Schecter C-7 Hellraiser FR

2008 model, built in S Korea, double cut solid, archtop, set neck with mahogany body, EMG 707TW's that are actually two pickups in each casing, original Floyd. Not on the Schecter website at the time of writing. White with abalone binding, and smoked chrome hardware. Fab (gothic cross) inlays in abalone too. Sounds tacky, but it somehow isn't ... ?

Don't let the 26.5" scale put you off. I have real small (girly) hands and I can handle it fine. Big jump if you're used to 24.75", but a jump well worth making. Wizard neck addicts will struggle to get used to a real neck that doesn't make your hand ache after half an hour. But then we all know about them, don't we?

XJ frets. What else?

This combination of EMG and mahogany has to be one of the best ever. And as the 707TW can give you either humbucker or single coil (one of each in the casing) so you have a huge tonal palette at your fingertips. It's over fifteen years since I played an EMG guitar and I wasn't sure about them back then. But these have changed my mind. I will not play any other pickup from now. Period. The day of the hype of all those PAF and P90 and Texas Specials are over. These are powerful (!), quiet, versatile, and warm as you like. The mahogany gives some depth which kind of tempers the slightly brittle edge you get from a floyd trem.

I play in my own style that has elements of Zappa, Deftones, Hendrix, Jon Schofield, etc. My Hellraiser covers all the bases - and then some.

It's as at home with my Matchless as it is with the JCM800.

I got this as a blem, but it is better than many a Gibson or other passing off as a first. The action was low and clean, and I dropped it further and further and it took it! The strings are barely above the frets, and it doesn't buzz.

Everything fits well and works as you'd expect. The Floyd is original, not a 'licensed by', and there really IS a difference.

I have no complaints about any of these aspects.

The hardware is EMG and Floyd, so that's as good as you get. The neck is set in the body. It feels real solid like it would break the floor rather than fall apart if you dropped it.

'Would I gig it?' is a dumb question!

Only had pre-sales contact and that was fast, informative, helpful and friendly. Old school service.

I've played for over 30 years (with a gap in the middle) and have owned just about all the classics. And you know what? I would no longer thank you for any of them. I'd take this over a 59 LP or a 60's Strat anytime. I don't dislike the other stuff, but up against this Hellraiser they all seem kind of one-trick items. They are all based on 50 year old originals - and it shows. My Hellraiser is a modern guitar, built in a modern way, with hich-tec pups and a trem you can use - and it has the correct number of strings.

I wanted a guitar that would let me play whatever I had in my head. And I'd never found it until now. You could not improve it.

Would I buy another if it got stolen? I have another on order right now anyway! And I would have even at 2x the price.

It's difficult to put into words exactly how good this guitar is. Let me try it this way:

THERE IS NO POINT IN ANY OTHER SOLID BODIED GUITAR.