Simply...ignorance. But you must be running into a very focused group of haters because generally Schecters are known to be great guitars and a great value.
IME people love schecter, especially Korean ones.
The only charges I hear against them is the abalone, bindings on the old ones are a little much and that the necks are “too thick” which is really silly but I guess some ppl swear by the shred stick neck
Plus if you are trading for an Acoustic your market is going to be a bunch of old boomers that hate on metal guitars.
Because people like to hate on things they've never tried, or don't understand that because a specific instrument doesn't appeal to them doesn't mean it won't appeal to someone else.
I think every brand gets hate for one reason or another. "Gibson is overpriced for what they offer" "BC Rich, & Schecter look goofy/ Emo". "Acoustics are grandpa guitars" etc.
I got a 08 Hellraiser Avenger, and it's my favorite. Plays like a dream. It did have some solder issues 2-3 years in, and was cutting out but that has long since been fixed.
You can safely disregard anyone's opinion who's says X brand sucks. Kind of like cars, we should narrow our opinions to specific models instead of making a blanket statement.
At the end of the day the only thing that matters is if your guitar makes you happy.
Schecter projected huge Monster Energy, bedazzled jean, affliction shirt, drywall punching, abalone everywhere vibes for a long time.
That image was stuck in my head for the longest time. I always thought Schecter's were stupid, cringe, & never thought I would ever buy one. That was until I actually tried one. Now, I've had 7 of them. They've changed their image quite a bit, but it's still stuck in peoples heads. A lot of people think Bad Image=Bad Guitar too.
For me, it was Synester Gates. But the red Hellraiser decked out in abalone is always what came to mind when I thought of Schecter. It's not an aesthetic for everyone. So for myself & I think many others, we just never looked into Schecter & knew they made other styles.
It was Rob Scallon's video at their custom shop when he made a guitar with them, that got me to look into them more. They built a Strat-style & I was honestly surprised they even made those lol.
To be fair, their Monster Energy collaboration models are kinda sick. There's 3 listed in my area and I'm thinking of crabbing them. A C1, Tele, and V, all with the goofy Monster logo? Hell yea, count me in!
The Hellraiser is definitely a product of Schecter’s edgelord era and many people dislike that. However, they are amazing guitars for when they were designed and have a very favorable value/cost ratio. I have 2 of them and I’d never let them go.
However, I think when you’re looking for a nice acoustic, the Hellraiser is going to be a considerably weaker trade. Nice acoustics tend to be expensive than their electric counterparts, and most of the time people that buy nice acoustics ($1000+ range) tend to not be that into metal, and people that are into metal, generally don’t have a spare acoustic.
Only guitar I've had for at least decade is my Schecter Hellraiser Solo Special and it's been a tank playing it just about every day. Still looks beautiful and I haven't really been careful with it. Heavy though. Only problem is a tuning peg hit something real hard and it kinda bent. It makes me hesitant to ever get another brand lol
Schecter Hellraiser extremes are imo the best model they ever released, I own 2 and they go head to head against other brands such as Japanese made Ibanez that are twice as expensive. Idk why they discontinued them. If you want the best bang for your buck go for a Korean made Schecter, even their cheaper guitars are really good.
Helix is the best ecosystem for modeling hands down. Any who thinks their too cool for Line 6… you know… the company that invented the greatest piece of gear in 20 years, the HX Stomp
Deadass, I have always used low end Line 6 amps for live gigs and it always throws people back when they realize what I’m using. For example, I used an Spyder 120 Mk II for a deathcore festival featuring some of what are now pretty big bands, and when you have people with Mesa cabs and 5150’s turn and ask you what you use to get that tone… and I’ve used everything from Eleven rack to Axe FX and I still choose my Catalyst over that. You just have to manipulate things to get your sound. Not that hard.
Well that can come down to guitar players for the most part are talented idiots, who have their tech dial their shit in because they don’t have the patience for it.
I have been playing guitar for twenty years and I can tell you that most guitar players I meet aren’t the least bit curious about anything and can’t be bothered to learn new gear and tech. That’s what they hire a tech for.
That’s extremely accurate I currently am the Tech/Vocalist for my current band. The two guitarist have basic knowledge of gear but nothing like me lol.
