Schecter C-1 Hellraiser

Features are already laid out in detail by others. I bought the guitar because I wanted to be able to quickly swap in and out various types of emg pickups using the quick connectors.

Right now I have an HA (alnico single coil) in the neck with the 85 in the bridge. This for me is a much better combination than the 85/81. I couldn't get much of a feel for the 81 but then I am not into metal. HA is GREAT for cleans on this guitar.

I am thinking about setting it up with two single coils H abd HA.

I can get a range of different sounds by using different emg's. The original sound was too heavy metal for me but I knew that going in. As I said my purpose in buying this was to be able to change to a wide variety of emg's.

Good frets and finish. The action was a tad bit high for my tastes but that easily remedied.

Seems pretty solid though the finish scratches easily.

Don't know.

I have been playing for more than 20 years. I play alt-rock, post punk type stuff.

I wish this came with the spc and exg options that give emg pickups a greater range of tones.

This is a really solid well-built guitar for the money and I like the emg's with the quick change connector. It is great to be able to set this up with such a wide range of sounds.

I have to admit to not being crazy about the abalone binding. I bought this on the internet and that was more pronounced than I expected....of course you buy the guitar for sound and quality not primarily for looks.

I would certainly buy this again.

Double cutaway, arched mahogany body finished in gloss black with black fittings and black pearl edge binding (very nice). Bridge is of the tunomatic type with through body stringing, pickups being active EMG81/85 combination. Neck is mahogany with a 24 fret rosewood fretboard and is sculptured to look like a through neck (I don't think it is though), 25 1/2 inch scale and machineheads are Grover. It has 2 volume and 1 tone control. This is a heavy guitar and may not suit some people. There is no bag or case supplied, which I would expect (the shop I bought it from supplied a gig bag free - good on them)

Being fitted with EMG active pickups it is most suitable for metal and does that very well. Clean sounds are achievable but you have to roll the volume controls right off on the guitar to avoid distortion from the preamps and up the volume on the amp, a bit of a pain if you're playing a song that includes both as it difficult to maintain the same volume. The bass is very tight and punchy with no hint of booming but I found cut through on the treble a bit lacking (unusual for EMGs). It loses 2 marks for not being very adaptable - it's a metal guitar and that's it!

This is where the guitar was let down the most. The bottom E string rattles like hell and it is impossible to get rid of by changing the set up (unless you go for a 4mm string height!). The frets are dressed and have a very flat crown profile, which might contribute to this. (My guess is the nut is too low. I had the same problem with an Ibanez and once I shimmed the nut I could get a really low action without buzz or rattle). Other than that the set up wasn't bad - the battery was half flat, which made the pickups lose a bit clarity. The high gloss black finish looks awesome when new but easily scratches and being black it's easy to see.

As I've said the finish is delicate and would look rough if gigged regularly but that's just cosmetics. It has quality fittings (bar the nut) and pickups so I don't see why it shouldn't be reliable for gigging (don't forget a spare battery though).

This was bought in the UK and are difficult to get here. I'm not sure Schecter honor their US lifetime guarantee here, neither did the UK distributors. I had no tools with mine and e-mailed Schecter to see if there was an online manual for setup info. I got no reply ......

The only customer support I got was from the shop I bought it from and that was exceptional (10/10).

I've been playing about 3 years and have had Epiphones and Ibanez as my main guitars. My Ibanez RG370 costs around 225 pounds and bar the EMGs I can't see why the Schecter costs twice as much - the neck and fretwork on the Ibanez is much better. I like the tightness of the EMGs but that's the pickups not the guitar. I wouldn't buy another one. I've just bought a PRS SE singlecut at the same price as the Schecter and that leaves the C1 for dead. If you just play metal maybe this is the guitar for you but otherwise there is better guitars in my opinion

CONSTRUCTION/SCALE: Set-Neck w/ Ultra Access /25.5???
BODY: Mahogany, Quilted Maple Top
NECK/FINGERBOARD: 3-pc. Mahogany/Rosewood
FRETS: 24 X-Jumbo
INLAYS: Abalone ???Gothic Cross???
PICKUPS: EMG active 81 / 85
ELECTRONICS: Vol/Vol/Tone/3-Way
BRIDGE: TonePros TOM w/ thru-body
BINDING: Abalone
TUNERS: Grover
HARDWARE: Black Chrome
COLOR: Black or Cherry (BCH)

