C-1 E/A Review

The new C1 E/A combines the mellow warmth of a vintage hollow body with the addition of true acoustic tone and clarity - courtesy of a specially designed RMC piezo-loaded TonePros bridge. This is a set-neck guitar with a quilted maple top, mahogany body, Grover tuners and 22 jumbo frets.

Features:	9.3
Sound:	9
Action:	10
Reliability:	9.5
Impression:	10
Overall rating:	9.6
Users rating:	8.4
Comments:	4

Featured review by: unregistered, on may 23, 2005

Price paid: $ 700

Purchased from: Local Guitar Retailer

Features: A quick rundown of the features:

- Made in Korea, 2005
- 22 jumbo frets
- Set neck (25.5" scale)
- Quilted maple top
- Mahogany body
- Mahogany neck
- Rosewood fretboard
- Semihollow Strat style body
- TonePros bridge w/stop tailpeice
- 2 Duncan Designed HB-102 humbuckers (passive)
- Piezo pickup system in bridge (active)
- 4 control nobs (1 volume and 1 tone each for mag pickups and piezo)
- Grover tuners
- Cable included. // 10

Sound: Run through a decent amp (for me, a Marshall), this guitar can create a myriad of sound. Despite what some might say, the Piezo gives it a surprisingly good accoustic quality. The mag pickups, however, leave a bit to be desired. "Duncan Designed" is not quite Seymour Duncan. The sound can be a bit muddy, and the 3-way toggle doesn't do a whole lot. But with that said, the pickups are not bad. This guitar can hit everything from an accoustic melody to a full bluesy sound to an agressive distortion. The piezo and mags can also be combined or played seperately, allowing for new tonal possibilities. And hell, there's something oddly satisfying about playing the piezo through distortion. // 8

Action, Fit & Finish: Fortunately, the local shop that I ordered this guitar from has specialists on hand that check the guitars through and through and perform any needed adjustments. So by the time I got it, pretty much everything was perfect (from action to pickup height to tuning). And, with that in mind, this guitar (cosmetically) is flawless. As far as the finish goes, wow. Quite possibly one of the greatest finishes I have ever seen on a guitar. In my humble opinion, better than the high-end Les Pauls and PRS models. The quilted maple top (I chose the dark Vintage sunburst finish) is slightly more brown than in catalogs and on websites, but that doesn't detract at all from the appearance. A stunningly beautiful peice of wood, to say the least. // 10

Reliability & Durability: I haven't had this guitar very long, so I'm somewhat unqualified to speak about durability. However, one can normally tell when one is holding a good guitar. In my hands, this thing just feels solid. The hardware is very nice, and everything is securely how it should be. I wouldn't use it without a backup during a gig, but that's just because, well, you never know what could happen. // 8

Impression: I play blues, classic rock, and metal, and this guitar is perfect for them all. With the mags and piezo, it can conquer just about anything you can throw at it. Now, I haven't been playing an incredibly long time, but I'm an avid guitar player who's done his homework. This (especially compared to larger companies like Gibson and Fender) is a definitively good deal. It would not have surprised me to see a company with more name recognition take the C1 E/A model and sell it for $1400 (or more). When I put my order in for this guitar, I ended up waiting a little over 2 months. During that time, I was constantly checking reviews on Musician's Friend (which had, up until then, all been positive), and was surprised to see a few poor and mediocre reviews pop up. Fortunately, playing the guitar has brought peace to my mind. It is as good, if not better, than the positive reviewers' praises. With a pickup change (possibly a SD JB and Jazz combo), the full glory of this instrument would be unleashed. Bravo to Schecter for making such a fantastic guitar at such a great price. // 10

Reviewed by: unregistered, on july 20, 2005

Purchased from: Musicians Friend

Features: I purchased my Schecter C1 E/A new in the Summer of 2004. This was my first electric guitar after banging on a cheap Ibanez PF5 acoustic for a few years. It is a semihollow body guitar with dual Duncan Design humbuckers (with a ghost piezo system in the bridge), a mahogany body and neck, and a stunning quilted maple top. The fretboard has 24 frets and split crown inlays. Comes stock with sturdy grover tuners. // 8

