This is a Schecter Synyster Gates Custom S (2011) which was purpose built to play Metal! The guitar is in excellent condition, but there is a light patch of white discoloration near the skull logo on the neck. The guitar has been in temperature-controlled storage for a number of years. I’m also including a light Fender bag with the purchase.

It’s clear that this extroverted guitar won’t suit everyone, but those inspired by Avenged Sevenfold or anyone wanting to play hard metal will love the Schecter Synyster Gates Custom S.

This guitar starts off with a Mahogany double-cutaway body topped off with a glossy black finish and silver pinstripes. The C-shaped Mahogany neck allows easy access to all 24 extra jumbo frets. The Ebony fretboard sports glow-in-the-dark side-dot position markers as well as a pearloid Death Bat inlay on the 12th fret which gives the guitar a completely unique look and feel.

Where the “Custom-S” differs greatly from the “Custom” is the presence of a Floyd Rose 1500 bridge with a locking nut, as well as a Seymour Duncan Invader humbucker in the bridge and a game-changing Sustainiac ‘bucker in the neck.

The Seymour Duncan Invader looks like a gnarly beast, with three ceramic magnets and overwound coils that pushes as much output possible from a passive pickup. It sounds as unsubtle as it looks. It can sound shrill but its harmonic response and attitude are perfect for metal guitarists.

The Sustainiac humbucker in the neck is powered by a nine-volt battery. The Sustainiac driver takes the pickup’s signal and turns it into vibrational energy, then feeding the energy back into the string for infinite sustain. A two-way mini-toggle switch turns it on and off, while a three-way mini- toggle switch selects between three settings: Normal, Mix, and Harmonic.

Mastering the Sustainiac’s musical potential is a little tricky, but it’s a lot of fun, too. The Normal setting is the easiest to come to grips with, retaining the string’s natural tone and sustaining indefinitely. In the Mix setting, depending on where you fret a note, harmonic feedback resonates over the guitar’s natural tone – the effect is not unlike using a loud, overdriven amp. The Harmonic mode is harder to tame, since fretted notes surrender themselves immediately to squealing harmonic feedback, but the effect is over the top Metal!

I could discuss a number of other features, but the best way to appreciate the guitar is to hear how it sounds.

Check out these videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rd7a7ojbzRw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6UpC8poz58