NGD- Schecter Reaper-7
- Thread starter Metal89
- Start date
OP
Metal89
Ambassador of Orchestral Brewtality
Thanks!!!
Holy crap is this a fun guitar to chug on... gotta give my wrist a break. i'll write my thoughts on it in a bit, but in the mean time, here's me chugging on it after i tuned it to my liking. just an improvised riff.
OP
Metal89
Ambassador of Orchestral Brewtality
I haven’t forgotten about this thread. I’m giving it a few days so the whole giddy ness wears off and I can give you a fair assessment of this beast. I was really able to put it through it’s paces today though, honestly surprised I didn’t break any strings like I usually do with a brand new guitar.
Jethro Rocker
Ambassador of Live & Loud Action
Wow that is a hot axe!
OP
Metal89
Ambassador of Orchestral Brewtality
Ok. finally got the time to sit down and report on this beast.
The Reaper line are similarly spec'd out so most of what I say would most likely apply to any of the six string variants aside from the obvious, like the floyd rose models and the sustaniac. Floyd rose models come with the 1500 series which I heard nothing but good things about, only difference from the 1000 series is the arm snaps in instead of screwing a collar down, otherwise the tuning stability is the same.
So this axe, coming in at just under $1,000 what do we get? At first glance it looks really raw aside from the burl top and matching headstock, which I really enjoy. It's both got a classy look, but still says "Metal!" and I give credit to the reverse headstock design, which i've grown to really like. In my opinion it's got the most unique looks in the Schecter line of super strats. no high gloss, the area where your forearm rests is bare. Now don't get me wrong, I've always had my eye on schecter, but I wanted something that kinda stood out, then in 2019 when i saw the reaper, that caught my eye. when I pulled it out of the box, i ran my hands all over it, the entire thing is completely smooth, no rough areas at all now it is a set neck, but the way that its constructed, if it wasn't for the fact that i can actually see the wood and know that the body and neck are two separate woods, i'd almost swear that it was a neck through. The joint is seemless, your can slide your hand completely down the neck and your ring finger will hit the 24th fret right before your thumb hits that upper horn, no straining to reach, no readjusting hand position, you are just there.
So the hardtail versions of these axes have a string through body design. the six string has, what they call, the "schecter custom bridge" while the 7 string has a fanned hipshot bridge. Doing a bit of research, hipshot became popular due to their affordability and quality. Palm muting, nothing sharp poking my hand, and despite being fanned out, palm mutes are surprisingly easy. the 7 string also has jumbo fanned fret, being multiscale. allowing the tension on the low b string to be kept so you don't get any "flub" in the string but now you don't have to worry about the higher notes being harder to bend than what you are used to. Now i have heard that fanned frets do take some getting used to, but on this particular axe, i didn't find the slanted frets to be so far agressive that it caused me any issues thus far. the neck is maple with an ultra thin c shape. Don't get me wrong, the neck is wide which just comes with having that 7th string but aside from that....it's gotta be one of the most comfortable necks i've ever felt, no sharp fret ends, my hand just glides down the neck and the ebony fret board feels really good. It had two carbon fiber rods to keep the neck stable. on the control cover plate on the back, there is a quality control sticker dated 2019 which tells me that it's been sitting in a warehouse for a year at this point. The neck is perfectly straight, aside from some minor tuning, this axe was ready to go, the action is super low and no string buzz anywhere, and i tried to get this thing to buzz, nothing.
Going up the neck you do have a graphite nut, which is pretty awesome. What i was slightly dissapointed in, and probably my only knock on this guitar. Schecter tuners. Nothing wrong with them, i haven't had any issues, but for just under 1,000 and no gig bag... locking tuners would had been nice. in fact i was considering just getting some and putting them on, but playing it, i could not knock this thing out of tune. When I first started playing guitar, i was learning blues techniques and I use them heavily. So REALLY deep bends, while i may utilize sliding into another note from time to time, I personally prefer to bend to pitch, so I played this axe for hours, bending to the point where i thought i would break a string...not only did i NOT break a string, it stayed perfectly in tune. So... it may not even need locking tuners...still might get some but honestly, that may be further down the line than i originally planned.
