Schecter C-7 Hellraiser

The other reviewers have said everything about the specific features of this guitar. Mine is an 2008 model, with EMG 707s, that split into single coils. I bought it new, without tremolo, because I never use it.
Notice that I have big hands, so this fast, wide and slick neck suits my playability excellent.

My music style is 80's-90's oriented heavy metal (especially epic style) and this guitar suits ok for everything I would like to play. I play it through a fender frontman and zoom valve dsp and it sounds ok. The real surprise came, when I tried to record on a 200 Watt Randall. You should be there to hear it. This is not a guitar. It is a BEAST!!! I read that other reviewers don't like EMGs much. Well, if I change pickups, I will try some haussel active. But for now, the guitar sounds great.

Everything was ok.

I totally trust this beast for every kind of playing.

I have never dealt with the company, so I cannot express an opinion.

Schecter makes high quality guitars for a very affordable price. I searched a lot before buying the C-7. My other guitars are a Jackson PS4 Performer and a Schecter C-1 Classic. I have been playing guitar for 9 years and I learned without a teacher. I prefer to play rythms in my band and sometimes I play some leads and solos. If it was stollen, I would definitely order another one.

See detailed spec. in other comments.
Mine was a BCH (Black Cherry) and from the first series, so it had no single coil switching option, which I also missed.
I would prefer 1 Vol and 2 Tone, instead of 2 Vol and 1 Tone.
Neck is fat, but still OK.

I like Nevermore, and this guitar fits well, however you need a high-gain amp. Due to long scale and mahogany body-neck, it needs a bit different settings on your (pre)amp, like regular guitars.
EMG707s are close to EMG85 which is a nice pickup, however I would put another type to this guitar, which has more cut, something EMG81-like, or even passives. Sound is dark and a but muddy when distorted. I assume it is a modern Les Paul sound from 21st century. So you can play anything which can be played with LP.
I liked the set neck, great sustain.

I have got mine used (1 year) and bridge has already lost its plating. Maybe improper cleaning or sweat from palm of previous owner, I do not know, but I never seen this on any type of another guitar.
Action can be set low, that is OK.
I could find only minor things regarding the binding, anyway guitar looks great and feels great.

Tuners are OK, and I have already mentioned bridge plating problem.
Guitar seems to be robust, but I recommend to use backup guitar anyway.

Never contacted them.

This was my first 7-string. I play the (6 string) guitar for 15 years.
The critical issue is the 26" scale neck. If you can live with it, buy this guitar, but it would require to revise your playing and sound settings.
I loved this guitar, but I have already sold it, and bought a non-mahogany, normal scale guitar, because my preamp is not programmable and I change guitars often, so I prefer to use one sound setup for all guitars. My other guitars are poplar, so quite different than sound of mahogany.

Pretty basic features. It's a guitar, nothing overly flashy on it except a great inlay on it. Nice weight, clean carves. Decent pots. Feels solid.

I picked one up used (very little use though, nearly new!) and the first thing I did was get rid of the pickups. I am not an EMG fan. It came with the EMG 707 active pups.

The finish was amazing on it. I have no idea why, but occassionaly, some manufacturers simply cannot get a "perfect" black on a guitar. This one is just perfect. No finish issues.

Here's where it is different for me than others. The way it comes stock with EMG pups is not to my taste. For what they are, they sound the way they are meant to. To brittle and bright.

I switched them out for Seymour Duncan Blackouts. They are more midsy and smoother sounding to me. Now the guitar simply oozes tone. Full range of it instead of what I find to be too bright and light.

I play mainly death metal on this but I have been able to play just about any style with it now that the Duncans are in it.

Rating with EMG's = 7
Rating with Duncan's = 10

So I'll put it as a 7 as for me, the EMG's just don't work for me. This isn't to say they aren't great, but for ME, I dislike them. Others may love the tone they bring.

The guitar was used, so it was already setup for me by the previous owner and it is FANTASTIC!! No buzz, low action... just a great feel. The neck is perfect for me. It's a bit bigger than most 7 string necks, but I have to say, I MUCH prefer this! I have big hands, so this fits me really well. Smaller handed people might find it a bit much and have to adapt their style.

As mentioned above, the finish is to die for. This is a slick guitar.

I haven't had any issues with it yet and I have had it for 6 months now. The pots are still perfect, the jack is solid. Bridge is great, tuners kick ass. I don't forsee any problems.

I changed the strap buttons, but I do that on all of my guitars. I prefer strap locks from Dunlop. The buttons were good on this though. Big and beefy and solid.

I would never need a backup for this. Maybe a spare battery, but I don't think this thing would fail me.

I have never dealt with them, so I won't rate this.

I've been playing over 20 years now and have had far more guitars than I should have. I currently have it down to 4, and this one is by far the top.

I run only Tube amps, I dislike solid state, and this thing smokes on them. My 5150 II loves this thing like there is no tomorrow. I can have the gain pretty low and this will still pull out the metal tone like crazy! My 1x12 Windsor loves this as well, but to get the nice cleans, I need to roll back the volume more than I thought I would. This being my first active pup guitar, there was a lot to learn. I will say the when I had the EMG's in, it was cleaner with only a tiny roll back, so the Duncans are much angrier pups.

If this was stolen, I definitly would find the bastard because I love this guitar. I'd buy a new one in a hearbeat, or possibly the ATX model that already comes with Duncans in it.

Overal, this thing rules. I love the look, neck, finish. It's comfortable, looks mean and is just a joy to grab off the wall. It's my first Schecter, and will NOT be my last!

I would have given it a 10, but the EMG's being stock in this brought it down. If you like EMG's, it's a 10 all the way for most of you I would imagine.

