Product Review

Road Test
by Nathan Chamberland
(As appeared in the July/August 2003 issue of Canadian Musician magazine, reprinted with permission of the publisher.)
www.canadianmusician.com

Schecter C-1 Plus Guitar

I fell completely head over heals for this guitar the first time I saw it. My guitar tech has been talking about Schecter for a while to me, but I hadn’t tried one out. I jumped at the chance to see what all the talk was about.

The Schecter Diamond Series C-1 Plus is a fine piece of art from many perspectives. Grover tuners, Gibson-style "Tone Pro" bridge – this baby has it all. In this price range you'll not find many guitars made up of quality parts. The craftsmanship of the C-1 Plus is exquisite, like a cross between a PRS, an Ibanez, a Gibson and a Fender. It boasts 24 jumbo frets lined with Schecter's own "Vector" inlays – pure butter. The thin set-in neck is optimal for wailing all types of music, from blues to metal and everywhere in between. The body is a combination of mahogany and flame maple allowing for total sound transference.

The tune-o-matic ‘string thru-body’ design is a rare and beautiful touch. This removes the back plate of the guitar allowing instant access to the six string-holes straight through the body and no doubt adding extra sustain. Quite like an old Fender Hardtail. The all-chrome hardware and a rosewood fingerboard compliment this guitar well. The volume and tone knobs are perfectly tight and ever so smooth. That right there is the greatest feeling – the feeling of undeniable quality.

I played the C-1 Plus through a Marshall JMP-1 preamp and a Marshall EL34 50/50 power-amp into a 4 x 12 containing Celestion Vintage 30s. It proved to have a sweet, full tone on the clean channel that reminded me of an Ibanez USA Custom, full of chirping highs and well rounded lows especially in the middle position. A thick ripping sound barked out at me when I switched to the dirty channel, which is reminiscent of a Les Paul. This is where the C-1 Plus shines. When I toggled up and played with full gain on the amp it just ripped apart into a totally saturated thunder. The sustain was unbelievable! I actually held a bent note for 30 seconds before it subtly drifted to beautifully controlled feedback. That was where I decided to buy some of these C-1 Plus' and start a new Schecter collection. With two Seymour Duncan designed humbuckers installed (stock), it definitely has chunk. This is a Joe Perry (Aerosmith) sound in a PRS style. I will admit that I'm not fond of 9-gauge strings that all guitars come with from the factory. I would prefer a good set of 10-52s just for more bottom end chunk. These 9s felt and sounded different. The bridge is a Gibson style, but all Tone Pro. If you have never heard of a Tone Pro bridge, I would recommend you go to their site www.tonepros.com and read a little about why these bridges are special. The intonation possibilities are among the best. This is not a built machine, but rather a work of art. From the headstock to the tail of the body, this was quite obviously engineered and built with love and care by a guitarist, for a guitarist. Schecter is a company that has it together.

I had a look at Schecter's Web site (www.schecterguitars.com) and was equally impressed by the design, flow and medias it provided. From cool graphics to neat sound effects Schecter has got all of its bases covered online as well. All in all this is a great piece of gear. Actually, the best for its price. If you get the time, look around at other big-name guitars out there and see what components they’re made of. Ten-to-one odds you won’t find one under $2,500 that cares about every wire, pot and switch like Schecter does. If you have never had the experience of plugging a Schecter guitar in, do it now. You won't regret it.

Two huge thumbs up from this guitarist!

The manufacturer’s suggested retail price for the Schecter C-1 Plus is $1,149.

For more product information, contact:
SF Marketing, 325, boul. Bouchard, Dorval, Quebec, Canada H9S 1A9
TEL 514-780-2070 , FAX 514-780-2111, info@sfm.ca, www.sfm.ca.

Distributor’s Comments:

As the recently appointed Canadian distributor of Schecter Guitars, we are elated with the reaction of Mr. Chamberland. His enthusiasm for the product speaks volumes about the design merit and build quality of the instrument. We are particularly gratified by the reviewer's thorough understanding of the subtleties that we feel set Schecter Guitars apart from other instruments. We frequently receive positive feedback about the consistency of playability and sound of Schecter guitars, and our dealers have been calling to remark how the instruments consistently exceed their expectations.

There is one point that I would like to make: One of the genuine features of the Schecter line is that every single instrument is inspected, tuned, and set up prior to being sent to the dealer. It is Schecter's philosophy that each guitar comes out of the box ready to play! We have adopted that philosophy and check each guitar individually before shipping to the dealer. The instrument that was reviewed received no special attention at all and was not chosen from a group of instruments, but rather taken randomly off the shelf. Our hope is that every guitarist who picks one up and plays it will have a similar experience to that of the reviewer!

Thanks for the excellent review!

– Jeff Sazant, Vice-President, MI Division, SF Marketing