What are your thoughts about Schecter basses? Stiletto Studio bass...

[andruca]

What I like the most about most Schecter 5ers is their skinny necks. I don't like the more "modern" sounding basses that much (maybe due to a certain "genericness" some have argued in this thread), I'm more into the Model Ts and CVs, in fact I own a (current gen.) CV5 with the J-bucker humbuckers (passive, with series-parallell-single switch for each pickup) that are sorta' "fender'ish" when singled, just meaner sounding, sporting a real low B, way better crafting than similar priced Fenders and features you don't see often in the range (light tuners, carbon neck reinforcement). My main basses are Stingray5s, so I wanted a 2 pickup 5er for occasional "versatile" stuff, while keeping the same sort of playability and aggressiveness my Ray's have. The CVs are real chameleonic, can do several flavors of J, P, and some more of its own. Here's a nice review of the CV4 that shows a wide range of its tones. I swapped the pickup selector switch for a blend pot, easy mod that makes the most out of this bass' already diverse tone palette. The only con to this bass is it's not as light as modern style Schecters. My CV5 is in the Stingray5 ballpar, ~9.5-10lb, not bad but definitely not trendy for today's ever shrinking standards. Still a very comfortable instrument, so far my back (at 45) can stand a couple hours of it.

 

[bassinflorida]

Owned one for a few years. The EMG-HZ's should be replaced immediately. Thy lack character in this bass, and almost any other bass with them installed. I really enjoyed the neck, overall playability. Overall, decent bass for the price, just be prepared to swap the pu's.

I owned one also for a few years. First 5 string I bought sometime in the mid 2000s. Pickups were definitely the weakest feature. Occasionally the tuners would slip. Loved the neck and string spacing though. I believe it was a 35" scale. Traded it in for a Victor Bailey 5 string electric around 2009. Wish I had kept it and replaced the pickups though.

 

[Kmonk]

I owned a Schecter for a while. Nice bass for the money.

 

[TeamScorpioRI]

I never found the necks comfortable for my hands. They sounded great on their own, but tend to get lost in the mix with a band. Just my experience.

 

[bobdabilder]

The schecters have fairly narrow string spacing. Make sure that's comfortable to you.

 

[primusfan1989]

I have spent significant time with two stilettos through the years, I never cared for either of them

 

[DistortedBass]

I played the fanned fret and it took surprisingly little time to adjust to. The neck felt good, not far away from the Hellraiser series. I've played Schecter for a long time and have yet to be let down by one (never owned anything with the HZ in it, would replace anything with those) I think the current line are the best basses schecter has made, hands down.

 

[dkelley]

Unique and very beautiful shapes, designs, solid builds.

Rarely does an instrument sound amazing with passive EMG pickups - sometimes, but rarely. These are no exception, based on the video samples in this thread. However they sounds SO good with those passive EMGs that I suspect they'd sounds REALLY GREAT with great aftermarket pickups.

 

[Potomuss]

If you're going to replace the pickups right out of the gate, you might consider figuring in that cost and seeing what else might be available in that price range. If you love everything else about the Schecter then disregard and go for it. I just know that I've made the mistake of doing costly upgrades to commodity instruments and found myself either changing them back before selling them or taking a loss on the upgrade. Just food for thought.

 

[Bassaga]

Reading through these posts by people more knowledgeable than I am, it seems like the only con here is the sound of the pickups, which is a matter of taste anyway, and everything else is good. If you like the sound, then, should be a perfect bass for you!

My first bass was a Schecter Stiletto Custom 5 Elite or something like that, it would always show up right next to this one you're looking at on store websites while it was in production, had the same pickups and a similar build style. I didn't have much of a discerning ear at the time (heck, still don't) but I loved that bass. Everything worked well on it, despite the apparent abuse a previous owner had put it through.

I don't know how the market is these days, but it was my first bass because it was on Craigslist for a mere $300. When I sold it two years later, I held out for $250 and could barely get anybody to pay that. Maybe it's a local thing, or maybe it's a Schecter thing, but for that kind of money, I think it'd be just plain silly to pass on the brand.

 

[The Mogpipe]

Please share your thoughts about Schecter basses. I'm looking at the Schecter Stiletto Studio-5. There are two fretted versions - fanned frets and regular frets. I never had a chance to try fanned frets basses yet. There are a few good Schecter Stiletto Studio-5 youtube vids. It sounds great.
Thank you all.

I have a Schecter C4 and like it alot.
Sounds good and it's pretty too.

 

[lokikallas]

Pros-Overall nice and light. Very playable and setup well from the factory. Neck thru has great sustain. Usable eq. Nice string spacing and nut width. 35" B is tight. Emg pickups are easy to swap.
cons- neck divey, require suede strap, Emg HZ are not particularly awesome.

 

[Ric5]

Please share your thoughts about Schecter basses. I'm looking at the Schecter Stiletto Studio-5. There are two fretted versions - fanned frets and regular frets. I never had a chance to try fanned frets basses yet. There are a few good Schecter Stiletto Studio-5 youtube vids. It sounds great.
Thank you all.

