# NGD: Schecter Banshee Elite 8



## philkilla (Apr 15, 2015)

I just posted this at MG.org, but not everyone goes to both sites..


Well, to say I've been nipping at the bud for this one is an understatement. I almost pulled the trigger on a Carvin a few months back until a buddy showed me this. Not that a Carvin wouldn't be awesome, but customs are a sticky issue sometimes. Anyway, on to the picstory:



I got out of work for a box (in a box inside a box)





As usual this sort of thing requires the proper tool:





So schecter likes to pad their products? Nice:





Oh such a tease...





So. Much of the yes





This pleases the yard gods:





Tasty neck shot:

















Pro's: Plays smooth, sounds great, looks great. I really dig the satin finish on the neck and back. The website didn't really specify the finish other than "gloss" which I've come to shy away from now. After getting ahold of the schecter techs (which were super friendly btw) they informed me it's essentially the same neck concept as the KM7....so easy sell for me. 

It played in tune right out of the box. Running through the intonation and neck relief on my first pass I could see it needs some love though. No shocker there and that's no problem either.

The recessed knobs are a nice aesthetic and it's a first for any guitar I've ever owned.

Strings, it's got a lot of em! Seriously though I play 6/7/8, and that's about where I draw the line. 

The specs speak for themselves: Banshee Elite : Banshee Elite-8

I've become a huge fan of hipshot bridges ever since I was lucky enough to grab a KM7. The woods are a good selection the scale length feels pretty comfortable to me. My first 8 was a 30" agile, and that is just a bit excessive. 28" however gives a nice amount of twang and I can still make use of lighter strings.

Pickups: They are schecters own in-house supercharger customs. So far I think they sound pretty good tbh. They aren't making paint peel from the walls and their's no fire vortex in the backyard so that's good (or bad, depending on how you like it). The design of them is kinda weird, and I'll probably change them in the future just for something that suites my taste more.




Con's: This is mostly just nitpicking, because there's no real flaw with the guitar.

Strings. Why god why Ernie Ball? As soon as I finish typing this I'm cobbling together a set of random strings lying around so I don't lose my mind. 

The intonation (and yes I'm blaming EB's, feel free to berate me ) is quite a bit off. Nothing that can't be fixed though. 

Knobs: Since this is my second Schecter and this is the second time this has happened I gotta wonder what their QA/QC team is doing sometimes. The tone knob is secured with an allen screw, and it was barely holding the thing on. My first thought was "Oh, a push-pull pot?"...not quite


Overall: If I had the choice I would definitely buy this guitar again. It feels good, looks good, and makes me happy.


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## shanerct (Apr 15, 2015)

HAPPY NEW GUITAR DAY!

I've been GASing over that guitar for a while and its nice to see photo's that arnt just stock. That Schecter is so sexy. Wish they made a 9 string version though.


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## Zado (Apr 15, 2015)

Great NGD man!The guitar looks really rad,better than I expected;yeah the flamed maple might not be AAAA grade,but looks like there's no veneer in there which is quite astounding for a MIK guitar.

This is really pushing my 6 version gas,but it'll probably be too expensive here,and that's a pity cause it's a monster specs wise.



> The intonation (and yes I'm blaming EB's, feel free to berate me )



Maybe not,but that's the reason why I stopped purchasing EBs.D'Addies are far better ime.

How would you descrive the pups sound wise( and overall quality wise)?


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## Go To Bed Jessica (Apr 15, 2015)

HNGD! That's a seriously beautiful guitar you have there.

I really like that Schecter seem to have been listening to ERG players - longer scales, tasteful fretboard markers, no abalone binding (which ibanez oddly seem to have started using). 

I actually really enjoy setting a guitar up when I first get it, to the point where I'm actually a little sad if the setup is good out of the box - it feels like a bonding session or something.


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## mr coffee (Apr 15, 2015)

HNGD and thanks for the review - this is exactly the sort of info I was hoping for.

-m


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## Noxon (Apr 15, 2015)

Beautiful guitar, man! Congrats!


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## erdiablo666 (Apr 15, 2015)

You know, I had the same issue with the volume knob back when I got my Damien Elite 8. It's an easy fix at least. But man I need one of Banshee Elites in my life.


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## mr coffee (Apr 15, 2015)

I suspect loose knobs are pretty common, my (brief) RG8 and my Gretsch Pro Jet both had the same issue.

-m


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## LUNDY (Apr 15, 2015)

That thing is stunning! Congrats! I think I'm gonna get one too but in a 6 or 7.


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## philkilla (Apr 15, 2015)

Thanks guys.

Swapped out the horrid EB's and it's an even better guitar.