CONSTRUCTION/SCALE: Set-Neck w/ Ultra Access /26.5???
BODY: Mahogany
NECK/FINGERBOARD: 3-pc. Mahogany/ Rosewood
FRETS: 24 Jumbo
INLAYS: Abalone ???Gothic Cross???
PICKUPS: EMG 707???s
ELECTRONICS: Vol push-pull single coil tap/Vol push-pull single coil tap/Tone/3-way
BRIDGE: TonePros TOM w/ thru-body
BINDING: Black Pearl
TUNERS: Grover
HARDWARE: Chrome
COLOR: Black Cherry (BCH)

the 707 EMG's with the wood type for this guitar is a perfect match in my opinion ... And if you want even a better sound from this hellraiser just simply do a 18 volt mod .. real simple and cost under five bucks .But having it done really opens the book on this beast..
the styles I play mostly but not limited to are thrash metal,nu metal ,grunge, blues and certain types of country .
this guitar can really cover it all and sound's great doing so ..
With the coil tapping you get with the 2008 models you feel as if you struck gold ... I can go from playing korn to pink floyd and even sound like Brad Paisley ...And I'm not kidding ....bass is nice and clear and the brights aren't to bright .. both strumming cords and single notes sound perfect ...
the sustain is great and having a set neck and a dual action truss rod really helps accomplishing that ..

When this guitar came it had a bit of fret buzz on the low string's but having it set up by a local tech ..the action is really low and without fret buzz ... Very good quality workmanship from the factory to be able to have the action as low as it is .
The finish is all around great with the exception of the headstock for my guitar and on the bottom of the neck where the binding ends and the neck begins on the higher string end .. the headstock has a little rubbed chip on one of the corners and the binding on the end of the neck where it meets the body seems a bit skwigly ..not noticeable unless your looking for it ..But When you spend that kind of money your looking for perfection ...
Very easy to play...

from the point you pick it up , you know your holding something solid .. I detune all the time and the tuners work great showing no signs of giving me problems in the future . there's no scratchy sounds from the knobs and selector switch feels very strong .

customer support is great .. I sent an e-mail asking if it's alright to have a 18volt mod done and that day they called me personally and discussed it .. and told me to give them a call anytime if I had any more Q's ....

I have been playing for two years .. I know that's not very long but in that time i have gone threw a great deal of guitar in hopes I would find one that suites all my needs and feel comfortable ..and this Hellraiser does that for me..
if I lost it "which will never happen" or if my daughter did a unrepairable job to it"very possible shes three years old and loves playing with my guitars "I would definitely save the cash and replace it with the same ...

I got this after some very short shopping around (what is with the lack of 7 strings!) and loved it. I played it after a PRS and the build quality is similar. My problem with the guitar is that i have smallish hands and fingers and i also suffer from rsi a bit, and this thing is like the weight of a les paul with the neck almost like a bass and the neck width is like a classical guitar. The fret gaps are therefore large so to do stretches on <fret7 is a pain in the butt for me. Also the frets are extra jumbo which causes me problems because i have rsi and they seem to irritate that because you are pressing down more to hit a fret. As some also pointed out the fretboard is extremely flat which is a difficult transition from other guitars (i doubt this could be your only guitar you have you would need a 6 string also) The neck is just too wide and thick for me (les paul thickness and classical width). Tuners are 'meh' they arent as good as some i've tried on epiphones but they are okay.

Sounds excellent, even acoustic its great. i really dont like the emgs they are very unorganic and fizzy and i dont like the artificial decay they give off (but im a n00b regarding active pups i must admit). I would definately swap bareknuckles in there. Its a very dark sounding guitar, i wouldnt say was great for clean stuff because its so dark and bassy. Really ive decided if i want dark sounds i can get a dark voiced amp like an uberschall. If you get the coil tapped new version this may be better. Thick bassy and dark is what this guitar can do. Ive found schecters tend to have a certain fizzy quality in general from the ones ive tried for some reason (and on most recordings like A7X and AAF) but maybe thats just the pups.

I really really like the tonepros bridge it adds a lot of bite and accents notes like a jazz player does with two fingers on the pick.

My guitar was very well setup, the pickups were set in a lot but thats easily adjusted. the battery was almost flat but i think it had been in the store for years.

Its solid i would have to say. The neck is very strong and doesnt more much at all.

N/A

This is a great guitar but it just too difficult for me to play with small hands and rsi. Its a pain if you have several guitars as well because the transition is extreme..my s series ibanez feels like a toy after it. I know its possible to rework everything i play eg 2 octave major scales in one position and also play in the classical position to cope with the scale..its actually also easier to play between frets 10 and 15 because the access is wider and 'further back' than shorter scale guitars but again this makes swapping guitars difficult. I think ill have to either get a carvin custom or swap my ibanez s for a s7 despite not wanting a floyd rose.

Great guitar if you have big hands and have the time to seriously change your playing style.

I haven't contributed to this forum for many years. I just bought this and thought I'd share my feelings. This is a 'standard model' - no reason to revisit what it's made of except this is a great example of what the CNC has done for guitar manufacture. - very consistent, clean and accurate. Yet this actually has some resonant wood in it - surprisingly unusual! 2 pickups, fixed bridge, long scale etc

I'm surprised that so many say this is a 'metal' guitar. I find it extremely 'hi-fi'. I either own or have owned several copies of almost every good guitar on the planet. The pickups are 'tame' and actually require more than average amount of overdrive to push them into 'metal-zone'. I wonder what other guys are playing this through??!
The guitar-amp combination is critical; I was a little surprised that this sounded best through my VHT pitbull. But I still had to increase gain for heavier sounds. It actually really shines for jazz/studio stuff! It's not too bright (thank God) yet is very balanced. nice! The middle position yeilds some very usable rhythm/comping tones.

The fingerboard is flatter than almost anything. I don't mind the fact that it's wider - but it emphasizes the unusual flatness. So, if you change back and forth to other guitars - it's a little annoying. The frets need dressing on the ends - but that's true of a lot of mass-produced guitars regardless of 'quality'. other than that - adjustment is fine. I always tweak it after changing strings the first 2-3 times anyway.

it's very well constructed. no worries.

who knows - who cares?

this is surprisingly nice. I just wish the neck wasn't so flat and that I could easily buy replacement pickups; these aren't that impressive.

