# NGD Schecter Solo II Custom Natural Gloss (Somebody had to do it)



## LTigh (Jun 17, 2016)

So a little side effect of getting my first taste of a well-made Single Cut was an insatiable GAS for even more well-made Single Cuts, preferably of the variety made by one of Hisatake Shibuya's many outfits.

So pics first, long, sordid story and reviews after:















































...So after scoring myself a case-queen of an EC-1000 a bit back, got a hankering for finding her a mate or two, so off to the ebay and every guitar shop in the L.A. Basin for either another EC-1000 or an Edwards E-LP, because, well, ESP collection rebuilt obsession.

Anyway, after an EC-1000 purchasing disaster what is still getting sorted by e-bay's Money Back Guarantee policy and constantly getting sniped during my Edwards bids (all while refusing to get into a junk-waving contest with the anonymous someones what feels the need to deny me ownership of an Edwards E-LP), got an alert from the good folks over at Gear Orphanage about a Schecter Solo II Custom in Natural Gloss they had up for grabs.

Now, previous to my re-kindled ESP obsession, I had a bit of a hankering for the new Solo II Custom what got released this year, but having not heard any substantial reviews either way, decided to put off purchasing one (also, my paranoia with first-batch first year models from WMI) until next year.

Seeing my ESP plans go to pot, I decided to give it a shot (thanks to Gear Orphanage's return policy, plus they're fairly local to work, so no return shipping charges). Haggled a bit, and after plonking down ducats via teh Paypal, I made an appointment to pick up my new fiddle after work.

Jason from Gear Orphanage had it ready for inspection when I came buzzing this afternoon, and the guys in the shop/warehouse were already incredibly impressed. Set up perfectly, slightly out of tune thanks to some handling, but not horribly so.

Guys, this thing is incredibly well built. Definitely better QC and finishing than a number of the Gibby Studios and Tributes I had been considering once the Edwards thing fell through. Not bad for a Korean guitar priced around a low-end Gibby.

Fretwork was also amazing. I would put the boys and girls at the Sun Valley Diamond Series QC and finishing department up against the aces of the Fujigen factory any day, and they'd fight it out to a decision at the very least. Certainly better frets than any sub $2500 Gibson out there. On par with some of the American Fenders and Ibby Prestige.

A little lighter than expected, but I was expecting a plank-- it's still very solid, but won't give you back problems later on. Not much neck dive with a slippery nylon strap, tends to like a near horizontal position.

Neck is one of the newer "thin" C-shapes, not a baseball bat, not an Ibby Wizard, but kind of Fender-y, which is weird on a Single Cut, but quite nice. Also, the back of the neck has that satin finish that seems to be standard on the newer upper-tier Diamond Series. Schecter locking tuners, Ernie Ball compensated nut, Tonepros Locking TOM and Stop tailpiece.

I have to say that I had considered the EC-1000 case queen I'd gotten to be the pinnacle of what Shibuya-san's companies could offer in a single cut at the LTD/Diamond Series level, but the Solo II Custom shows what can be done when you apply a decade of development and refinement the right way. Definitely kicks the ass of the current batch of EC-1000s in terms of build and features.

Now, the $64,000 question: how does it sound?

Well, the Pasadena set definitely takes some getting used to if you're more of a Seymour Duncan or EMG fan, and they're initially not quite as user-friendly as the Gibby 490R/489T or Burstbucker set. Lots of fiddling with the volume and tone knobs, and I had to roll off the mids on my amp to get things under control. Definitely a pickup that needs to be played loud to fully appreciate all the nuances and shimmers and growls and what-not. Very mid-range heavy, so keep that in mind. When split, via a push-pull on the tone knob, you get very P-90-ish tones. 

Now, the Elephant in the Room: how does it compare to a Gibson?

Okay, like the EC-1000, it's a different animal, albeit one that's a bit closer in tone and vibe to the Les Paul. Sure, a good sub-$2500 Les Paul (about 1 out of every 8-10 that I tried) will outclass it in some aspects tone-wise (a little more 3-dimensional, "airy," open) but the Solo II keeps up extremely well for the most part. Plus, the Pasadena set, once you've figured them out, gives nearly the same level of dynamic response. Good for cleans, jazz, twangs, blues, rock, and metal. Extremely versatile once you figure things out, but there's definitely a learning curve. 

So at this point it's really a matter of whether you really want the word "Gibson" on the headstock or not. 

