My wife and I were in Fort Collins over the weekend and, as usual, I ended up at my favorite place, Guitar Center. Since I posted my short list of guitars from which I will choose my next axe, I planned on playing as many as I could and telling you, faithful reader, my thoughts on them and adjusting the short list as necessary.
I didn't have a ton of time to play guitars, so I ended up playing two - one that's on the short list and one that's sort-of on the short list - a Schecter Omen 6 and an Ibanez RG3EXFM1, which is very similar to the purple Ibanez I played at Spotlight Music and is the current top choice for a shredder, should it still be available. Well, kinda. I'll explain.
But first, the comparison. I played both through a Line 6 Spider IV 75, only because I have a Line 6 and I didn't want a steep learning curve trying to figure out how to use the amp. I played each for about 10-15 minutes using clean, crunch and metal settings. Since I played the Omen first, I'll start with that one.
APPEARANCE/WORKMANSHIP:
Schecter - When I first picked up the Omen I wasn't entirely impressed with it. The model I played was finished in walnut satin, which gave it a rather woody look, but it didn't really stand out. It wasn't immediately eye catching like the Ibanez (more on that later). The body was a nice, slender Superstrat shape with a gently curved top, two humbuckers, a Tune-O-Matic bridge with string-through saddles, a master tone and volume and a three-way switch. It had a thin maple neck with a rosewood fretboard, 24 frets, and a three-per-side angled headstock. It felt well made, the knobs, switch and bridge were all sturdy pieces, and the fretwork was well done. It was a bare-bones guitar, with no binding or flamed maple.
Ibanez - The RG was a stunning instrument. From the flamed maple top to the blue sunburst paint to the full body, neck and headstock binding, it was a well-crafted metal machine. It had two humbuckers - the same V7 and V8 the purple one had - a typical RG body shape, a Strat-style hardtail bridge, master volume and tone, a five way switch that coil split the humbuckers in the 2 and 4 position, a 24-fret maple neck, a rosewood fretboard with sharkfin inlays and a non-reverse angled six-in-line headstock. In fact, apart from the color and the headstock, it was nearly identical to the purple Ibanez.
SOUND:
Schecter - The first thing I noticed about the Omen was that it had a great acoustic sound, no doubt owing to the string-through design. I first played it on a heavy crunch setting, which I have to admit is vastly improved on the new Spider IVs. The bridge pickup gave a nice lead setting with good articulation and no muddiness. It responded well to volume and tone adjustments and I got a good sound out of it fairly easily. The neck pickup had some muddiness, but no more than any other neck humbucker I've used, and it was great for metal solos. It was on a clean setting, though, that it really shined. Both the bridge and neck positions sounded good, but when I put it in the middle, it sounded so good I actually said "Wow" out loud. It was a fine sounding guitar.
Ibanez - After putting down the Omen, the RG was a bit of a disappointment. The humbuckers didn't sound as good as the Omen's and were muddier. The clean sounds were unimpressive, too - they sounded good, but not great. I probably would've had a better opinion of them had I not just played the Omen, because they weren't bad, but they didn't compare to the Schecter. One thing that the Ibanez had going for it, though, was the five-way switch. The in-between positions gave some great single-coil-like sounds and added to the tonal range of the guitar. This versatility makes up for the poorer sound of the pickups and added another dimension to the guitar. I'd be more willing to play a blues set with the RG than the Omen.
PLAYABILITY:
Schecter - The Omen just has a great neck. It's comfortable and thin - I'm no expert, but it felt like a thin C profile - and the fretwork was outstanding. The body had deep cutaways and access to all 24 frets was a non-issue. The curved top took a little getting used to, as all my guitars are flat tops, but after a few minutes I didn't notice it. The knobs and switches were in a convenient position and I was impressed with the feel of the knobs. The guitar felt instantly familiar. I could've played it all day.
Ibanez - The RG has a Wizard profile neck - ostensibly the same as the purple Ibanez, but this one felt different. It felt thicker than I remember. Maybe it was because I just came from the Omen with its thin, standard profile, but it didn't feel as nice as the purple Ibanez. Also, I noticed that the frets felt sticky, for lack of a better word. Slides weren't as easy to pull off as they were on the Omen. On the plus side, the flat radius made bends easy and the unfinished maple neck was smooth. I chalked up the neck discomfort to me having to get used to the Wizard profile.
CONCLUSION:
Here's where it gets interesting. When I was done test driving the guitars and I left the store, I was convinced that the Ibanez won out by a hair, mostly because of the prettier paint job and the versatility of the five-way switch. However, as I was driving home, I had time to ruminate on the events of the past hour and slowly came to the realization that I liked the Schecter better. The simpler look grew on me to the point where I actually liked the satin stained finish better than the transparent blue flame maple finish of the Ibanez. I also really like the three-per-side headstock. They're not common on Strat-like guitars and it gave the guitar a unique look.
What really changed my mind, though, was thinking of how they sounded and how they played. Despite the lack of a coil-splitting switch, the Schecter just sounded better. I don't often say "Wow" when I play a guitar, but it happened with the Omen. I also liked the neck of the Omen better. I wouldn't have to "get used to" anything on this guitar. I wasn't kidding when I said I could play it all day long.
In the end, the Schecter won this competition. This leads to some interesting scenarios. Since I liked the Omen better than this RG, does that mean I'd also like it more than the purple Ibanez, which was the number one choice for shredder guitars? I'd have to play it again to make sure, but if they are indeed the same, the Schecter would be the new number one.
Then again, if the purple Ibanez gets sold over the next two years (which it probably will), it's all moot anyway. So I declare the Schecter the current top of the crop of potential shredder guitars on the short list, and the Ibanez will be removed.
The updated short list looks like this:
Guitars I've played:
Epiphone Les Paul Studio ($349)
Schecter Omen 6 ($299)
Guitars I haven't played:
Dean Cadillac Select ($479)
Sterling SILO20 ($399)
Sterling JP50 ($499)
Jackson JS32RT ($319)
Laguna LE200 ($249)
ESP LTD H-51 and H-101 ($259 and $279)
ESP LTD EC-100 and Ibanez ART100 ($279 and $299)
Guitars I can't play:
Chapman Guitars ML2 ($525)
Agile LP Copy ($225 and up)
Dropped off:
Ibanez RGR421EXFM ($419) - Because it'll probably be gone in two years.
Schecter C-1 - Because it's actually a lot more expensive than I thought. Online it was $399, but in the store it was $549.
Next I want to try to play the ESP LTD EC-100 and the Ibanez ART100 so I could knock one of them off the list and add another guitar to the list of LP-style guitars.
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