In the late 70’s Schecter started off by crafting replacement parts for bigger manufacturers such as Fender and Gibson. They did such a good job that they took off creating their very own models and here they are today. It’s about time we reviewed one of Schecter’s Gibson-inspired models, the Solo-II Standard.

We’ll start off with the specs!

Features:

  • Mahogany Body
  • 3pc Mahogany Neck
  • Flamed Maple Top
  • Rosewood Fretboard w/Pearloid & Abalone Tempest Split Crown Inlays
  • Set-Neck Construction
  • 24.75” Scale Length & 12” Radius
  • 22 X-Jumbo Frets
  • TonePros T3BT TOM & T1Z Tailpiece
  • Grover Tuners
  • Chrome Hardware
  • Schecter Diamond Alnico Plus Pickups
  • Volume/Volume/Tone(Push-Pull for Coil Split)/3-Way Switch
  • Faded Vintage Sunburst Finish

Right off the bat, the Solo-II has most of the recognizable features of a Gibson Les Paul: The single cut body shape, 24.75″ scale, 12″ radius, and the solid pickguard,

The addition of the forearm contour added some extra comfort for the picking hand as well, which was well appreciated.

The neck is a 24.75″ scale length, just like a classic Les Paul. Now, while some of you may be thinking, “But I wanna tune super low and the short scale lengths don’t do that very well!”, this guitar isn’t necessarily intended to tune low, and shorter scales do have some benefits of their own!

When used for standard, and other higher tunings, the short scale length makes for a different feel that a lot of guitarists actually prefer. The 24.75″ scale, made famous in the Gibson Les Paul guitars, also offers a sweet, warm sound that is unmistakable.

That brings us to tone!

Schecter Solo-II Standard

Tone:

The Solo-II’s mixture of Mahogany body, Mahogany neck, and 24.75″ scale length really come together to create a sweet, warm tone. The guitar is very acoustically loud and full sounding.

Schecter went with their own “Diamond Alnico Plus” pickups for this one. These pups have somewhat of a vintage PAF sound, but a bit more modern. They are smooth and fat, and they definitely kick ass for rock tones.

Although they are really warm and lack a bit in the brightness department, they perform clean sounds well. The pickups manage to stay thick without very much breakup on a clean channel.

Saturated tones are the strong suite for this one. On a driven channel, this guitar fairs quite well for rock and radio metal styles. This wouldn’t be my first choice for modern metal though, as it lacks low-end tightness and the short scale length makes it more difficult to tune low anyway.

Build Quality:

The build quality on mid-range, import Schecters are to be pretty consistent these days. No real playability issues, and any cosmetic issues are usually very minimal.

On this particular guitar, I did notice that the pickup switch was noisy and occasionally cut in/out if my arm bumped it. This guitar would have needed a quick re-solder job on the pickup switch for sure.

This is a simple fix, but before trying anything like this I’d recommend our Guitar Soldering for Beginners Guide.

I was happy with the quality overall. The standout feature here was the finish. It looked super clean and the gloss was applied very smoothly. We always buff/polish gloss finishes with our Free Guitar Enhancement Package, but this one probably wouldn’t have even needed it.

Final Verdict:

The Schecter Solo-II Standard is an affordable Les Paul clone with most of the classic features plus a few modern appointments. The tones that could be acquired are fairly versatile and the guitar plays very well with the rhythm player in mind.

The standout feature here is definitely the aesthetic detail put into this model. For a guitar in the $650-ish range, the figured top, and glossy vintage burst looked stunning.

9-8-10

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

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