Schecter Stiletto-6 FR - recommendations?

[dxlxntxxlxr]

Probably rags id say. Ive heard a lot about sharp treble from a-hawks. Juggs are really uncompressed, i reckon rags would be a bit easier for leads with a bit more bite and power

[stratguy23]

I forgot about the Ragnarok.

From what I have read and heard it seems like a Miracle Man with more mids, and has similar soloing ability to the MM bridge

I think the main ones I am considering are the A-Hawk, Juggernaut, and Ragnarok.  This guitar will be mainly used for lead parts in recording, and used live for songs that require a tremolo.  So I need a bridge pickup that is very good on leads.  This tends to lead me to move away from pickups like the Nailbombs and Aftermath.  The Painkiller I suspect might be too abrasive in this guitar.  I am looking for darker tones really.

I really think the Holy Diver is worth considering for what you’re looking to do. It is a fantastic lead pickup and works really well in Super Strats. It isn’t the darkest pickup, but it does have a nice low end thump.

[Dave Sloven]

I'll try all of my BKPs in it once I have it set up in C standard with the new trem.

MM, A-Bomb, CS, & A-Pig.

I'll note what I find appealing about each and/or annoying about each, and then I will have four baselines to present to you all.  I think I am keen to get one that I haven't already tried, so that includes everything besides these and the Stockholm.  I really like the Stockholm but I don't want to have to deal with the hum and anyway my Stockholm is a soapbar so I can't trial it in the Stiletto.

The Holy Diver is definitely another one I am considering.

The only ones I think I can rule out at this point are the Crawler, C-Hawk, Rebel Yell, Aftermath, and C-Bomb.  While the RY would probably sound great in my Explorer I think it might sound really shrill in this Stiletto.  Testing the CS in it will give me more idea on that score.  But generally I think it is good for me to be wary of the brighter pickups.  I am avoiding the Crawler simply because of its looser, less metal rep.  The C-Bomb seems to be BKP's worst lead pickup so I will definitely avoid that, although I am curious as to how the A-Bomb will sound in it.

The humbuckers I am considering are the Holy Diver, A-Bomb, Impulse, A-Hawk, Juggernaut, Miracle Man, and Ragnarok.

In terms of single coils the ones that interest me most are the Cobra, Sinner, and Slow Hand.

[Lucas]

Probably rags id say. Ive heard a lot about sharp treble from a-hawks. Juggs are really uncompressed, i reckon rags would be a bit easier for leads with a bit more bite and power

Like Miracle Man is my favorite bridge pickup for soloing and Rags seem to be boosted MM, I would be careful when it comes to Rags lead sound.

[stratguy23]

I'll try all of my BKPs in it once I have it set up in C standard with the new trem.

MM, A-Bomb, CS, & A-Pig.

I'll note what I find appealing about each and/or annoying about each, and then I will have four baselines to present to you all.  I think I am keen to get one that I haven't already tried, so that includes everything besides these and the Stockholm.  I really like the Stockholm but I don't want to have to deal with the hum and anyway my Stockholm is a soapbar so I can't trial it in the Stiletto.

The Holy Diver is definitely another one I am considering.

The only ones I think I can rule out at this point are the Crawler, C-Hawk, Rebel Yell, Aftermath, and C-Bomb.  While the RY would probably sound great in my Explorer I think it might sound really shrill in this Stiletto.  Testing the CS in it will give me more idea on that score.  But generally I think it is good for me to be wary of the brighter pickups.  I am avoiding the Crawler simply because of its looser, less metal rep.  The C-Bomb seems to be BKP's worst lead pickup so I will definitely avoid that, although I am curious as to how the A-Bomb will sound in it.

The humbuckers I am considering are the Holy Diver, A-Bomb, Impulse, A-Hawk, Juggernaut, Miracle Man, and Ragnarok.

In terms of single coils the ones that interest me most are the Cobra, Sinner, and Slow Hand.

I'll be curious to hear your thoughts on each of your four Bare Knuckle humbuckers. I agree that the Crawler is the wrong choice here. To me, it is more of a vintage hot pickup rather than a contemporary pickup. I don't think it is aggressive enough or tight enough to do what you want. The only singlecoil I have used from Bare Knuckle is the Irish Tour neck (with the Holy Diver in the bridge), and I do not think it is the right choice for you, too vintage voiced.

[Dave Sloven]

Looking at these demos I am starting to lean toward the Ragnaroks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GWw60VLqpI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B___tTa__qw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_LKpfDfgCU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZaoMdmSLctE

[Dave Sloven]

I've ordered a Black Hawk set with the alnico option together with a CRL 3-way selector switch, Jensen 0.022uf capacitor, and 550K CTS pots from BKP just before Easter.  When they arrive they will be fitted to a new HH pickguard with new Gotoh knobs in Cosmo Black (in fact all hardware - tremolo, locking nut, tuners, knobs - have recently been replaced with new Gotoh items) and a black chrome on-on minitoggle for series/parallel wiring on the neck pickup.  When the Gotoh GE1996T tremolo was installed last week the routing was also done for a neck humbucker.

