Played a schecter today...

[reptillion]

After about 5 months with an ibanez. A few observations were made, but the most notable to me was, the neck really didnt feel that big at all, definitely thicker than my ibanez, but I wouldnt even consider it huge, just normal. Biggest difference to me was it felt wider. And i dont have giant hands, I'm only about 5'10

Also, I hear that people think theyre bulky, all of the ones they had at the store didnt feel very dense, the wood felt light for its volume, and the neck seemed heavier than the body. Not to say they werent good quality, i just like dense feeling guitars.

Cant really judge on playability from a guitar center setup though.

~Ryan

[IbanezShredderB]

leonardo7 has one, and let me hold it when I was at one of his band's shows, I was surprised to find out that the neck wasn't too big, either, just slightly wider. I can see myself buying one at some point.

[tekkadon d]

yeah i thought the exact same thing. i felt so jipped cause for so long i was worried about buying one then pulled the trigger and it wasnt that bad. if anything i prefer it.

[Isan]

the six string necks are the crappy ones ... i love schecter sevens

[Shannon]

I think the "Ibanez vs. Schecter" neck difference opinions stem from that most of the original ss.org who were use to playing Ibanez for YEARS. When Schecter came out, it WAS a massive difference in feel. They still feel different to me now, but not nearly as drastic as a few years back.

I still like my Ibanez over though.

[JohnIce]

I own a Hellraiser and used to own a Blackjack, never had any issues with the necks. I did pick up a 6-string Hellraiser once and that one had a beefy neck for real, but not the 7's.

I guess Ibanez has kind of set the standard for 7's by probably being the most used brand, which might throw people off. If anything, I'd say the Schecter necks are normal and the Ibby's are just very thin.

It also seems like for every good guitarist who genuinely doesn't like the Schecter neck profile, there are 3 guys who just can't make the effort to try something different and 5 guys who are just bandwagoning. That's why Schecter have a reputation of being "baseball bats".

[EliNoPants]

personally, every time i play an Ibanez, i feel like i've got a toy in my hands (i'll grant that i've not gotten to play any high end models, and it's entirely possible that there's a big difference) and while my LTD SC-607B felt perfect from the first time i held it, my Hellraiser grows on me more and more every time i play it...though a satin finish on the neck would be fan-damn-tastic (but i think that should be the standard finish on all necks)

[signalgrey]

yeah i havent noticed thaaaaat much of a difference. i suppose its where you started from too. i started on a big ass Bass VI kinda neck, tic tac bass beef cake neck.

i like schecters the profile is more my style. no problem with Ibbys.

i did like the UV i tried. but the PGM i was interested in getting felt like a twig hahaha.

[JohnIce]

There's also the age-old myth that thinner necks = faster and cleaner playing. It's all about personal preference and comfort, I play so much better on my C-7 Hellraiser than on my old Ibby 6. My most playable guitar yet is a PRS Custom 22. I can shred up a storm on that thing. It's all about what fits your hands.

[cyril v]

thinner = faster doesn't really make sense when you see buckethead and loomis playing just as fast as anyone else. Anyways, my rg7620 is still the heaviest guitar I've ever owned, and the c7 was much lighter in comparison but, the Xiphos 7 definitely is light as a feather.

[Mattmc74]

I have two Ibanez 7's and I love the necks on both of them, I did try a Loomis and I really liked it as well. I would bought it if I had the cash on me at that time, I still want to get a Loomis someday. I have a few different guitars that all have different neck profiles so maybe thats why it seemed like no big deal to me at all. I could see if a person only had one style guitar that they have played for years, everything else they play would seem odd or out of place to them.

[Andromalia]

Neck size and shape are definitely a matter of personal taste, to me the size and width are less relevant than the flatness of the board. If there was a universal "best" neck all guitar manufacturers would stick to it.

[reptillion]

For me, the first time I picked up a schecter, before I even owned a 7, it seemed totally gigantic. I played one again a few weeks after I got my ibanez, and it still felt huge, and the ibanez felt fine. After owning the ibanez for almost 6 months though, the schecter is just as usable. I think this has to do with me progressing as a player and getting a better idea of how to approach the neck. I still prolly wont buy a hellraiser, because it feels "hollow" but id like to try a loomis

[Necrophagist777]

Originally Posted by Isan

the six string necks are the crappy ones ... i love schecter sevens

Yea the 7's are actually quite comfortable, can't wait to try a loomis

My 6 string Schecter on the other hand is a plank of mahogany with a baseball bat attached for a neck, but i love it

[Triple-J]

Schecter have unfair reputation of being baseball bats but I've only played their 7's so I'm not to sure what their 6's are like, tbh necks have never bothered me really as I just feel they are part of the character of the guitar.

Oddly enough the thickest neck I've ever played was a Yamaha AES people complain about Schecters but this thing made a Les Paul feel like a Jackson and at 6'3 I'm not a guy with small hands but it really took a lot of getting used to playing.

