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Schecter Releases the Stiletto Vintage
- Thread starter dStar
- Start date
i was just about to ask the same question. have you heard or seen it yet? i know it and the stealth are basically identical, but i'd like to hear some feedback either way. i'm thinking it may have a kind of musicman sound due to the large humbucker in the "sweet spot" position, but that can depend largely on the electronics. i actually won a schecter guitar in an online contest and was really surprised by the playability and tone i was able to get from it. thought maybe i'd give a bass a try.
Rather different finishes. I like the Stealth as well, but wish they offered it in the other finish & trim.
Here's the corresponding Stealth announce: [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
I like it... just don't like sunburst finishes personally. Wish it came in another vintage color like surf green.
After trying a few of those, I really don't care for the Stiletto design. The body is simply too small and unbalanced. Especially with 5 strings (w/ the extra long 35" scale neck), the headstock is too heavy and the upper bout is too short. I'm really glad that Schecter is releasing these, but I'm afraid they've chosen the wrong body shape for them. I know that the Stiletto is their bread and butter but I much prefer the Hellraiser/C/Damien design. It's really the only Schecter body style that is ergonomically correct for me. They're not much bigger, and not too much heavier, either.
These aren't particularly new as far as the notion of using "classic" pickup designs in modern style Schecter basses goes. Raiden, Damien Elite, and C-4/C-5 have used more "classic" pickup designs in the past. I suppose this is the first time they've combined the MM bridge with a J/P neck, but the C-5 wasn't far off with the EMG humbucker in the bridge and J pickup in the neck, and their Diamond-P uses a P pickup in the neck and a double J humbucker in the bridge, so they're quite similar. For me, an upgraded Schecter C-5 Custom is my primary bass right now, and it gets a great vintage style tone with flatwounds. And it looks and plays perfect, as it's a pretty high end model by Schecter import standards.
Not only that, I don't know if you are all aware of this, but a lot of their older models are pretty cheap at their Outlet section on the website:
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This is where I got my C-5 Custom, and the bass is simply great. Plus 3-band EQ.
These aren't particularly new as far as the notion of using "classic" pickup designs in modern style Schecter basses goes. Raiden, Damien Elite, and C-4/C-5 have used more "classic" pickup designs in the past. I suppose this is the first time they've combined the MM bridge with a J/P neck, but the C-5 wasn't far off with the EMG humbucker in the bridge and J pickup in the neck, and their Diamond-P uses a P pickup in the neck and a double J humbucker in the bridge, so they're quite similar. For me, an upgraded Schecter C-5 Custom is my primary bass right now, and it gets a great vintage style tone with flatwounds. And it looks and plays perfect, as it's a pretty high end model by Schecter import standards.
Not only that, I don't know if you are all aware of this, but a lot of their older models are pretty cheap at their Outlet section on the website:
Link Removed
This is where I got my C-5 Custom, and the bass is simply great. Plus 3-band EQ.
Also, a word of warning for modders/upgraders. I had a Schecter Raiden Deluxe 5, a passive P+J bass, and while it sounded good and was very light (but with significant neck dive), after disassembly, I found a couple of annoying details:
1. The Schecter branded P-bass pickup was not built like a vintage P-Bass pickup. Instead of having fat, short coils as you'd expect, it had tall J-Bass like coils. It sounded very good, and it sounded reasonably like a P-bass, but it wasn't built like a P-bass, if that matters to you. But since it was a standard P-bass style case, I could have easily bought aftermarket pickups for my bass.
2. The Schecter branded J-bass pickup sounded OK, but not the best output level ever, so I never found myself using it. So naturally I looked for upgrade options. To my dismay, the J-bass pickup was of a funky design that no aftermarket pickups could ever be installed. The dimensions did not correspond to Fender 5-string J-bass or 4-string J-bass dimensions. I think they might make their own in-house because of their 16.5mm spacing bridge which is much narrower than most 5-string Jazz basses. Which to me is a good thing. But it did hurt when I was trying to find upgrades.
Now, I've also had other Schecters, but all of them had EMG pickups stock. No matter how you might feel about EMG pickups, the beauty of EMG pickups is that their stuff comes in industry standard sizes (or the other way around, really, as in they've largely defined the industry), so they've been really easy to upgrade. Seeing as these Stilettos have Schecter branded pickups, however, I might be a little scared to buy them without playing the bass because who knows if the pickups will be upgradeable? If they're perfect, great. If they're not, then you might need to go 100% custom winds, and that could get expensive.
1. The Schecter branded P-bass pickup was not built like a vintage P-Bass pickup. Instead of having fat, short coils as you'd expect, it had tall J-Bass like coils. It sounded very good, and it sounded reasonably like a P-bass, but it wasn't built like a P-bass, if that matters to you. But since it was a standard P-bass style case, I could have easily bought aftermarket pickups for my bass.
2. The Schecter branded J-bass pickup sounded OK, but not the best output level ever, so I never found myself using it. So naturally I looked for upgrade options. To my dismay, the J-bass pickup was of a funky design that no aftermarket pickups could ever be installed. The dimensions did not correspond to Fender 5-string J-bass or 4-string J-bass dimensions. I think they might make their own in-house because of their 16.5mm spacing bridge which is much narrower than most 5-string Jazz basses. Which to me is a good thing. But it did hurt when I was trying to find upgrades.
