Schecter Banshee

Got mine in January 08 from Ebay. Seems like the shop that sold it to me was killing their old stock of guitars to let the new 08 ones in. Mine's serial number starts in 05 so I guess it was made in 2005. In fact the Banshee was produced from 2005 to 2007 so I was very lucky to found one new by the time I purchased it.
For what I know, Schecter's parts were made in China or Korea and assembled in the USA.

21 frets, really big and solid freats with plenty of timelife on them. Ash neck, rosewood fingerboard, almost unique and precious neck inlays. Solid and weighty alder body with a high (really high) quality lacquer and paint on it. Body style is quite similar to a Fender Squier '51. Beautifuly painted headstock. Very retro style. Bridge pickup has a vintage look pickup cover too.

Electronics are Duncan Designed and made of more than a decent quality. I'm planning to upgrade the pickups for Seymour Duncan ones soon. The Neck pickup is a Danelectro style, with a fantastic bright tone for blues, surf, rock and pop styles. Although is a bit bassy in E,A,D strings (that's why I will replace it) it does the job very well if you have a decent compressor to sharp them a bit.

Bridge humbucker pickup it's killer. Tone and output are equal to a Seymour Duncan SH-1. It has punch but not like a JB or any other high output humbucker but who cares, this guitar is not designed for hardcore heavy metal players, it's more of a suits more of an eclectical styling: pop, rock, blues, classic rock, hard rock, indie...)

Pickup configuration it's also versatile: Three position switch, one volume control for each pickup (great idea) and a third treble volume control wich also is push pull (single or double humbucker). As a result we have a large variety of sounds from smooth rhytms to killer leads.

Bridge is made by Wilkinson and it's a tremolo type, solid as a rock, with a huge sustain and tunning stability, I love it.
Grover locking tuners in the headstock, great quality with solid tunning.

This guitar kick ass. It's like having a Les Paul, Strato and Tele fusioned in one. Can sound almost like any of them, but without being any of them. This guitar has it's own personality. From Pop, Surf, Indie to Heavy Rock, Blues or Hard Rock. This guitar almost covers anything you wanna play. The feature that makes it an outstanding piece of gear is the sustain. The guitar is not precicesly light, it weights, but as other reviewer said this just adds to the resonance.

I use it mainly for compressed cleans with lots of reverbs/delays ambience sounds (alternative pop rock), distorted rock, blues and pop mainly. My amp is a loud Fender 212 solid state.

The only complain I have is that tiny mass noise when not touching the strings, but this can be solved by shielding electronics.

I would never say this is a made in China guitar. The overall quality is very high, can be compared to an USA made Fender.
Action is perfect, neck is straight, stays in tune perfectly, no buzz, no nothing... the finish is great too. What more can I say?

After one year playing with it still remains as solid and reliable as when I purchased. I gig with it as my main guitar so I am totally confident about it's reliability, nothing seems to indicate other thing.

Schecter tech support is always friendly and ready to help with your questions, something some bigger brands can't say.

Been playing for years. I own other guitars among another Schecter cause I know their guitars will not dissapoint me. Schecter has proven they know how to do high quality axes for bargain prices compared to overpriced Gibsons and Fenders.

If were lost or stolen I would kill the *********** who take it and if I couldn't find him then I would kill myself for lettin she go.
Seriously, this guitar will become a collectors one in the future for it's fantastic combination of playability, unique look and rarity.

I first heard about this guitar through a friend- I wanted an axe that twanged, that had some clangy indie tone, but also had the ability to really chunk it up and get 'metal'. So, the features were obviously what attracted me originally- The danelectro-style lipstick for that clangy indie sound, and the humbucker for the metal- but in the end it was it's unique body shape and the way it sounded that won me over. The coil tap on the humbucker is nice- though I never use it, it allows for a hugely versatile tone out of this beast.

It suits my style perfectly. I play generally high-energy melodic rock/metal, which often switches mid-song between clean, clangy, snappy rhythm verses and heavy, distorted, metal choruses. I needed a versatile tone, and this gave me exactly what I wanted. I run it through a Genz Benz El-Diablo 60, which for the most part works very well.

It's very versatile- to a point. Danelectro lipstick style pups have a nice, thick-yet-clean sound- played clean they're one of the most beautiful pickup styles I've heard. This PARTICULAR pickup is a "duncan designed", and does leave a little to be desired. It's a little duller than most original danelectro/seymour duncan lipsticks, and I plan to replace it with the real deal soon. Still, It's lovely as is, and does the job for what I need it for. The humbucker RIPS, yet maintains a nice edge to it. It's not EMG-style "ALL PICKUP" sound- you can hear some of the body of the guitar, which is what I like to hear in a humbucker. I won't be swapping it out.

