SchecterSolo-II Custom Electric Guitar - Aged Black Satin

This is my first single cut guitar and second electric guitar next to a Fender Player strat. What I can say is playing each they sound very different and Schecter fills in the important gap I couldn't cover with a strat. The build quality and finish is excellent. The sustain on notes is strong like a true Les Paul style guitar should. It has a very full sound. I shipped it overseas and there was no problem with packaging.Only thing I had to do was to give the guitar to a specialist to setup the action height as it was around 3 mm on 12th fret instead of 2mm. I believe this is not an issue with the guitar so don't be afraid of it. it will take probably 10$ and 1 hour for a specialist to set it up just the way you want.Overall I love the guitar and recommend it. I don't think there are as many videos on YouTube as there are for Epiphones, PRS and other single cuts so make sure you don't miss out on this option.

This is hands down the best guitar I own. The aged satin is absolutely beautiful with the gold hardware and double sided triple binding. USA high quality Pasedena pickups sound crisp and warm on clean tones with sharp and chuggy tones with distortion. Each string can be heard clearly. The extra large frets make it highly playable, the shape of the neck and contoured body add to this. The single coil option is nice to have but are average. Rubber textured grips make it super easy to change on the fly. Locking tuners are tight with large knobs paired with an Ernie Ball custom nut ensures tuning stays true. Three way selector switch has no wiggle room and requires a little more tension then most to change which makes it great to rock out on without worrying about accidently changing pos. All the finish is clean, no sticky spots and even tone through out. Hardware is locking so pieces stay in place when changing strings. Honestly wouldn't change a single thing about this guitar. Extremely high quality for piece. Easy worth upwards of $2000. Pick guard is removed in photo, personal preference.

This guitar oozes quality. It is beautiful to behold, the pickups are made in the USA and sound fantastic. This guitar can literally play any style of music and sound great. The clean tones from the neck p/u are pure sweetness and the bridge can handle the heaviest of metal, no problem. And everything in between sounds great. For some reason Amazon does not mention the fact that this also includes coil splitting (for single coil sounds) and very nice locking tuners that make string changes a snap and keeps the guitar in tune. I also love the satin finish - the guitar does not stick to my strumming arm and the neck is nice and fast. The only thing I did not like about the guitar is the fact that Schecter for some reason leaves the 1st fret bare on their guitars... so I bought some fret stickers that match, you can see the pic. I think it came out looking good...

