Schecter - Do we care?

[Sean]

8 hours ago, HeadlessBassist said:

I have a secondary pupil in Wiltshire who has a very metal looking Schecter bass. I have to say it's very nice to play, but the sound is a little generic.

 

I would however, like to try one of the Charles Berthoud Signature Schecters. Not keen on the looks particularly, but it certainly sounds good in the right hands.

 

 

I like the lower cutaway for access.

[tauzero]

18 hours ago, HeadlessBassist said:

I would however, like to try one of the Charles Berthoud Signature Schecters. Not keen on the looks particularly, but it certainly sounds good in the right hands.

 

To make the most of one of those, I'd need Charles Berthoud's hands.

[NancyJohnson]

Rambling post.

 

In my youth, I seem to remember Schecter being a cheapish go-to kit guitar brand business (like Allparts or Warmoth) before going into a fully fledged guitar brand.  Cursory interest back then, but didn't really care.

 

Just took a look at their website; honestly didn't realise they did so many bass models.  Aside from a couple of more traditional offerings that I'd never consider purchasing (the J-4 or the Model-T things), there's no appeal whatsoever.  The designs look quite meh, there's not much in the way of finish options.  Some horrific headstock designs.

 

Looking at the recent Signature model basses...the Sixx, dUg, Gallop, Michael Anthony; we all know which basses these guys are famous for but their signature lines fail miserably. 

 

[prowla]

Years ago Schecter used to do a catalogue of guitar parts you could buy - enough to build a whole instrument.

It was great.

I think now it's just the name.

 

(Oops - posted at pg. 1, then read @NancyJohnson's post; as I recall they were good quality and not so cheap.)

Edited March 4 by prowla

[LeftyJ]

When I first heard of Schecter (mid 1990s) I don't think the more affordable Far East Diamond Series was around yet. I just remember me and a classmate lusting over their sexy carved top USA Custom Shop superstrats like the Hollywood Classic and Sunset Classic on the internet. It wasn't until many years later when they finally got a distributor in the Netherlands but I still don't think I've ever seen a Schecter in a Dutch store in my life. Their popularity peaked in the Nu Metal days when bands like Alien Ant Farm and Papa Roach were endorsed by them - and then we all laughed when the infamous crabwalking clip of Attack Attack!'s "Stick Stickly" came out with the whole band sporting Schecter guitars and basses 

[Russ]

4 hours ago, LeftyJ said:

... and then we all laughed when the infamous crabwalking clip of Attack Attack!'s "Stick Stickly" came out with the whole band sporting Schecter guitars and basses 

CRABCORE!

 

[Sean]

The greatest bass player of all time (no discussion) is playing a Schecter here....

 

 

Obviously ditched Lakland?

 

 

[jd56hawk]

They make some nice basses, but these days, who doesn't.

I think they get enough recognition, and I can name several other companies that get less.

Other than that, why should anyone care?

(I have to wonder the same thing every time this subject comes up, no matter the company.)

Edited March 16 by jd56hawk

[NancyJohnson]

8 hours ago, Sean said:

The greatest bass player of all time (no discussion) is playing a Schecter here....

 

 

Obviously ditched Lakland?

 

 

 

As an aside, I detest Spinal Tap as much as Schecter. 

 

It's not amusing in the slightest (come on, it never was) and this whole breaking of the fourth wall and treating them like a proper band in the real world is about as hilarious as eating soap.

 

 

[prowla]

2 hours ago, NancyJohnson said:

 

As an aside, I detest Spinal Tap as much as Schecter. 

 

It's not amusing in the slightest (come on, it never was) and this whole breaking of the fourth wall and treating them like a proper band in the real world is about as hilarious as eating soap.

 

 

Is Mr Grumpy in the house today? 🙂

[NancyJohnson]

2 minutes ago, prowla said:

Is Mr Grumpy in the house today? 🙂

 

Nope, but Mr Curmudgeonly is 😄

[NancyJohnson]

2 minutes ago, NancyJohnson said:

 

Nope, but Mr Curmudgeonly is 😄

 

To be honest, I woke up too early and grumpy pants this morning .  Then I scanned this thread.  I'm also missing the Chelsea game this afternoon as I'm going for lunch with my brother in law.  