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## 7stg (Apr 16, 2015)

Schecter really out did themselves with this. It's a very nice option especially at it's price point. I wish the scale was longer for the 8, but the 7 is perfect.


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## Nlelith (Apr 16, 2015)

Gorgeous! And I understand your hate towards EB strings  HNGD!


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## octatoan (Apr 16, 2015)

Go To Bed Jessica said:


> HNGD! That's a seriously beautiful guitar you have there.
> 
> I really like that Schecter seem to have been listening to ERG players - longer scales, tasteful fretboard markers, no abalone binding (which ibanez oddly seem to have started using).
> 
> I actually really enjoy setting a guitar up when I first get it, to the point where I'm actually a little sad if the setup is good out of the box - it feels like a bonding session or something.



The Law of Conservation of Abalone in action.


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## M3CHK1LLA (Apr 16, 2015)

nice axe...congrats


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## philkilla (Apr 16, 2015)

Go To Bed Jessica said:


> HNGD! That's a seriously beautiful guitar you have there.
> 
> I really like that Schecter seem to have been listening to ERG players - longer scales, tasteful fretboard markers, no abalone binding (which ibanez oddly seem to have started using).
> 
> I actually really enjoy setting a guitar up when I first get it, to the point where I'm actually a little sad if the setup is good out of the box - it feels like a bonding session or something.



I know what you mean there. I usually have an idea of how I want to implement the guitar before I get it. The setup is sometimes a minor teething issue and it's always changing.



mr coffee said:


> HNGD and thanks for the review - this is exactly the sort of info I was hoping for.
> 
> -m



Glad you appreciated it. I only had a .070 to throw on, however I'm probably gonna use a .072 or a .074. The .070 is around 14 pounds of tension, and I prefer about 16 - 17 on average without having to get too aggressive with the neck relief.


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## BigHandy (Apr 16, 2015)

I like the finish of this guitar! Does it have a different profiled neck than the regular Banshee 8? (It's my picked one since a long time now.)


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## mphsc (Apr 16, 2015)

I dig that man. Congrats.


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## ihunda (Apr 16, 2015)

This looks stunning! Congrats.

How heavy is it?

BTW, I am GASing for the 6 string version with floyd but it's much more expensive because they added a damn sustainer....


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## Dominoes282 (Apr 16, 2015)

That black back stain finish is pure sex. Reminds me of the M8M prototypes. So pristine as well. AWESOME.


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## philkilla (Apr 16, 2015)

ihunda said:


> This looks stunning! Congrats.
> 
> How heavy is it?
> 
> BTW, I am GASing for the 6 string version with floyd but it's much more expensive because they added a damn sustainer....




Oh man, I won't lie. It's a bit heavy. My m80m is swamp ash and is light as can be...I'll break out the scale if I can find it tonight.



Dominoes282 said:


> That black back stain finish is pure sex. Reminds me of the M8M prototypes. So pristine as well. AWESOME.




I definitely agree. The stain almost had a weathered feel to it.


The one thing I don't like is despite the neck being smooth fast satin, the actual fretboard binding is gloss...and it definitely slowed me down on fast runs.

I might take a 3m pad or 3000 grit sandpaper to smooth it out just a bit.


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## Slunk Dragon (Apr 16, 2015)

This 8 has been looking so good, I've been eager to see someone get it. You got some awesome pics of it, congrats on the guitar man!


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## sevenstringj (Apr 16, 2015)

Aesthetically, the pickups remind me of Anderson and Rio Grande. I dig.  How would you describe them, output and tone?


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## viesczy (Apr 16, 2015)

SWEET! Great looking guitar! 

Derek


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## philkilla (Apr 17, 2015)

sevenstringj said:


> Aesthetically, the pickups remind me of Anderson and Rio Grande. I dig.  How would you describe them, output and tone?



I did a quick cover with my phone last night to give an idea of the tone: 
youtu.be/x2PLqZUt4jI

I do have a minor gripe unfortunately. When schecter set it up they used the .080 strings, and as such the nut was slotted for that larger diameter. 

To make it worse a daddario .074 has a winding the steps down in size and therefore a smaller portion of the string is sitting in the slot. This has been creating a buzz.

I emailed schecter and daddario to see if either will throw me a bone.

I'm guessing I'll have to go to kalium for help on this one..


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## BigHandy (Apr 17, 2015)

philkilla said:


> I did a quick cover with my phone last night to give an idea of the tone: https://youtu.be/x2PLqZUt4jI
> 
> 
> I do have a minor gripe unfortunately. When schecter set it up they used the .080 strings, and as such the nut was slotted for that larger diameter.
> ...