Sound: I play through a 100 watt Fender 2X12 combo. This is a solid state amp. I almost always run through either a Pod XT Live or a Yamaha Magicstomp multieffects pedal. The amount of sounds I can get from this guitar is amazing. Whether I choose a Dual Rectifier amp model on the Pod or use the piezo pickup, the guitar handles it beautifully. For the most part I play alternative/metal stuff, anything from Incubus to Killswitch Engage. I also play rhythm guitar and sing in my band, Serenade (check us out on MySpace.com). I use it for simple jazz comping as well, just flick the 3 way selector to the neck position, turn down the tone knob a bit, and add a splash of piezo, and you are ready to fly to the moon with Sinatra. I do have a bit of a problem with the magnetic pickups however. Though the bridge is usable for high gain applications, the neck pickup muds up almost immediately. Now of course I realize that the neck pickup is never as high output as the bridge, but I think I should be able to do a fair amount of rythym playing on the neck pickup. I've been meaning to Switch the cheap Duncan Design pickups out for either a set of Seymour Duncans or a set of Gibson Burstbuckers, but I've been unable to come up with the funds. And plus, I've got a Schecter Blackjack 006 on the way, so I will use that guitar for most of my high gain stuff anyway. // 10

Action, Fit & Finish: The factory setup was very acceptable. I used to play lead guitar in a band with this same guitar, and the action was a little too high for that. However, the band was finished before I got around to changing the action and now in my current band, it is perfectly suited for rythym guitar playing. I also play at local coffee shops very frequently and the guitar feels great for the whole singer, guitar player feel if that makes sense. The pickups were adjusted fine. The top on this guitar has received many many compliments. I own the see thru black model, and even on this finish, the top is so three dimensional and vibrant that I constantly receive comments on how beautiful my guitar is. // 10

Reliability & Durability: This guitar has withstood many many hours of stage time and will definitely continue to grace the stage in the future. I have gigged without a backup before, however, I really can't advise doing that to anyone. Theres just too much that can go wrong. The strap buttons are solid, however, I would never trust regular old strap buttons to hold, I fit all of my guitars with straplocks. This is in no way a bash on the Schecter though, she's given me no problems. // 10

Impression: I love this damn guitar, absolutely love it. I feel like it can cover basically anything. Like I said I've played everything from Frank Sinatra tunes to some riff heavy Killswitch Engage and Shadows Fall. The only thing I would change about this guitar is to put on a pair of good, name brand pickups instead of those Duncan Design ones. They just don't cut it if you are very serious about your music and your playing. If it were stolen, I would definitely purchase another just like it. // 10

Reviewed by: unregistered, on july 01, 2008

Price paid: $ 500

Purchased from: eBay

Features: I believe I've gotten a 2006 model. It was made in Korea, which through experience has been usually a good thing. Semi-Hollowbody of course, a beautiful quilted maple top. Through-Neck, Tune-O-Matic style bridge with a piezo stuck in one of em. Duncan Designed pickups are a little off and give too much of a "buzzy" feel for me when I run it through some distortion, but not too much of a problem. Tuners are grover and delightful. Everything about this guitar besides the pickups are top notch. // 10

Sound: I play mostly prog-rock and jazz, and it fits perfectly when played around with for a bit. It's a little weak on the low end, but that is easily attributed to me putting .009s and raising the action on it. So far the only thing I really have any gripe with is the aforementioned over-hotness when run through a simple Boss distortion pedal, that's just personal taste. The Piezos are sparkling clear, and the magnets are easily adjusted to fit any style. // 9

Action, Fit & Finish: I can't really attest to factory set up, but when I got it it was marvelous. It is one of the most aesthetically pleasing instruments I've laid eyes upon. One interesting thing is that the pickups are not attached to any wood, so you can tilt them up and down (a trick with no real practical use). The tuners are rock solid, everything else is perfect. // 10

Reliability & Durability: Only problem I had with it is the knobs fell clear off within a couple weeks of me getting it, but it's because the previous owner put strap-locks on it and switched out back to the original screws before sending it off to me. This is a very reliable guitar. There are a couple dings from my abuse, but I can't blame it at all on the factory. I wouldn't gig with it alone, primarily because there's no trem system in it, and there are some songs I play that require them. Otherwise, I wouldn't need anything else. The finish could withstand a nuke. // 10