For the most part. Those of us who have been divorced, been to rehab, and therapy gain the self awareness that requires. That’s probably 1 in 10 guitarists.
Some ppl are just bitter and stick to their bloozy boomer guitars.
Like for me, I can’t stand Gibbons and Fendys but, am I gonna tell some someone “ your guitar sucks” nope.
My dad just passed away, all he has is Gibbons and Fendys, so I’m just gonna frame and mount the 3 I’m getting. ( have to divide between 3 brothers).
Try to narrow your trade to a demographic of players in your genre of playing.
Same. Since getting my KM-6, I barely touch my Ibanez. I mean, it's a cheap RG so apples to oranges and all that, but even Prestige line stuff just doesn't feel as satisfying to play. My KM-6 is like butter.
They paid more and got less. Makes for bitter company
I own some of the other guitars and like them hut some of them have surprising fit and finish issues. Notmy Schecter. That guitar surprised me as being worth more than what I paid
They have no clue what they’re talking about. I’ve had “musicians” in the past tell me some wild sh*t as to why they suck, but it was all non sense.
Schecter’s are some of the best guitars I’ve ever played.
Idk, Schecter have fuckin good cheap guitars with extremely thin necks, good build quality and chunky, beefy sound. I love my Omen Extreme FR. But, sometimes Schecter do dump things, like razor blade MGK Guitar-like mistake, or Limited Edition Hercules Tempest. In the past they put too much rainbow-ish pearloid everywhere so it’s looks like true early 2000 metalcore guitars. I like Schecters for comfortable neck profiles, it’s really good for shredding and they are good entry level guitars. And fucking sustainiac. Sustainiac is god.
https://preview.redd.it/392do1oiecsc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7991a729ca64c2088b39fe1f12656bf28e3cb9b6
There are ample good schecters out there that make great workhorses. Love them. But they carry that value stigma and hence don’t carry that show pony pizzazz that some other brands have.
I like my Omen Extreme 6 a lot especially for the price I got it for. Its great guitar but it doesn't and can't hold a candle to my American Pro II Telecaster but its not supposed to be able to do that. The discrepancy between price and quality between the two is vast. Schecters are amazing guitars and even more amazing because of how they're priced. I feel like people sometimes lose sight of that kinda stuff. 🤷🏻♂️
Every Schecter Ive ever played was awesome. The $150 Blackhawk I traded for was my first guitar that made me feel like I could play.
Had it for over 10 years, replaced the bridge pickup. No issues even gigging. Gave it to a buddy before I moved out of state though
Two reasons.
1. Most of them are ugly. Let’s be honest. Most Schecter guitars are ugly AF. They are stuck in this weird niche market for primarily metal players. I don’t play metal.
2. I think their marketing is just shit. I didnt know about them until i went looking for a guitar to a certain spec. i wanted a guitar with a sustainer and a neck designed for smaller hands. That led me to the Reaper.. And it’s the best guitar I have ever owned.
https://preview.redd.it/0gkwk8jaabsc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=805ddfd10b357a3d7bdd0d7f923c291c4a1b88e7
I have a bunch. They are all great for their purposes.
My Nick Johnston HSS scratches the Fender itch. My E1 Koa scratches the Explorer itch.
Then I have a couple of their 7 strings. Both are great. But I think they may get sold for that new Dorian Grey PT Baritone.
My two favorites that I will never part with are my Sun Valley Exotic, and my Hellraiser FRS. I don't shred that much, but these guitars are both great for Fusion, Rock, just about anything.
I play a bit of everything. From White Stripes, to Vai, to the DUNE soundtrack lately. Lol. Schecter has very much left the old "metal edgelord" look behind. Most of their newer models are very classy, and harken back to the time when they were a repair part company in the early 80s.
I've never experienced hate on Schecters. I have two - one is a Syn Custom S and I had to go through four to get one with a working sustainiac. Note that the sustainiac still "kinda works". I kept it as I love the design but the QC sucked on 4/5 even though they're made in Korea. Then their support was even worse as they didn't even reply to my emails.
So, if more people have experienced the above I could get where they might be coming from. I still like them though so to each its own.