the electronics? I think they are pretty good quality. The knobs turn smoothly, theres no scratching in the pots, the push pull tone knob for coil splitting works just fine. as far as the pickup selector switch, I've had bad luck with blade switches...the primary reason i don't play my jackson much is even after replacing the stock blade switch, a few months later, the switch i had installed went out. Toggle switches have always worked much better for me. I tend to switch pickups mid solo, sometimes multiple times, so the switch does get worked but i never actually slammed the switch into position, just a light flick. So time will tell if i have any issues with this one or not, but as of right now, theres no sounds of shorting out as it switches from one position to the next, a light flick is all it takes and in recordings, besides the tone change, there's no hint that you hit the switch. The control positions seem to be perfect, the tone knob seems pretty far down but i use that knob the least. The position of the blade switch is instinctual, i just reach for it and it's there. The volume knob is also in a really good spot, its not in the way of my playing like a fender strat would be, but its also in a really good spot where i can quickly get to it to fade out the volume.
The pickups...this was my primary concern. It being a multiscale guitar, unless you spend some money to get a custom set made to the right dimensions and there are a few companies that will do this, you are pretty much stuck with whatever pups the company puts in there. in this case the Schecter Diamond Decimators passive pickups. So this is where i tried to research the most. You get any of the 6 string reapers and it's got the pole version of these pickups, on the 7 string you have blade pickups, im assuming they did this because it would just be easier to put them into this particular axe as they put them at a slant, otherwise im sure lining up the strings to the pole pieces may be an absolute nightmare. Some will say that blades track bends better than standard poles but.... that's debatable, honestly i just like the look of bladed pickups better. What i didn't know until i tried doing research on their pickups is that schecter used to just be an aftermarket guitar parts supplier, and pickups where kinda their thing. As far as i've read, as far as inhouse pickups go, schecter is pretty top tier. People seem to be really happy with their apocalypse pickups and even their bottom of the barrel Schecter Diamond plus pickups i've read are pretty decent. The decimator's? They must be new. So far i've only ever seen them come in the reaper, and they are not sold individually be schecter on their home page. Doing a quick google search and it brings up the reaper, looking for reviews theres only a few results that come up asking about them.
so from what i had read these pickups are high output, and brittle. Some love them, some replace them. looking at reviews on the repear though, i loved the tone the reviewers where getting from it. I always had a sweet spot for hot pickups so I decided to risk it. When i plugged it in to my marshall, they immediately reminded me of the Gibson dirty fingers that where in the Gibson 70's tribute i used to have. not quite as punchy but holy crap! these are hot and articulate. It made sense that it's called the reaper, because these pickups will definitely cut through a mix. through my marshall.. I want to say the tone is pretty close to candlemass from "The door to doom" album. I tuned the low B string to drop A and no mud whatsoever. then i switched to the neck, still no mud, every chord is articulate. the clean sounds didn't blow me away and while it does a fine job on cleans, these pickups want distortion. the coil split does get pretty decent single coil tones in my opinion, in fact these pickups seemed to do it better than an epiphone i had with pro buckers and coil split and i can actually see myself using it from time to time on the neck pickup. but just using the pickups as humbuckers, i was able to easily get pinched harmonics out of the neck pickup
They have not replaced the EMG 57 and 66 as my favorite pickups, i often think that if i had my own custom guitar made, those would be the ones i'd want put in. However, I do enjoy these pickups, and yes, they absolutely sing. The whole construction as well as these high gain pickups lend to some very nice sustain and i often just wanted to let the note just ring out. Often in my music, i like to go with a wall of sound, especially since i lean more towards symphonic metal so when you have so much going on at once instrumentally, you want something that cuts through. these pickups are very mid heavy but with that low B string, it gets down right mean. I personally say it lives up to its name and despite its classy look, i can see why its called the Reaper.
