Schecter C-1 Elite

This is a new model, 2003. Mine has the black cherry finish. features an arched Mahogany body with a highly figured maple top, with abalone binding.

Has Set-In 24 3/4" scale neck constructed from 3-piece Mahogany with abalone binding and has a rosewood fingerboard with 'gothic cross' inlay design.

The dual Duncan Design H-102 Humbuckers can be 'tapped' via a push/pull control on the Tone control

Includes a TonePros tune-matic bridge, which locks to the bridge posts. Strings 'thru-body' tail design, . Grover tuning machines are standard. Hardware is black chrome.

I like the Schecter stock pickups. You see people trashing them on the net, but when you read about their equipment list you find its some kid using a distortion pedal and a ton of effects with a high gain amp. I don't believe they actually know what their pickups really sound like.

These pick ups are not microphonic, do not feed back, have lots of definition and very high out put.

This particular guitar is quite heavy. Has fantastic sustain and a big ballsy sound.

I play mostly blues and hard rock. I have several Modeling devices I use for direct recording, this sounds great through all of them.

I have a Marshall half stack for live gigs again this guitar sounds killer.

The neck is very slim with what appears to be a 16" fretboard radius.

Has large frets that are well polished, no high frets.

the finish is great, no flaws!

I have almost a dozen Schecters now, I love them, they are by far the best buy. No body makes a better guitar for the money, period.

I have never had a problem with one. this thing is built like a tank.

who knows

The best guitars made period. I love this guitar. I love the sound of this guitar, the feel, the look, etc.

This is a new 2003 model, similar features to the previous model but new finish.
25 1/2" scaler length jumbo frets. Set mahogany neck. Body has a carved quilted maple top on mahogany. Double diamond inlays on the 12th fret.

Body, neck and head stock have Abalone binding. Guitar has gold hardware with single volume and tone control. Push pull tone control for coil split, either pickup.

Has a Tone pros bridge and grover tuners. Very cool

Like every Schechter I own this thing sounds great. It does have the off shore made Duncan Designed pickups. You read a lot of people trashing these pick ups on the net. It is total bullshit. These pickups are not noisy, not microphonic and sound exactly like a gibson T500. Don't belive the crap you read. these are really good pickups and very hot- out put is 17k ohms!

The overall sound is hot, lots of sustain and well defined. very versitile. I play a combination of hard rock and blues. Have been playing guitar for over 35 years and have MANY instruments. I love Schecters!

I am using this with a GNX1 for direct recording, and have a Marshall tube half stack for live gigs.

This is the best part. No fret buzz, action was just right though I did change to a lighter gauge of strings. There are no flaws anywhere on this guitar. The action is fairly low with even string spacing. The inlays and binding is perfect.

The finish is really gorgeaous on this thing.

This thing is built like a tank. Nothing fragile here. It will easily stand up to any normal giging. Strap buttons are solid no problems anywhere.

I always gig with a back up but it is not because I have doubts about this guitar. Things happen.

Who knows, I now have 8 Schecters. I love everyone of them . I bought this from Guitar Center, they are great to deal with, never had an issue they did not quickly deal with.

No Body, and I mean No body makes a guitar that offers more for the money than Schecter. I have Parkers, Gibson Les Pauls, PRS etc. This guitar is as good as any PRS I have ever played or heard. It looks better, plays as well or better, and didn't cost nearly as much. The action fit and finish is as good as you will find.

Made in Korea, but it rivals any US made axe. 24 frets, 2 diamond inlays at the 12th. 25 1/2" scale length. Neck is thin, but without feeling weak and flimsy. Mahogany body with maple top and maple neck. Set neck construction. Gloss black finish with abalone binding around the body, neck, and headstock. Strat style body, but better looking. 2 Duncan Designed humbuckers, one volume control, one tone control(with coil split). Tune-o-matic bridge, string thru body, grover tuners.

I play all kinds of rock music...everything from bluesy rock like ZZ Top to the down-tuned angry music of today, and this thing can handle it all.
My live rig looks like this. Guitar>Morley volume>Morley "Bad Horsie" Wah>Mesa Boogie Dual Recto "Road King". In the effects loop there is also a EH Small Clone chorus, EH Holy Grail reverb, and a Boss DD5 digital delay.
This guitar smokes when I run it thru my rig. Even with the stock pickups which, amazingly, aren't REALLY all that bad. Still, they will be replaced with a SD Distortion in the brige and a SD Pearly Gates in the neck, but due to the stock pickups, it's not something I have to rush to get done.
This guitar has sustain from hell...strike a note and go order a pizza, when the delivery guy shows up...it's still ringing out strong.
My only REAL beef with the sound is the coil split. When using it with the tone turned up too high, it hums SIGNIFICANTLY. Kinda tough to use on the fly.

Overall though, I love it.

This guitar shines...literally. The glossiest finish I've seen. Then add the abalone binding around the whole thing, the chrome hardware...The guitar is beautiful, like a work of art. (Paul Reed who???)
The guitar came setup with 9's, but quickly changed to DR 10's. So far not one problem...No string buzz or dead spots.
Only knock here is the input jack was VERY loose, but a little bit of wrench action fixed that up easily.

This guitar is SOLID. Big solid strap buttons increase playing confidence, but they will be swapped out with strap-locks...Can't chance a guitar like this hitting the floor. Finish seems good, I haven't seen so much as a scratch yet. Hardware seems solid...I might pop for some locking tuners, but that's about it.
Although I NEVER gig without a backup...If my backup happened to fall out of my car on the way to a gig, I would play a stress free gig knowing that this guitar was going to go the distance.

Haven't dealt with Schecter...and I don't anticipate having to...This thing is rock solid.

