Schecter Owner's Club, pt 2

[rodcheapo]

OK.. I'm not a Schecter owner - yet. Looking for some advice from the experts.

My story - currently play a 2006 Fender MIM Jazz 5, and an Ibanez SG 5. Really, only play the Jazz these days - though the Ibanez is really easy to play, the tone is just plain crappy. I only play at church, through a big house system with massive subs. I am struggling to get a nice clear clean high end and at the same time good definition and crunch on the bottom out of the J-bass. Also, my old fingers struggle sometimes with the Jazz's neck.. Just not the easiest to play.

I've tried out a Studio 5 at my local GC. Seems pretty sweet. I've heard good reviews on the Stiletto Elite as well. The Studio does seem to be easier than the Fender to play.

Given my tonal requirements, do either seem to be a good fit? Or is there another Schecter that would get me where I need to be?

In my experience the Stilettos all play very similarly. The neck is fantastic and extremely fast. They are a bit of a transition from of Fender but well worth it IMO.

As far as electronics goes, I only have significant experience with the Elite-5. The 2band EQ puts out nice heavy lows while maintaining very clear highs. I believe the Studio will be a little lighter and provide you with the punchy sound you are going for. Hope this helps.

 

[Antny]

OK.. I'm not a Schecter owner - yet. Looking for some advice from the experts.

My story - currently play a 2006 Fender MIM Jazz 5, and an Ibanez SG 5. Really, only play the Jazz these days - though the Ibanez is really easy to play, the tone is just plain crappy. I only play at church, through a big house system with massive subs. I am struggling to get a nice clear clean high end and at the same time good definition and crunch on the bottom out of the J-bass. Also, my old fingers struggle sometimes with the Jazz's neck.. Just not the easiest to play.

I've tried out a Studio 5 at my local GC. Seems pretty sweet. I've heard good reviews on the Stiletto Elite as well. The Studio does seem to be easier than the Fender to play.

Given my tonal requirements, do either seem to be a good fit? Or is there another Schecter that would get me where I need to be?

First let me say that I'm no expert, just a weekend warrior. But I do own a few Schecters and have played a lot of them. If you're having trouble fingering your 5-banger Jazz, I suspect you are talking about the low fret positions due to the string spacing? If so, the Schecters are very similar to the Jazz spacings, so you might be in the same boat with a Schecter. The tonal range of the Schecter with the active pups is amazing though. You won't have any trouble shaking the rafters or shattering stained glass on the highs with these basses, that's for sure. lol. I find myself backing way off on the treble ranges to mute the brightness on these basses. My Custom-5 Stilletto has a nasty neck dive though, and my Diamond 4 Jazz weighs more than a Buick. Weight and weight distribution is not high on the list of priorities at their design table, I guess. Hah! So I recommend you try them all out for comfort before deciding. Just my experiences, your mileage may, and likely will vary.

 

[mrc0x]

First let me say that I'm no expert, just a weekend warrior. But I do own a few Schecters and have played a lot of them. If you're having trouble fingering your 5-banger Jazz, I suspect you are talking about the low fret positions due to the string spacing? If so, the Schecters are very similar to the Jazz spacings, so you might be in the same boat with a Schecter. The tonal range of the Schecter with the active pups is amazing though. You won't have any trouble shaking the rafters or shattering stained glass on the highs with these basses, that's for sure. lol. I find myself backing way off on the treble ranges to mute the brightness on these basses. My Custom-5 Stilletto has a nasty neck dive though, and my Diamond 4 Jazz weighs more than a Buick. Weight and weight distribution is not high on the list of priorities at their design table, I guess. Hah! So I recommend you try them all out for comfort before deciding. Just my experiences, your mileage may, and likely will vary.

The Studio does not have the same neck dive issue as the custom. Could be the bolt-on vs neck-thru as far as that goes. I own a Stiletto Studio 6 and it is fantastic, and imo very well balanced.

Btw, new member to the forum (long time reader, but just registered) and would like a membership number for the Schecter club. Currently rockin' my Studio 6 and a 2009 Riot-4 with maple burl top. **Update: Added a picture, below. Apologies for the crappy cell phone camera quality.**
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

 

[My name is Mudd]

Those two will get you #241 and welcome!

 

[My name is Mudd]

Dbl-post Saturday!