As a first 7 string, im not dissapointed. it's a very enjoyable guitar to play, and while my richie faulkner signature V is still my favorite, i can see myself often grabbing this. You get your money's worth out of this axe.
The Reaper line are similarly spec'd out so most of what I say would most likely apply to any of the six string variants aside from the obvious, like the floyd rose models and the sustaniac. Floyd rose models come with the 1500 series which I heard nothing but good things about, only difference from the 1000 series is the arm snaps in instead of screwing a collar down, otherwise the tuning stability is the same.
So this axe, coming in at just under $1,000 what do we get? At first glance it looks really raw aside from the burl top and matching headstock, which I really enjoy. It's both got a classy look, but still says "Metal!" and I give credit to the reverse headstock design, which i've grown to really like. In my opinion it's got the most unique looks in the Schecter line of super strats. no high gloss, the area where your forearm rests is bare. Now don't get me wrong, I've always had my eye on schecter, but I wanted something that kinda stood out, then in 2019 when i saw the reaper, that caught my eye. when I pulled it out of the box, i ran my hands all over it, the entire thing is completely smooth, no rough areas at all now it is a set neck, but the way that its constructed, if it wasn't for the fact that i can actually see the wood and know that the body and neck are two separate woods, i'd almost swear that it was a neck through. The joint is seemless, your can slide your hand completely down the neck and your ring finger will hit the 24th fret right before your thumb hits that upper horn, no straining to reach, no readjusting hand position, you are just there.
So the hardtail versions of these axes have a string through body design. the six string has, what they call, the "schecter custom bridge" while the 7 string has a fanned hipshot bridge. Doing a bit of research, hipshot became popular due to their affordability and quality. Palm muting, nothing sharp poking my hand, and despite being fanned out, palm mutes are surprisingly easy. the 7 string also has jumbo fanned fret, being multiscale. allowing the tension on the low b string to be kept so you don't get any "flub" in the string but now you don't have to worry about the higher notes being harder to bend than what you are used to. Now i have heard that fanned frets do take some getting used to, but on this particular axe, i didn't find the slanted frets to be so far agressive that it caused me any issues thus far. the neck is maple with an ultra thin c shape. Don't get me wrong, the neck is wide which just comes with having that 7th string but aside from that....it's gotta be one of the most comfortable necks i've ever felt, no sharp fret ends, my hand just glides down the neck and the ebony fret board feels really good. It had two carbon fiber rods to keep the neck stable. on the control cover plate on the back, there is a quality control sticker dated 2019 which tells me that it's been sitting in a warehouse for a year at this point. The neck is perfectly straight, aside from some minor tuning, this axe was ready to go, the action is super low and no string buzz anywhere, and i tried to get this thing to buzz, nothing.
Going up the neck you do have a graphite nut, which is pretty awesome. What i was slightly dissapointed in, and probably my only knock on this guitar. Schecter tuners. Nothing wrong with them, i haven't had any issues, but for just under 1,000 and no gig bag... locking tuners would had been nice. in fact i was considering just getting some and putting them on, but playing it, i could not knock this thing out of tune. When I first started playing guitar, i was learning blues techniques and I use them heavily. So REALLY deep bends, while i may utilize sliding into another note from time to time, I personally prefer to bend to pitch, so I played this axe for hours, bending to the point where i thought i would break a string...not only did i NOT break a string, it stayed perfectly in tune. So... it may not even need locking tuners...still might get some but honestly, that may be further down the line than i originally planned.
the electronics? I think they are pretty good quality. The knobs turn smoothly, theres no scratching in the pots, the push pull tone knob for coil splitting works just fine. as far as the pickup selector switch, I've had bad luck with blade switches...the primary reason i don't play my jackson much is even after replacing the stock blade switch, a few months later, the switch i had installed went out. Toggle switches have always worked much better for me. I tend to switch pickups mid solo, sometimes multiple times, so the switch does get worked but i never actually slammed the switch into position, just a light flick. So time will tell if i have any issues with this one or not, but as of right now, theres no sounds of shorting out as it switches from one position to the next, a light flick is all it takes and in recordings, besides the tone change, there's no hint that you hit the switch. The control positions seem to be perfect, the tone knob seems pretty far down but i use that knob the least. The position of the blade switch is instinctual, i just reach for it and it's there. The volume knob is also in a really good spot, its not in the way of my playing like a fender strat would be, but its also in a really good spot where i can quickly get to it to fade out the volume.