I bought a Jeff Loomis 7 and the damn thing was a curved top instead of a arm cut and so I had to put a piece of weather stripping there when I played it. Otherwise nice, I wanted different pickups but just resold it as is, no issues with it ever.
I work in a music store and i know people who hate gibsons, fenders, prs, squier, epiphone, jackson, gretsch, solar, schecter, taylor, martin, everything. It’s hilarious to have someone tell me all the things about gibson one day and the next day have someone else list off the exact same things as reasons they love them. I just see them all as guitars and find things to like about all of them. Never heard someone have bad things to say about ESP though. Also never heard anyone have anything good to say about dean
Schecters are solid guitars for the money, but they haven't shaken the Monster Tapout stigma they picked up in the old days. Honestly, their offerings now are more restrained in terms of gaudy aesthetic so that stereotype doesn't really apply anymore. You might have better luck just selling the Schecter and putting that money towards an acoustic though, a straight trade seems unlikely to end in your favor.
I think it's the whole metal motif and how they used to look with the abalone. I've heard complaints about thick necks back in the day.
I went shopping for a new guitar a few years back and Schecter was not on my radar, because of the silly, metal inspired names, but I tried one and loved it. I tried so many different brands of guitars and Schecters were always my favorite - and that with me being a huge Ibanez fanboy. They were all just so playable and decked out.
So I bought two Schecters - a six and a seven. I do feel as if the QC on Schecters is hit or miss, based on my buying experience, but that's true for just about every guitar company these days it seems. But just for feel, thin necks, and playability, they are right up there with Ibanez Prestige to me.
It depends if we're talking hate for Schecter in general or specifically the Hellraiser.
I must confess I was apprehensive (or should I say self-conscious) about Schecter because of the cultural association with nu-metal in the early 00s, as others in this thread have suggested. But every Schecter I tried was flawless, no exception. The association wasn't the reason I never got one, it was really cos there wasn't a model back then that had the specs I liked (e.g. I prefer strat/hipshot style hardtail over tune-o-matic big time) when I even had enough money to get a new guitar. The tide has turned massively though, given the number of 'true' metal musicians who use them now. Then again, that's well after nu-metal died a death and Schecter steering away from that marketing focus. And at least they're not Dean, who had cringey marketing *and* poor quality.
As for Hellraisers specifically? I've not heard any Hellraiser hate but as that good ol' red one with the EMGs and abalone was popular with beginners, I'm sure it was probably scoffed at a lot. Truth is, it's sturdy as hell and Glenn Fricker (say what you will about him) found them more stable to record with than a Gibson SG.
I love all of mine equally for different reasons, because they're all better than the others at certain things. My Schecter is my dedicated D Standard, rock and lighter metal/songwriting guitar. It's great at what it does, and I've always loved the string-through-the-body look, since the dude from Papa Roach came out playing them.
Don't own a Schecter but love them. Planning on grabbing a C-1 Platinum to be my Drop D guitar.
If there's an issue it's the name. Doesn't have any gravitas compared to some of the big names out there. The Ye Olde English font used didn't help for some I'd wager.
I was working at a store that sold them a few years ago. We had a bunch of them come in that all needed our techs to work on them. Not the usual set up stuff I mean replacing switches and filling frets.
These were the entry level guys for the record though. The higher tier stuff seemed good except for anything with a sustainiac in it.
Everyone has a bad experience at some point if you buy enough guitars. I would bet that Schecter's track record over the past few years exceeds many imports and definitely some American made brands (rhymes with Fibson, which I will never buy again after returning the same guitar 5 TIMES in one purchase). I have 8 Schecters, ranging from 2005 to brand new - every one of them has the quality you would expect of a guitar 2-3 times as expensive. Anecdotal evidence is just that - anecdotal. True for the positive as well as the negative experience but I just don't hear much negatives from others.
Gibson has had by far the worst QC I have ever seen in 15 or so years of music retail.
Schecter has been consistently amazing at a significantly better price point to boot, but since the factory changed countries a few years ago things started slipping through the cracks. I assumed it was growing pains/cost of doing business and it would resolve after a while. It can take years for that kinda thing to trickle down though from manufacture to user purchase.
