Hellraiser Deluxe Review

The Hellraiser Deluxe electric guitar, Schecter's newest addition to the Hellraiser family, is just as infernally elegant as its siblings.

Features:	8.7
Sound:	9
Action:	9.7
Reliability:	10
Impression:	9.7
Overall rating:	9.4
Users rating:	10
Comments:	5

overall: 9.2

Featured review by: asfastasdark, on august 11, 2009

Price paid: $ 499.99

Purchased from: Guitar Center

Features: My Hellraiser Deluxe was made in 2009. Its first appearances were sometime in 2008, when this then-"mystery" Hellraiser showed up in a few different Guitar Centers. Made in China, this particular Hellraiser is much more visually appealing (well, to me) than the "normal" Hellraiser, the Hellraiser C-1, mainly due to its lack of abalone binding and inlays, and due to the fact that the body has a crimson burst. The Hellraiser Deluxe has 24 extra-jumbo frets with a 25.5" scale, and the neck is a bolt-on. The neck is mahogany and the fretboard is made of ebony. That is, according to sites like Musician's Friend. I suggest you judge it yourself; I'm convinced, for example, that my Hellraiser Deluxe has a rosewood fretboard. All the inlays are made of mother-of-pearl. The inlays are crescent moons, and the inlay at the twelfth fret is a very elaborate design and appropriately named "Devil Eye." The Hellraiser Deluxe has Grover non-locking tuners. This guitar has a mahogany body with a laminated quilted maple top, and it's in the typical super-Strat shape, like the Hellraiser C-1. The body is finished in a beautiful crimson burst. Pictures do not do this thing justice; in fact, I'd go as far as to say they look nothing like the real thing. The bright red you see in the pictures is much darker in reality, and the back is just as beautiful as the front; the grain of the mahogany is simply amazing. The Photoshopping done on pictures on Musician's Friend is truly horrible. I suggest Googling for some real photos, or better yet, seeing it in a store. The Hellraiser Deluxe has a TonePros Tune-O-Matic bridge and string-through body. Stock, the Hellraiser Deluxe has an EMG-81/EMG-85 set, EMG-85 being in the neck position and EMG-81 in the bridge. These are active pickups, so you'll need a 9-volt battery for which there is a separate slot on the back of the guitar. This guitar uses simple master volume and master tone controls, and a Gibson-style 3-way switch. // 8

Sound: As far as sound goes, almost every experienced guitar player knows that it's the amp and effects that will make the biggest difference... Anyway, I play mostly metalcore but also some doom metal. The EMGs in this guitar are perfect for metalcore, but a bit too shrill for doom metal and hard rock, in my opinion. They were designed with the typical scooped mids EQ of fast-paced metal in mind, but they don't sound bad at all clean. I play this through a Crate GTD65 (solid state amp), with either a Boss DS-1 or the amp's high gain channel, which I suppose doesn't really do it justice either. This guitar is not noisy at all. The neck pickup sounds very nice for metalcore; the bridge pickup is better for hard rock and other types of metal. This guitar is obviously mostly meant for metal, but it's really just the pickups that determine most of the sound, in my opinion, so swapping those out should change this guitar's sound entirely. // 9

Action, Fit & Finish: The set-up on this guitar was phenomenal, I didn't have to change a thing. The action was already pretty low. The pickups were at about the right height as well. The craftsmanship on the Hellraiser Deluxe is great. There's only a single thing that's wrong with it, and that's the covers covering the controls and battery cavity on the back of the guitar. They weren't exactly cut to a perfect shape. For the rest, however, I don't have anything to complain about. The guitar looks great, sounds great, and plays amazing. // 9

Reliability & Durability: This guitar looks and feels very reliable. All of the parts look like they're high quality, and the finish seems quite thick. The strap buttons look like they'd last. I definitely feel I could use this on a gig without a backup (even though it's never a good idea). // 10

Impression: For metal, this is one of the best guitars you can find under $750. I've been playing guitar for about four years now (electric for around a year and a half), and I have one Acoustic guitar, a 65-watt solid-state amp (I know, I know), and a Boss DS-1. I am very glad with this guitar and it fits my style perfectly. If it were stolen, I'd consider buying this again but because new guitars are constantly being produced I'd probably buy something else. The neck on this guitar is very smooth and plays great. I can't think of anything that I don't like about this guitar. It would probably have to be the fact that the pickups are active, but the battery lasts a hell of a long time, as long as you unplug after you play. For me, this truly is the perfect guitar under $750. I can't think of anything I'd rather have instead of this in that price range. // 10

overall: 9

Reviewed by: paesano, on september 08, 2009

Price paid: $ 500

Purchased from: musiciansfriend

Features: Made in 2009, I don't know where it was made. It comes with 24 jumbo frets, the neck is nice and thin. A little thicker than an ESP F-250 but much thinner than the Schecter Damien 6. The body and neck is Mahogany and the fretboard is rosewood. The finish is gorgeous, a deep red that fades out to black around the edges. The pictures don't do it any justice. The tune-o-matic style bridge is nice, you don't have to loosen the strings to change the intonation and it stays in tune nicely once the strings are broken in. The EMG active 81/85 set is included and it comes with Grover tuners. // 8

Sound: It's perfect for metal and hard rock. The pickups scream and sound amazing. I'm playing it through a Fender Frontman 212R and a BBE Maxcom Compressor/Limiter/Maximizer and a DigiTech RP80 through the effects loop.

