Schecter Nick Johnston Traditional HSS Atomic Snow Electric Guitar - No Bag/Case

Before we received the Diamond Series Nick Johnston Traditional HSS, we'll have to admit we did not know much about Nick Johnston. But now we do, and we also really like his taste in guitars. The Nick Johnston Traditional HSS takes the classic S-Type concept and moves it forward with a host of high quality features that can easily handle blues, rock and more progressive styles. 

The Nick Johnston HSS leads off with a nicely finished roasted Maple neck with Ebony fretboard. These features are typically reserved for more expensive guitars, and besides looking good the roasted/ebony combo provides a nice snappy attack and smooth playing surface. Locking tuners are always a bonus with a floating bridge, and the two post Schecter bridge can to set up to be decked against the body or pitch bend both up and down.

The Nick Johnston single coils have a traditional magnet stagger and sit somewhere between classic Strat glassy and husky. The classic tones are there, but with a little less scoop and a touch more midrange content. We like the beefy nature of the pickups, although you do give up a little high end shimmer. This setup works really well with pedals, and the pickups are gritty, touch sensitive and soulful. 

The Schecter 78 bridge pickup is wound to around 11.3K and you can hear the extra girth in the midrange and somewhat warm top end. For cleans it's a little on the dark side, but give it some gain and it really opens up with plenty of sparkle without being edgy or sharp. Using it with our JAM Rattler and Fuzz Phrase its crunchy and expressive, although maybe lacking the uber-tightness that down-tuners or metal heads might want. And while we are typically lukewarm on split humbuckers, the 78 is well above average in this regard. The split position retains plenty of output and clarity, and is a must for pairing with the middle pickup; which as opposed to the full humbucker keeps the midrange clear and spanky. Overdrive tones with the split bridge and middle are also a blast, with a wonderful hollow howl that will easily put out some great harmonics with minimal coaxing.

The Nick Johnston Traditional HSS is a warmer, slightly fatter S-type guitar that is voiced to handle more modern styles of music without getting thin, edgy or shrill. And now knowing a little more about Nick Johnston is makes perfect sense. Played clean we'll happily trade a little high end glass for some additional punch. And the rock tones are clearly brawnier and more impactful. It's just the right amount of "more" to nudge it solidly into the rock zone without turning it into a metal machine. And at under grand, it's a killer value for such a high quality instrument. 

This Schecter Nick Johnston Traditional HSS features:

• Alder body with Atomic Snow finish, 8.2 pounds
• Roast maple vintage "C" neck, bolt on
• .787" depth at the first fret, .866" depth at the 12th
• 14" radius ebony fretboard
• 22 jumbo frets
• 1.65" nut width
• 25.5" scale
• Graph Tech XL Tusq nut
• Brass circle inlays
• Schecter Diamond Nick Johnston Neck pickup ~6.1K ohms
• Schecter Diamond Nick Johnston Middle pickup ~6.4K ohms
• Schecter Diamond 78 bridge pickup ~11.3K ohms
• Volume and tone control, pull tone to split bridge
• Schecter 2-post floating vibrator bridge
• Schecter locking tuners
• No bag/case included
• Made in Indonesia