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Pros:
- Bubinga Top
- Walnut Neck
- Lovely Construction
- Unique Design
- Amazing Sound
Cons:
- Heavy
- On the expensive side
To stand out among midrange affordable guitars is a challenge that can hardly be taken lightly. In the world of hundreds and hundreds of instruments that look kind of similar or have covered most types of designs, it can be quite seemingly impossible to stand out. Yet there are some instruments that manage to do something unique despite not having much resource, and stand out in a crowd. Let’s take a look at one such guitar, tbe Schecter Stiletto Studio-4 Bass and see what it does right.
Body Quality
The design of the guitar is both strange and traditional, a combination of qualities that make it unique on the market. The shape of the guitar is seemingly normal – a double cutaway U shaped body, with a rounded bottom and some nice wings. Yet the slenderness of the mid riff of the guitar introduces a nice little contrasting detail, enough to make the guitar stand out. As a result, the instrument ends up looking like something out of Tim Burton’s imagination. The color options can further enhance this effect, though the orange coloring is my favorite, and contributes the least to the Burtonesqueness of the instrument.
The body of the guitar is a combination of mahogany and bubinga top. It is indeed quite an interesting combination, especially since you do not see bubinga too much on the market nowadays. The mahogany of the guitar is sturdy, meaning a long and healthy life for your guitar. It also provides a nice bass tone resonance for the instrument. The bubinga top provides a nice level of sustain and resonance with bottom tones. As a result you get a guitar that has a thick low tone, a spike in mids, and well-rounded high tones. Unfortunately, the tonewoods are especially heavy, and result in a heavier than usual bass guitar.
The neck of the guitar is made out of walnut, a choice that is not so traditional among guitars, less represented in the world than most guitar necks. The walnut provides the instrument with a nice and sturdy neck that is resistant to warping, denting, and scratching. The coloring and grain of the walnut is rather impressive and lovely. The neck through the construction of the joint allows the instrument a whole lot of a longer lifespan than with bolt on necks, with the alignment of the neck being outstanding. The fretboard of the guitar is made out of rosewood.
Hardware
The guitar comes with a Diamond Custom bridge. This bridge design allows the instrument to have some incredibly stable strings and very nice actions, which is especially important for a bass guitar.
The nut of the guitar is made out of a higher quality synthetic material, which negates any kind of string buzz that could have bothered the player. The harmony provided is also rather nice.
The tuning machine of the instrument look decent in terms of design. The tuning stability is outstanding so that you don’t have to worry about the instrument being out of tune too much.
Electronics
The guitar comes with two pickups, one at the middle and one at the bridge of the instrument. The two EMG-Hz humbucking pickups were designed specifically for the purpose of being used on a bass guitar. The sound they produce is highly detailed and tonally incredible, especially in terms of the bass and mid-tones. The high tones are not omitted either, as they are nuanced and rather enjoyable. The output of the pickups is powerful.
The guitar controls are rather numerous and highly detailed. The instrument comes with a master volume and master tone knobs, also providing the player with three knobs for EQ.
Schecter Stiletto Sound
The sound of the guitar is one of my favorite in this price range for bass guitars. The combination of mahogany and bubinga provides a whole lot of tone depth and thickness. The resulting bass sound is so incredibly tonally deep that it is impossible not to fall in love. The mid-tones and the high tones are expressive as well. The output of the guitar is powerful thanks to the diamond custom pickups, which do a great job at creating a nuanced and enjoyable sound.
Conclusion
This is a great bass guitar, definitely one of my favorites among the guitars in this price range. A little expensive, true, but the unique tonewood combination, strong construction and the amazing sound make it a great choice for an intermediate player.
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If Fender offered a bass with similar construction, electronics, materials and finish, the price would be around $2,500 just for the instrument…before the case is added in to the price.
I’ve had one of these for a long time. We always laugh when I pull out a tuner because it never goes out of tune, even after a week in the gig bag between practice sessions. The tone control is amazing. Annoyingly mine has a missing volume knob (since new but I got a healthy discount) but you can’t get matching ones for love nor money.