Beautiful sound. Perfect for heavey metal and blazing leads like joe satriani and john petrucci. You can also shred hard with this guitar a la Marty Friedman and Jason Becker and Freasecco Ferrari. Also has nice highs and lows. The active pickups are a big plus, no hum and brilliant sound. I use this guitar with a Boss ME50 or with my peavey Transtube 212 with a Marshall 2x12 cab. On clean, this guitar is sparkly. I wouldnt recommed this guitar for blues tho, haha. Its to metal. I love everything about this guitar beucase I play 100% metal. \m/

The action was to high for my liking so I sent it to a Pro Shop to get it lowered, after that it was the best! I raised the pickups a bit only because I like a hot sound. The wood is so smooth and it looks brilliant. The only problem I had was that there was a ttttiiiny mark on the headstock on the corner. It's unnotible though so it's all good. The trussrod is also dual action (which schecter doesnt mention), which is great. The inlays also look real nice.

Deffinately a show-stopper guitar. I immediately put on locking strap buttons because of safety. I havent had a problem with this guitar since I bought it a year ago. I've emailed customer support a couple times and they responded!!! It was great.

I emailed Schecter once about adjusting my trussrod and they helped me through the whole way. There good people who care (sounds really lame but there good guys).

I've been playing for 3 yrs and I have many other guitars. This is one of the best I have. If it was stolen I'd buy it again. The best part is the low action you can get and the active pickups, NOTHING bets active pickups. I was deciding between this guitar and an Ibanez JEM. I tried the schecter and lovd it from the start. The JEM didn't have enough rythym to it I felt.

-2006 - korea
-24 X Jumbo Frets (dont feel much different from the ibanez Jumbo)
-Black with Beautiful abalone binding which you can only see on the side.
-one tone two volume black metal knobs
-EMG 81 and 85, 9V batery powered
-Solid Mahogany, unlike the red cherry model which uses a Maple top I think, so this one sounds a tad darker, not really very noticeable.
-tones pro bridge, string through (makes it a lot bassier than the Floyd Rose model)
-Set Neck, not too thin not too thick, comparable with a Wizard II or prestihe ibanez neck with tighter string spacing, extremly confortable and fast. higher frets are very accesible since it has virtually no heel joint.
-No case included, came with the regular tools and a cheap cable (very stupid since you are buying a high end guitar and they send you a 99 cent cable.
-Grover tunners which are not locking but Very acurate on the turning ratio.

Perfect for Prograssive a la Dream Theater and killer for that metallica tone. The EMGs are very responsive on the Bass frequencies like 600hz and lower and also on the high frequencies 4Mhz and higher so they give you a natural scooped sound, very articulate for soloing and sounds very chunky for riffing, but i would not recomend them for Bluesy stuff, Dimarzio Breeds are much better for that, EMGs can pull it off with EQing but there are better pickups for that. Also sounds great for jazz. The mahogany gives it a nice dark sound...sounds almost the same as a Gibson LP standard with a lot more gain. The tone control affects the tone lightly unlike fender gitars that when you tun the knob half way it kills the sound.

a very very nice sounding guitar. Obviously meant to rival Gibsons, specifically the Zack Wylde model. They sound almost the same but the hellraiser giver you a faster eck and a bunch of money to spare.

Although made in Korea, all of them are setup in the USA. Setup is preference driven, but it came with a staight neck, well tuned bridged and relatively low action...very usable....I loaded it with .008's re aranged the neck and tuned the bridge to precision in only one hour and 20 mins...try to do that with a floating tremolo.

The pickups were very well adjusted, no flaws on the paint, BEAUTIFUL abalone binding on the side which you cannot see in pictures. This is a beautiful guitar indeed.

the set neckmakes it suceptible to heat so NEVERleave it in the car in the sun, the black hardware seems very sturdy, the finish is glossy black so youll get fingerprints all over it all of the time. Never gig w/out a back up, but if i had to, i would gig with this one and not my RG prestige just because it doesnt has a tremolo.

Playing for 10 years, Play the guitar through a Marshall 25 anniversary, also own other ibanez's, Jackson's, Epiphone's....etc. you will NEVER find a better sounding or features loaded non-trem guitar up to 1500's than this one. if your are on a budget buy this guitar, if you have lots of money, buy this guitar. People are afraid because schecter is not such a big name... you should take advantage of that, in a couple of years, all of their guitars will be $1000 or more, youll see.

24 extra jumbo frets
Black finish
Mahogany body
Mahogany neck
Vol, Vol, Tone-controls
EMG pickups (81 &8 5)
Tune-O-Matic bridge
Grover Tuners
Neck scale 25.5"

Got the recommendation to go for this brand from a friend from the states.

