Schecter Nick Johnston 1546 Traditional HSS

bleujazz3

bleujazz3

Fractal Fanatic
After viewing Marco Fanton's work on YT G66, the Schecter Nick Johnston 1594 Traditional HSS looked/sounded like an interesting guitar. After some brief messages with MusicStoreLive, an HSS model was secured, and is on its way to me. I opted for the imported version at its lower price point, and obtained an excellent deal from MusicStoreLive.

One of the selling points is the minimal 60-cycle hum that is often prevalent in single-coil in-between positions. MusicStoreLive assured me that this was not the case with the Schecter Nick Johnston HSS. No audible hum at gig volumes when the strings are not muted. We'll see.

The guitar is Atomic Ink (Black) with roasted maple neck. I'd hoped for Atomic Snow (white), but MusicStoreLive had said that Schecter was quite a few months behind in their supply chain orders, so this was my sole option.

Am hoping to re-do a set-up/intonation with .009 gauge strings once the guitar arrives. My guitar tech buddy has agreed to show/teach me how to perform this myself so the lighter string gauge can be put on with minimal set-up each time .009 strings are replaced.

Am currently reviewing various quality YT videos that describe setting up strat-style guitars with trem bridges. (TBH, there is a small intimidation factor regards this. I've personally only done set-ups on non-trem bridges before, so this will be a new adventure in guitar maintenance for me.)

If anyone can direct me to a quality YT video that is straight to the point regards set-up/intonation, without the extra talking, your assistance will be appreciated. Thanks in advance.
 
unix-guy said:
One day I will grab one of those guitars... Most likely the HSS as well, but I prefer the Shell Pink or the green-ish one, although the orange works really well aesthetically with the roasted neck.

Look forward to your review once you have it.
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Just a confidential heads-up...if you contact MusicStoreLive directly instead of buying off the rack, you can get a better deal if you chat with the sales manager. TBH, I saved $100 out the door doing so.

The roasted neck is an appealing feature. Although I might wish for a rosewood fretboard, the alder body will make up for any perceived tone difference. It was one reason I didn't opt for a PRS Silver Sky SE (poplar body), and cutting a deal with the sales manager was the other reason enough to invest in this.

The Coral Pink or Green is pretty cool, and likely more rare...but I'm not fussy (sometimes) about color or finish. Just hoping the allen and truss rod wrench is included. No gig bag or case is offered at this price, so a Gator bag was the next purchase...

The 14" fretboard radius may be a bit flat to be entirely comfortable, but I've played PRS Santana's with similar, so it shouldn't be that bad...will review soon once the guitar arrives...
 
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bleujazz3 said:
Just a confidential heads-up...if you contact MusicStoreLive directly instead of buying off the rack, you can get a better deal if you chat with the sales manager. TBH, I saved $100 out the door doing so.

The roasted neck is an appealing feature. Although I might wish for a rosewood fretboard, the alder body will make up for any perceived tone difference. It was one reason I didn't opt for a PRS Silver Sky SE (poplar body), and cutting a deal with the sales manager was the other reason enough to invest in this.

The Coral Pink or Green is pretty cool, and likely more rare...but I'm not fussy (sometimes) about color or finish. Just hoping the allen and truss rod wrench is included. No gig bag or case is offered at this price, so a Gator bag was the next purchase...

The 14" fretboard radius may be a bit flat to be entirely comfortable, but I've played PRS Santana's will similar, so it shouldn't be that bad...will review soon once the guitar arrives...
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I'll most likely buy used, but good tip!
 
Congrats! I have been eyeing those for over a year now as I figured it would help a no-love for Strats
guy bond with a Strat. I asked @Andy Eagle about them and he didn't seem to think too much of them,
so my hunt continues.

Hope you enjoy it! Happy Easter! :)
 
la szum said:
Congrats! I have been eyeing those for over a year now as I figured it would help a no-love for Strats
guy bond with a Strat. I asked @Andy Eagle about them and he didn't seem to think too much of them,
so my hunt continues.

Hope you enjoy it! Happy Easter! :)
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Yup. I've never quite taken to strats as a rule, but am always curious if there might be something that might change my viewpoint of them. Perhaps my view is not that important; it's the multitudes of folks who enjoy them for what they are that is the standard. And perhaps as my musical tastes have been refined the past several years into several specific genres, the Schecter might just be what is needed to propel that creative spark into new territory. Am hoping the Nick Johnston can fill that niche where previously owned strats have not been able to do so. We'll see.
 
