1st guitar buy in 5yrs

[dave74]

It's been 7yrs since my last brand-new guitar (carvin st300fr) , and 5yrs since I snagged an as-new 08 prestige rg1570 w/case for $450!

Got this guitar a few months back, the week before people started getting the first stimulus checks. Had I waited a week longer the whole batch would have been gone.
Some of these look much cooler than others IMO, so Sweetwater's gallery was a must for me on this deal. I didn't love any of the units from their first batch shortly after namm.
This was from their second batch and was the best looking of the bunch to my untrained wannabe artistic vision lol.

More detailed critiques coming in subsequent posts, but first I'll try to get a pic to stick.

 

[dave74]

I know you're sleeping soundly right now old man Mincer, but when you get back on please tell me if I need to shrink the pics. I'll wait before loading any more. Thanks.

 

[nexion218]

None of them showed up so... Usually, th pics my phone snaps are between 2-4 MB and I cannot upload those, not even on the previous iteration of the forum. I jsut do a "save as..." in paint and re-save them in jpeg and that compresses them o a few hundred Kbs which then upload nicely.

 

[nexion218]

Oh wow... Tha looks COOOOOOL!

 

[Obsessive Compulsive]

Is the finish on every guitar unique like Jem swirl? How is the Indonesian Schecter compared with the Korean? I have 4 of them and they all flawless.

 

[Mincer]

I know you're sleeping soundly right now old man Mincer, but when you get back on please tell me if I need to shrink the pics. I'll wait before loading any more. Thanks.

It came out fine to me.

 

[Masta' C]

That is gorgeous! That finish caught my eye when it was introduced and you're right, not all of them come out as nice as yours did!

The specs on these simply couldn't be better. You really can't get "more" guitar for the money, period.

Do you have a pic of the back? The finish continues up the neck, right? So cool...

 

[Mr. 80's]

Happy NGD Very cool. It reminds me a lot of my old Ibanez RGR420EX Silver Arctic Frost. Schecter has some killer guitars for the money.

 

[Mincer]

I really would dig a sustainer guitar. I use my Ebow all the time.

 

[Top-L]

I like the inlays. I dislike how Schecter is using roman numerals as inlays on many of their guitars this year.

 

[Metalman_666]

That looks like it would slay! Love the Schecter feel, and I bet that one feels goooooooood

Sent from my SM-N975W using Tapatalk

 

[Jack_TriPpEr]

Happy NGD Very cool. It reminds me a lot of my old Ibanez RGR420EX Silver Arctic Frost. Schecter has some killer guitars for the money.

Wow... I was just going to ask if you meant 320 not 420, but luckily decided to check the interwebz 1st and discovered something - that the Arctic Frost finishes were offered in 420 models as well. I never knew that! I had the silver 320 one you mention, and (still) have the 320 Gold version. Scanning the Ibanez wiki, it seems the only difference btw the 2 were the pickups: the 420 had Ibanez Vintage pups and the 320 had Designed By EMG passives.

Cheers!


https://ibanez.fandom.com/wiki/RGR420EX


https://ibanez.fandom.com/wiki/RGR320EX

 

[Jack_TriPpEr]

Dave - big congrats! That thing is gorgeous looking! Plus a sustainer!

Is the neck radius the standard 14" that Schecter usually uses? What's the model #?

 

[dave74]

Finally got off work. Sorry to pull an Ace and keep everyone in suspense.

thanks Mincer,,,,,,,,,big pics it is then. , wow, Imgur is so much better then pb ,,,,no comparison on speed and navigation.


The board is indeed the 14" radius. The model is c1 frs silver mountain.
set-neck with smoothed heal
3pc mahogany neck (real mahogany? who knows) it's wide and 20mm depth at the 1st
mahogany body
ebony/stainless
sonic seducer bridge (thick ceramic at 12.5k) and sustainer neck

 

[dave74]

Is the finish on every guitar unique like Jem swirl? How is the Indonesian Schecter compared with the Korean? I have 4 of them and they all flawless.

