Fender Custom '68 Tele Thinline Journeyman Relic vs Schecter Demon-6 FR
Reasons to Get
Fender Custom '68 Tele Thinline Journeyman Relic over Schecter Demon-6 FR
Reasons to Get
Schecter Demon-6 FR over Fender Custom '68 Tele Thinline Journeyman Relic
Other Key Differences
Fender Custom '68 Tele Thinline Journeyman Relic vs Schecter Demon-6 FR
Shared Features
Fender Custom '68 Tele Thinline Journeyman Relic vs Schecter Demon-6 FR
Common Strengths
- High-Quality Nut
Common Weaknesses
- Neck-Through Build
- Pickup Alter Switch/Knob
- Stays in Tune (Evertune)
- High-Quality Frets
- Compound Radius Fretboard
- Luminescent Sidedots
- Strap Lock
- 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- Active/Passive Preamp
Table of Contents
Price History Comparison
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Which One is Better Overall?
After going through our comparison algorithm, the results show that the Fender Custom '68 Tele Thinline Journeyman Relic is probably the better product overall with its final score of 73 compared to the Schecter Demon-6 FR's 69 score, although not by a lot.
The Fender Custom '68 Tele Thinline Journeyman Relic wins when it comes to sound, build quality. On the other hand, the Schecter Demon-6 FR has the upper hand when it comes to playability, value for the money.
If you got small hands, you'll probably feel that the Schecter Demon-6 FR is easier to play.
Which One is Better for Beginners?
If you're looking for your first guitar to learn how to play, the Fender Custom '68 Tele Thinline Journeyman Relic is the better choice.
The Fender Custom '68 Tele Thinline Journeyman Relic meets 5 out of our 8 criteria items for beginner friendliness, while the Schecter Demon-6 FR meets only 4. This takes into account the type of frets, scale length, nut width, bridge type, fretboard radius, and neck profile to determine the easiest combination for new players.
New Player Friendliness
Fender Custom '68 Tele Thinline Journeyman Relic- Comfortable shape
- Comfortable fretboard
- Tall frets
- Narrow nut
- Comfortable neck
- Short scale
- Locking tuners
- Easy-to-use bridge
New Player Friendliness
Schecter Demon-6 FR- Comfortable shape
- Tall frets
- Narrow nut
- Comfortable neck
- Comfortable fretboard
- Short scale
- Locking tuners
- Easy-to-use bridge
Nevertheless, when it comes to choosing an instrument, you should pick the one more compatible with your personal style. Still, below we'll try you to give you our results as objectively as it's possible to help you decide.
Fender Custom '68 Tele Thinline Journeyman Relic Overview
- From Fender Custom's 2020 Time Machine series
- Made in United States
- 6 strings
- 25.5"'' scale
- 9.5" Fretboard Radius
- 1-Piece Vintage Michigan Mahogany body
- Rift Sawn Maple neck
- Round-Laminated Rift Sawn Maple fretboard
- Bridge pickup: Fender Custom Shop Hand-Wound Twisted Tele Single-Coil (Single Coil/Passive)
- Neck pickup: Fender Custom Shop Hand-Wound Twisted Tele Single-Coil (Single Coil/Passive)
- 1 volume and 1 tone Dome knobs
- 3-way Switch
- Bigsby B5 Bridge and Tailpiece bridge
- 1960 Oval C Bolt-On neck
- 21 Narrow Tall frets
- Schaller F tuners
- Compare Specs >
Schecter Demon-6 FR Overview
- From Schecter's 2015 Demon series
- Made in Indonesia
- 6 strings
- 25.5"'' scale
- 14" Fretboard Radius
- Basswood body
- Maple neck
- Wenge fretboard
- Bridge pickup: Schecter Diamond Active HB-105S (Humbucker/Active)
- Neck pickup: Schecter Diamond Active HB-105S (Humbucker/Active)
- 1 volume and 1 tone Dome knobs
- 3-way Switch
- Floyd Rose Special bridge
- Thin C Bolt-On neck
- 24 XL Jumbo frets
- Schecter tuners
- Compare Specs >
Sound Quality Comparison
The wood used in an electric guitar or bass is not as important to determine the final tone. However, some people prefer specific wood types, so we'll take a look at those first. Then, we'll take a look at the electronics to determine the versatility and sound quality of each instrument.