I've been playing for 10 years and have owned many different guitars. Fender, Ibanez, PRS, Gibson, Jackson, and I've had experience with EVERY major guitar manufacturer out there...and let me say this. EVERYONE owes it to themselves to at least give Schecter a try. For the price...Schecter smokes them all, hands down. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying the others don't have good products, they have great products, but they also have huge pricetags. Just one example to illustrate. A PRS custom 24, with the same features as the C-1 Elite will cost you roughly $2500...The original price of the C-1 Elite was $599.99. That's $1900 difference folks...and what are you paying that extra $1900 for...The PRS logo on the headstock and some bird inlays...That's it...The quality and features are the same. Both are GREAT guitars, one just happens to cost $1900 less...I know my choice...What's yours?

Not sure what year it was made in. Made in Korea, has 24 frets with 2 diamond inlays at the 12th fret. Solid top, 2 Duncan Designed Humbuckers (not the best, but decent), guitar is mahogany with a maple top. Gloss Black finish with abalone binding all around the WHOLE THING! string thru body, grover tuners. One volume, on tone(includes a coil splitter) and a 3 way toggle switch.

I love this guitar. The Duncan Designed's arent the best, but they sound pretty good through my Line 6 Spider 112 Combo. I owned a Japanese Strat before this and this makes almost no sound compared to the Strat. The coil splitter is a big plus, allows for more strat-type tones. Wish it have another volume and tone knob, though...

The guitar's action was suprisingly great from the factory. Everything was set up great, although the input jack and toggle switch became a little loose.

This guitar could easily play live and withstand it for a while. The toggle switch may have to be replaced, but thats about it. The finish seems like it will stay, strap buttons are solid, I can defineitly depend on this bad boy and would use it without a backup.

Never dealt with them yet.

I've been playing for 3 years and own a Takamine EG-334C Acoustic-Electric, and a Line 6 Spider 112. I love this guitar and if it were lost and stolen, I would cry, then get a job so I could buy another one. I played Fenders Strats and Gibsons beofre getting this, and I just didnt like the strat-sound, and the Fat Strat didnt do it for me, and the Gibsons are so friggin heavy. This one just felt right. If you are ever gonna buy a guitar, just pick up guitars and play them unplugged and get the one that feels the best to you. It worked for me.

This is a 2001 Schecter C-1 Elite, Korean made, 24 frets, solid top.
It has a 3-way toggle switch, one volume knob, and one tone knob that can be pulled up for coil tapping. It has 2 Duncan Designed humbuckers, chrome plated Grover machine heads and tuners, mahogany body, maple neck, and a rosewood fretboard which has 2 diamond abalone inlays on the 12th fret. It's a strat-style body with a vintage arched top and a very high gloss black finish. It also has a Tune-O-Matic bridge and a set neck.

I use this guitar through a Dual Rectifier, Marshall cab, Boss and Danelectro effects. The guitar sustains forever, but tapping the coils on the humbuckers is a little noisy. Expect tons of midrange in your sound with this guitar, and a LOT of balls. It actually sounds something like a Les Paul, and that probably has a lot to do with the mahogany body. The cleans are really good, but reaching down to pull up the tone know can be a bit cumbersome at times.

First off, this guitar is absolutely beautiful. The high gloss finish and abalone inlays just make this guitar's appearance. The action on it is quite low...it came stock with 9s, but those are too thin for my tastes, so I strung it up with a set of GHS Boomers 10s. The guitar plays and sounds much, much better now. The pickups and everything were set up wonderfully. This guitar plays and sounds just as good as most USA model guitars that I've ever picked up.

Everything seems extremely solid. I would gig without a backup any day of the week.

I've been playing for 15 years, and have played or owned Fender, Ibanez, Jackson, Gibson, etc....this guitar is as good if not better than all of them. If it were stolen I honestly think that I would cry. I got an amazing deal on it, and I don't think I could find one like that again. The only thing about it that I don't like is that the coil tap is difficult to execute on the spot, or right in the middle of a song when you needed to change your toggle two seconds ago. Other than that, this guitar is absolutely amazing. The sound is thick and ballsy, it's built very solid, the neck is incredibly fast, and it's very reasonably priced. If you're looking for the best possible guitar under $1000, I would definitely recommend the Schecter C-1 Elite. It has blown me away.

I just want everyone who reads reviews on this fantastic guitar, that very few times is it mentioned that there is a coil-split (commonly referred to as a coil "tap", though they are not the same). Pull the tone knob up a little bit, and you are acitvely splitting the humbuckers to single coils. Great for clean sounds.

N/A

Most of this information has been covered very well by other reviewers below and I'd only copy someone else's so see below for these details.

I like to play a variety of musical styles. I play through a Crate GX-40C amplifier and am able to get both an excellent clean and distored sound with this setup. I was very impressed by this guitar when I played it at a local music store. I felt that it's tonal qualities were very balanced overall, especially compared to some of the other top name instruments I played. Some reviewers seem to dislike the pickups to some degree, but I think they sound great just as they are. I would love to hear the same guitar with EMG's installed just for a comparison, I might change my mind at that point, but for now they seem to produce the exact tones that my ear wants to hear. I noticed on a lot of the guitars that I played at the store(which was almost all of them - near 100), many seemed practically worthless when changing the pickup selector. They had all of these options for different pickup combinations, but only really sounded good in one particular setting...that was frustrating. The Schecter guitars stood out immediately to me as they all seemed to sound desirable no matter how I changed the pickup combination. That really impressed me. I found myself playing for 30 minutes or more on this model where models from other makers seemed to bore me. Most of them sounded heavily muffled and muddy, even on the supposedly "brite - lead" settings.

