Schecter Baron H

2005 Schecter Diamon series lefty model made in Korea, burgundy wine finish over mahogany black bound body with F-hole sound chamber, 34" scale, 22 fret bolt on maple neck with rosewood board, Grover tuners, Hipshot thru bridge, 1 Duncan MM-101 humbucking pickup, active 3-band BEQ-3 preamp with 12db cut/boost on bass/mid/treble and volume pull knob for "slap" switch.

Aesthetically, this bass is beautiful with it's Tele-style body design, deep burgundy finish, and prominent F-hole, but all is not what it appears to be. But woah! This bass is an interesting surprise. I was fully expecting a tubby, woody, hollowbody tone, but this bass couldn't be further from that. It has a very hi fi active sound, bright, snappy, and punchy, and especially useful for slapping. Very similar to a Stingray in tone and preamp design, which is not really surprising considering the Duncan MM-101 pickup. But you don't expect this sound to come out of an instrument that looks like this and if you're looking for something rootsier and warmer then this may not be the bass for you. The active 3-band preamp is very versatile and you can dial in or out more 3 band EQ then you'll ever need (the treble is downright rude, and I even cut it a bit). The volume knob is a push/pull type (which Schecter calls the "slap" switch). and from what I gather it's simply a mid scoop. Pull it up and the mids drop out. Personally, I don't find it necessary because you can easily dial out the mids and get the same sound if you wanted, but I guess it's nice to have that tone readily available with a simple pull. The preamp is laid out the same way as a Stingray, but unfortunately it shares some of the same problems(?) that the Stingray does, mainly the thinner sounding G string comparatively to the other 3 strings (some would say that this IS the signature Stingray sound). At any rate, I may try a thicker gauge G string to see if I can get a more balanced overall tone across the board. But overall, you will have no problem dialing in body, clarity, and definition into your tone whether you're slapping or playing fingerstyle.

This is a solid construction, weel made instrument with better than average hardware.
Bass came set up perfectly from Schecter USA, (nice low action (which is what I prefer). As mentioned previously, the finish is a beautiful gloss deep burgundy finish. I got mine much cheaper than normal retail because it was stamped a factory second, since there's a minor dent in the finish. For a savings of $300, I can live with that. The neck profile is flat and wide, again very similar to a Stingray and designed with slappers in mind. The only indications that this is a Korean made instrument are some sloppy residue inside the F-hole and some light buffing marks on the sides of the neck.

The other surprising and nice thing about this instrument is the body balance. It's a fairly heavy instrument, but it balances reasonably well for bass of this Tele-style design. I once owned a similar designed G & L ASAT bass, and I eventually had to get rid of it because it weighed a ton and it was prone to neck dive. Furthermore, because of the Tele-style body and the lack of an upper horn, the first fret on that bass felt like it was a mile away and I found it awkward to play overall. Not so on the Schecter Baron, it feels much more comfortable to play and it doesn't neck dive, though I can't really explain why since it's the same body design. Finally, the binding is nice but it can dig into your forearm after a while. Small sacrifices to make for such a pretty bass, IMO.

It seems very solid and the hardware is top notch. This really isn't a hollow body bass, it's just designed to look like one for looks, so don't expect a fragile hollowbody instrument. I haven't taken it out for a gig yet or needed to adjust the truss rod, so I can't comment, but I'm not at all worried that this bass won't be able to handle it all.

Never dealt with them, but I respect them as a company because they're one of the few who actually give a shit about us lefties and offer up more options than a Made in Mexico P bass.

I have been playing for over 20 years and I'm a bit of a collector of left handed instruments. You name it, I've played it. The Schecter Baron H is a good choice for someone looking for the hi fi active punchy tones common in a Stingray but also looking to make a unique visual statement.