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Schecter Stiletto Extreme 4?

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Psycho Messiah

Oct 24, 2006
3
0
#1
was just wondering, how is the playability and quality of these basses? ive read good reviews and it looks killer, was seriously thinking of picking one up. another question is what does the finish look like on these things? the pic here: [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] shows the bass have a red like body with black around the outside, but alot of pics ive seen of it (or pics that i think are the same bass) just have a red paintjob and no black can be seen.

finally, are there any other stilettos that are in the same price range (or possibly cheaper) that are worth checking out?

thanks for ya time much appreciated. cheers!
 
#2
Hi, Psycho!
I just came from a music store where I worked more than 10 years ago. They are selling Schecters now. I tried all they had and found that although they look great, there's a lot to do to get a great instrument from one. I believe you really should change the pickups, all the metal parts including tuners, put a new preamp, and the most important - install a new nut. Then you can get a nice bass. Otherwise, well it just doesn't feel right. Schecter el. guitars are much better than their basses.
 
#3
Margus Alviste said:
Hi, Psycho!
I just came from a music store where I worked more than 10 years ago. They are selling Schecters now. I tried all they had and found that although they look great, there's a lot to do to get a great instrument from one. I believe you really should change the pickups, all the metal parts including tuners, put a new preamp, and the most important - install a new nut. Then you can get a nice bass. Otherwise, well it just doesn't feel right. Schecter el. guitars are much better than their basses.
Click to expand...

I guess I don't agree with this at all. I think they are the best basses for the money, period. They balance well, are made of decent wood, many of them are neck through, the bolt-ons often use 6 bolts, the EMG-HZ's sound better than the cheapy Ibanez Bartolinis and they are set up, including the nut filing, in their USA shop. Working in the retail end allows me to see the "before the sales floor" setups. They are among the best, in fact, they are usually A440 right out of the box. Most guys say they don't feel right due to the odd shaped bodies, but because of everything else, feel safe buying them. Granted, the looks are totally not my cup of tea, but they are nice basses for the money. Just my opinion. Please, try a few out and see what you think for yourself. Steve
 
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#5
I've played a few Stilettos and all of them felt really really nice. Probably one of the most comfortable playing basses I've tried. The sound was pretty good, but you've gotta like the sparkly EMG high end. I imagine it would sit well in a mix, particularly more modern music.
 
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#6
Alright. Here's the deal with the extremes. They are European release only. They made them because Schecters are expensive here in Europe. The Extremes are low quality, cheap line of Schecter. I've liked all the US release Schecters that I have played, but I didn't like the Extreme series at all. To clacky, low quality feel and sound and just all around cheap build.
 
#7
i pick one of these up the other day for £250 (British) i and i it was awesome and its plays like dream also my mate has a schecter ultra bass with the EMG and said he tht this one sound better. doesn't feel also this bass really doesn't feel cheap
 
#8
Margus Alviste said:
Hi, Psycho!
I just came from a music store where I worked more than 10 years ago. They are selling Schecters now. I tried all they had and found that although they look great, there's a lot to do to get a great instrument from one. I believe you really should change the pickups, all the metal parts including tuners, put a new preamp, and the most important - install a new nut. Then you can get a nice bass. Otherwise, well it just doesn't feel right. Schecter el. guitars are much better than their basses.
Click to expand...

Note the bass list of the person who made this comment... his standards are hardly those of a $600 bass.

My Basses:
Nordy vJ5
Sadowsky Vintage 5
Sadowsky UV5
Fender Precision '63
Fender Jazz '69
Fender Jazz/Precision '78
W&T Custom Single Cut 5-string 34"
W&T Ergon Alvistar 5-string (my signature) 34" (on the way)
MTD 535 (ash, maple/rosewood)
MTD 535 (korina, wenge)
MTD Heir (heavily modified - Sonic Blue, the best B-string BTW)
OmCustom 4-string fretted
Washburn AB20 Acoustic Bass Guitar
 
#11
saxnbass said:
Alright. Here's the deal with the extremes. They are European release only. They made them because Schecters are expensive here in Europe. The Extremes are low quality, cheap line of Schecter. I've liked all the US release Schecters that I have played, but I didn't like the Extreme series at all. To clacky, low quality feel and sound and just all around cheap build.
Click to expand...

Wrong. I live in New Zealand which is in the south pacific. I just bought one. It was by far the best bass I played in its price range and I played alot of em. Its solid, sounds good, great playability and looks rad. I will admit though that guitars made in america are a million times better but you gotta pay way more to get one of those bad boys.
 