[Dave Sloven]

Just waiting for the Black Hawks to ship and arrive.

Stage 1 of this build is complete, so I might post a couple of photos that will be a nice contrast with those I get from Stage 2.

Here you see the routing that was done.   A bit around the tremolo recess and block/arm cavity, and the neck single coil cavity enlarged to fit the Black Hawk neck.  I think that in Stage 2 more routing will be required in the control cavity to ensure that the CRL switch, Jensen cap, and mini toggle all fit properly.



The rebuild is extensive, with very few of the original parts remaining except for the neck, frets, and body.

Stage 1:

DiMarzio Clip Lock strap system
Gotoh GE1996T tremolo unit (33mm Gotoh brass block)
Gotoh FGR-2 locking nut
Gotoh SG381-20 MGT Magnum locking tuners
D'Addario EXL117 11-56 strings (C standard tuning)
D'Addario ClipLock strap system
neck pickup rout enlarged for a humbucker

Stage 2:

Bare Knuckle Black Hawk pickups (alnico 5 magnet option in the bridge, black open coils)
CRL 3-way selector switch
Bare Knuckle/Jensen capacitor: 0.022μfd
Bare Knuckle/CTS 550K volume and tone potentiometers
New pickguard for HH configuration
Custom wiring, including an on-on mini toggle for series/parallel switching on the neck pickup
Gotoh VK-1CK-18 dome knobs for volume and tone pots
Switchcraft output jack
Gotoh oval output jack plate
All new pickguard, pickup, and output jack plate screws

[stratguy23]

Looking good! This project is really coming along. I am interested to see the finished project and get your thoughts on the Black Hawks.

[Dave Sloven]

Thanks!  Will do!

Here for people who are considering changing a Schecter licensed tremolo out for a Gotoh GE1996T is the various areas that required routing.  I should point out that the Gotoh is the best floating tremolo I have ever tried.  The flutters you can get with this bridge are exceptional.

The green areas in the control cavity seen on the next photo are where I am thinking of removing wood to create room for the new PIO cap and a microtoggle.  The red areas are where wood was removed to fit the new tremolo unit and a neck humbucker.  All of the photos below are before the black paint and conductive paint were applied.



If you look at the following photos it should be clear that a piece of wood was removed in the tremolo cavity near the arm bushing because the Gotoh bushing is twice as deep as the Schecter one. The cavity for the block was fine as the block is the same size, only brass.  What we did was make the cavity the same size behind the arm bushing as it is behind the block.  The recess on top of the guitar had to be made more square but the new tremolo is a bit narrower, so the black paint disguises that somewhat



Original tremolo sitting in the routed recess:



New tremolo:



Before painting (we only routed it for short legs at the neck):



Here you can see the differences between the bridges.  All of the hardware that came with the Gotoh bridge and nut were used, except for the string bar which did not fit.  Gotoh locking tuners were also fitted.

[Dave Sloven]

I just got the notification of dispatch, so I will be watching the postal tracking with anticipation!

[Dave Sloven]

My Black Hawks, CRL 3-way switch, capacitor and potentiometers just arrived in the mail so I am off to see my luthier Steve Opitz very shortly!

[Dave Sloven]

I'm picking this one up from Steve later today.  Here are some photos he sent me this morning of the Black Hawks, coil split switches, etc going in.  Some more wood was removed to fit the coil split switches.  We chose to install a treble bleed and Steve says that it all sounds amazing, including the coil split and when you roll the volume down.  Active coils in splits are both toward the neck.

In Steve's words:

"The guitar sounds as good as anything I've ever heard, she's truly awesome"
"[The neck pickup is] Sweet and powerful even in single coil mode, the treble bleed works well too, so still bright and full when the vol is rolled off"

[Dave Sloven]

Picked her up ... will have a fiddle tomorrow morning!

[Dave Sloven]

First impressions of the Black Hawks:

More output than the Nailbombs, possibly more than the Warpigs. I haven't adjusted the height at all yet though. Coil splits are louder than I expected, clear though. Overall tone of the A-Hawk is more of a mid-range purr or growl rather than a raspy grind like the A-Bomb. I like them a lot, but I need to try moving the pickups up and down to see if I can optimise them, especially for clean playing as I think the neck might be a little high. The neck is certainly powerful even in split mode. Everything that Steve did works really well, the action etc is adjusted well, but I will use the screwdriver to adjust the pickups to get the best sound for me. It felt almost like the bridge pickup might be a little low on the bass side. Anyway I have tortured the neighbours and my ears enough for today (I only had one earplug in for much of it). I also need to get used to and find the best playing position for this guitar. It is a Strat format and I have certain habits developed from playing SGs, which are odd guitars. I need to move my arms across my body more to place the guitar more in the relative position that the bridge and high frets sit against my body with an SG, otherwise palm-muting and a couple of other things are too awkward.

Also this guitar is easily a match for the A-Bomb Explorer in the sustain and bottom-end aspects