User Panel
Posted: 11/23/2020 10:58:43 AM EDT
In the middle of all the crap going on I managed to get a promotion to director. I made it from field staff to director in 10 years after restarting my career due to health reasons. Since I deserve a little reward, I wanted to replace the Schecter-shaped hole in my collection. I had too much equity in my old schecter and I didn't like that it had a Floyd Rose trem so I sold it. I absolutely loved the neck, fretboard, build quality, cool EMG arrangement (81/89R), but it was too heavy for my liking, changing strings was a PITA, and I like to change tunings frequently. I've since replaced my high output HH guitar with an Ibanez so I'm looking at something of a different flavor... each of these does something none of my 4 other electrics does. Once I have Christmas shopping behind me I'm pulling the pin on one of these unless I've overcome by the need to just build another one. I can't remember how to do a poll.... Which would you choose?
PT Special: My current traditional tele is a cheapo partscaster that sounds good but needs a new neck (frets worn, not wanting to refret), Attached File PT Fastback IIB: I don't have a bigby yet. I like the looks of this one the best but best I can tell the pickups in this one are VERY similar to the Gretschbuckers in my pine tele build so this one is running 3rd right now. If you look at better pics online, the color is fantastic. Attached File Spitfire: While my pine tele has gretch pickups, they're not a filtertron type pickup, plus I don't yet have a bigsby. First electric my mom bought me in HS was this color and I later sold it (looked cool, not a great guitar) so color is somewhat sentimental. Attached File TL/DR: bought a Schecter PT Fastback IIB in Diamond Emerald Green and its awesome! |
|
Of the three, the Spitfire would be my choice. Love the look and color, I'm a huge fan of filtertrons...use them a lot, insanely versatile (especially when splittable). They're all good choices tho.
|
|
Quoted: Fastback. Just because. View Quote Schecter's own reviews are awful but John Bollinger's review of the fastback iib really runs it thru the paces.. Review Demo - Schecter PT Fastback II B |
|
I suppose the Spitfire since you already have a guitar with those other pickups, and you can get brand new replacement Fender necks all day long for a couple hundred bucks for your Partscaster.
|
|
Only video of a review for the spitfire. Sometimes these raw reviews are nice so you can hear them without post-production tinkering. I really like what I hear in this sample. Its the other finish. I like the pickguards but just don't warm up to black guitars. They always look dirty to me.
Schecter 298 Spitfire quick demo |
|
Quoted: Only video of a review for the spitfire. Sometimes these raw reviews are nice so you can hear them without post-production tinkering. I really like what I hear in this sample. Its the other finish. I like the pickguards but just don't warm up to black guitars. They always look dirty to me. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysrqf22geUk View Quote I was leaning toward the Spitfire before but that video pushed it over the top. |
|
Spitfire is $899 with USA custom shop made ultratron pickups, alder body,, but made in Indonesia
Both PT's can be had for $599 with good, but import pickups (Likely Schecter spec Korean Artec pickups if I had to guess) but are made in SK, where the nicer imports from Schecter are generally built. PT Special is Swamp Ash, fastback iib is alder... |
|
Quoted: Spitfire is $899 with USA custom shop made ultratron pickups, alder body,, but made in Indonesia Both PT's can be had for $599 with good, but import pickups (Likely Schecter spec Korean Artec pickups if I had to guess) but are made in SK, where the nicer imports from Schecter are generally built. PT Special is Swamp Ash, fastback iib is alder... View Quote I wouldn't discount it since it's made in Indonesia. I've never fondled an Indonesian Schecter, but I've had a few Indonesian Ibanezes over the years and still have a couple. IIRC, they're made in the same factory, and my Ibanezes are good to go. And Schecter USA pickups are awesome and way under the radar. |
|
Quoted: I wouldn't discount it since it's made in Indonesia. I've never fondled an Indonesian Schecter, but I've had a few Indonesian Ibanezes over the years and still have a couple. IIRC, they're made in the same factory, and my Ibanezes are good to go. And Schecter USA pickups are awesome and way under the radar. View Quote The Indonesian Schecters I have played were all GTG. I don't currently own one (mine are all Korean), but am actually thinking of adding one (Banshee Extreme FR). Used to be that the higher-priced models were all Korea, but now they have some of their higher-priced offerings being made in Indonesia as well. The Reaper series guitars, which include several models around $1k, are all made in Indonesia. |
|
Quoted: The Indonesian Schecters I have played were all GTG. I don't currently own one (mine are all Korean), but am actually thinking of adding one (Banshee Extreme FR). Used to be that the higher-priced models were all Korea, but now they have some of their higher-priced offerings being made in Indonesia as well. The Reaper series guitars, which include several models around $1k, are all made in Indonesia. View Quote I was just a little disappointed it wasn't Korean with all the really nice Korean Schecters I'd seen. I've heard good things about the nicer Indonesian Ibanez models, heck I think my 06 Chinese Ibanez ARX has better fit/finish than SOME of the 2015-2016 Les Pauls that got thru QC. I know Schecter isn't going to send something out the door that isn't GTG. |
|
Quoted: I was just a little disappointed it wasn't Korean with all the really nice Korean Schecters I'd seen. View Quote Yeah, I was super surprised when I found out that the Reaper series is made in Indonesia. The 7-string is just under $1k and the 6-string FR-S variant is just over. But that's the way things are going these days. At least they haven't moved production to China. |
|
The Spitfire is reported to be fairly heavy, which is a negative for me but I'll call Schecter before i buy to make sure its not "unchambered Les Paul heavy." I'm ordering direct from Schecter to make sure I get one that's less traveled. To me, it would be worth it to pay an extra $50-75 to not have any issues related to excess handling. I need to see if they're doing any high end gig bags instead of those hardshell cases. I just have no need for them.
