Schecter Hellraiser Hybrid PT-7 Review (UV) – A Beast!

Hello there, back again with another real guitar review for you! This time, we will be looking at the newest member of my guitar collection, the Schecter Hellraiser Hybrid PT-7 Ultra Violet!

I already own a Fender American Standard Stratocaster (maple fingerboard) and really like it, however, there’s always something missing on the heavier, darker side of the tonal spectrum as Strats are not built for it.

I strongly believe and advocate that you should at least have a Strat-type and an LP-type guitar for the maximum coverage of guitar tones with a minimum number of guitars around.

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Les Paul-type guitar builds are also one of my favourite combinations of electric guitars with a mahogany body, and set-neck construction featuring dual humbuckers. My Ibanez AR300 was my all-time favourite guitar for a long time back in the day.

To fill this gap, I started researching LP design guitars. I was also considering a 7 string so I thought why not?

If you are a regular reader of my blog, you are probably aware of me being a huge Schecter fan!

During my service in the musical instrument industry, I had the chance to play and record around 200 electric guitars and Schecter was one of the top brands that I always enjoyed right out of the box!

With that in mind, I was a bit biased and already made my decision in terms of the brand. But couldn’t really decide for a while. I was almost going to go for the Shecter Hellraiser C-1 that I really enjoyed during our demo video sessions but then discovered another series that is Hellraiser Hybrid!

According to Schecter, the Hellraiser Hybrid series has been designed with a nice fusion of the Hellraiser and SLS models in mind and features a combination of the most sought-after specs from both series.

This series also belongs to the Diamond Series (You will almost always see this name on Schecter headstocks) which features guitars that belong to non-custom-made, mass-produced Schecter guitars with a combination of different specs.

In the Hellraiser Hybrid series, you have basically 2 base designs that are C and PT with different combinations of various specs.

You have standard 6 strings with both body types, tune-o-matic or hard-tail bridges, Floyd Rose tremolos, EMG active pickups or even a Sustainiac and also 7 or 8 strings versions.

Hellraiser Hybrid series also features some common specs such as an arched top design, ultra-slim SLS neck with compound radius, ultra-access neck joint, carbon fibre bindings, glow-in-dark side dots and EMG 57/66 pickups.

Last but not least, you have also one of the coolest and in my opinion, the best Ultra Violet finish on the market!

Given these specs and my desire for a 7-string guitar, I was able to limit my choices to 2 guitars. I was going to pick up either a Schecter Hellraiser Hybrid C-7 or PT-7 in Ultra Violet finish.

Unfortunately, there are almost no videos or demos showing these models but I was able to find a 6-string version comparison and loved the PT model better. Even though they feature almost the same specs, they sound different. This might be because of electronics and wiring differences (not sure).

But there was a problem! These guitars were both very difficult to find online! To get information on availability and price, I contacted Schecter on their Instagram account and they gave me a contact from Musik Meyer GmbH. With their support, I was able to custom order my Schecter via Thomann and a couple of months later received it! 🙂

In this process, I also contacted other resellers in the EU and wanted to create very unique content for you separately. In this article, you will understand why Thomann is the best music store ever!

Check out my “Why Thomann is the best music store? Excellent CX in the musical instruments industry!” article here.

Schecter Hellraiser Hybrid PT-7 Tech Specs

Before I give you my opinion about this instrument, I would like to share a video that I have made. In this video, I wanted to show you the tonal possibilities that Schecter Hellraiser Hybrid PT-7 offers.

In this video, I’m using my ENGL E570 all-tube preamp, ENGL Cabloader directly into the RME Babyface PRO audio interface. Also added a touch of Lexicon reverb (VST). For the video, I had to restring my Schecter Hellraiser PT-7 with a Pyramid 7 string set.

I have only played random riffs from some of the songs I like, some random licks and riffage with overdrive and distortion only.

Schecter Hellraiser Hybrid PT-7 UV Review & Sound Demo (no talking)

Conclusion

As with my other experiences with Schecter guitars so far, Schecter Hellraiser Hybrid PT-7 was no different. The build quality is excellent.

As I always mention, while I was working for an online music store, I had the chance to play and record hundreds of electric guitars as well as to test thousands of them in a very well-structured approach. This has really helped me to where to look and inspect instruments.

Update: I was only able to find three (was two) things that were slightly wrong with this guitar.

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The first one which was really obvious was the pickup heights. Unfortunately, someone was having a laid-back day at work and adjusted the pickup height in a reverse fashion. 🙂

This next image clearly shows that issue. Fortunately, this is something wrong with the setup and can be adjusted.

