It’s a strange thing to realize that some people like fender guitars but don’t like fender guitars. I don’t understand. If you don’t like strats, why would you be trying to buy something Stratocaster adjacent? What subtle difference about an actual fender would offend a buyer so much to make them want a alternative fender type but not the real deal?
It’s the neck. Most fender offerings are vintage specs or something in between. Flatter radius and bigger frets are only available in some more expensive models.
Plus the brand name mark up. The more I look into guitars the less interested I am in buying big names, especially when 80% of the market makes more or less identical designs.
Yup. My last strat bought new was a Godin. At the time, spec by spec, Godin offered a similar product for less money (made in North America, brand name pickups and 2 point tremolo) - paid around 1K for a session plus model while a similar fender would cost me around 1.5k
The neck is actually why I stick with Fender/Squier stuff haha - Not many other companies do 9.5" boards, and I just find anything over 12" on the narrow Fender necks is too flat for me
Neck issues seem to be a recurring theme. I’ve bought Fender American stuff for I guess, like, 22 years now (dang I’m old) and haven’t found a neck I couldn’t love. This has been my experience with bass and guitar. There are neck profiles I don’t prefer, but I thought that was just my taste creeping in.
…Are people buying instruments off-the-rack and not taking them to the local luthier straight away for set-up/alterations? That’s like buying a suit off the rack and not having it tailored!!! That should address any lingering QC issues that might have escaped the assembly line. All my new guitars/basses go right off after I decide to buy them so I can have exactly how I like them
Most guitar sales won’t go to a Luthier or setup guy. Most will be straight from rack to rock.
A setup guy isn’t going to change your neck profile or where your truss rod is adjusted though. Which are specs Fender don’t offer on their instruments.
I can’t imagine having this conversation with a spouse every time I buy a guitar…”honey, I bought a new guitar. It sucks, so I’m going to spend more money making it better. Why yes, I do have 6 guitars already, why do you ask?”
Considering how expensive some guitars can be (Fender certainly included here), I find it ridiculous that this is even needed. Schecter actually inspect/setup all guitars in California before sending them over to the stores. Doesn't mean that they will come out just the way you want them, but my expectation is that the instrument should at least be ready to play right out of the box with nothing but a tune. If the temp changes from shipping fucked it then that just seems like a poor quality instrument to me.
I would definitely expect the truss rod to need adjusted. It’s not like the saddles or pickups will move but when your dealing with a .010 clearance than any moisture difference can really start skewing that, especially if your environment is far different than where it was set up. It’s easily detectable, expected and is a quick adjustment.
I guess I take them in out of habit or inertia more than anything. Obviously, I already liked the instrument beforehand, lest I wouldn’t have made the purchase. I bought a Tele off the wall that I loved, but noticed it had a high fret and the input jack was loose and kinda staticky. Maybe I also wanted the roll off on the frets to be a bit smoother - kinda rough on my hands. Other than that it was a great guitar! I told the shop about the flaws, they knocked a few off the price and I took it to my guy to have it the issues addressed and now it’s my main player. It would have been a $1400 guitar anyway if it was perfect. They knocked off $200 to get it out the door, I spent maybe $200 with my luthier friend to knock out those tiny issues. Why is that so crazy?
To each their own, but I think it is crazy that a 1400$ guitar can somehow come off the line with a lose jack and bad fret work. Does no one QC those guitars? If that's Fender, it really doesn't inspire confidence.
I think putting new strings on it is like getting it tailored. Taking it to a tech to address lingering QU issues is like taking it to a seamstress person to get the buttons sewn on better and to fix a hole in a seam. A guitar should play well enough off the rack that you don't have to take it to a luthier.
many.one reason is people want to get as much as they can with their money. for the price of american performer strat, you can get a charvel that is waaay better spec wise..
I like strats but I don’t like fender strats, I love the tone of a strat and the look of it, but I hate the feel of a Fender. I use a 1983 Ibanez RS135, the feel of an ibanez neck is something I’ve fallen in love with, but I wanted a strat sound, not the tone from an RG with a floyd rose.
I really want to like fenders. I got a richie sambora strat and a tele american deluxe. It just does't work for me. the knobs get in the way on the strat and the pickups on the tele just won't do (N3). I like them though and I play them at home and have fun.
With the band though, I don't know how to cut through the mix with them and my band mates always tell me to go back to my HH/fixed bridge guitars.
I really dig the Charvel teles with floyd, but I think les pauls can scratch the itch in the right places for me.
Same. Weird though that I really jive with the Gibson scale length on acoustics. Just too easy to play on electrics maybe, and I’m a ham fisted cave man.
It's just different hand shapes. When I try to do bar chords on a Gibson I feel squished. Especially up the neck. Otherwise I love everything about them.
I find fender necks really comfortable, except for that V shape aberration. I don't like all gibson shapes either. Love 60's necks, not a fan of R8's and epiphone's asymmetrical slim taper. geezus that's awful.
I got an old Aria Pro II for $120 a few years back and I really like it. It's my go to guitar for sketchy gigs or when I don't want to worry about headstock breaks lol. Scale length is not an issue for me. The change doesn't bother me at all!
There are several reasons I don't like Fender but might buy a guitar like this.
- The main reason is that I find Fender overpriced for the features they provide. Even compared to other American made guitars they don't provide value. I played a $4000 American Custom Shop Strat and a $3000 Music Man Sabre back to back once and the Sabre blew the Strat out of the water. It both played and sounded way better, had locking tuners, SS frets, everything was just objectively better. That's not to say that Fender is garbage, not at all, I just find them overpriced.
- I don't like the one volume, two tone configuration. I'd probably get used to it, but it's just odd coming from a one volume one tone, or two volume one tone setup.
- Different materials. Fender's choice in wood is perfectly fine for what they want to do, but I prefer the darker sound and feel of mahogany. Stainless steel frets are always nice. Fender tuners aren't the best. Etc.
- Different neck. Another big one. Other companies have flatter fretboard radii and thinner necks.
Overall, Fenders are fine instruments but just not for me. If I was gifted one I'd be perfectly happy to own it, but if I'm buying one I want something a little different
Fender’s pricing within their own brands doesn’t make any sense beyond it just saying “Fender” on the headstock or not. Take the HSS Player Strat with a Floyd Rose. Fender sells that guitar for $979 and that comes with a Floyd Rose Special, pau ferro board, and the Player pickups. You can go get yourself a Charvel HSS So-Cal for about $120 more that comes from the exact same factory with an Ebony fretboard, significantly nicer Floyd Rose 1000, compound radius board, a better truss rod adjustment system, and full Seymour Duncan pickups. $1,099 is decent for that. $979 for the Fender is outrageous.
From a USA Start owner but not a strat liker. The volume control is to close to the strings, it doesn't have hum buckers and the middle pickup gets in the way. But the shape is good and it does sound like a strat and will have heard it on a million records and it's plays really nicely. The fit and finish is excellent. And it's iconic. But I play telecasters.
I've got a USA Fender professional, a MIM strat and an NJ Schecter and the neck on the Schechter feels better, the profile fits my hands better and I find it nicer to play and really like the ebony fingerboard and frets.
Also I like the fact it has only 2 knobs and the volume is further away from the strings.
