Guest Luthier Series - Schecter Guitar Research

[subanots]

Re: LIVE NOW - Guest Luthier Series - Schecter Guitar Research

Re: LIVE NOW - Guest Luthier Series - Schecter Guitar Research

have you ever seen that movie Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles?

dont you think the actor that plays Casey Jones (Elias Koteas) looks a LOT like Robert DeNiro?

I always thought that.

 

[MCschecterPres]

Re: LIVE NOW - Guest Luthier Series - Schecter Guitar Research

Re: LIVE NOW - Guest Luthier Series - Schecter Guitar Research

No question really just wanted to comment on the best bass I ever owned.

I had a mid-80's Schecter Tele bass with a P/J setup I bought new in '85 or so I guess. That bass was unreal, a piano-like tone that was enormous! I stopped playing bass and switched to guitar f/t and sold it many years ago when things were tight, I miss it all the time. The stupid things you do to survive.....

Like those Ultra's btw - you need one with some SD Mini-hums in it, real vintage looking would be fine.

Like this? This is our current ULTRA-III Bigsby trem and 3 Duncan FG-101 mini hums and sort of a 'brian may' styel series/off/parallel switching system

 

[tone4days]

Re: LIVE NOW - Guest Luthier Series - Schecter Guitar Research

Re: LIVE NOW - Guest Luthier Series - Schecter Guitar Research

what is the ratio of time working on the "cool stuff" to time spent running a business for you guys? ... any myths about working for a guitar company that you want to dispel? ... any perks you want to confirm?

 

[MCschecterPres]

Re: LIVE NOW - Guest Luthier Series - Schecter Guitar Research

Re: LIVE NOW - Guest Luthier Series - Schecter Guitar Research

@devastone

You are quite Correct the Korean stuff has really gotten good, I wouldn't say on par with Japan but for the price, its well worth it. China and Indonesia will for better or worse play bigger roles in the industry and there are some great places making guitars. It will only get better with time.

as a guitar manufacturer... you need to use a factory for QUALITY .. not just price. Many have forgotten that also.

 

[B2D]

Re: LIVE NOW - Guest Luthier Series - Schecter Guitar Research

Re: LIVE NOW - Guest Luthier Series - Schecter Guitar Research

Re-Posted from page 1:

Good Morning! I have some questions for you;

Wikipedia says that you were working at Sunset Custom in 1987 as one of the few retailers that sold Schecter guitars, and that in 1996 Hisatake Shibuya asked you to become president and run the company. Can you give us a brief rundown of how your business relationship with him developed during those times?

Is David Schecter still involved with the company? If so, on what level?

And finally... I'm in college working on my degree currently and I plan to relocate to LA to establish a career in the music industry. What does Schecter look for in potential employees? I can make a mean cup of coffee if that helps.

Thanks in advance for your time!

 

[MCschecterPres]

Re: LIVE NOW - Guest Luthier Series - Schecter Guitar Research

Re: LIVE NOW - Guest Luthier Series - Schecter Guitar Research

what is the ratio of time working on the "cool stuff" to time spent running a business for you guys? ... any myths about working for a guitar company that you want to dispel? ... any perks you want to confirm?

It is usually a blast... but as the comapny grows, the 'business' end also does. I have 44 guys (and one girl) here that I feel responsible for. They are my extended family.
Schecter is different then other guitar companies ..and that is what I think makes it special.
There are always 'those days' where the business side outways the 'creative' ... but it IS a business and for me to keep running Schecter the way we do ... and to be 'non traditioanal' in almost every aspect ... we do need to pay the bills!

I know some of you think ' wow ... it must be so cool to be surrounded by guitars 24/7!" ... yes and no. There are times when deliveries are late, specs come in wrong, a complete shipment is defective ... bla bla bla... that the guitar almost becomes a 'widget' to sell. That feeling SUCKS... and that is usually when I decide it is time to work on the creative side.

Starting to play live again has also helped my 'outlook' and rekindled my love of why I started playing guitar in the first place

 

[Rich_S]

Re: LIVE NOW - Guest Luthier Series - Schecter Guitar Research

Re: LIVE NOW - Guest Luthier Series - Schecter Guitar Research

Oo, I've got one...

