Let’s talk about Schecter. Schecter was around on a small scale as early as the late 70’s. It seems to just kind of so happened that their big break came with the rise of Limp Bizkit and Korn and basically everyone who played Woodstock 99 except for Sheryl Crow and Jewel. Camps we’re divided over Schecter, and Schecter was undeniably aligned with and revered by the “break stuff” camp. Schecter hitched it‘s cart to the horse of the time, and it just seemed to kind of be that the horse that was accepting carts at the moment was the horse that was screaming ”CUZ I‘MLOSING MY SIGHT LOSING MY MIND WISH SOMEONE WOULD TELL ME I‘M FINE.”

Schecter had been making guitars for 20 years before the rap rock of the late 90’s. They were ready to scale up and make a move, and it just kind of so happened that the cultural zeitgeist of the moment was what it was. The move to be made was to get your guitars into the hands of Crazy Town and Alien Ant Farm. Maybe they felt that if they didn’t get on the ferry that was leaving the station, that there wouldn’t be another one to get on later.

Now that all that dust has settled, all the camps have long since dissolved, what I see when I look at and play this guitar is honestly just a really nicely made guitar. Seriously. It’s totally really nice. Am I a Schecter apologist? I kind of can’t help but feel that I am. All the bones are here for these to be great guitars. In terms of a neck and body and strings they’re honestly great guitars and they’re a standout example for the price. I just can’t help but feel like it could have been so different for them.

Here’s something that’s totally weird about the Schecter narrative. Robert Smith of the Cure, the undeniable king of cool, a beacon of light for so many, a universally celebrated symbol of acceptance, individuality, and one who’s lyrics and timeless songs of brilliant and complex emotional substance that have united millions of people from different time periods and genres, has played a Schecter for decades. I feel like he and he alone could almost upend the entire Schecter argument. Could it possibly that the unfortunate rap rock legacy of Schecter is unable to be toppled and displaced by the great Robert Smith? If a new era couldn’t be ushered in by him, who else could do it? Maybe no one. Maybe it can’t be done.

So considering all that, where does that leave Schecter? A failure? A triumph? A missed opportunity, or a seized one? Somehow all of those things? Whatever the truth is about Schecter, something that‘s undeniably true is that they‘re a surprisingly complex subject and there’s a lot to consider, which is more than can be said for a lot of guitars. Personally, I think of Schecter like I think of a Tara Reid sort of character. Someone who was everywhere, embraced by reality trash TV while being simultaneously chosen by the Coen brothers for one of cinema’s greatest films, and who is now posting videos at 3am to Instagram of her spinning in circles and singing the most bizarre version of Wonderwall that you’ve ever heard. One might say she’s off the rails, but it could be that she’s actually in a carefully controlled dive. Maybe the low points are all supposed to be there, like the part of a movie that’s purposefully not exciting so the exciting parts stand out next to them. Either way, both Schecter and Tara Reid have got me thinking, and for that, the least I can do is thank them.

Thank you so much for sticking with me for that. You’re a true friend. So this guitar totally rocks. From a guitar tech’s perspective, it is an absolute dream. The neck adjusts perfectly, the neck is straight as an arrow, the fretwork is beautifully done, the neck through body is really elegant, the Grover tuners are really nice (this was a much better era for Grover than later years after this), and it pretty much gets super high marks all around. The Duncan Designed pickups sound fantastic, the inlays are awesome, it’s in fantastic condition, and there’s pretty much nothing but good things to say about it. The cool tap feature sounds great too. There‘s some tiny knicks here and there, but it’s overall really nice and most importantly it’s a great guitar. Killer guitar!