Schecter Stiletto Elite 4-String

Made around 2004, Korea, 24 frets, mahogany body with maple top. 5-piece walnut/maple neck. Rosewood fretboard.
See-through black cherry finish
Gold hardware
Pickups: 2 emg 35HZ passive
2 volume knobs (this has changed in later models to volume/blend for some reason)
Slightly fiddly bridge.
EMG 2-band active EQ (BTS control)- SEE "SOUND" SECTION.

I give the bass an 8 for features since the pickups, tuners, bridge and eq could potentially be replaced with better ones. That's not to say they aren't good, in fact they're all very good.

This bass has performed well in every situation I've used it in, I play mainly in a prog/tech/metal band, through a boss mini-rack compressor/limiter/gate, an MXR M-80 distortion/DI and sometimes an electro harmonix bass big muff. Amp-wise I use a hartke vx3500 4x10 combo. I play with a pick, fingers, tapping and sometimes slapping. This bass sounds good in all of these settings, I especially like it for tapping. I tune to drop D, then everything down a semitone.

The bass is not noisy on normal settings. A lot of people in other reviews have complained about the high eq knob being hissy and noisy, but this is likely because it's set to too high a central frequency. On the circuit board attached to one of the pots there are two switches, which allow 4 different sounds for the treble pot. See http://www.emgpickups.com/content/wiringdiagrams/BTseries.pdf for more information.

The bass is fairly bright in sound, mainly due to the hz pickups, and although the eq can help to an extent, there isn't quite enough bass for my liking. I plan on swapping the pickups for active emg 35tw's. Luckily this will be relatively easy since the electronics are all EMG anyway so the pickup cavity and eq control can stay exactly the same.

The bass was very well set up from the factory, with nice low action, pickups at a sensible hight and accurate intonation.
The binding on the neck has some very slight flaws, but nothing noticeable. Also, the gold hardware deteriorates a bit over time, but that's par for the course with anything gold-plated.

The bass looks very elegant, but it's proved to be very tough! It's fallen over on hard floors several times (my fault) without more than a tiny dent to show for it. The nut on the output jack occasionally becomes slightly loose, but that's really just nit-picking. The truss rod has been adjusted once, by a small amount since there was a bit of fret buzz, and I had the guitar set up again when I started playing in drop C sharp tuning instead of standard.

I haven't had to deal with Schecter. I think the warranty was a year.

I have been playing bass for 5 or 6 years, and played guitar for years before that. I owned an epiphone thunderbird before this bass, and didn't like it at all. I shopped around while looking for this bass, and chose it over more expensive basses like low-end warwicks and MIM fenders, mainly because of the feel. I've never regretted it, and never considered replacing it, since it's such a good bass to upgrade. The build quality and materials are top-notch, and with better pickups (and maybe improved bridge and tuners) this bass would have the same spec as far more expensive high-end basses like the ESP b-1004. Very good value for money.

Don't really need to explain features here, just note I got mine in the Black Cherry color (So Beautiful!).

The Sound to me, on my Ampeg BA-115, is kinda transparent at very low practice-at-your-home volume, but once you kick up the volume this baby shines! It has a nice Thrash Metal tone that I use it for, very dark sounding. It has a wide range of tones, don't understand why people would want to change the pickups? You can go from a ringing treble sound to a very deep "rap" bass sound. Very nice.

Well, I didn't get this from the factory, bought it at a local Guitar Center where apparently people steal parts and the saddle from the bridge was missing. No knock on Schecter for that, just really pissed off that someone would take it. It had no flaws what-so-ever and minor fret buzz at the first fret on the A, very easy to set up and I didn't need to take it to a tech. Very nicely made on Schecter's part.

Everything on this baby seems solid. I had a friend try to turn me down by telling me all these lies that Schecter uses crap glue and plastic resin to make it heavier, I don't know if these are true, but if it's true, keep it up Schecter cuz you guys make one good bass! No need for a back up at shows cuz this one will stay in tune no matter how far i bend the string, and I mean "BEND" like the D off the fretboard by the E.