|
|
I dont know much about these guitars, but Philip McKnight just did a video on the PT... spoiler alert, he was really impressed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XoiLp-NFKA |
|
Quoted: I dont know much about these guitars, but Philip McKnight just did a video on the PT... spoiler alert, he was really impressed. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XoiLp-NFKA View Quote Everyone is finally noticing them, Phil, Henning (the guy with the weird YT site name from Germany), Darrell Braun, etc. Guns&Guitars guy refinished his PT FB iiB to natural. Darrell Braun's reviews are good but I hate his tone samples. He just always plays in a way that makes it useless to me. Maybe its because he's a studio guy that's always trying to fit in a mix, but if I try to tone match at all, I'm looking at live tone, gritty and raw. Why I like SRV, Samantha Fish, Sue Foley, etc. bc their studio tone isn't so overly produced. Henning did a great review of the PT Special that's disappeared from his YT site that I tried to find for this thread. |
|
I really like Darrell Braun. Unfortunately, I think he's gonna cost me a lot of money with his reviews.
|
|
Quoted: Everyone is finally noticing them, Phil, Henning (the guy with the weird YT site name from Germany), Darrell Braun, etc. Guns&Guitars guy refinished his PT FB iiB to natural. Darrell Braun's reviews are good but I hate his tone samples. He just always plays in a way that makes it useless to me. Maybe its because he's a studio guy that's always trying to fit in a mix, but if I try to tone match at all, I'm looking at live tone, gritty and raw. Why I like SRV, Samantha Fish, Sue Foley, etc. bc their studio tone isn't so overly produced. Henning did a great review of the PT Special that's disappeared from his YT site that I tried to find for this thread. View Quote Trogly did one recently as well. Schecter Sent Me a Mystery Guitar! | Unboxing, Review + Demo | Schecter PT Fastback Goldtop T-Style |
|
View Quote I think those are great looking, but the pickups aren't very filtertron-ish. They are import pickups to Schecter spec, which re still good. The Fastback IIB's pickups are much closer to WRHB's than these are to filtertrons IMHO. |
|
Pulled the pin on the emerald green PT Fastback IIB. I found out the Spitfire runs pretty heavy which is a no-go since I play standing most of the time. Listened to additional samples, many from Asia which gave me better idea of the unprocessed tone. Saved $300 over the Spitfire so I could even try some TV Jones or Gretsch takeouts in it. There were multiple retailers 6 mo ago that had it for $599 but all were at $699 now . Located a Dallas retailer who freeships for $599 so i'm GTG! .
