N8D! Schecter Hellraiser Special

[celticelk]

Exactly how difficult would it be to find long enough strings for the lower bass side strings? Would only certain companies make them long enough?

The same people who said they had difficulty also noted a company or two that *did* make string of sufficient length - D'Addario and LaBella, I think (you can find more by searching the archives). Rev2010's other points about in-line headstocks are good to keep in mind, though.

 

[MTech]

That guitar looks killer but I'm skeptical on the scale (at least for going down to E) I'm sure you can do it, but I'd be worried about String gauge being rather large to get the right tensions and then issues with intonation & clarity.

I was considering a Septor as well; the other thing that put me off it was reading that it's sometimes difficult to find strings that will reach across that 8-in-line headstock, at least on the bass side.

LaBella's fit perfectly as they're 46inches long and you can custom order them in any gauges you'd like.

 

[Setnakt]

Now, the scale length on these is 26.5" and I had a few people tell me that would be terrible, and I'd have to use super thick strings for the F#, blah blah blah.

The scale length is fine.

The stock .074 is fucking snappy at F#. I dropped it to E, and it was perfectly playable, though I would like a little more tension at that tuning. Something like a .076, just a LITTLE thicker, would be perfect for me.

So if you've been looking at one of these, but weren't sure of the scale length, don't worry about it, and less you plan on dropping it really low. For F# and E, this thing works perfectly.

As a long scale-length advocate I'm going to chime in here. You are not getting a "snappy" F# at 26.5" with a 74. Maybe this is semantics but you're getting like 15 lbs of tension, which does not really count as particularly "snappy" in my eyes any more than a light gauge string set would on a Les Paul. You might find that comfortable; I did for a while, when I was using rather light strings overall.

15 lbs is serviceable for a lot of things and some people like that feel. But in my opinion, "snappy" is not really an adjective that applies until you're talking about something like 28.625", where with a 74 the tension is closer to 20 lbs, and you have that nice baritone snap from the longer length of string as well.

The reason why people complain about shorter scale lengths is if you don't find 15 lbs of tension to be comfortable, you literally have no options. There's really no way to get any more tension than that on those low strings without going to a longer scale length. The strings also just sound different overall, besides the tension.

I'm sure you see now how funny the "ZOMG YOU SCLAE LENGTHS ARE 2 SMALL 4 F#, GET 30" AND BASS STRINGS" arguments are.

As for bass strings at 30", I haven't even seen anyone on this board advocate bass strings ever, except anecdotally when talking about getting away with using an Elixir or something, but that's only because they sound like guitar strings.

Sorry to crash your NGD thread, the guitar looks very nice. I always like quilted maple. I've heard good things about the Schecters and it's good to hear it's working out for you.

 

[leonardo7]

Hey OP! Where was yours made? Thanks

 

[Razzy]

Hey OP! Where was yours made? Thanks

It was made in South Korea.

 

[Rev2010]

Hey Razzy, I just sent back my SC608B this morning, dropped it at the UPS store. I have a thread about my issues with it. Anyhow, point being that since you mentioned the neck feels thinner than the C-7 you had I went ahead and ordered the special edition Riot 8 from DCGL:

Rev.

 

[leonardo7]

It was made in South Korea.

Awesome! I thought they discontinued production over there? I guess not?

 

[Razzy]

Hey Razzy, I just sent back my SC608B this morning, dropped it at the UPS store. I have a thread about my issues with it. Anyhow, point being that since you mentioned the neck feels thinner than the C-7 you had I went ahead and ordered the special edition Riot 8 from DCGL:

Rev.

Nice dude. That thing looks fucking rad. PM me when you get it, I wanna know how you dig it.

 

[Razzy]

Awesome! I thought they discontinued production over there? I guess not?

That's what I thought too. I was pleasantly surprised. There's no way this would be an older one that was still floating around in inventory too, since this is a new model, so I think it's safe to say, were you to order one of these, it would be Korean as well.

 

[scottyp49]

Sick axe! My Blackjack ATX C-8 just shipped today and I can't wait to get my hands on it. It's really great to read that somebody who actually *owns* one is saying that the scale length is fine.

 

[agoz20]

Amazing looking guitar man!

I can't decide between this bad boy or the Agile Septor Elite 827

i have both the blackjack atx c-8 and the agile septor elite 827. they are both great guitars. how ever the 26.5 scale has issues in drop e... i meen it is playable by all means. it would just help with note clarity on the low e if it were a little longer. the septor 827 sounds less muddy on the lowest string. using the same .80 on the low e and 56-9 seven string set on the lower seven.
as far as playability goes the schecter wins... as far as flub reduction and note clarity agile wins.

 

[metalmania408]

Hey guys. After waiting a week and a half for this thing, it FINALLY showed up yesterday. I special ordered it through GC, and they had some problem with the shipping department, so it was delayed, and didn't actually ship out until Monday.

First things first, here's some pics.

The neck feels very thin, and is veeery comfortable, and the frets are as smooth as glass. A little bit of buzz on the low B and F#, but it doesn't get amplified, and I've never cared about that anyway.

