Hellraiser Solo 6 Review

It is a 24 extra jumbo fret guitar on a 25.5" scale. It has a solid mahogany body and neck with a rosewood fretboard with gothic cross inlays.

Features:	9
Sound:	9
Action:	9
Reliability:	9.5
Impression:	9
Overall rating:	9.2
Reviewer rating:	9.1
Users rating:	9.2
Votes:	45

overall: 9.6

Reviewed by: LoweRider, on june 30, 2009

Price paid: $ 750

Purchased from: Guitar Center

Features: This is a new model guitar from Schecter. It is a 24 extra jumbo fret guitar on a 25.5" scale. It has a solid mahogany body and neck with a rosewood fretboard with gothic cross inlays. It has a set neck and string-thru body style. It is equipped with EMG 81TW/89 with coil-taps on the volume knobs. It has Schecter locking tuners. // 9

Sound: This guitar is perfectly suited for metal and screams deep tone. The active pickups surprisingly deliver great cleans. The coil taps for each pickup allow a single coil humbucker sound, which is a cool feature, but I don't find it useful. The stock D'addario strings are a limiting factor on this guitar, and should be switched out. As soon as I switched the string to DRs, the sound was a lot clearer and had a much better tone for metal. // 9

Action, Fit & Finish: The neck needs to be adjusted a little but to get rid of the minor fret buzzing I got using drop tunings. A small adjustment will make this axe ready to play buzz free. This guitar also maintains its tune great.

The neck is somewhat thick, but it works great for me, as I have larger hands. The neck of this guitar is one of the reasons why I bought this guitar.

The finish on this guitar is absolutely beautiful. It's red quilted maple top with its silver outline is a great color combination. It's built for metal, and it's design fits it perfectly. // 10

Reliability & Durability: For $750, this guitar is a steal. I would put this guitar up against any guitar that costs 3-4 times as much. It's a heavy guitar, and it reflects is durability. My guitar strap accidentally came loose and the guitar fell to the ground. I picked it up, not a scratch, ding, or scuff found and maintained its tuning perfectly.

I can definitely see myself using this guitar on stage, it's an awesome guitar and holds up against the big boys. // 10

Impression: If you play any form of hard rock and metal, this guitar is for you. If you want a clean tone as well, this performs equally as good.

If this guitar was stolen. I would go berserk and hunt someone down, but I would definitely buy it again. Schecter makes great guitars. // 10

overall: 8.6

Reviewed by: jgsb2001, on january 24, 2011

Price paid: $ 700

Purchased from: Guitar Center

Features: This is my first Schecter guitar and my third guitar overall. The other two guitars are Ibanez (SA 160QM and S7420).

Made in Indonesia the Les Paul-esque Hellraiser body is made of mahagony and is abalone bound. I ordered mine in white . . . the binding with dark chrome hardware make this a very sexy guitar. The neck is 24-frets and feels sleek and thin (comparable to my Ibanez guitars).

Pickup combo is EMG 81TW and 89. Each has a dedicated volume knob that can split each humbucker to single coil.

The locking tuners were a nice touch. They may not be considered the best (Schecter's own brand) but they work and are useful.

For the price, this guitar would be hard to beat. The look is classic, the tone versatile, and the neck fast. I must say the positioning of the hardware is excellent. The knobs never get in the way of my playing, which I can't say the same for my Ibanez 160QM.

Overall, this section gets a 9 because I love all of the features. A locking nut, strap locks, and an included case would have gotten this section a 10. // 9

Sound: My setup: Marshall 30 Watt, DigiTech RP500, Morpheus Drop Tune. I outfitted my 160QM guitar with DiMarzio D-Activators . . . the comparisons below are made with that in mind.

I bought this guitar to satisfy my desire for a high quality, fixed bridge, high output guitar. This is definitely a metal guitar, but I can't see why this wouldn't play well in jazz or anything else with a proper set (amp, board, tweaking). Acoustically, the sound is full and strong - you could easily practice with this guitar unamplified.

Amplified - After reading so many negative things about EMGs (sterile, one dimensional, over-used) I was completely blown away by their versatility. The 89 (bridge) is extremely dark in tone and may surprise some who are used to/want a more bright sound. The 81TW (neck) is bright, aggressive and open sounding.

I have a lot of fun using my RP500 and the split coils of the EMGs. I feel that they are versatile and would satisfy most players of rock, metal, and pop.

Overall, this section gets a 9 because the pickups sound great and are versatile. // 9

Action, Fit & Finish: When I opened the box I was very impressed by the look of the guitar. There weren't any obvious scratches, blemishes or other cosmetic defects.

The one flaw was on the back of the guitar. The compartment cover for the tone pots had a misaligned screw. The left-most screw completely missed the wood panel inside the compartment (guess that is partly why the hand crafted guitars cost so much).

Action was perfect for my tastes. I could see someone with different tastes lowering the action a touch more, but overall, a really good setup.

I did Switch out the strings after one week and I like the sound much better with my DRs (10 gauge).

Overall, this section gets an 8 mainly because of the misaligned screw on the back panel. // 8

Reliability & Durability: This guitar is heavy and seemingly durable. I would get strap locks, but other than that this guitar should stand up to any type of wear and tear.