Now, I've also had other Schecters, but all of them had EMG pickups stock. No matter how you might feel about EMG pickups, the beauty of EMG pickups is that their stuff comes in industry standard sizes (or the other way around, really, as in they've largely defined the industry), so they've been really easy to upgrade. Seeing as these Stilettos have Schecter branded pickups, however, I might be a little scared to buy them without playing the bass because who knows if the pickups will be upgradeable? If they're perfect, great. If they're not, then you might need to go 100% custom winds, and that could get expensive.
That's a really, really nice looking bass! It says it's nut radius is 16” (406mm) - that must feel really flat. I wonder if the whole length of the neck is as flat(?).
Yeah, the only thing I'd change is an ebony or stained board. Then again, as I was just posting in another thread....
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I'm intersted in a 5er and the J/MM pups are cool (I wonder if the MM can be tapped?) and I really can't afford a Lakland. Not really into basswood bodies, though. If the pups are non-standard and not upgradeable, that could be an issue for me down the road. I guess it would depend on how they sound. The bridge looks pretty cool.
- Aug 21, 2003
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I did at NAMM and as I have said before about Schecters...They are stellar.
The best import line on the planet in plain English.
I have to say it does look nice; and Schecters are supposed to be good stuff; and it's available in lefty - but, I'm not in the market for another active bass (my Alembic fills that niche nicely), or a long scale solid body of any description. So, I'm afraid I'll have to pass...
I know this is an old thread, but this is my first-ever post on here and so I'm posting in a discrete place.
I have a Stiletto Vintage 4, and I love it. That said, it is something of a niche instrument; I can imagine a lot of people not liking it at all. I've (nearly) always played on J-type or Stingray-type basses, the only exception being a 6 month period when I owned a Stiletto Custom, which I absolutely adored, but which circumstances forced me to part with. And I really like darker, "tobacco" sunbursts. So you can imagine my joy when I first saw the Vintage. I saw it and said, "Well, that's my bass." Simple as that. It was meant to be.
I've gotten a fair bit of hate from gear-snobs for buying a sub-$500 bass when I honestly could have afforded more, but I don't care. It is a little temperamental tone-wise; again, certainly not a universal bass for everyone. The humbucker is extremely nasal, the J is noisy. It is not as... refined as my old Custom, it has a flat body, simple neck, tuners are fine but not excellent. I personally like the way it's neck-heavy, but I know others feel differently. The bridge is one of my favorite bits, I forget what Schecter calls it, but it's really 4 individual bridges (with some metallic foil under them for what I assume are grounding purposes). I dig this bridge(s) a great deal; I know the drawbacks, but I like it.
That's really the story of the whole bass. For me and my tastes and my purposes, it is perfect. All of its drawbacks and quirks, the things I have to wrestle-with and adjust-for and all that... that's the stuff that makes it My Bass. I just love it, couldn't be happier with it.
I have a Stiletto Vintage 4, and I love it. That said, it is something of a niche instrument; I can imagine a lot of people not liking it at all. I've (nearly) always played on J-type or Stingray-type basses, the only exception being a 6 month period when I owned a Stiletto Custom, which I absolutely adored, but which circumstances forced me to part with. And I really like darker, "tobacco" sunbursts. So you can imagine my joy when I first saw the Vintage. I saw it and said, "Well, that's my bass." Simple as that. It was meant to be.
I've gotten a fair bit of hate from gear-snobs for buying a sub-$500 bass when I honestly could have afforded more, but I don't care. It is a little temperamental tone-wise; again, certainly not a universal bass for everyone. The humbucker is extremely nasal, the J is noisy. It is not as... refined as my old Custom, it has a flat body, simple neck, tuners are fine but not excellent. I personally like the way it's neck-heavy, but I know others feel differently. The bridge is one of my favorite bits, I forget what Schecter calls it, but it's really 4 individual bridges (with some metallic foil under them for what I assume are grounding purposes). I dig this bridge(s) a great deal; I know the drawbacks, but I like it.
That's really the story of the whole bass. For me and my tastes and my purposes, it is perfect. All of its drawbacks and quirks, the things I have to wrestle-with and adjust-for and all that... that's the stuff that makes it My Bass. I just love it, couldn't be happier with it.
Welcome to TB! If you like your bass, that’s all that matters.
The next step in TB membership is to buy about 30 more!
Thank you for your in-depth review of the Schechter. To be honest, I've been watching a lefty Schecter for about a year on Reverb. Given the eccentricities you listed and the pickup tone, I'm probably going to pass. But I love their design and the fact that they offer lefty players so many more options. I'm an Ibanez man and I've found an oddity these Asian imports. Years ago my friend ordered a Schecter guitar and I ordered an ibanez guitar from the same online seller, shared shipping costs and they arrived together. Although each box was labeled properly by brand, they were built identical, even inside the boxes-- same glued in sytro blocks, same parts, same exact wrappings and rubber band windings. Also, I've noticed the Dean basses come in identical boxes as Ibanez. So what's my theory? I think Schecter, Ibanez, and Dean come from all the same manufacturers. I swap my string nuts to righty on my basses and guitars and the Dean and Ibanez string nuts are perfectly interchangeable.
Don't worry about the gear snobs, half of them can't even play anyway. All my life I've gone against gear snob bass players and won the gig even with bargain basses. Now I can buy nearly any bass I want (if wife doesn't find out LOL) and I pride myself on buying bargains and making them play well for me. The art is in the hands and technique. If you don't have that, you ain't got nothin'!
Welcome to TB and please join into the conversations! Everyone loves to exchange ideas here!
Mr. @wvbass is correct. You are now on that unquenchable road to GAS now that you're on Talkbass! The the bigger the bargain, the bigger the bragging rights!