The guitar was purchased off Ebay from someone that gets merchandise from places that are going bankrupt, so I'm not sure if anyone ever took the time to really set up the guitar. When I got it, I think it was strung with .09's and I noticed that guitar buzzed a lot. If I played with heavy distortion, you really couldn't hear the buzzing, but if I wanted to play clean, the buzzing became really annoying. I raised the bridge but the action was so high that the guitar was very difficult to play on the upper frets...and it still buzzed. I was very depressed for awhile, but then decided to do some research. I discovered that if I wanted a lower action and less string buzzing, increasing the string gauge could make a drastic difference. I bought some Ernie Ball Power Slinky's which are .11's and noticed an ENORMOUS difference! Some players may not like the thicker gauge, but I am used to playing acoustic for years which are even thicker than the .11's...so to me it feels just like home. I then proceeded to teach myself about setting the intonation on the guitar. There are tons of sights on the internet concerning how to do it. The guitar literally sings now...I absolutely love it. The pickup screws are all fully screwed down and I haven't experimented with them yet. I probably will sometime soon to see what kind of difference that makes, but I'm happy with the sound I get out of them now. Someone mentioned below that the strings don't go directly over the screws in the pickups...mine does that too, however I'm not sure how negatively that affects my sound, just because I don't know any different. After taking the strings off that the guitar arrived with, I cleaned it very thoroughly. It appears to have the word "USED" on the back of the headstock, which has been half covered in paint so you can only lightly see the tops of the letters. This was obviously done at the factory before the final finishing application. There is also some paint missing where the fretboard meets the neck on the top side of the neck (the side facing you as you look down toward the frets). Everything else seems to be very well manufactured, finished and put together.

The finish is a high gloss black with abalone inlay all around the perimiter of the guitar. It looks absolutely stunning and expensive. The only drawback to a high gloss black finish is that it needs to be cleaned after each playing to remove all the visible fingerprints etc...which really isn't that big of a deal, it's just something to keep in mind. The guitar seems very rugged to me. The tuners seem very well built and don't show the slightest sign of slipping. The knobs are excellent. They feel very durable, unlike a lot of the cheaper plastic ones you see on guitars. I noticed at the guitar store that a lot of the knobs and switches on guitars from other makers seemed to be half-falling off and showing a lot of wear. It could be that maybe those models are just played more, but it could also mean that they aren't manufactured as well. Everything seems rock solid so far.

Never dealt with Schecter so can't really say. I did email them asking for a catalog, but haven't received anything yet.

I've been playing for over 15 years. I own a Takamine EF-349C electric/acoustic, a Les Paul knock off electric and a beater Fender Gemini II (my first guitar purchased over 15 years ago). I had a nice acoustic and decided I wanted to get a nice electric. Something that sounded really good and would inspire me to learn rock guitar and move on from the acoustic playing world I've lived in for so long. I played over 100 guitars and the Schecter models stood out immediately. Everyone was playing guitars through the huge cabinets, but I decided to pick a mid-range Crate amplifier instead. My logic was that pretty much any guitar can sound decent playing at a loud volume through a huge cabinet, but only an exceptional guitar would sound really good playing through both higher and lower priced amps. I know there are some flaws to the logic, but overall I think it has some merit. I played PRS, Les Pauls, Ibanez...tons of very very expensive and top of the line guitars and seemed to get more and more depressed as I went. I found a few that I liked as I went, but most were $3,000 - $5,000 and I still wasn't completely satisfied with them. They all seemed muddy and sloppy sounding, no matter what pickup combination I used. I also noticed that when I hit a power-chord, most of them held the note for a little bit but then everything turned to mush. That seemed unacceptable for a $3,000 - $5,000 guitar. I just didn't get it. Then I picked up the model I bought. I hit a power-chord and the thing just sang. It cut like a hot razor through everything I'd played so far and seemed to never freakin' stop! I thought it was just a fluke and that maybe the particular guitar was just special. Until I continued picking up Schecter's and they ALL DID IT! I continued to play other makes, but after I'd experienced Schecter's, everything else just left me depressed. Guitar purchasing is an individual thing, and obviously all the makers I mentioned above must make excellent instruments, otherwise they wouldn't be in business and couldn't command such a high price for their instruments. But trust me, you owe it to yourself to give Schecter a chance. Play, listen, and decide for yourself. I saved at least $1,000 off the price of the Les Paul I was interested in and was considering purchasing...and I think I'm happier. I plan on picking up a few more Schecter's now as I go along...especially the C1-Classic which just released...it's absolutely stunning to behold! In the end, I can't say that I'd change anything at all about the guitar (except maybe the word "USED" on the back of the headstock...but you can't really see it anyhow).
I know that my review was a little more lengthy than some, but hopefully the information and details of my journey might help someone in the process.

Same as every other c-1 elite (read overall comments)

I never really got a chance to mess with the duncans, and replaced them immediatley with two EMG's (81,85) because they fit my style better than any other pickup. The set neck construction, and the string through body gives this guitar what seem's to be infinite sustain.

The guitar set up from the factory was a little high for my tastes, but can be lowered substantially and can compete easily with the prs's of the world. Everything else on this guitar is flawless, and absolutley beautiful.

Ive only had this guitar for a couple months and everything seem's to be solid, Ive have no problems whatsoever with it.

N.C.

To sumarize this guitar properly I think it would be fair to compare it with what is known as one of the best guitars on earth, the PRS. We'll start from the top, The PRS's headstock is pointy and have had problems with the normal bumping and chipping of the points. The C-1's headstock is the same concept but is rounded to prevent from attacks from wall's and amps (round 1, schecter). As for the binding Prs puts plastic binding on most of their guitars, and flame maple on the (sell a kidney) guitars. The C-1 has a beautiful abalone binding on the headstock, neck, and body.(round 2, schecter) Prs custom and standard guitars ($1,200 and up) come with a set neck, but all made after 1995 have this giant heel that takes access away from the higher frets. Schecter has cleverly taken the heel away and reaching the high frets take no effort. (Round 3, again Schecter) Prs stubbornly only uses their own pickups, which sound decent, but you are paying and extra $300 for the Dragon or HFS pickups. Schecter put duncan designed pickups in their guitars, which also are decent, but for $200 can be switched out to emg's which are far better than dragons.(round 4 close, but schecter still gets my vote because of the price.) As for the top's Prs uses maple tops, and sometime's 10 tops can be up to $2000 extra. Schecter also uses maple top's on the elite. (round 5 Schecter because of price, or PRS if you prefer paying $2000 extra for a couple of lines in wood, your call) And finally price A set neck prs w/ junky dragon pickups will cost you $3,500 ($3,000 for the name $500 for the guitar) A schecter C-1 elite w/ 2 emg's ran me $750, yes $2,750 less for a better looking,playing, and sounding guitar!!!!WOW thats Genius!!! I think that schecter is the clear winner.

