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Schecter 006 Deluxe
List: $290
Sometimes, it’s the simple things in life that conjure happiness & satisfaction. The curse of excess lies with the fact that it tends to get in the way or add zilch to the user’s needs. Schecter’s 006 Deluxe here is a basic tier offering but it nevertheless is gratifying.
Build
If you intend to audition this guitar, please give it a close scrutiny; the assembly & finish (or the lack of it) quality seems to betray its entry level personality- the production standard is arguably high & you’re left perplexed as to why it isn’t as costly as it should be. The basswood body’s satin finish, coming from a basic tier offering, often manifests some careless handling over at the factory but this audition model shows no such mishaps. All hardware & electronics are well fitted & that dark rosewood fretboard has no signs of dryness anywhere along its register.
If there is any flaw to be highlighted here then it would be the nut choke; the slots for the plain strings seems to hinder effective tuning but this isn’t a grand defect, mind you.
Rating: 95%
Features
This 22-fretted guitar sports a simple tune-o-matic type/ through-body stringing mechanism which promote playability to say the least. There is a 2-humbucker feature here & the switching mechanism is a 3-way type so all hopes for at least one single coil voicing are dashed. Nevertheless, at this price bracket, the manufacturer’s inclusion of a very comfortable, carved-top design is outstanding.
Rating: 90%
Playability
The 006 isn’t a super-shred machine upon initial handling; the C-neck profile has excessive meat by Ibanez’s Wizard standards. However, the guitar gives maximum fret access with the inclusion of sumptuous chamfering on both the treble & bass cutaways; the former side in particular has deep reaches, extending beyond the neck pickup mounting ring’s territory. This, together with the well-seated jumbo frets, gives a delightful playing experience.
Rating: 90%
Tone
Mention ‘basswood’ & the less informed appraiser out there will equate it with bad tone. This, my friends, is the best body material to manifest your favourite pickups’ tone as they are neutral in acoustics; neither too bassy nor excessively bright & very inexpensive for the manufacturer. With that said, the pickups resident here aren’t stellar performers but be mindful of this guitar’s sub-$300 price tag.
Upon plugging in, one can hear a marked lower midrange giving rise to clarity at any driven settings. The neck unit is voiced to sound warm & crunchy; imagine a slightly bright PAF unit; that’s how it is.
The cleans aren’t too fabulous for jazz runs but the neck has a more outstanding warmth which is lacking in the bridge counterpart.
All in all, the 006 Deluxe would be more productive for driven-settings, satisfying the blues-crunchers as well as high gain monsters. However, please ensure enough bottom end response over at your amp’s EQ section or supplement your signal chain with an EQ pedal because the Diamond Plus humbuckers here suffer from the ‘bottom tier shrieky pickups’ syndrome, much like the entry level Ibanez/ LTD units. This is further compounded by the satin body finish which accentuates brightness due to its less massive nature.
Tone test equipment:
• Amps: Vox Pathfinder 10/ Marshall MG15 MS2
• Pedals: EHX Metal Muff/ Ibanez TS9/ Guyatone OD2
Rating: 88%
Conclusion
The 006 Deluxe, as outstanding as it is, isn’t a true representative of the Schecter tone. There are other more appealing sounds coming from the upper tier offerings of the manufacturer’s catalogue. What you get here is a very good sounding/ playing sub-$300 electric guitar which would have aced this review if not for the in-house Diamond Plus Schecter humbuckers which threaten to be uninspiring should you fail to dial up a respectable EQ setting. The satin finish is certainly one of the better manifestations with others in the market displaying a marked coarseness of sorts. It seems that the manufacturer has given us novice players as well as back-up guitar hunters a superb consideration; certainly a testimony of how simple procurements are really overlooked gems.
Overall rating: 89%
Likes:
• Price (absolutely!!)
• Playability
• Well constructed/ fitted
Dislikes
• Pickups lack a healthy bass response
• Slight nut choke
• Volume/ tone knobs
Worthy competitors:
• Ibanez GSZ120
• LTD M-50
• Hamer Californian C2