The pickups...this was my primary concern. It being a multiscale guitar, unless you spend some money to get a custom set made to the right dimensions and there are a few companies that will do this, you are pretty much stuck with whatever pups the company puts in there. in this case the Schecter Diamond Decimators passive pickups. So this is where i tried to research the most. You get any of the 6 string reapers and it's got the pole version of these pickups, on the 7 string you have blade pickups, im assuming they did this because it would just be easier to put them into this particular axe as they put them at a slant, otherwise im sure lining up the strings to the pole pieces may be an absolute nightmare. Some will say that blades track bends better than standard poles but.... that's debatable, honestly i just like the look of bladed pickups better. What i didn't know until i tried doing research on their pickups is that schecter used to just be an aftermarket guitar parts supplier, and pickups where kinda their thing. As far as i've read, as far as inhouse pickups go, schecter is pretty top tier. People seem to be really happy with their apocalypse pickups and even their bottom of the barrel Schecter Diamond plus pickups i've read are pretty decent. The decimator's? They must be new. So far i've only ever seen them come in the reaper, and they are not sold individually be schecter on their home page. Doing a quick google search and it brings up the reaper, looking for reviews theres only a few results that come up asking about them.
so from what i had read these pickups are high output, and brittle. Some love them, some replace them. looking at reviews on the repear though, i loved the tone the reviewers where getting from it. I always had a sweet spot for hot pickups so I decided to risk it. When i plugged it in to my marshall, they immediately reminded me of the Gibson dirty fingers that where in the Gibson 70's tribute i used to have. not quite as punchy but holy crap! these are hot and articulate. It made sense that it's called the reaper, because these pickups will definitely cut through a mix. through my marshall.. I want to say the tone is pretty close to candlemass from "The door to doom" album. I tuned the low B string to drop A and no mud whatsoever. then i switched to the neck, still no mud, every chord is articulate. the clean sounds didn't blow me away and while it does a fine job on cleans, these pickups want distortion. the coil split does get pretty decent single coil tones in my opinion, in fact these pickups seemed to do it better than an epiphone i had with pro buckers and coil split and i can actually see myself using it from time to time on the neck pickup. but just using the pickups as humbuckers, i was able to easily get pinched harmonics out of the neck pickup
They have not replaced the EMG 57 and 66 as my favorite pickups, i often think that if i had my own custom guitar made, those would be the ones i'd want put in. However, I do enjoy these pickups, and yes, they absolutely sing. The whole construction as well as these high gain pickups lend to some very nice sustain and i often just wanted to let the note just ring out. Often in my music, i like to go with a wall of sound, especially since i lean more towards symphonic metal so when you have so much going on at once instrumentally, you want something that cuts through. these pickups are very mid heavy but with that low B string, it gets down right mean. I personally say it lives up to its name and despite its classy look, i can see why its called the Reaper.
As a first 7 string, im not dissapointed. it's a very enjoyable guitar to play, and while my richie faulkner signature V is still my favorite, i can see myself often grabbing this. You get your money's worth out of this axe.
Dave Sloven
Ambassador of DOOM!
Opa! I didn't realise that it was the multi-scale fanned-fret version. It would be cool to try that
Dave Sloven
Ambassador of DOOM!