My gitter (as an old blues man would call it) sure is nice. It has two seymour duncan pickups, one volume knob, a tone, and a toggle switch. It has a tune-o-matic, floyd rose bridges suck balls, they are the biggest pain in the ass ever. It has jumbo frets, which is good because i have jumbo fingers, and a jumbo penis.

It sounds pretty good, but i think i will put an emg-81 in the the bridge position. But,it sounds much better that than my old ESP. I run my guitar straight to the amp, not much buzzing but a lot of feed back, but it goes away if you stay away from the amp

It is sure is perty (as a hillbilly would say). On saturday, my first show using the guitar, my friend over heard someone say my guitar is "dope". The action is perfecto.

I hit someone in the face with my guitar and there wasn't even a scratch.

The got me the guitar fast...very fast.

I've been playing for 4 years. If the guitar were stolen i would hunt the guy down, cut off his balls, stretch out his scrotum, and strangle him with his own scrotum.

2001 Lefty C-1 Elite black w/chrome trim.
String-through body, set neck, fixed bridge.
H/H pickups w/coil tap. duncan-design pickups.
Purchased through Musician's Friend.

I got this guitar because it was a very well-rounded package. Stock pickups or not, you could get many different tones. As others have noted, it's a good balance between a Gibson and a Fender-for the money. I play agressive metal, and play alot. For this guitar to have a fixed bridge alone sold me. Lefties, you know where I'm coming from..

The guitar is well balanced from body to neck, and feels like you can trust it. Due to the body's edges, it's a bitch to get used to the stress on the picking-side forearm if you're used to slope-bodied Ibanez guitars. Nevertheless, the overall package is a great value. The binding looks a bid sloppy in some places, but I'll forgive them.
The pickups are impressive for stock. Anyone who's gotten a shredder's guitar usually installs pickups 1st, and I wasn't so ready to with this one. I did install a JB on the bridge and a Pearly Gates on the neck, and the combonation is great. More on pickups later..

The guitar is tough. My friends tell me I beat the guitar up with the way I pick, but I wouldn't play my ass off if I didn't trust the guitar. A good investment on this axe would be to install DiMarzio locking straps. My playing confidence increased greatly.. :) If you use heavy strings(I use 13-56's tuned to D drop C), make sure a pro sets your guitar up and works on the bridge/nut. The bridge needed it after a week(the top string ate the bridge piece up a bit). Anyways, the guitar is friendly to droptuners, the frets are solid, and it can take a beating.

Well, since I was 1st in line, I had to wait not one, not two, but SEVEN months for mine to arrive. They only built one a month, said the Rep(who I got to know since I called so much). It was worth the wait, but I suffered greatly with my Ibanez playing 6-10 gigs a month with old saddles.. I haven't called Schecter since. Just remember, if you do anything to the guitar, the warranty's gone.

I've been playing for 4 years. I've played about 100 gigs in 3 years, recorded 2 albums, and have played enough guitars to know what works for my style. I play through a rack setup(Mesa 50/50, Rocktron Prophesy, BBE 442, Furman conditioner, etc.) The guitar is great for metal. If you're an EMG kind of guy, it'll compliment the guitar's feel tremendously. I have used an 81 and 85, and since I'm going to more versatile stuff with this guitar, I'm going back to the JB/Pearly Gates setup. All in all, the guitar could be a bit more comfortable, could have a tad wider string spacing, and the finish could get a bit more attention since I waited forever for it. BUT, for the money, it's a damn good guitar, and I look forward to playing it everytime I pick it up, unlike my old RG Ibanez. So if you're a lefty, and the guitar is available, buy it. It's the old-faithful in my collection by far.

2001 C-1 Elite, two Duncan humbuckers. Came with gig bag. Seems like they're kind of going for an upscale look even though it's a Korean made guitar. I needed a cheap, solid backup for around $500 (I was teetering on the edge of being broke at the time) and this fit the bill that day.

Those Duncans sound killer. Very rich sounding output. I'm a versatile pro, play jazz, blues, country, fusion, etc. Played it through a Twin Reissue at the store and the thing sounded damn good for the price (a guy walked up to me and said "what are you playing?" I showed him and we both kind of shrugged quizzically.) But in the end it seems to be made out of like cheap plywood, the guitar really wasn't resonant acoustically. Bad news. I returned it within a week. I use a basic rig-guitar to TubeScreamer to Boss DD-3 Delay to Super Reverb reissue.

This guitar is pretty well-made as far as playability. Fast neck, nice action, nice paint job and everything. Has the binding which makes it look kind of upscale. Can't say anything bad really in this area.

I used this guitar as a backup on a couple of gigs and used it exclusively on a jazz gig. Worked pretty well for jazz (low volume, no distortion) but didn't cut the mustard for the horn driven R&B/funk/rock band I play with. Distorted tones were terrible. Maybe this guitar works well for low-end crunch but I really don't play that stuff. This is not the guitar for the Robgen Ford/Larry CArlton school of playing/sound. The guitar is fairly solidly built, but I didn't really keep it long enough to say how durable it is.

Been playing 15 years seriously. Also own a Parker Nitefly,Super Reverb, SansAmp GT-2 pedal, broken TS-9, functioning TS-9DX, Boss DD-3, Fender Blues Deluxe amp. See above for how I feel about this guitar.

2001 Lefty C1- Elite. Mahogany body, maple top. String thru design. Abalone binding on body, neck and headstock. 2 duncan designed humbuckers. Coil splitter push pull switch on tone contol. No position markers on freboard except for two diamonds on 12th fret.
Purchased with super plush harshell case. Smelled like a brand new guitar when I opened the case. Not a fingerprint on it. Beautiful gloss black finish

This guitar rocks right out of the box. Makes my Soldano Atomic 16 sing. The string thought body lets notes hang forever. Great tone.