I've had some problems with aforementioned lipstick pickup when HEAVILY compressed and distorted- the bottom end gets loose and distorts in a very ugly, flabby way. I'm really not a fan of this- and when I tried to lower the low-end of the pickup, it came loose, and the spring fell out inside the guitar, requiring me to take it apart to refit it. I've also had microphonics issues from it. The pickup isn't great. Do yourself a favour and replace it with a real dano, or a seymour duncan lipstick asap. I plan to this week.

Gripes aside, I've LOVED thrashing this axe. The lipstick is PERFECT for light-mid gain clean sounds ala fender twin, it really chimes and breaks up. Overdrive it a bit and it goes really whitestripesy. As much as I've complained about this pickup- it really is what makes this axe shine. The slightly different sound of the danelectro style lipstick mixed with a modern humbucker gives you a lot of versatility, whilst keeping your tone independent from everything else that's out there.

The set-up wasn't flash. I had to get it adjusted a little to suit my style, but who doesn't? The main gripe here was the output jack- it came loose and fell into the guitar twice. Got it replaced and haven't had any other problems.

Hmm. I've got to be honest here, guys- this hasn't been a reliable axe. I love it to bits- it looks amazing and sounds fantastic- but there have been a number of things that have needed to be replaced, simply because they were cheap parts:

- The lipstick pickup (duncan designed: not as nice a tone as the original danos) for it's sound and it's poor factory mounting that caused it to fall out when I adjusted it!
- The output jack. Outside nut threaded after a month, fell into the body numerous times. Had it replaced and it's been great since.
- Strings snap quite regularly at the bridge. This doesn't happen on my other axes. I'm lead to believe it's just not a great bridge. Doesn't hold tune well when wammied, either.

Gripes aside, though- With a bit of work replacing these parts I'm confident it will be very reliable. Nothing MAJOR (ie bodywork, neck, frets, electronics) has gone wrong, nor looks to be doing so. It just seems they had problems with all the metal bits they stuck to this big ol' hunk of wood.

At this point- I gig with a backup :(

Never contacted schecter. Didn't bother- they're all things I can fix myself.

Overall- I love this guitar! I know, I've whinged a lot- But hear me out. YES there are some problems with the components on this axe- but the main things: Playability, Tone, and SEX APPEAL remain awesome regardless. This is a beautiful guitar to play- she loves any mood I happen to be in: loves to be looked after and loves it when I hit her hard. It's FUN playing this guitar. It SOUNDS great. And she looks amazingly cool onstage. My friend once summed the guitar up well: "It looks like a 'pawn store special piece-of-crap'- but it freakin' ROCKS!"

Reccomended, if you can handle changing out the parts/pickups. (Factor that into your cost!)

You know the specs, if not check the website.

I play punk rock and classic rock. This guitar sounds amazing for that type of music! it is very versatile. i can get a really good clean sound out of it through my mesa boogie DC-5, and can also get some mean distortion through it as well. not as thick sounding as my gibson les paul, but that could be because i have a JB in the bridge on the gibson. the stock bridge pick up on the banshee sounds very good, very professional. great sustain, awesome punchy, fat tele like, tone. stays in tune extremely well. overall very nice guitar and has replaced my gibson as my main gigging axe! shecter guitars are very high quality.

factory set up was absolutely perfect. action was low enough to shred but not too low, just the way i like it. pick-ups were at the perfect height, the finish is perfect and beautiful! the only complaint i have is that the neck on one area feels a little rough, just a smidge though, nothin to annoy or affect my playing in any way. every thing else is top notch quality. you can always expect that from shecter though, this is my third shecter that i have owned. they are the only guitars that i would not hesitate to buy online with out playing them in person. their quality control is that good. on the other hand i have played many gibsons that are a joke. horrible quality control. it took me a while to find a les paul that was of good craftsmanship.

i plan on playing this guitar live for a long time so i hope it lasts! hardware and build seem tough and ready to rock but who knows for sure, time will tell. replaced the strap buttons with strap locks right away, i don't want to take any chances. i would use it at a gig without a back up but i never would, you can break a string pretty easy. that is about the only worry i have with this guitar, its that solid

havent needed to deal with them yet

been playing guitar for eleven years. i have owned a shecter c-1 elite, shecter tempest custom, gibson les paul studio,epiphone standard les paul(crap) and a fender mexican strat. this is my third shecter and i love it! i play in a punk band and use a Mesa Dual Caliber 50 watt head running into a B-52 AT 412 Cab (use to own a marshall 1960 AX cab but sold it cause i love the B-52) no effects or anything like that. just the distortion from the amp. the banshee is a rockin guitar! i was looking for a tele, strat, jaguar type guitar as a back up but didn't want to shell out the big bucks for american fenders. but i wanted a good solid quality guitar. i never new about the banshee until i happened to come across it on ebay, i always thought shecter only catered to the metal, hardcore realm, but i saw this guitar and thought it looked really cool and seemed to be what i was looking for. i did some research on it, and because its a shecter, i new it wouldn't let me down so i bought it. i am not gonna lie, i was a little worried before it arrived. i was just hoping nothin would be wrong with it cause you never know with ebay. but the minute i opened it and strummed the first chord i knew it was a good purchase. i guess they are out of production as of this year so i got one of the last new ones available!

