Schecter Omen Elite 8 MS
I wasn't planning on getting another guitar ( yeah right
) ... but this one popped up on Thomann as "in stock" so I took the plunge.
It's way out of my comfort zone, I've never played even a 7 string .. the usual story, no chance of a lefty 7 string actually in stock to try out, especially in Ireland .. I've not once ever seen even a lefty Telecaster in any store here and I've been playing since 1980.
When it arrived I was just going out for a while, typical, so I only very briefly strummed it to check it out, for maybe a minute or so, then I put it back in the case. Only then did I realise that I hadn't even noticed the fanned frets ... so I quickly took it back out to check they hadn't sent me the wrong guitar
The hardest part for me to get used to is the string spacing, the neck is wide but slim so they must have a tighter spacing, or maybe it just feels that way. I can play an open D chord and get my thumb over the top to fret the 8th string so maybe it's not as wide as some.
The scale lengths are 25.5 to 27.5 with strings 9 - 80 and stainless steel frets. The pickups are good, not really high output, good for clean tones, which is what I got it for. I don't djent or chug, not my thing at all.
The finish is good and it is surprisingly light, it fits in a standard generic case for a strat or tele. And the sustain is unreal, across all strings, maybe it's the 5 bolt neck plus the Hipshot bridge, it sustains on cleans better than a set neck Les Paul for example.
It plays well, low action and no fret buzz, and it is intonated just fine. The pots are right handed wired lefty, with very little usable sweep, they're like on / off switches. It doesn't bother me much as I don't really "ride the pots" like some players do, I leave the volume on full all the time.
After playing it for a while any other guitar neck feels like a tooth pick, a very weird sensation
I plan to use it in standard tuning, low F
# to high E, it may be more awkward for some chord shapes / bass runs but scales will be easier.