Impression: Like I said, it fits perfectly with my prog-rock/jazz playing. I'm more of a bass player with 11 years under my belt and have only recently gone to playing guitar as well. If it were lost or stolen, I would cry myself to sleep every night for a month before hunting it down and killing whoever took it. I love practically everything about the thing. I am thoroughly impressed by this and would recommend it to anyone not playing hardcore metal or anything that requires an extremely heavy tone. // 10

overall: 9.6

Reviewed by: Hart_Attack, on february 23, 2007

Price paid: $ 703

Purchased from: Guitar Center

Features: I don't know where this was made or what year and to be quite honest I really don't care this axe is everything I ever needed in versatility. The Neck is 25-1/2" mahogany & 22-fret rosewood fingerboard, and it's a quilted maple body so this thing has looks. I love the F-Holes it adds a touch of classical for me. The bridge is a tones pro tune-o-matic. the Electronics are pretty spiff but more could be done, the main beauty of this would be Piezo pickups. Sweet butter acoustic sound when you can't run out and grab your real acoustic, and the ability to blend has givin' me that much more tonal possiblities. Like I said the electronics could be improved, so I'm thinkin' about switchin' the "duncan designed" pickups for Gibson burstbuckers or Dimarzio's PAF and Evolution. // 9

Sound: The style I play is incredibly diverse and this guitar is more apart of me and my style than a Tool to play. I use my Vox AD30 to give me more tonal possiblities, when I Switch it to the boutique Clean channel with an add of delay on the piezo pickup, such sweet melodic slow-core sounds can be acheived as long as your fingers can do what you tell them to. Then make the Switch to my bridge pickup on UK Modern with some Comp. And I can get some soarin' leads ala Petrucci. Then one more Switch to the black 2X12 with the blend of acoustic and the neck pickup and I'll have dream like smooth jazz lines. The only time it gets noisy is if I'm either too close to the amp or the noise supression ain't doin' what it needs to do. Like I said the duncan designed pickups could be replaced with something with much more clarity and definition, so that isn't much to worry about. But this Extension of my body can rip, caress, slap, scream, and put you to sleep all in the easy use of a 5 minute song. // 9

Action, Fit & Finish: Soon as I got my baby, the action was already set so this thing was ready to fly right then and there. No problem with the pick-ups except ofcourse the fact that they're not real duncans. Seriously there are no problems with this guitar everything was ready to jump into battle. // 10

Reliability & Durability: This guitar can take a beating or two but becareful this beauty feels fragile but I'm not sure if it is, nor do I want to find out. Regardless I've played with this live and really wouldn't need a back up, maybe a battery for the Piezo but that's it. This thing is a whip for both torture and pleasure hahaha! The finish seems good enough to last me years and years of playing, but if it starts to melt off I got a good idea for a new great look. // 10

Impression: This is a perfect match for everything I play. I Love the BB tone I can get by rolling down the tone on the neck pickup. I've been playin' this baby for a couple of months and by far beats my Modded RR30 and Custom Aria Pro II. I just wished this thing came with a hardshell case, but I bought it later on so not much of a problem. Like I said my major love is the piezo and it's versatility, I thought of purchasing a LP or a good B.C. Rich MockingBird that costs me more than a leg and a arm. But thus far I'm incredibly satisfied with this purchase, the only thing I wished it had was a double lockin' trem. but hey I'm not complaining. // 10

Comments

[guitarNbass]

I played this guitar... so versatile... so goodd..... I shoulda got that instead of my ESP EC-1000

[slashNpage77]

haha, F-holes, that sounds dirty
this is almost definately going to be my next guitar, i plan on getting it in a coulple months.

[buddytheweasel]

guitarNbass: I chose this over the ec-1000, and I'm glad I did...that's the next guitar I'll be getting. This guitar beats every other one i have...2 esp's, a strat, a custom carvin, 2 ovations, and a warlock. This one out plays em all. Way to go to Schecter!

[silverdy357]

hey i have this guitar but it is left handed. i absolutely love it but there is one problem : a slight buzz that sounds like a grounding issue. does anyone know the solution to this problem? PLEASE give me some feedback at [e-mail]