Happy Halloween Wired Guitarist readers! We’ve done C-1 reviews in the past, such as the C-1 Custom, but that one was sort of classy. For the sake of Halloweeen, let’s check out the C-1 Platinum today, a guitar that is super metal and black.

Shall we?

Features:

– Mahogany Body

– Arched Maple Top

– 3pc Maple Set Neck

– Ebony Fretboard

– Silver Binding

– Satin Black Finish

– 24 X-Jumbo Frets

– Tempest Inlays

– Thin ‘C’ Neck

– 25.5″ Scale Length

– TonePros TOM Bridge

– Schecter Locking Tuners

– EMG 66/57 Pickups

Alrighty, so like I said, this guitar is black. I’m not a huge fan of black guitars, unless they are satin. The C-1 Platinum has a really nice and smooth satin black finish on it. It covers the front and the back, including the neck. Now, the neck is satin as well, so even though it’s painted, it’s quite smooth and comfortable for fast playing.

The other visual appointments include all silver hardware and a really unique silver binding that surrounds the top and fretboard. The Ebony fretboard is a nice touch as well visually, and it’s nice to see on a $700 Korean instrument.

I found this guitar to be particularly comfortable to play. The arch top makes for a more ergonomic feel on the right hand, and the thin ‘C’ neck is great for a lead player. Some may dislike the TOM bridge, but I actually really like them on arched top guitars. I find that TOM bridges make it really easy to dig into the strings for aggressive palm muting styles.

Tone:

The C-1 Platinum is crafted out of a Mahogany body, Maple top, and 3pc Maple Neck. When these woods are put together like this, you’ll notice a really fat low end and a sweet little bump in the mids. I really like Maple necks on Mahogany bodies as well. They always seem to add a little extra brightness that the Mahogany lacks.

I think most of us by now are familiar with the infamous EMG 81/85 active combo. This guitar actually features the less known EMG 57/66 active combo, which is basically a more vintage-y play on a 81/85.

Thanks to the alnico 5 magnet, these pickups have a great range of dynamics compared to many other active sets on the market. The tone is fairly midrange focused and sounds quite aggressive on high gain settings. Surprisingly, these clean up really well and can offer a crystal clear tone when needed.

As far as the possible sounds it could achieve, I think this guitar would stand it’s own in any rock/metal style genre. 80’s metal, radio rock, and extreme metal and progressive styles all sound really great on it. One thing to note is that when exposed to a ton of gain (tested through a Peavey 6505+ w/Tubescreamer) it loses a bit of clarity and doesn’t handle big chords very well.

Build Quality:

This guitar is Korean built, so it doesn’t have the same quality as the Schecter USA shop, and there were a few imperfections to point out, but nothing devastating.

The finish was done really well, super smooth and  no scratching or bubbling. On the other hand, I did find a few areas where the finish bled into the binding a bit. Obviously this isn’t a big deal for playability, just something to point out if you are super OCD about that kind of stuff.

The fretwork was done really well and all of the hardware was impeccable. The volume knob pot was quite a bit scratchy and pretty much immediately required a re-solder.

Other than that, the neck was super stable and the neck joint offered insane reach to the high end. The guitar sounded and played amazingly.

Final Verdict:

The Schecter C-1 Platinum is a super clean looking, satin black guitar that looks and sounds mean. It offers a ton of tonal flexibility and comes in a t a comfortable price tag of $699.

I found a few minor QC issues, but it didn’t make me too upset. The guitar feels and looks really great for the price.

If you are interested in one, don’t forget we have our Free Guitar Enhancement Package, and will not send you a guitar that has issues. We make sure everything is perfect when we receive it before even considering selling it!

7.5-7-8

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This article was written by Zac Buras, our editor located in Louisiana.

 

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