pickguard. The large-bodied THD4
bridge allows for stringing through the
bridge or through the body. For pickups,
Anthony’s bass forgoes the active EMG
electronics of the Model-T in favor of
a USA MonsterTone P/J set controlled
by the master volume, tone, and 3-way
selector mounted to a Tele-style control
plate. The bass’ multi-ply maple and
walnut neck is capped with a bound
21-fret rosewood fretboard, the strings
are anchored with a Graph Tech XL Tusq
nut, and the neck is attached to the body
via a contoured 4-bolt neck joint.
Four on the Floor
The smooth, satin neck has a comfortable
taper and soft-C profile, making for
effortlessly quick transitions up and down
the fretboard. There was some noticeable
fret buzz when I first pulled the bass
out of its shipping box, but I was able
to remedy that with a quick adjustment
to the truss-rod nut located at the body
end of the neck. Thanks to Schecter’s
forethought in carving a long channel
to access the adjustment nut, I was able
to easily perform the task without the
irritation of pulling the neck off.
Once I plugged the bass into a
Gallien-Krueger 400RB/Ampeg 8x10
pairing and selected the P-style pickup, I
went to town playing the verse section of
“Mean Street”—my favorite Anthony bass
line. After striking the first note, I knew
right away that this was a pickup built
for power. It delivered a lot more volume
than the vintage-voiced Lollar pickup in
my P, and even slightly more than the
Seymour Duncan Quarter Pounder in
another Precision I have on loan.
The split-coil pickup conjured
tremendously deep lows, and those lows
supported a beefy midrange that brought
a healthy dose of articulate punch with
a sumptuous low-mid snarl. When I
wanted to switch to more subdued lines
and a less aggressive tone, the pickup
was sensitive enough for me to control
dynamics through technique. I wasn’t
forced to reach for the volume or tone
knobs—or the amp—most of the time.
High marks aside, the lows lack some of
the classic P-bass warmth. And while it
doles out P-bass aggression in spades—
which is great for rock and metal—the
edginess of its highs doesn’t sit quite
as well for mellower jazz, folk, and
contemporary blues tones.
The tone made a 180-degree turn
when I flipped to the J-style bridge
pickup, however, which had a taut and
lively low-end thump with a wonderful,
rubbery response. Coupled with its
scooped midrange and speedy picking
response, pulling off involved slapand-pop riffs was a piece of cake. The
nuances of my fingerpicking were more
easily heard and the pickup’s focus on
accentuating the mids and highs helped
flatpicked melodic riffs—à la Geddy Lee
and Justin Chancellor—leap out with
an extraordinary amount of vigor and
precision. The sound wasn’t as full as
what I got from the split-coil pickup, but
I was able to coax out a little more girth
using a vintage Ibanez CP9 compressor
and some careful tweaking.
Together the pickups complimented
each other beautifully by yielding a nice
middle ground between the split-coil’s fat
and proud delivery and the bridge’s drumtight lows and quick response. While I
liked the simplicity of the 3-way switching,
I would have really liked the ability to
experiment with blending the pickups
to different degrees. Working the P-style
pickup and bringing in the bridge pickup’s
signal just enough for its snappy high end
to be heard with harder picking is a sound I
would have been interested in checking out.
The Verdict
Schecter’s Michael Anthony signature bass
hits high marks for playability, tone, and
simplicity. It’s not trying to reinvent the
wheel, thankfully, because a bass geared for
plugging in and rocking really shouldn’t
have to. Heavier players will likely find
that its stock pickups dish out more than
enough volume and girth for the thickest
of riffs. Vintage rockers, however, might
find the output to be a little overwhelming
at times. All said, if you’re looking for a
solid bass without a ton of bling getting in
your way, Anthony’s new tool of the trade
is worth checking out.
CLICK HERE TO WATCH A
REVIEW DEMO of this bass.
Schecter Michael Anthony
Signature
$899 street
schecterguitars.com
Tones
Playability
Build/Design
Value
PROS Sleek look and solid build.
Single-coil pickup is exceptionally full
and lively.
CONS Would benefit from a blend
knob. Bridge pickup sounds can be thin
at times.