I mostly play the tech-deathmetal-thing(necrophagist,origin etc.)
...stuff where you need enough gain but transparency though.
I'm using a Randall RH100-g2 with an old Hughes&Kettner 4x12 Ax-cabinet.
Nothing particular concerning the effects.
I don't play so much clean-stuff but i like the sound that i get.
I love the highgain sound..fits my style perfectly.This guitar is perfect for lead playing.

but don't exspect too much if you dislike active-PU-sound...

Schecter guitars are perfect if you tune down low.
the factory setup is way above good,but if you(or someone else) adjust the neck etc.you can go from
drop tuning to...somewhere else :)- definately low as f*ck.
(I got those fat Zakk Wylde 11-70. strings & use Drop-B tuning)
and there're no flaws.everythings allright.

Anything on this axe looks/feels so good.Lets see how it looks in 3 years(after intensive shows/touring).
anyway..those guys know what they craft...and the fact that they give you a lifetime-warranty is a good argument that your axe will last!

so 10-points for that!

haven't dealt with the guys from schecter yet.
But they provide lifetime-warranty.
Ok it would be a bit exspensive/risky for me to send it back
from germany to the schecter-research-center.

I played alot of guitars during the last years (from cheap nonames to ESP customs)and if you get the chance to play this one,
you would agree that it feels and sounds(and looks) like a guitar that could cost much more than the real price.

so get one and "raise"some"hell" before its too late :)

year: 2005
24 extra jumbo frets
Black: Soild Mahogany body. Quilt top: Maple top, Mahogany body.
Controls: Vol, Vol, Tone
Pickups: EMG 81 Bridge, 85 Neck
Neck: Mahogany neck with a rosewood fretboard. "Gothis cross" inlays
Finishes: Black Cheary quilt top, Black
Bridge: Tune-O-Matic
Tuners: Grover
Neck scale: 25.5"

I have the Black finish which is all mahogany so that could give a little darker of a sound. For the most part guitars with 81/85 sets have the same tone. One thing i found out is that is dosent sound to good with a B52 AT100 or AT212.

I work for a shop so i tech all my guitars so that they play right with 11s in Drop C tunning. Schecter for the most part have great setups. I like a lower action and a flater neck the the factory setup, But still good. One this i did like was the intoition (sorry i suck at spelling). It was dead on. Ive played over 100 schecters and found two that had a setup or electronic problem.

Ask me in 2 years. Ive seen a few older schecter and they hold up well.

I deal with Schecter all the time. They has some of the best customer support ive ever had to deal with. If you ever have a problem call them and they will take care of you.

Like i said i work for a shop and the only gibson dealer in Idaho. I get to play on a lot of gear. My other guitars are a Gibson Les Paul Voodoo and a Schecter Gryphon. My Hellraiser is by far the one i play the most.
I think schecter is probley the best bet if you want a good guitar and dont want to pay some fat, overpayed american to make you an over priced guitar. Now im not saying dont buy a gibson or a PRS if you have the money, but if you dont get a Schecter over an Epiphone or Mexi Fender anyday.

All the features are listed at the Schecter website. Beautiful Black Cherry finish which under lights absolutely glows!EMG pickups sound excellent, great for fat metal riffs. The neck is probably a bit fat for my liking (used to have an ibanez Jem, although the transition from neck to body is smooth as. NEVER goes out of tune. NEVER.
Also scratches really easily

Upgrading to a Line 6 Spider 212, and this guitar blows everything else away!
I tried the amp in the shop and people left because they couldn't handle it!
Huge variety of sounds from an Eric Johnson strat tone to fat, death metal distortion. No buzz whatsoever.
Not so great clean though....

The action was way too high when I purchased it, not a hard thing to fix.Only problem was a small crack in the abalone finish on the topside of the neck near the 22nd fret, doesnt do anything to sound quality. Came set up with a new battery, which i didnt expect.

had it for 9 months and the only thing that went wrong is the volume knob came loose

Havent dealt with schecter

benn playing for 3 years and this guitar is the best i've owned. I practise at least 10 hours a day and this guitar keeps me going.
I love the finish!

I got the black finish with the the all mahogany body. I wanted the maple top model but was told it would be a couple month wait. I play in a cover band on weekends and needed something for the heavier drop tuned songs. My main guitars are a 2004 Les Paul Standard and a 2005 American Standard Tele (with Graphtech Ghost piezo saddles installed) through a Mesa Dual Rectifier with the 2x12 cab. I was getting sick of tuning up and down in the middle of the set. I didn't want to spend another 1000-2000 dollars for a guitar I only needed for 5 or 6 songs. The Les Paul is still my favorite out the bunch but when I detune say for something like Kashmir (D-A-D-G-A-D) all the other strings go sharp so I end up having to tune all 6 strings even if only 2 or 3 need to be detuned. The tuners on the Schecter are solid as a rock. I still tune all 3 guitars between each set but my Fender American Series Tele and Schecter are completely solid tuning-wise. I plan to replace the LP tuning pegs.

