| Build Quality: |  |
| Hardware: |  |
| Electronics: | |
| Sound: | |
| Value: | |
| Average: | |
Pros:
- Affordable
- Beginner Friendly
- Handsome
Cons:
- String Buzz
- Tuning Stability Issues
- Weakish Pickups
A lot of the times people underestimate the power of handsome, and go for unique. While there is nothing wrong with a unique looking guitar, even the most unique looking guitar shall always fail by the side of a truly handsome guitar. This mistake is especially often made among cheaper guitars, where beginners go for cool look above beautiful. It is a shame then that good, affordable guitars like C-1 SGR by Schecter go unnoticed. Let’s take a closer look and see why you should definitely consider buying this guitar.
Body Quality
The body of the guitar is one of the handsomest I have personally seen. Standing somewhere between Jon Hamm and a piece of actual ham, this guitar can be said to look very attractive. The double cutaway thin C shape neck of the guitar further contributes to the aspect of cool and handsome. If this guitar was a human, the square jaw and the long, straight haircut would make crowds faint.
The body of the guitar is built out of basswood. This tonewood is widely known for its low tone enhancing qualities. As a result you get a guitar with deep, warm voice you can definitely enjoy. The hardwood is also very lightweight, meaning that this guitar will be as easy to play and as comfortable to hold as it can get. The unfortunate softness of the wood means that it will have a hard time withstanding damage, so be careful with the sensitive guitar. Otherwise, the body design and construction is impeccable and rather handsome.
The neck of the guitar is made of maple. This sturdy, dense hardwood is known for two things – being a little heavy and being very sturdy. This means your guitar will stay together no matter how long you abuse the neck for. While the neck is a little heavy, the lightweight nature of the basswood will keep it easy and comfortable to play. The smooth, pleasant-to-the-touch rosewood fretboard keeps your guitar dark and handsome. Now only if it was slightly taller.
Hardware
The bridge of the guitar is the Schecter TOM through body design. This means that, while you might not attach a tremolo bar, you will get incredible string stability. The through-body design means that the stringing of the instrument can happen at a very fast pace and easy even if it is your first time.
The nut of the guitar is made of synthetic material. I’ve stated many times that this is not my favorite type of material, but it still does a decent job of keeping the harmony of the guitar around. The string buzz is present and a little annoying, but can be gotten around while playing and should not prove too much of a problem during practice.
The tuning machine of the guitar is a little annoying. As is often the case in this price range, the guitar tends to lose its tuning after a few days, and if you keep abusing and playing it nonstop, it might even lose tuning in a single day. You might wanna think it investing a better tuning machine eventually.
Electronics
The guitar is gifted with two Schecter Diamond Plus humbucking pickups. This means the guitar has a very good and versatile sound. Still, with so many reports of some of the pickups struggling with this guitar, it might be a wise idea to, after a certain while, invest in new pickups. Still, on arrival, the pickups work just fine and stay that way for a while. Heavy sound, light sound, whichever you want is easily available to you.
The guitar has two knobs – for volume and sustain control, as well as a lever to control which pickup is playing. Pretty standard for this type of guitar.
Schecter SGR C1 Sound
The guitar has a lot of potential in terms of sound. The pickups are versatile enough that you will not have a problem switching between lighter and heavier genres. Still, after a while the tones go a little flat, so replacing the pickups might be a good idea. Another annoying thing is the string buzz present in the guitar, not mitigated by the nut. Replacing the nut might produce a better result. Still, the guitar sounds nice most of the time.
Conclusion
Overall this is an okay guitar. The greatest quality it has is the way it looks. The greatest problem is that it does not utilize the entirety of its sound potential because of some minor issues. These can be easily fixed by providing the guitar with upgrades. Definitely a solid beginner guitar, with a solid sound. Recommended, especially since you get so much for so little.
Click here to find out more about C-1 SGR by Schecter.
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Why can a set of 10 gauge strings not be used on this guitar?
Who said you can’t? The guitar itself is designed for 0.009 gauge, so you might have to make some adjustments to avoid damaging the guitar. Generally, heavier gauge means more tension on the neck, which means it might bow a little, but since the difference between 0.009 and 0.010 is not that big, it isn’t likely that such an issue will occur.