Yep everyone is unique. I've wanted a new lava-crackle type finish forever, like my old charvel but maybe a bit different. This one is sort-of in the same spirit though.
These are South Korean. It's my first Schecter ever so I can't speak for the indo-mades,,,,,,, although I had before spent a little time on an early c1 hellraiser w/emgs, probably Korean too.
Quality is very good. No finish flaws, no electronic flaws, level and slick frets, tuners and bridge are good, I'd rather have a basic German OFR, but I will say the push-in arms are better IMO.

One thing I would change is the body arch. I'd rather have more wood and less arch, especially considering the amount of routing in back..
The weight is low 7s which is a tad lighter than I prefer, but it's evenly light so it doesn't have a neck-dive issue like other featherweights I've played.
Actually it balances very well but I'd still prefer thicker body edges for some reason.

The neck feels great for me. 20mm is on the thicker side of my range but the fact it's wide makes it seem thinner IMO.

The bridge pickup at 12.5k seems to be specifically designed to enhance clarity and crunch in a guitar that is spongier than most maple-based guitars.


Glow in the dark side-dots also! My first ever with glowers and I am truly impressed.

 

[dave74]

 

[Top-L]

What is the sustainiac like?

If you strum a chord, does the chord keep playing like it was a keyboard, or does the sound change into harmonics and feedback? IOW, is it similar to standing next to a speaker?

Does it work with clean tones as well as gain?

And how long does the battery last when using it?

 

[Artie]

That IS gorgeous. Schecters don't get the love they deserve. I like the interesting inlays too. Enjoy.

 

[Jack_TriPpEr]

Yep everyone is unique. I've wanted a new lava-crackle type finish forever, like my old charvel but maybe a bit different. This one is sort-of in the same spirit though.
These are South Korean. It's my first Schecter ever so I can't speak for the indo-mades,,,,,,, although I had before spent a little time on an early c1 hellraiser w/emgs, probably Korean too.
Quality is very good. No finish flaws, no electronic flaws, level and slick frets, tuners and bridge are good, I'd rather have a basic German OFR, but I will say the push-in arms are better IMO.

One thing I would change is the body arch. I'd rather have more wood and less arch, especially considering the amount of routing in back..
The weight is low 7s which is a tad lighter than I prefer, but it's evenly light so it doesn't have a neck-dive issue like other featherweights I've played.
Actually it balances very well but I'd still prefer thicker body edges for some reason.

The neck feels great for me. 20mm is on the thicker side of my range but the fact it's wide makes it seem thinner IMO.

The bridge pickup at 12.5k seems to be specifically designed to enhance clarity and crunch in a guitar that is spongier than most maple-based guitars.


Glow in the dark side-dots also! My first ever with glowers and I am truly impressed.

Comfort in the Neck is crucial to being able to really bond with a guitar or not, IMO. Glad to hear that the thickness of the Neck Isn't so much as to make the guitar a no-go for you.

 

[Mr. 80's]

Wow... I was just going to ask if you meant 320 not 420, but luckily decided to check the interwebz 1st and discovered something - that the Arctic Frost finishes were offered in 420 models as well. I never knew that! I had the silver 320 one you mention, and (still) have the 320 Gold version. Scanning the Ibanez wiki, it seems the only difference btw the 2 were the pickups: the 420 had Ibanez Vintage pups and the 320 had Designed By EMG passives.

Cheers!


https://ibanez.fandom.com/wiki/RGR420EX


https://ibanez.fandom.com/wiki/RGR320EX

The V7/V8 get a lot of hate but I liked them myself but only wished they were open coiled since I have always found plastic covered pups to dampen the sound a little killing sustain and openness. I didn't know if they were permanently epoxy/potted on like EMG HZ's or not since I never pulled them. I bought it mostly because I loved the paint job on it but I just could not get use to the neck. Every time I played it I would get horrible cramps in my hands and I just couldn't take it so I basically gave it away for I wouldn't torture myself.