Schecter Stiletto Extreme-4 BCH Bass Guitar Review

The market for intermediate electric bass guitar is large and there are many good options. I learned this recently when I was doing some research of my own to find the ideal intermediate bass. I decided that the Schecter Stiletto Extreme-4 BCH was the perfect fit.

Things to Consider Before Buying an Intermediate Electric Bass

An intermediate bass has a few important characteristics to check before buying. First of all, the pickups and other electronics make a big difference to the sound, so get a feel for how they work. The body shape and wood also affect sound and comfort. The build quality determines ease of use and durability. The other elements like the bridge, action, and tuners also affect play.

The Schecter Stiletto Extreme-4 BCH

The Stiletto comes from Schecter, one of the more well-known metal guitar companies. That said, the Stiletto will perform well in any role. It has a beautiful design and a great tone. The handiwork is of high quality. The Stiletto isn't perfect, but it has great value for this middle zone in the electric bass market.

It is not often that you can describe an electric bass as beautiful, but Schecter pulled it off. Both the Black Cherry and the See-Through Black have an intricate surface pattern under the laminate that changes how it looks based on the light. The squat body is comfortable both standing and sitting. The neck plays fast due to its thin profile. The Stiletto is attractive, easy to play, and well-balanced.

Tone

The biggest feature on the Stiletto related to tone is not the pickups, but the included active EQ. That gives you great control over the sound you produce. Not many guitars in this price range have this feature, both standard and bass. The preamp permits for shaping the sound before it hits anything else in the signal chain. The pickups themselves are Schecter humbuckers. It would be good to see an outside company make them, because that way is better than in-house design, but that would also drive up the price.

Value

At $450, the Stiletto is at the lowest end of the intermediate market. For that money, it can put out professional quality sound and the design is significantly better than the rest of this market segment. That is the key to finding good value in a bass: identifying a model that outperforms its category. The Stiletto does that on multiple fronts. The bolt-on neck and house pickups are the biggest flaws, but even those are comparatively minor. The pickups are easy to upgrade if necessary and the neck joint affects only the sustain. Schecter invested their money carefully to accentuate the bass's strengths and minimize its weaknesses.

​Rating

The Omen line from Schecter is very similar to the Stiletto line. The body design is slightly more elongated and less curvy than the Stiletto's. This changes how it feels to play while sitting down and alters the balance slightly. The other major change is the pickups. They are still Schecter-designed, but they are of Schecter's Diamond line, which is a little warmer. It has the same woods, manufacturing, neck joint, and EQ.

Comparison

The SR250 from Ibanez is a budget option at $300. The body is made of nato wood. The neck is bolted on with a cutaway in the body at the base of the neck to access the higher frets, of which there are 24 in total. The pickups are CAP EXF-N2 and it comes with a 3-band EQ.

Comparison

The Goth Thunderbird from Epiphone is a great example of the Explorer-style body shape, with softer modern curves, a Celtic cross on the body, and a gothic "XII" inlay. It's a different aesthetic but it has its own style. The tone is quite good thanks to the house Thunderbird Plus pickups. It's a good fit for people coming from standard guitar because it uses the same mahogany and rosewood that most guitars use.

Comparison