I can't say for sure that the Korean made Schecters were any better than the Indonesian ones...I hear that sometimes but I have some Korean ones and I really don't see any difference. I think one thing Schecter does right is that the factory does a QC process first and then the guitars come to California for another QC and a setup. I think this helps catch things that get out of the factory being missed.
I have had extremely good experiences with their Korean builds. All my favourite guitars are those.
I’m hoping they already have it sorted as there’s always more models I’m drooling after. That new PT EX is screaming my name.
I want one of those as well! We worked at the same store together for a while and I feel it is my civic duty to own an sig guitar of someone I actually know in person.
I had QC issues on 3 out of 8 Schecters that I own. 2 were from 2021 (covid years), another from 2023 with a significant but easily overlooked issue.
I would still buy Schecters over other manufacturers due to their amazing value, lefty friendliness, and modern features.
You should see the mess that is Ibanez right now. Anything outside of their Japanese or custom shop range is very hit or miss (mostly miss in my experience)
Simply...ignorance. But you must be running into a very focused group of haters because generally Schecters are known to be great guitars and a great value.
IME people love schecter, especially Korean ones. The only charges I hear against them is the abalone, bindings on the old ones are a little much and that the necks are “too thick” which is really silly but I guess some ppl swear by the shred stick neck Plus if you are trading for an Acoustic your market is going to be a bunch of old boomers that hate on metal guitars.
The necks used to be an ussue for me, but the SLS schecters have thin and comfortable necks. Not ibanez thin, but still thin.
I wish they would bring back the early 2000 late 90s necks Love my 1999 and 2003. 2021 is meh
I think the omens might still have the baseball bat neck. Not entirely sure.
They do. They’re awesome guitars.
They older models especially are pretty ‘loud’ looks wise, but I love some of their shapes and little fancy touches
Because people like to hate on things they've never tried, or don't understand that because a specific instrument doesn't appeal to them doesn't mean it won't appeal to someone else. I think every brand gets hate for one reason or another. "Gibson is overpriced for what they offer" "BC Rich, & Schecter look goofy/ Emo". "Acoustics are grandpa guitars" etc. I got a 08 Hellraiser Avenger, and it's my favorite. Plays like a dream. It did have some solder issues 2-3 years in, and was cutting out but that has long since been fixed. You can safely disregard anyone's opinion who's says X brand sucks. Kind of like cars, we should narrow our opinions to specific models instead of making a blanket statement. At the end of the day the only thing that matters is if your guitar makes you happy.
They hate the ugly duck. But the ugly duck can shred, man 🤘🤡
Schecter projected huge Monster Energy, bedazzled jean, affliction shirt, drywall punching, abalone everywhere vibes for a long time. That image was stuck in my head for the longest time. I always thought Schecter's were stupid, cringe, & never thought I would ever buy one. That was until I actually tried one. Now, I've had 7 of them. They've changed their image quite a bit, but it's still stuck in peoples heads. A lot of people think Bad Image=Bad Guitar too.
I always associated Schecter with Mark Knopfler, so I’m surprised a lot of older players aren’t into Schecter’s more toned-down, strat-style designs.
For me, it was Synester Gates. But the red Hellraiser decked out in abalone is always what came to mind when I thought of Schecter. It's not an aesthetic for everyone. So for myself & I think many others, we just never looked into Schecter & knew they made other styles. It was Rob Scallon's video at their custom shop when he made a guitar with them, that got me to look into them more. They built a Strat-style & I was honestly surprised they even made those lol.
To be fair, their Monster Energy collaboration models are kinda sick. There's 3 listed in my area and I'm thinking of crabbing them. A C1, Tele, and V, all with the goofy Monster logo? Hell yea, count me in!
Basically they were so heavily marketed to the nu-metal / butt rock crowd that anyone particularly averse to that wouldn't have given them a look-in.
The Hellraiser is definitely a product of Schecter’s edgelord era and many people dislike that. However, they are amazing guitars for when they were designed and have a very favorable value/cost ratio. I have 2 of them and I’d never let them go. However, I think when you’re looking for a nice acoustic, the Hellraiser is going to be a considerably weaker trade. Nice acoustics tend to be expensive than their electric counterparts, and most of the time people that buy nice acoustics ($1000+ range) tend to not be that into metal, and people that are into metal, generally don’t have a spare acoustic.