Don't let me get started on this, after my mishap with the saddle, I e-mailed Schecter as soon as I possibly could. less than literally 3 minutes later, they called me and not only replaced the saddle, but gave me a bunch of extras, FOR FREE!

I've been playing for 3 years and have tended to notice I am pretty hard on my instruments, but this one feel rock solid. I bought this bass on a whim since I went to Guitar Center to return a pricey Ibanez I was very displeased with, they told me that they didn't have another Ibanez on the premises so I would most likely have to wait a month to get another. So I research on the stores computer and found that this Schecter was the highest rated bass in the price range, so I bought it without playing it, since it was closing time. I just love everything about it, the bridge is easy as hell to adjust and stays in place. The tuning keys will keep you in tune for days on end. Pickups are amazing.If it were lost or stolen I would buy 2 more to take its place.

I just ordered this bass from a local guitar shop here in Holland. The reviews here certainly helped me to choose this particular one. Hope to get it in february.

I'm playing Americana mostly, so with the help of the reviews here, I think I made the right choice. Sadly enough no guitar store here in Holland keeps them in stock, so I completely trust the reviews here.

Just love a low action and fast neck, smooth looks and a well 'took care of' finish. These basses apparently seems to have it all!

No opinion yet!

No opinion yet!

It's a shame that the prices here in Holland are way more than in the US. I paid 765 euro's (app. 1000 US dollars). The only way to get one cheaper was bij letting it ship from the states, but with the high taxes and warranty issues, I choose to buy it local. Not many shops sell them here, so it's a kind of unique bass here.

You all know the features from the previous posts.
With those features, it is a top-10 looking bass.
The Cherry finish is my fav and what I bought.
Downside, the gold will rot like any gold on guitars.
Skin oil + gold plating = green pitts. Where it counts, the bass is
rock solid. It is not a no-holes-barred ultimate quality instrument.
It is a "pay 20% get 80% of the ultimate quality instrument."

I've been playing bass for 35 years. Heard that a bunch here ehh?
I am used to the bolt-on basses of all types and like least- the fenders. I have to "work" all the necks and electronics on my basses to get them where I want them. That is clean, loud and low action.
The Siletto ELite has a COMPLETELY different sound than I've heard before. OK, I was prepared for rich harmonics, lots of sustain..etc.
You can't imagine the sound this instrument delivers. It is so far beyond your mind's ability to simulate. I hit the low E and my stopwatch. I could have played accompaniment for 4 measures at medium tempo before I would have to hit it again. The overtones and harmonics are so piano-like..more than a piano. So much so -that with my near perfect pitch and the treble EQ turned up all the way, I had trouble tuning. I can get harmonic taps all over the fretboard. It's as if I am going to have to learn another instrument again. It is that different than a bolt-on mid-grade instrument.
The sensitivity of the EMG's is so -intense- that you have to be conscious of how you hit each string...and with that increased control comes much more expressive range. I was stuff tonight that is completey impossible on my other basses. Are you up to it? This bass raises the bar and your challenge.

Again, an excellent quality build. the body is very smooth and curvy.
The neck is about 1/2" longer scale than most. That can be taken up by jockying the body to the left a bit. the finish on my used one was very worn with slight scratches. I use a plastic polish to buff it out.
The battery cover thing is a mis-fire. It draws 32MA of current when you plug it in. On a Alkaline 9V, that's about 20 hours max. I might put lithium rechargables in there and add a charging jack. Stock up on 9V batts.

If the electronics inside hold up, the rest of the bass will. The connector is excellent...knobs robust...body SOILD..

Called them about intonation and they were very helpful.

I'm very impressed. What a great value (Paid $290 on Ebay).
At $599 new, it's a steal too. Get one!

4 string fretted bass, 2003 owned it for all three years its been around. Got it at local guitar center from those idiots. 600 dollars out the door, bridge is individual string, quilted maple top in black cherry finish, gold hardware, pearl bound neck-very overlooked feature, rosewood board.