Other than that - I think I'll hang onto it as my only 7-string (I've already sold all the others)

features mahogony body, and neck, grover tuners, rosewood fingerboard, active emg 707 pickups which are the 7 string version of an emg 85 i believe. mine is black with abalone inlays on the body, and cross inlays on the fretboard. i wish it had a tremolo on it but you have to buy the jeff loomis model to get this feature, and although i'm a big fan of nevermore i'm not buying a signature model guitar.

i never thought i'd be playing this guitar because i love tremolo bars, i hate emg pickups, i wanted a maple guitar, and i did'nt like the 26.5" scale neck. that should account to 4 strikes, that's more than enough for a strikeout, so the first time i saw the guitar i scoffed at it. i was looking more at a carvin 7 string because the finish options are better, the necks are great, i could get a tremolo, and they can be made of maple.
however when i played this guitar i immediateled noticed the incredibly balanced dynamics the emg pickups gave me, which for metal is great. the next thing i noticed was the large scale neck. i thought it as easy to get used to at first, but i thought wrong. my playing suffered for a couple months as i got used to it. the quality of the instrument made up for my lack of virtuosity. i'm only now realizing 6 months after i bought the guitar that i'm finally completely used to it.

it's a fantastic sounding guitar actually, and being the sceptic that i am i expect at some point i'm going to find some shoddy craftsmanship, or something that makes me say "ohhh that's how schecter builds guitars this cheap!". that never happens though, and this guitar sounds good through everything i've played it through.

so here's where we really get into it. if you're not playing metal, or something relatively heavy, this guitar may not be for you. the emgs give it a modern tone that may not be so good for anything but rock or metal. then again, why would you buy this guitar if you were'nt playing rock or metal?

great! the action was nice, but i changed the strings to a lighter gauge because i'm a wuss. the guitar looks and plays fantastic. there's not much else to say about it.

no problems yet, not even a scratchy pot. i traded the strap buttons for locks, so i can't really comment on those. i do remember my guitar falling a couple times before i bought the locks though.

have'nt dealt with them.

if you want a 7 string for metal, this is probably your best buy for the price. fantastic craftsmanship and great tone for 750$. i want schecter to endorse me, cause after this guitar i don't wan't to play anything else. my other guitar has a musicman petrucci model, and this walks all over his guitar in my opinion.
if you want to hear one of these in action, check out the newer tracks on www.unraveledmusic.com, the left guitar is this, and a line 6

Made in Korea, 24 jumbo frets, solid top, 3 way selector with 2 EMG pickups, rosewood fredboard and a 1-piece mahogony body (beautiful), thick satin gloss, cutaway, string-thru body set up (no floyd rose), Grover tuners that keep strings locked in place better than anything ever, i think its a 25 1/2 inch neck. The guy I bought it from originally was gonna give it to me for 700 but with no case, and I said "That's ridiculous" so he gave it to me with a hard-shell case for $750 out-the-door.

The sound is amazing on this thing these pick ups are SO STRONG. Honestly, the pickups are WAYYYYY way way better than my previous guitar which had humbucker Seymore Duncans. I am an all-round musician and listen to the whole spectrum of music, not just metal. When I play clean on this thing, the pick ups are so loud and can sound beautiful and blues-y. You really can play any style of music on this thing. The only thing I will say is that they could use a little more treble, I don't know why, and maybe this has something to do with the strings, but it could use a little more brightness. But thats always something an amp setting or EQ pedal could completely take care of.

Of course, like everyone says, since this thing IS handcrafted by Satan himself, it does BEG to play metal, and it does a FINE job at doing so. Pinch harmonics on the low string are just insane, sweeping and tapping and shredding is very comfortable on this guitar. The pick ups sustain the notes for soooo long too , just perfect for soloing.

The factory set up was PRIME TIME. I just got this thing a month ago and I hope the action stays like this forever. Its perfect. Its super low, but there is no fret-buzzing ANYWHERE. Pickups were adjusted fine, everything was set-up brand new and flawless. And there must be 1 inch thick of gloss on this thing (which is AWESOME). I loveeee how shiney it is. I got the black cherry which is just gorgeous. Every time I walk downstairs and my guitar is just sitting there on display, I literally have to stop and stare at it in awe for at least 5 minutes. All my friends always complement the paint job and say its beautiful.

This thing definitley can withstand live playing, the finish like I said is so glossy that it is impenetrable and is here to stay. I can't imagine it every wearing with lots of playing. The strap buttons are built on there like a rock, and I would totally use this guitar without any kind of back up and expect that it would do just fine. The thing is heavy as hell, it weighs at least 10 pounds, which makes it just feel durable.

I haven't had to deal with them very much luckily, it was pretty hard to obtain this guitar tho, Schecter said they were "out of stock" until mid january and I wanted this thing by Christmas, so they were of no help getting it to me by Christmas, but that is easily solved if you just go on Ebay or Amazon you can find a million stores that have this thing in stock ready to be shipped. I'll give them an 8.

I have been playing guitar for 10 years now and I own 2 other electrics: a Fender Strat and a Hamer Californian, and 2 acoustics: a baby Taylor and an extremely nice Breedlove. I play this thing through a Crate GFX-212 and also through a 4x12 crate cabinet. I take music very seriuosly and have played with many bands and shows. I also recently auditioned at Central Michigan University school of music for jazz guitar.

I love and appreciate all styles of music, anywhere from Dream Theater to Opeth to Meshuggah to Beethoven, Mozart, then even to Incubus, 311, Avril Lavigne Paramore everything. And this thing can play it all. If it were stolen, I would stab to death to whoever took it with a trident and buy it again instantly.