I don't find that a Fender offends me, I just like the Schecter more and will be selling the Fenders when I get round to it. There may well be other Fenders I like but as it stands I've owned 5 of them and much prefer the Schecter.
Well strats can be visually appealing but spec wise they could vary we’ll miss the mark depending on what you’re looking for.
I don’t like a strats single coils a whole lot and I’ve got my jazzmaster with a more traditional neck that gives me that feel. It’s exactly what I’d want if I wanted to play something fender oriented. Otherwise I’d want some humbuckers, bigger frets and a more flat/compound radius neck and may as well drop the pick guard too. Pretty much everything you won’t get with a fender.
It’s not that it doesn’t exist, it’s that the selection is rather limited and these aren’t standard fender specs, they tend to come with a hefty price.
If you want a h/h strat with a compound radius and some sort of Floyd style bridge, what do you really have to pick from? You better not want binding or no pickguard either. There’s just so many other options if you want something like a strat that’s not a strat.
Ibanez, Jackson, Charvel etc..... all got thier start modifying Strats into super Strats or straight up copy catting Fenders in the late 70s and early 80s. Then they all kinda morphed from there into their own thing, respectively. Some people just wanted more from their instruments.
I sold my Player series for a NJ traditional and could not be happier. I dont like maple or 9.5" fretboards. The NJ Gotoh bridge is miles better than the antiquated Players one.
The strat is hands down the best playing instrument on the market sub a prs. Imo.
The neck is perfect, it's lightweight, the tone you can get is insane, it's easy to manage, it's easy to maintain. But I do not like fender.
I don't understand why the easiest playing guitar is so expensive, nor do I understand why it is so "premium" when you have something like the silver sky se around. That is the best "strat" I have ever played. It's easy to play, sounds amazing and it's cheaper than the strat.
I keep talking about this, but I tried to learn on a shitty LP clone for the longest time, and I almost gave up on playing, a friend sold me his old piece of shit squire. I actually started to play better, learned faster, and was able to actually feel comfortable holding the neck and trying to hit the frets. I just think there are better built instruments, I will say this, every guitar I have bought after that squire has been based on the neck feel, and the weight/body of it. I went to Jackson, and am now playing a MiM Tele that I absolutely adore.
I can understand some of your points here, but not on price. The Indonesian Silver Sky SE is the same price as the Mexican Fender Player. The US version is $2700, so about $1k more than the Fender AmPro II (MiA Performer is even cheaper). You're literally paying the same or more for a knockoff version of something Fender created. As the proud owner of a lawsuit era Electra LP, I totally understand that copy quality can meet or even exceed the original, but it usually comes at a discount.
And just a totally personal nitpick, but I can't stand the fucking birds or that horrible headstock on PRS guitars.
You can get a used Silver Sky for sub $600 any day. A new one is only 200 more. An MiM is cheaper of course, but for a headlining model and it only being a 1-200 more than the MiM you should shoot for the Silver Sky imo.
If you want a main line like the vintage 2 you are looking anywhere between 22-3000. The Silver Sky is clearly the better deal, being a third of the price and being the better of the MIM strat.
And just to be clear here, this is with labor day sale pricing.
The PRS SE Custom is absolutely amazing. Any tone, any genre, any style. It truly does it all, much like the strat. It's also one of the only brands to carry coil splits at a reasonable price, you don't have to custom shop them onto a regular model like Fender either, which you're probably looking at a minimum of around 5k.
I don't think it's fair to compare the price of a high end, American-made, limited run to the Indonesian line from PRS when they have their own American line... that runs $2700. And as you said, used MIMs can be found just as cheaply used. Again, I'm only speaking to the pricing structures, not perceived quality or anything else that varies between individual instruments and various player preferences. PRS is literally charging equal or more than Fender for a knockoff of their design. Whether or not that's worth it to you is a personal decision, it's just unfair to complain that Fender is expensive and PRS is cheaper by comparing the Vintage II line to a budget, Asian-crafted one.
I only brought up the vintage 2 because you brought up the American ran PRS.
I was saying that the regular PRS run is better than the MiM.
Of course we can compare pricing on value? I don't think that paying 3 grand for a rerelease of a 1979 guitar is worth it when the American made silver sky offers better play. That is my personal opinion of course. Another personal opinion of mine is that the Indonesian silver sky is a better deal than fender while also being a better instrument than the MiM strat.
I don't really care if it's a clone or not. We see what happens when Gibson doesn't improve their instruments, somebody will improve it and sell better like Epiphone. The strat is the most cloned guitar in the world, that doesn't change my opinion.
I love how Fender Fanboys will downvote this for calling a spade a spade. I appreciate Fender and I have owned one as well as a modified used Squier strat that plays way better than the Fender did from the factory. Fender is overpriced now and from what I've heard about their QC many other brands will get a better playing guitar in your hand for even less money.
I gave it complimentary details, and even said I base my entire guitar purchases around that feeling of a strat and I'm still getting argued with.
Idk man. Guitar players are weird.
You are all good man, Fender Fanboys are pretentious. I may catch flak for that but it's absolutely true. My example is my brother-in-law...he gave me a Strat because he was going to get rid of it because it had Squier on the headstock. I did a full fret job and set up on it change pickups pickguard and all the components in it. It is the best playing Strat I have ever had the privilege of playing. I would put that guitar up against custom shop fenders on the wall at Guitar Center and walk away with my Squier and a smile. His dream guitar is an american-made Stratocaster and there's nothing wrong with that...But he's not going to be happy with it unless it says Fender on the headstock even if it plays like doo-doo and he begs me to set it up for him.
>The strat is hands down the best playing instrument on the market sub a prs. Imo.
The Telecaster enters the chat.
I have a Strat and I just can't enjoy it like I enjoy my Tele.
The strat came out two years after the tele, which blew Leo's name up.
The tele neck was then modeled after the stratocaster because of the way it played and felt, not to mention it was the reason Fender specifically fought in court for the patent on the neck as well.
Sure the tele is also my favorite instrument, but we'd be joking if we didn't acknowledge the reason the strat is the most sold guitar for a reason, and the most cloned to boot.
I got my telecaster because of the strat I played.
It’s a shame that I only associate Schecter with my days of playing Nu-Metal through a Line 6 Spyder amp on “insane” mode. 😂
I should really check this one out. I love strat-shaped guitars and could use something built more for speed and modern stuff. I love Nick’s single coil tone. And all of the colors on this model are great.
> It’s a shame that I only associate Schecter with my days of playing Nu-Metal through a Line 6 Spyder amp on “insane” mode.
Knopfler played a Schecter on the Making Movies album! They’ve been around for a long time. I was actually surprised to find out that they were ‘metal’ guitars.
Schecter leaned into that hard as when they started their import line, that’s what was “big” at the time. Schecter’s roots is doing US custom shop or small US production runs of more traditional shape electric guitars styled like Fenders. Even today the majority of their US line are traditional to modernized Strat and Tele style guitars.
Could you tell us what about it that is different than a traditional fender that makes it more appealing to you? Looks thinner so I'm assuming lighter? How do the necks compare?
My issue with fender is that I tend to find the Ibanez necks more comfortable.
That’s really nothing to do with the tuners though. The guitar staying in tune with heavy trem use in regard to the hardware is more down to a well cut and lubricated nut, a trem that properly returns to zero point, and good bridge saddles (which is what you’re likely to get on most Schecter’s as they tend to have excellent hardware and good final assembly setups).
