Schecter Hellraiser C-1 FR-S - Black Cherry Reviews

I have quite a few axes in my collection now and this has got to be my favorite! There's not a flaw on this thing... the craftsmanship just blows me away, and it totally feels like home in my hands. The pots are smooth as butter... the sustainiac system screams like a banshee, and omg just crunch and munch all day long. When they said this was built for metal, they weren't kidding.
Now, I'm off to make my bandmates jealous!

I got this for my husband and he has been shredding this thing on the AxeI/O with Amplitube 5 max, loving the Floyd rose and the sustaniac pickup. This guitar is well built and will scream all day and night. I would buy if you're looking for heavy metal leads or really any kind of leads, the single tone knob really allows you to adjust sound to your liking.

I have quite a few guitars, all the usual suspects, and I play in a covers bar band playing all kinds of stuff ranging from blues to country to hard rock and classic metal. This "metal machine" can do it all. Learn to use the split options and blend the pickups, roll back the volume knob when you need to, and it can do anything. Do not be fooled into thinking it is a one trick pony. It is super versatile.

It also has impeccable build quality, the FR is a feat of engineering, the EMG pickups can go all the way to 11 when you need them to. Oh and its classy. Badass but classy. Like it would be at home at a black tie event or a mosh pit.

My favorite.

Purchased this for my son based on a recommendation from his instructor. Wow the build quality is amazing. The body looks great and the fret work is top notch. My son found it much easier to play than his beginner guitar. Unfortunately, we couldn't get the Sustainiac pickup to work on the first one that shipped. However, since we were within the 30 day return policy we were able to get a replacement. I'm just a few hours away from their store, so the family and I took a road trip to Fort Wayne to do the exchange in person. What a great place to visit. If you ever get a chance to visit their store it is worth the trip. My son was like a kid in a candy store. Big shout out to Luke Kidd and the rest of the team at Sweetwater for getting the replacement guitar ready for us to pickup on the same day back at the end of Dec. Sweetwater service is the best!

Excellent craftsmanship and feel. Top notch electronics and an upscale 1000 FR compared to "licensed" ones. Had experience with Sustainiacs before. First on a Fernandez strat, then a Jackson. Talked to them a few times, great effect for sustain at lower volumes. Not a shredder, more like Gilmore. 24 fret neck through body is like butter and accessible.

Hope to pickup a Jackson RR, either the very close to orig. Rhoads model or the beautifully grained purple 24 fret RR. Having it sent to the Sustainiac folks an install of the electronics. Enjoy!

I purchased an online Schecter Hellraiser C-1 FR-S - Black Cherry. That's not my style. For me, a guitar has roughly 15 seconds in my hands to prove to me that it sings in it's own way without being plugged into an amp. It must sound great acoustically or it goes back on the wall. Deal made or broken.

I bought this to try out the Sustainiac. I was super super picky. I wanted the Les Paul construction in Strat shape. There is something about the maple cap on a Mahogany body. Toss in the rosewood fret board, neck body construction, Floyd bridge & I though it would be a winner.

Exceeded my expectations. It's not just for shredders, though I can shred. There is something about playing a guitar in front of an amp that is so loud that it is at the edge of feedback. Hard to do in a home studio. It's so much more vocal like but it has to be on the edge, not over. This guitar does that. The EMG bridge pick up made an active pick up believer out of me, heretofore, disbeliever. Soul to shred. It does it all. Remarkable guitar.

I am no guitar expert as i am still a beginner, but this guitar looks and sounds amazing in person. Each note is so much clearer on this guitar compared to my first one( Ibanez Gio). The neck is a great shape that allows my hand to glide along it nicely and not feel like I am having to stretch. The Floyd Rose worked perfectly and changing strings was not as hard as people made it out to be (same gauge).

I have several guitars in my collection but I can't think of any of them exceeding the value that I see and hear in this guitar. Workmanship is excellent, low action, in tune, intonation set all right out of the box. Want to give a shout out to my sales engineer Jason who really took care of me on this purchase, even helping me pick the guitar. Thanks Jason.

This is one of the best guitars in my collection, and easily the best for the price. Like, no competition. I have nothing bad to say about it. Neck is fast and awesome but not too thin. EMG pickups are unbelievably fat in tone, yet roll off the volume a little on clean tones and it can do anything.

The manufacturing is flawless. Just wow. I can't wait to own another Schecter. Bravo.

I absolutely adore this guitar.