The Hellraiser has the EMG active 81/85s. I got the guitar specifically for the drop tuned heavier stuff on our setlist. The cleans aren't that great but the bridge pickup had a bit jazzier feel than I expected. People are right about the cleans IMO but I'm not thrilled with my Mesa's clean channel either and figure that's part of the problem. I have a small 40 watt Fender Blues Deluxe that's way better clean but don't feel like dragging both amps to gigs. The pickups are perfect for what I needed so I rate them high even if there's not as much tonal variety as some of my other guitars.

Set neck but it feels better and has better access to the upper frets than either of my neck-throughs. I've had this guitar for a year now and can't find one single flaw in the craftsmanship. I looked at everything when deciding on my Les Paul a few years ago. (I debated on going with 3 Schecters instead) I decided on the LP but the Schecters really stuck out to me as a lot of guitar for the money when I was hunting for a new one.
Plain black finish. Nice Binding that can only be seen from the top.
I wanted to stay away from batteries but I only changed them once after about 8 months and they didn't even need it. Hasn't been any trouble. Setup was great right out of the box.

I've used this on the road for almost a year and it seems very solid and durable. I replaced the strap buttons with straplocks and can't say enough good about it. For the cash it is the nicest stuff I've seen if you are in the 500-600 dollar price range

This guitars features kick ass it was a bass model in 2004. This guitar is korean made to higher standards then any us guitar I have ever played. It has 24 full frets that are so comfortable with a falmaed top and a 3 piece set neck. emg active pick ups so sweet tone can get nearly any guitar tone with it. I love the tone pros bridge stays in tune like no tomorrow. and only 500 or so are suppose to be made throughout the world.

Thing is the best. Really any player can love this guitar even die hard fender fans and they dont even know what they want!!!! So quite on high gain amps and is real responsive. rich full and bright sound you can change it whereevere however. no dislikes and alot of likes!!!!!

The intonation is untouchable and the feel is great. The action is nearly perfect for any player and its just awsome!!!! NO flaws at all!

I have showed/toured with it it has been thrown tossed(never hit the ground) It can take the abuse quite well. I reccomend going to strap locks on any guitar though. Especially if you play metal and rock out!!!!

They kept pushing the ship date forward like the other guy said. Just dont expect to get it for like a month and a half. But it is well worth the wait!!! warranty is nice ansd schecter stands behind there guitars.

I have been playing 13 years now and can rock out with the best of them. This is a very versatile guitar. I own a mesa triple rect the old two channel and a new 3 channel(the two channel sounds better) I also have a genz benz eldiablo head with the matching genz cabs and 3 mesa 4x12 recto cabs and on the side have a line 6 pod xt live pedal and a boss gt-8 with a fender mh head and cab. I also have another marshal cab with vintage greenbacks. I know my tone!!!!! I would buy three more of these guitars if it ever got stolen. I wish it had an orginal floyd rose but in 2006 there going to have them so yeah im buying another!@!!!!!!

The features are the same as listed below but I would like to point out that the black one is all mahogany and quilt top has well a quilted maple top. I havent played the quilt top to see if its any brighter. The coolest feature is by far the binding. You can only see it from the side and not the top.

I play bad metal and this is a metal guitar. The ZW pick ups are mean. Im running a Crate XT120R and a Metal Zone pedal. I dont konw if im an active pick up fan. Lot of string noise, but damn thats hot output.

Schecters are made in Korea, the same country that brought us the Hundai and korea-pop. But I will give those 12 year old Korean boys and girls one thing, they make one kick ass guitar. The one thing that sets Schecter and Daisy Rock (owned by the wife of the dude that owns Schecter) apart is that they all go through a 40 min set up. I have never played one that wasent "set up" (that a personal pref.) good. And after flating the neck and lowering the bridge she play nice with 11s.

I havent owned it long enuf to know how it will last. The only bitch i have is that the finish scratches easy.

Now I work for a shop and they hook me up so I might not be the best one to ask. One thing that i can add, J.P. the VP, is the guy who answers the phones for us and he is cool as hell. Every guitar ive had to order comes 2-3 weeks early, thats cool.

I cant stress it enuf, Schecters are the best guitar for the money. I doubt im going to keep the ZW set in there, instead im going with a passive pick up, just my thing. But yeah, buy this guitar it rules.