Some more stock picks... Attached File Attached File Attached File |
|
Quoted: Everyone is finally noticing them, Phil, Henning (the guy with the weird YT site name from Germany), Darrell Braun, etc. Guns&Guitars guy refinished his PT FB iiB to natural. Darrell Braun's reviews are good but I hate his tone samples. He just always plays in a way that makes it useless to me. Maybe its because he's a studio guy that's always trying to fit in a mix, but if I try to tone match at all, I'm looking at live tone, gritty and raw. Why I like SRV, Samantha Fish, Sue Foley, etc. bc their studio tone isn't so overly produced. Henning did a great review of the PT Special that's disappeared from his YT site that I tried to find for this thread. View Quote Almost everyone's demos give me zero information, lol. I've bought some guitars I've seen demo'd and they sounded nothing like the guy playing....but such is the reality of guitars and tone. I sound like me on a strat or an LP, so I'd be useless giving anyone else a demo. But, I do prefer when people give the demo with as many styles and sounds as they can squeeze out of something. Braun is good at that, at least. Phil & Trogly just kind of plunk along with a couple tones and I'm never sure if the guitar sounds like crap or they do. Recording technique here matters a lot, too. I don't tend to listen to Danish Pete or Paul Davids' reviews because those fuckers can make anything sound good. lol |
|
Quoted: Almost everyone's demos give me zero information, lol. I've bought some guitars I've seen demo'd and they sounded nothing like the guy playing....but such is the reality of guitars and tone. I sound like me on a strat or an LP, so I'd be useless giving anyone else a demo. But, I do prefer when people give the demo with as many styles and sounds as they can squeeze out of something. Braun is good at that, at least. Phil & Trogly just kind of plunk along with a couple tones and I'm never sure if the guitar sounds like crap or they do. Recording technique here matters a lot, too. I don't tend to listen to Danish Pete or Paul Davids' reviews because those fuckers can make anything sound good. lol View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: Everyone is finally noticing them, Phil, Henning (the guy with the weird YT site name from Germany), Darrell Braun, etc. Guns&Guitars guy refinished his PT FB iiB to natural. Darrell Braun's reviews are good but I hate his tone samples. He just always plays in a way that makes it useless to me. Maybe its because he's a studio guy that's always trying to fit in a mix, but if I try to tone match at all, I'm looking at live tone, gritty and raw. Why I like SRV, Samantha Fish, Sue Foley, etc. bc their studio tone isn't so overly produced. Henning did a great review of the PT Special that's disappeared from his YT site that I tried to find for this thread. Almost everyone's demos give me zero information, lol. I've bought some guitars I've seen demo'd and they sounded nothing like the guy playing....but such is the reality of guitars and tone. I sound like me on a strat or an LP, so I'd be useless giving anyone else a demo. But, I do prefer when people give the demo with as many styles and sounds as they can squeeze out of something. Braun is good at that, at least. Phil & Trogly just kind of plunk along with a couple tones and I'm never sure if the guitar sounds like crap or they do. Recording technique here matters a lot, too. I don't tend to listen to Danish Pete or Paul Davids' reviews because those fuckers can make anything sound good. lol Well, my review will be very useful because if it sounds just good with me playing, it will sound great with almost anyone else playing it |
|
I performed with a C1 Standard as my primary for a couple years. It played decently, took a beating, stayed in tune kinda well. I'm done with them now. I spent too much time with it and will now never play it again.
|
|
Retailer contacted me and said apparently I'm not the only one with a stiffy for this model as he sold 12 last week, which meant he oversold his inventory by 2. Not sure how you do this in this day and age but okay. He said he had more coming this week and would fulfill my order on Friday if all goes as scheduled. Dealing with a smaller TX based internet sales outfit so I'll either be giving them a great review here for keeping in touch with me or roasting them if I get screwed. In the words of the great prophet Thomas Petty....
|
|
Well, I can join you in trying to get another Schecter and failing. Twice in a week, now, too.
First was a Schecter Japan model - for those that don't know, Schecter has a whole other line of guitars that are made in Japan for the Japanese market. One popped up on Reverb in the States last week. I sent the guy some questions, as the description was pretty light and the photos were alright, but not the best. By the time I got to going through his replies, the guitar had already sold. Though he had apparently realized he priced it a bit on the low end and had raised the price after I contacted him, so it wasn't as big of a loss. Second was on a factory-second Banshee Extreme FR. It had been up for a week or so - the price was alright, but a little higher than recent sales of other blems/seconds. Figured I'd throw in an offer today to see if I could get it, but apparently it had just sold in-person at the guy's shop and he hadn't had a chance to take it off Reverb yet. I'm actually getting a little bit anxious about finding the Banshee now, as all of the major retailers have pulled their normal listings for it. Schecter still shows a current price, but doesn't provide either a 'buy now' or dealer link like they do on other currently models. So now I'm wondering if it's going out of production, rather than just being temporarily out of stock everywhere. |
