The Last Bass Outpost
Gear Discussion Forums => Other Bass Brands => Topic started by: Freuds_Cat on April 26, 2009, 10:21:09 PM
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I was in one of my regular local music shops a few weeks ago and trying a whole bunch of different Spector and Schecter basses through some Ampeg rigs and I got playing a Korean Schecter Diamond series Hellraiser 4 bass that I was really impressed with.
Mahogany body with quilted Maple top. A pair of EMG HZ's (I know EMG's are a love 'em or hate 'em kind of pup but I do like them).
Maple Walnut Maple neck with rosewood FB. Active EQ but obviously the HZ's are passive.
Very consistent tonal qualities across the fingerboard which I like. It has the warm blur of a T-bird in the bottom end but the snap and twang of a Jazz in the tops. And a nice medium balanced definition in the upper mids.
It felt to me very much a professional instrument. It retails here for US$990. I noticed a few BIN sales for secondhand ones on ebay go for around the US$650 mark.
Anyway I couldn't help myself when I was watching one that was listed with a very low starting price, I kept an eye on it and waited till the last 3 secs and picked it up for US$365.
(http://i.ebayimg.com/18/!BQ1jzBg!mk~$(KGrHgoOKj8EjlLmUE61BJ68kpro9w~~_1.JPG)
(http://i.ebayimg.com/07/!BQ1kFNQ!mk~$(KGrHgoOKkEEjlLmY7zeBJ68llUi+w~~_1.JPG)
(http://i13.ebayimg.com/08/i/001/43/58/fc47_1.JPG)
I will probably play it for a few months and if it speaks to me then keep it, if it doesn't then I will most likely sell it to a student.
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Looks very nice!
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Congrats~Sweet deal! She's a beaut.
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Schecter makes some really FINE instruments! Even cheaper ones have a definate quality into them. Nice bass! But throw away those EMG HZ's and put real EMG's (if you like that sound anyway)! :D
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Nah I was impressed with the warmth of the passive pups and 2 of my other players are active EMG fitted so its kinda nice to have passive twin coils on a modern sounding bass.
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Nah I was impressed with the warmth of the passive pups and 2 of my other players are active EMG fitted so its kinda nice to have passive twin coils on a modern sounding bass.
I took the pre-amp out of my Spector Rebop and wired the HZs passive. I think they're much better that way. I was expecting a visit from the Spector police though.
That's a hell of a deal on the Schecter.
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That headstock shot looks almost Thunderbird like in the nut width. Is that the case? Either way, that was a hell of a deal. Good job!
One of the best feeling 5 strings I've ever played was a Schecter model from 2002 or so. Same shape as the above bass, neck thru. I should have bought one because they stopped making them and I haven't seen one in ages.
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I haven't checked the nut width and the bass is currently in Sydney so it will probably be a few weeks before I can get it over here to Adelaide but from my memory of the one I played in the shop it was just slightly wider than my Jazz.
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Our NZ keys plays one of those, exact same model... nice player... well done... ;)
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LOVE the look! Beautiful!
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My mate Mark in Sydney just picked it up. Now I just gotta get it 1400kms back to Adelaide.
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Don't talk rubbish, Bret... it's only that...................................................far on the map... ;)
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OK its here and I have stripped it, done a bit of a polish here and there as there was some oxidization on the "Black Chrome" hardware. (Not sure I'm keen on this yet). I've given it a fret polish, lightly oiled the fingerboard, put new strings on and set the intonation and action.
I took it to practice last night with my original band and played it through my Eden nemesis NC115 and it is very Gibson to play. The neck feels like some old T-birds I've played. I'm not so experienced as others here in this area that I can tell you what year and version of T-bird but its neck feel and the tone are very TB to my experience.
Especially when compared to my Jazz bass.
This Sth Korean one was made in the Samick factory and the build quality it of a very high quality. There are a few differences between this one and the Chinese one I tried in the shop a few weeks ago. Mostly the through body neck, (Chinese one was 6 bolt and Maple/walnut/maple) This neck is 3 piece Mahogany. The Body is Mahogany and the body top is maple.
As you would expect with all that Maho the sound is typically warm and rich with a bluriness to it. There is some top end snap and the mids were very balanced and full without being muddy. It has a lot of presence in a comfortable kind of way and sat in the mix nicely without clashing with keys etc. It is quite dark sounding and the sparkle in the top end made it feel balanced for me.
The passive EMG HZ's give a very consistent sound which I've come to expect from them but still lets the organic woody nature of the basses tone shine through. The front top knob is the pup blend control the back one is the overall volume and the smaller lower knobs are the Active tone controls for each pup.
I was amazed at how many different sounds were at my fingertips.
This is a very solid sounding bass with a lot of presence, a very comfortable and gibson feeling neck and a very consistent (across the FB) and variable sound.
I'm very impressed with it. 8)
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I know I'm slow with all this stuff but the work is all done and I've been gigging with this bass and here are the pics.
(http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t253/Freuds_cat/Schecter%20Hellraiser%204/DSC_0436.jpg)
(http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t253/Freuds_cat/Schecter%20Hellraiser%204/DSC_0430.jpg)
(http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t253/Freuds_cat/Schecter%20Hellraiser%204/DSC_0443.jpg)
(http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t253/Freuds_cat/Schecter%20Hellraiser%204/DSC_0408.jpg)
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Looking good, Bret... what's the view now you've gigged her...?
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Lovely instrument Ken. Quite heavy but just an absolute pleasure to play.
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Our keyboard player is taking his back to NZ when he repatriates himself, late August... loves it too...