A few weeks ago, I scored an early Bartolini TBT preamp (originally in a late 80's Pedulla) from the classifieds here...I'm going to have it installed in my Stiletto, replacing the factory pre's treble & bass and adding a passive/active switch. You know how some people will mod basses well beyond what the bass is apparently worth? This may be the beginning of one of those projects...

 

[mrc0x]

Thanks man.

 

[Double D]

@rstaggs01:


I moved from a Fender MIM Jazz 5 to the Stiletto Elite 5. The elite plays like butter and has such great tone and sustain that the Jazz i've been playing for 10 years took a back seat. The Elite is a very light weighing bass as well. the Jazz about 18-20 lbs and the Elite is like 9 pounds.

toDD

 

[Mattosaur]

I haven't been able to find much info on them, but I was hoping a Schecter fan here had played one of the new (well, redesigned might be a better term) Ultra basses? I think they were just re-released this past August, but I haven't been able to find anything except for one review on the web.

 

[big Idiot]

Just picked up a Diamond P Custom 4 in white. Incredible bass for the price! I was quite impressed with the pickups as well, especially the P-style. Incredibly punchy with a little bit of an extended low end than the P-style pickups i'm used to. Great playing and feeling neck. My only gripe is that it is a little on the heavy side, but I'm a taller, bigger guy, so it's not too bad.

This bad boy is a keeper for sure. Can I join the club?

 

[My name is Mudd]

I haven't been able to find much info on them...

I'd like to try one myself...I really like the shape.

Just picked up a Diamond P Custom 4 in white...Can I join the club?

Pics, please...

 

[INtrotter]

I need asses to the Club,, Just got a Stiletto extreme 4.. Will get a pick up soon.. The bass player in my brother-in-laws badn bought a flying v bass.. and i bought the schecter.. it was on 2 months old,, gave 175

 

[hip63]

So does a sweet pair of Modded Schecters get me in?

I'd like you to meet Punisher and Dracula!

Punisher is of course a 2010 Schecter Stilletto Elite 4.

I have added the following modifications:

EMG 35DC added in the bridge position
EMG 35CS added in the neck position
EMG BQC EQ System
18 volt mod
Custom made Schecter Hipshot Bass Xtender on the low E (Special thanks to Bill @ Hipshot)
Schaller Strap locks
Matching Q-Part Knobs with custom made stacked knobs for the EQ system (by me)
"Punisher" Truss Rod Cover

Pending Modifications: Graphite Nut
Stung with: Rotosound Swing Bass Strings

You won't see many of these boys and girls:

Dracula is of course a 2010 Schecter Riot 5.

I have added the following modifications:

EMG 40DC added in the bridge position
EMG 40CS added in the neck position
EMG BQC EQ System
18 volt mod
Schaller Strap Locks
Matching Q-Part Knobs with custom made stacked knobs for the EQ system (by me)
"Vampire Skull" Truss Rod Cover

Pending Modifications: Graphite Nut
Stung with: Rotosound Swing Bass Strings

Prince of Bass Darkness!

Dracula Rests!

Both of the basses sound abso-m0therfvckin'-lutely awesome!

Now you would think that since these basses have similar construction, electronics, pickups and wood, they would have the same tone, they do not. Which is totally cool with me! Punisher is just a tad brighter and Dracula is just a bit darker. But with the diversity in the pickups I picked and combined with the flexibilty of the BQC System, the range of tones these basses can put out is nothing short of amazing! From big and angry to mellow and cool, its there baby!

Nice low action, perfect intonation, fast and smooth playing necks, tone and sustain for daaaaaaays and enough low end to demolish buildings! What more could you want?

Punisher and Dracula = Bone Crushing and Pure Evil Basses!

Low Life 4Ever!

(P.S. - Can I get a number with a "63" in it?)

hip63

 

[My name is Mudd]

Those two will get you #263 and a welcome!

Question - how difficult was/is making the drop-tuner?

 

[hip63]

I just took the Schecter tuner off and sent it to Hipshot (in NYC). Bill there at Hipshot did the conversion for me, sent it back and I installed it. The main reason I had the conversion done was because I wanted to keep all that beautiful hardware matching. A generic Gotoh Hipshot will fit and work but doesn't match the other tuners and hardware very well.