Woods Used in Both
Maple is one of the most popular necks for good reasons. It is a strong wood that is relatively cheap to make and looks beautiful. The highest quality maple is the hardest that comes from North America. Find out more about Maple.
Woods Used in the Fender Custom '68 Tele Thinline Journeyman Relic
Mahogany is a fairly rare wood nowadays. It's used mostly for bodies due to its relatively lightweight. Gibson popularized it with their Les Paul guitars during their golden years, so this wood has a lot of good reputation behind it. The most expensive type comes from South America and it's still used by Gibson even today. Find out more about Mahogany.
Woods Used in the Schecter Demon-6 FR
Wenge is a stiff wood that comes with straight and tight grains. Its color is dark brown and the tonality emphasizes the low and mid-ends (warm) frequencies, similar to Rosewood.
Basswood is a lightweight type of wood that isn't as expensive as other popular choices for guitar building. It gives more power to the mid-range frequencies. Its color can vary from pale white to light brown. Find out more about Basswood.
Winner: Fender Custom '68 Tele Thinline Journeyman Relic.
Pickup Configuration
The Fender Custom '68 Tele Thinline Journeyman Relic has an SS configuration while the Schecter Demon-6 FR has HH pickups.
SS is the classic Telecaster configuration. It's used mainly for playing clean or with low-gain distortion, and it's very popular for the country genre because of their brightness. It doesn't give you as much versatility as a Strat SSS configuration, but you might like the cleaner look of a guitar body with fewer pickups.
On the other hand, Double Humbucker (HH) is the choice for people who want a fuller, more round sound with tons of mids and lows. Humbuckers also get rid of the hum noise that plague single-coil pickups. They can work out for almost any genre going from Djent to even Jazz.
Pickups Quality
The Fender Custom '68 Tele Thinline Journeyman Relic has pickups from a more specialized brand than the Schecter Demon-6 FR. Its pickups should simply give you a better, fuller sound, although it all depends on what type of music you're going to play. We recommend these pickups for Country and similar genres.
The Fender Custom '68 Tele Thinline Journeyman Relic's pickups are Passive while the Schecter Demon-6 FR's are Active.
Passive pickups are what most guitars use. These have a normal output that works well for most genres. However, Active pickups are the preferred choice of heavy metal players because they offer extra output thanks to their 9v battery, which results in a heavier, more distorted sound. Bear in mind that achieving a completely clean tone with them won't be easy. So if you want to also use clean tones, you might want to avoid Active pickups.
Winner: Fender Custom '68 Tele Thinline Journeyman Relic.
Versatility Comparison
Some instruments offer you more ways to explore your creativity than others. Below you'll find how both compare when it comes to versatility.
Switch Options
Both are equal when it comes to the pickup switching option.
Neither of them come with some kind of coil split or pickup mod option. This makes both lacking in terms of versatility.
When evaluating versatility, we also take into consideration bridge and neck joint type, number of frets, switch options, amount of pickups and more.
Winner: Schecter Demon-6 FR.
Final Sound Quality Scores
Build Quality Comparison
When it comes to build quality, we like to take into account everything used to build the instrument. This includes materials, hardware and the quality control expected depending on the country where it was built. Let's see how the Fender Custom '68 Tele Thinline Journeyman Relic compares to the Schecter Demon-6 FR.
Country of Origin
The manufacturing country can tell a lot about the build quality of an instrument. The Fender Custom '68 Tele Thinline Journeyman Relic is built in United States while the Schecter Demon-6 FR is made in Indonesia.
The United States is considered one of the best electric guitar manufacturers in the world. A guitar made in this country is supposed to have world-class quality control. Nowadays, guitars made in other countries can beat some of the ones made in the US, but most of the time, this country offers the best you can get. Of course, that comes at a price.
Indonesia is becoming the most popular country for guitar building because they can make good instruments for a low price. Some people think that they're 'the new China' when it comes to build quality. But the truth is that Indonesian guitars are more consistent, although Chinese quality has improved a lot in the last few years.