I've been eyeing one of these bad boys for awhile. Finally got one. It easily plays like a 6k$ guitar. Extremely fast neck. Took about 15 mins of set up to how I like it. Pretty amazing considering it was shipped half way across the country before it got to me 5 out of 5 fir Schecter, And 5 out of 5 for Sweetwater

At my age (over 50) my shredding days are a bit behind me now :( But I was looking for a guitar however that was easy to play and still fast,with a flat neck radius, and lots of tone. The Schecter Hellraiser C-1 FR-S was just what the doctor ordered ! The tight low end of the bridge pickup is perfect for my metal and rock. The neck pickup is crisp as well and brighter, perfect for blues and clean playing. The iceing on the cake would be the Sustainiac Humbucking Pickup. The pickup can be turned on or off, and with three different settings there is a whole world of awesome tones. All pickups are active EMG, with a mahogany body and neck. Beautiful looks and sweet to handle, 5 stars on this Baby !! :)

In my search for both a rock/metal and a blues/clean guitar that is both comfortable and easy to play,I found this jewel. It can shred with the best,and the combo of options with the pickups make it great for rock as well as clean playing. The Sustainiac with Floyd Rose is fantastic, with three options of sustain.Dive bomb your heart away and stay in tune ! The flat radius fret board makes bends and vibreto a breeze. My new super strat style ax for sure :) Enjoy and rock on !

Of all my guitars this one has it all. The looks, the feel and the sound. On top of that the Floyd Rose tunning system allows for bending without missing a note. The sustain is out of this world, it took a while to master it but with more play it became fun. All this attitude and for a price half of you would expect to play. Put one of these beauties in your collection today. The wonderful people at Sweetwater are always there to assist you.

I felt compelled to write this review for those out there like me, who are considering this guitar, but are not sure if they will like it. I love Jackson guitars. I own two of them, both JS32 models, and for the past few years they have been the only guitars I play. When I decided to upgrade I was thinking of getting a soloist or something similar. But of all the guitars in this price range, I thought this one looked the best. I never seriously considered getting one because I didn't think it would have the same play ability as my Jacksons, but I decided to try one because Sweetwater seems to have an excellent return policy so I didn't have much to loose. Well, I didn't have to test their return policy because this guitar looks and plays AWESOME! It arrived in flawless condition, and the tuning and intonation were spot on. The sustain is incredible, even without the sustaniac pick up on, and it sounds just as good clean as it does distorted to me. I couldn't be happier with my purchase, it's worth every penny. If I had to come up with one flaw it would be the weight of the guitar. It's pretty heavy and could be an issue it you play standing up most of the time, but to me it is a minor issue.

Never bought a guitar online before, always played them first
I deal with mostly LPs, But this guitar is fantastic. Does everything
you need. Creedence to Van Halen to blues to grunge to church to even
Possum Kingdom. This guitar is great. Spent an hour stretching strings
before i locked the nut. 3 weeks ago. It will not go out of tune.
Sound is amazing and the sustain when on is off the chart
Pretty good when its not on too Schector did well on this one
Before you buy a new Fender or Gibson, Look at this one first
You will not be disappointed
Shout out to everyone at Sweetwater. Customer SVC is above and beyond
Been Playing since 1980 I know a little
Thank You Todd Cotton

While I"m not as experienced as most of the reviewers here, I"ve owned several budget guitars and a couple of mid range Washburn and Ibanez guitars, I think this Schecter plays incredibly well.
I"m an old guy that grew up with Zep, RUSH, Queen, KISS, Etc. so in my opinion the EMG and Sustainic pick ups are just great. I"m still getting used to the Sustainic, it does make the guitar feel almost like it"s alive and breathing....
Thanks to Frank G. For all the help!
I live near a Guitar Center and was pulling for them to be honest as I"ve spent a few dollars on this Schecter a Vox amp and other "toys" over the past couple of months. But the customer service and follow up at Sweetwater is just a cut above and at a different level.

JTM

Gave up on my Les Paul. It gets no love after this Goddess came into my life. The only caveat is the Sustainiac, though mind bending in itself, it's kinda flat and not very creamy as a neck pickup. That being said I've found the tone knob to be very versatile in getting that cream from the EMG or combo of both.

This guitar is really a no brainer. it is the best I've ever had in 20 years of playing.

If you want a "REAL lean mean Metal Machine."This Is It!!! The tonality is fantastic! Whether tuned in dropped D or dropped B, great guitar to have. If you want to rock out? Get it!!!