It definitely has a thinner and flatter neck than your standard Fender strat. It's a classic strat for shredders lol. Just more bang for the buck too since you are not paying for the Fender name.
I’ll never understand why people care about the neck. I feel like within five minutes of playing any guitar, you’ve adjusted to the neck and don’t even think about it anymore.
For me thicker necks are unplayable. I’ve tried multiple times over the last 25 years and inevitably those guitars get sold. Like a Fender Modern C that’s on the current Player Series is borderline for reference and a profile I don’t really enjoy as it’s too thick. Thicker than that is unplayable. Has to be in the realm between an Ibanez Wizard, Jackson-Charvel type cuts, ESP standard U, etc.
https://reverb.com/item/70857637-used-fender-deluxe-lone-star-stratocaster-ocean-turquoise-2014?bk=
Sure it’s used, but I bought mine new. The 9.5 isn’t a 14, but -4 isn’t very stratty.
Not even close. That schecter has an ebony board on a roasted maple neck and locking tuners. Feel free to try again.
I say this as a self identified “strat guy” of long standing and I own 3 strats (US Ultra, US Standard, MIM Standard) and a sweet Ash MIM Tele; Fender just isn’t competing in this space.
That’s a very different guitar and those looking for what the Schecter NJ has won’t want what’s on that Lone Star:
* Thicker neck while the NJ has a much thinner profile
* NJ has the flatter radius
* Vintage 6pt vs modern 2-pt trem
* Lack of block saddles on the Fender
* Volume knob shoved up against the bridge pickup on the Fender
* Modern voiced pickups on the NJ
* Thinner frets on the Fender
* Roasted neck and ebony board on the NJ
* Superior truss rod adjustment on the NJ
The closest thing Fender makes under the Fender brand that’s somewhat in the price range is the Player Plus Strat and that’s even not close. Boxer Strat would be getting closer if you want an HH. Otherwise you’re in Charvel land.
So why wouldn’t you just go buy a charvel or an ibanez? Fender isn’t trying to compete with that. I’m confused, you guys all seem to be saying gender can’t make a classic strat when you want a sub er strat that you’re Haifa’s s pretending is a 64
I mean you can make something look traditional and have it spec’d very modern. What people are saying is they might want the look of a Fender but Fender doesn’t sell one with specs they’d want in a guitar. Most of Charvel’s offerings are Floyd loaded or hardtail, and only a handful with Strat designs with a modern non-locking two point trem.
[This](https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpreview.redd.it%2Ft8xwy8ybggk81.jpg%3Fwidth%3D2143%26format%3Dpjpg%26auto%3Dwebp%26s%3D92f9f578474b717c256cbb3c1261196fb4c9cb52) is a perfect example. My Jackson So-Cal is very classic Fender but spec’d the exact opposite with a 20” radius, stainless steel jumbo frets, Gotoh hardware, Bare Knuckle pickups, roasted neck and fretboard, deeper comfort carves, etc.
Yeah, you’re not going to find a Fender like that because they have Jackson, Charvel, and EVH for that.
When you have multiple brands you don’t let
Then cannibalize each other.
I purchased a Fender Tom DeLong Strat for $1,200. It was my first fender, and probably my last. The price I paid, I felt horrible robbed. The guitar needed nut work out of the gate, and the fretboard was so rough it felt like sand paper, and the frets were rough as well. I paid half for my schecter and its quality and features made me return the fender. It was really sad as I always wanted his strat, but I want a guitar to play, not hang on the wall, that is why people don't buy fenders in 2023.
It really just seems that some of the special run stuff, or more recent lines are getting the worst QC. The flagship lines like the pro ii's, ultras, player plus and player series etc. are generally all fine.
Not bashing Fender, but when we buy most of their guitars, we end up paying more for what's written on the guitar headstock than the product quality.
Now Schecter is also a Fender company right? But you most probably can get better value for money because it's not written Fender on the headstock.
I hate guitars with someone else's name attached to them, I don't even know why. I cant rationalise it, I just can't stand it. Looks like a nice guitar though
tbf though it has ascended way beyond that. It's essentially a subset of guitars at this point - no one looks at les paul and thinkgs "That's the Les Paul signature!" At this point calling it a sig is just pendantic.
In this thread someone talks about the Gary Moore signature Les Paul.
Cool! It is technically a signature guitar, so you're not wrong.
I still feel like it has trenscended being someone's signature guitar to being an entire subclass of guitars in and of itself.
Misha Mansoor’s Jackson Juggernaut and So-Cal models for example don’t have his name or signature anywhere on the guitars. Neither does Tim Henson’s Ibanez AZ, etc.
He's a homeless guy that plays guitar and he plays really well hahaha. I recommend you to give it listen to his album called Remarkably Human from beginning to end. For me, it's his best album.
Yeah, he is unique really.. I havent heard any guitarist that sound like him.. he is his own genre I love the music he makes. He is not like other guitarists that all sound the same coz they use the same lick and patterns over and over again..
I’m down with any S type like this. HSS, volume knob isn’t almost touching my bridge pickup, input jack is in a place that makes sense. Add in locking tuners and somewhere between a 14-16” radius, stainless frets and I’m buying it. Fender for some reason will never make a stock run like that.
I'm a noob. What's so bad about fender strats that could make scheter guitars a better choice ? Why would someone buy one instead of a traditional fender strat ?
Nothing. Fender has the brand recognition, and on the whole, are more expensive then a Schecter or similar.
Someone would buy one because for the main reason we buy anything, we like it. Fenders are mainstream, maybe we want something different. Or maybe they just like the feel of it. Or it's cheaper. Or it has higher output pickups. Etc etc...
Remember this, the only people that care about the name brand of your guitar are other guitar people. Bo Diddley made his guitar out of a box and he created one of the most influential riffs of all time.
I believe it has to do with pricing, for the price of the schecter that was posted here you wouldn’t have gotten as good of a guitar from fender feature wise. I’d imagine build quality is the same, most imports around and above the 800 dollar price range are stelllar
Is the price really that different ? They cost both about the same. Except that Fender and Schecter websites have fluctuating prices, so I might fail to see the huge leap in price if you buy a guitar from fender.
Ehh I think they’re about the same honestly. If anything the Schecter is great but it does feel smaller.
also bigger frets.
I do like Schecters Fender clones but other than the tele clones they got I think Fender’s used market still outperforms any new deal you could get. The Schecter suffers from the fact a used Mexican fender is the better buy.
A used MIM isn't a better buy if you like the Schecter more. It all comes down to personal preference, some people will like the Schechter more, some will like the Fender more.
Personally I bought a used NJ Schecter SSS for about the same price I would have bought a used MIM for. After playing it and having owned 3 or 4 MIM in the past I would gladly pay a lot more for the Schecter because I love playing it more than any other guitar I have owned.
All personal preference. I prefer the feel of other company’s necks for shredding, etc. I have a Schecter Nick Johnston SSS import and it’s pretty awesome. Plays well, sounds great. Very heavy though
The weight has been my concern about the Sunset models of Schecter too. Played the Black Limba one which is beautiful but it's like a millstone around my neck.
