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Non ADA Gear => Guitars => Topic started by: Dante on August 08, 2018, 10:00:14 PM

Title: NGD! Schecter Banshee Extreme
Post by: Dante on August 08, 2018, 10:00:14 PM
Yo! I was selling a guitar I didn't play much and looking for a Floyd. Well, I found a guy that wanted to trade me and I got the Schecter Banshee Extreme. I put a new set of strings on her and was able to get that Floyd in tune VERY quickly...full floating, not blocked. Wha? That's a deal sealer right there.

The action is nice, I can probably get it a bit more silky by lowering the bridge a half a mm. I am still undecided about whether or not I'll keep the stock PUs. I'm picky (actually, snobby) about my pickups. These have enough meat, but I'm still listening for the clarity in the open chords and the clean tones in general. I only played her for about an hour with mostly loud rocking high gain crap, no cleans.

My inclination is to make this HSS into a Nashville Tele. It's a big block of wood with a bolt on neck, like a Tele... so I got that goin' for me. I am also thinking about making it a H/S and getting rid of the middle PU altogether (either get a new pickguard or put a dummy PU cover in the middle - maybe with LIGHTS!!  whoo hoo!!

http://www.schecterguitars.com/guitars/banshee-extreme/banshee-6-fr-extreme-charcoal-burst-detail (http://www.schecterguitars.com/guitars/banshee-extreme/banshee-6-fr-extreme-charcoal-burst-detail)
Title: Re: NGD! Schecter Banshee Extreme
Post by: rnolan on August 08, 2018, 11:06:34 PM
Hey Dante,, nice  :thumb-up: .  Maybe do a dummy coil in the middle to cancel noise from the neck PU  :dunno:
Title: Re: NGD! Schecter Banshee Extreme
Post by: Dante on August 09, 2018, 06:50:23 AM
I always liked the sound of a Lipstick PU in the Neck of a Tele - so, I wonder how one would sound in this thing.

I would like to pair that with a humbucker in the Bridge that can split without losing tone or volume...not sure if that's possible. I've always toyed with the idea of a small preamp tucked into the cavity to give the bridge single coil a bump when the PU is split....never tried it...yet

Played the guitar some more, unplugged (the true test) and it feels like an Ibanez RG...but a little more ergonomic, the points aren't as sharp, and it's a bit heavier. The Trem is really good. Like better than my real Floyd. It's stamped "Floyd Rose Special" which sounds pretty cheap, but hey...it's working really well.
Title: Re: NGD! Schecter Banshee Extreme
Post by: rnolan on August 09, 2018, 07:29:18 AM
Hey Dante, there's a bunch of options, with humbuckers I've gone with the series/parallel rout rather than split. When you change the impedance of a PU (as you do with either split or series/parallel) it will always change the tone and the output, parallel less than split as there are still 2 coils in parallel).
Title: Re: NGD! Schecter Banshee Extreme
Post by: GuitarBuilder on August 09, 2018, 09:59:26 AM
Awesome guitar!  HNGD!
Title: Re: NGD! Schecter Banshee Extreme
Post by: rnolan on August 10, 2018, 12:42:56 AM
I can recommend a SD little 59 for the neck (as I put in the Squire bullet strat). I gave it its own push/pull vol knob and wired it Series/Parallel, works really well, sounds great, at some stage I'll change the pot to be one of those press to change types as it's a bit of a pain (on a strat) to pull up the centre knob.
Title: Re: NGD! Schecter Banshee Extreme
Post by: Samuraipanda on August 10, 2018, 08:10:22 AM
Nice gitbox Dante.

Oddly enough a standard bridge one just showed up on Philly CL for $250. Same color too I think.
Title: Re: NGD! Schecter Banshee Extreme
Post by: Kim on August 11, 2018, 05:56:32 PM
That guitar is a stone cold beauty, Dante! 

The Floyd Rose Special is a lower-cost bridge by FR that's made with softer steel parts instead of the hardened-steel parts the Original features.  However, if it does the job then it does the job.  Both my bridges are JT580 "Licensed by Floyd Rose" and they work wonderfully.  (You saw the pic of me holding my guitar in the air by just the whammy bar alone and shaking the piss out of the whole thing while playing live onstage, right?)   ;)
Title: Re: NGD! Schecter Banshee Extreme
Post by: vansinn on August 12, 2018, 06:47:09 AM
I would put the lipstick in middle pos - makes the pick smooth-off just nice, and makes for more of the modern Knopfler tone, should you happen to like this, all while keeping the normal neck tone.
Ahh, and for neck pos, might I suggest a modern Wilkinson 60's style overwound pickup.
Or, if you prefer a slightly more 'buckered single coil tone, an Original Bill Lawrence 300-series dual blade.