Diamond series guitars are imported, but set up in the US before they are shipped. The place I bought it from, Drum city/Guitarland, sets them up to the buyers specs before thery are shipped. Mine has very low action. Some string buzz, but it dosent come thought on my amp. Extremely good neck feel. Up to par quality wise with my USA Jackson SL1.

Solid parts,grover tuners, tune - o - matic bridge. Flawless finish. Built like a tank.

Limited lifetime warranty. No owners manual came with the guitar. The dealer says they don't come with one. they should. don't expect to use the warranty. Time will tell.

Been Playing for years. Have recently started taking lessons to hone my skills. Play mostly Rock, blues, metal.
I love this guitar. Fantastic value for the money. I almost bought a BC Rich NJ Warlock instead of this. I'm glad I didn't.
If this guitar was stolen I would get erally pissed off, probably cry for awhile and then call my insurance agent. I would get it replaced quickly.
I have 12 other lefty guitra and next to my USA Jackson SL1, the C1 Elite is one of my favorites. You can't go wrong with this guitar for the money.

same as the good description below

Nice SemiHot Bridge Tone, really tightens up in single coil mode
neck pickup sound .... sucks. well, atleast compared to a les paul,
or any gibson for that matter. I'm not sure if its the Pickup,
the different harmonic postion, being 24 frets, or the lighter wood...
could be all three. don't plan on getting LP neck tone outta this.

like black glass, The finish is impeccable, as is the abalone binding.
the action was setup 3/8ths off the finger board ? what, was GC afraid
it'd buzz ? I dropped it DOWN on the deck, 3/32nds, NO dead spots, its
SWEET, fingers like a dream. I'd give it a 10, but there ARE a couple
of problems... really unforgiveable ones, considering. the ferules
for the thru body strings are TOO close to the bridge, so even with
the strings on the deck, the high E contacts the bridge.
and the other : This Guitar has 'Duncan Designed' pickups...
unfortunately, they are'nt Designed for THIS guitar. the Pole Spacing
isn't even close to matching the string spacing ? Whats UP with that !
A rather Major oversight in such an otherwise Outstanding Guitar.

I've only had it for a Day, theres no way to tell if binding gonna
shrink, or paints gonna crack at a joint or, heaven forbid,
the binding starts popping out ! It Looks and Feels solid

no clue

playing over 30 years, geez, I still suck. a rack full of toys and
a handful of guitars. I'd buy it again, in fact, there wasn't anything
within a $1000 that I really considered. I saw it, I picked it up,
an I waited for somebody to take my money. I wish it had Neck tone,
but I just picked up a les paul on ebay, so Im not gonna go searching
for pickups trying to find it, it'll do in a pinch. This guitar is
MADE for pyrotechnics, with great high register access.

PS: the floor salesman rang it up at the $629+tax 'sale' price,
the floor Manager made it a package price that included a nice
soft case, a couple of wall hangers, and a roadiewrench - thanks Allen

2001 guitar made in korea (but it seems as American as William Shatner
24 frets
1 volume, 1 tone which is also usable as a coil tap
Dual Duncan designed Humbuckers (Plated)
Passive pickups
Body is Mahogany/Maple
Neck is Maple
Gloss Black finish...the only finish available
Srat-like body, but sleeker and better looking
Tune o Matic Bridge with string thru body
Shiny Grover tuners.....not locking
thinner than a gibson, beefier than a weak little Ibanez guitar!
jumbo frets which pissed me off for a few days, but I'm better now
no humidifier included!

Great for MY styles
Metal, alt rock, blues, hard rock, classic rock
runs through a crybaby 535q Wah-mxr phase 90-Danelectro hashbrowns flanger-Line6 distortion modeler-Marshall supervibe chorus-
Ibanez delay/echo (i've got more, but those are my main ones...so why keep going and make some fat kid possibly named Rogelio jealous or something?)-and those go into a crate GFX 212(soon to be updated)
sounds good.....can achieve any sound from bells to...thumps
sounds good on all the amps I have tried except the shitty used ones that aren't set correctly.....no worries
hums mildly when distorted with the coil tap w/ full treble
still no worries

Great factory set up...intonation seems good
Pickups were even and solid
bridge is good action is good..expect nothing less from a new guitar!
no flaws
the frets are jumbo which I wasnt used to, but I am now so...piss off!

This seems physically and musically worthy of the stage and It should last a while. The gloss black finish might be a bitch later on, but it isn't right now.............wont wear off.I already told you.....stop asking stupid questions!
no strap locks ,but they are big strap buttons that wont fall off of the strap like any yamaha pawn shop crap
seems dependable...no complaints yet
only a dumb person or a less wealthy person would gig without a backup, but I doubt I will need my backup often at all.

I doubt I will ever call the company, my friend is the manager at guitar center and he takes care of all.
yeah theres a warranty...wont be used though
"limited lifetime"

16 year old guitar prodigy of 2 years I own 4 guitars and this one is the best over my lace sensor roland strat.piece of shit yamaha, and art wood Ibanez acoustic
if stolen I would seek vengeance
I am in a hurry I have to go to my next class soon
I love the looks and sound......very me
the frets pissed me off but i wont commit suicide or anything
I played 20 guitars before my purchase of this
I played gibsons,Ibanez's, other schecters, PRS
I like everything, but locking grovers would be cool......i dont know if they exist though.....probably do.
I wish it came in a black cherry finish, but it is great looking never the less...........old people shouldnt play it, plays well and the abalone binding kicks ass. If they start putting floyd rose on these, you had better fly away or something because that would be a bad thing

Incredible guitar! Mahogany body with maple top, gloss black finish with Abalone binding on the neck and body. Really fantastic! Two humbuckers with a coil tap switch. Flat radius fret board with large frets. It has a 25 1/2 inch scale length, tune-amatic bridge with the strings through the body. Guitar came with a gig bag.