The whole thing looks killer. In my opinion the only reason to get locking tuners if for ease of stringing (which I do value!). If your tuners are in good condition and your nut is cut properly the guitar should hold tune without lockers. If you do end up getting them look at the Gotoh MGTs, which come with short shafts to give a better angle from the nut. They have recently released black tuners with a black thumbwheel but Japarts told me they can't order them in small quantities, that the sellers on ebay who have them bought them in bulk. The ebay seller doesn't have inline left-handed sets though, which is what you need for a reverse headstock on a right-handed guitar
On possible replacement pickups, check these out instead of the EMGs. I believe you can get them with slanted baseplates. They have the sexy twin blades and sound amazing
On possible replacement pickups, check these out instead of the EMGs. I believe you can get them with slanted baseplates. They have the sexy twin blades and sound amazing
OP
Metal89
Ambassador of Orchestral Brewtality
Really not too difficult to get used to. only issue i ran into was when playing the intro to "coheed and cambria welcome home" on the three power chords in the intro, it kinda throws me off a bit, but doing my own thing it hasn't caused me any issues, guess its just more of a psychological thing, nothing a bit of practice wouldn't work out.
Those do sound absolutely killer on the demos i've heard! Just out of curiosity i did check out if they sold it in a slanted version. The best i can see is that i would probably have to contact them to get it done, im guessing they'd want me to measure the dimensions for them (i'd be tempted to just ship them one of the pickups just to make it easier on myself but thats just me LOL), because im not seeing any options on that pickup for a fan fret version. Either way, something i may consider down the road, for now im pretty content with these pickups.
Dave Sloven
Ambassador of DOOM!
tim@bareknucklepickups.co.uk will get you the owner. Easy to approach.
You have to pay extra for the baseplates, you would basically order the pickups and pay this extra charge for the baseplate. Tim would want to chat with you about the baseplates. The angle on your baseplates does not look extreme
www.bareknucklepickups.co.uk
If you click on the links you will see that it says "slanted baseplate upcharge to be selected only after consultation with the BKP team" ... so you would need to chat with Tim or Ben anyway
Their pots and caps are also very nice
You have to pay extra for the baseplates, you would basically order the pickups and pay this extra charge for the baseplate. Tim would want to chat with you about the baseplates. The angle on your baseplates does not look extreme
Accessories Shop | Slanted Baseplates | Bare Knuckle Pickups
Bare Knuckle Pickups Slanted Baseplates accessories shop
www.bareknucklepickups.co.uk
If you click on the links you will see that it says "slanted baseplate upcharge to be selected only after consultation with the BKP team" ... so you would need to chat with Tim or Ben anyway
Their pots and caps are also very nice
BFT Gibson
Ambassador of Originality
Very nice & excellent review..the chug is alive & well on TTR lately !
OP
Metal89
Ambassador of Orchestral Brewtality
tim@bareknucklepickups.co.uk will get you the owner. Easy to approach.
You have to pay extra for the baseplates, you would basically order the pickups and pay this extra charge for the baseplate. Tim would want to chat with you about the baseplates. The angle on your baseplates does not look extreme
Accessories Shop | Slanted Baseplates | Bare Knuckle Pickups
Bare Knuckle Pickups Slanted Baseplates accessories shop
If you click on the links you will see that it says "slanted baseplate upcharge to be selected only after consultation with the BKP team" ... so you would need to chat with Tim or Ben anyway
Their pots and caps are also very nice
Now the upcharge on the baseplates i did see. and honestly, 20 extra for the baseplates is a very fair price in my opinion. Now you really got my interest. They sound really nice... may have to wait til January before i pull the trigger on anything like that. looks like i'll need to save up at least $400 due to currency exchange, adding in the baseplates, and the shipping. However, i am going to keep my eyes on these.
OP
Metal89
Ambassador of Orchestral Brewtality
OP
Metal89
Ambassador of Orchestral Brewtality
Oh Texas weather strikes again. I’m working on a new song (slow process with my schedule) and so I get done quad tracking a rythym guitar section. So I decided to take a break and strum a few chords. MAJOR string buzz on the third fret high B. Wasn’t like that when I got it, but thought that maybe truss rods needed to be adjusted, no big deal. NOPE! All the frets are getting pushed up due to the change of weather after sitting in a warehouse for a year. I got it sorted by a guitar tech but slightly irritated by it. No ones fault, just one of those things. Cost me 90$ so I had him just go ahead and throw on some new strings just for the hell of it.