Schecter Jeff Loomis Signature

Schecter Jeff Loomis Signature

First off let’s get the specs out of the way.

· Ash body (Mine is a two piece.)
· Maple neck with a maple fret board
· 24 frets
· 26.5” scale length.
· EMG 707 pickups.
· Master volume
· 3 way switch
· Original Floyd Rose tremolo
· Grover tuners

I bought the Schecter Jeff Loomis on a total impulse. I was at the Guitar Ranch in Findlay looking to buy strings. I browsed around looking at the guitars on the wall and noticing the ENGL Fireball and two VHT Deliverances they had in stock. So I picked up some strings and was paying for them when I noticed the Loomis hanging on the wall. I swear it was backlit and I heard choirs of angels singing in the background. How I missed it is totally beyond me. But as soon as I saw it went over and asked to play it. The first thing I noticed that it was substantial. The ash used is not the super light tone wood some people long for. It has some real heft to it. After playing it for a few minutes I was in love. So debt be damned I’m taking it home.

The Loomis has a great big clear tone that works wonderfully for metal and all sorts of music. Just sitting around playing it unplugged it sounds huge. The ash and maple combination is magic. If you have doubts remember that the tone that launched a thousand guitar players was Eddie Van Halen playing the exact same wood combination. It sounds amazing.

Normally I’m not the biggest EMG fan but in this guitar they sound very nice. They seem to accentuate the clarity and big voice of the guitar. The clean tones are to die for. They sparkle and sound big and bell-like. This guitar comes to life with gain. You can pile gain on this guitar and it simply refuses to get muddy. If you play metal the tone is close to perfect.

The deep red finish on the guitar almost feels like bare wood. Even the finish on the back of the neck feels great. It’s hard to tell the difference between the Loomis and a guitar with a clear satin finish.

The neck itself is a bit thinner than that on my Blackjack. It is a bit more substantial than the Ibanez guitars I’ve played. But it is very comfortable and easy to play. It’s the kind of neck that feels almost like it’s not there at all because it’s so comfortable.

The Original Floyd Rose tremolo is a thing of beauty. Its construction is rock solid. It stays in tune magnificently. You can do any tremolo trick imaginable from subtle flutters to wicked dive-bombs and vicious screams. I’ve never played a better tremolo on a seven string guitar.

Is there anything I don’t like? I kind of wish it had a tone knob. But I can live without it. I wish it had passives so I could swap the pickups because I’m a guitarist and swapping gear is what we do. The EMG 707s have yet to let me down so they stay for the foreseeable future. I wish the back of the neck and headstock were clear finished instead of red but that’s simply aesthetics not a playability issue. So I really have nothing to complain about that has any real substance.

One quick thing is the simplicity of the controls and the pickups is almost liberating. You don’t have to worry about with push-pull pot is engaged or where you are on the five way switch. You just slap the switch into position and play. It forces you to worry more about your playing than the electronics. I have yet to find myself yearning for a series/parallel switch or coil tap while playing this guitar. It’s very versatile despite or maybe because of its simple electronics package.

Normally I prefer to eschew hyperbole. I hate reviews that tell me this or that is the best ever or every adjective used to so over the top that it makes me doubt the rest of the review. That being said I feel quite confident saying that the Schecter Jeff Loomis Signature is the best production seven string guitar currently on the market. Period.