The cost of the conversion was $75 US + $7 for shipping.

Round trip, it took 2 weeks (I shipped it to them ground so it took a week to get there).

And it works great! I actually had them install a double drop handle too while they was at it (Extra $15, allows you to drop to a second, even lower note) but it is not currently set up so basically it is working like standard hipshot at the moment. I added the double stop handle just in case I felt I needed it later (the handle cost $35 if you order it seperately later)

Hipshot customer support is excellent!

Also the Q-parts black chrome knobs match the Schecter Black Chrome hardware very well. I had to go Q-Parts because the Schecter knobs seem to be weird sized and won't fit the EMG pots. The Stacked knobs for the EQ I had to improvise myself. The top knob is a Q-Part mini knob and the bottom ring knob is from a gotoh stacked knob set. I had to use a table grinder to grind down the bottom of the Q-Parts mini knobs because they were too tall for the set screw to catch the EMG posts securely. But once I grinded them down some, I was able to install them securely and they look great and keep all the hardware matching.

hip63

 

[hip63]

You know how some people will mod basses well beyond what the bass is apparently worth? This may be the beginning of one of those projects...

Tell that to the guys in the squire modding thread, they have built out some "cheap" squires into some very nice basses that I'd be proud to own.

If the bass guitar is good to begin with, proper modding will only make it better.

That preamp should make those pickups pound and the active bypass will be a nice touch. My old Peavey Dyna Bass Unity Series has that, it can be handy.

hip63

 

[IM BLACK]

Link Removed

 

[My name is Mudd]

And another 004 surfaces! Want a number?

...hang on - that one has a bone nut?

 

[rstaggs01]

got my studio last night at my local GC. Sweeeet. It doesn't just seem to play easier/better than the Fender - it's boatloads easier. One thing I did notice, though. The action was incredible. I think maybe a little too incredible. Played on an Acoustic amp at GC, seemed ok, but when I got home and plugged into my little peavy practice amp, got a lot of clicking. Seems the lower 3 strings in particular are slapping the frets. Guess I get to play with the setup this weekend...

I'll get pics in later, and ask for a number then.. :=)

 

[hip63]

I'm posting this here because I got a PM from bassmusic17 but when I tried to repond, I got this error:

1. bassmusic17 has chosen not to receive private messages or may not be allowed to receive private messages. Therefore you may not send your message to him/her.

So here's the reponse and it may answer questions for others:

Re: Schecter related question

Hi I was reading through forums about replacing EMG pickups and came across a post you had in a thread about replacing your EMG HZ pickups with DC and CS.

I have the same schecter elite 4 and was considering doing the same exact thing as you but was wondering is it necessary to change the Pre-amp to the BCS system or can I leave it how it is even with the new pickups?

Thanks for your time.

The stock preamp is geared towards the passive EMGHZ pickups and I've read on the web were others tried to do what you suggest and they had problems so I can't recommended it.

FYI, each new EMG pickup comes with a volume and tone control, so you can use those instead, but of course you lose the EQ. Now some players prefer tone controls over EQs but if you want to keep an onbard EQ, then you will need to get a new one suitable for active pickups like the EMG BQC system or some other suitable preamp.

Yesterday was my second band practice with the new EMGs and half way through practice I asked the other members what they though of the EMGs in the mix (they original thought I was a bit bonkers to replace them since the EMGHZs already sounded pretty damned good), their opinion was that the new EMGs were a huge improvement for my Schecters.

Just to let you know, going from EMGHZs to EMGs is not going to make a major change in the tone coming from your Elite but it will have soooo much more of it!

And you'll have a wider range of tones too.

EMG TIP: Pickup height to strings. This is a true with all pickups but even more so with EMGs. It will greatly affect your tone and volume. For me, I tend to hit the E and A strings harder than the D and G strings so my EMGs are not "level" so to speak. I have my EMGs closer to the G string side than the E string side. However your actual mileage may vary.

Installation Tip: If you go the EMG BQC system route, bring a friend. You'll need the extra set of hands for soldering. Some of it is a bit tight so yeah, life will easier with some help.

I hope this helps and hey let me know how things turn out, EMG man!

hip63

 

[alangoldstein]

does anyone have sound clips of the schecter : omens, or stilettos ?

thanks! considering a schecter i had one in 2002