Hey kids. Buy a Schecter C-1 or any Schecter. I started playing in bands in....1968. Wipeout was first, then Clapton, Johnny Winter, Chicago, Sabbath, Demiola, McGlaughlin, Pass.....I have had more guitars than I can cry about getting rid of. L4's, Black Beautyies, Ed Romans, Fenders, from junk to diamonds. OH! Segway. I knew South Korea was earning a reputation as fine builders and now I see why.
The detail work on this instrument is some of the best I have seen at any price. But for around a grand I really have nothing to compare it to. The Grover 18-1 keys are smooth but they didn't have to use such high quality tuners with a double lock FR 1000 tremolo that stays tuned after being bombed, stretched pulled and bent. Intonation is a snap to set up and perfect after a bit of attention. The fret work is as good as any I have seen with jumbo frets that beg to be pulled over, and hammered on! First time buying EMG active pickups. With the push pull option and a tone knob, which a lot of EMG set ups do not have, the tone variations are really nice. I see the Active C-1 FR is no longer available. My next will be the rainbow C-1. I see the C-1 model I bought is no longer available.
Tim Harrington is a patient man. I made two purchases and returned them in search of a champagne guitar on a beer budget. I upped the anti a tad and got a real nice axe. Thanks Tim and Sweetwater.
I won't trade anywhere but Sweetwater.

Its a not easy to buy a guitar on-line,..so I thought. Thank every body at Sweetwater that had a hand in getting me set up with this amazing guitar. Pat Walsh your the man!

I went off the other reviews and purchased this and wow, this is one nice guitar, period. This is well worth the money and a sound purchase. I had it Plek'd and it is the best playing guitar I have ever owned in my life. I have had many new guitars in the past and none play like this. This is one well set up guitar that I highly recommend. I have had to slightly tune this guitar in the last two weeks but it's way less than my Jackson with Floyd Rose bridge as well. Haven't had to break the included Allen wrench out yet either, just micro tuning off the bridge and still have plenty of adjustment left. Nothing even close to bottom or topping out the adjustment screws. Just set up professionally from the get go, thank you Sweetwater. Having the option of choosing from each one in stock is awesome. I ended up with a nine pound guitar vs the seven pound three ounce guitar due to sustain qualities when not using electronics and it sounds great. I also purchased the case that goes with it and really like it. It's plush with LOTS of storage and has the "Shecter" logo molded into the case which looks awesome. Only recommendation is to have it Plek'd, it's awesome and you will not have to wonder how better it could play, Mark.

With guitar prices escalating (especially those made in the USA), there is no guarantee you'll end up satisfied. Having just bought my first (and last) Gibson USA LP I saved so long for, in the finish and appointments I could afford, I learned a sad but valuable lesson. Quality and pride here in the US as far as guitar construction goes hands down to the mom & pop shops and can set you back up to $10,000.

That being said, I knew this purchase would be Asian made for most if not all parts, but Sweetwater has always stood behind its warranties and service. I depended on Kenny Bergle and his staff to stand behind their word and I wasn't disappointed. The fit, finish, Floyd Rose model and the Sustainiac info was right on and it plays perfectly for me. I'm getting older (LOL) and by no means a shredder; never was, especially when you consider I actually watched the Beatles on black & white live visiting Ed Sullivan. I consider myself lucky to have experienced music from the 60's through todays metal madness with most of my grey matter intact.

I now get a laugh out of playing anything from Jefferson Airplane to Pink Floyd to Stryper and in between. Had to have this guitar and I'd recommend it to anyone, unless you can afford a Jackson Phil Collen signature in Satin. Best money I've spent in years and I'll always come here to SW for any purchase.

Dude, this guitar is sweet. The best sounding guitar I have ever played on. The sustainiac pickup is off the hook.

This takes you in to a new demention to work with .The Sustainiac takes some time to get use to, but after awhile you can really get creative . Great workmanship , setup was spot on ,Sweetwater takes care of that ! Floyd Rose holds tune fabulously . This was guitar # 16 and I think I've got it covered now .

I will get to the sustainiac part of this review in a bit...

This write-up is for all the people on the fence like I was. So much press has been given to this guitar about how perfectly suited it is as a lead solo shredder that I was hesitant to buy it because I'm not a metal thrash god. Yes, I grew up playing Van Halen, Pink Floyd, AC/DC--So my playing style is classic rock/blues/ambient/lead oriented, but I'm still all over the map.