I am really picky about pickups, these sound great, no squeal, no noise, I love it. Generally pickups are the first thing I change on a Korean made guitar, these have a nice chunky bottom end, balsy sound.

Guitar center had 2 of these in stock, I did notice one was a little bit, but noticably heavier. I chose the heavier one. I sounds great.

The set up was good, the action was perfect. No noticable flaws, excellant fit and finish, just what you would expect from a guitar that looks this good. I have a large collection of guitars from many different manufacturers, this is as good as anything I own and better than most.

I have 3 other Schecters, never had a problem, don't expect one. It is well built, very solid.

Who knows? I have never had to call them, I do know and trust Guitar Center to stand behind what they sell. So far so good.

Absolutely a 10. I love this guitar. If it were stolen I would definately by another one. A really great value for the money.

This is an addition to a prievious post, so I'm not going to get into every detail. I found that in the last month the tuning machines were not tightened enough, a wrench and 2 minutes took care of that problem.
The guitar also needs to be wiped down after playing because I sweat and the black color shows every grease mark, but that ain't no biggie.
They should make other colors for sure, and instead of using abalone, they could use ebony or something. Also if someone from Schecter is reading this, take the 'Diamond Series' logo off the headstock. It's too busy.

The stock pickups just didn't sound like I wanted with the band or at home, so I read a ton of reviews and did a little research. After playing a friends Fat Strat ('59 and Pearly gates) I decided that passives wouldn't do it for me. I use EMG's on my Strat and like them a whole lot. So, in went 2 EMG's. I was concerned that the sound may still suck, I thought maybe it wasn't the pickups as much as the body wood resonating frequencies that pissed me off, but the EMG's did the job.

I found one minor flaw under the bridge post, I think it is where the ground wire connects so it may not be a flaw, it was a area that if you held the guitar just right with the bridge off you could see a tiny piece of unfinshed wood. Other than that, it's a pretty good looking assembly.

I replaced the strap buttons with schaller lockers. I polished the frets and trued the neck a little, now it has it's own character.
2 hours after soldering in the EMG's that is. I just hope the abalone doesn't fall out! If it does, just remember, that's what super glue is for! It now has tone for days. As a side note I considered installing Gibson or even PRS pickups to keep it 'stock' looking...I'm glad I didn't. Actives are sooooo much better.

No idea, I hear they are good about customer satisfaction.

Here's the deal...most people could care less about the Tones etc. They just want to shred or punk out. I on the other hand, take tone seriously (why do it otherwise). Do yourself a favor, if you buy one of these install EMG's! Don't even mess with passives. The only thing is it looks REAL dark with the black EMG's. Almost too much, but this is a 3rd guitar so it's okay.

24 jumbo frets, master volume, master tone/coil splitter ( the pickups are tapped)3-way toggle switch,H/H pickup config, tune o matic bridge..

i run it thru all this shit:
535Q wah>Digitech wammy>Line6 dd4>Digitech xp-300> Ibanez Sm-7>Boss ph-2>Boss Bf-2>Boss DD-5>Boss Mt-2>Line 6 Pod>-- Mesa boogie dual recti...and i still get Beautiful sound. Great clean (when coils are split),clean as humbukers is kind of punchy blues tone. Distortion is nice and tight w/ great sustain. the stock pickup where accually much better than i expected..i was orginally planing to throw in a Duncan distortion at bridge and Duncan Jazz at neck, but after i heard theses, theres no reason to replace them. I am compleatley satisfied

Nice finsh, came flawless, beautiful abolonine (or whatever you call it) bound all around the boarder of the guitar. the Action came perfict, however the tone knob was kinda loose, but thats ok cuz i fixed it ez... oh yeah THE STOCK STRING SUCK, stretch like hell.

rock solid...

i've been playing for 5 years, i own a few ibanez/fender high-end models ($1300+)and this guitar could easily compair, sounds as good as it looks, FANTASTIC value.

This guitar is made in Korea, it has 24 frets, solid top, 3 way selector, 1 volume 1 tone, i didnt notice a coil tap, 2 duncan designe humbuckers, passive, a beutiful black finish, in kinda a strat shape, Tuno o matic to string through body, fast neck, rosewood fingerboard.

This guitar, as classy as it looks is great for thrash and punk and even (gasp) grunge. I used it on a mesa boogie single rectifier combo, god the sound is excelent, awesome sustain better then the les paul i tried, totally great.

God was it butiful (i cant spell that word) awesome black finish with pearl binding around the whole guitar, no blemishes at all, no flaws except it didnt have a thing on the selector switch (the ball thing)

I wouldnt know i didnt buy it, but it seems like it will last a while.

i didnt buy it

totally awesome better than any other guitar ive played with the exception of the tempest.

Everything has been covered.

It took a screwdriver to setup the pickup right. If it isn't set right the sound is screwed. I got the neck pickup perfect.
The 'JB' treble pickup is harder to setup. Basically all of the pole pieces are up 1/16" from the top surface of the pickup. The neck P/U is best with the 'G' screw in some. Set the rest to taste. You can put the neck pickup almost level with the mounting ring, it sounds best there. The bridge pickup needs to be closer to get a 'middy' tele on steroids sound. It's not bad for a stock setup. Out of the box it's a bargain, you really can get by with a stock setup and be versatile. Some of the reviews give a low rating to the pickups, but if you set it up right it's not bad at all. Outdoes a Ibanez, Dean, and most in the $100-$1000 range. I use it as a break from the single coil Strat with EMGS I have.

awesome.

Seems as well made as anything out there.

I may change out the pickups depending on if I get tired of them, or maybe to experiment. Some of the other non covered pickups sound brighter I think, but the chrome looks so finished. It's a good buy.