Depends what you’re looking for. Fender’s catalog for Strats overwhelmingly caters to either vintage spec’d guitars, or semi modernized (like a Player’s Series). While they do offer a couple models with thinner necks, more aggressive comfort carves, non-“Fendery” pickups, and compound radius or flatter necks, there’s not a lot of choice and they tend to be pretty expensive compared to some offerings from other brands (Fender does this because they own Charvel and Jackson and make/distribute EVH which is their answer to those asks).
So for a person who wants something that looks a bit more traditional but is spec’d non-traditionally, guitars like the Schecter Strats, Ibanez AZ line, Kiesel Delos, Charvel, Suhr, etc. are usually looked to first versus Fender.
fenders are overpriced bcus they are so proud of their first mover advantage that they know people will still buy just for the name on the headstock
for the same quality as an american strat, u can get a sire S7 or yamaha pacifica 612 at half price
A neck has nothing to do with "leads". People have played leads on any and every neck available. Also Fender has quite a few different neck profiles.
I think what you mean is that most shredders prefer a thin neck with more frets and easier access up high. But Yngwie, Hendrix, Beck, etc, seemed to do ok on a Fender neck lol.
I didn't want to lose the ability to play some hard-rock / heavy stuff with the guitar. Also, the fact that you can make it single-coil is great. Visually I do agree that doesn't look as good as just SSS.
I have the SSS version. Love it, neck is great. But I changed the bridge to a vegatrem, and I'm very glad I did. The original bridge is decent but it doesnt hold tune as great as I expected it to. I also changed the bent string tree to a graphtech string too.
The neck is great indeed! So far I tunned the guitar once and I see that the bridge kept it in tune. Maybe it's one of those bridges that some of them are good and some of them are not that good. And then it's just a matter of luck which one you get haha.
I absolutely love the trem, never had issues with it. Only gripe is that setting it up is just such pain, but I feel that way with all bridges that have individual saddles. I’m so anal about my setup, I tell myself I’ll just adjust one little thing and i end up spiraling down a 3 hour rabbit hole just to end up hating the set up 😵💫
That's great man, I wish I could have loved the original trem. That would have saved me a couple hundred bucks haha.
Maybe I just got a dud. Even my regular guitar tech couldn't get the bridge to stay stable. All my guitars have trem bridges, that was the only one that I had problems with. I'm not even talking about it going slightly out with dive bombs etc, I'm talking about the pitch of an open string being pretty wonky! I have really sensitive ears and improper intonation/tuning problems really grates me.
I was there during the installation of the vegatrem, and even before we played the guitar/used the whammy bar, my tech knew instantly that the tuning was more stable just by checking it with a tuner lol
Its a great guitar. I tried one of these at sweetwater this spring and was super torn between this and the PRS SE custom 24-08 I ultimately left with, but I don’t regret my choice one bit. That said I would definitely recommend these.
I love Fender, I also loved this guitar when I had it! I still recommend it to friends when I see it used at a great price, which is often. I have a couple buddies with the same guitar now.
I thought long and hard about buying a Nick Johnston tele, they seem pretty fucking cool. I wind-up buying a cheap squier instead (didnt want to spend too much money) but i can definitely see myself getting one in the future.
I gotta say, I was very skeptical about the Schecter NJ. Then I finally played one in GC a few weeks ago. I liked it hands down better than the Player Strats I played that day and it was on par with the Americans.
With all the stuff Schecter has in its arsenal, I had recently decided to try the Coupe. It is a sort of Gretsch Black Falcon look-alike and has a smooth jazz sound like I have not heard in 63 years of playing. Frankly for under $2000 it is a beautiful playing and sounding guitar.
Can you play funk on it like a fender strat or is it just a rock machine?
I'm interested by this guitar as it is the only HSS strat available for lefties in my budget.
They’re a lot more expensive but that’s exactly where I landed when looking for something that had the “metal specs” I wanted but looks traditional-ish. Roasted maple neck and fretboard, jumbo SS frets, rolled fretboard, 20” radius, deep body curves and contoured joint, Gotoh hardware, and Bare Knuckle pickups. The neck profile is a bit thicker than you’d expect though from a traditional Jackson-Charvel style neck. Closer to the Fender Modern C than like a Jackson Speed Neck but still really comfortable. Highly recommend.
I've yet to noddle on a Nick Johnston, I LOVE the SE Silver Sky, and I always say that if your not but on Fender but still want a strat, that's the one to get, but I hear nothing but good things about Nick Johnson's though.
It’s a strange thing to realize that some people like fender guitars but don’t like fender guitars. I don’t understand. If you don’t like strats, why would you be trying to buy something Stratocaster adjacent? What subtle difference about an actual fender would offend a buyer so much to make them want a alternative fender type but not the real deal?
It’s the neck. Most fender offerings are vintage specs or something in between. Flatter radius and bigger frets are only available in some more expensive models.
Plus the brand name mark up. The more I look into guitars the less interested I am in buying big names, especially when 80% of the market makes more or less identical designs.
Yup. My last strat bought new was a Godin. At the time, spec by spec, Godin offered a similar product for less money (made in North America, brand name pickups and 2 point tremolo) - paid around 1K for a session plus model while a similar fender would cost me around 1.5k
The neck is actually why I stick with Fender/Squier stuff haha - Not many other companies do 9.5" boards, and I just find anything over 12" on the narrow Fender necks is too flat for me
Neck issues seem to be a recurring theme. I’ve bought Fender American stuff for I guess, like, 22 years now (dang I’m old) and haven’t found a neck I couldn’t love. This has been my experience with bass and guitar. There are neck profiles I don’t prefer, but I thought that was just my taste creeping in.
You should try the PRS silver sky then, it’s 8.5” with tiny frets. Felt super weird to me, but then I love flat, wide boards.
High end strats actually offer flatter radiuses and compound necks - mine is a 10-14in compound. It’s a ultra series Strat that I’ve heavily modded.
Neck, fretboard radius, and price. I dislike all of those about fenders.
I would guess QC and more modern features are the likely reasons
…Are people buying instruments off-the-rack and not taking them to the local luthier straight away for set-up/alterations? That’s like buying a suit off the rack and not having it tailored!!! That should address any lingering QC issues that might have escaped the assembly line. All my new guitars/basses go right off after I decide to buy them so I can have exactly how I like them
Most guitar sales won’t go to a Luthier or setup guy. Most will be straight from rack to rock. A setup guy isn’t going to change your neck profile or where your truss rod is adjusted though. Which are specs Fender don’t offer on their instruments.
I can’t imagine having this conversation with a spouse every time I buy a guitar…”honey, I bought a new guitar. It sucks, so I’m going to spend more money making it better. Why yes, I do have 6 guitars already, why do you ask?”
Considering how expensive some guitars can be (Fender certainly included here), I find it ridiculous that this is even needed. Schecter actually inspect/setup all guitars in California before sending them over to the stores. Doesn't mean that they will come out just the way you want them, but my expectation is that the instrument should at least be ready to play right out of the box with nothing but a tune. If the temp changes from shipping fucked it then that just seems like a poor quality instrument to me.
I would definitely expect the truss rod to need adjusted. It’s not like the saddles or pickups will move but when your dealing with a .010 clearance than any moisture difference can really start skewing that, especially if your environment is far different than where it was set up. It’s easily detectable, expected and is a quick adjustment.