The only thing I can say that needs improvement on it is a LITTLE bit brighter tone on the pickups for the clean stuff, and a LITTLE bit thinner neck. When buying 7 strings, you should accept the fact that all 7 string necks are going to be noticeably bigger than 6 string necks. This one is not bad at all, but not as thin as an Ibanez 7 string. However the sound and the look of this thing surpasses Ibanez by a million miles in my opinion. Don't let anyone tell you that if you have small hands that you should give up hope, because it really only takes about 2 weeks to adapt completely, and i don't have the biggest hands. The whole concept of having that extra 7 string is going to turn your whole world completely upside down for a little bit, but it is beautiful once you understand how to utilize it well. I use the 7th string not only for metal (chugging riffs, pinch harmonics) but for extended scales and chords. But really, on a scale of 1-10, 1 being thin and 10 being super thick, id say the neck is a 6. It is thick, but nothing you can't handle if you know how to play guitar. I've played way worse. Ive even played worse 6 strings where the neck is just too thick. My favorite thing about this guitar is the beast factor. It just looks like a beast. It looks like it is going to wake me up in the middle of the night and murder me. The paint job and finish is just spectacular and the fretboard just looks so massive, when people watch you play it, it looks like you are taming a wild, wild animal. Like I said earlier, it is PERFECT for playing metal (even tho it can play everything), and it was handcrafted by Lucifer to perfection. It is a mammoth.

Cuerpo de Caoba
Mastil Caoba con diapason palo de rosa
Acabado Negro con reborde buen look
Brazo colado al cuerpo (set neck)
Pups 2 EMG 707 (activas)
Puente fijo tone Pros cuerdas atravesando el cuerpo(mejor sustain)
2 vol, 1 tono y llave de 3 cambios
Clavijas Grover
24 Trastes/escala 26.5"(baritona)

Tocando Metal esto suena excelente, tiene buena ganancia bastante moderada las 707 le sienta muy bien lo que le da un sonido muy claro y y con mucho cuerpo, en las notas mas bajas no pierde su limpieza, probando en canales limpios se nota la solidez de la madera pero tiende a una ligera saturacion que puede ser controlada con el volumen, he probado con un Cabezal GMX1200H y Cabina BG412 de Behringer, con un Vamp Pro Behringer en vivo... el sonido que saco con esta combinacion es el que siempre he buscado.. con mucho ataque y a la ves con mucho cuerpo..
Las pick ups no emiten ruido alguno.. es muy segura y el sostein bastante bueno la resonancia de la caoba se hace sentir y creo que esta guitarra mata!!

La quitarra llego a mis manos.. muy bien calibrada con cuerdas 09 - 58 bastantes bajas pero sin trastear, la posicion de las pups muy bien puestas no se siente la diferencia de volumen en el cambio... tuve que hacerle ligero retoque al cambiar cuerdas 10 - 59, y afinacion La# por la escala extendida las cuerdas son alto tensas.. pero en poco tiempo se acostumbra... esto hace que la vibracion sea mas prolongada.. y alcanse tonos mas bajos y solidos... los potenciomentros se los siente solidos y finos junto con la llave de cambios que es muy segura...

La madera y el acabado son buena garantia para empezar.. el harware es de muy buena calidad, las clabijas Grover y las pups bien puestas junto con todo el hardware hace ver que la guitarra es muy fina y alta calidad, a mi gusto si fuera mastil atravesado le pondria una eternidad, pero bueno eso es mucho.. lol...

Llevo tocando muchos a??os, esta guitarra me vino muy bien y se acerca a lo que estuve buscando.. ataque y sustain, tengo una gibson Lp Studio, Ibanez RG270, Jackson RR3, Fender Telecaster Mod 72 y hasta ahora para mis shows en vivo es la que mas uso, tal ves si tendria que cambiar algo... me gustaria mas con un mastil atravezado (Neck through), un solo potenciometro hasta tal ves un floyd rose, pero asi con cuerdas atravezadas la veo bien... el mango algo grueso pero se acostumbra rapido.. tiene buen pedo y una solidez marcada...

Finish: Slick, gloss black finish that shines, which means that smudge marks show up almost instantly. Pearloid body binding adds class.

Body style: Schecter C body style (Strat-esque). Kind of fat body thickness, even compared to a Gibson. Heavy weight, feels good with a strap.

Bridge style: String-thru body, my first. Seems to add to the sustain and ring of the strings.

Neck/Scale: Painted, set neck. The 7 string neck is wider than a 6, but not that noticeably so. I made the change pretty quickly. It's not nearly as thin as an Ibanex, so if you need a thin neck to shred, this may not work for you. The neck is also an extended scale, meaning that theres more string tension. This results in clearer tone on the lower frequencies (i.e. the low B). Reduces muddy sound (heavy gauge strings help too). The best part of this extended scale is that the increased tension makes chording a breeze. Mine came with a custom action setup (low but not Ibanex low) which helps with speed. 24 fat frets and a kick-ass pearl cross inlay set seal the deal.

Accessories: I talked the guy that I bought it from into giving me a case for it if I bought the extended warranty, so that was cool. Free polish cloth too (those new pre-treated ones are the way to go, btw!).

Electronics: 2 volume (neck/bridge), one tone, standard stuff. The real kicker is the pair of EMG 707s. As far as 7 strings go, I think that active is the way to go to really boost the tone. I've always liked EMGs (I've used 'The Hetfield" (a 60 neck and 81 bridge) in old 6 strings of mine, but these 707s sound more like 85s...a little bit warmer than the 81. There is a nice contrast btw neck and bridge, so depending on what lead tone you like, you can dial it in. You may want to change the pickups though if you want more bite and can't get it from your amp.

Sound: I play all kinds of metal and this guitar works better than ones I've had in the past. I think of it as two guitars in one: a standard tuned 6 and a de-tuned 6. I can still jam on old, 80s thrash, but then get brutal on the low B for some death metal riffs. The low B is also good for adding depth to chords, which I use more for Prog style tunes. I don't play jazz and I don't detune this beast, so I can't say it'd work for those styles (fusion or numetal, though I hate both).

I've been running through a Mesa Dual Rec that I just sold, but I've never been satisfied with the lack of punch and tightness from the Rectos. I'm in the market for a Mesa Mark IV (lemme know if you have a lead) and I think that should tighten up the sound a bit. That, or possibly a VHT (I hear those new Deliverance heads are brutal). So for right now, I'm playing it out of a Line6 SpiderIII. I'm not huge on those modeling amps, but the tone is decent and the Spider is better for my smaller apartment. Running the signal out of the Spider and through a Mesa 4x12 does wonders for the tone, which is what I do. Back to the Hellraiser...

