An Ode to Tone and Talent: Celebrating a Decade of Signature Sonics
Guitar virtuoso Nick Johnston’s personal preferences directed the design of his 6-string’s every iteration, and this Schecter Nick Johnston Traditional HSS 10th Anniversary electric guitar commemorates a decade of his ongoing partnership with Schecter and the brain-warping playing that earned Nick this well-deserved milestone. Like its predecessors, this Traditional HSS is optimized for high-octane technical playability but distinguishes itself with an all-wenge neck and locking tuners and a tremolo system from Schecter’s Nouveau series of heavy-hitting, road-grade hardware. The Nick Johnston C neck profile is complemented by a 14-inch-radius ebony fretboard that hosts 22 jumbo frets, in hard-wearing stainless steel — it’s immediately apparent to Sweetwater’s Guitar Shop that this axe was crafted for power, precision, and control. And while its playability is sure to appeal to rock and metal players, its HSS configuration features a trio of signature Schecter USA–crafted pickups, yielding a universe of tonal textures to explore. With vault-grade sonic security and a Graph Tech Black TUSQ XL nut to make sure the tremolo action is as smooth as can be, you’ll be amazed at the Schecter Nick Johnston Traditional HSS 10th Anniversary guitar’s ability to respond to any creative impulse you may have. After all, it’s been Nick’s standby 6-string for 10 years!
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Ferocious, flexible foundations with no effort spared
Nick’s music ranges from dark and brooding to explosive bouts of joy, with tones ranging from sweet and clean to ferocious, all within a single tune. His albums have featured guest contributions from guitar greats, the world over, and building a commemorative guitar that is as much a celebration of his playing diversity as it is that of his career invited a slew of upgrades, enhancements, and additions that all start with the tonewoods. The alder body returns, anchoring your sounds in a balanced and resounding full-bodied profile, offering plenty of reactivity that captures all the nuances of your fleet-fingered fretwork. For this 10th Anniversary iteration of the Traditional HSS, Nick and Schecter opted for an all-wenge neck, lauded for its ringing presence, natural sustain, focused basses, and brilliant trebles, complementing the slight midrange favoring of the alder body, with natural note-separating voicing. The ebony fretboard completes the tonewood triumvirate, imbuing your sound with virtually limitless sustain, bell-like transparency, and crystalline panache that punches with precision in every register.
Atomic sonics, courtesy of Schecter USA and Nick Johnston
The wenge neck isn’t the only page Schecter’s taken out of its US-built playbook, as this anniversary-edition axe is loaded not only with the wenge neck found on the American-made Nick Johnston models but also with a triad of Schecter USA signature Nick Johnston pickups. The lauded HSS configuration supplies nuclear-grade versatility, thanks to the Atomic single-coils and bridge-mounted humbucker, stacked with Alnico V and Alnico III magnets, respectively. While these pickups and the 5-way blade switch support worlds of tone-crafting potential, the Master Volume knob’s push-pull coil split unlocks a prismatic dimension of sonic contouring.
Nouveau performance possibilities waiting to be discovered
To commemorate the well-deserved occasion of Nick’s decade-long tenure with Schecter, the Nick Johnston Traditional HSS 10th Anniversary received a hardware overhaul, opting to include the Schecter Nouveau tremolo system and locking tuners. And with this vault-grade sonic security, you’re poised to deliver a plethora of polychromic pitch-bending pyrotechnics, as you traverse the 22 stainless steel frets that sprawl the fretboard’s 14-inch radius. With a Graph Tech Black TUSQ XL nut to keep your sounds singing with buzz-free sustain, the Schecter Nick Johnston Traditional HSS 10th Anniversary is truly the all-encompassing performance package worthy of the time-tested tone shaping, aural innovations, and genre-transcending works of the signature artist who inspired the instrument.
Schecter Guitar Research — a brief history
Founded in 1976 by David Schecter, Schecter Guitar Research originally produced high-end replacement parts for existing Fender and Gibson guitars. In 1979, the company began producing its own fully assembled custom shop electric guitars. Schecter guitars quickly garnered a solid reputation as a result of their remarkably high quality and soon found their way into the hands of such celebrated guitarists as Pete Townshend and Mark Knopfler. Today, Schecter Guitar Research offers electric guitars and basses, acoustic guitars, and USA Custom Shop instruments to musicians worldwide in more than 150 countries. The company’s current roster of high-profile artists includes Disturbed, Avenged Sevenfold, the Cure, Papa Roach, Seether, Stone Temple Pilots, Nevermore, and Black Label Society.
Schecter Nick Johnston Traditional HSS 10th Anniversary Features:
- Commemorative edition of Nick Johnston’s signature 6-string includes special appointments not found on base models
- Lightweight, resonant alder body anchors tones to a balanced blend of full-bodied presence and ample articulation
- Wenge neck conjures aural brilliance across the spectrum, with sonorous trebles, defined basses, and lively responsiveness
- Ebony fretboard invokes near-endless sustain, with power and precision in every register
- 22 jumbo stainless steel frets and Graph Tech Black TUSQ XL nut provide resounding, buzz-free intonation and tones
- Schecter USA signature Nick Johnston pickups include 2 single-coils and a bridge-mounted humbucker for prismatic sound shaping
- 5-way pickup selector and Master Volume knob’s push-pull coil split support worlds of diverse tone-shaping configurations
- Schecter Nouveau tremolo and locking tuners supply rock-solid sonic stability to support evocative expression
