Schecter Stiletto. Opinions?

[prokfrog]

I went with stacked knobs. and by the way, in a band setting, it ALWAYS sounded great in the mix. It's just when practicing alone the tone seems lacking... I have my switches set at the lowest setting right now. i keep forgetting I have that option..

 

[CrazyArcher]

Heh, stacked knobs is what I thought... It would be a crime to spoil the beautiful finish of this bass
How much do those upgrades bring the sound further? I've never had problems to cut through the rest of the band with the stock electronics. A mid-frequency EQ control would be nice to have, but turnin the 'blend' knob a notch towards the bridge PU tends do the trick. Oh and one more question: what was the cost of the upgrades?

 

[Rota]

Myung ALWAYS goes through distortion and effects. I don't think it's the bass that's an issue, it's that you aren't using his rig and his effects.

Am I the only one who hates Stilettos? I find them to feel like toys, lack any fundamental, and have cheesy cheap preamps that sound like garbage. One of the worst sounding basses I've ever come across IMO. They look nice, I admit, but they are nothing I would touch given any other alternative. Their low price unfortunately causes them to saturate the market. The same amount of cash can get you a G&L Tribute, which is such a better bass.

I don't want to argue or offend anyone, sorry. I just can't see the appeal of them. I've played multiple models through multiple amps and it's always the same one-dimensional uninspired generic sound. Am I doing something wrong? Is there a hidden "awesome" switch that I'm not turning on?

Well that makes two of us at least. I had one as my main gigging bass for quite a while and the more I played it, the more I realized it sounded completely sterile and lifeless. I loves the construction, don't get me wrong, but that thing couldn't make a single good sound.

I sold it and bought an ATK and have never looked back.

 

[Sterrrling]

I play a Schecter Stiletto Custom 4...I bought mine in the Fall of 04. It plays great, the Black Cherry finish gets a lot of compliments, and overall I've never had any major problems with it in the time that I've owned it. And I've definitely been rough with it this past few months due to a lot of gigging. Mine is tuned in drop C for my band...I had it set-up at a local shop (they rolled their eyes at me when I asked for the drop set up, I know not my favorite tuning either). I use a custom guage set of Ken Smith Strings to compensate for the deep tuning and Schaller (sp) strap locks.

Here's my complaint...EMG-Hz's, I've owned 3 basses with those pick-ups (the other two were ESP-LTD's: F series and B series) and it seemed to me that each set of PU's are different from each other. The EMG's that are in the Schecter are hot...I have to turn the treble settings way down. I would say the EMG-Hz's are managable when it comes to EQing but its something to be aware of before making the purchase.

 

[derelicte]

i have a studio 5 and it is great! wide range of tones and feels great in my hands
a little on the heavy side and fret spacing is just a little tight, but aside from that, i have no other complaints. i've also contemplated changing the pu's to bartolinis or something, but so far i have no real need to. then again, i play through a tube amp so everything sounds warmer anyway

 

[meegosh]

Above: I played a studio 5, it sounds better than my stiletto custom 5.

After 2 years of playing my Stiletto custom-5, I've decided to re-review this bass.

Pros:
- It "can" sound great as long as you can adjust your techniques.
- it can sound very deep, very bright and hollow(possible if you like to) or really messed up muddy(possible if you like to)
- the Bridge + nut holds the strings tightly, giving a warwick feel.
- slap-able bass(5-string needs more practice)
- dip-switches "allowing" you to choose your desired frequency
- neck is quite slim for a 5 string
- the body is small
Cons:
- not everyone can make this bass's tone sound good
- not everyone can get their "Desired" tone out of these Eq/ knobs
- String spacings are tight, definitely not "recommended " fora beginner slapper bass
- neck is very long(34"), will cause some shoulder pain(or alot to me) when standing+ playing
- The Pick ups are not terrible, but definitely needs a switch as long as you have $$ or want to
- Quite heavy, it is 10lbs
- The Bridge is HORRIBLE(I'll save the details). S-tek bridge is a pain to configure. If you ever need to re-string your bass/ fix intonations, you're better of paying $10 to the repair guy to do it for you(but he'll hate you).
- very easy to dent
- typical techniques will need to be refined/customize for this specific bass.( slap ,tapping, tone control etc) This bass will sound a little better, this is to make up for the not so top of the line pick ups.

Overall it is a good bass/ buy for $400 -600 range. It's really easy+ fun to physically Play it, but the sound it gives is lacking a little bit.

If you're willing to go over $600, get the Studio 5 as a close substitute. Because they are similar, but Studio-5 Sounds better to my ears.

Feel free to comment, it's interesting to hear other people's opinion/review on this bass.