With its staggering selection of seven-string, eight-string and baritone guitars, Schecter has become a leading source of alternative instruments that fall between the standard six-string guitar and four-string bass.
Based on the same foundation as Schecter’s acclaimed Hellraiser series guitars, the Hellraiser C VI BCH offers similar shred-worthy features but in a lower register, making it perfect for guitarists who want to redefine the meaning of heavy.
Features
At first glance, the Hellraiser C VI BCH looks like an oversized version of Schecter’s popular Hellraiser C-1. But in addition to heavier strings, the Hellraiser C VI BCH has a 30-inch scale, and it features a TonePros stop tailpiece instead of the guitar version’s string-through-body design.
Beyond that, the features of the two models are identical, including the EMG active 81TW (bridge) and 89R (neck) humbuckers, separate volume controls for each pickup with push/pull coil tapping, master tone control, three-position pickup selector and Schecter locking tuners.
The Hellraiser C VI BCH also has the same mahogany body with abalone binding, three-piece mahogany neck, rosewood fingerboard with abalone gothic cross inlays, and comfortable, contoured asymmetrical double-cutaway body shape.
Performance
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Strung with Ernie Ball .020–.090 strings (all wound, small ball end) and tuned E A D G B E, the Hellraiser C VI BCH feels more like a six-string bass of the Fender Bass VI variety than a baritone guitar, which makes it perfect for playing that cover of “Back in the Saddle” you’ve always wanted to add to your set.
Despite having a long, 30-inch scale and heavy strings, this guitar is more comfortable to play than most baritones with shorter scales and lighter strings that I’ve tried. Players of standard guitars won’t find it unwieldy to use, and shredding is not out of the question on this impressive beast. The various EMG humbucker and split tones that the Hellraiser produces are all clear as a bell, making this one smooth-sounding Barry White of a baritone.
More six-string bass than baritone, the Schecter Hellraiser C VI BCH produces devastating, heavy tones but has the comfortable, shred-worthy feel of Schecter’s conventional six-string models.
Chris is the co-author of Eruption - Conversations with Eddie Van Halen. He is a 40-year music industry veteran who started at Boardwalk Entertainment (Joan Jett, Night Ranger) and Roland US before becoming a guitar journalist in 1991. He has interviewed more than 600 artists, written more than 1,400 product reviews and contributed to Jeff Beck’s Beck 01: Hot Rods and Rock & Roll and Eric Clapton’s Six String Stories.