Pickups are great- for passive p-pups. I'm begininng to liek emg's active line alot better however, not enough volume, and man if this thing had the tri-coil soapbars, itd be heaven. Pre-amp is great. I honestly think i own the only one with a volume-volume setup instead of volume-blend, so i may be biased when i say the preamp is perfect. I run it through a peavey max 450 head, clean, sounds good.

action great, really easy to chip the binding however, dont drop this one, quilt top very well matched, took me about 4 months to realize it was bookmatched. i had to lower the neck pickup i was hittin it with my popping knuckles, but other than that the bass was good. Adjusting string height was painful at best, it was wy to hard to get the saddle out, adjust angle, heigh, and intonation, standard bridges are better.

Solid bass, straplocks are me favorite part- so underated, they're big and sturdy- not like vintage strap buttons. like i said easy to chip though.

never had to deal

I've been playing about 4 years, i own a cort c4fl warmoth dinky j black korina with /flame maple/padouk/bubinga center section and a palisander rosewood neck, emg mmtw pickup and gotoh 201 bridge. Best bass ever made for under 1200. no questions asked. this is my second favorite bass and i also own a modded squier.

The features that drew me to this bass were the neck through construction and active P/U's. The gold finish hardware and S-Tek bridge were nice extras and make this a rich looking high end bass. After I played it I would have bought it with chrome or black hardware. Prior to buying it I had heard a bass player on one of these at a club and was impressed. He was laying down some solid grooves and sounding great. I was previously unaware of this line of basses. Later I began shopping for basses and was able to check out the Stiletto at guitar center. I compared it to a Gibson T-Bird (@ $ 1,000)and a Warwick rock bass ( @ $650). It was much brighter and punchier than both of these and was more affordable. It is available in 2 finishes (honeyburst and cherry). I would have preferred the honeyburst but bought the cherry as it was the only one there in stock. Perhaps more finishes would be nice (natural wood, tabacco sunburst). Controls are simple and easy to use. Others have commented on the 2 volume controls vs 1 volume and 1 blend. either way would achieve the same results. -1 for finishes.

I bought this bass for classic rock. It covers this quite well with a smooth, solid tone and even sound (your sound man will love it) with no noise. It sounds great at all settings except with treble all the way up (it clicks). I used this with a Carvin rig and a digitech BP-2000 multi-effects pedal for stereo chorus, distortion, and several of the preset configurations like growl, bassman, bright, and trace elliot. I was able to get diverse tones for covering a wide spectrum of music from the Beatles to Alice in Chains. It even gives a respectable Rickenbacker sound for covering Rush! I never used this in the studio but given the opprotunity I'm sure it would excell, especially for original rock music if you want a non-fender sound. I used this bass in tandem with a Fender bass on stage as it lacks a good fender sound blues or funk. -2 for no fender sound and poor high treble sound.

As others have commented, the action was set up very well. The neck is flawless and plays like a dream. (although I prefer the slightly arched fret board of a fender).
-1 for rear access panel for battery which requires some prying to remove. I think a battery bay should be provided (how much could it effect cost? $20?)

I have had no problems with this bass in all kinds of weather. I am not impressed with the tuners as they dont work as well as schallers and I can turn them while tuning quite a bit with no effect in tuning.
I use more than 1 bass on gigs for diversity and so I do have a back up, but it is not necassary. To me its just personal preference.

-1 for tuners

I bought the bass as a Demo and it did not have any paper work with it. I went on line and requested documents and the bass from Schecter and they sent me a CD-Rom with all the info I needed. Life time warranty is good insurance but has not been needed.

I have been playing for 25+ years. My main bass has been Fender P-bass. The schecter compliments this bass well in offering tones unachievable on the Fender. I also have a Fender Jazz bass. I have recently left the classic rock band and moved on to a blues band for which I favor the Jazz bass and am playing the schecter less. Right now if it were stolen I would not replace it. The next bass I buy will be a 5 string and the schecter is a definite candidate.
Overall this is a great bass (especially at the price) which you will definitely love once you plug it in.