Cosmetically, the white with abalone binding is pure beauty and the dark hardware really adds a nice accent. I really like the headstock of the guitar because of the continued abalone border and the cool fleur de lis graphic. There is a lot of nice detail in this guitar, making this feel like a bargain for the price.

Overall, this section gets a 9 for its durability and reliability. It does not receive a 10 because obvious stains will show and my guitar string was able to create a visible scratch. // 9

Impression: The Hellraiser perfectly matches my tastes in music - rock and metal. The split coil pickups allow for another level of versatility and I bet that any style of sound can be achieved with the right amp and settings.

Before purchasing, I played this guitar and various ESPs. I decided on the Schecter because of the value I saw in the guitar over the ESPs.

The one major flaw with this purchase - no case offered. And when I researched to find the right case it was out of stock for two weeks. Not a huge deal, but I'm guessing most guitar players consider a case a necessary piece of equipment and would like it paired with a purchase.

The proper case for this guitar is: Schecter SGR-9SC. I purchased this from amazon.com. // 8

Comments

[xophrax]

I agree. I have the Hellraiser Avenger FR in black cherry, and its beautiful!!! My perfect guitar. (With Blackouts, I found the EMG's a bit muddy

[MacMan2001]

How is it for bluesy rock like White Stripes and The Cult with those EMGs?

Also, would normal rock sound ok, not too distorted?

[MrPizza1992]

this guitar is great! not really for bluesy rock. it can pull it off but its more of a metal guitar

[MrPizza1992]

also i got the limited edition green finish and it is the most beautiful guitar ive ever seen! it sounds great. my strap hasnt come loose yet and overall it draws alot of attention. i would give it a ten

[MacMan2001]

Cheers MrPizza, I read contrasting reviews. Someone who owns one says it's great for blues, so I guess it's subjective. I'm gonna try n get one off thomann.de and find out (Y)

[MeLodicDethMTL]

This thing is seriously the shizzz. Uber heavy tone n all. Only thing I dun like is the neck. Would b a kickass shred guitar if it had a neck like the C1 models

[jspirit]

I just got my guitar and it play perfectly. Compared to my fender starcaster

[DropC09]

Im getting one this weekend! I have already played it in store and thought it was the sweetest thing in the joint haha call me bias, but I prefer it over an eclipse or a lower end les paul. It handles the variety a little better and at a way better price!

[axelvedder]

DropC09 wrote:

Im getting one this weekend! I have already played it in store and thought it was the sweetest thing in the joint haha call me bias, but I prefer it over an eclipse or a lower end les paul. It handles the variety a little better and at a way better price!

How do you compare solo´s neck with the eclipse´s neck? are they the same o are they different?

[uncere4ever]

MacMan2001 wrote:

How is it for bluesy rock like White Stripes and The Cult with those EMGs?

Also, would normal rock sound ok, not too distorted?

It has a the push/pull coil taps to give you a single coil tone if you want it. It makes it pretty versatile..

[DropC09]

Yeah I definitely like this guitar way more than an eclipse... The over all feel and sound fits my definition of kickass.

[DropC09]

For any one who is interested, I am selling my Schecter Solo-6 Hellraiser. I need to up grade to something with a floyd rose...

[BornOfBoredom]

got this guitar its so sick.i just need a good distortion pedal to really make it scream!!

[Datko]

Ive owned this guitar for a year and a half. I will NEVER waste money on another guitar again...unless someone breaks or steals this one. In which case I will just buy this one again. I love it. All this time and I have never had to retune it or restring it and this is coming from someone who plays it 365 days a year and roughly 6 hours a day.

[blackbird51]

Datko wrote:

Ive owned this guitar for a year and a half. I will NEVER waste money on another guitar again...unless someone breaks or steals this one. In which case I will just buy this one again. I love it. All this time and I have never had to retune it or restring it and this is coming from someone who plays it 365 days a year and roughly 6 hours a day.

I highly doubt that you didn't have the change the strings for a year and a half..You're supposed to change strings like once a month or once every two months since the sound becomes dull and less bright compared to new strings. There's no way your strings maintain the sound that long.

[Andrew32459]

I think $750 is pretty fair price for such guitar.
It looks awesome, an has active EMG's.
But I wouldn't buy it fo such reasons as LP-shape & indonesian manufacturing. And as I like real heavy sound I find hum-split option useless.

[Kenjisan231]

Ive played these at guitar center, they sound really good, and it has that heavy solid feel (a good thing)

Preference wise, it has a thick neck, I don't like thick necks but ive never seen it as a downfall rather what the player prefers.

All around a good instrument though

[Datko]

blackbird51 wrote:

Datko wrote:

Ive owned this guitar for a year and a half. I will NEVER waste money on another guitar again...unless someone breaks or steals this one. In which case I will just buy this one again. I love it. All this time and I have never had to retune it or restring it and this is coming from someone who plays it 365 days a year and roughly 6 hours a day.


I highly doubt that you didn't have the change the strings for a year and a half..You're supposed to change strings like once a month or once every two months since the sound becomes dull and less bright compared to new strings. There's no way your strings maintain the sound that long.