5/1 beveled headstock, 22 medium fret bound neck w/split block inlays, 25.5" scale, Grover tuning machines, duncan design pickups (lipstick single coil in the neck and chrome covered humbucker in the bridge), vol, vol, tone/ coil tap mounted on a tele control plate, Alder body similar to a fender mustang on steroids w/vintage looks but with a modern twist, and a wilkinson tremelo that doesn't want to go out of tune. available in a candy apple red (met. red) or marine metallic.

I work as a guitar expert and manager in a local music store and can own any guitar on the market and have owned most (this is my 3rd Schecter in my current collection), I also play all kinds of music and this guitar can handle all of them. I am using this guitar with a Line 6 Flextone III, a old Marshall Mosfet combo (#5005) and a Roland Micro cube. I am also recording with a Boss BR-1180 and have found this guitar to give up great tele and strat tones plus it has a decent humbucker(I have found some mild humming with this humbucker, this is not uncommon when you have coil taps on guitars). Overall I have to say that every pickup posibility is very useful on the "banshee".

set up perfect from the factory, No flaws at all.

This is one of my main guitars and I have no doubts about the durability of these guitars (schecters in general)

Schecter is now it's 30th year, their guitars all have a lifetime warranty, you should almost never need support past your local dealer-like neck adjustments (hence why you buy from a local dealer not a catalog or website... do yourself a favor and take this advice!

I have been playing for 25 years and I couldn't recomend a better guitar to the player who is looking for a alternate to a Fender Strat or Tele for $449.00 (+ the humbucker is a bonus). This guitar is in it's final run and will not be part of the schecter lineup in Jan. 2007, get one while you still can.

At first I wasn't sure I'd like separate vol controls for each pup since I'm used to the single vol setup of a Fender. But the way the Banshee is designed, you can do on-the-fly vol changes, and even pinkie swells, with BOTH knobs simultaneously. It takes a little practice but this is something you couldn't even begin to do with a typical Gibson.

The Wilkinson trem is very smooth, and like a guitar mag review mentioned, it works equally well with mild rockabilly wobbles as with wild dive bombs. I don't know any other trem system with that kind of dual ability. Tuning stability is pretty good, better than any of my strats but not perfect by any means. I've yet to find an axe that I can't whack out of tune using the whammy bar -- I'm deep into Hendrix-style feedback solos for one thing ...

Love to slash-black fretboard inlays, really helps me find my way around the frets in a dark room.

I was initially attracted to this guitar because of its looks, and bought one without hearing it. Very high tone quality, pro gear all the way. Of the two pups, the humbucker bridge is the best, It really rips, way better than any Gibson bridge HB I've ever played, whether Gibson or OEM. Just kicks ass all over the place, very smooth distortion when overdriven and clear when you lower the volume, never losing its girth. I haven't split the coil on this one much as I live the full HB tone so much, but have noticed that splitting the coil on this one and combining with the lipstick neck gives a very nice tele sound.

A bonus is that the bridge pup produces unusually rich feedback. I'm a feedback freak and this pup feeds back better than any Fender I have.

The lipstick sounds a lot more midrangey than I expected. I would give this guitar a 10 for sound if there was just a bit more high-end sparkle in this pup. It's quite usable but not for surf (like you might expect) but rather for blues/jazz tones. In fact with my eyes closed I'd swear that this neck pup was a humbucker (and that the bridge was a P90). I may shop around for a replacement for this. Wish I knew what the output was though, as replacing with a tradition 4-5 ohm output might throw it out of balance with the bridge pup. Both are Duncan Designed, I can't find any info on 'em.

Sustain is way more than what I would normally expect from a bolt-neck axe. Really good for modern rock stuff in this respect. Very Gibson- or PRS-like.

All in all I'd say the sound of this guitar is not nearly as retro as the overall look might lead you to believe. It kicks serious ass as a modern rock guitar.

The guitar arrived perfectly set up, can't complain about the action or intonation at all. The chunky neck is smooth and fast. Better factory setup than I've ever seen on a Fender or Gibson.