As a company that primarily manufactures off-shore, do you find it difficult maintain quality standards? In particular, do the Asian factories stick to the design, or do they tend to stray and do their own thing? (Not to say that thing is bad, just not according to design.)

One example that's near & dear is a particular Duncan Designed pickup. When I purchased the guitar, I checked the pickups and found that the neck pickup matched neither the specs published for that guitar by Schecter, nor the specs published on Duncan's website. IIRC, it was supposedly the Duncan Designed version of a Distortion, but its resistance didn't come close. When I had the opportunity to meet Seymour and Scott Miller at a music store event, Scott played the guitar while Seymour listened. Neither could identify the pickup, but they suggested we call it a "Ceramic Jazz". Funny story, but it begs the question how close to the specifications do the factories stay, and how much watching do they require?

Another example is wood type - I can think of several other manufacturers who are pretty vague about the wood that goes into their import models. Is this because it's hard to keep the factories from substituting materials haphazardly, perhaps due to price or availablilty?

 

[Wattage]

Re: LIVE NOW - Guest Luthier Series - Schecter Guitar Research

Re: LIVE NOW - Guest Luthier Series - Schecter Guitar Research

Like this? This is our current ULTRA-III Bigsby trem and 3 Duncan FG-101 mini hums and sort of a 'brian may' styel series/off/parallel switching system

Yeah I guess more or less. I was thinking the covered mini's, a stop bar (or maybe something closer to a Maestro trem) and a reverse six inline headstock (like the Avenger) would be killer. I never saw it in the red before only the marshmellow yellow, definitely like the red better. The body shape is real comfortable and obviously tips its hat to the Firebird so it would be cool to do some 60's colors and a Firebird I/III/V kind of theme, I know I'd be on that in a heartbeat!

 

[Rich_S]

Re: LIVE NOW - Guest Luthier Series - Schecter Guitar Research

Re: LIVE NOW - Guest Luthier Series - Schecter Guitar Research

another cool 'gem' ... Less than 10 of these made ... Custom shop only
hellcat-x (orginally the spitfire-10) ....

Want.

 

[MCschecterPres]

Re: LIVE NOW - Guest Luthier Series - Schecter Guitar Research

Re: LIVE NOW - Guest Luthier Series - Schecter Guitar Research

Re-Posted from page 1:

Good Morning! I have some questions for you;

Wikipedia says that you were working at Sunset Custom in 1987 as one of the few retailers that sold Schecter guitars, and that in 1996 Hisatake Shibuya asked you to become president and run the company. Can you give us a brief rundown of how your business relationship with him developed during those times?

Is David Schecter still involved with the company? If so, on what level?

And finally... I'm in college working on my degree currently and I plan to relocate to LA to establish a career in the music industry. What does Schecter look for in potential employees? I can make a mean cup of coffee if that helps.

Thanks in advance for your time!

yeah... sort of how it all went down! Yes, at that time, the only 2 dealers in the USA for Schecter was Sunset Custom (LA) and 48th St. Custom (NYC).

I was working as manager of the store, and Schecter WAS the custom shop. Very small. 4 employees total. I was basically a kid and all I wanted to do was to be a 'rock star' .... after I became a Dad (2 beautiful girls!) ... and the bad dream sort of became back-burner, Mr. Shibuya presented me with an oppurtunity. Was not sure at the time if I wanted it ... but it turned out to be one of the better choices in my life! He still thinks I am 'crazy' but he trusts me 100% and allows me to run this company as my own. I can't ever thank him enough for this chance.

As for potential employees ... we look for dedication, passion ... the ability to MULTI-task! send in a resume!

 

[dd12939]

Re: LIVE NOW - Guest Luthier Series - Schecter Guitar Research

Re: LIVE NOW - Guest Luthier Series - Schecter Guitar Research

I don't *think* this has been covered - How did you guys decide on using the specific "name brand" pickups you do, and how, if at all, has your working relationship with SD and EMG influenced your guitar designing/building?

 

[ImmortalSix]

Re: LIVE NOW - Guest Luthier Series - Schecter Guitar Research

Re: LIVE NOW - Guest Luthier Series - Schecter Guitar Research

@ImmortalSix - oddly enough, depending on age usually, many people are unaware of the Schecter history. We like to think we have a lot of different models in our line, I think most people just don't realize. And yes, if I had an endless budget I would love to promote things like our PT Fastback and our Ultra III but it is a business, so we always have to hold back our passion for a certain model, because we know its more of a niche model.