[Cosmo Valdemar]

19 hours ago, Sean said:

The greatest bass player of all time (no discussion) is playing a Schecter here....

 

 

Obviously ditched Lakland?

 

 

Sod Lakland, bring back BC Rich!

[TeresaFR]

On 01/03/2025 at 16:15, Sean said:

I think it's fair to say that Spector has shifted it's focus from Metal a little but I'm not sure who the target player is for this.

I'd rather have a Stargazer than a Ricky. I loathe the Rickenbacker shape.

[TeresaFR]

Just going on the sheer number of big name artists using Schecter, I've got to think it's not a lack of famous players that are a problem for them - though a lot do seem to be hard rock or metal players.

 

I don't think I've seen a Schecter in a physical shop but still, I own two and a good friend of mine owns another herself. Mine are a Riot 4 Aurora Burst and an SLS Evil Twin, both lefthanded. They're both great instruments, particularly the Evil Twin. My friend has a C-5 GT in purple and it looks and feels amazing (for a righthanded instrument). 

 

I guess the reason so many manufacturers build Fender-esque instruments is because those general shapes are so baked into the cultural psyche that people expect them and so it's a relatively easy money-maker, especially if you can do it cheaper and with just a touch of modern features to put your own twist on proceedings.

[HeadlessBassist]

I would imagine up-and-coming young players with some coin are buying the hell out of the Charles Berthoud signature model.

 

 

[crazycloud]

I now have a lot of respect for Schecter gear based on a used guitar (not sure of the model) I purchased a few days ago on a whim. If the basses are as good, I'd have one. Maybe I'll actually see a bass in the flesh to try.

[Doctor J]

13 hours ago, TeresaFR said:

 

I guess the reason so many manufacturers build Fender-esque instruments is because those general shapes are so baked into the cultural psyche that people expect them and so it's a relatively easy money-maker, especially if you can do it cheaper and with just a touch of modern features to put your own twist on proceedings.

While a Fender design is a known quantity, it seems to be a lot of backwards looking music where they have become the uniform of choice. The onus seems to have gone from standing out to fitting in, in a lot of contemporary music. Schecter, ESP, Ibanez and co continually evolve, they refine their models and, generally, they don't make what they made 5 years ago and much of their artist roster consists of people still pushing the envelope a bit. The big US companies have chosen a path of endless regurgitation and lots of the music made on them follows the same concept.

[Twigman]

I quite fancy a Schecter Corsair bass but my inability to find a suitable proper lightweight flightcase that would fit it put me off. Even Schecter couldn't point me in the right direction.

 

[synthaside]

1 hour ago, Twigman said:

I quite fancy a Schecter Corsair bass but my inability to find a suitable proper lightweight flightcase that would fit it put me off. Even Schecter couldn't point me in the right direction.

 

Perhaps a heavy-duty Gig bag for an acoustic bass would work ,  I use one for  for my semi hollow  ..... as for  a " lightweight flight case " I wouldn't expect such a thing to exist ... i want my flight case made of depleted Uranium and Foam .   I do have a  "rebadged"  hiscox  hard case  for my Status which is also semi hollow ....  https://hiscoxcases.com/products/large-peardrop-bass-guitar-hard-case-pro-ii-spec

Edited 2 hours ago by synthaside

[Twigman]

4 minutes ago, synthaside said:

I use a heavy-duty Gig bag for an  acoustic bass for my semi hollow  ..... as for  a " lightweight flight case " I wouldn't expect such a thing to exist ... i want my flight case made of depleted Uranium and Foam . 

By lightweight flightcase I mean something akin to the SKB iSeries - Almost all my gigs are fly aways - SKB iSeries cases are much lighter than my traditional plywood and metal angle flightcases (and have wheels as a bonus) - this is important for airline baggage allowances. I use an SKB iSeries for my EBMM Sterling and my Precisions - I believe they're not wide enough for a Schecter Corsair bass.

Edited 2 hours ago by Twigman