I have the 'marine metallic', my fave of the 3 finishes offered. The finish was flawless, again better than F or G-brand guitars I own. Unbelievable that at the price I paid the guitar was so finely crafted. The neck inlays are also flawless, ditto the neck binding. Great job, Schecter.

I've only played a few gigs with it but it feels very solid. I hope the trem holds up, as I use it heavily and this is my first time to use a Wilkinson.

Haven't had a chance to test support but will be emailing them soon to ask about the output of the neck pup.

I've been playing over 30 years and own a lot of gear. As I said above it was the cool alt/retro looks that first attracted me to the Banshee, but the guitar really howls. I'm using it for my band's second, rowdier set where I can get wild with the trem. Still using a Bill Nash tele for the first set.

I'm very happy with the guitar and feel I got an excellent buy.

Bolt on 25.5" Maple neck with creme binding and rosewood fretboard. Alder body. 22 medium frets. "Duo-Tone" block inlays. Duncan Designed
Lipstick and Humbucker. Wilkinson 2-pt tremolo bridge. Grover tuners.
3-way selector, Vol/Vol/Tone(bridge tap)controls. 5+1 sculpted headstock.

I'm a telecaster blues rock kind of guy on an electric. One of my favorite guitars to play is the Squier 51. This guitar is what the 51 would like to be when it grows up!! Still love my 51 but the Banshee is a whole nuther smoke. This guitar truly honks and cuts a different sonic space for itself. It's not a fender, or gibson sound but a bit of both can be heard in it. I use it with my Behringer GMX212 and a Behringer Blues OD pedal. This has become my go to guitar. The neck pup is smooth and classy while the bridge pup can flat out rawk!! The coil tap puts more ranges of tone easily within reach. I especially love tapping the bridge and using the middle position for rhythm. Beautiful chime.

This guitar has no flaws! It feel like a big boy guitar! Amazing how well this plays and feels.

I can't see hurting it with anything. The only guitar more durable might be a telecaster but I don't know. Might be a toss up.

Only asked a question once and they responded quickly. Cool beans! For lack of any other needed reference, they get a 10!

Been playing 37 years. I have a Hamer SATF, Fender Nashville Telecaster, Tradition Jerry Reid Pro, PRS SE EG, Squier 51. Lost or stolen, I'd have to get another one! It's versatile, punchy, strong, yet that neck pickup is mellow!!

Bolt on 25.5" Maple neck with creme binding and rosewood fretboard. Alder body. 22 medium frets. "Duo-Tone" block inlays. Duncan Designed
Lipstick and Humbucker. Wilkinson 2-pt tremolo bridge. Grover tuners.
3-way selector, Vol/Vol/Tone(bridge tap)controls. 5+1 sculpted headstock.

No hum, good output level. Very round & 'fruity' singing tone.
I'm running it straight into a Fender blonde tolex & oxblood cloth
Bronco. Kind of going for a vintage clean sound, with just a touch
of breakup. Kind of between the 50's birth of rock and a surf guitar
sound. This thing nails it. It is kind of like a cross between a
strat and fat tele. The lipstick pickup is nice and bright, and the humbucker is plenty hot. The humbucker has an interesting slotted cover instead of having the usual screw heads you see on chrome covers. You can certainly get heavier, more modern tones out of
this guitar when you crank the distortion.

This guitar is beautiful. It has a great modern-vintage look. Kind of retro, but with out being cheesy. I have always been a fan of lipstick pickups, but they can be thin sounding sometimes, so it is nice they paired it with a good humbucker. The block inlays are gorgeous, the paint is first rate, the hardware is excellent quality. The guitar plays as well as my '52 USA reissue Tele. It's a bit on the heavy side, but that just adds to the resonance. You can hang a note and get some good sustain with this guitar. Schecter definitely did thier homework on the design and execution of this model. This is about as
good a guitar as I have had, it is right up there with my Gibson Faded Les Paul Double Cut. A lot of the Schecter line comes off a bit "shredder", which is cool... but I'm glad they put some real effort into something for us pseudo-nostalgic types.

This thing is well built of excellent parts and materials.
She's a brick house as the saying goes. No backup guitar
necessary. I think it would take a fire or 10 foot drop
to do seriuos damage to this guitar. I've had some guitars
that needed to be babied and gently removed and replaced in
thier hardshell cases. This isn't one of those. Solid.

Don't know.

I've been playing 18 years and owned a ton of guitars, amps, and effects in that time. I get pickier and pickier, but this guitar has the right
blend of sound, looks, and quality. I'd definitely replace it. This guitar and the Gibson Faded Les Paul Double Cut are my main guitars.
I'm even considering selling the Fender USA Reissue '52 Tele. I am really impressed with the quality of this Schecter, especially being 'Diamond Series'. They are doing solid work and hope they keep thier quality up to this standard.