But don't worry will will always have these models in our line and hope to have more!

I don't know, I think you guys could really slay the market if you pushed the PT Series a little harder, maybe introduced another model or two. The Tele thing is getting bigger every day, especially with the younger punk / alt scene. Hell, even with the older blues rock scene. I have seen more Tele style guitars at gigs this last two years than ever before. Pretty much every alt band I saw had at least one.

I certainly understand what you mean about "it's a business." I am right there with you. Reality bites!

Hunter- I think we do so much beyond the HH Strat-style (which I think your are refering to as our C-1 style) ... Tempest, 006, Avenger. S-1, Hellcat, Banshee,
and yes... we will still do what we consider cool variants of the 'classics' ...
PT FastBack, Solo-6 and the Corsair.

I hope this answers your question?

I just looked at your site and was surprised to see the Stiletto (WANT!), Stargazer, Corsair, et al. I might have that Stiletto if I had known it existed last time I had a guitar-sized wad of cash. I really never knew it existed. Or the Stargazer, etc. I think advertising the black sheep of the family could expand your customer base, but take it from me --- I'm no businessman, no marketing man, and certainly not in the music industry, so my opinion is worth what you paid for it.

Cool looking stuff, though! I will keep an eye out for those elusive creatures.

I lump axes like the 006, Omen, Damien, C-1, Hellraiser, Blackjack in to one category in my mind. That's my issue, not yours, of course.

edit: I'm sorry to have come across like I'm giving advice! (just realized after I read my post) --- I learned more about Schecter in the last 10 minutes than in the rest of my life --- rock on!

Thanks for taking the time,
Hunter

 

[Evan Skopp]

Re: LIVE NOW - Guest Luthier Series - Schecter Guitar Research

Re: LIVE NOW - Guest Luthier Series - Schecter Guitar Research

dual-tube Lipsticks (voiced by Mr. Skopp)

Are you callin' me your tonal guru? :thanks:

 

[KeeperOS]

Re: LIVE NOW - Guest Luthier Series - Schecter Guitar Research

Re: LIVE NOW - Guest Luthier Series - Schecter Guitar Research

we have always offered the SEYMOUR DUNCAN JB/'59 loaded BLACKJACK C-1 FR ... set neck, original FR, etc.. GREAT GUITAR!

I know the 'card' inlay is not for everyone ... so it will be redesigned and avail JAN 2010 as the C-1 FR Standard and C-1 FR Custom.

You may also be able to find a 'dot inlay' 2008 version too.

Yes, the Blackjack was the reason I later added the "or real few" part in my post. And yes, the reason I didn't particularly consider it was in fact the inlay. It's not bad or anything aesthetically but it is sth that you either care for (i.e. blackjack, gambling etc) or you don't (which I do not, I have a rather big aversion to gambling actually).

The other thing that I forgot to mention is that I always for some reason preferred Ebony to Rosewood in fingerboards and while the actives have (again) the Blackjack ATX the passives have none.

GREAT news about the 2010 models. Actually I felt that the 09 fell short as opposed to 08 that introduced a boatload of new models (I remember I used to post links to photos of the new models here as I'd receive them in the newsletter).

I'm also looking forward to the semi-custom line you're thinking of introducing (and hope that it does come to be)

 

[stevie_bees]

Re: LIVE NOW - Guest Luthier Series - Schecter Guitar Research

Re: LIVE NOW - Guest Luthier Series - Schecter Guitar Research

Hello, thanks for giving up your time for this...

When you want to kick back and play, which is your "go to" guitar?

Which guitar gets closest to providing you with the tone you hear in your head?

Do you have any designs that you think might just be too much for the current market?

 

[KeeperOS]

Re: LIVE NOW - Guest Luthier Series - Schecter Guitar Research

Re: LIVE NOW - Guest Luthier Series - Schecter Guitar Research

another cool 'gem' ... less than 10 of these made ... custom shop only
Hellcat-X (orginally the Spitfire-10) ....

THIS LOOKS PHENOMENAL!!!

You have GOT to add this color scheme to the production hellcat series!

 

[MarcSchecter]

Re: LIVE NOW - Guest Luthier Series - Schecter Guitar Research

Re: LIVE NOW - Guest Luthier Series - Schecter Guitar Research

Evan you ARE the guru!