24 jumbo gold frets. Gold hardware. Neck through body. cherry finish. This is a very well built, nice looking bass.

I bought this bass for the sound. I tried out every bass I could get my hands on. As soon as I played this one, I knew I couldn't live without it. Shecter makes other basses with the same emg harware but the neck through body, in my opinion was well worth the extra money. hours of sustain. When you turn the pickups up all the way this bass has tonnes of power. Very warm, fat tone. Turn the bass knob up all the way- this bass rumbles!! More treble than you can shake a stick at. Good for slap- not as good as a music man- but pretty darn good. Treble knob has a lot of hiss. Esp. when played standing near other active instruments through a pa. Cannot turn the treble up past 3/4 through a pa w/o a noise gate. If you are planning on playing through a PA, and you like to play slap or you just like treble, plan on purchasing a noise gate peadal. try playing with eq knobs up 3/4 , back pickup all the way up, and front pickup all the way down. Sounds kinda like the bass in collective soul. Lots and lots of different sounds possable with this bass.

Came from the factory set up fairly low. I'm not big on ultra low action. This bass' action changes dramatically with environment. Fret buzz when playing low G (3rd fret, e string), sometimes. OK, but not up to par with the high quality of this bass

I beat this bass back and forth to church every wk in a hard case. Never had a problem. Seems very solid. Very impressive. Very high quality. Very solid, well placed strap buttons. Very dependable.

never dealt with them. Don't think I will need to

2 biggest weaknesses in this instrument: (1) hissing treble knob.
(2) The battery. It's a pain in the butt to get to- like 5 screws an then you hafta pry at the plate. Then when you finally get to it if you're not careful you can really mess up the electronics- they're like right there. And then there's no way of knowing when the battery is going out so it's always like a guessing game to try to figure out when you need to change the battery. By the way, don't waste your time with rechargables, they don't last and they don't have enough juice to make this bass sound really good. just be prepared to cough up the cash for a duracel a minimum of once a month. With that stupid battery panel in the back, if your batt died during a gig, the show would be over by the time you got a new one in there. just play it safe and put a new one in before every gig too. Sounds best with a brand new battery anyways.

Overall though, this bass is the best build, best looking, and greatest sounding instrument a normal person can afford to buy. I will probably get the 5 string someday. If you have $3 a month and and hour to waste with the batt, buy it!!!

I've been playing the Schecter Stiletto Elite 4-string bass for over a year now. It is a 24 fret, neck through body bass. It has a mahogany body, with a quilted maple top. The neck is a 5 piece laminated neck. This is maple, and wenge or walnut? The pickups are 2 EMG-HZ humbucking bass pickups. it has a 2 band active e.q., an S-TEK bridge, and the neck and headstock are fully bound. The fretboard is rosewood, and the hardware is all gold. Not a bad black cherry finish on the thing either. Truly a beautiful bass.

One of my only problems with this bass is the pickups. They are too quiet for me. I'm not too big a fan of the EMG-HZ pickups. Also, I would have preferred a 3-band active E.Q. Other than the quietness, the overall sound isn't horrible, just quiet.

I bought my bass at Guitar Center, so I don't know if it was still at "factory standards", but I fell in love with it the moment I played it. Again, there were a few problems, however. Nothing major, just preference-related problems. I have HUGE hands, so the neck was kinda thin, and I have carpel-tunnel, so I needed to bring the action down a little. Other than that, the bass is absoluely phenominal!

I've played live with this bass a few times, and it kicks ass. I've never had to worry about this thing breaking. In my opinion, it's built like a tank, combat ready. It has weight to it, so it doesn't feel like you're wearing a toy.

Never dealt with them.

Like I said earlier, there are FEW problems, but nothing major, just preferences. If it was ever stolen, I'd probably buy it again, or the 5-string version of it. I've had the neck adjusted recently, but that was just to make it more playable for me.(carpel tunnel sucks, you know.) I think it is not a bad bass.

