Taking the edge off of Schecter Studio 5.

stflbn · #1 06-20-2007, 02:18 PM

I love the feel and adjustability of my Schecter Studio 5. What I'm not wow'ed with however is the crispness and edginess of it's sound which I'm attributing to the EMG pickups and Active Electronics. Definitely the sound many look for, but I prefer that when needed and to not be force fed it all the time.

I'd like to tame this beast a little bit. Take the edge off, and get a more round and mellow tone overall.

Currently it still has stock strings on it, which around Rounds and I'm assuming are Steel from their Zingy'ness. I thought I could adjust the DiP switches on my schecter to tone things down, but I'm not finding them on my model.

Any thoughts or ideas?

dvh · #2 06-20-2007, 02:27 PM

I had a similar experience with a Stiletto Custom 4. I liked everything about it but the tone you so well describe.

I tried different strings. Didn't really help much (but it did turn me on to DR Sunbeams - great nickel strings). The Custom 4 pre-amp does have the dip switches but fiddling with that didn't really change things either.

I think it is the inherent sound of the pickups/pre-amp and the only way out is to replace one or the other. I was looking into that and was going for some Bartolini soapbar replacements but ended up with my Schecter Diamond J, which I love, and left the Custom 4 alone to sell it.

Replacing the pickups is your best bet IMO. Good luck

daveze · #3 06-20-2007, 03:00 PM

There's a fellow thats selling a reasonably modified Studio 5 in the for sale section, you could ask him to detail his experiences.

If the pickups are the EMG40 shape (4"x1.5" I think), then you can put any of the similarly sized offerings from Bartolini or Seymour Duncan.

Another suggestion would be to try some flatwounds. For my jazz, it was exactly what the doctor ordered but it was pretty darn aggressive with rounds.

stflbn · #4 06-20-2007, 08:12 PM

Thanks for the input.

I'd planned on trying a set of Chromes and see how it sounds to me. If that doesn't do it enough I think it will be tough for me to go the route of replacing pickups in it on the blind faith of it being better.

Higher chance I'd at least try the route of looking for a swap or trade with someone who wants the edge and bite that isn't my cup of tea.