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I have one all single coil. love it. I hate fender strats (sorry) mainly the necks. This is more like a super strat ibanez type neck. Love it for my clean stuff and never had that true strat twang until now. Its hefty which I like, strats always seemed like cheap, toy guitars to me, though I admit I never tried super high end ones. The only thing I had a problem with was the touted 'graph tech nut' it wouldnt let the e string ring, until I had a luthier file the groove more. Even sent it back and had the same thing with another.
 
symphx said:
I have one all single coil. love it. I hate fender strats (sorry) mainly the necks. This is more like a super strat ibanez type neck. Love it for my clean stuff and never had that true strat twang until now. Its hefty which I like, strats always seemed like cheap, toy guitars to me, though I admit I never tried super high end ones. The only thing I had a problem with was the touted 'graph tech nut' it wouldnt let the e string ring, until I had a luthier file the groove more. Even sent it back and had the same thing with another.
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I have the all single coil one too and it’s a great feelin and playing guitar. The bridge single coil was too weak for me so I tried a custom p90 in single coil but don’t like that either. I really need to put a single coil sized hum bucket in the bridge and call it a day lol. I also had my tech lower the action a lot since I like low action and there’s a lot of tension when bending the upper frets. Any idea what that could be?
 
Jipps0525 said:
I have the all single coil one too and it’s a great feelin and playing guitar. The bridge single coil was too weak for me so I tried a custom p90 in single coil but don’t like that either. I really need to put a single coil sized hum bucket in the bridge and call it a day lol. I also had my tech lower the action a lot since I like low action and there’s a lot of tension when bending the upper frets. Any idea what that could be?
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IIRC, the Nick Johnston that will arrive Wednesday will be equipped with .009 gauge strings. Unless the tremolo displays a lot of forward lean, I'd say it was your string gauge rather than tremolo tension. A good guitar tech can set up your strat with the proper tension if he does the set-up / intonation correctly. I'll try to pull up some YT video that documents this, but be advised that there are a couple steps that might require a tech's assistance, so watch the entire videos before electing to try this at home...



 
symphx said:
I have one all single coil. love it. I hate fender strats (sorry) mainly the necks. This is more like a super strat ibanez type neck. Love it for my clean stuff and never had that true strat twang until now. Its hefty which I like, strats always seemed like cheap, toy guitars to me, though I admit I never tried super high end ones. The only thing I had a problem with was the touted 'graph tech nut' it wouldnt let the e string ring, until I had a luthier file the groove more. Even sent it back and had the same thing with another.
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Jipps0525 said:
I have the all single coil one too and it’s a great feelin and playing guitar. The bridge single coil was too weak for me so I tried a custom p90 in single coil but don’t like that either. I really need to put a single coil sized hum bucket in the bridge and call it a day lol. I also had my tech lower the action a lot since I like low action and there’s a lot of tension when bending the upper frets. Any idea what that could be?
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Gotta ask, how do you find the 14" radius neck to be, comfort and playability-wise? I was a bit skeptical regards the wide radius, but am interested to hear if this is not a significant issue for most folks...
 
bleujazz3 said:
Gotta ask, how do you find the 14" radius neck to be, comfort and playability-wise? I was a bit skeptical regards the wide radius, but am interested to hear if this is not a significant issue for most folks...
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I mean guitar experience is highly subjective, but I think the guitar plays and feels very nicely. If I get the string tension and pickup issue sorted out itd be a killer
 
It might be a simple string gauge down to a .009, which is standard for this model. Most dudes can tell you that the set-up/intonation is the only more involved step with strat-style guitars, because of the tremolo bridge. Just be thankful it's not a floyd rose...yowza...
 
jlynnb1 said:
I have a SSS and a HSS, but the import models. They made me sell my Suhr.
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Interesting!
I've also owned several Suhr Classic models myself, both strat and tele. My incoming is also an import, but this is just a new tool in the toolkit that I hope will fulfill a need. As was said, I've never quite bonded with single-coil guitars, but because my musical tastes have matured over the years, it may be necessary for me to rethink what tools are put towards the job.
 
