Schecter CV-5

Have owned this bass for bout 8 months now, had to be special ordered and the first time it saw the light of day in this country was when I pulled it out of the box. I found the factory set-up to be excellent. Great tone right off the bat, the MM-J configured Duncan Design pickups really do give the best of both worlds. The three-band active EQ is well-centered, though the mid control would benefit from frequency selectability. Has serious slap tone, especially with the boost circuit engaged - though I almost never slap. That switch also works real well to give an already excellent pick-tone incredible grind. Using Hipshot tuners and bridges adds serious stability to this instrument, as it stays in tune extremely well. The one-piece maple neck is reasonably stable, though mine has developed a slightly complex bow that is noticeably more pronounced on the treble side. But it's not major, and seems inevitable in a baseball-bat sized piece of maple. Incidentally, the maple has a flame that Gibson would die for. Despite its size, the neck is quite comfortable, and I find I can move around it almost as fast as my Ibanez BTB 505. The finish is beautiful, a rich tobacco sunburst with flawless clearcoating. Any American maker would be proud of the finish work on this instrument. All in all, a great deal.

I play through an Ampeg SVT IV Pro (just bought it used, seems like I got a good one) and BXT 115 cabinet, and also playan Ibanez BTB 505 and a Jackson JPB 9. Most of the time I play heavy rock, at which this instrument excels, but it's also fun for blues jams and even some old-school jazz. The sound is tight (I love the 35" scale), even on open B. That said, I'm quite sure that if scoped I would find the instrument incapable of actually putting out 31 HZ: it's just not stiff enough. Nevertheless, the tone is huge. The sound is not just a combination MM and J knockoff. The MM pickup has more midrange presence than on an actual MusicMan, while the J pickup has fantastic low end. In other words, the sound is more balanced than on the real deal, which I like. No matter what, the sound is clean, as versus the gruffnes I get from my supposedly superior BTB 505's pickups. Again, the only thing I'd like is more control over the mids, but that's really minor.

All I can say is that I have a hard time believing this instrument was made in Korea. Overall fit and finish were excellent on arrival. The Schecter factory set-up was also good, but there is quite a climate change between their California factory and where I live in the northeast. With a bit of tweaking, she played perfectly. However, the one-piece neck necessitates constant adjustments. With a neck as thick and wide as this one, dual truss rods would be appreciated. But that is the only complaint I can make.

Let's see...tough finish and Hipshot hardware should make her extremely resistant to anything a gig could throw at her. I don't really play live, but this instrument should be tough as nails for a gigging musician. The strap buttons are solid. As noted above, the neck does require adjustment regularly (every couple of months) but that's the price of a one-piece neck.

I have never dealt with Schecter directly, though I have heard good things about their service.

Having played for about 8 years with only four strings, this instrument was my first step into the 5-string arena. Shopping around, I also lookwed at Fender, Ibanez, G&L, MusicMan, Warwick, and the other Schecter 5s. This instrument just seemed to be the perfect combination for me. I really have no regrets for buying it, though I also bought an Ibanez BTB 505 a month later for variety (hey, I got it for the right price). The tone never gets old - this instrument is just great sounding and fun to play. if something happened to it, first I'd kill the idiot who hurt her (as with boats and cars, I believe basses are female) and then figure how soon I could afford another. Unfortunately, I think Schecter dropped these basses from this year's catalog, so be watching for a used one.

2003, Assembled in the US, 35-inch scale, solid Alder body, multi-laminate neck, Seymore Duncan J-style pickups with Duncan designed MusicMan-style humbucker, Duncan electronics with 3 tone controls & a slap switch, (6)bolt-on neck, rosewood fingerboard, chrome Grover tuners, 24 jumbo frets.

Good Lord this is an impressive guitar. THe J-style pickups combined with the MM 'bucker gives you the best of both worlds; the punch of an Ernie Ball (almost), and the warmth of a Fender Jazz. Not as sterile sounding as the EMG hZ pickups in the Stiletto series. Versatile. If you're looking for a guitar that'll give you multiple sounds, just pick this guitar up. I haven't had much of a problem with noise, though I've played quieter basses. Sustain is decent, but not as good as my neck-through. The B on this thing is rock-solid, helped, I'm sure, by the 35" scale.

Overall, the Bass was set up okay by Schecter, but you're better off getting a pro to do it. There are slight buzzes here and there, and a little tweaking took care of it. The quality of the bass as a whole is rather good I think. The bass, with the tobacco vintage sunburst, is dead gorgeous, though I wish Schecter gave you a few other options besides just black and tobacco. If this newer guitar catches on, maybe they will.

I use this bass as my backup, but I have platooned it with my frontline bass quite a bit more than I thought I would. It's such a fun bass because of the number of all the different sounds I can get out of it. The guys I play with definitely dig it, and this bass has cemented their respect for Schecter products. This guitar, though I've only had it a few months, looks and feels like the day I bought it.

Schecter makes an outstanding product, but I've yet to deal with them. Hope to never have to.

I will say their Web site is completely useless. The info they give you on their guitars is minimal. That's probably why nobody has even heard of this bass.

9 years exp, current setup: Carvin RC210 600 watts, Peavey Cirrus 5; also owned Yamaha, Fender Jazz, Lakland, Carvin (in that order).

If this bass were lost or stolen, I'd go to a bar and drink my sorrows away, then wait a week for my paycheck, go to the guitar store and order another just like it.

Shoot, for about a week's salary, this is a damn fine blue-collar 5-string bass; a steal. My compliments to Schecter. They don't get enough props for their work in creating a ton of bang for the buck with their guitars. Why the hell nobody else is talking about the CV-4/CV-5 guitar, I'll never know. But it's one of the best kept secrets out there, in my estimation.