Schecter Guitar Research, more commonly known as Schecter is one of the most successful guitar manufacturers in the USA. Our comprehensive reviews cover everything from their affordable Korean models, to their impressively spec’d out USA custom shop models.

Created by David Schecter in 1976, Schecter Guitar Research began as a repair shop in Van Nuys, California. The shop manufactured replacement parts, necks, and bodies for many big name brands such as Fender and Gibson. It wasn’t until 1979 that Schecter offered a fully assembled guitar. Most of the guitars that were being built by Schecter were very expensive custom shop models that were based on the Fender designs. One of the earliest models was a custom Tele build for guitarist, Pete Townshend of The Who, which later became the basis for the Schecter PT.

By 1983, Schecter had reached it’s potential with what it could accomplish as a custom shop and could no longer keep up with orders while retaining the quality they became known for. By 1984, after a company buyout, Schecter introduced twelve production model guitars, the most popular being a model based on the Pete Townshend “Tele” model. Eventually, Schecter’s use of the Fender headstock led to a lawsuit which shut the company down. The Schecter name was purchased and revived in 1987.

The company was bought out by Hisatake Shibuya, a Japanese entrepreneur who also happened to own ESP guitars. Shibuya reverted Schecter back to it’s custom shop roots and devoted all of it’s efforts into building high-end custom shop instruments.

Shibuya eventually gave company ownership to a man named Michael Ciravolo, who worked at a music store in Hollywood which sold Schecter guitars. Ciravolo didn’t like the Fender design, so he decided to leave those designs in the past and move on to some of their own designs. He added the “Tempest”, “Hellcat”, and “Avenger” models. Ciravolo’s vision was the bring Schecter to the hands of the new generation of musicians , a demographic that was mostly ignored by major manufacturers such as Fender and Gibson. To do this, he needed a bigger factory.

By 1998, Schecter had opened a factory in Incheon, South Korea and introduced the Diamond Series, a more affordable line of non-custom guitars. The next decade was a massive change for the company. It became less focused on it’s USA custom roots, and more focused on the affordable series made in Korea. So, in 2012, Schecter expanded it’s USA shop and started to give the USA models some more attention to bring the company back to it’s roots.

Now, Schecter is a massive company with guitars for every type of music. Regardless of the style of music or price point in mind, Schecter offers a ton of options to choose from.

For more information on the latest Schecter models and to find the right one for you, check out our in-depth Schecter reviews!