Schecter basses are nice … usually good necks and they look good. I would say get one with a 3 band preamp … I don't like their 2 band preamps at all

 

[jacoby75]

I was playing professionally with a touring country band about 10yrs ago. I went into Guitar Center because I wanted a certain bass (I forget which bass I was originally looking for now). When I explained the tone I was looking for the sales guy recommended I try the Stiletto Studio 5 (regular frets. I don't think they had a fanned fret version back then). I was blown away, and I left with the Schecter. I couldn't believe the tone and build quality for the price. I used it professionally for a while, before I decided to sell everything I owned to get my Mike Lull P5 (which was totally worth it). But at the time, the tone served me very well.

It's a very personal decision. It all depends on what sound/feel you're looking for. But I loved the Studio 5 I had while I had it. It sounded great, was neck-thru and had great sustain, and was comfortable to play. The 35" scale makes a huuuuuge difference in playability and tightness of the B string, in my opinion. Most everything I buy these days has to be 35". I would agree with folks' assessment of the pickups. They're okay, but could be better. But I have never been one to swap pickups . . . mostly because I don't know how to solder.

That being said, it eventually started to fall apart. The gold finish quickly wore off the hardware, and the strap buttons pulled out. Relatively minor issues, but it made me concerned for how long the bass would last. Having played many better basses than that one since, I wouldn't buy one again. But if that's where you're at in your journey, it's a decent bass. But there might be a better buy in the price range. Especially used, depending on what you're looking for.

I will say at the time I think I might have been looking for that "burpy" midrange thing of the Sadowsky Modern Metro 5's, but could never afford one. I later bought a Peavey US Cirrus 5 to give me that tone, and it's fantastic. I got it used, and it was pretty darn affordable. If what you're looking for is anything like that, I'd highly recommend a used Cirrus (american).

 

[JRA]

can't help you OP: never owned one! but i've picked them up and played them and really like the way a few of them felt! my issue with them (on the 4s, not the 5s) was how they balanced --- i thought the few that i played were 'neck heavy' in a way i couldn't abide (with a strap...it was fine sitting!). so be sure to check that issue for yourself if it's a concern. good luck with any of your choices!

 

[Flatwound]

My main bass is a Schecter Stiletto Elite. This model isn't made any more, but it would fit in the Schecter hierarchy just below the Studio. Neck-thru, glossy finish. I bought it used, and the pickups had already been replaced. I didn't like the replacement pickups, so I sold them and installed an EMG-40P5X, and an EMG 40 CSX. I have been very happy with these pickups. The Hz's aren't terrible, and you may find that you like them, especially with the 3-band E.Q. To me, they sound kind of like EMG DC's, a very popular (but my least favorite) EMG pickup.

 

[City]

Owned one for a few years. The EMG-HZ's should be replaced immediately. Thy lack character in this bass, and almost any other bass with them installed.
I really enjoyed the neck, overall playability. The finish was a little sparse. My thumb anchor location not only shined up the matte finish, but also went right through it in less than 6 months.
Overall, decent bass for the price, just be prepared to swap the pu's.

Yes what he said. I have an Omen 5 that I have played for about 7 years. I switched out the Pickups and the Preamp....to Seymour Duncan PUPs and Aguilar OPB-1 preamp. For Rock and Roll it is now "all that"! Before, playable, but just ok. But for the price at the time $499.....It did ok.

 

[GreyBeard]

I like basses that have "character" in their sound. IMHO Schecters lack the character I am looking for. If you like the way they sound, go for it! I am more of a traditionalist. Cheers!

S

I like basses that have "character" in their sound. IMHO Schecters lack the character I am looking for. If you like the way they sound, go for it! I am more of a traditionalist. Cheers!

Schector like Ibanez has made so many different basses and their tone is all over the place. There is nothing wrong with either of them.

 

[deff]

I think the pickups are decent. Not my favorite, but decent. At some point I'll likely switch them out for Fluence or something like that. Anyone who thinks you can't get a decent sound out of them hasn't heard any of the Rodney McG videos. Then again, that guy could make a wash tub sound good. If you want sound samples for something super aggressive I can send you a link to some of my bands recordings. EMG HZ's are not all created equal though, with the preamp they sound way better than just how they are run with passive controls.

 

[DistortedBass]

You are too kind! I really appreciate the good word. (Love that purple too!) In my opinion, if you're going for a aggressive, I would hold off on the Fluence and stick with EMG. They are going to bring a bit more crush, and you won't have to deal with the extensive rewiring needed for the Fluece. If you aren't in a hurry, EMG is sending me all of their X-series PJ sets to do a shootout. I should have it up in the next 2 weeks. It will be the PJ-X, PJX-CS, and the PJ-AX sets. You'll get to compare all of them and see if they do what your looking for.