Schecter C-1 Hellraiser Special Review

So I had a chance to play a friends Schecter C-1 Hellraiser Special. Prepare to be bombarded with my subjective thoughts. 

This guitar is probably what I'd call an upper mid-range guitar, without being aware of the price at the time of playing it. I played the version which does not feature a floyd rose floating trem. It features a mahogany body, a three piece mahogany neck, a rosewood fretboard and the black cherry version that I played featured a very sexy quilted maple top (very reminiscent of a PRS if not quite as masterfully finished, gives it a very high-end look). The pickups are a pair of active EMG's an 81 and an 85 in the neck and bridge positions respectively. 

    
It must be said that my friend has had this guitar for a number of years and he's not the type to really cherish things so its had a rough life. However the guitar has stood up to his lifestyle remarkably well, the finish looks great despite many bumps and bangs. If all of these guitars are this durable then I would definitely recommend it for a touring band or someone who might be a little clumsy.

     
As you can probably tell from the aesthetic and the choice of pickups this guitar is geared heavily (that's a pun, get it?) towards metal and hard rock. I played this through a Blackstar Series One 45 Watt combo. The heavier and metal tones that can be achieved with this guitar, in tandem with a high quality high-gain amp like the Series One, are mind-blowing. It really chugs the lows (great if you're into all that 'Djent' business) and the guitar can really squeal but still maintains good clarity when playing fast runs. Despite the fact that this guitar is clearly leveraged towards high output, face-melting and head-smashing metal it fares well when you want to take the pedal away from the metal (another pun... or is it word play?). When I opted for a cleaner tone the guitar performs well, the clarity that the pickups give make for nice and clear chords that have a little bit of an acoustic character. Though it can play the cleaner tones, I wouldn't recommend this guitar if your style mostly utilizes clean tones, It just doesn't compare to a strat or a tele in this regard. 

     
The playability of this guitar was fantastic, my friend hasn't had it professionally set up so it's still factory set (which vindicates Schecters decision to manufacture their low and mid-range guitars in south korea and then have them set up in a USA factory). The action is nice and low for those that like to play quick, the neck has a reasonably small circumference (it's no wizard neck, but it can compete) and the fret board is nice and flat for quicker runs. The only downside i'd suggest is that the neck is finished with the same lacquer as the body so it occasionally slowed down my playing speed, as its a set neck I can see why it is this way but a better lacquer would have improved things. The guitar is a little on the heavy side due to the mahogany, it's not 60's Les Paul heavy but it still put pressure on my shoulder after an hour or two. All in all though its still a very pleasant playing experience. 

     
Should you buy one? Yes, if it fulfils your needs. If you're after anything that isn't metal, then it's probably best to look elsewhere. The guitar sets out its stall pretty quickly in what it's trying to achieve, you know the second you look at it. If you're after a guitar that can fulfil just about any metal tone then it's a fantastic choice, it plays quick and has a beefy low-end and the high-end will literally scream if you want it to. It's clearly very durable too, so i'd be happy to suggest this as a gigging guitar. 

All in all I'd give this guitar 7.5 out of 10. 

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