 

[MCschecterPres]

Re: LIVE NOW - Guest Luthier Series - Schecter Guitar Research

Re: LIVE NOW - Guest Luthier Series - Schecter Guitar Research

Oo, I've got one...

As a company that primarily manufactures off-shore, do you find it difficult maintain quality standards? In particular, do the Asian factories stick to the design, or do they tend to stray and do their own thing? (Not to say that thing is bad, just not according to design.)

One example that's near & dear is a particular Duncan Designed pickup. When I purchased the guitar, I checked the pickups and found that the neck pickup matched neither the specs published for that guitar by Schecter, nor the specs published on Duncan's website. IIRC, it was supposedly the Duncan Designed version of a Distortion, but its resistance didn't come close. When I had the opportunity to meet Seymour and Scott Miller at a music store event, Scott played the guitar while Seymour listened. Neither could identify the pickup, but they suggested we call it a "Ceramic Jazz". Funny story, but it begs the question how close to the specifications do the factories stay, and how much watching do they require?

Another example is wood type - I can think of several other manufacturers who are pretty vague about the wood that goes into their import models. Is this because it's hard to keep the factories from substituting materials haphazardly, perhaps due to price or availablilty?

hard?? It is a f*cking nightmare sometimes! We do have a long standing working relationship with our main facotry (since 1998) .. and we do know how they do things... and know the shortcuts they attempt. We send a staff to visit all of our facotries every 3 months to attempt to stay on top of them. It does all come down to the relationship. We are VERY hard on the facotries and their quality. The know we will send the entire shipment back if it is not correct.

things do vary .. neck shapes, weight, etc.... which is why I alwyas suggest you PLAY the guitar first. They all do sound, play and feel different.

Regarding the pickups, that is probably more for Evan... but IMO I think the Duncan Designed pickups are very consisitant, I am sure something gets mislabled at the factory or has more (or less) winds. My main Corsair I play on stage has Duncan Designed HB101s and my backup has Alnico Pro-2s.

Woods... yeah, another struggle. A lot of Asain wood is in the same 'family' as its No. AMerican counterparts.... just sometimes looks different.

I know some facotories will attempt to use 'ply' (bascially gluing many pieces together) ... thinking the manufacturer will not know on a solid color... but our facotories know we are not above cutting a random guitar in half to check. Again, it is the long-term relationship. It really is not worth it to a facotry to attempt to cut corners with us and risk losing the business.

It is part of the manuctures fault too ... when they source soley based on how cheap a facotry can build guitar 'x' for .... bascially not caring what they put their name on. The comes with allowing yourself to be far removed from being the 'guy on the other side the counter' buying their crap.

 

[MCschecterPres]

Re: LIVE NOW - Guest Luthier Series - Schecter Guitar Research

Re: LIVE NOW - Guest Luthier Series - Schecter Guitar Research

Yes, the Blackjack was the reason I later added the "or real few" part in my post. And yes, the reason I didn't particularly consider it was in fact the inlay. It's not bad or anything aesthetically but it is sth that you either care for (i.e. blackjack, gambling etc) or you don't (which I do not, I have a rather big aversion to gambling actually).

The other thing that I forgot to mention is that I always for some reason preferred Ebony to Rosewood in fingerboards and while the actives have (again) the Blackjack ATX the passives have none.

GREAT news about the 2010 models. Actually I felt that the 09 fell short as opposed to 08 that introduced a boatload of new models (I remember I used to post links to photos of the new models here as I'd receive them in the newsletter).

I'm also looking forward to the semi-custom line you're thinking of introducing (and hope that it does come to be)

FYI the 2010 C-1 CUSTOM will have an ebony fingerboard!

 

[MojoMonster]

Re: LIVE NOW - Guest Luthier Series - Schecter Guitar Research

Re: LIVE NOW - Guest Luthier Series - Schecter Guitar Research

Hi guys,
I just wanted to say thanks.
Between Schecter and Daisy Rock, I feel like together you've provided some of the absolute best values in instruments for your average Joe buyer.
I grew up in the late 70's/early 80's and I can tell you that *this* is the golden years of affordable, quality guitar buying.

Plus, I really dig your designs. I love the fact that you've got so much variety.

Keep up the great work!

MM