Keep in mind, though, the neck is very Fender-like and other aspects of the build are very un-LP-like, so don't expect a Les Paul clone. That's what Heritage and Edwards and Navigator and Tokai and Greco are for.

tl;dr: Schecter Solo II Custom kicks ass. Nails a lot of the Les Paul tones and vibes while being its own thing. Between these and current model EC-1000, get this one.

Also, many thanks to Jason from GearOrphanage.com for making this happen.

P.S.

My Case Queen got herself a mate after all:


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## Dawn of the Shred (Jun 17, 2016)

Congrats and HNGD! Absolutely beautiful man, very classy with the natural finish. Love that ltd too


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## MoonJelly (Jun 17, 2016)

I like the pretty.


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## Zado (Jun 17, 2016)

Looks stunning, and those frets are great, but I still need to know more about those pickups... in every single demo I've seen on the tube so far they sounded muffled, or sterile, or too compressed, or generic, with none of the characteristics of a real PAF (which should be their game). Can you compare them with some other more famous pickups? Do you feele there is _quality_ to them and their sound, or they just can't be compared with other products in that price range? (Suhr, CS Duncans etc)


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## LTigh (Jun 17, 2016)

Zado said:


> Looks stunning, and those frets are great, but I still need to know more about those pickups... in every single demo I've seen on the tube so far they sounded muffled, or sterile, or too compressed, or generic, with none of the characteristics of a real PAF (which should be their game). Can you compare them with some other more famous pickups? Do you feele there is _quality_ to them and their sound, or they just can't be compared with other products in that price range? (Suhr, CS Duncans etc)



As I mentioned before, the problem with seeing this on the tube is that these pickups NEED to be played at volume, since the increased upper mids definitely muddy things out.

I had a lot of trouble figuring things out at low volume, mostly for the bridge pickup, but once I cranked up the amp a bit the pickups really open up and you get a lot of dynamic range and response. 

Also, since they're so mid-range heavy, it helped me to roll back the mids on my amp settings, and some of the bass.

The neck pickup is definitely very PAF-sounding (again, at volume). Someone asked about how they compare to a JB in the pickups section, and my response is that they're an entirely different animal. 

The Pasadenas are a very high-quality set, but they really take some getting used to if you're more of a Duncan or EMG player like me. It was very frustrating for the first half-hour or so before my experimentation started yielding results. You're probably going to fiddling around with the volume and tone on the guitar as well as your amp before you hit whatever you consider your "sweet spot," but once it's dialed in, it's very satisfying.

Then again, your mileage may vary.


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## Zado (Jun 17, 2016)

I see, very interesting for sure, thanks mate, gotta try em somehow...and Route 58 as well. Enjoy that beauty!


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## Lasik124 (Jun 17, 2016)

Nice!

Thanks for the writeup and pics!


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## rampant (Jun 17, 2016)

I much prefer the look and vibe of the Schecter to the ESP. It really looks like an all around winner.


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## ToneLab (Jun 17, 2016)

Nice axe. I've had good experiences with every Schecter I've owned. Loved the tone of the review as well. Congrats.


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## ThePhilosopher (Jun 17, 2016)

Thanks for the write-up, I've been wanting to hear more about this set too. I have a Brimstone set sitting around waiting for a home.


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## tylerpond05 (Jun 17, 2016)

Excellent pair of LP-wannabes!!


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## LTigh (Jun 17, 2016)

tylerpond05 said:


> Excellent pair of LP-wannabes!!



Just you wait until I get my Edwards E-LP.

Even if I have to get on a plane to Japan and plonk down 125,000 yen on some unsuspecting music store owner's counter while wildly gesticulating at the flame maple vintage honey burst and hilariously failing my two quarters of freshman-year college l-can-barely-understand-Animu-but-savvy-Sushi-chefs-cursing-at-me-level Japanese.


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## afd1469 (Jul 26, 2018)

I'm VERY interested in this guitar. ...About how much do you think it weighs? I was thinking to look at this, the Vintage V100, and the ESP EC-1000T/CTM (regular thickness). 

You still diggin the Solo II Custom?


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## KnightBrolaire (Jul 26, 2018)

afd1469 said:


> I'm VERY interested in this guitar. ...About how much do you think it weighs? I was thinking to look at this, the Vintage V100, and the ESP EC-1000T/CTM (regular thickness).
> 
> You still diggin the Solo II Custom?


lol he's not going to be able to answer you, he was banned. 
also


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## afd1469 (Jul 27, 2018)

Well shit!


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