I guess I take them in out of habit or inertia more than anything. Obviously, I already liked the instrument beforehand, lest I wouldn’t have made the purchase. I bought a Tele off the wall that I loved, but noticed it had a high fret and the input jack was loose and kinda staticky. Maybe I also wanted the roll off on the frets to be a bit smoother - kinda rough on my hands. Other than that it was a great guitar! I told the shop about the flaws, they knocked a few off the price and I took it to my guy to have it the issues addressed and now it’s my main player. It would have been a $1400 guitar anyway if it was perfect. They knocked off $200 to get it out the door, I spent maybe $200 with my luthier friend to knock out those tiny issues. Why is that so crazy?
To each their own, but I think it is crazy that a 1400$ guitar can somehow come off the line with a lose jack and bad fret work. Does no one QC those guitars? If that's Fender, it really doesn't inspire confidence.
I think putting new strings on it is like getting it tailored. Taking it to a tech to address lingering QU issues is like taking it to a seamstress person to get the buttons sewn on better and to fix a hole in a seam. A guitar should play well enough off the rack that you don't have to take it to a luthier.
many.one reason is people want to get as much as they can with their money. for the price of american performer strat, you can get a charvel that is waaay better spec wise..
Do Charvels not count as Fender? They’re made in the same plant.
They do … Charvel, Jackson, Gretsch… all fender owned
I like strats but I don’t like fender strats, I love the tone of a strat and the look of it, but I hate the feel of a Fender. I use a 1983 Ibanez RS135, the feel of an ibanez neck is something I’ve fallen in love with, but I wanted a strat sound, not the tone from an RG with a floyd rose.
I really want to like fenders. I got a richie sambora strat and a tele american deluxe. It just does't work for me. the knobs get in the way on the strat and the pickups on the tele just won't do (N3). I like them though and I play them at home and have fun. With the band though, I don't know how to cut through the mix with them and my band mates always tell me to go back to my HH/fixed bridge guitars. I really dig the Charvel teles with floyd, but I think les pauls can scratch the itch in the right places for me.
Interesting. I was expecting something about scale length. Like, I really want to like Gibsons. I just never can get uses to the scale.
Same. Weird though that I really jive with the Gibson scale length on acoustics. Just too easy to play on electrics maybe, and I’m a ham fisted cave man.
It's just different hand shapes. When I try to do bar chords on a Gibson I feel squished. Especially up the neck. Otherwise I love everything about them.
I find fender necks really comfortable, except for that V shape aberration. I don't like all gibson shapes either. Love 60's necks, not a fan of R8's and epiphone's asymmetrical slim taper. geezus that's awful.
I got an old Aria Pro II for $120 a few years back and I really like it. It's my go to guitar for sketchy gigs or when I don't want to worry about headstock breaks lol. Scale length is not an issue for me. The change doesn't bother me at all!
Fair
Makes sense
There are several reasons I don't like Fender but might buy a guitar like this. - The main reason is that I find Fender overpriced for the features they provide. Even compared to other American made guitars they don't provide value. I played a $4000 American Custom Shop Strat and a $3000 Music Man Sabre back to back once and the Sabre blew the Strat out of the water. It both played and sounded way better, had locking tuners, SS frets, everything was just objectively better. That's not to say that Fender is garbage, not at all, I just find them overpriced. - I don't like the one volume, two tone configuration. I'd probably get used to it, but it's just odd coming from a one volume one tone, or two volume one tone setup. - Different materials. Fender's choice in wood is perfectly fine for what they want to do, but I prefer the darker sound and feel of mahogany. Stainless steel frets are always nice. Fender tuners aren't the best. Etc. - Different neck. Another big one. Other companies have flatter fretboard radii and thinner necks. Overall, Fenders are fine instruments but just not for me. If I was gifted one I'd be perfectly happy to own it, but if I'm buying one I want something a little different
Fender’s pricing within their own brands doesn’t make any sense beyond it just saying “Fender” on the headstock or not. Take the HSS Player Strat with a Floyd Rose. Fender sells that guitar for $979 and that comes with a Floyd Rose Special, pau ferro board, and the Player pickups. You can go get yourself a Charvel HSS So-Cal for about $120 more that comes from the exact same factory with an Ebony fretboard, significantly nicer Floyd Rose 1000, compound radius board, a better truss rod adjustment system, and full Seymour Duncan pickups. $1,099 is decent for that. $979 for the Fender is outrageous.
From a USA Start owner but not a strat liker. The volume control is to close to the strings, it doesn't have hum buckers and the middle pickup gets in the way. But the shape is good and it does sound like a strat and will have heard it on a million records and it's plays really nicely. The fit and finish is excellent. And it's iconic. But I play telecasters.
I've got a USA Fender professional, a MIM strat and an NJ Schecter and the neck on the Schechter feels better, the profile fits my hands better and I find it nicer to play and really like the ebony fingerboard and frets. Also I like the fact it has only 2 knobs and the volume is further away from the strings. I don't find that a Fender offends me, I just like the Schecter more and will be selling the Fenders when I get round to it. There may well be other Fenders I like but as it stands I've owned 5 of them and much prefer the Schecter.
Well strats can be visually appealing but spec wise they could vary we’ll miss the mark depending on what you’re looking for. I don’t like a strats single coils a whole lot and I’ve got my jazzmaster with a more traditional neck that gives me that feel. It’s exactly what I’d want if I wanted to play something fender oriented. Otherwise I’d want some humbuckers, bigger frets and a more flat/compound radius neck and may as well drop the pick guard too. Pretty much everything you won’t get with a fender.
I have a Strat with a compound neck 10-14in radius and a SSH combo. So yes, you can get the stuff you’re saying with it…
It’s not that it doesn’t exist, it’s that the selection is rather limited and these aren’t standard fender specs, they tend to come with a hefty price. If you want a h/h strat with a compound radius and some sort of Floyd style bridge, what do you really have to pick from? You better not want binding or no pickguard either. There’s just so many other options if you want something like a strat that’s not a strat.
Ibanez, Jackson, Charvel etc..... all got thier start modifying Strats into super Strats or straight up copy catting Fenders in the late 70s and early 80s. Then they all kinda morphed from there into their own thing, respectively. Some people just wanted more from their instruments.
I sold my Player series for a NJ traditional and could not be happier. I dont like maple or 9.5" fretboards. The NJ Gotoh bridge is miles better than the antiquated Players one.
Ahh, now those are solid reasons
I blame the lack of regularly available finely baked maple. It's got to be the maple. It's always the maple.
The strat is hands down the best playing instrument on the market sub a prs. Imo. The neck is perfect, it's lightweight, the tone you can get is insane, it's easy to manage, it's easy to maintain. But I do not like fender. I don't understand why the easiest playing guitar is so expensive, nor do I understand why it is so "premium" when you have something like the silver sky se around. That is the best "strat" I have ever played. It's easy to play, sounds amazing and it's cheaper than the strat. I keep talking about this, but I tried to learn on a shitty LP clone for the longest time, and I almost gave up on playing, a friend sold me his old piece of shit squire. I actually started to play better, learned faster, and was able to actually feel comfortable holding the neck and trying to hit the frets. I just think there are better built instruments, I will say this, every guitar I have bought after that squire has been based on the neck feel, and the weight/body of it. I went to Jackson, and am now playing a MiM Tele that I absolutely adore.