Now, the scale length on these is 26.5" and I had a few people tell me that would be terrible, and I'd have to use super thick strings for the F#, blah blah blah.

The scale length is fine.

The stock .074 is fucking snappy at F#. I dropped it to E, and it was perfectly playable, though I would like a little more tension at that tuning. Something like a .076, just a LITTLE thicker, would be perfect for me.

So if you've been looking at one of these, but weren't sure of the scale length, don't worry about it, and less you plan on dropping it really low. For F# and E, this thing works perfectly.

HNGD! That thing looks sexy. I'm glad you're lovin' it!

Hey Razzy, I just sent back my SC608B this morning, dropped it at the UPS store. I have a thread about my issues with it. Anyhow, point being that since you mentioned the neck feels thinner than the C-7 you had I went ahead and ordered the special edition Riot 8 from DCGL:

Rev.

Dayyyyum, that's hot dude!!!

 

[sell2792]

That body shape is hella nice. I like that the inlays actually stand out on it unlike some other Schecters.

 

[Rev2010]

Thanks guys! On a funny note - relating to the Rondo thread that was shutdown, here's what's listed on my FedEx email:

"Special handling/Services: Direct Signature Required"

So signature required was requested Not trying to open this debate again so pleeease let's not continue this in this thread. If you want to say something just PM me. I just felt it good to share this info since it was hotly debated.

So it's arriving Tuesday, looking forward to it. If all goes well and she's a keeper I will do an NGD thread with pics.


Rev.

 

[Nightside]

HNGD! I was considering a Schecter 8 because they have some really cheap ones (cheaper than Rondo even). I never found a 6 or 7 of theirs that I got along with though. The necks were always way too round for my taste. I would have to play one first to be perfectly sure, but now that Im stuck in the middle of the woods I dont think thats gonna happen soon lol.

I would have to tune it low A to a high G though. Im one of those crazies who just has to have a long scale for a low F# to work out. Ive had three Intrepids and an RG2228 and I didnt use the Ibanez long because the low F# was just too muddy and floppy on that 27" scale for my taste. 28.625 with a .074 is about right but then on the treble side it makes leads more difficult. The 27" scale was perfectly shredtastic though and I think I like it better than 25.5" for lead work. So Im thinking about holding out for a multiscale to get the best of both worlds.

For the record I have tuned to low F# on a 25.5" scale and it was quite playable. I really didnt like it at all though. You could blow on it and make it flop so hard it went sharp.

 

[Rev2010]

28.625 with a .074 is about right but then on the treble side it makes leads more difficult.

.074 low string tuned to F# on a 28.625"? Wouldn't that be crazy tight?


Rev.

 

[Nightside]

.074 low string tuned to F# on a 28.625"? Wouldn't that be crazy tight?


Rev.

Its nice. Thats my minimum though, I normally use an .080 for low F# because its not too tight for F# and not too loose if you want to drop down to E. Also once you start getting into scale lengths that long and notes that low, the difference between .072 and .074 on a low F# is hardly noticeable if at all.

I was in Iraq when I started learning about and getting interested in all this ERG and baritone madness and I only had a BC Rich ASM Pro to work with. I read that Devin Townsend used a .060 on his 27 inch scale ESP to get a low G. So I ordered a 6 string set that was like .014-.064 figuring that since I had an inch and a half less scale length the extra .004 string width would make up for it. It was way too loose so I dont know if Dev likes floppy strings or what but then I put together a 6 string set from www.juststrings.com that was all wound .017-.070. That felt a lot better and was playable but was still way too loose. I found that it will work great for G# and might be a touch tight for A on a 25.5 inch scale. The next move was gonna be a .074 but I went home by that time and had two 8s waiting for me when I got back so I wasnt interested in testing on normal scale lengths anymore lol.

EDIT: Dont get me wrong I love slinky feeling strings. On a 25.5 inch scale 6 I like to tune a set of .010-.046 down a whole step because it makes playing leads a lot easier. I can just barely touch the strings to get them to sound. When I get down into 7 and 8 string guitars low range though I like for things to be nice and tight because it sucks trying to chug or gallop on a floppy string. On a standard tuned 7 I feel that a .054 is too thin for a low B. I would prefer around a .060.

 

[sell2792]

Christ, I was using like .13-60 on a 25.5 Jackson JS RR in G and I didn't have any problems.

 

[Rev2010]

Christ, I was using like .13-60 on a 25.5 Jackson JS RR in G and I didn't have any problems.

How did you manage that? I have 14-58 strings on my BC Rich Warlock 6 string 25.5" tuned down to "B" and it's just right for my preferences. for my Schecter Blackjack C7 26.5" scale tuned down to "A" I use 11-62. At 25.5" scale tuned to "G" I'd imagine a 60 low string would be rather floppy.

Rev.

 

[Nightside]

Christ, I was using like .13-60 on a 25.5 Jackson JS RR in G and I didn't have any problems.

Its all preference really. Like I said, the loose strings are playable. I find that I have to be very gentle with them or they bend out of tune by pressing too hard on the frets or wobble so hard that they go sharp if I pick it too hard.