If you're like I was and wondering if the guitar is right for you, let me put this to rest. If you are comfortable with active pups and a dual humbucker layout, this guitar has everything for you. From a rhythm players perspective it has it all; Wood chopping crunch, free flowing strumming.. this guitar is very bright and responsive and I could be very happy playing in the pocket all night.

From a lead players point of view it's buttery smooth when you need it nice and slippery and if you're going to go all "Steve Vai/Paul Gilbert/Satch" it's quite capapable of melting everyone in the room's face off under the right gain settings! This guitar is effortless to play and I will say that I am very happy to add this guitar to my collection.

The volume knob rolls down VERY NICE and cleans up quickly(LOVE IT). The tone knob works as expected and there's the third knob on there too...

The sustainiac: The third knob is for getting a good leash on the sustainiac. Let me say it this way; This guitar throbs! It's a pulsating monster underneath the hood that's waiting to be un-caged!! And that's the beauty of this thing!! You can dial this guitar in EXACTLY the way you like it. AWESOME. I love having the intensity knob on there because there's moments when you are striving for subtlety and moments where you need more sing. A mini toggle activates the sustainiac while another 3-way toggle determines how it behaves.. Although I don't use the sustainiac a lot, I love having it at my disposal.

I just might have to own another one if they unleash a color I'm fond of.. And, as always, I could go ON and ON about how awesome Sweetwater does setting these up before they ship.

I noticed right away I would love this guitar because of the feel of the neck,wow I was amazed at the ease of soloing and chording and the sounds from the EMG 81 bridge and the Sustainiac driver,are very ballsy.Thanks for building a guitar I can cherish.

This guitar is extremely well made, great vibe, and fit and finish were excellent, especially at this price point. The setup by Sweetwater was very good. The thing I appreciate the most is how well you can get up into the upper registers. I have mainly played blues/rock/country and have never had a guitar that really gave you enough access to get comfortable up in the 15-24 range like this guitar does. I've played a long time, but I see a real opportunity to grow with the added access, the FR, and mastering the Sustainiac. The Black Cherry is awesome; I appreciate the way SW lets you see the actual guitar before you buy it. BTW- You will want the Schaller Ruthenium strap locks to go with the black chrome knobs and tuners, so SW needs to add this to their selections online.

I've already done one review of this great guitar, but Sweetwater e-mailed me so I'll do another quick one - basically, if you're a shredder of any kind, a metal guitarist, or any kind of would-be guitar god, BUY THIS. Stop debating now and order this beast because Floyd Rose 1000 + Sustainiac + EMG's = utter madness. Once you break this thing in and get used to all its bells and whistles you will wonder how you ever lived without it. In this price range you can't do better - and honestly I'd rather have this than a brand new 4k Les Paul. That's all I need to say. Buy it today and Raise some Hell! Kudos to Anthony Longano for help and patience, he's a great sales engineer.

Great guitar to add to your collection

OH YEAH. This guitar delivers in a big way. The combination of a Sustainiac, EMG's, and a Floyd Rose unleashes havoc. This instrument looks, feels, plays, and sounds professional. It is all you need. Metal players and shredders will love this guitar, but it can also play just about anything very well. The sustain from the set-through construction and mahogany body is top notch. This guitar is made to shred, go insane, and unleash hell all the way from psychedelic acid rock space tones to Slayer and anything in between. The clean tones are great too (it's EMG's so keep that in mind) and this thing can handle whatever you throw at it. The Floyd Rose 1000 can withstand truly ridiculous antics (and I am the type of player who puts this to the test). Everything was well set up and Sweetwater did a great job. BUY THIS AND MELT FACES.

I play primarily death metal. This guitar is simply a beast. The first thing I noticed was the amount of care that Sweetwater put into the packaging, and the fact that its playability had been tested beforehand meant no setup necessary-ready to take out of the box and shred. Love it. For the guitar itself:

-Pickups
Neck: I researched the sustainiac as I was quite skeptical, thinking my tone options would be constrained only for the sake of having unlimited sustain (which I didn't really care about). I then realized how customizable it actually is. Out of the box, I had to lower the neck and bridge just slightly because I wasn't used to the driver. I noticed it would send the signal too soon as it sensed the bottom string vibration through a sweeping arpeggio. I found a happy balance between the sustaining feature and playability for my style however. I may substitute with a different pickup in the future, but right now I am definitely happy with it.

Bridge: EMG 81… what more do I need to say? The sound is absolutely lethal.