It's noisy when I use the high gain setting on the amp but I'm sure that's the amp. I've run it through the RP80 through the front of the amp and it's quiet, it's not noisy at all. The notes ring out great without being muddy. The cleans are great too, pristine sounding and not harsh at all. // 8

Action, Fit & Finish: The guitar was set up good, the action was a bit high but the intonation was right on. The action was easy to fix though. I set it nice and low, readjusted the intonation in all of ten minutes. All the controls were tight and feel firm and quality. They're not loose and nothing on this guitar feels cheap. // 10

Reliability & Durability: It's very sturdy, the input jack has held up, the knobs have held up just fine as well as the strap buttons. Nothing has needed tightening and I've had it for 6 months now. I've gigged with it a couple times and it hasn't let me down. I would never play a gig without a backup just in case strings broke or I needed alternate tunings but if I had to, I wouldn't be worried about the guitar itself failing me. It seems like it will last a very long time. // 10

Impression: I was playing metal and it was perfect, I play more rock now and I've found myself switching to my other Schecter with DiMarzio PAF Pro and Super Distortion. To my ears, the Dimarzios sing while the EMGs scream. I've been playing for 17 years, I own a Kustom Quad Jr. Halfstack, Hughes & Kettner Switchblade Head, the Schecter Damien 6 and the Schecter B-52... If it were lost or stolen I'd definitely replace it. I love the finish, it's so much nicer than the pictures online show. It's my favorite feature on the guitar, There's nothing I hate on this guitar.

I compared it to the Hellraiser 006 but I couldn't get that one out here, I almost got the She Devil but I wanted the EMG pickups. The only thing I wish it had was Spertzel Locking Tuners but I'll have those put in when I get back to the states. // 9

overall: 10

Reviewed by: Riffofthebeast, on august 13, 2009

Price paid: $ 575.00

Purchased from: Guitar Center

Features: Features
The guitar was made in 2009 in USA. The guitar has 24 on a thin neck with an ebony fretboard. The body is made out of Mahogany. The body style is Strat but it is much bigger than normal Strat size guitars. The bridge is a string through body with active electronics. The contorls given are 1 volum, 1 tone and a 3 way selecter. The pickups are EMG 81/85 active pickups. the tuners are gover tuners. Nothing was included but guitar center gave me half off a padded gigbag. // 10

Sound: This guitar is good for playing metal and hard rock. It goes good with any amp. It has nice cleans and loud heavy distortion. The string through body gives this guitar more sustain for longer notes. This guitar has a unique sound of its own that cannot be replicated by any other guitar. // 10

Action, Fit & Finish: The guitar was set up at the factory decently everything was adjusted corectly before I even played a note. The guitar does not contain any flaws. The thin neck fits conftorably in your hands. The body also feels conftorable in your lar when playing sitting down. The quality is great. // 10

Reliability & Durability: This guitar will withstand live playing. The hardware is very durable and will last. The strap buttons are solid but are bigger than most strap buttons so they tend to stretch out guitar straps slightly. The finish will last a lifetime. This guitar is very durable and reliable and will last a lifetime. // 10

Impression: I play metal music and this guitar is a good match for me. I have been playing for about 9 motnths and this was my second guitar. If it were stolen/lost I would buy this product again because this guitar is one of a kind and no other kind of guitar can replace it. I love everything about this guitar. My favorite features are the EMG 81/85 active pickups and the thin neck. I compared this product to a Jackson Randy Rhoads model which was almost the same price, and I chose this guitar over the Jackson because it fit more comftorably in my lap when I was playing sitting down, it had better pickups, and all aroudn better specs. // 10

Comments

[tristan_deity]

Fuck me this looks nice. can you get the same modle with a trem?

[whencowsfart101]

tristan_deity wrote:

Fuck me this looks nice. can you get the same modle with a trem?

Yep. C-1 Hellraiser FR.

[asfastasdark]

whencowsfart101 wrote:

tristan_deity wrote:

Fuck me this looks nice. can you get the same modle with a trem?

Yep. C-1 Hellraiser FR.

But that's a C-1 and not a Deluxe. It looks completely different and is much more expensive as well. As of today, there is no Hellraiser Deluxe with a tremolo.

[asfastasdark]

I now have pictures of my Schecter Hellraiser in my profile. As you can see there, the color is very different than the color in the picture here.

[metalheadblues]

They should make a 7 string version of this..schecter is really bang for ur buck!