[haffner1]

I never had too much problem with the necks, I'm just not big on the 26.5 scale. My fingers always seem to end up in the wrong place whenever I play them. I wouldn't mind having one for recording rhythms though, but I couldn't see using it on a regular basis.

[etiam]

Originally Posted by Andromalia

Neck size and shape are definitely a matter of personal taste, to me the size and width are less relevant than the flatness of the board.

Agreed, here. I play a Schecter A-7 + and an Ibanez RG Prestige, and honestly tend to prefer the Ibanez neck feel, and I think it has as much to do with the larger radius as it does the heft of the neck itself. Ibanez 7 necks tend to be almost 17 inches these days, whereas Schecters hang more regularly around 15, give or take.

Also, I think in the eternal debate between these two, another thing that I give the edge to Ibanez in is the bridges. I've just never been a true FR devotee, and the Edge Pro bridge is just so much more comfortable and, it feels, pliable.

That being said, I do still dig the general Schecter feel and think they have some great-sounding guitars.

[Ippon]

Originally Posted by cyril v

thinner = faster doesn't really make sense when you see buckethead and loomis playing just as fast as anyone else. Anyways, my rg7620 is still the heaviest guitar I've ever owned, and the c7 was much lighter in comparison but, the Xiphos 7 definitely is light as a feather.

Just curious about the Xiphos ... the closest guitar I have, shape-wise, is the Flying V. Because of the lack of wood near the bridge, doesn't it suffer sustain-wise, not that sustain is that all important in the overall scheme of things?

BTW, I don't have any issues shifting from one extreme neck profile (Gibson '50s RIs) to RG7620 to Schecter whatever.

[kmanick]

I never "got" this whole debate. I 've owned several Ibanez 7's and several Schecter 7's.
they are different profiles and shapes but both are very "playable".
the neck on my J-Custom 8527 was just amazing, but the neck on my old Loomis
was also amazing.
The hellraiser and the Blackjack I owned both played well but they felt like very cheap gutiars to me so I moved them.
I like the necks on the 7620's but I had a black one that had a huge flat spot that ran down the middle of the back of the neck and it killed my wrist when I played for longer
than an hour at a time. It was a 99
the 97/98 7620 necks I've played both have nicer profiles and I dig those.
If I could score another Loomis for a bagain I would grab it in a heartbeat.

[cyril v]

Originally Posted by Ippon

Just curious about the Xiphos ... the closest guitar I have, shape-wise, is the Flying V. Because of the lack of wood near the bridge, doesn't it suffer sustain-wise, not that sustain is that all important in the overall scheme of things?

BTW, I don't have any issues shifting from one extreme neck profile (Gibson '50s RIs) to RG7620 to Schecter whatever.

I can't say that I noticed a decrease in sustain compared to my sc607, I'd say it was about the same. Those both being neckthru guitars but with different bodies shapes. I honestly think sustain has more to do about the way you get your guitar setup and the action, neckbow or even your choice of hardware etc etc.

anyways, thanks to whoever neg repped me because i said my 7620 was heavy. lol. makes sense.

[Ckackley]

After playing nothing but Ibanez 7's for a few years I tried a Schecter and fell in love. I could actually play cleaner, faster and more comfortably. The wider neck MADE my hand stay in a more comfortable position and my fingers didn't get jumbled together on the higher frets ( I've got really long hands/fingers ). I sold the Ibby's and now use a Blackjack with a Damien as a backup. I played our rhythm guitarists Ibby the other day sound checking and hated it. lol

[budda]

My personal experience, based on my preferences, is this:

Ibanez RG7 neck: too thin
Schecter C-7 neck: too thin
Carvin DC727 neck: too thin
EBMM JP7: Too small
Loomis sig: Pretty good, need more time though
Dean EVO 7 neck: perfect

The shoulders on the dean felt right, whereas the other 3 do not fit me well in the shoulders.

[TheSilentWater]

SCHECTER FTW. To be honest, I've only ever played one Schecter 6, a low-end model, and the neck on that was merely "meh". Being for a long time an owner of a mid- range Ibanez RG, though, I have to say I went from at first being like "WOAH!" when I realised how thin the neck profile was to, with time and experience with friends' guitars, feeling as though it lacked 'weight' and wasn't 'meaty' enough. We'll have to see how things go with my new Schecter 7, loving it at the moment.


Joe

[vampiregenocide]

I've never found Schecters to be as bulky as everyone says, but I stillcan't get into them.

[MajorJohnson931]

Originally Posted by vampiregenocide

I've never found Schecters to be as bulky as everyone says, but I stillcan't get into them.

+1, except i'm a schecter guy. I think people really exaggerate the difference in necks on guitars, in my opinion anyways. after trying a 1527 and C7 at guitarcenter, i didn't really think the difference was too big of a deal at all.