“A work of art”: Schecter and Synyster Gates have released a gnarly new-look signature guitar – but it’s not the headless model we were expecting

When Schecter announced a new signature guitar for Avenged Sevenfold’s Zacky Vengeance earlier this month, speculation that his sweep-loving bandmate Synyster Gates would get the same treatment went into overdrive.

Now it’s been confirmed that Gates has been given a fresh signature build, but it isn’t the headless model many thought it would be. Instead, Schecter and Gates are sticking to the tried-and-tested formula of the guitarist’s take on the Avenger model. 

With the Gates signature serving as one of Schecter’s most popular guitars in recent years, it's understandable why it isn't straying too far from that path. 

The latest version of that model – the Synyster Custom-S – comes in a Distressed Satin Black finish, with its mahogany body peering through peeling black paint in what appears to be a nod to the cover of A7X's latest album, Life Is But A Dream…

That mahogany body is paired with an ebony fretboard, which is adorned with 24 X-Jumbo stainless steel frets. The ultra-thin three-piece C-profile neck is dotted with Luminlay markers, while there's also a gilded twist on Gates' signature 'SYN' and Deathbat pearloid inlays.

As is to be expected for a guitarist who has oodles of divebombs in his playing arsenal, Gate's gnarly new-look also features a Floyd Rose 1500 locking bridge, which is paired with Grover tuners.

Like the signature Schecter unveiled for Sullivan King earlier this year, the Synyster Custom-S employs a Sustainiac bridge in the neck to allow those dive bombs to scream on indefinitely. 

The bridge is armed with a Schecter USA Synyster Gates Signature humbucker, complete with his logo engraved into its black cover.  

The inclusion of the Sustainiac means two mini-switches for operating its endless sustain sit alongside the usual control setup of one volume and tone knob apiece and a three-way pickup switch. 

Schecter will be hoping that Gates will be more careful with his new toy than King has been with his, after the guitarist was involved in a guitar throw gaff just weeks after his signature Banshee hit the market.

As previously reported on these pages, Synyster Gates has recently been sporting a gold headless guitar on tour – an elusive instrument that has had fans clamoring for an official production release.

If the guitar is indeed a forthcoming Schecter signature, it will represent the American luthier’s first headless build. But with the release of the Custom-S, we’ll have to wait a little while longer to learn more about this mystery guitar, and to find out when A7X fans can expect to get their hands on one.

Fans seem pretty content with this model in the meantime, though, with one Instagram observer calling it “a work of art”.

The distressed signature guitar RRPs at $2,859, but is currently available on the Schecter website for $1,999.

Head on over to Schecter for more information.