Schecter Omen-6 Electric Guitar Review (6-String)
I recently found myself in need of a good intermediate electric guitar with an emphasis on metal. After sifting through some online reviews, I decided that what worked best for me was the Schecter OMEN-6. It combines value with quality in a way that beats most of the competition. Here's why.
Things To Consider Before Buying An Electric Guitar
Electric guitars vary in their wood, neck joint, electronics, body shape, fret size, neck scale, finish, headstock, and more. Some of these are cosmetic while others are functional. Each element has an effect on the cost of building the guitar and, therefore, the price you pay. A good place to start is the guitar style that your favorite musicians play.
The Schecter OMEN-6
The OMEN-6 has a basswood body and a maple neck with a rosewood fretboard. It has Schecter-designed neck and bridge pickups,a three-way toggle switch, a tune-o-matic bridge, and 24 frets. It costs $350. This provides an accessible entry point to Schecter, which is one of the more popular rock and metal guitar brands. Schecter is most famous for their 7-string guitars, although this model has the traditional 6 strings.
Features and Benefits
Tone
The OMEN-6 excels in metal and rock tones. It can deliver crunchy, thick rhythm sound or a clear lead tone. The toggle is easy to access and the fretboard plays fast, so the live experience is quite good. The pickups are built to read down-tuned strings just as easily as standard tunings. They can sound limited at higher volumes but upgrading them is less expensive and faster than buying a whole new guitar.
Construction
Schecter selected a fairly standard set of woods for this guitar. The tuners are rather nice, especially for a genre that uses a lot of alternative tunings- they are accurate and stable. The guitar itself is light and easy to carry. The cutaway near the neck improves access to the top frets. The finish is clean and unblemished with three options: black, white, and walnut. The toggle for the pickups, the volume knob, and the tone knob are all slightly recessed for a smoother profile. You are also less likely to accidentally bump into them.
Value
The OMEN-6 is an intermediate electric guitar, but most of those tend to price themselves into the $450 to $550 range. At $350 the OMEN-6 is well under the average. It uses many of the same elements like the house pickups, bolt-on neck, and tune-o-matic bridge, but at a lower price. If you are looking to buy your first intermediate guitar that is excellent news. This price level also make the Schecter good as a traveling or touring guitar that can take a few bumps and handling. It sacrifices none of the tone despite the lower price.
Design
5
Performance
5
Construction
4.5
Value for the Money
5
User Satisfaction
4.5
Alternatives
Schecter Guitar Research Omen Extreme-6 FR
The Extreme-6 is the next step up from the OMEN-6. It has much the same construction with the exception of a Floyd Rose bridge instead of tune-o-matic, which allows for tremolo. It also has an upgraded set of pickups, although they are still house Schecter designs. Other than that it is quite similar. It costs $475, or $125 more than the Omen.
Comparison
Schecter Omen Extreme-6
Pickups: House
Bridge: Floyd Rose
Price: $475
Schecter Omen-6
Pickups: House
Bridge: Tune-o-matic
Price: $350
Epiphone Les Paul Standard
The Les Paul is one of the most iconic designs in the industry. This instrument also happens to be quite heavy at 15 pounds, so watch out for that. The Standard has Alnico pickups, a Tune-o-matic bridge, and a mahogany body. The fretboard is the typical rosewood. The pickups consist of a pair of humbuckers. It isn't quite the build quality of the true Les Paul, but it does get most of the way there and for a much lower price of $410.
Comparison
Epiphone Les Paul Standard
Pickups: Alnico
Bridge: Tune-o-matic
Price: $410
Schecter Omen-6
Pickups: House
Bridge: Tune-o-matic
Price: $350
ESP LTD EC-256
The EC-256 from ESP wieghs in at $400, which is quite comparable to the other models in the post. It has EMG pickups and the usual rosewood and mahogany construction. The bridge remains tune-o-matic. The EC256 is essentially ESP's entry into this lower-intermediate market for electric guitars. The build quality is not always the best, but the pickups are a significant upgrade. ESP is a smaller, lesser-known brand but they have a reputation that is just as good as Schecter.
Comparison
ESP LTD EC-6
Pickups: EMG
Bridge: Tune-o-matic
Price: $400
Schecter Omen-6
Pickups: House
Bridge: Tune-o-matic
Price: $350
Final Thoughts
The Omen-6 offers quite good value for this segment of the market. It is ideal for people who already have some experience with electric guitar and want to move on to something that has more to offer. Because the pickups are house rather than an established brand they will likely benefit from an upgrade, but this is relatively cheap. The bigger weakness for most searchers is how specialized this instrument is. Generally, guitars tend to be more specialized as you get up the cost tree, so it is not common to see a budget-friendly choice be so focused on one genre. Aside from that, though, this really is a good choice for anyone looking to upgrade from their $100 introductory guitars. You may also visit our best electric guitar guide to learn more.