Noise is minimal (partial from the amp) and like I said before this guitar shines on chords. Lead work is ok, but I am finicky and change my tones all the time.

I don't have much variety (outside of genres of metal) so I can't comment on the versatility of the guitar. It does, however, absolutely crush for metal \m/!

Like I said, custom setup, Ernie Ball Power slinky 7s. Pickups sit at nice spots for resting my hand, but the casings move around a bit, which always freaks me out. Quality construction, no flaws (until I ruin the thing).

I don't play live, so it sees little road wear. It is built like a tank, though, and I can't forsee any physical problems with the guitar (an amp is more likely to break down).

Never called em, no probs. I don't know jack about the warranty, since I got one from the retailer.

I've been playing for 9 years and this guitar is one of the best setup ones I've owned. If it were lighter, that'd be great. The rest of the minro flaws I see are things that will be better with my playing and maybe some set up tweaks, i.e. playing faster (people, including me, always blame the guitar). I wish I had another one in that sick trans red color they make. Two twin terrors.

Bottom line: If you like to play metal and want a 7 string you can buy one of these or an Ibanez. They differ in style of playing, technique: muscular and monstrous vs. thin and agile. It's like another debate I'm having about getting a new car: V8 Mustang vs. 3.5L 350Z. Both guitars are capable of playng shredding, brutal metal, but not if your playing style doesn't match the guitar.

24 fret
maple/mahoghany
emg 707 (active p/u's)(fr and back)
2 volume 1 tone
black cherry
string through

This is the best guitar I have ever bought.Comparable to my les paul studio (with 81/85)but with much clearer tone. The clean tone is insanely clear and almost single coilish on the bridge pickup if played aggresively. Very nice indeed. Sounds great under distortion, very versatile for a "metal guitar". Can even get a nice david gilmour tone with tweaking. The fret access is great for technical lead playing. Neck is perfect, find it hard to go back to a regular 6 string after playing this monster.

Great finish, good book matching, nice binding. REALLY light compared to the one my friend owns, which is neither good nor bad, just strange considering the same body woods. The pickups were set up perfectly. However, the guitar could use a thicker set of strings that sound lively instead of dead!(no problem once changed of course)
To conclude great fit and finish overall, but a strange lack of consistency weight wise between two idendical instruments.

This guitar has survived plenty of gigs already, worst thing to happen so far is the neck volume knob fell off because i forgot to tighten it (had it off the night before cleaning the body). Built like a tank and will definetly outlive myself.

Have used without a backup, however, i hate broken strings so i usually have one anyway.

Great customer support, lost a volume pot. Had a new one shipped to my door for free no questions asked. Lifetime waranty, very friendly staff.

Excellent overall

Have been playing for 10 years. Have built several custom guitars using cnc routers and such.If this guitar were stolen i'd have to buy another, then beat the piss out of the dude who stole the first one then reclaim, thus having two hellraisers!. Only thing i hate about this guitar is the fact that the other guitar player in my band has the same guitar, even the same color!.So maybe a black one next?

The stats have been mentioned in numerous reviews. Beautiful finish, great look, 24 frets, active electronics etc etc.

I play in D tuning. The guitar sounds a little muddy on the 7th string when played on the lower frets but I imagine I could correct that by switching to a heavier gauge. Otherwise the sound is just magic. I play progressive hard rock and it has been able to handle everything I've thrown at it. It even sounds great through a crappy little practice amp I used when I didn't have access to my Marshal Vs102

The guitar came set up close to perfection. Intonation correct, action nice and low, flawless finish. Happy days.

I've only had it for about six months so its hard to say whether it will stand the test of time. It feels solid though and I'd be surprised if anything goes wrong with it.

I always gig with a backup.

Well, there was an absolute mess in obtaining this guitar. I bought it through ebay and it took about 9 months for it to get delivered! The seller assured me the fault was with the company but .. you never know. I wouldn't want to have to deal with the company.

I've been playing for 11 years. I've got a strat, les paul copy, washburn and an ibanez. I play through a marshal vs102 and a couple pedals (big muff, ts9, gt3). The guitar sounds fantastic with the rig and I'm pretty confident it would shine on anything.

Schecter are making quality guitars at a very affordable price. You are getting a top class instrument at a mid range price. If you are considering buying one, I'd recommend going for it. I own 5 guitars and this one has quickly become my favourite. I had my heart set on a clapton strat for ages but this guitar changed my mind. If i do get another guitar it will in all likelihood be another schecter (either this model again or something similar).

Extremely high-gloss black finish, Tune-O-Matic bridge, Grover tuners, and for a 7-string, it's got a pretty flat neck. The fretboard is rosewood and the body and neck (one lovely piece) are mahogany. It has two EMG 707s and a three-way switch.

It has a volume knob for each of the two emg pickups and a master tone control.

Neck scale 26 1/2"

This guitar can be very brutal sounding but can be use playing every kind of style.

I play from pop to metal & jazz & i can do everything with this guitar. I use this guitar in different rigs.. a 6506 top rig, a jpm-1 rig, or just my pod xt at home.. on every combination i got a good sound !!

This guitar is not noisy, electronics are wel wired.. the sound is RiCH & full.

I would like to test this guitar with an EMG81-7, not that i dislike the 707 combi but i belive i will just test this in the future.

Fot those who doesnt know EMG707 is the 7 string version of EMG85

PERFECT. The guitar was perfectly in tune at the guitar store (this doesnt happen a lot in Holland). In the begining was harder to bend strings, but once i got my self new set of dadario 7 strings (10) the problem was solved.

This guitar is wel made, i got it for 2 weeks, i dont think this will broke very soon.

No idea, but i hear they are not so good. I wrote them once a mail.. never got an answer, this was before i got my self this guitar. I do not deal with manufacture in the USA.. this can take ages !

Schecter is making good instruments for a good price, i think is stupid to pay more than 3000 Euros for a guitar.. even if i had the money i will never buy overprice intruments.