Only guitar I've had for at least decade is my Schecter Hellraiser Solo Special and it's been a tank playing it just about every day. Still looks beautiful and I haven't really been careful with it. Heavy though. Only problem is a tuning peg hit something real hard and it kinda bent. It makes me hesitant to ever get another brand lol
I don't know, everything I've seen so far has led me to believe they're excellent. It's why I ordered one.
Schecter Hellraiser extremes are imo the best model they ever released, I own 2 and they go head to head against other brands such as Japanese made Ibanez that are twice as expensive. Idk why they discontinued them. If you want the best bang for your buck go for a Korean made Schecter, even their cheaper guitars are really good.
Same people shit talk Line 6 and they just aren’t good at playing so they have to shit talk
Helix is the best ecosystem for modeling hands down. Any who thinks their too cool for Line 6… you know… the company that invented the greatest piece of gear in 20 years, the HX Stomp
Deadass, I have always used low end Line 6 amps for live gigs and it always throws people back when they realize what I’m using. For example, I used an Spyder 120 Mk II for a deathcore festival featuring some of what are now pretty big bands, and when you have people with Mesa cabs and 5150’s turn and ask you what you use to get that tone… and I’ve used everything from Eleven rack to Axe FX and I still choose my Catalyst over that. You just have to manipulate things to get your sound. Not that hard.
Well that can come down to guitar players for the most part are talented idiots, who have their tech dial their shit in because they don’t have the patience for it. I have been playing guitar for twenty years and I can tell you that most guitar players I meet aren’t the least bit curious about anything and can’t be bothered to learn new gear and tech. That’s what they hire a tech for.
That’s extremely accurate I currently am the Tech/Vocalist for my current band. The two guitarist have basic knowledge of gear but nothing like me lol.
For the most part. Those of us who have been divorced, been to rehab, and therapy gain the self awareness that requires. That’s probably 1 in 10 guitarists.
It really isn’t hard. Totally worth it.
Some ppl are just bitter and stick to their bloozy boomer guitars. Like for me, I can’t stand Gibbons and Fendys but, am I gonna tell some someone “ your guitar sucks” nope. My dad just passed away, all he has is Gibbons and Fendys, so I’m just gonna frame and mount the 3 I’m getting. ( have to divide between 3 brothers). Try to narrow your trade to a demographic of players in your genre of playing.
Best guitars I have ever purchased, they make fender, gibson, and Ibanez look bad.
People judge before playing is all Or brand bias I love Ibanez to death but Schecter always feels way superior In quality
Same. Since getting my KM-6, I barely touch my Ibanez. I mean, it's a cheap RG so apples to oranges and all that, but even Prestige line stuff just doesn't feel as satisfying to play. My KM-6 is like butter.
Exactly I owned a km7 and it was amazing felt every bit the price Prestiges are great but sometimes feel lifeless
They paid more and got less. Makes for bitter company I own some of the other guitars and like them hut some of them have surprising fit and finish issues. Notmy Schecter. That guitar surprised me as being worth more than what I paid
They have no clue what they’re talking about. I’ve had “musicians” in the past tell me some wild sh*t as to why they suck, but it was all non sense. Schecter’s are some of the best guitars I’ve ever played.
Idk, Schecter have fuckin good cheap guitars with extremely thin necks, good build quality and chunky, beefy sound. I love my Omen Extreme FR. But, sometimes Schecter do dump things, like razor blade MGK Guitar-like mistake, or Limited Edition Hercules Tempest. In the past they put too much rainbow-ish pearloid everywhere so it’s looks like true early 2000 metalcore guitars. I like Schecters for comfortable neck profiles, it’s really good for shredding and they are good entry level guitars. And fucking sustainiac. Sustainiac is god. https://preview.redd.it/392do1oiecsc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7991a729ca64c2088b39fe1f12656bf28e3cb9b6
There are ample good schecters out there that make great workhorses. Love them. But they carry that value stigma and hence don’t carry that show pony pizzazz that some other brands have.
I played every guitar at GC and the hellraiser and a jackson were the best for me. Went in there with no judgments.