This guitar has all the features I was looking for in a guitar. I already have a Fender Strat with a Kahler Trem bar, so I did not want another guitar with a bar so that I could detune easily. All the other reviews sum up this guitar well, but I want to add that the pickups DO have a coil tap switch. Just pull up the tone knob!

I also disagree with those who changed the pickups. I think they sound great. You can get a great clean sound with the coil tap switch, and a great heavy distortion sound from the bridge humbucker.
Great sustain from this also, probably due to the string through body setup. I think this guitar will work great for anyone who plays any style of music.

The finish is awesome. The binding really makes this guitar stand out.
Nice arch top, you don't see too many strat shapes with an arch top.
Nice headstock too. No flaws on my guitar anywhere.

Only 3 weeks old, give me time to use it.

I have been playing over 16 years. I have owned a lot of guitars in my life, but this was the first one I bought in 10 years. It really attracted my attention due to its looks,playability,sound and features for the price. It's not a USA Hamer or a David Mcnaught guitar, but it cost a LOT less than any of those would cost. Great buy to those who are looking for an alternative to Ibanez,ESP junk.

2001 Korean made Mahogany body,neck with rosewood fingerboard,Grover tuners, Duncan Designed humbuckers, string thru body with tune-o-matic
bridge, ok enough details. Here's the deal. This guitar is great!!
It is a perfect cross between a les paul and a strat. It has an arched top like a les paul but weighs as much as a strat. The finish has the deepest glossiest black I have ever seen. A beautiful abalone
binding goes completely around the body, up the neck and around the headstock. Awesome! Two diamond markers at the twelfth fret with fretmarkers along the side of the neck. I was looking for a guitar that had a combination of my other two guitars and I found it.

Very bright sound played unplugged. Very nice. Plugged into a Marshall JCM 800 combo, sounded good. However, I replaced the pickups with a Seymour Duncan JB in the bridge, and a Seymour Duncan 59 in the neck and it made a big difference. A lot of guitar players might not think the Duncan designed pickups are bad, so try it for yourself.
Very good sound with heavy distortion, excellent sound clean with a chorus on. My only dislike here is the lack of a single coil sound. However if you go to Schecter's website, they explain that the pickups in it can be used with a coil splitter, so don't lose hope if that is a concern.

The action was perfect right out of the box. One small nick of the side of the neck by the 22nd fret, but it is nothing of concern to me.
The Grover tuners have held up well, after the first few weeks of playing it. It sometimes slipped out of tune in the beginning, but now they are solid. The finish was flawless. Not a PRS finish, but I paid 1/4 the price of a PRS.

This can't be an accurate response until you have used the guitar for about 5 years. I owned many guitars that were great in the beginning but fell apart after a few years. However, I am impressed by the quality of this guitar. Go and play an Ibanez,ESP,BC Rich,Hamer,Fender
import, then play this guitar. You will be surprised.

N/A

I owned many Gibson Les Pauls and Fender Strats through the years. I always wanted to combine both guitars into one. This guitar does it the best. I love the way the strings go through the body. I love the feel of the neck. The looks are awesome. The price is a bargain, however I spent an additional $120.00 adding the Seymour Duncans. It was worth it to me. The guitar is still a value. I can't afford a high end guitar, so this was the best move for me. The Schecter c-1 elite is in a class by itself.

2001 Schecter Gloss Black Diamond Series C-1 Elite.
Mahogany body with Maple top and neck wrapped in a beautiful fullbody with Abalone binding.
Rosewood fingerboard with a 25 1/2" scale and 24 Jumbo frets with tight grain,
Double diamond shape inlays on 12th and only side markers on the neck, no 'dots'.
It has a Tune-O-Matic thru Body bridge, Grover tuners and Duncan Design humbuckers. The first thing I did was cut off the .010's and put a set of .009's on. There was no great volume or tone difference.

The pickups come setup stock, and the setscrews had to be adjusted to take some of the mid range out.
It quacked like a duck at first, but after some tweaking, it sounded much better.
The pickups are wax potted I noticed after getting some wax oozing out after screw adjustment. Pickups have Alnico magnets in them, they are 95% similar to the Seymour Duncan JB and '59 series.
I would like to know what the 5% is...

This guitar should fit in most music, any rock/metal/punk/alternative/blues/rhino mating, genre. The neck is dead flat with a 14" radius, set neck construction,
Access to the 24th pretty good, not quite as good as an SG, but way better than a Strat or Tele. Unplugged, the chords just ring throughout the entire body.
It has a very clean sound with little noise. My intention was to hotrod it by putting in a pull pot to tap the humbuckers, but guess what? It comes stock that way. My 'hotrod ding' consisted of adding Schaller stoplocks which took 5 minutes.
It has heavily knurled chrome volume and tone knobs for 'power swells'.

The neck is dead flat with a 14" radius, set neck construction,
acess to the 24th pretty good, not quite as clean as an SG,
but way better than a Strat.

It has a very clean sound with little noise. My intention was to hotrod it by putting in a pull pot to tap the hum buckers, but guess what? It comes stock that way. My 'hotrodding' consisted of adding Schaller staplocks which took 5 minutes. It has heavily knurled chrome volume and tone knobs for 'power swells'.
This guitar is beautiful, the setup and design is close to any PRS I played. I mean at 1/4 the cost the finish and appearance is only 20% at most not as 'perfect'.
The full-body Abalone bindings give it a kick. It is a little lighter than a Strat, due to the mahogany/maple (Les paul) like construction.
I would have liked to see another half pound of wood but that may not make much difference. I thought it played as well as a Paul without the weight factor. The finishing material is the only questionable thing.
I have no idea what it is, it is good and heavy without the dragging
commonly associated with polys.


The Schecter C-1 Elite is a 1st rate guitar, this is an amazing value compared to Fender Americans at $800.

I usually spend $200-$350 on the cost of a Strat putting actives in, and doing other mods to get it to play to my preferences, this thing didn't need anything done to it. Although the pickups are adequate,
I may change the neck pickup to a more twangy sounding one (less mids), the bridge pickup is OK as is.


