New guitar - Schecter USA California Custom Sunset 7-string

Ok, so I even find myself asking, "Why on earth would I buy another 7-string?" Pretty much 99% of what I'm playing these days is 70's classic rock / 90's alternative / modern country... all genres where the 7-string is pretty much taboo. (Heck, if I showed up to a country gig with a 7-string, I'd probably get smacked upside the back of the head with a fiddle.) But, c'mon... just look at this one...





This is a Schecter USA California Custom Sunset model. Unfortunately, Schecter has come to be known for a bunch of low-to-mid-range Korean guitars that seem to proliferate the racks at Guitar Center. What fewer people know (generally speaking, of course) is that Tom Anderson (who has since spun off his own custom shop) worked for Schecter in the early days and that Schecter continues to produce a short supply of custom-shop models in the US to this day.

This particular axe was built in 1998. It has an ash body finished in transparent red satin and a bolt-on maple neck with 24-fret pao ferro fretboard and medium jumbo frets. Hardware includes a fixed strung-thru bridge and Sperzel locking tuners. Electronics include two direct-mounted humbuckers, 5-way Schaller mega-switch, and volume + tone pots. Compared to the EBMM JP 7-string I've got, I prefer the slightly more "substantial" feel of the Schecter, though I dig the tone of the EBMM a bit more (not sure if it's due to the wood choice - basswood vs. ash - or pickups). Not sure yet if that means I'll be selling one or the other or keeping both... only time will tell...

--B