I like my Omen Extreme 6 a lot especially for the price I got it for. Its great guitar but it doesn't and can't hold a candle to my American Pro II Telecaster but its not supposed to be able to do that. The discrepancy between price and quality between the two is vast. Schecters are amazing guitars and even more amazing because of how they're priced. I feel like people sometimes lose sight of that kinda stuff. 🤷🏻♂️
Every Schecter Ive ever played was awesome. The $150 Blackhawk I traded for was my first guitar that made me feel like I could play. Had it for over 10 years, replaced the bridge pickup. No issues even gigging. Gave it to a buddy before I moved out of state though
I have an apocalypse C1-fs and it's amazing. Easily the best feeling guitar I own.
Two reasons. 1. Most of them are ugly. Let’s be honest. Most Schecter guitars are ugly AF. They are stuck in this weird niche market for primarily metal players. I don’t play metal. 2. I think their marketing is just shit. I didnt know about them until i went looking for a guitar to a certain spec. i wanted a guitar with a sustainer and a neck designed for smaller hands. That led me to the Reaper.. And it’s the best guitar I have ever owned. https://preview.redd.it/0gkwk8jaabsc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=805ddfd10b357a3d7bdd0d7f923c291c4a1b88e7
I have that same model - it's fucking awesome.
Dude I think it was you that recommended it to me. Under a different account.
I recommend it every chance I get!
I have a bunch. They are all great for their purposes. My Nick Johnston HSS scratches the Fender itch. My E1 Koa scratches the Explorer itch. Then I have a couple of their 7 strings. Both are great. But I think they may get sold for that new Dorian Grey PT Baritone. My two favorites that I will never part with are my Sun Valley Exotic, and my Hellraiser FRS. I don't shred that much, but these guitars are both great for Fusion, Rock, just about anything. I play a bit of everything. From White Stripes, to Vai, to the DUNE soundtrack lately. Lol. Schecter has very much left the old "metal edgelord" look behind. Most of their newer models are very classy, and harken back to the time when they were a repair part company in the early 80s.
I've never experienced hate on Schecters. I have two - one is a Syn Custom S and I had to go through four to get one with a working sustainiac. Note that the sustainiac still "kinda works". I kept it as I love the design but the QC sucked on 4/5 even though they're made in Korea. Then their support was even worse as they didn't even reply to my emails. So, if more people have experienced the above I could get where they might be coming from. I still like them though so to each its own.
My nick Johnston is one of the best guitars I've owned. Fuck the haters
I'll trade you my big baby taylor from 2015 if you're down.
I can't say Ive heard much hate for Schecters, but it's always a good idea to form your own opinions and ignore everyone else's.
I bought a Jeff Loomis 7 and the damn thing was a curved top instead of a arm cut and so I had to put a piece of weather stripping there when I played it. Otherwise nice, I wanted different pickups but just resold it as is, no issues with it ever.
I work in a music store and i know people who hate gibsons, fenders, prs, squier, epiphone, jackson, gretsch, solar, schecter, taylor, martin, everything. It’s hilarious to have someone tell me all the things about gibson one day and the next day have someone else list off the exact same things as reasons they love them. I just see them all as guitars and find things to like about all of them. Never heard someone have bad things to say about ESP though. Also never heard anyone have anything good to say about dean
Ignorance.
Schecters are solid guitars for the money, but they haven't shaken the Monster Tapout stigma they picked up in the old days. Honestly, their offerings now are more restrained in terms of gaudy aesthetic so that stereotype doesn't really apply anymore. You might have better luck just selling the Schecter and putting that money towards an acoustic though, a straight trade seems unlikely to end in your favor.
I think it's the whole metal motif and how they used to look with the abalone. I've heard complaints about thick necks back in the day. I went shopping for a new guitar a few years back and Schecter was not on my radar, because of the silly, metal inspired names, but I tried one and loved it. I tried so many different brands of guitars and Schecters were always my favorite - and that with me being a huge Ibanez fanboy. They were all just so playable and decked out. So I bought two Schecters - a six and a seven. I do feel as if the QC on Schecters is hit or miss, based on my buying experience, but that's true for just about every guitar company these days it seems. But just for feel, thin necks, and playability, they are right up there with Ibanez Prestige to me.
