From humble roots as a spare parts specialist in '70s California, Schecter has blossomed into one of the most credible names on the modern rock scene. Not since Pussy Galore has a name promised as much as the Hellraiser Solo-6.

The contours of that time-honoured mahogany body might scream, ‘Les Paul derivative!’, but there’s more to this model, with 24 XJ frets lined up on the ‘ultra-access’ mahogany set neck and a 25.5-inch scale that will be more familiar to Strat fans. And if you think you’ve got the number of those active EMGs, you might be surprised to find the volume pots break ’em into single-coils.

In the future, humanoids will look at the Hellraiser and wonder how anyone could play anything so cumbersome. More fool them. The girth of this singlecut is precisely what makes it so cool, with the neck swamping your palm compared to the LTD, the body hanging at your side like a barn door, and the resulting sustain ringing out for days.

Verdict

Sure, those EMGs mean your riffs drop like cluster bombs, but you’ll do far more than chug, with the generous neck access combining with the longer scale to get you climbing the fingerboard, bending notes and squeezing out idiosyncratic vibrato.

As long as you don’t split the mighty humbuckers into relatively wimpy single-coils - which is like putting a muzzle on a pet dinosaur - you’ll be in heaven. Or possibly hell.

4 Stars

Pros: Beefy dimensions make it soar.
Cons: It’s a bit of a bloater.

BUY: Schecter Hellraiser Solo-6 currently available from Thomann

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