Schecter Banshee Elite-7 FR S Review – Screaming Like a Banshee

Body And Neck:
Hardware:
Sound:
Value:

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Beautiful guitar? Awesome tone? Endless sustain? Yes please! Schecter always manage to produce a great instrument, but sometimes they can just blow us away. That’s exactly what happened with the Banshee Elite-7, which thoroughly deserves the top spot in our chart on the best 7-string electric guitars. ‘But, endless sustain? You can’t be serious?’. Oh, but we are…

Body & Neck

Compared to some other 7-string guitars, the Banshee Elite-7 is a breath of fresh air, as Schecter bypassed the more ominous metal stylings to instead deliver a modern natural design, which really catches the eye. This au naturel design shows off the grains of the woods – and there’s a lot going on in this department. The backbone of this 27” scale length guitar is the through-body neck, which is made from alternating maple and walnut (reinforced for extra stability). Making up the wings of the body is swamp ash with a flamed maple top, while an ebony fretboard completes a very woody guitar!

As well as looking stunning in its natural gloss finish, the Banshee Elite-7 is very accessible and beautiful to play. The neck features a very thin C shape with a black satin finish, while the Ultra Access construction ensures the highest frets are a cinch to get hold of – there’s 24 of them, with an extra jumbo size, while offset inlays and helpful glow in the dark side dots complete the lineup. The entire feeling of this 7-string guitar is one of quality, comfort and speed. Top marks!

Hardware

The Banshee Elite-7 has plenty to offer in terms of hardware too. Starting with electronics, it’s fitted with Schecter’s powerful USA SuperCharger Mach-7 humbucker at the bridge with a Sustainiac at the neck. Both fantastic pickups, with the innovative Sustainiac offering the unique draw of infinite sustain by creating a magnetic field to vibrate the strings on demand. Clever and very effective.

Controls are plentiful, but simple – there’s a three-way selector switch, and three rotary controls for master volume, master tone, and a Sustainiac intensity control. There’s also an on/off switch for the Sustainiac and a three-way mode switch on the lower bout. Completing the lineup is a Floyd Rose 1500 Series bridge, a locking nut, a good set of Grover tuners, and Ernie Ball strings. It’s a shame Schecter didn’t offer a case or gig bag, as we definitely expected something to store it in at this price. Otherwise, a very good performance in this section.

Sound

You won’t be surprised to find out that the Banshee Elite-7 sounds incredible – the body and hardware was all pointing to a great tone. Both pickups perform very well and provide a versatile range of tones – everything from crisp and warm cleans to intense distortion. Of course, the Sustainiac is fabulous for lead players, with solos never having to end thanks to that infinite sustain. The controls make for a very customizable experience, allowing you to dial up or curb the intensity of the Sustainiac, as well as select between Fundamental, Mix and Harmonic modes, with the potential for some very cool on-board effects.

Conclusion

Now you can see why we love the Banshee Elite-7 so much. The unique style and incredible playability is reason enough to buy this guitar, but then you factor in the tone, the sustain, and the reliable performance-worthy hardware, and the value becomes much clearer. Our advice – snap it up while you can.

For more info about the Schecter Banshee Elite-7 FR S, click here.
For more 7 String Electric Guitar you might like, click here.