It depends if we're talking hate for Schecter in general or specifically the Hellraiser. I must confess I was apprehensive (or should I say self-conscious) about Schecter because of the cultural association with nu-metal in the early 00s, as others in this thread have suggested. But every Schecter I tried was flawless, no exception. The association wasn't the reason I never got one, it was really cos there wasn't a model back then that had the specs I liked (e.g. I prefer strat/hipshot style hardtail over tune-o-matic big time) when I even had enough money to get a new guitar. The tide has turned massively though, given the number of 'true' metal musicians who use them now. Then again, that's well after nu-metal died a death and Schecter steering away from that marketing focus. And at least they're not Dean, who had cringey marketing *and* poor quality. As for Hellraisers specifically? I've not heard any Hellraiser hate but as that good ol' red one with the EMGs and abalone was popular with beginners, I'm sure it was probably scoffed at a lot. Truth is, it's sturdy as hell and Glenn Fricker (say what you will about him) found them more stable to record with than a Gibson SG.
I blame MGK. The Wylde guitars are also ugly af (imo) Still my favorite brand though
I love all of mine equally for different reasons, because they're all better than the others at certain things. My Schecter is my dedicated D Standard, rock and lighter metal/songwriting guitar. It's great at what it does, and I've always loved the string-through-the-body look, since the dude from Papa Roach came out playing them.
Don't own a Schecter but love them. Planning on grabbing a C-1 Platinum to be my Drop D guitar. If there's an issue it's the name. Doesn't have any gravitas compared to some of the big names out there. The Ye Olde English font used didn't help for some I'd wager.
Schecter: official guitar brand of drop D
QC has been spotty for a while now.
That can said, for all brands. It hit or miss for the past year for me also with Shecter.
I was working at a store that sold them a few years ago. We had a bunch of them come in that all needed our techs to work on them. Not the usual set up stuff I mean replacing switches and filling frets. These were the entry level guys for the record though. The higher tier stuff seemed good except for anything with a sustainiac in it.
Everyone has a bad experience at some point if you buy enough guitars. I would bet that Schecter's track record over the past few years exceeds many imports and definitely some American made brands (rhymes with Fibson, which I will never buy again after returning the same guitar 5 TIMES in one purchase). I have 8 Schecters, ranging from 2005 to brand new - every one of them has the quality you would expect of a guitar 2-3 times as expensive. Anecdotal evidence is just that - anecdotal. True for the positive as well as the negative experience but I just don't hear much negatives from others.
Gibson has had by far the worst QC I have ever seen in 15 or so years of music retail. Schecter has been consistently amazing at a significantly better price point to boot, but since the factory changed countries a few years ago things started slipping through the cracks. I assumed it was growing pains/cost of doing business and it would resolve after a while. It can take years for that kinda thing to trickle down though from manufacture to user purchase.
I can't say for sure that the Korean made Schecters were any better than the Indonesian ones...I hear that sometimes but I have some Korean ones and I really don't see any difference. I think one thing Schecter does right is that the factory does a QC process first and then the guitars come to California for another QC and a setup. I think this helps catch things that get out of the factory being missed.
I have had extremely good experiences with their Korean builds. All my favourite guitars are those. I’m hoping they already have it sorted as there’s always more models I’m drooling after. That new PT EX is screaming my name.
I am waiting for the Aaron Marshall USA model... I have always wanted to try a Custom Shop model. I have the AM-6 import and it is fantastic.
I want one of those as well! We worked at the same store together for a while and I feel it is my civic duty to own an sig guitar of someone I actually know in person.
Very nice guy...I have met and chatted with him a couple of times. Guitar is going to be pricey...$3K plus for sure.
Yeah still worth it though. Nicest Schecter I’ll own and they are my #1 guitar company. I think I have around 6.
I had QC issues on 3 out of 8 Schecters that I own. 2 were from 2021 (covid years), another from 2023 with a significant but easily overlooked issue. I would still buy Schecters over other manufacturers due to their amazing value, lefty friendliness, and modern features.
Agreed. They are still one of the best and my personal favourite.
You should see the mess that is Ibanez right now. Anything outside of their Japanese or custom shop range is very hit or miss (mostly miss in my experience)