rbkonline

Your welcome. I'm glad I could help a bit. I hope you love whatever you get!

Hey!

Well, it all depends on what you like doing as a player and what you find comfortable. Both will work for what you want, it is just preference to that point. I have owned the Xiphos 7, but not the Hellraiser, although I have played it a lot. Both have decent upper fret access (the Xiphos is a little harder because of the shape of the lower horn). And they both come with pretty nice pickups. The EMGs in the Hellraiser and great. Nice and clear. But if you are a passive pickup guy, you may want to snag the Xiphos as it comes with Dimarzios and passive routes.

The Ibanez has a thinner neck than the Schecter, but the Schecter has a longer scale length, which will help a tad with the downtuning. Also, the Schecter comes with better tuners.

The Hellraiser might be a better bet for you. But both are awesome guitars.