Arch top body the 2 humbuckers share a vol. and tone control, which don't get in the way.
Sports a Tune-o-matic bridge with a string through body ferrule set-up simular to a Tele.
Sort of like they took a 'best of' approach to the design and blended it perfectly.

I'll take this thing out and play it, not having to worry about
damaging a $2500 instrument.
I noticed the thing is flakey on tuning but it may be that the tuner friction is not correctly adjusted.

I've been playing 20 years and wanted something I would not have to worry about. If a PRS or Gibson got ripped I would be upset.
Maybe I'll replace the neck pickup, maybe not. I have an old '59 PAF andI may switch it out with that...but it really doesn't need it I can get the range out of one of my TUBE amps.

2001 Schecter Gloss Black Diamond Series C-1 Elite. Mahogany body with Maple top and neck wrapped in a beautiful full-body Abalone binding. Rosewood fingerboard with a 25 1/2" scale and 24 Jumbo frets (double diamond inlays on 12th). It has a T.O.M. thru Body bridge, Grover tuners and Duncan Design humbuckers. Nothing more and nothing less than I expected or wanted.

This guitar fits in perfectly for my range of music and as far as I'm concerned, is perfect for any other. It can slam through any rock/metal/punk/alternative genre of music out there, also making solos and riffs a breeze. As said in a previous submission, unplugged, the chords just hum throughout the entire body. It has a very clean sound with little noise (if any).

This guitar is beautiful. The full-body Abalone bindings give it an uniqueness all of it's own. Along with the double diamond inlays on the 12th fret and its amazing glossy black finish, you'll be getting compliments on its looks alone.

I've only had this guitar for 5 months now so I haven't much to say on the durability at this point. I play my guitars pretty rough and this one is still in mint condition (as it should be, considering the fact that I baby it after every play). I use my Schecter on-stage as well as off and it's never let me down yet, it's a very solid, well made guitar. I also like the fact that it weighs less than what I'm use to, this way I can really get into my music on stage.

The Schecter C-1 Elite is a 1st rate guitar! For the money you spend, you will get double what you had expected in a guitar. I've been playing for only 2 years now but have grown better in style and technique with each guitar I play ............ needless to say, I won't be putting this guitar down any time soon.


Rock On!

A 2001 Schecter C-1 elite that i tried out a mesa/boogie hollywood through a dual rectifier. made in korea. 24 frets (kind of a long scale to me) solid top i think. 1 volume, 1 tone control, 3 way pickup selector. H/H configuration with 2 duncan designed pickups, JB in the bridge and '59 in the neck. mahogany body with maple top i think, not sure about the neck. the finish is satin black, very beautiful. it has a strat body style with tune-o-matic bridge through body strings. the tuners are grover, and the neck is relatively fat like a les paul about. this guitar was a factory second, and the guy said he couldn't find any flaws except one small dent on the side.

i had been coveting and drooling over this guitar for a good 6 months at least, ever since i saw it in the musician's friend catalog. i played it through a mesa/boogie dual rectifier. i think it was strung with '9s. anyway, i play hardcore, metal, punk and jazz. i guess i was expecting too much from this guitar. it played its price, nothing more, nothing less really. the one thing about it that really turned me off more than the sound of it was the light weight of the guitar which i think was a large part of it killing the tone. i don't want to believe that this guitar actually played mediocre and sounded bad, so i'm going to try to attribute all these things to the .09 strings and the duncan designed pickups. the thing is, i already own a korean made guitar (a hamer archtop) and was expecting the schecter to blow it out of the water. it never happened really. playing through the rectifier, it sounded really muddy even on the bridge pickup. the cleans were decent. the neck was what i was used to, but the scale was a bit longer.

the guitar was set up well at the factory, and i guess pickups were adjusted correctly, i didn't really notice though. there was one factory flaw which the salesman and i identified as the miniscule dent on the bottom of the guitar.

the finish on this guitar is immaculate, very glossy and beautiful. the one thing that sets this guitar apart is its full-body abalone binding, which is absolutely beautiful.

i've been playing three years, and my current guitar is a hamer archtop which is about the same list price as the c-1 elite. the sound on the c-1 was just kind of thin and disappointing, a real let down to someone who's been eyeing it for so long. if i ever find a sweet deal or have enough money to burn, i might buy it as a live guitar, but in terms of tone it didn't cut it very well. you couldn't even say it sounds like a bright les paul, because it was just muddy and thin to me. this might have been a lemon though, so next time i get the chance, i'm playing it again just to make sure. your sound might change dramatically if you switch to heavier gauge strings and definitely change those pickups.

Late 2000 Korean made Diamond series Schecter C-1 Elite. Mahoghanyneck and body with maple top. Comes in black only with abalone binding on the body, neck, and headstock, Arch top body with two "duncan designed" humbuckers which share a vol. and tone control. Tune o matic bridge with a string tru body set-up.

I was impressed by how it sounds unplugged. Chords just ring thruogh the whole guitar. I have only played it thru a cheap 30w amp so all I can say on that end is that even though the pickups aren't true duncans they sound pretty good to me. Very little noise. I would have liked a coil splitter and or an extra set of controls for more versatility but for what I play, Allman bros. to Iron Maiden, this guitar can handle it easily.

It was ready to play right out of the box. The set-up was great. It plays as fast as it looks. The neck feels perfect not too thin or thick.Thefret board binding is flawless. It really makes the guitar stand out. I couldn't find a single flaw in the finish. I wish that they had a few more colors to choose from.

Seems like a very solid guitar. If well maintained this guitar should last a very long time.

I contacted the to ask about the back order on my guitar. They were timely in they're responses and answered all my questions.

I've been playing on and off for about 17 years. I have owned a Carvin V220, Charvel, and a Dean EVO Special. This Schecter is on par with the Carvin for quality but not sound, this schecter sings in comparison. I wish I had known about the C-1 Elite before I bought the Dean. The c-1 Elite is a great deal for the money. It looks as good as it sounds.