-Floyd Rose
Well I haven't played a guitar with a FR in a while, and of course had to tune it down a few steps. I remember the nightmares that I had with my old one… But, with all of the tutorials on YouTube, its function is really easy to understand. Tuned her no problem and then remembered how fun a whammy bar is. If you like to switch up your tuning a lot, don't get this model. I, however, rarely switch up tuning, and this thing NEVER goes out of tune once you have it set.

-Neck/Body
This thing feels SOLID. I feel like I can play it as hard as I want and will never break it. Incredibly fast neck as well.

-Overall
Very impressed with this guitar. I wanted to give a 4.5 instead of 5 because of the sustainiac, but like I said, being that it's so customizable, you can find the tone that you are looking for (plus you can even turn it off). Thanks to Aaron Hoff for unmatched customer service. I am DONE with Amazon!

The quality and workmanship that went into the manufacturing of this guitar are outstanding. Better than other guitars that cost twice as much. I especially like the neck heel joint, which is carved such that you really can access all 24 frets. Love the jumbo frets and the finish. The appointments are also quite nice with the abalone in the fret markers and bonding around the body and headstock. I have had this guitar for weeks and have not had to tune it since sent out by Sweetwater. Chris Carter is the best sales engineer!

This guitar is a masterpiece! I have had Ibanez guitars in the past but I have never experienced a guitar like this one! Just amazing! Floyd Rose 1000 Series is flawless. The only fail was the Sustainer issue (crosstalking). After settings (using the Sustainer board trimpots in back cave) the Sustainer works perfectly. The Sustainer cap has less gain than the EMG cap, but no problem: the clear parts sounds very cool in the neck cap (sustainer). I use the EMG for dirty sound and the sustainer for clean sound. Smooth neck and heavy sound at perfect tuning.

I have played many and also have had many guitars in the past but I have never experienced a guitar quite like this one. Everything on this guitar works flawlessly right out of the box it was shipped in. The feel of the guitar is amazing the Floyd Rose holds its tuning very well and as a first time user of the sustainiac pickup well all I can say is that it is very fun and creative for an endless amount of time plus it sounds sweet. Sweetwater is the best with the best and most knowledgeable team that I have encountered and just like to say thanks so much to Zach G. for your help on everything and your great and positive attitude through everything.

I've owned this guitar for 4 years. It's the only Asian-built guitar I've ever owned and I own and have owned a number of high end USA instruments. The workmanship, fit and finish are excellent and the choice of woods is the best. This thing roars through a wound-up Marshall but can also do decent clean tones. It does basically everything a Les Paul will do but at a fraction of the price. the coil tap feature is especially useful. The neck is comfortable and stable. My only complaint - and it's minor - is that the sound is a bit darker than a Les Paul, but that can be dealt with using EQ and it has its own uses. Schecter quality on this instrument is top notch.

The finish and mechanicals on this guitar are top notch. I mean it's even better in real life than in the pictures. For me, the body is the perfect thickness, right between my Strat and the Gibson LP. There's not a lot of area between the pickups so it will be interesting to see how they look after a lot of playing.

I'm not a big fan of the locks at the nut, but hey, you're raising hell with it in theory, so they may help a little bit with staying in tune, but who wants to get an allen wrench out everytime you tweak tuning?

The Sustainiac adjustments, at least for me, are a bit hard to get right. The worst issue I have is spontaneous excitement of the lower strings unless you have the Drive control turned way down. But if you do that you won't get the sustain you expect. I have found that the middle ("Mix") position works best to eliminate undesired racket, and you can turn you drive up and get your Henricks on with a long rendition of the Star Spangled Banner.

I am really falling in love with the sound of this unit. It doesn't have the sound options of, say, a Stratocaster Deluxe, especially since you're down to a single (bridge) pickup when you turn on Sustain, but I think the bridge pickup on this guitar really sounds sweet and not overly harsh. I'm sold.

I really like the quality of this instrument and the playability. They did a great job with the way the heel is scooped out where the neck meets the body - you can really reach the 24th fret with ease. The neck has a good shape - very LP-like. Still trying to understand all the modes of the active pickups - there's a 3 way switch for different sustainiac settings. I am very surprised at how well this guitar stays in tune. I've had it for weeks, been bending strings, and still haven't adjusted the tuning. Next project - find a better amp to play it through. Currently using Line 6 Spider, Carvin 100 watt tube, and BlackStar HT1R for headphone use.

Neck is a bit "roller coaster-ish" fretboard between nut and first fret is very low despite coming with huge relief out of the box, almost like reverse fall away. truss rod adjustments split the difference it now plays and feels decent after full fret job.