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Schecter Riot-4 Bass Guitar - Aurora Burst

4-string Electric Bass with Swamp Ash Body, Burl Top, Maple/Walnut Neck, Ebony Fingerboard, and 2 Active EMG Humbucking Pickups - Aurora Burst
$1,149.00

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Schecter Riot-4 Bass Guitar - Aurora Burst
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$1,149.00
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Huge Value in a 4-string Boutique Bass

The Schecter Riot-4 electric bass looks and sounds wicked; its high-end boutique visuals and appointments belying its amazingly affordable price tag. Premium tonewoods are used throughout, including richly grained swamp ash for the sleekly sculpted body and beautiful burl for the top veneer. The Riot-4's thin bolt-on multi-ply maple/walnut neck and ebony fingerboard give you smooth playability and superior stability, courtesy of embedded carbon fiber reinforcement rods. The electronics package is top-flight as well, with a pair of active EMG pickups and 3-band EQ delivering the versatile tone you need to ace any live gig or studio session.

EMG pickups deliver a huge range of awesome bass tones

This bass is ready for a workout. Schecter loaded the Riot-4 with a pair of active EMG pickups to make sure it could handle anything you could throw at it. The EMG 35PX-CS in the neck position covers a wide range of classic and modern sounds. Because it uses ceramic magnets coupled with short, squat, parallel coils, the tone has brilliant treble articulation along with forceful low-end punch and overall warmth, superior dynamics, natural presence, and low noise.

For more midrange growl and punch, Schecter included the EMG 35JX-CS in the bridge position. Utilizing ceramic magnets with steel pole pieces and EMG's X Series preamp, this pickup delivers dynamic range closer to the feel of a passive pickup, with the extended frequency range and quiet operation of an active. Less bright than most traditional J-style pickups, the 35JX-CS serves up a warmer, deeper, richer sound with smoother attack and less high-end presence. Take it from bass players here at Sweetwater: these EMG pickups deliver big bass tones while being extremely quiet, thanks to ultra-low-noise preamps.

Powerful 3-band EQ lets you dial in the perfect tone

When you need a specific tone for a recording session or live gig, there's nothing like an active EQ. The Schecter Riot-4 bass sports a powerful 18-volt 3-band EQ that gives you more headroom and a smoother low end. From funk to jazz to nu-metal, the Riot-4's EQ has the tone-sculpting power you need in a bass.

Custom neck join for enhanced sustain and playability

There's a reason for the enduring popularity of basses with bolt-on necks — they sound punchy and quite different from neck-through and set-neck designs. Schecter has taken the classic 4-bolt design to the next level with their 5-bolt neck join, which not only provides more contact between neck and body for greater stability, vibrational transfer, and sustain, but also gives you a smooth, tapered heel for unrestricted high-register access. Pick up a Schecter Riot-4, and you'll experience everything bolt-on construction has to offer.

Schecter Riot-4 Electric Bass Features:

  • Swamp ash body, burl top; semi-gloss finish
  • Bolt-on multi-ply maple/walnut neck, Thin "C" profile; semi-gloss finish
  • Carbon fiber neck reinforcement rods
  • Ebony fingerboard, 16" radius, offset/reverse dot inlays
  • 34" scale length; 24 extra-jumbo frets
  • Active EMG pickups
  • Bridge pickup: 35JX-CS
  • Neck pickup: 35PX-CS
  • EMG-B30 3-band active EQ
  • Master volume and pickup blend controls
  • Schecter Custom string-through bridge
  • 1.496" Graph Tech XL black TUSQ nut
  • Schecter tuners
  • Dual-action truss rod

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Tech Specs

  • Number of Strings: 4
  • Left-/Right-handed: Right-handed
  • Body Shape: Riot-4
  • Body Material: Swamp Ash
  • Body Finish: Semi-gloss
  • Color: Aurora Burst
  • Neck Material: Maple/Walnut
  • Neck Shape: Thin C
  • Radius: 16"
  • Fingerboard Material: Ebony
  • Fingerboard Inlay: Offset Reverse Dots
  • Number of Frets: 24, Extra Jumbo
  • Scale Length: 34"
  • Nut Width: 1.496"
  • Nut Material: GraphTech Tusq XL
  • Bridge/Tailpiece: Schecter Custom Bass String-thru
  • Tuners: Schecter
  • Neck Pickup: EMG 35PX-CS Humbucker
  • Bridge Pickup: EMG 35JX-CS Humbucker
  • Controls: 1 x master volume, 1 x pickup blend, 3-band Active EQ
  • Strings: Ernie Ball, ,45s
  • Case Included: Sold Separately
  • Manufacturer Part Number: 1450

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Customer Reviews

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Rated 4.5/5

My first "real" bass!