I had read in another post earlyer that EB's are too short for longer scales, sad to see that D'addario's have some sort of a same problem... Makes me wonder in advance how to get proper stings at all for my future 8 string...


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## philkilla (Apr 17, 2015)

Seems like Kalium is the only logical way to solve this. 

D'addario emailed me back earlier and I sent them the same pic. I imagine all they would have to do is re-calibrate the machines to wind the string further along and problem solved.

I am however waiting on a response from schecter. Hopefully they'll send me a new nut that isn't slotted for a telephone wire.


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## DancingCloseToU (Apr 17, 2015)

That's strange phil, the strings on both of my agiles are D'Addario XLs, and none of them are tapered. My 8 has a .074 for the low and the 9 string (27-30" scale) has an even thicker .080 chrome flat-wound string. On top of that, I actually had to drill out the tuner for the original .080 XL that was in it because it wasn't tapered either.

They are older XL strings however, perhaps it's something they started doing with the newer XLs or the NYXLs? Are you positive that they are D'Addario strings?


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## philkilla (Apr 17, 2015)

Absolutely sure. 

I ordered a few from juststrings.com (done business with them for over 10 years) and I purchased a few from a local guitar shop in jacksonville florida plus the 8 string specific sets I purchased at a local guitar shop here in columbus GA.

I didn't notice the issue of them being tapered down until after I restrung my M80M with em...and low and behold there it was.

Whatever it is hopefully D'addario can work it out.


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## Noxon (Apr 17, 2015)

I get my .80s from juststrings too. They're D'addario as well, tapered and everything. I use mine on a 28.625 scale guitar with a reverse inline headstock, and the taper on the low e starts parallel to the 6th string tuner. Nowhere near the nut. Maybe the tapers differ from batch to batch?


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## philkilla (Apr 17, 2015)

D'addario got with me and they want to know the distance from the ball end to the top of the nut...I get the feeling I might be SOL.


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## DancingCloseToU (Apr 17, 2015)

That's a possibility Noxon. 

I got mine from juststrings as well, albeit quite some time ago (2 or 3 years?). I ordered a whole bunch of them and have yet to go through them all yet. 

That's a bummer phil. It sounds like they are all taper style now.


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## sevenstringj (Apr 17, 2015)

Another alternative: Labella HRS custom 

They're made to order with the correct taper, past the nut, but before the tuner.


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## philkilla (Apr 17, 2015)

I will definitely look at them.

How would you compare them to other strings brands?


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## sevenstringj (Apr 17, 2015)

They're edgier than D'addario or Kalium. Great chug.  Output and sustain is on par with D'addario. Feel is like a cross between D'addario and Kalium. What I use depends on the tuning, scale length and bridge type, but I lean towards Kalium when I can because I prefer the tone of their low-B and low-F# on cleans. Others sound a little bassier to me.


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## philkilla (Apr 18, 2015)

ihunda said:


> This looks stunning! Congrats.
> 
> How heavy is it?



This part shocked me..

It comes in right at 9 pounds! lol


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## philkilla (Apr 20, 2015)

sevenstringj said:


> They're edgier than D'addario or Kalium. Great chug.  Output and sustain is on par with D'addario. Feel is like a cross between D'addario and Kalium. What I use depends on the tuning, scale length and bridge type, but I lean towards Kalium when I can because I prefer the tone of their low-B and low-F# on cleans. Others sound a little bassier to me.



How about tensions?


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## sevenstringj (Apr 20, 2015)

philkilla said:


> How about tensions?



Kalium > Labella > D'addario

Kalium & D'addario publish tensions, so that's objective. For Labella, I'm going by feel, so take that fwiw.

Just get a set from each and figure out what works best for you.


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## philkilla (Apr 20, 2015)

Sure thing! I ordered the crazy 8 set so I'll see how it goes.


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## jarnozz (Apr 20, 2015)

you could try a boomers 10-80 set! I love that one!


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## metal190 (Jun 1, 2015)

I just got the six-string version of this a few days ago and I am loving it! It blew me away. Far exceeded my expectations. Especially for the price point. 

I do have one question. I love the Schecter Supercharger bridge pickup, but I'm not wild about the neck tone. There are several Seymour neck pickups that I like, but I can't tell how they would pair with the Schecter Supercharger in the bridge. And I know this might be a long shot, but has anyone tried putting an after-market pickup in the neck paired with the Schecter PU in the bridge? If so, any recommendations?


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## Bearitone (Jun 6, 2015)

Is the scale too short to do drop F? What are you tuning to right now?


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## Eclipse (Jun 6, 2015)

HNGD!


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