Disclaimer first, I used to play classical, have been playing electric for one year only, also I have never owned a real Les Paul (Gibson/Epiphone). I only had a Strat before this Schecter.I was trying to play some stuff from Led Zeppelin with my Strat and that was frustrating and even disappointing. I use Bias Fx2, and tried the guitar match to mimic Gibson/humbucker, still had frustrations with the tone and unwanted noise. My only resource for electric guitar related stuff is internet, and I did not have somebody to ask, so I got to a point that I thought it was my fault and something was wrong with me or my playing. Was about to quit playing electric. But I decided to give it one more shot and get a Les Paul type guitar, hoping a real humbucker could solve the issue, but honestly I was not optimistic. Convinced myself to pay to buy a Les Paul to get this issue cleared once and forever. Obviously I could not easily afford few thousands for a Gibson to "test" myself! but I convinced myself to get an Epiphone. I tested few epiphones in the guitar center (without an amp) and did not like the action and the neck very much (maybe because I'm spoiled by Strat). I then tried PRS, and liked the action and the neck, but it had a little uneven weight towards its butt, I felt a bit uncomfortable holding it on my lap. Anyway, long story, I finally set myself for an Epiphone. Last moment though I came across this Schecter. Could not find it in the Guitar Center to test, but what attracted my attention was that there was not even one negative review on any website about this guitar. I found a couple of reviewers who solidly and strongly recommended to not look anymore and buy this! That kind of recommendation somehow affected me. I also found a review on YouTube by this guy who of course is a professional guitarist and I never rely on professionals' reviews because firstly many times they have financial motives, secondly, a professional with good gears can make a good sound out of every junk. Nevertheless, I looked at his review and I felt this guitar was a good one. Anyway, I came to the point that decided to throw the money out and give this thing a shot. I was about to buy it on Amazon, but found a retailer (prymaxe) who offered 20% off, without tax, and I ended up buying for total of $250 less than what I had to pay on Amazon. That was a great deal. I should say I have had this guitar now for a few week only, but man, this thing pulled me out of desperation and brought hope to my disappointed heart! The tone and noise problems that I had with Strat were not my fault! It was because those pieces had to be played on a different guitar, that's it. This Schecter has a clear perfect sound, good sustain, and just beautiful tone.I am not very much into the aesthetic of the guitar, I care much more about the sound and tone, but I should say this black thing with the golden hardware is magically attractive.The tone is excellent. Again, I do not personally know how it may really compare with Gibson or Epiphone, but have seen many reviewers say it is comparable with Gibson. The locking tuners I guess are a plus, but honestly I don't care spending longer time to change the strings, also I have not happened yet to change the strings on this guitar. But I should say the tuners are very good, strings stay in tune without problem. The neck is easy to play and very nice. The action is not as low as my Strat, but it is better than the Epiphones I tried in the Guitar Center. I will try to lower the action later on, but so far I am happy with what it already is (I should say I am obsessed with the action). The volume/tone knobs are fine, they work okay, and are not loose or cheap-looking, though I think/guess they are not as accurate or perfect as a high end Gibson. One of the things they advertise about this guitar is the little extra cut it has where the neck meets the body, they claim it helps play higher frets easier. I have not noticed a huge difference accessing higher frets, but that's okay, the cut is there!I actually wanted to give this guitar 4 stars initially, but then I felt it may not be fair. Anyway, cons, or the reasons to give one less star: 1) the size of the body of this guitar is somewhat small (compared with my Strat). Probably Les Pauls are all this size, I don't know, but this sits a little less comfortably than the Strat, more specifically, the Strat covers most of my chest and sits well above my nipple, but this guitar, due to smaller size, gets caught by my nipple! which hurts the nipple a little!! 2) I have a feeling that there may be a little bit of leaning weight toward its butt, not as much as PRS, but just feels a bit less balanced than Epiphones that I tried. It is not bad, and the guitar does not fall on its butt if you release it, but it is just a bit inclined in that direction, I guess. 3) the single coil option is not really too much different to the humbucker. I'm not saying it is not different, it is thinner and does have a different tone, but is not as great as Strat. So if you really want to play songs that are typically played on Strat (Pink Floyd, etc), you need to have a Strat, this guitar may not fully satisfy. The single coils still have a bit of thickness to them. I guess I can tell because I have a Strat, but if you are not used to Strat like me, this guitar's single coil may serve you okay. Anyhow, I didn't buy this guitar for its single coil option, I bought it only for the humbuckers, so I don't care.Bottom line, as another reviewer somewhere else mentioned: if you are thinking about this guitar, do not think anymore, do not bother your mind anymore, buy it. It is a great guitar and you will not be disappointed.UPDATE:I thought I write an update on my previous review. Now I have had this guitar for more than 2.5 years. My opinion has not changed. It is a great guitar, has a very nice tone with high quality built and hardware. I have not played a real Gibson/Epiphone Les Paul to be able to offer a comparison, but I think this guitar covers for all that can be covered by those. I have played Zeppelin, Sabbath, etc with it and it responds very well. As far as cons, I have well gotten used to it's size so that does not bother, also I do not feel anymore that it falls toward it's butt, I guess I've got used to it. Again, the single coil does not compare with a Strat, so if you are after that kind of sound, you have to get a Strat, get this Schecter for heavier humbucker sounds.UPDATE:It is now Feb 2025, something about 4.5 years after having this guitar. The thing still charms like the first day. Amazing guitar. The only problem I have had very occasionally (probably happened 4-5 times over the past 3 years) is the pickup switch may not function well. For some reason the guitar starts hissing and making lots of noise, which seems to be related to the switch because it disappears by moving the switch up and down, or have to disconnect the guitar, give it some time and reconnect also move the switch). Again, happened only few times. Otherwise, it remains an excellent guitar.I was tempted to buy a real Gibson Les Paul. I tested a few of them in the guitar center (Standard 60s and 50s). They tended to fall toward their butt, had a little difficulty holding them in place, not too bad, but I noticed it. This Schecter does not have this problem, the weight is evenly divided between the butt and the neck I guess. Sound-wise, I was testing the Gibson with a low volume on a crap amplifier at the store, but really didn't think it was different to my Schecter. I actually decided not to spend that money on Gibson after this test.The one thing I also want to update, is, on my initial review I mentioned the body of this Schecetr is small and pushes on the nipple! It doesn't feel that way anymore, likely I've gotten used to it. In fact it is not small, apparently all Les Pauls are this size, it was my ignorance.FINAL CONCLUSION: DO BUY THIS GUITAR IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR A LES PAUL EQUIVALENT AT MUCH LOWER PRICE, IT IS WORTH IT EVERY PENNY.