If you guys like them it's fine with me. However, I'm not a fan (I'm a bit of a gear snob - just to be honest).
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Schecter - your opinions
- Thread starter rainbownorth
- Start date
So it seems like comfort wise theyre good, I personally love the looks, and the price. The weight I'm ok with, and pickups seem average based on opinions so far. Tone wise, what colourful words would you use to describe them in general? 'Good' and 'bad' not allowed in these descriptions.
Schecter makes amazing quality instruments for the price....$700 bought the best body I've held, nice machining and light weight. The tuners/bridge are solid and the pups are amazing through my GK. Fantastic bang for buck....
And for those commenting on the looks, thought Stilettos are rather modern looking, Schecter has P copies and other classic looks. Not gonna compete with a $4k bass, not supposed too.
And for those commenting on the looks, thought Stilettos are rather modern looking, Schecter has P copies and other classic looks. Not gonna compete with a $4k bass, not supposed too.
Me, Id take a schecter mid level or higher import over a stingray. Schecters are very nice but can also be a bit high priced compared to comprable models by Ibanez & Esp Ltd.
Tried a Schecter Omen 5 string today. First time I'd ever played a 5 string (believe it or not) and first time to play a Schecter. Hard to be objective about Schecter in this scenario. But let me say this - massive tonal variation - the blend pot very nice, and the bass/treble cut/boost controls offered huge variations. The bass seemed very well made and the finish (sort of cherry-burst with a white binding) was very nice indeed.
The neck seemed narrow - but remember this was my first go on a 5er. The bass was light - desirable for some, perhaps not for others. I'll certainly try other Schecters as my search for a good starter 5er continues. The action was higher than I'd like - but this bass was sitting in a huge Best Buy near Princeton NJ and was the only 5er in the shop.
Conclusion? I'd add Schecter to my list of brands to try. Oh - the price of this one was $429 - not a bad price for an active 5-string bass.
R
The neck seemed narrow - but remember this was my first go on a 5er. The bass was light - desirable for some, perhaps not for others. I'll certainly try other Schecters as my search for a good starter 5er continues. The action was higher than I'd like - but this bass was sitting in a huge Best Buy near Princeton NJ and was the only 5er in the shop.
Conclusion? I'd add Schecter to my list of brands to try. Oh - the price of this one was $429 - not a bad price for an active 5-string bass.
R
CORBS said:If you want to sound like plastic, Schecter Studios are the way to go. If you want a nice generic bass sound with no sustain or fundamental then any other model will do. Schecters are some of the worst sounding instruments out there, in my experience.They are comfortable and light and look good, but that's where it ends. I hear the California made American ones are nice, but those are rare.
I never seen a us custom shop yet, I bet there sweet. I got a newer stiletto elite 5 and its like 12lb. Its a tank LOL I dident play the studio because I dident like the red stain look. Its got a 3 band eq tho and mine only has a 2. The GC had a few of these and 2 of them where not good quality. The red one was bowed so bad the B string was on the frets. One of the trans black ones was poorly stained and the black was bleeding on to the bare maple neck. The fretboard was a very light color wood and the guitar its self was a couple pounds lighter. Its made in the same place as mine and the one with the back bow but of a much lower quality. I ordered one offline and figured I'd just send it back if it was not a nice one and a week later I got a gem in a box lol.
The string spaceing isn't what I quite like but I'm getting along just fine. My only problem is the electronics. People say the emg hz's ain't bad with a different tone circuit and if spector uses them ill give them a chance with a new tone circuit. Also it needs a 3 band eq
1996 U.S. "s" Series
The s series were standard J's or P's w/ one piece necks and swamp ash bodies in oil finish ,either red,blue or natural . These instruments are as fine as any and if you ever find one , snatch it up ! I had Pat Wilkins ( original Schecter employee and Finish Guru) refin it in LPB.
Pat still does finish work for Schecter as well as many many others .
The s series were standard J's or P's w/ one piece necks and swamp ash bodies in oil finish ,either red,blue or natural . These instruments are as fine as any and if you ever find one , snatch it up ! I had Pat Wilkins ( original Schecter employee and Finish Guru) refin it in LPB.
Pat still does finish work for Schecter as well as many many others .
My main bass is a black studio 5.
Pros:
35" scale is a must have for a low B, for my money. I've never played a 34" B that I was happy with - Fender, Ibanez, Spector, Yamaha;
Construction and finish are great;
Stable, heaps of sustain;
3 band eq (not a great one but 3>2);
Tight string spacing suits me for pick and fingerstyle. No good for slap, but I don't really do that.
Cons:
The sound was a bit bland. I think its the HZ pickups, since I swapped the preamp for a Aguilar OBP-3 but the tone still has retains some of the hollow woody sound I was trying to upgrade. The OBP-3 is a more musical preamp but it was a prick to install - needed to drill bigger holes for the eq pots.
In hindsight I would have replaced the pickups before the preamp;
The neck is pretty chunky;
Having the strap button offset from the bottom makes it a bit tricky to stand it on its ass against something;
The tuners can be a bit stiff;
The setup from the factory was terrible, as were the Elixirs it came with;
Pickup blend is more of a 3-way switch than a blend. I hear that's pretty common, but my other basses have a proper blend.
On balance, I reckon its great. I got it as a stop-gap before getting a custom made fanned-fret bass, but that idea has slipped off the radar, so I guess I'm happy!
Pros:
35" scale is a must have for a low B, for my money. I've never played a 34" B that I was happy with - Fender, Ibanez, Spector, Yamaha;
Construction and finish are great;
Stable, heaps of sustain;
3 band eq (not a great one but 3>2);
Tight string spacing suits me for pick and fingerstyle. No good for slap, but I don't really do that.
Cons:
The sound was a bit bland. I think its the HZ pickups, since I swapped the preamp for a Aguilar OBP-3 but the tone still has retains some of the hollow woody sound I was trying to upgrade. The OBP-3 is a more musical preamp but it was a prick to install - needed to drill bigger holes for the eq pots.
In hindsight I would have replaced the pickups before the preamp;
The neck is pretty chunky;
Having the strap button offset from the bottom makes it a bit tricky to stand it on its ass against something;
The tuners can be a bit stiff;
The setup from the factory was terrible, as were the Elixirs it came with;
Pickup blend is more of a 3-way switch than a blend. I hear that's pretty common, but my other basses have a proper blend.
On balance, I reckon its great. I got it as a stop-gap before getting a custom made fanned-fret bass, but that idea has slipped off the radar, so I guess I'm happy!
I replaced the Hz's in my Riot 5 with 40Dc's and the difference was amazing. The California Custom Jazz 5 has active EMG's; I currently have a 40P in the neck position and a 40DC in the bridge. It also has the quick connects that are very cool and allow the user the change out pickups without the hassle of soldering. I fully expected to change out the pickups in the passive jazz 4 with the large exposed pole pieces but it sounds very good and I may not end up doing that.
The Spector Preamp is probably covering up the obvious deficiency of the HZs. I freaking hate these pickups. It wouldn't be so bad if they weren't in literally everything at my price point. Hopefully, David will come thru pretty quick with my SGD replacements.
Well sounds like all debate aside I've heard what I need to hear. Its a definite step up from what I play now, and I'm definitely keen to give these basses a go.
Killface said:
It's the tone pump . I used to detest the HZ's but with the right pre they sound pretty good. Clear and clean like emg's but less brittle on the high end.
rainbownorth said:
Look for an eliete series new or used. Their pretty much the high end. With s pup change, dare I say better than some American stuff? It's a LOT of bass for the money, and very well made.
