Ive been looking around for a new axe and have found a Schecter Hellraiser c-1 FR and i was wondering what they're like. I'm not familiar with this brand so i need feedback.

Also maybe a new head one day. Tossing up between Mesa,Krank and ENGL. What should i get?

Depends what sound you're looking for... No kranks btw :|

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Engl because they're more affordable and will generally fit the bill for anything, or Mesa if you have the cash and want that unmistakeable sound.

C-1's are alright, I personally don't like the floyd hellraiser tho. The floyd sort of ruins the classy look of the C-1, and I really really like Floyds.

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schecters are warm and beefy... they have decently thick necks... not gibson thick, but close. But hey, you dont need a super thin neck to play fast, i play on an eastwood and its by no means thin...

and about amps...
mesas probably the highest price there, and theyre fairly loose sounding... its difficult to hear your picking dynamics... but they do have awesome tone... i'd reccomend a stilleto or a dual rec. Stilletos very convieniently have a half power switch so you dont have to blow you rhead off... and sound so sexy... If i got a mesa, it would be a stilleto.

Kranks... well they have 2 sounds, super clean, and super distorted. NOTHING in between. The only good thing i can think of is how clear it is... you can dime the gain and still make out all of the notes... sometihng hard to find... But you'd have to get a boost to get it to crunch on the clean channel... the tone isnt half bad though... it can be used for metal and all... but i also know ska bands that use them... hehehe.
The revolution and the krankenstein are very stimilar, i'd haev to play them again to tell you the differences... maybe try them for yourself.

Engl's tend to be the same price as mesas in north america, but theyre so much tighter and typically more versatile. Very clear picking dynamics (especially on the powerball), lots of useable distortion, more channels than a man could ask for, and sweet ass cleans. The cleans probably are cleaner than mesas... which is a nice feeling.

best advice in the world: play all these amps before you decide, and choose the one that sings to you.

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Finding Engl's and sometimes Mesa's in regular stores is a daunting task. And dude, why are you sweettalking Engl's when you refused to buy one because you couldn't try one out?

Engl's have a more loose sound than Rectos if anything, rectos are hifi while the Engl Fireball is like... I'm not gonna say a hotrodded Marshall because that's bullshit, but it doesn't sound as modern as a Boogie or 5150. To my ears, it sounds better. Powerballs/Fireballs cleans aren't too great so if you need that look into the Savage or RB something.

I think the powerball is only 1500$ new while Dual Recs are 2000$ in America? Despite being an overseas product I still think Engl's are cheaper in the US than boogies.

And don't buy a Krank man, just save yourself the humiliation. And your money!

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1200 for a powerball is the used price, and i've seen discount shops offering new ones for 1800... so i guess you could get new one for 1500... if you're balls deep in luck at a liquidation sale. And i've never seen a dual rec for over 1900... canadian...
And if you think a powerball is looser than a mesa... yeah... no. not happening.

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you'd be lucky to find a powerball for $1,200. i've seen a couple go that cheap. but i'd say $1,300-$1,400 is more common.


a new powerball is like $1,800-ish. a new dual recto is about $1,700-ish.

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Damn wasn't Derek at RSA selling them at 1500$? Jesus dual rec's are cheap over there.

And dude, I own a Fireball and have played a Rectoverb(not the same, but close) so I know what I'm talking about. It's a different voicing, and the Mesa is way more modern and tight sounding than Engl, but that doesn't mean Engl can't get equally fuckin brutal. My Engl responds a hell of a lot to picking dynamics and pickup type and output, meanwhile the Rectoverb I tried(at TV-like volumes, but that doesn't matter) sounded way more compressed, didn't care much for the type of pickups it was getting(there was not much difference between a P90 and humbucker les paul!), meanwhile my Fireball can be as loose and "Marshally" as I want it to be if I use the right guitar/pickups.

Throw in some EL34's and/or a line boost in front of a Boogie Rec and you'll probably never come across a tighter sound less you go high end solid state.

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when the v2 powerballs came out he had to blow out his v1 inventory so he sold all his v1's off for $1,500. but he's selling them for like $1,830 shipped or something now.



i use to have a dual recto(loaded with el34's). and i still have my powerball. hands down the powerball is voiced tighter. engl's in general are voiced very tight. the recto was pretty muddy, and had a stiff midrange that was hard to dial in just right.

if you only played the recto-verb at low volumes, you don't really know how it sounds. of course without the powertubes working, you're not going to hear dynamics and the rumbly massive low end that rectos have.

i'll admit that with el34's, s.s. rectifier, and modern voicing, the dual recto wasnt super muddy. but it cant touch my powerball on the tight factor. then again, my amps are the pb and a vht pittbull, two of the tightest tubes amps on the market. so alot of amps seem "muddy" and loose to me.

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I see. The rectoverb still sounded very sterile(in a good way) and tight to me though, moreso than my Fireball which I run at like 9 o clock at home most of the time(only during the daytime! ). Which is no problem for me. Though if I EQ differently then yeah I get fuckin tight sounds unlike anything I've heard, I guess trying amps in a store while being asked to hush down is not the best way to assess an amp.

If you like tightness so much why don't you own something like a Randall, Ampeg, or Tech 21 stuff? You used to have a PSA1 right?

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