I belive this is where schecter do it better than the rest ! they are making nice axes for a good price. Everybody have the right to play wel made guitars.

as far as features go its fine, it has a volume knob for each of the two emg pickups and a master tone control. no problems there.

it sounds BRUTAL! this really is a heavy metal guitar. im using a roland cube although i think it would sound good through any amp.

factory set up was grand, no problems. it has high quality everything (grover tuners, tonepros bridge, emg pickups) the only thing i wish it had was a graphite or bone bridge instead of plastic. the maple cap is BEAUTIFUL but i got to choose between 5, and i think i picked the right one.

dont be put off by the increased scale length, i have small hands and i find it quite easy to play, especially at the higher frets, although on the lower frets i have to stretch a little extra but nothing major.

despite the extra inch on the cale length, its still a guitar and a very playable one at that.

its built really well, and its actually very light. the hardare is all named brand and its pretty much top shelf everything so no worries. i wouldnt ever gig without a backup, but if i had to this'd be the guitar id use. its very well built.

i sent schecter an e mail and they put me onto their guy in northern ireland, and he has been nothing but helpful. he even offered to adjust the bridge and nut if i wanted to go lower than dropped A. all e mails have been answered promply and they really stand behind their product which to me is the best advertisement. theyre great.

ive bene playing for about 12 years and i gotta say i love it. if there was something i could change it would be the scale length, simply because sometimes i gotta really stretch to play those low notes, but boy, when ya do its soooo worth it. its a snarling dog. if anyone ever stole it i'd set their pubic hair on fire. i like this guitar and i dont think i'll ever need another seven string for a long time.

Extremely high-gloss black finish, Tune-O-Matic bridge, Grover tuners, and for a 7-string, it's got a pretty flat neck. The fretboard is rosewood and the body and neck (one lovely piece) are mahogany. It has two EMG 707s and a three-way switch. I'm giving it a 10 because well.. what more could you ask for really? A U.S. currency printer hanging off of it?

Going for a grllrglllrgrrrroar death metal sound, this guitar does its job. It's nothing at all to cut through everyone else to play a lead. I'm playing through a 5150II and a Marshall 1960a, so the mixture is a quite fine one (albeit I'd rather have a triple recto). I like everything about this guitar's sound except the way the EMGs are a bit mid-range crunchy. Basically the sound that makes it great for lead is its flaw for the sound of rhythm.

PERFECT PERFECT PERFECT. I was there when it arrived in the mail and the box was opened. The guitar was almost perfectly in tune and set up perfectly. The only thing I've noticed (I've also discussed it with other owners and they've noticed it) is that it's a great deal harder to bend strings than on any other guitar I own. I've decided that it's due to the longer neck scale, which can't really be a flaw I don't suppose. It's like giving it a low score because you can't do a divebomb.

As all Schecters, the strap buttons are ridiculously large, which is awesome. I never even got strap locks on it after MY PREVIOUS ONES WORE DOWN AND FELL OFF. *coughschallercough* Yeah, anyways, I'm scared to touch this guitar sometimes because it's so clean, but I depend on it like nobody's business. I think I might've broken a string on it once (due to me trying to bend way too far anyways), but that's it.

It took forever to ship (two months), supposedly Schecter needed to make some more or something. Either way, the authorized Schecter dealer knocked the price down to $577 because of the wait. It was a confusing situation either way, so I'll just leave the rating blank.

I have another Schecter (PT Blackjack) and I absolutely love these guitars. I've had the PT for almost 3 years and there hasn't been a thing wrong. I've had this C7 for almost a year and I love it more and more all the time. If it was stolen (if I lost it I'd just off myself for being a moron) I would definitely buy another. I would say I'd get the new Jeff Loomis sig but it has a naughty floyd rose. For $577 (or the regular price of $699), this is an EFFING GREAT GUITAR

Cuerpo y mastil de caoba
mastil encolado
acabado: negro con reborde en el cuerpo
Puente fijo con cuerdas a trav??s del cuerpo
2 pastillas EMG 707 activas
2 controles de volumen y 1 de tono
24 trastes
escala: 26.5 pulgadas
diapasaon de palorrosa
calibre de cuerdas: 0.10 - 0.46 (0.56 para la 7??)

tiene todas las caracteristicas para sonar brutal.

Sonido increible. la 7?? cuerda suena con mucha claridad, a diferencia de otras guitarras de 6 cuerdas afinadas en Si, que tienden al sonido fangoso y nada definido. En comparaci??n con las seymour duncan JB, las EMG's 707 suenan menos organicas, pero con un sonido m??s "metalero" y con m??s salida, por lo que tienden m??s a distorsionar con un sonido ligeramente saturado. Bajando la 7?? cuerda a La, sigue sonando con gran claridad y definici??n. Con mi equipo (peavey 5150, zoom 505 y boss metal zone) saco un sonido brutal, tipo Meshuggah, pasando en metal zone y la zoom por el canal limpio del 5150 con una ligera saturaci??n.

La guitarra vino perfectamente ajustada, la acci??n de las cuerdas es perfecta, muy baja pero sin llegar a estar demasiado pegadas al mastil, y sin ningun tipo de trasteo por ningun lado. El quintaje estaba bien, aunque necesit?? un ligero retoque. La altura de las pastillas tambien vino bien ajustada, no hay cambio de volumen entre las 2 pastillas. Los potenciometros son los mas solidos y precisos que he probado (mejores que los de mi ESP Horizon que cuesta el triple). Las cuerdas tienen una tensi??n perfecta para hacer las r??tmicas, un poco m??s dura de lo normal, pero la 1?? y 2?? cuerdas estan algo duras por lo que cuesta bastante m??s hacer un bending a partir del traste 12. Esto se debe a la mayor longitud de escala de la guitara y al calibre 0.10, que por otro lado resultan definitivos para obtener ese sonido definido y lleno. El acabado general de la guitarra es muy bueno, a destacar las marcas del mastil con forma de cruz y el reborde del cuerpo. Si la guitarra tuviera un diapason de ??bano ya ser??a perfecta.

