I've owned this bass for several months, but had bought a Fender Jazz about the same time, so never played the Schecter that much. About a month ago I picked it up again and haven't put it down since. The first time I played it out, a guitar player said it sounded 'alive.' The fingerboard is very good, with no dead spots anywhere. Sustain is wonderful and the knobs let you get a wide range of tones. Even when tuned down, the sound is well defined.

The two bands I play with are guitar-heavy and loud, so I need a sound that cuts through the noise. I am using Dean Markley Blue Steels medium gauge and playing through GK amps and heads. That combination lets the Schecter hold down the bottom end without getting muddy.

I'd recommend this bass for anyone interested in a high-quality five string. For the price, it's hard to beat, but it would be a definite contender even at a higher price point.

I bought this bass off ebay a little over 3 years ago. I played a four string but I was determined learn to get good on a 5. I bought it on ebay for like 400 dollars with the case and it was worth every cent. It was my first neck thru I had ever played and I had also never played with active pickups. By the way the EMG's are the best pick ups. I am actually a fan of Grover tuners but I left the originals on because they stayed in tune just fine. I play my bass through a 1974 Peavey 4x12 cab with a 74' Peavey Festival tube head. It sounds like I just described what the guy from Boston recorded more than a feeling on but honestly between the schecter bass and my rig it sounds so good. I have banged this bass into walls, dropped it on/off stage and it still doesnt even have but like 1 knick on it. I have the quilted maple sunburst finish on mine. And out of all of these I have seen it is by far the most badass color it comes in. Also the action is pretty low all the way down the neck and it sounds punchy. If you don't mind changing a 9 volt battery out once in a while this is like a dream bass for the money.

I bought this bass as an impulse buy. I walked into GC and had never played a neck through bass before so I picked this bass to try. In less than a minute I fell in love. This bass blew me away. The neck was fast, the action low and it was just fun to play. I bought the bass the same day and it became my go to bass fairly quickly (it replaced Warwick$$, Tobias Growler, MM Stingray amongst others).

The things I like about are really simple but important, like low action, fast neck, good intonation, no dead spots, maintains tuning and has a wide variety of sounds to explore. The EMGs are great and can make it growl or snap just bt tweaking the pick up balance. The bass sounds great through my GK Goldline cab, a practice Fender bass amp and an old Crate amp. The thing that really stands out about this bass is how easy and fun it is to play. Its neck is comparable to Ibanez SDGR series. This bass looks great too. I usually like muted colors but the crimson and natural finish is beautiful. I like really low string action and the truss rod it really responsive to tweaks.

Now for some minor complaints. It does not come with a gig bag , tools, manual. The bass needs extra long strings. I had a hard time finding these but finally found them online (Daddario super long nickel plated. The bass came with these strings but I had to research for a while before I found out. It would have been easier if it had a manual with specs. With the low action, I can get fret buzz especially if I play above the 12th fret.

But these are minor gripes in an otherwise outstanding instrument that given its price clearly outshines a lot of high end instruments.

Try it, if you like a fast neck and easy playabliity you won't be disappointed.

I can't say enough good things about this bass, the body is beautiful and the neck through design lets it sing forever, the EMG's are amazing , you can hear a pin drop in them and dial them in any way you like from crispy to round, the S-Tec bridge is incredible and rock solid you can drop the string action way down to the neck, which is a little fat, but hey its a 5 string, and the low B from this baby will shake your guts out. If your looking for a 5 string you should check this bass out its worth every penny and more. I get alot of comments on the looks of this bass, mine is the vampyre red satin with gold hardware, its just beautiful, you can see and hear and feel the quality.