Guitar purchase questions

[Hapexamendios]

OK all you guitarists out there....I'm thinking about buying a new axe with active pickups. My passive D'Marzio on my 16-year old BC Rich just ain't gettin' it.

Anyone played anything by Schecter? Specifically, how good is the C-1 Hellraiser? My local music store is a Schecter dealer and the Black Cherry model looks pretty fucking sweet (I've only seen it on the Web) so....I'm curious. I'm hoping to get up there and sample them myself but until I do (and that might be a couple weeks) I'm open to anyone's opinion.

Thanks people!!!!!

 

[petrucci_dude]

Are you looking for a 7-string or a 6-string?

6-string - Get an Ibanez if you want a nice fast action neck, etc etc.
7-string - Either get an Ibanez RG1527 Prestige or a Schecter 7-string model. The Schecters feel pretty nice to play.

I'm getting a brand new Ibanez RG1527 soon. Yum.

 

[petrucci_dude]

Hmm, Just read about the ACTIVE pickups.

I don't like active pickups, but man, I also have no idea which models have active pickups in any brand, because I never look for them!

Good luck.

 

[Rich - Rannoch]

Schecter are making some very nice guitars nowadays. Used to have a Diamond series 7 string a few years ago but got rid of it because it was ugly (played great though!). The guitars in their current range just look very classy. I really don't think you can wrong with the C-1 Hellraiser.....just ticks all the right boxes for a killer guitar imo. Mahogany body and EMG 81/85....awesome active pickups (avoid anything with the Hz's - they're not active and they sound dreadful). The fact that they don't have trems = it won't take a week to tune up Best thing to do is go try one out and see how it feels to play.

 

[Ermz]

I've been looking at getting a C-7 Hellraiser for a while now. By most accounts, Schecter make some great guitars, and obviously if you're a Loomis fan, you can't go wrong there. All mahogany bodies and top-of-the line pickups STOCK on the guitar for such a damned low price is really really hard to beat.

 

[Rich - Rannoch]

I've been looking at getting a C-7 Hellraiser for a while now. By most accounts, Schecter make some great guitars, and obviously if you're a Loomis fan, you can't go wrong there. All mahogany bodies and top-of-the line pickups STOCK on the guitar for such a damned low price is really really hard to beat.

Absolutely. I wish more guitar companies were like this, instead of cutting corners by putting in crappy pickups or poor quality trem units etc. then expecting people to pay top dollar for the things. I play an ESP H-307, but it was virtually unusable until I shelled out and had 707's installed. The C-7 Hellraiser has this stuff as stock! If you could get the damn things over here I'd go buy one immediately, no questions

 

[Ermz]

Yeah, they're pretty rare down here, Rich. I've only been able to find one distributor, and their first load is only coming in, in a few weeks. All the local dealers I went to either stopped their dealership with Schecter or outright don't stock them. It blows... as does the price mark-up once it hits the shores... but hey, that's what tax returns are there for

 

[Hapexamendios]

Absolutely. I wish more guitar companies were like this, instead of cutting corners by putting in crappy pickups or poor quality trem units etc. then expecting people to pay top dollar for the things. I play an ESP H-307, but it was virtually unusable until I shelled out and had 707's installed. The C-7 Hellraiser has this stuff as stock! If you could get the damn things over here I'd go buy one immediately, no questions

I've been thinking about the C-7 Hellraiser but I've only played a 7-string once and I don't have the longest fingers in the world so I'm not sure I'd ever feel comfortable enough with the wider neck. The local music store is pretty hillbilly so I'm guessing they won't even carry the Hellraiser series but of course I won't know until I go up there and check it out. I say local, but they're about 40 miles away...local enough when you live in the armpit of America.

Thanks for all the advice.

 

[Rich - Rannoch]

I don't think you necessarily need long fingers or even particularly big hands to feel comfortable playing a seven string. The main hurdle when making the transition is the extra low string, but it soon becomes second nature. They're certainly more versatile than 6 strings but only really worth having if you're writing and playing stuff that utilizes all 7 strings. Either way, the Schecters seem incredibly affordable for what you get (you'd pay the equivalent of over $500 for the pickups alone on the C-7 over here ).

 

[Loner]

I recently considered a C-1 Hellraiser myself. Mahogany body & neck (not a bolt on), stock active EMG's, sting thru body bridge, great playability, and gorgeous looks make for a good combination in my book.

 

[the_drip]

The best active pickups are...


EMG - 81, EMG - 85

And I think the Tom Lawrence pickups are active and are supposed tob e very nice... though I"ve never actually played on those.

I like the rhythm ton of the EMG pickups...but eh, the lead tone is a bit shrill.

I prefer Seymour Duncans these days. though my jackson RR has two emg -81s in it.

 

[Kvlt Wench]

Someone who knows much more about guitars than myself says:

"Schecters are okay, but I concur with the statement regarding Ibanez. In regards to the active pickups, they're extremely useful for more sensitive things like harmonics but can be difficult to control with the wrong kind of amps."

 

[Ermz]

EMGs give the tightest response for distorted, metal playing. You'll get the clearest attack and most definition, which makes it great for revealing true playing character. If you suck, they'll make sure you know it. So in that sense they're great for recording. Most of Andy Sneap's recorded stuff usually has the guitarists playing with some form of EMG. Although I think Arch Enemy use Duncans..

The EMG 707 is like a cross between the 85 and 81. The tone is apparently somewhere between 80% 85 and 20% 81.

The only thing that even remotely puts me off the Hellraiser is that there isn't a version with a tremolo. It'll be weird to solo and not be able to wank around with the whammy bar.