La guitarra tiene una construcci??n muy solida, el puente y las clavijas parecen de gran calidad, las pastillas estan firmemente sujetas al cuerpo de la guitarra, al igual que los potenci??metros, que son totalmetne silenciosos. Hasta ahora solo la he tocado en casa, pero es una guitarra que podria aguantar lo que sea, parece muy fiable y gran parte de la culpa la tiene el puente fijo y las cuerdas a trav??s del cuerpo, que hacen que la afinaci??n sea muy estable, solo necesitando peque??os retoques.

Esta es la mejor guitarra que he tenido. En esta gama de precios es la mejor que puedes comprarte, y dentro de las guitarras de 7 cuerdas, esta es mucho mejor que las Ibanez de la misma gama (y posiblemente suene mejor que la Ibanez Universe y la K7). En cuanto a acabados, est?? a la altura de mi ESP Horizon, y el sonido es perfecto para tocar con un buen ampli de valvulas. La guitarra es muy c??moda, en 1 hora ya estaba perfectamente habituado a su mastil mas ancho y a pesar de ser baritono, no creo que plantee problemas para tocar, aunque quiz?? si que hay que estirar un poco m??s los dedos para tocar del traste 9 para abajo. Pero una vez acostumbrado es una guitarra comodisima. Lo unico que no me gusta es que tiene demasiados potenci??metros (2 de volumen y 1 de tono). Yo le pondr??a s??lo 1 de volumen y ninguno de tono, y con un diapason de ??bano ser??a la guitarra perfecta.

* Finish: gloss black
* Bridge style: Tune-O-Matic, string-thru body
* Tuners: Grover
* Neck/Scale Fat, a bit thinner than the Blackjack though. 26,5" scale
* Make and model of pickups? EMG 707
* Body and neck woods? Mahogany and mahogany/rosewood

I was very surpriced on how different this guitar sounds compared to the C7 Blacjack. (Which is essentially the same guitar with Duncans). The Hellraiser has a lot more fuller and aggressive low-mid tone, whereas the Blackjack has a upper-mid grind to it. The Hellraiser sounds a lot more modern too, and the pinch harmonics are easier to pick. It does have a little annoying high end, a lot more fizzy than the Blackjack.

I was surpriced how good the EMGs sound clean. Overall, this guitar has a very thick tone, great for rhythm. The EMGs have more gain than the JB in the Blackjack too.

Not as good as the Blackjack I got, everything was perfect off the box with it. The Hellraiser had a little too high action for my tastes, but that was easy to fix. Everything else works perfectly.

Very solidly built guitar, I would gig with it without a backup. (Although I ALWAYS take a backup).

Never dealt with them.

I've been playing about 11 years, 6 of them in a band. My rig consists of a Framus Cobra head + cab and a C7 Blackjack and C7 Hellraiser. I guess if it was stolen I propably would buy a new one. (That or save enough money for a custom from Ran, Blackmachine or Mayones).

I love it how thick this guitar sounds without being muddy. This is the first guitar I've been able to play with our ridiculously low tuning (F#) with extreme clarity. The high end sounds pretty harsh when compared to the Blackjack (which is more organic sounding overall) but I run the treble and presence pretty low already so that won't matter much.

Relatively a new model guitar. I assume it was made in 05-06.

Stats:

CONSTRUCTION/SCALE: Set-Neck w/ Ultra Access /26.5?
BODY: Mahogany
NECK/FINGERBOARD: 3-pc. Mahogany/ Rosewood
FRETS: 24 X-Jumbo
INLAYS: Abalone ?Gothic Cross?
PICKUPS: EMG 707?s
ELECTRONICS: Vol/Vol/Tone/3-way
BRIDGE: TonePros TOM w/ thru-body
BINDING: Black Pearl
TUNERS: Grover
HARDWARE: Black
COLOR: Gloss Black (BLK) & Transparent Cherry

US RETAIL PRICE: $999

(I wish it had the single-coil tap like the 007)

Seeing as how I mainly play melodic metal/progressive metal (ie, Evergrey, Inflames, Nocturnal Rites, Children of bodom, Dream Theater, Nevermore) this guitar is perfect for me, which is why I bought it.

I play this guitar through the Peavey 5150 block letter head and 5150 straight cabinet. My effects include the Dimebag Darrel (RIP) wah, the korg stage tuner, boss NS-2, morely volume, Ibanez Delay, BF-3 Flanger, and small clone chorus. The 707 EMGs on this guitar are amazing. Very VERY full sound. Half the time I play it using the bridge and neck pickups at the same time since almost no high end is lost when not using only the bride PUP.

I play a wide variety of sounds, ranging from pummeling speed metal and breakdowns, to finger picking clean runs as well as using effects. The guitar (and especially the pickups) handle it all. Insane pinch harmonics on the bridge pup, and VERY clean (almost acoustic guitar) sounds on the neck pup. One warning is that the pickups are extremely high output, so I personally turn the volume down on the neck pickup so as not to overdrive the horrible clean channel of my 5150.

The guitar arrived as a special order straight to me. The only people to play the guitar were people at schecter's shop, my friend working at guitar center, and me. The guitar came in amazing condition. The action was great, but that's a personal taste. I preffer an action which is not very high, but not too low, and that's how the guitar came. The frets are extra jumbo, so if you're used to playing 22 fret 6 string guitars with a 25'' scale length, you may be horrified when picking this monster up at first.

The guitar honestly feels amazing, but it DOES feel like a weapon, and it handles and sounds as such. It is VERY heavy, so if you don't want a heavy guitar, get the 007 series. The neck is larger than some 7 string necks, but if you have trouble with that, I think you need to get to some more practicing.

Seriously though, this guitar is AMAZIng but it's a weapon. Keep in mind its weight, Xtra large frets, and its 26.5'' scale. This guitar might feel uncomfortable if you still need to build up finger strength or if you don't have fingers adequately long enough to handle this thing. It comes with 10 guage strings on it, and the 26.5'' length adds to the high tension of the strings. This takes about a week of playing for your fingers to build up the strength, but I wouldn't have it any other way. On a 7 string you want a high string tension and larger strings, it makes the notes VERY VERY clean, clear, and tight. This guitar has THE TIGHTEST low B tone I have ever heard. No "flop flop flop", it actual has tone. Thank the 10 guage string, long neck, and 707 EMG pickups for that.

