I haven't owned a shitload of guitars, so I can't really compare with different models of the same price, but quality talking, I'm very pleased with my instruments. Despite being 9 years old, my 006's neck is straight like a flagpole.

I wouldn't necesseraly recommend every model that they have, but the one that goes over 500$ are very decent instruments for the price IMO

[JudasBlitzkrieg]

I've just got a Demon 7 and its awesome. Great build quality, active pups and 7 strings for under £400, bargain