Made in Korea (2002). 24 Frets with 4 strings (obviously). All hardware is gold. 2 volume knobs for both active EMG pickups. 2 more knobs (one for treble boost and the other for bass boost).

The body style is a neck-through design like almost any Schecter and it's definetly got a funk look to the body. Mine was the Black Cherry finish. Gold Grover tuners. Small neck both in width and girth.

Mine also came with a gig bag but I won't trust this bass in a bag.

This bass is definetly suited for warmer for jazzy and blusey sounds. That doesn't stop it from sounding awesome with slap or even heavy metal (with a pedal). I use it with an Ampeg B-100R amp and sometimes a Boss OD-3 Bass Overdrive pedal. It's noisy when you leave the pedal hooked in but not on. Not the bass's fault. Just bass and amp it's completely silent when not in play.

The tone is great. It's not quite as beefy as I like, but that's due to the thinner strings that came with it and I haven't changed them yet. I'm sure thicker strings will correct that.

I haven't adjusted the action yet. It's plenty low for me and my last bass had unbelievably high action so this is great. I'm sure I could take it down a little but I don't have the need right now. Pickups seem a lot lower than my last bass but the neck-through design changes things a little. The treble end of these pickups could use a little tweaking, but not much.

I bought this one used on Ebay and it went through a Michigan winter to get here. It came fully tightened and nothing was loose or worn. Only a small chip on the underside that was already announced before the auction.

The Black Cherry finish and gold hardware makes this a very dynamic bass.

Everything on this bass seems solid. My last bass was a tank and about twice the weight as this one. This is much thinner and lighter but seems sturdy enough. Should be able to stand the test of time.

Haven't dealt with dealer but seller was top notch.

I own an ESP LTD Viper-104 which will soon be sold and I've been playing little under a year, but I can already play stuff like Les Claypool's "The Awakening". This bass handles all styles and excels in massive sustain and a great range of tone. I think with a slightly darker paint job and black binding this bass would be my ultimate bass. Sound would have to remain the same.

I've been playing my elite 4 for about a year and a half giging.I've got the honey finish,which is beautiful. 34 inch scale , 24 jumbo frets. standard emg pickup with eq. I have been thinking about taking it in for a check up but really only on a concoius level.I'm very happy with the set up it came with.

I play funk and blues and this emg set up seems to suit that style just fine.Very punchy when I need it and with just a tweek of the bal. knob and it's really deep and warm.I run an SWR 4004 head and two golth III cabs.Have noticed that I have to put in a fresh battery for each gig,it really improves the tone.I have noticed that the emg pickups are very hot and wll emit a click if the volumes on the bass are up too much. I leave the volumes low on the bass and make the amp do all the work. I get a much warmer tone that way.I recently used it in the studio, ran it through a tube preamp and had plenty of adjustment with the on board eq. I was very pleased with the tone variation that I was able to achieve.

I found no flaws from the factory as far as the finish. So far I've been really happy with the set up. The action is low and fast. I have only found lower action on much higher priced basses...ie...peddula....zon...and such. I started using ghs pressure wind strings and I thought it really improved the feel and the tone. It took some up the high end out of the hot emg set up.

This bass really seems to withstand the gig atomusphere. Only thing I have noticed is that it is really picky about climate changes. During a break at a gig, if there is a fan blowing on it, it will go sharp evenly across the board.Pick it and play the first song and it comes right back after you warm up a bit.I do not carry a back up to gigs.

I have never had to call for support but if my bass got stolen tomorrow I would definatly buy another one just like it. You just can't go wrong for the price. It's allot of bass for the money.

I have a G&L and an Ibanez and I seem to be neglecting them. My schecter is more comfortable and has all the sound possibilities I need. I would like to try one of their fretless models but hav'nt seen one around this town.Again, I have'nt found this much bass for the money in any other brand.