One of the things that I noticed since then was that pickup adjustment screws were easily worn out. Especially, the screw for neck pickup adjustment on the bass side is gone really quickly. So in order to fix this problem, I got myself a set of Göldo humbucker screws that fit very well.

Check out my Göldo humbucker screw review here

However, the problem wasn’t about the quality of EMG pickup screws. It was rather a pickup screw hole that had inconsistent threading. Not sure if this was the intended design, but definitely caused some issues. Please check out Göldo humbucker screw review so you can better understand the issue.

The second thing was again a very small detail regarding the truss rod cover. As you can see in the photo, there’s a slight gap which means the cover is longer than it should be. However, here I just wanted to show you how unimportant things were wrong with this guitar out of the box.

The third problem I have come across is the pickup selector switch. I believe due to waiting times in warehouses (mine was made in 2018), it got corroded a bit. I sometimes had issues switching to the neck pickup. I quickly solved this with a contact spray. Now it’s gone for sure! I wanted to add this as a side note and keep everything honest and real with you! 🙂

This guitar features Schecter-branded locking tuners. It was the first time that I owned one and in the first attempt to restring my guitar, I fell in love with it! Restringing was so easy and fast, tuning stability was way beyond my expectations.

Hellraiser Hybrid PT-7 just feels like a true mahogany body. It’s heavy and bulky but at the same time really comfortable to play with.

When in a seated playing position, it’s very comfortable on your lap. Since it’s a bigger body than a regular 6-string version, the height from your knees is naturally higher so it’s easier to play.

However, it’s still heavy and if you consider playing this in a more traditional pose or standing up, I highly recommend you invest in a good strap.

I have picked up a Marleaux Bass Comfort Strap, see my dedicated review of this strap!

The 3-piece maple neck is a satin finish one! This is something I consider an upgrade, I also converted my Ibanez AR300‘s neck with sandpaper to have this upgrade. Fortunately, I don’t have to do it on my own with this guitar!

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The ebony fingerboard was a great choice for this guitar. I think the ebony they used is not dyed wood that you can find in entry-level guitars. This is really beautiful ebony! It looked a bit dry when it arrived so I immediately conditioned it with Sandberg Natural Fingerboard Oil.

See my Sandberg Fingerboard Oil Review here!

“Easy Access” set-neck construction is really comfortable. However, if you also heavily rely on your first 2 fingers on your fretting hand and don’t use your pinky too often, this may feel weird at first.

When you really aim for the highest frets and bend/vibrato with your current habits, the outside of your right hand may touch the horn underneath.

This is not a big deal for me as I don’t remember having played any guitar that offered the same comfort with the upper register. It’s always a different feeling and a struggle to play upper register anyway.

Hellraiser Hybrid PT-7 ships with a set of Ernie Ball strings. I researched this set of strings but couldn’t find an exact match. I believe these are Ernie Ball 2222 Hybrid Slinkies with an added single 62 gauge 7th string.

The strings arrived without an issue, but I didn’t really enjoy the overall tone as my guitar was made in 2018. So these were already 3 years old when arrived.

I restrung my guitar with a set of Daddario NYXL09564SB. I think these strings are excellent, but a bit expensive.

I’m still testing it and also have bought many other 7-string sets to try in the future. Since the scale length is 26.5″, I feel like the low E string should be a bit thicker than 46 gauge. Unfortunately, many 7-string sets always feature a 46. To test this, I have picked up a La Bella HRS-73 set and also made a 7-string set with Elixirs.

Already have tested La Bella HRS-73 and Pyramid 7 String sets, check my separate articles and listen to sound samples!

As you can see in the tech specs table above, this guitar, as well as other Schecters, features an excellent set of components and specs that you can find in only high-quality instruments.

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You don’t need to buy this guitar and start planning to upgrade components such as nuts, bridges, tuners or electronics. It’s an excellent, flawless axe out of the box.

EMG EMG 57-7H and EMG 66-7H really surprised me as I was expecting more compressed sounds but these sound extremely open and responsive. I think they really complement the acoustic characteristics of this instrument.

Check out my EMG 57/66 review here

Unfortunately, this guitar doesn’t ship with a gig bag. I think, at this price tag and quality, they could at least offer a simple gig bag. Hardcases are not really necessary if you are not a touring musician, but a gig bag is a must and you have to buy it separately.

Overall, Schecter Hellraiser Hybrid PT-7 is a beast! I strongly recommend this series to anyone who seeks a solid instrument at all levels. I think this particular model offers a huge value/money when you consider the components and build quality combined.

I hope you have enjoyed this article. Please consider sharing it and also subscribe to my mailing list to get notified of the new content. Thanks for visiting my blog and supporting me so far! I will hopefully see you in the next review here!

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