Oh and yea, almost forgot.......The guitar looks amazing too. Just don't be too frightened when you see minute scratches on the finish right away. You're either going to have a great looking guitar that you hang on your wall, or a guitar with some dings and scratches that you are actually going to play. If you are careful with the guitar, the finish should hold up just fine. Black nail polish does a good job of fixing the thing up if you do happen to injure it however.

Will this guitar withstand live playing? I'm actually afraid that the thing's going to get up on it's own and start harming people. I would use thing without a backup definitely, but it's always wise to have a backup of everything. The stap buttons are ultra solid, but if you want to protect your axe, do yourself a favor and go buy a Dimarzio locking strap, those are the only straps I use. The finish is great, but it's very high gloss, therefore if you DO play this thing, you will see scratches. First spot you might see is where a pick guard usually is, due to ring and pinky finger nails hitting there, but hey it's helped my technique. I try to keep my fingers off the guitar at all times now because I don't want to mess up the finish. Where you loop your cable through the strap you will definitely see wear........but that's with any guitar. All in all, the guitar is built like "and feels like" a tank.

I've never had to deal with schecter, and as far as the warranty, Guitar center gave me a one year warranty I believe. If I have any run ins with schecter or support issues with my axe I will write another review.

I've been playing for over 6 years and I'm currently in two bands and I play live. Like I said, I like everything from Inflames, to Alice in chains and STP and TOOL, so this guitar really does cover all the music I'm trying to play. If there's anything at fault sound quality wise, it's the clean channel of my 5150. The only complaint about this guitar is that I wish it had the coil tap like the 007 series.

My final words are this, I love this guitar, it's a great weapon to have in your arsenal if you play heavy music and wish to have a 7 string. My cautions are that the neck is NOT small, and the strings do NOT feel loose. If you want to delve into the 7-string realm, but you're puny girly man fingers and back aren't ready to handle the fury of this guitar, I highly suggest tryin out the schecter 007 guitars. They are MUCH lighter, have a shorter scale length neck, and have a coil tap for clean guitar parts. But I MOST highly recommend that you try out a number of 7 string guitars before you buy one. You really have to pick one that is very comfortable to your own hands and ears.

24-frets, rosewood neck, mahogany body, VVT controls, three way select. EMG 707's. gloss black finish with smoked mother of pearl type binding around body only. string thru. i got a free t-shirt, strap, cable, some tools and a bunch of catologues.

Just go to schecters site!

Metal - nevermore, dream theater, symphony X, etc. etc. it is the same guitar jeff uses in nevermore now. It rock hard core.

the pickup swithc is somewhat noisy, no biggie though.

Very heavy crunchy sound. you could get a good amount of tones out of this with a processor of course, but its a hellraiser, its for metal.

i personall dislike nothing about this guitar.

no major dislikes at all

great action, the guys set it up for me.
pickups adjusted well.. no flaws really.somewhat of a noisy pickup selector, but not a big issue.

never gig without a back-up is a safe peice of advice. everything on this guitar is pretty solid. no tremolo crap to hassle with!! lol

Seems very dependable, good finish, etc. Very simple guitar, wood , strings, and pick up set up.

seems quite durable, it survived FedEx

havnt dealt directly with schecter.

i own a classical guitar, jackson solosit, ibanez universe, and this baby. i play out of a 100 watt marshall combo for practice. nothing i really wish i had asked before buying it. if it were lost id buy another probably, unless something better magically popped up.

its a very simple bare bones seven string that looks great.

the neck compared to a universe is a bit thicker and rounder but still most shreddible. if your worried about the neck being too big i would worry if i was you.

I guess it's a 2005 Hellraiser 7 string. Made in Korea.Really high quality rosewood fingerboard with 24 frets. baritone 26.5 inch scale neck with abalone gothic cross inlays. Two volume and one tone control. Two EMG 707 active humbuckers. Mahagony body with body binding. Black finish. Grover tuners with a tone pros tune-o-matic string through. neck through construction. The works. A ten for me because I prefer string through as opposed to a floyd.

Insanely sweet distortion for the heaviest metal. Not only is it heavy but it retains incredible clarity and articulation. I really like the EMG 707's for this reason. The extended neck also helps give the guitar super clear distortion and the picking dynamics are also top notch. Makes my other 7 String (schecter A-7 diamond series with Blaze7 in the bridge and an air norton 7 in the neck) sound wimpy. Nice thick and full sound. I couldn't ask for more. Makes my digitech gsp2101 preamp sound better than I ever thought it would, and I already loved the sound of it to begin with. Extremely high quality sound.

Factory set up was perfect. The fingerboard is awesome and I love the inlays. Extended scale felt tight to me but its worth having more clarity. The action is really low and there is not even an ounce of buzzing anywhere. Not a single physical flaw and really beautiful fretwork. No need to touch the pickups they sounded incredible- no adjustment necessary.

Seems to be built like a tank. I like the fact that the harware is painted this way it wont rust or anything. Finish is gorgeous and the body binding is a nice touch this; won't chip easily. Strap buttons are nothing special: standard button spots. I don't see this guitar letting me down anytime soon.

Sent them emails on how i can get my hands on this guitar as it is kinda hard to track down and all they did was send me junk mail. Not to thrilled about that. Maybe I screwed up the email form though I highly doubt it.

I've been playing guitar for six years now and recently got into 7 strings. This guitar is perfect for me. Super heavy and clear sound with a unique tone. Awesome looks. The extended scale is killer. Everything about this guitar is perfect and at a third of the price of ibanez's high 7 string models, this thing will easily blow any of them out of the water. Ibanez is a rip off and Schecter rules- no contest necessary. It has killer playability, action, and the best damn 7 string sound I've ever heard. Buy one and be as happy as I am.