Considering I havent changed them and it sounds the same, yes it can.

[jetfuel495]

Datko wrote:

blackbird51 wrote:

Datko wrote:

Ive owned this guitar for a year and a half. I will NEVER waste money on another guitar again...unless someone breaks or steals this one. In which case I will just buy this one again. I love it. All this time and I have never had to retune it or restring it and this is coming from someone who plays it 365 days a year and roughly 6 hours a day.


I highly doubt that you didn't have the change the strings for a year and a half..You're supposed to change strings like once a month or once every two months since the sound becomes dull and less bright compared to new strings. There's no way your strings maintain the sound that long.


Considering I havent changed them and it sounds the same, yes it can.

A: that's disgusting, because you can't clean your frets if you don't change your strings.

2: not changing your strings that long must rust them out pretty bad. I would not want to play on strings that old simply because it would feel like garbage. All the rust and grime makes for a lot of friction.

C: Your hands leave sweat and oils on the strings. This makes them go bad. Fact. The deteriation of strings is a very gradual thing. It happens over a long period of time. Fact. Your guitar's sound will deteriorate along with the string quality. Fact. You won't notice it, however, because the change is so subtle over time that you grow accustomed to it. You can't tell the difference because you don't have a benchmark (the exact guitar with new strings) to test it against.

And checked.

[DarkZpartan]

Datko wrote:

blackbird51 wrote:

Datko wrote:

Ive owned this guitar for a year and a half. I will NEVER waste money on another guitar again...unless someone breaks or steals this one. In which case I will just buy this one again. I love it. All this time and I have never had to retune it or restring it and this is coming from someone who plays it 365 days a year and roughly 6 hours a day.


I highly doubt that you didn't have the change the strings for a year and a half..You're supposed to change strings like once a month or once every two months since the sound becomes dull and less bright compared to new strings. There's no way your strings maintain the sound that long.

Considering I havent changed them and it sounds the same, yes it can.

Not sure if troll or just very stupid...

[T7E]

Datko wrote:

blackbird51 wrote:

Datko wrote:

Ive owned this guitar for a year and a half. I will NEVER waste money on another guitar again...unless someone breaks or steals this one. In which case I will just buy this one again. I love it. All this time and I have never had to retune it or restring it and this is coming from someone who plays it 365 days a year and roughly 6 hours a day.


I highly doubt that you didn't have the change the strings for a year and a half..You're supposed to change strings like once a month or once every two months since the sound becomes dull and less bright compared to new strings. There's no way your strings maintain the sound that long.


Considering I havent changed them and it sounds the same, yes it can.


A: that's disgusting, because you can't clean your frets if you don't change your strings.

2: not changing your strings that long must rust them out pretty bad. I would not want to play on strings that old simply because it would feel like garbage. All the rust and grime makes for a lot of friction.

C: Your hands leave sweat and oils on the strings. This makes them go bad. Fact. The deteriation of strings is a very gradual thing. It happens over a long period of time. Fact. Your guitar's sound will deteriorate along with the string quality. Fact. You won't notice it, however, because the change is so subtle over time that you grow accustomed to it. You can't tell the difference because you don't have a benchmark (the exact guitar with new strings) to test it against.

And checked.

Wow just change the strings man. Spend ten bucks and you will think "why the hell did I not do this 17 months ago. Ignorant fool. Also actives take away some of the natural guitar sound in my opinion so the dud strings may be hard to notice SOUNDWISE after 2-3 months. But 18 months. Fuck you are ignorant.That is like not changing a childs clothes for a year and a half, and not giving it a bath.

[sungjae]

Is this guitar better than ESP LTD 1000 Deluxe? Thats all i need to know. soundwise ofcourse. ppl say it depends on your playing style but overall, does this sound better than esp? i know esp has thinner neck,etc. Just can't decide between these two.

[fathooker]

everyone, what they wrote about this is very accurate. i just got mine earlier this week and i just cant get over it. sounds amazing and VERY versatile! any sound you want out of it, it can take it. with this guitar, it all depends on what amp, pedals, and other gear your using. it is easiest to get a hard rock and metal tone out of it, but not hard to get classic rock, jazz, and blues tones. even just changing the pickup switch, volumes, tone nobs, and coil taps you can get all of that. and on clean, i can dial in the closest sound to an acoustic you will ever hear. with a little help from my Boss cs3. the price for this guitar is a STEAL and it is almost perfect in every way. i only have one problem with it. it gets a little tough to reach the last couple of frets with the pinkie

[fathooker]

sungjae wrote on 05/05/2011 - 04:15 pm / quote |
Is this guitar better than ESP LTD 1000 Deluxe? Thats all i need to know. soundwise ofcourse. ppl say it depends on your playing style but overall, does this sound better than esp? i know esp has thinner neck,etc. Just can't decide between these two.

this definitely sounds better. and, in my opinion, looks better and more unique. the neck on the hellraiser is thicker than most, but its not as bad as a gibson les paul. its actually very comfortable and my hand cramps less often than my damien elite because im not using the muscles to make the same formation in my hand. and its just as good to solo with