I started off on a Peavey Milestones IV to see if I could stick with playing the bass. I was at a tossup between getting this bass and a traditional Fender Precision as my first "real" bass. I absolutely love the look of my Riot. Hands down, the look of this bass makes me want to play it. As a new player, I asked the opinions of all of my friends, musicians or not. Should I take a safe route or be "different"? Just about everyone told me to be different. And, I don't regret it.

I wish the bass came with some documentation, but you can get the full specs from their website. This would have been nice to have, considering this was a major purchase for me and the amount of reviews for this model are difficult to find.

I'm extremely happy with the weight of the bass. My starter bass felt like I was carrying a tree around my neck. This bass doesn't feel like that at all. It's so light that I feel like I have to be extra aware of my surroundings. The neck feels slick and thin. I was having a difficult time with my Peavey's thicker neck. The Riot was much easier to navigate, making it easier to correct my bad habits. The solid design of the body makes the hardware very stable. The pickups don't move when you rest on them and the knobs are nice and snug. I like the design of the bridge and the tuners are smooth.

One issue I have is with the E saddle. I spent plenty of time practicing setting a bass up with my starter, as I experiment with finding the "holy grail of strings". I've tried the default Ernie Ball rounds, DR rounds, DR coated, Ernie Ball Flats, and La Bella Tapes. Every string, but the La Bella Tape Wound strings had my E saddle pushed all the way to the back and raised substantially to get it to intonate on the 12th fret. The La Bella tape strings are low tension and fix this issue. I'm not sure why this happens. The La Bella's don't affect the other strings' saddle position as much. I know I still have most of my warranty. I may have a local tech look at it and see if he understands what may be wrong. Of the reviews I've seen, only 1 had a visible similarity with the saddle, but didn't mention anything being "wrong". I've questioned the reviewers about the issue and they claim they don't have similar as I do. Lucky for me, they're my favorite strings for this bass. I also got the La Bella tapewounds from Sweetwater. She sounds like an upright to me and I love this sound so much. The low tension and the non-stickiness are amazing.

I did have an issue with a slamming E and A sound on my lemon of a Peavey practice amp. I upgraded to a Fender Rumble 100 and that resolved that. I guess she likes quality products. I also got the amp from Sweetwater.

My mentor said, "The right bass is one that says, 'Pick me up and play me!'" And, this bass definitely does that. I started playing bass to cope with my recent ADHD diagnosis. The more I play, the more peace I get. I also had cookies made of her!
Music background: 1 Year Noob and Rocksmith player.
Rated 5/5

I love this Bass

This bass has a terrific feel and is weighted perfectly. I was very impressed with the build quality and the looks.
Rated 5/5

Incredible quality for the price!

This has been my go to bass for over a year now and I could not be more pleased with the feel, sound and quality of this bass. I highly recommend!!
Rated 5/5

Schecter. Riot 4

Just git this exact Bass last week from Dante at Sweetwater. Added Half Rounds.
Wow, Great Looks, perfect Balance n weight distribution. No dives.
The tonal qualities are endless. Thunderous Lows and Articulate highs.
Instantly my go to.
Sorry. FENDER Custom shop Jazz, 2 Gibsons Artists, Warwick Double Buck, Eastwood Ventures Mosrite, Eastwood Gibson EB1..
Music background: 50 years Rockin
Rated 4.5/5

The Schecter Riot 4 My Pride and Joy

This is a truly Beautiful looking and sounding instrument that has the smoothest feel of any bass I've felt while playing. Incredible range and response from the active emg pickups and the tuners and bridge are nothing to knock. The only reason I didn't give it the full 5 stars is the battery port is really cheaply thrown together compared to the rest of the instrument and especially compared to other companies like Yamaha that have a nice click in and out battery port like you'd see on an Xbox controller. The Schecter's is covered by a metal plate that has to be removed via screwdriver.
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