[Nick1]

I just cant get past the neck size and the access on the upper frets. I dont think Id buy the C-7 hell raiser if I could get it for $200.00

[Drew]

Originally Posted by DSS3

Jeez - I missed out on that one. Sorry about that!

They're identical in every other way, I never even considered the fret access. Funny.

The C-7's upper access is pretty shit, tho, IMO, compared to others.

It sort of dumbfounds me, too. Like, they're the same guitar but with different pickups and a different finish, right? So wht does the neck meet in two different places?

Persnally, I can't get over the Blackjack I just picked up. For a brand-new $599 guitar, I've never played anything like it. It's got a incredibly comfortable neck, great pickups, and awesome tone, and the fit and finish just does not match the prioce tag - the fretwork is just excellent. Personally, I think my UV's neck is actually a touch too thin - I LOVE that guitar, but I think ideal neck thickness falls right between the two. But, either way, the Blackjack doesn't make me feel like I'm being held back in the least, I can rip it up on that guitar just as well as my UV. Hell, the UV would be the last sevenof my current batch that I'd ever sell,but if I had to gig with just one, it'd be the Blackjack.

I don't get the "the neck is too think" thing so many of you guys play. If you just give it a chance to get used to it, it feels quite comfortable and tone and tuning stability are definitely slightly better on a thicker neck.

[Toshiro]

Shit, all my other guitars have the original 80's and early 90's Wizard profile, and I still like the Schecter.

[NickCormier]

I think the neck too thick thing is a valid reason, but I think it all depends on how early you started using Wizard necks.. My first serious 2 years of guitar, I only used a RG560, so Im so used to it now, I need small necks, and I cant get used to bigger ones for long periods of time. Sure, I been using an Ibanez SZ for the past year, but its still so uncomfortable compared to any Wizard necks, but I love neckthru and Im selling all my RGs for now so I'll have to wait abit for another Wizard, but then I can really shred like crazy because smaller neck

[kmanick]

I grew up playing Les Pauls , then switched over to Charvel and Jackson.
I can't play a wizard neck for too long or my hand cramps.
I thought the first time I picked up my hellraiser I thought the neck felt great. My USA soloist has a chunkier neck than most other soloists (2001 they did that for some reason)and it just felt like a wider version of that.
You know if you have a Luthier or guitar tech that's any good at all they can
shave the neck down to how you like it (it's not even that a big job).
You Ibanez hard core guys may miss out on some real nice guitars just because they don't have paper thin necks.
You wanna feel a thick neck, find a Jeff Beck model Fender strat. Holy shit the necks on those are huge, the Hellraiser neck is nothing compared to one of those.

[JJ Rodriguez]

Originally Posted by NickCormier

I think the neck too thick thing is a valid reason, but I think it all depends on how early you started using Wizard necks..

I don't think this is true at all. I started playing Ibanez, and used nothing else, until I got my Schecter. I'm now trying to sell off all my Ibanez's. I think that speaks a lot for Schecter, since I was an Ibanez fanatic and always thought thinner = better. It didn't take me any time to get used to the thicker neck. If you sat down for one night with a Schecter I can almost guarentee you that the thickness thing wouldn't bother you that much the next time you picked it up. If people said that they PREFER the thinner neck as opposed to someone saying that they were just unable to play on it, than that I would understand. The thing that kills Schecter for me is the fact it doesn't have a Floyd, which might be rectified soon though.

[Drew]

Originally Posted by JJ Rodriguez

I don't think this is true at all. I started playing Ibanez, and used nothing else, until I got my Schecter. I'm now trying to sell off all my Ibanez's. I think that speaks a lot for Schecter, since I was an Ibanez fanatic and always thought thinner = better. It didn't take me any time to get used to the thicker neck. If you sat down for one night with a Schecter I can almost guarentee you that the thickness thing wouldn't bother you that much the next time you picked it up. If people said that they PREFER the thinner neck as opposed to someone saying that they were just unable to play on it, than that I would understand. The thing that kills Schecter for me is the fact it doesn't have a Floyd, which might be rectified soon though.

Spot-on. I was used to the Hellraiser's neck within the first week - I just played the fuck out of it.

I mean obviously there's a point where this is no longer tryue of course (like, 4 or so inches or something stupid), but if your technique's any good you can play just as well on a thicker neck than a thinner, I feel, once you re--adjust your hand position and get used to it. In fact, I had a lot of trouble with tendfonitis back in the day stemming from my punk rock playing posture and binge-practicing shred licks, and ended up researching the fuck out of this - turns out, a thinner neck leaves you more prone to RSI injury than a thicker one. Even in the worst of it, I could still play my Stratocaster without toomuch pain, while my RG520 with an original wizard was noticeably worse.

If anything, I think the obverse is true - a thinner neck is actually harder to play because of what it does to your wrist.

[jacksonplayer]

Wizard-thin necks are murder on my carpal tunnels, and they suckify the tone, as well. Schecter may have gone overboard a bit on the neck thickness, but I think they're still quite playable.

I find that ultra-thin necks are even worse on sevens than they are on sixes--there's so little leverage for string-bending on a Wizard-7 neck.

[Emperoff]

I like much more my Hellraiser than my RG. For the 540$ I paid, it comes fully loaded and ready to kill, and the neck is übercomfortable to me, but I'd prefer it a little slimmer (as Drew said, somewhere in the middle). The feel of the whole guitar it's just awesome.

The profile of the S7420 is way more confortable to me than the RG's. I'm really interested on the new s7 coming out

[playstopause]

The profile of the S7420 is way more confortable to me than the RG's. I'm really interested on the new s7 coming out

Damn right!
But...

I also tried a Hellraiser the other day and i thought :
what a nice guitar, nicely made and all, sounds good...

But the neck
It's gotta be thinner. Maybe not wizard II thin, but in between wizard I and this. I don't wanna feel i got to get used to it. I want feel it suits me in the first seconds i play the guitar. I can really understand why people who loves this guitar loves it. But in my case, it's : "you never get a second chance to make a first impression and a 1st impression is done in 30 seconds".

Ouh-la-la.

I wouldn't trade my modded Squier for it (the neck on these are a bit thicker than wizards).