|
Quoted: Well, I can join you in trying to get another Schecter and failing. Twice in a week, now, too. First was a Schecter Japan model - for those that don't know, Schecter has a whole other line of guitars that are made in Japan for the Japanese market. One popped up on Reverb in the States last week. I sent the guy some questions, as the description was pretty light and the photos were alright, but not the best. By the time I got to going through his replies, the guitar had already sold. Though he had apparently realized he priced it a bit on the low end and had raised the price after I contacted him, so it wasn't as big of a loss. Second was on a factory-second Banshee Extreme FR. It had been up for a week or so - the price was alright, but a little higher than recent sales of other blems/seconds. Figured I'd throw in an offer today to see if I could get it, but apparently it had just sold in-person at the guy's shop and he hadn't had a chance to take it off Reverb yet. I'm actually getting a little bit anxious about finding the Banshee now, as all of the major retailers have pulled their normal listings for it. Schecter still shows a current price, but doesn't provide either a 'buy now' or dealer link like they do on other currently models. So now I'm wondering if it's going out of production, rather than just being temporarily out of stock everywhere. View Quote Not being a fan of FR's, I found the banshee extremes hardtails to be rare. Last year i looked at a banshee extreme FR (@GC) and was very impressed with the fretwork, and other F&F. It was easily 9 lbs though. |
|
Quoted: Not being a fan of FR's, I found the banshee extremes hardtails to be rare. Last year i looked at a banshee extreme FR (@GC) and was very impressed with the fretwork, and other F&F. It was easily 9 lbs though. View Quote The hardtails aren't that hard to find these days, but I remember them being rarer in the past. I originally wanted a hardtail when I first played one a couple years ago, but never ended up picking one up. Now I've decided I want just one more FR, in order to cover an additional tuning, and the BE would fit the bill nicely. |
|
Quoted: green T body is sweet View Quote Its killing me its going to be delayed lol. I cannot believe the Gun & Guitars YT'r stripped his down to natural. He had red, which is also striking... his guitar, his choice i guess . Changing the radius to eliminate the binding did something particularly unattractive to this model. I don't mind the detail he added on the front. His sound samples are very honest. The pickups in this model as far as I know are import SuperRock custom alnico and they are very bright. Much better to tame highs than trying to deal with overly dark pickups IMHO. Build your DREAM GUITAR from a factory guitar! Schecter PT Fastback remodel |
|
Retailer did me a solid and shipped it out Fedex Next Day even when I had opted for free shipping (ground). Scheduled for tomorrow!
|
|
|
Interesting tidbit for the tonefreaks... the Schecter SuperRock pickups in import guitars are made by G&B Products, same maker as pickups for import PRS guitars. These appear to be a combo of Ferrite and Alnico V. Not sure how they use both on a humbucker but these are offered on a wholesale SK website (think Alibaba for SoKs). Explains the tone when you think about all those old Peavey T-(20 thru 60) guitars/basses that had really rich output due to their Ferrite pickups.
Attached File |
|
Thought that was overly optimistic , just the usual holiday delays and I got bumped to Saturday...arggghhhhh
ETA: now its on the truck in my area... Cool. |
|
Excellent! Well, except for the delay.
We can wait together. |
|
The guitar Gods smiled upon me and it was delivered this evening. No issues, fretwork is outstanding, action is low. No blemishes of any kind. It is heavier than i expected but not bad. Really nice and bright tone. Coil splits are within usable range.
Attached File Attached File Attached File Attached File Attached File ETA: Attached File |
|
Nice.
I have to wait until Tuesday for my latest new-to-me Schecter. |
|
|
|
Quoted: Found a lightly-used SLS Elite. (Hopefully it really is in as good of shape as the photos show.) View Quote Nice! Those are beautiful. ETA: 12/12/20. So the new one is one of my two heaviest guitars, bot are alder. Hard tell about the stability of the Bigsby since strings are still new. Ernie Balls that came on it are way too bright and tinny for me.. i realized how bad the polish job on frets of my other guitars are (all done by me), and how glad I am that I did a curved heel on my own build. That neck plate on the PT is thick and you feel it when using upper frets. Still nicer that traditional block heel. The coil splits are good but the output drop isn't mitigated like on the Gibson SG Modern so you get some benefit from having a compressor/boost pedal in the chain if you like to switch. The Bigsby has a sweet spot that it returns to if you let it spring back to zero. Its just stunning to look at though, the cream binding and emerald green just work well together. Attached File Attached File Attached File Attached File |
|
