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CannibalCorpse
Metalhead

Joined: Fri Oct 01, 2004 3:55 pm
Posts: 1011
Location: Austria
PostPosted: Tue Sep 21, 2021 2:14 pm 
 

Hey people, I have a burning question here but didn't get any real answers yet in real life.

Aquired a 2019 Schecter E-1 Standard in honeyburst finish a while ago. The abalone inlays, the shape, the tremendous manufacturing quality -> clearly a lot of work has been put into this guitar, it has the best paintjob I have ever seen on a sub-1.000 Euro axe.

I also replaced the bridge with a Duesenberg Trem II which works SUPERBLY, I can do a lot of fun stuff without the guitar going out of tune at all.

But...here are the problems:

1. I hate the high action. I actually carried it to a guitar store where the action was set "as low as possible without the frets buzzing too hard", they even did some down-rasping on the saddles, but things have only gotten slightly better. The action is still about twice as high as on my Schecter Damien Elite from 2011.

2. I hate the humbuckers. Guess I'm so used to the EMG 81/85 combo of my Elite that the low output of these Schecter "rockers" that it feels like I can't use them for anything heavier than AC/DC at all.

My question is basically about problem #1:

Is it even possible to make this guitar as "playable" as my Damien Elite? Can a guitar tech or even a luthier make such "drastic" changes to a guitar without a complete teardown?

I'd be willing to spend about 200 to 250 Euros for this improvement (without the pickup change of course) because I love the look of this guitar so much. Is it possible?

Thanks for your help!

- CannibalCorpse (a noob when it comes to guitar tech, I just want to play and record, basically)

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coupdebleus
Metal newbie

Joined: Thu Sep 05, 2019 3:11 pm
Posts: 281
PostPosted: Tue Sep 21, 2021 8:58 pm 
 

Any luthier worth his salt will be able to set the action as low as you want, it's not a drastic change in any way. It's hard to tell from the picture, but it looks like the nut is ridiculously high and that it hasn't been touched. The guys at the guitar store may have only adjusted the height at the saddle. If neither is enough, then I guess a fret replacement would be in order.

Have you tried using strings of lighter gauge/less tension?

RE: output
Raise the pickup height between 0.5-1mm and see if you can find a sweet spot that gives you some more juice without affection tone or playability.

If you're recording into a DAW, a noise gate and compressor can help you beef up the sound a bit. Also, you don't really need that big of an output to sound heavy if the mix is there to support the guitars. Let the bass take the lower end and carry the sound.
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Belastbar
Metal newbie

Joined: Wed Jun 24, 2009 6:43 am
Posts: 76
Location: Germany
PostPosted: Wed Sep 22, 2021 9:21 am 
 

Dumb question, but did the guitar technician from the store know what metal guitarists want? If you go to a blues rock oriented guitar shop for example, they have a different understanding what "super low action" is. Metal guitarists, especially in tech death and similar genres, play a setup that has set the action so low that you get a tone just by looking at it. So if you find a store/guitar technician who knows how metal setups work, this might do the trick.

Also, the Schecter E-1 Standard comes with .010 strings, so changing the strings to 0.09 strings will make the action softer.

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CannibalCorpse
Metalhead

Joined: Fri Oct 01, 2004 3:55 pm
Posts: 1011
Location: Austria
PostPosted: Wed Sep 22, 2021 3:35 pm 
 

Guys, thank you for the great posts.

I never thought about the nut to be honest, this could make sense and indeed the guitar shop I've been to was more of the oldschool variety.

Today I got in touch with a well known luthier in Vienna who told me he'd take a closer look at the guitar. As I said I'm willing to shell out some cash to have this one set up the way I like it.

I actually didn't change any of the strings yet because it was set up fresh at the store. Since I barely played on this guitar, I didn't think about that much.
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coupdebleus
Metal newbie

Joined: Thu Sep 05, 2019 3:11 pm
Posts: 281
PostPosted: Wed Sep 22, 2021 4:46 pm 
 

Tbh you don't really need a luthier to lower the nut height, get some sanding paper and watch a tutorial on the net, it's rather easy. Work first on making the gaps where the strings go a bit deeper rather than sanding the flat side down. Try to go slow and easy, but even if you overdo it you can put some glue later on to recover some height.
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CannibalCorpse
Metalhead

Joined: Fri Oct 01, 2004 3:55 pm
Posts: 1011
Location: Austria
PostPosted: Thu Sep 23, 2021 3:22 am 
 

I know that there are a few things you can actually do yourself but I'd rather have a pro do this and get it done without regrets ^^
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JustinBourdeau
Mallcore Kid

Joined: Thu Jan 24, 2013 7:04 pm
Posts: 3
Location: Canada
PostPosted: Thu Sep 23, 2021 9:32 am 
 

Hey!

You can absolutely have this guitar in any playing shape you like as long as there are no fundamental problems with the guitar.
Ask around town about luthiers. Make sure you take your guitar to someone who has good reviews. If you can find a PLEK-equipped shop in your area, consider taking it there. That's a really nice guitar. There's no reason for it to be uncomfortable to play.

I worked in a PLEK shop for a while. I've played Squiers and Epiphones that were just as good as their Fender/Gibson counterparts. You can have this guitar properly set up; that's for sure.

Considering your tone question about your pickups. Often, all you need to get in the tonal ballpark you want to be in (especially if you're playing metal) is a pedal in front of your amplifier that A:) allows you to cut bass frequencies before they hit the amp and B:) Boost the level to get more input gain.

For example, consider picking up a Boss GE-7 for this purpose. Doesn't have to be this particular pedal though. Any EQ pedal with a level control will work. Keep in mind that this needs to go between your guitar and your amp, not in your FX loop. When placed between the guitar and the amp, you're EQ'ing your guitar's tone before it's amplified; in the FX loop you're EQ'ing the sound of the amp instead.

If you have any questions, just let me know.
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CannibalCorpse
Metalhead

Joined: Fri Oct 01, 2004 3:55 pm
Posts: 1011
Location: Austria
PostPosted: Fri Sep 24, 2021 8:30 am 
 

Well, holy shit! So I just returned from said luthier. He spend some time with the instrument, gave it a proper look and his verdict was:

"There is no possible way to get lower action, because the bridge is already positioned as low as possible without mortesing through the wood and even then - mainly due to the not exactly perfect bow of the (set-)neck - this guitar is simply not able to achieve better playability then it has right now. Maybe a very, very minimal improvement can be made via changing the bridge to its original stoptail piece (classic LP-style) but the problem with the neck being constructed the way it is will remain no matter what."

So - bummer. This man has been creating and servicing guitars since the late 80s, so I trust him on what he said today. He totally agreed on me about the quality of everything else, especially the finish, but I should rather sell it to someone who doesn't care much about low action.

Thank you for your help in here guys. Guess I'm on the hunt again.

Does anybody need a Schecter E-1 Standard for some bluesy, rockish vibes? ^^ ;-)
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