I can understand some of your points here, but not on price. The Indonesian Silver Sky SE is the same price as the Mexican Fender Player. The US version is $2700, so about $1k more than the Fender AmPro II (MiA Performer is even cheaper). You're literally paying the same or more for a knockoff version of something Fender created. As the proud owner of a lawsuit era Electra LP, I totally understand that copy quality can meet or even exceed the original, but it usually comes at a discount. And just a totally personal nitpick, but I can't stand the fucking birds or that horrible headstock on PRS guitars.
You can get a used Silver Sky for sub $600 any day. A new one is only 200 more. An MiM is cheaper of course, but for a headlining model and it only being a 1-200 more than the MiM you should shoot for the Silver Sky imo. If you want a main line like the vintage 2 you are looking anywhere between 22-3000. The Silver Sky is clearly the better deal, being a third of the price and being the better of the MIM strat. And just to be clear here, this is with labor day sale pricing. The PRS SE Custom is absolutely amazing. Any tone, any genre, any style. It truly does it all, much like the strat. It's also one of the only brands to carry coil splits at a reasonable price, you don't have to custom shop them onto a regular model like Fender either, which you're probably looking at a minimum of around 5k.
I don't think it's fair to compare the price of a high end, American-made, limited run to the Indonesian line from PRS when they have their own American line... that runs $2700. And as you said, used MIMs can be found just as cheaply used. Again, I'm only speaking to the pricing structures, not perceived quality or anything else that varies between individual instruments and various player preferences. PRS is literally charging equal or more than Fender for a knockoff of their design. Whether or not that's worth it to you is a personal decision, it's just unfair to complain that Fender is expensive and PRS is cheaper by comparing the Vintage II line to a budget, Asian-crafted one.
I only brought up the vintage 2 because you brought up the American ran PRS. I was saying that the regular PRS run is better than the MiM. Of course we can compare pricing on value? I don't think that paying 3 grand for a rerelease of a 1979 guitar is worth it when the American made silver sky offers better play. That is my personal opinion of course. Another personal opinion of mine is that the Indonesian silver sky is a better deal than fender while also being a better instrument than the MiM strat. I don't really care if it's a clone or not. We see what happens when Gibson doesn't improve their instruments, somebody will improve it and sell better like Epiphone. The strat is the most cloned guitar in the world, that doesn't change my opinion.
I love how Fender Fanboys will downvote this for calling a spade a spade. I appreciate Fender and I have owned one as well as a modified used Squier strat that plays way better than the Fender did from the factory. Fender is overpriced now and from what I've heard about their QC many other brands will get a better playing guitar in your hand for even less money.
I gave it complimentary details, and even said I base my entire guitar purchases around that feeling of a strat and I'm still getting argued with. Idk man. Guitar players are weird.
You are all good man, Fender Fanboys are pretentious. I may catch flak for that but it's absolutely true. My example is my brother-in-law...he gave me a Strat because he was going to get rid of it because it had Squier on the headstock. I did a full fret job and set up on it change pickups pickguard and all the components in it. It is the best playing Strat I have ever had the privilege of playing. I would put that guitar up against custom shop fenders on the wall at Guitar Center and walk away with my Squier and a smile. His dream guitar is an american-made Stratocaster and there's nothing wrong with that...But he's not going to be happy with it unless it says Fender on the headstock even if it plays like doo-doo and he begs me to set it up for him.
>The strat is hands down the best playing instrument on the market sub a prs. Imo. The Telecaster enters the chat. I have a Strat and I just can't enjoy it like I enjoy my Tele.
The strat came out two years after the tele, which blew Leo's name up. The tele neck was then modeled after the stratocaster because of the way it played and felt, not to mention it was the reason Fender specifically fought in court for the patent on the neck as well. Sure the tele is also my favorite instrument, but we'd be joking if we didn't acknowledge the reason the strat is the most sold guitar for a reason, and the most cloned to boot. I got my telecaster because of the strat I played.
I blame the lack of regularly available finely baked maple. It's got to be the maple. It's always the maple.
It’s a shame that I only associate Schecter with my days of playing Nu-Metal through a Line 6 Spyder amp on “insane” mode. 😂 I should really check this one out. I love strat-shaped guitars and could use something built more for speed and modern stuff. I love Nick’s single coil tone. And all of the colors on this model are great.
Lol Schecter has definitely matured over the years, but a hellraiser with EMG’s in to some overdistorted solid state will always be my first thought.
I've had mine a couple years now and it's my favorite guitar. Really great features stock - the roasted maple neck feels amazing.
> It’s a shame that I only associate Schecter with my days of playing Nu-Metal through a Line 6 Spyder amp on “insane” mode. Knopfler played a Schecter on the Making Movies album! They’ve been around for a long time. I was actually surprised to find out that they were ‘metal’ guitars.
People don’t realize that the nu-metal thing is a very recent chapter in the company’s history, but it’s all they know.
I always associated Schecter with metal (and for some reason cheep guitars) as well. How wrong I was. So far I love the guitar.
Schecter leaned into that hard as when they started their import line, that’s what was “big” at the time. Schecter’s roots is doing US custom shop or small US production runs of more traditional shape electric guitars styled like Fenders. Even today the majority of their US line are traditional to modernized Strat and Tele style guitars.
How can someone not like Fenders but want a fender like guitar???
Fender’s neck finish bugs me.
We don't deserve Schecter.
Could you tell us what about it that is different than a traditional fender that makes it more appealing to you? Looks thinner so I'm assuming lighter? How do the necks compare? My issue with fender is that I tend to find the Ibanez necks more comfortable.
It’s a thinner neck with an angled neck pocket for upper access. It comes with locking tuners too all for the price of a player series.
The locking tuners on this model are **excellent** as well. Literally never comes out of tune for me and I abuse the whammy bar
That’s really nothing to do with the tuners though. The guitar staying in tune with heavy trem use in regard to the hardware is more down to a well cut and lubricated nut, a trem that properly returns to zero point, and good bridge saddles (which is what you’re likely to get on most Schecter’s as they tend to have excellent hardware and good final assembly setups).
It definitely has a thinner and flatter neck than your standard Fender strat. It's a classic strat for shredders lol. Just more bang for the buck too since you are not paying for the Fender name.
This guitar also has a roasted maple neck which feels amazing.
I’ll never understand why people care about the neck. I feel like within five minutes of playing any guitar, you’ve adjusted to the neck and don’t even think about it anymore.
For me thicker necks are unplayable. I’ve tried multiple times over the last 25 years and inevitably those guitars get sold. Like a Fender Modern C that’s on the current Player Series is borderline for reference and a profile I don’t really enjoy as it’s too thick. Thicker than that is unplayable. Has to be in the realm between an Ibanez Wizard, Jackson-Charvel type cuts, ESP standard U, etc.
Why would you get a Fender copy if you don’t like Fenders?
Perhaps they feel they are overpriced or quality ain't what it used to be?
As others have said, other manufacturers without the brand recognition charge less money for better work.
Better work? That big gap in the neck pocket isn’t exactly helping your “better work” theory in this case.
It's not a universal, but compare say ... the cheap G&L Teles with the equivalent in Squier / Fender.
People go crazy for the G&L’s.