Quoted: In the middle of all the crap going on I managed to get a promotion to director. I made it from field staff to director in 10 years after restarting my career due to health reasons. Since I deserve a little reward, I wanted to replace the Schecter-shaped hole in my collection. I had too much equity in my old schecter and I didn't like that it had a Floyd Rose trem so I sold it. I absolutely loved the neck, fretboard, build quality, cool EMG arrangement (81/89R), but it was too heavy for my liking, changing strings was a PITA, and I like to change tunings frequently. I've since replaced my high output HH guitar with an Ibanez so I'm looking at something of a different flavor... each of these does something none of my 4 other electrics does. Once I have Christmas shopping behind me I'm pulling the pin on one of these unless I've overcome by the need to just build another one. I can't remember how to do a poll.... Which would you choose? PT Special: My current traditional tele is a cheapo partscaster that sounds good but needs a new neck (frets worn, not wanting to refret), https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/300247/PT_SPECIAL_3TSB_NEW_TILT_png-1697906.JPG PT Fastback IIB: I don't have a bigby yet. I like the looks of this one the best but best I can tell the pickups in this one are VERY similar to the Gretschbuckers in my pine tele build so this one is running 3rd right now. If you look at better pics online, the color is fantastic. https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/300247/PT_FASTBACK_DEG_TILT_png-1697907.JPG Spitfire: While my pine tele has gretch pickups, they're not a filtertron type pickup, plus I don't yet have a bigsby. First electric my mom bought me in HS was this color and I later sold it (looked cool, not a great guitar) so color is somewhat sentimental. https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/300247/SPITFIRE_PURPLE_HAZE_TILT_png-1697908.JPG TL/DR: bought a Schecter PT Fastback IIB in Diamond Emerald Green and its awesome! View Quote Pickups on the Fastback look like the Wide Range Lindy Framingham pickups on my Starcaster, which also has a Bigsby. Nice sound. |
|
Quoted: Pickups on the Fastback look like the Wide Range Lindy Framingham pickups on my Starcaster, which also has a Bigsby. Nice sound. View Quote They're definitely in the same vein as the WRHB in tone too. Funny that John Bohlinger's review said they didn't sound like WRHB. He was running it thru a Mesa Lone Star so not like he was running cheap amp. |
|
Quoted: They're definitely in the same vein as the WRHB in tone too. Funny that John Bohlinger's review said they didn't sound like WRHB. He was running it thru a Mesa Lone Star so not like he was running cheap amp. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: Pickups on the Fastback look like the Wide Range Lindy Framingham pickups on my Starcaster, which also has a Bigsby. Nice sound. They're definitely in the same vein as the WRHB in tone too. Funny that John Bohlinger's review said they didn't sound like WRHB. He was running it thru a Mesa Lone Star so not like he was running cheap amp. I can't say I hear well enough to be very discerning about tone, except with some acoustic guitars. But I like the looks of that Schecter. I've been looking at (and drooling over) Mooncasters lately. |
|
One area they could have improved upon is the neck plate. It's huge and the thickness takes up 1/3rd of the space gained by the beveled heel. Its the classic Schecter neck plate and its a cool aesthetic but its 50% thicker than a standard Fender neck plate. I might look into ferrules or if its aluminum i can take the edges off and re-polish. Maybe its part of the Schecter magic and it makes it sustain better? Just listen to that....
Attached File Attached File |
|
Hate to be nitpicky but something is fucky here. Adverse angle of the D string at the nut caused by odd placement of the tree, and logo is canted (which I could care less about). Plays well.
My new Schecter: Attached File Schecter site pic: Attached File I emailed Schecter tech to show them, they've been responsive in the past. I'm concerned this isn't optimal for tremolo use or just bending since there should be a straight shot thru the nut with just a downward bend. |
|
Quoted: Bend it in line or buy a new string tree. View Quote I did get a msg back from Schecter. "It won't affect playability or tuning stability. If it bothers you, return it." Not really a quote, they were nicer. It's amazingly tuning stable especially considering the trem. Not that it's meant to, but I can crank on it pretty good and it returns to tune. I'm already attached and it's a good player so not returning it. An offset roller tree may actually fix it so will look at that later. I do think it's a borderline blem but I got it to play. |
|
Sign up for the ARFCOM weekly newsletter and be entered to win a free ARFCOM membership. One new winner* is announced every week!
You will receive an email every Friday morning featuring the latest chatter from the hottest topics, breaking news surrounding legislation, as well as exclusive deals only available to ARFCOM email subscribers.
AR15.COM is the world's largest firearm community and is a gathering place for firearm enthusiasts of all types.
From hunters and military members, to competition shooters and general firearm enthusiasts, we welcome anyone who values and respects the way of the firearm.
Subscribe to our monthly Newsletter to receive firearm news, product discounts from your favorite Industry Partners, and more.
Copyright © 1996-2024 AR15.COM LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Any use of this content without express written consent is prohibited.
AR15.Com reserves the right to overwrite or replace any affiliate, commercial, or monetizable links, posted by users, with our own.