I had a HSS Suhr Classic that I loved. I ordered the import NJ SSS to fill that tonal need. I loved it so much I didn't play may Suhr for like 3 months. Then I ordered the HSS NJ and the Suhr sat there even longer. After about 6 months of having no desire to play the Suhr over the NJ's, I decided to sell the Suhr, bought a Schecter PT (Tele Deluxe style with filtertrons) and a Charvel Angel Vivaldi 7 string.

Worth mentioning that before I also had a Silver Sky, another Suhr and an MJT Strat that I was comparing the NJ too and preferred it, as a whole, every time. Obviously there were things that some of the individual guitars did really well that rivaled or surpassed the NJ in a couple of cases.
 
jlynnb1 said:
I had a HSS Suhr Classic that I loved. I ordered the import NJ SSS to fill that tonal need. I loved it so much I didn't play may Suhr for like 3 months. Then I ordered the HSS NJ and the Suhr sat there even longer. After about 6 months of having no desire to play the Suhr over the NJ's, I decided to sell the Suhr, bought a Schecter PT (Tele Deluxe style with filtertrons) and a Charvel Angel Vivaldi 7 string.

Worth mentioning that before I also had a Silver Sky, another Suhr and an MJT Strat that I was comparing the NJ too and preferred it, as a whole, every time. Obviously there were things that some of the individual guitars did really well that rivaled or surpassed the NJ in a couple of cases.
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We think alike. I was considering a Silver Sky SE as well as the NJ HSS. Has to do with the "noiseless" PU configs. The NJ is hopefully close to noiseless with the humbucker, and the sales rep said he couldn't detect any hum emanating from the 5-way at gig volume/strings unmuted. Hoping for the best, but am still a bit skeptical regards how quiet the PUs actually are.

Any reassurance would be welcome.
 
UPDATE:

FedEx never ceases to amaze me. Although the online music retailer had been contacted and a hold request put on my incoming guitar, while snoozing this morning about 10:30, the doorbell rang and a knock at the door.

Sure enough, it was FedEx, with my guitar, requesting my signature.

I asked where the package was shipped from, and the driver verified it was from MusicStoreLive. Well. Signature provided, the carton now sits in my living room while it acclimates to room temperature. I think I might wait until later this evening to unbox this, or maybe after 2 PM and take some photos.

The curious part was that MSL had been contacted and a hold request was placed on the package so that it might be picked up Friday at the local FedEx hub. (I wasn't sure that I'd be available today to receive the carton. As it was, the driver showed up this morning though the hold request had been already put through.)

Anyway, the Schecter Nick Johnston 1546 Traditional H/S/S Atomic Ink Roasted Maple Neck arrived. Will verify its integrity/condition/playability once the carton is unboxed later this afternoon.
 
bleujazz3 said:
We think alike. I was considering a Silver Sky SE as well as the NJ HSS. Has to do with the "noiseless" PU configs. The NJ is hopefully close to noiseless with the humbucker, and the sales rep said he couldn't detect any hum emanating from the 5-way at gig volume/strings unmuted. Hoping for the best, but am still a bit skeptical regards how quiet the PUs actually are.

Any reassurance would be welcome.
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no noise issues with mine, at least not in the HB or split modes. the Neck and middle singles can obviously still have a little noise on their own
 
OrganicZed said:
@bleujazz3 Happy NGD!


Yes, FedEx has been abysmal as of recent. See my recent thread which detailed my experiences.
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Thanks! FedEx's spotty service I attribute to after-dark deliveries where porch lighting is sometimes not lit.

I think you'll find the following funny, but don't fault FedEx for this one...

Case in point, I checked my messages this evening and discovered that a package had been delivered, though to the wrong doorstep. So I spent the good part of half an hour traipsing around the apartment complex trying to locate the welcome mat that matched the delivery image.

Imagine my surprise when I returned home empty-handed, more thoroughly checking my messages, only to realize the delivery image was a delivery made earlier this evening to Washington State...a gift delivery my friend had texted me about earlier saying her package had arrived...that I'd shipped to her...

Doh. And bigger doh. Neither could I find the matching welcome mat in the image because it was over 3000 miles away. Doh. (Can I say it again? Doh.)
 
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