#12
Owning a Schecter Stiletto Extreme 4 I can say from experience that they are in fact very nice basses. Extremely good quality for the price they come at, especially the fact that they have active pickups and a nice neck, made out of solid sturdy wood that's smooth. As for the colour... no they don't have the shiny glossy black and white outside, well, a little, depending on the lighting. Nonetheless, they look amazing and sound amazing. I would say they are one of the better bass companies to look into for slap/pop bass (still sounding great in any other method). Another nice thing I like is the strong neck build into the body (I found that my old Yamaha would shake at the support if held only by the neck). Solidly built great bass, I'd never trade it for anything that wasn't a Schecter, in all honesty.
 
#16
stflbn said:
Note the bass list of the person who made this comment... his standards are hardly those of a $600 bass.

My Basses:
Nordy vJ5
Sadowsky Vintage 5
Sadowsky UV5
Fender Precision '63
Fender Jazz '69
Fender Jazz/Precision '78
W&T Custom Single Cut 5-string 34"
W&T Ergon Alvistar 5-string (my signature) 34" (on the way)
MTD 535 (ash, maple/rosewood)
MTD 535 (korina, wenge)
MTD Heir (heavily modified - Sonic Blue, the best B-string BTW)
OmCustom 4-string fretted
Washburn AB20 Acoustic Bass Guitar
Click to expand...

Totally agree.

Three words: yes, yes, yes!!!!

I've owned one since June 2007 (an Extreme 4), and it's been brilliant. I paid NZ$700 for mine new, and it is everything I needed. Nice rumbling bass lows, and treble enough to dial in some real good (sorry, make that unbelievable) slap tone (I use it with my SWR WorkingPro 12 which I got about the same time. This amp/bass combination is something you really should try!) And it has power to burn. You can really get the house shaking (and the guitarist/drummer/keyboard player/all of the above complaining ;-), with the gain dial on it. It really packs some punch for a wee guy. And also it really is very nice to play: great action on it.

It can be quite bassy, but I find that winding the treble right up and backing the bass right off evens it out. I've also found putting a preamp in the chain really enhances its' qualities too. I use an EBS Microbass II and I've found adds a lot to it. You can get pretty much any tone you want if you run the Schecter through this and into a decent amp (see above :-). Mind you, the fact that it wants to thunder the house down by default isn't necessarily a bad thing ;)

The only real draw back I've found is that it's a bit heavy on batteries, and that the battery cover has no hatch type arrangement: you have to unscrew it every time! :help: But it's something I can live with so I do: I just give it a fresh battery before each gig.

So for its' price, definitely get it. Basically it's a $700 bass that sounds and plays like a $1500-$1800 one. You won't regret it. Use it as your main workhorse as you gold/diamond-mine your way towards some of the basses in the above list (if you ever end up needing them :-).

Oh yeah, and go for the Black Cherry :p
 
#17
rascool said:
So for its' price, definitely get it. Basically it's a $700 bass that sounds and plays like a $1500-$1800 one. You won't regret it. Use it as your main workhorse as you gold/diamond-mine your way towards some of the basses in the above list (if you ever end up needing them :-).

Oh yeah, and go for the Black Cherry :p
Click to expand...


I saw a black cherry Schectoer daimond series 2805 stiletto 4 at guitar center. first time I ever played a schecter and was impressed by how nice it felt an sounded for the price. this model was listed as 299.99. is this the same stiletto 4 your talking about for 700? genuinly curious here, as I am clueless with schecters. if this is a blowout price or something I might want to pick it up
 
#18
I play a custom 4 I got used.
Playes incredibly good, nice thin neck,
EMG's growl real nice.

I've tried many of these in the local stores.
I'd say try before you buy.
I've tried 2 or 3 of the exact same model schecter in the store
and one would be freekin awesome while the others played bad.
Seems kinda hit or miss to me.
I do love these basses though and am looking to get another one soon.
 
#19
Wow, nice old thread.

Since my comments early in this thread I added another Schecter. I couldn't find another model/make of bass I liked playing better than my Studio5 after 2 years of buying and eventually selling other basses. Many much higher dollar then my studio5. (And I don't expect that to be all others tastes... it's mine)

Anyhow, I found a CV-5 with Jazz/Musicman pickup configuration. As expected, I wasn't in love with the pickups in it just like I didn't love the EMGhz's in my Studio5 so I replaced them with custom Kent Artmstrongs and an Aguilar OBP-3. (And it's obvious here that many Fender and other brand owners also swap pickups looking for tone).

So here's another example of what I feel to be excellent 'bones' to a bass. In fact, other than the pickups... this one needs nothing else changed on it hardware wise.

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