IME, most hum issues with single pups can be handled by shielding the pup and body cavities, use shielded wires for the pups, and use proper grounding while observing not to create ground loops.
Lots of videos on the tube about this..
Title: Re: NGD! Schecter Banshee Extreme
Post by: Dante on August 12, 2018, 08:09:07 AM
I finally got a chance to fiddle around with the guitar last night into my rack. Wrote a few patches.

Cleans: Just what you'd expect, very clear and transparent sounding. I'm good with these single coils and they're not noisy. Now, they do NOT sound very Stratt-ish, or quacky. They are just clear and surprisingly warm (for single coils). I can get a good quack out of the split Humbucker though, it sounds pretty Tele like.

Crunch: I can get a fantastic Brown/Plexi sound with the Humbucker. It cleans up very nicely with picking attack and really growls with the "Metal" patch. I think Schecter knows more than me about pickups and how they wire their guitars - they're a bit more sophisticated than a simple LP or Strat config. Case in point - the tone knob is a push/pull to split the bridge PU. BUT....it does something to the single coils too. Not sure what yet, maybe parallel or out of phase?? It seems to effect the Neck PU when in the 5 position on the 5-way switch (neck PU only).  :dunno:

I'm going to keep on playing around with this thing and possibly keep the stock PUs in there (can't believe I'm saying that). I need to do some research and find out what's going on in there before I start tearing shit apart.
Title: Re: NGD! Schecter Banshee Extreme
Post by: rnolan on August 13, 2018, 05:18:14 AM
Hey Dante, if it's working for you don't stuff with it  :thumb-up: .  If you can take some close ups of the wiring, I'm intrigued by the change in the neck PU when tone pot switch pulled up.
Title: Re: NGD! Schecter Banshee Extreme
Post by: Dante on August 19, 2018, 07:28:54 PM
UPDATE: played the Schecter all damn night at my gig last night. Four hours. It sounded great

My fingers are sore today, it has a very flat neck...like a classical. I play it higher than all my other guitars. Seems natural but looks weird to me ;)
Title: Re: NGD! Schecter Banshee Extreme
Post by: rnolan on August 20, 2018, 03:05:27 AM
Excellent  :headbanger:
Title: Re: NGD! Schecter Banshee Extreme
Post by: MarshallJMP on August 20, 2018, 01:03:56 PM
Hey Dante, you're getting old man  ;D  it's not the guitar hahahaha
Title: Re: NGD! Schecter Banshee Extreme
Post by: Dante on August 20, 2018, 08:18:09 PM
Hey Dante, you're getting old man  ;D  it's not the guitar hahahaha

GETTING old? I've been old for a while now. This guitar is work. I have a couple that are so easy, I only finish with them. After playing something that easy, it's even more difficult to play a guitar that makes you work for your playing. I don't mind the work, it keeps me honest, but I wear out quicker and it takes longer to recuperate. I'm sure you know how that is, ol' timer ;) ;)
Title: Re: NGD! Schecter Banshee Extreme
Post by: MarshallJMP on August 21, 2018, 05:11:07 AM
Hahaha but yes I know what you mean. ;D
Title: Re: NGD! Schecter Banshee Extreme
Post by: Dante on September 06, 2018, 07:01:22 AM
Just a follow up on this guitar - the bridge pickup is indeed HOT. I have found that I can use a patch designed for a milder pickup and get enough dirt with this guitar to solo. If I roll off the volume knob just a hair, I get the milder pickup's sound of that patch! Wha? Yeup, it works.

With every other guitar, I turn all the knobs to eleven and go. With this guitar, I'm one of those guys constantly fiddling with the volume knob.  :facepalm: First the shorter strap, now this....What have I become?
Title: Re: NGD! Schecter Banshee Extreme
Post by: rnolan on September 07, 2018, 02:45:00 AM
Mmmm, older, wiser?, a little more discerning  :dunno: .  Like you Dante, I used to be a all knobs full up.  These days I use only 3 or 4 patches and roll the vol and even the tone, I also spend most of my time on the neck or sometimes middle (N + B) PU selection, I find I rarely use the bridge PU on its own any more (well sometimes  >:D ), I'm also using much less distortion than I used to, enjoying the tone and flavours I've never bothered much with before.