Posted: 9/4/2008 11:51:53 PM EDT
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I'm stuck between decisions. I've decided my next guitar will be a Schecter C-1. However, I can't figure out whether or not to get a C-1 Classic, or a C-1 Plus. C-1 Classic already has Seymour JB and Jazz in the bridge and neck, respectively Has the vine inlay throughout the whole fretboard, which I really can't decide if I love or dislike.. Beautiful quilted maple top. Similar with the blue. If it's subdued, I'll probably like it. If it's anywhere near as bright as the pictures show, I don't know if I will..I love both the 3-tone sunburst and the antique amber finishes, but I hate gold hardware. The only one with chrome hardware is the blue. Changing all of the hardware would be a huge pain in the ass, as well as expensive. I'm sure I could live with the gold, but I'd really rather it be chrome.. I don't think the guitar has binding on the body, which I don't mind, but I think binding would look pretty good. Volume, Tone knob, and a 5-position megaswitch with split options in series and parallel for tonal variety. $750 price tag. C-1 plus is shipped with shitty duncan designed pickups, which would have to go almost immediately in favor of actual Duncans. This would mean an extra 200 wingwangs right off the bat. I might go with the JB/Jazz combo, but I might choose something else. I'm not sure. I would be perfectly happy with the JB/Jazz combo, as with the classic, but if I'm changing them out anyway, I'd consider what else to slap in. Flame maple top, which I really like..but I like quilted more. Black cherry finish looks great, and has chrome hardware (minus pickups, but those would be replaced with chrome covered pups). "Vector" inlays, which look good, and are much more suppressed than the vine inlay. Interestingly, almost all of my guitars have cool/abnormal inlays--finishes/colors, too. Binding on the body. Vol, Vol, Tone with coil-tap, three-way switch. Coil tap would be cool, but I think I might like the 5-pos megaswitch option in the classic more. $600 price tag I would probably be replacing the pots with 500k CTS pots for both guitars (IIRC they're shipped with 350k pots that sound like doodoo) Classic: Blue:  3-tone sunburst:  Antique amber:  Plus:  Hopefully someone has the blue one and can post a picture for me 
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A word of caution: That "flamed maple top" or "quilted maple top" MAY be a PHOTOGRAPH pasted to the top of the guitar and finished over. This is common among "affordable" guitars. It looks good from one angle but has none of the "flip" or "movement" (actually correctly called "chatoyance") that a real quilted or maple top has. Quilt and flame of the type seen in those pictures is NOT common. I'd say it's actually pretty darned rare. I've obtained maple billets for tops that were of comparable quality but they didn't come cheap. Not hardly! An easy way to tell is to look at several examples of the same model guitar, and look carefully at the patterning in their tops. If that same pattern is repeated, (but it may be offset), then it's a photographed top. The top you see is either a photograph pasted to the guitar top or it's actually printed on the top. This may or may not be the case with these guitars. But be sure to check so you know what you're really getting. CJ |
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I've looked at all the C-1 models. Active pups are not for me. I've found a bunch of pictures on schecterforum.com. Right now I'm more leaning towards the plus model. If I end up going this route, I'll put a SD Alnico II pro in the neck, and I'm not sure what in the bridge (Most likely a A2P, Pearly Gates, or '59, sticking with A2 magnets). I do really like the look of the classic series, and I like quilt over flame (Pictures about 3/4 of the way down), but I'd prefer coil tapping to parallel pickup config. Maybe I could even turn one of the other knobs into something cool with a Push/pull pot. Still can't decide 
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I have my Les Paul setup with push pull volume knobs to split the pups. It works pretty well. Sometimes I wonder if a 5 way switch would be easier, but the 3 way is nice in a way, because I just flick it & don't have to worry so much about which position it's in (I rarely use the middle position). You probably already know, but I'll say it anyway. To give an Idea about how the Alnico II Pro sounds, Slash uses them & Billy Gibbons uses Pearly Gates in his Les Pauls. I have a Pearly Gates in the neck slot on mine & like it. It gives me great bluesy tones, especially when it's splilt. But, alot of the time, I do wish I had a Alnico II Pro instead. |
] and I love it.
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I've thought about it, but for the same price (sans pickups, but I already have a JB/59 combo in another guitar, so I'm gonna try something new. Thus, I'd probably change those out, too), I'd rather go with the plus. I'm almost set on the plus now, but I've run into a problem...finding one. I'm looking for a C-1 Plus in black cherry. Neither Musicians Friend nor Music123 has them listed. The vintage sunburst looks good, but the black cherry is hot. ZZounds has it listed as coming soon: preorder today  Found one on ebay. Hopefully it's still there on Friday 
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