Schecter Hellraiser C-1 - Black Cherry

I love this guitar. It is a beautiful instrument that is well made. It plays well. The action is superb. Some reviews said that the neck was thick. My neck is very slim and comfortable.But this guitar delivers with sound. I can get a full range of cleans, blues, rock and metal. All humbuckers should allow splitting that sounds as good as this. I know some reviews indicate that Metal sounds may not be the best, but I get what I need from this guitar. The sustain and harmonics are better than most (much more expensive) models.I play this through a Peavey 100 watt tube half stack. I have an LP Custom with PAFs, an original composite Steinberger with the Steve Vai GEM set, Line 6 Variax 700 and a mexican Strat. The clean organic harmonic chord sounds of the LP can't be beat, but the sustain and overdrive pale in comparison to the Schecter. The Steinberger punches out the metal and harmonics a little better, but doesn't have quite the sweet mid frequency variety of sounds of the C-1.I use all 3 guitars for composing and recording original songs in my studio. The Hellraiser is ideal for live playing (wide variety of sounds-don't need to use a second guitar)and excels when I need to run through chord/lead ideas for songs that I am composing. I turn on the recorder and play for hours. But the bonus is when it is time for mix-down. This Schecter fits in and cuts through the mix. Some guitars and pickups are too muddy or too thin when mixed, but I can easily get the C-1 to 'fit'.Bottom Line-If I could only have one guitar for live shows, creating songs, and studio work, this would be the one. I have a list of all the items that I want in a guitar and this Schecter has them all in an attractive and extremely affordable package.

Low stars because guitar had clear signs of being played for quite a long time. Guitar came with no manual. That was the first red flag. Second, the neck smells like cat urine or something. And the last was the used 9v battery in the guitar.All the tags were in a bag with the Allen wrenches. As shown in the picture there are numerous areas along the neck that have a gouge like a fingernail or knife caused it. Also see the paint literally chipping of the neck nearest the frets.Next is the insane fret buzz on the E string. Part of me wants to keep it and get it fixed but they sold it as NEW. Was sold by instrument pro thru Amazon.EDIT: immediately after writing this review I decided to return and ordered a cherry hellraiser. Which is also labeled as new. Fingers crossed.EDIT #2: got the cherry red and it came new and perfect. These guitars must all ship with no manual and it had the same brand battery installed. The only thing I'd recommend is not installing the battery but leave it in the box when shipping.

So very happy with this guitar! sounds great in regular humbucker mode and single coil configuration.Has excellent sustain. The setup was great out of the box.Fingerboard is smooth and quick. The guitar has a really nice finish, making it very attractive on the stand. It is light and comfortable to play.As stated, the Hellraiser is really quite flexible but it really shines, as you might expect, as a metal axe. Both EMG pickups provide strong and pure tone. These are active pickup, using a 9v battery for power. To maximize the battery life, always unplug the audio cord from the guitar after use. Apparently the pickups are powered when the cord is plugged in (per some online posts).

I have loved this Schecter Hellraiser guitar. The pickups sound great and the split coil/coil tap options are phenomenal and give this guitar excellent versatility. The look is sharp and the locking tuners are a great touch. Nearly everything about this guitar is exactly what I was looking for - nearly.My biggest problem comes from the same use: detuning. I swapped out the stock strings it came with for Ernie Balls with a .62 base string up to a .12 high string because I want to use this guitar for hard rock and metal exclusively. The 25.5" fret length should allow for that fairly reliably - I see people using LTD guitars with a 24.75" neck length that handle it fine. Sure, you can detune this guitar but there are a couple major problems that immediately kick in:1. Moving out of standard tuning immediately puts your strings at risk for dislodging themselves on the bridge. I've "rocked out" and played a guitar like this exactly how any guitarist would that wants to crank it up, and the base string often comes out of its bridge position and it gets stuck off the edge of the bridge cradle. Not OK. The typical A string has done this too. I've noticed it's less of an issue with lighter gauge strings and standard tuning but my Fender Strat can handle some detuning just fine and has never once had this issue. Problem is, my Fender Strat is a 3 single-coil pickup and isn't really meant for this kind of style. The Hellraiser is billed to be more in the lane I'm trying to use it for.2. Larger strings don't sit well on the nut - my .62 string currently rests on top of the groove for the nut instead of within it, and the tuning pegs barely fit the string. You cannot fit a .80 in this guitar, period. If it was a squeeze to get a .62 in it I doubt you can go much larger and that's a bummer.I am submitted for a return, reluctantly, and will be seeking another axe for my needs. I really want to love this guitar and think Schecter should address these small issues. I would consider keeping it if these weren't problems. Just about everything else is solid.