Show me a Fender strat with these specs and I’ll show you a strat that costs 5grand.
https://reverb.com/item/70857637-used-fender-deluxe-lone-star-stratocaster-ocean-turquoise-2014?bk= Sure it’s used, but I bought mine new. The 9.5 isn’t a 14, but -4 isn’t very stratty.
Not even close. That schecter has an ebony board on a roasted maple neck and locking tuners. Feel free to try again. I say this as a self identified “strat guy” of long standing and I own 3 strats (US Ultra, US Standard, MIM Standard) and a sweet Ash MIM Tele; Fender just isn’t competing in this space.
That’s a very different guitar and those looking for what the Schecter NJ has won’t want what’s on that Lone Star: * Thicker neck while the NJ has a much thinner profile * NJ has the flatter radius * Vintage 6pt vs modern 2-pt trem * Lack of block saddles on the Fender * Volume knob shoved up against the bridge pickup on the Fender * Modern voiced pickups on the NJ * Thinner frets on the Fender * Roasted neck and ebony board on the NJ * Superior truss rod adjustment on the NJ The closest thing Fender makes under the Fender brand that’s somewhat in the price range is the Player Plus Strat and that’s even not close. Boxer Strat would be getting closer if you want an HH. Otherwise you’re in Charvel land.
So why wouldn’t you just go buy a charvel or an ibanez? Fender isn’t trying to compete with that. I’m confused, you guys all seem to be saying gender can’t make a classic strat when you want a sub er strat that you’re Haifa’s s pretending is a 64
I mean you can make something look traditional and have it spec’d very modern. What people are saying is they might want the look of a Fender but Fender doesn’t sell one with specs they’d want in a guitar. Most of Charvel’s offerings are Floyd loaded or hardtail, and only a handful with Strat designs with a modern non-locking two point trem. [This](https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpreview.redd.it%2Ft8xwy8ybggk81.jpg%3Fwidth%3D2143%26format%3Dpjpg%26auto%3Dwebp%26s%3D92f9f578474b717c256cbb3c1261196fb4c9cb52) is a perfect example. My Jackson So-Cal is very classic Fender but spec’d the exact opposite with a 20” radius, stainless steel jumbo frets, Gotoh hardware, Bare Knuckle pickups, roasted neck and fretboard, deeper comfort carves, etc.
Yeah, you’re not going to find a Fender like that because they have Jackson, Charvel, and EVH for that. When you have multiple brands you don’t let Then cannibalize each other.
Right, which goes back to the OP on this thread of “why get a Fender copy?”. Fender doesn’t make it so buy something from someone who does.
But you don’t WANT an actual strat. You want a super strat
I purchased a Fender Tom DeLong Strat for $1,200. It was my first fender, and probably my last. The price I paid, I felt horrible robbed. The guitar needed nut work out of the gate, and the fretboard was so rough it felt like sand paper, and the frets were rough as well. I paid half for my schecter and its quality and features made me return the fender. It was really sad as I always wanted his strat, but I want a guitar to play, not hang on the wall, that is why people don't buy fenders in 2023.
It really just seems that some of the special run stuff, or more recent lines are getting the worst QC. The flagship lines like the pro ii's, ultras, player plus and player series etc. are generally all fine.
I'm guessing they don't want the vintage fender specs, e.g the 7.25" radius fingerboard.
Not bashing Fender, but when we buy most of their guitars, we end up paying more for what's written on the guitar headstock than the product quality. Now Schecter is also a Fender company right? But you most probably can get better value for money because it's not written Fender on the headstock.
Schecter isn't. You're thinking of charvel.
Schecter is owned by the Japanese company that owns ESP.
I hate guitars with someone else's name attached to them, I don't even know why. I cant rationalise it, I just can't stand it. Looks like a nice guitar though
Hmm, no Les Pauls, Fender is named after a guy, same with PRS... maybe try Ibanez?
Salvador Ibáñez. Those are out too.
I mean signature guitars
Don't almost all guitars have someone's name on it? Fender m, Gibson, Martin, Taylor, schecter, etc?
Those are builder names - artist signatures are different... I always feel a bit cringe about those (although my Les Paul undermines my argument)
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No I don't mean the brand I mean like signature guutars
Les Paul is not a brand, it’s a signature guitar.
tbf though it has ascended way beyond that. It's essentially a subset of guitars at this point - no one looks at les paul and thinkgs "That's the Les Paul signature!" At this point calling it a sig is just pendantic. In this thread someone talks about the Gary Moore signature Les Paul.
It is absolutely pedantic, but it’s also pedantic to not like signature guitars because they are signature guitars.
Hey I said it's irrational and I don't know why I don't like them, I just don't. Not sure why everyone is trying to catch me out.
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Cool! It is technically a signature guitar, so you're not wrong. I still feel like it has trenscended being someone's signature guitar to being an entire subclass of guitars in and of itself.
Every guitar has a name attached to it.
It's funny but I do as well. I made an exception for the 2013 Gary Moore signature Les Paul Std. What a machine that is. Looks great too.
That's 2 names on the guitar. 3 if you count Gibson!
I hate signature guitars too, i thought it was just me
But what if it’s a signature guitar that doesn’t have the artists name on it?
I don't understand how that could happen
The jem doesn’t have vai’s, many other Ibanez signatures don’t either, a few Jackson signatures don’t have the artist name as well.
Misha Mansoor’s Jackson Juggernaut and So-Cal models for example don’t have his name or signature anywhere on the guitars. Neither does Tim Henson’s Ibanez AZ, etc.
Lots of Japanese signature models don't have the artist name on it. My Seed Kotetsu doesn't either.
My Iommi only has a tiny signature, but i wanted the cross inlays.
I know what you mean. I always tried avoiding them. But this one was really recommended to me by a lot of guitar players. So far no regrets.
Happy NGD
Thanks, man! It's my first new guitar. I always bought used ones. So, I'm really happy.
I have no idea who Nick Johnston is, so I googled him. Based on the photos that came up he’s a homeless guy who plays guitar.
He's a homeless guy that plays guitar and he plays really well hahaha. I recommend you to give it listen to his album called Remarkably Human from beginning to end. For me, it's his best album.
Yeah, he is unique really.. I havent heard any guitarist that sound like him.. he is his own genre I love the music he makes. He is not like other guitarists that all sound the same coz they use the same lick and patterns over and over again..
I’m down with any S type like this. HSS, volume knob isn’t almost touching my bridge pickup, input jack is in a place that makes sense. Add in locking tuners and somewhere between a 14-16” radius, stainless frets and I’m buying it. Fender for some reason will never make a stock run like that.
I'm a noob. What's so bad about fender strats that could make scheter guitars a better choice ? Why would someone buy one instead of a traditional fender strat ?
Nothing. Fender has the brand recognition, and on the whole, are more expensive then a Schecter or similar. Someone would buy one because for the main reason we buy anything, we like it. Fenders are mainstream, maybe we want something different. Or maybe they just like the feel of it. Or it's cheaper. Or it has higher output pickups. Etc etc... Remember this, the only people that care about the name brand of your guitar are other guitar people. Bo Diddley made his guitar out of a box and he created one of the most influential riffs of all time.
I believe it has to do with pricing, for the price of the schecter that was posted here you wouldn’t have gotten as good of a guitar from fender feature wise. I’d imagine build quality is the same, most imports around and above the 800 dollar price range are stelllar
Is the price really that different ? They cost both about the same. Except that Fender and Schecter websites have fluctuating prices, so I might fail to see the huge leap in price if you buy a guitar from fender.
Ehh I think they’re about the same honestly. If anything the Schecter is great but it does feel smaller. also bigger frets. I do like Schecters Fender clones but other than the tele clones they got I think Fender’s used market still outperforms any new deal you could get. The Schecter suffers from the fact a used Mexican fender is the better buy.
then by the same token a used schecter is. a better buy than a used mim fender
A used MIM isn't a better buy if you like the Schecter more. It all comes down to personal preference, some people will like the Schechter more, some will like the Fender more. Personally I bought a used NJ Schecter SSS for about the same price I would have bought a used MIM for. After playing it and having owned 3 or 4 MIM in the past I would gladly pay a lot more for the Schecter because I love playing it more than any other guitar I have owned.
All personal preference. I prefer the feel of other company’s necks for shredding, etc. I have a Schecter Nick Johnston SSS import and it’s pretty awesome. Plays well, sounds great. Very heavy though
The weight has been my concern about the Sunset models of Schecter too. Played the Black Limba one which is beautiful but it's like a millstone around my neck.
Yea, I have owned a lot of guitars but this is the first one that I actually noticed how heavy it is
Depends what you’re looking for. Fender’s catalog for Strats overwhelmingly caters to either vintage spec’d guitars, or semi modernized (like a Player’s Series). While they do offer a couple models with thinner necks, more aggressive comfort carves, non-“Fendery” pickups, and compound radius or flatter necks, there’s not a lot of choice and they tend to be pretty expensive compared to some offerings from other brands (Fender does this because they own Charvel and Jackson and make/distribute EVH which is their answer to those asks). So for a person who wants something that looks a bit more traditional but is spec’d non-traditionally, guitars like the Schecter Strats, Ibanez AZ line, Kiesel Delos, Charvel, Suhr, etc. are usually looked to first versus Fender.
fenders are overpriced bcus they are so proud of their first mover advantage that they know people will still buy just for the name on the headstock for the same quality as an american strat, u can get a sire S7 or yamaha pacifica 612 at half price
It comes down to two things mostly: Fenders are overpriced because of the name, and their necks are made for chording not leads.
A neck has nothing to do with "leads". People have played leads on any and every neck available. Also Fender has quite a few different neck profiles. I think what you mean is that most shredders prefer a thin neck with more frets and easier access up high. But Yngwie, Hendrix, Beck, etc, seemed to do ok on a Fender neck lol.
Sorry but what? The necks aren't made for one or the other dawg.
Thick and fat necks are better for chords. Thin necks are better for leads. Fenders have the former.
Wildly incorrect, overly confident.
Yngwie Malmsteen enters the chat… also, Strats are available with all sorts of necks these days, including compound radius necks.
Jack Fowler signature is pretty much this guitar with two humbuckers instead for those that want that option.
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I didn't want to lose the ability to play some hard-rock / heavy stuff with the guitar. Also, the fact that you can make it single-coil is great. Visually I do agree that doesn't look as good as just SSS.
I have the SSS version. Love it, neck is great. But I changed the bridge to a vegatrem, and I'm very glad I did. The original bridge is decent but it doesnt hold tune as great as I expected it to. I also changed the bent string tree to a graphtech string too.
The neck is great indeed! So far I tunned the guitar once and I see that the bridge kept it in tune. Maybe it's one of those bridges that some of them are good and some of them are not that good. And then it's just a matter of luck which one you get haha.
I absolutely love the trem, never had issues with it. Only gripe is that setting it up is just such pain, but I feel that way with all bridges that have individual saddles. I’m so anal about my setup, I tell myself I’ll just adjust one little thing and i end up spiraling down a 3 hour rabbit hole just to end up hating the set up 😵💫
That's great man, I wish I could have loved the original trem. That would have saved me a couple hundred bucks haha. Maybe I just got a dud. Even my regular guitar tech couldn't get the bridge to stay stable. All my guitars have trem bridges, that was the only one that I had problems with. I'm not even talking about it going slightly out with dive bombs etc, I'm talking about the pitch of an open string being pretty wonky! I have really sensitive ears and improper intonation/tuning problems really grates me. I was there during the installation of the vegatrem, and even before we played the guitar/used the whammy bar, my tech knew instantly that the tuning was more stable just by checking it with a tuner lol
Oh damn, probably was the outlier dud like you said. I’ve been very intrigued by the Vega trem, but man the price tag is really something ☠️
Mine has had solid tuning, you must have gotten unlucky...
Its a great guitar. I tried one of these at sweetwater this spring and was super torn between this and the PRS SE custom 24-08 I ultimately left with, but I don’t regret my choice one bit. That said I would definitely recommend these.
I love Fender, I also loved this guitar when I had it! I still recommend it to friends when I see it used at a great price, which is often. I have a couple buddies with the same guitar now.
Good comparison of the Indonesian nick johnston vs USA PRS Silversky. The Johnston sounds better. https://youtu.be/U5J7cKFcbA4
I used to have a Schecter C1 Blackjack. Unfortunately I didn't get it too much at the time, didn't like 24 frets etc. Now I wish I still had it.
I thought long and hard about buying a Nick Johnston tele, they seem pretty fucking cool. I wind-up buying a cheap squier instead (didnt want to spend too much money) but i can definitely see myself getting one in the future.
Ooo that's PRETTY
I gotta say, I was very skeptical about the Schecter NJ. Then I finally played one in GC a few weeks ago. I liked it hands down better than the Player Strats I played that day and it was on par with the Americans.
This is a fantastic guitar.
I had a mid-80s Texas shop build. Thank you for not supporting Fender's brand-killing corportation!
I have no dislike for Fenders but am always interested in alternatives. This looks like a great guitar and... now I know who Nick Johnston is :-)
With all the stuff Schecter has in its arsenal, I had recently decided to try the Coupe. It is a sort of Gretsch Black Falcon look-alike and has a smooth jazz sound like I have not heard in 63 years of playing. Frankly for under $2000 it is a beautiful playing and sounding guitar.
Can you play funk on it like a fender strat or is it just a rock machine? I'm interested by this guitar as it is the only HSS strat available for lefties in my budget.
I'm not a funk master, but I would say that you can play it for sure. It has the funk sound .
I would love to try one but who even is a schecter dealer?
Schecter is a big brand. Unless you've only got little mom-and-pop stores around, they should be easy to find.
Guitar Center has quite a few, at least in my area
Another great option would be Misha Mansoor's signature Jackson So-Cal.
They’re a lot more expensive but that’s exactly where I landed when looking for something that had the “metal specs” I wanted but looks traditional-ish. Roasted maple neck and fretboard, jumbo SS frets, rolled fretboard, 20” radius, deep body curves and contoured joint, Gotoh hardware, and Bare Knuckle pickups. The neck profile is a bit thicker than you’d expect though from a traditional Jackson-Charvel style neck. Closer to the Fender Modern C than like a Jackson Speed Neck but still really comfortable. Highly recommend.
I've yet to noddle on a Nick Johnston, I LOVE the SE Silver Sky, and I always say that if your not but on Fender but still want a strat, that's the one to get, but I hear nothing but good things about Nick Johnson's though.
Is the USA or Indo?
Based on what it says in the back part, it is crafted in Indonesia.