Winner: Fender Custom '68 Tele Thinline Journeyman Relic
Nut Material
If you want your guitar to stay in tune and sound good, you need a well cut nut. Nut quality can be inconsistent even when comparing two copies of the same model. The best way to make sure you're nut will be well done is by getting a nut made by an expert company like TUSQ or Micarta.
The Fender Custom '68 Tele Thinline Journeyman Relic has a Bone nut. It's a type of nut found in high-quality instruments. They sound similar to Ivory since they give a lot of sustain and a bright sound (at least when striking open strings). The only problem they can run into is that you may get a bone piece that simply doesn't sound as well as others because that's just how natural materials are.
On the other hand, the Schecter Demon-6 FR comes with a Locking nut. Instead of a regular nut, this guitar has a locking system that will lock down the strings at the nut, preventing it from getting out of tune. It removes one of the disadvantages of tremolo bridges, tune stability.
Winner: Tie.
Fret Material
Most fret wire is made of nickel silver. This material eventually wears down after a lot of use and most instruments end up needing a complete fret replacement. However, some expensive models come with stainless steel frets. This is what you should aim for if you can afford it.
Unfortunately, none of them come with stainless steel frets.
Winner: Tie.
Bridge
The perfect bridge for you will depend on your playstyle because they all have advantages and disadvantages. However, some bridges are more expensive—like Floyd Roses and Evertunes—and thus add more value to a guitar.
The Fender Custom '68 Tele Thinline Journeyman Relic's brige is a Bigsby Tremolo. Bigsby tremolos are built differently than regular tremolos. They have a stiffer arm, which is something a lot of people like because the arm won't wiggle around a lot. On the other hand, this type of tremolo is more complicated to restring and it might not be as newbie-friendly as other simpler tremolos.
On the other hand, the Schecter Demon-6 FR's is a Floyd Rose. This is a double-locking bridge system that allows you to perform techniques like dive bombs and pinch harmonics. The locking nut allows your guitar to stay in tune even after the most intense tremolo usage. The disadvantage is that it takes more work to change the strings and set up everything correctly.
Since we need to be objective, the most expensive type of bridge will be the winner of this section. In the end, this doesn't matter if you're not going to use the bridge for its original purpose, so choose the bridge that fits your playing style better.
Winner: Tie.
Tuners
Both come with regular tuners. The Fender Custom '68 Tele Thinline Journeyman Relic's are Schaller F while the Schecter Demon-6 FR's are Schecter
Winner: Tie.
Neck Joint
Contrary to popular belief, the difference in sustain and tone that some neck joints give to a guitar is simply unperceivable—if they're all well built. However, some of them do have advantages over the others.
Both have a Bolt-On neck joint. This neck is joined to the body by 4 bolts that you can simply unscrew. This allows you to replace the neck or take it off for travel. It's the most common and cheapest way to build a guitar.
Winner: Tie.
Here is the list of features that were considered when choosing the winner in the Features subcategory:
Fender Custom '68 Tele Thinline Journeyman Relic
- Made in United States
- Expensive Wood
- Bone Nut
- Top Brand Pickups
- Tremolo
- Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
- No Locking Tuners
- No Neck-Through Build
- No Push Knob or Extra Switch Option
- No Luminescent Inlay
- No Compound Radius Fretboard
- No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- No Strap Lock
Schecter Demon-6 FR
- Locking Nut
- Tremolo
- Retainer Bar
- Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
- No Locking Tuners
- Made in Indonesia
- No Expensive Woods
- No Top Brand Pickups
- No Neck-Through Build
- No Push Knob or Extra Switch Option
- No Weight Relief
- No Luminescent Inlay
- No Compound Radius Fretboard
- No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- No Strap Lock
Final Build Quality Scores
Playability Comparison
Let's now compare their playability. Bear in mind that the instrument will feel different depending on your hand size and play style. That's why you should always test before buying. But if you can't or want a second opinion on it, we can still take a look at each of the important measurements of the instrument for you. This way, we can predict how easy a guitar might be to play, or how different it will feel compared to the other.
Remember that, even though the difference might seem small, every inch counts when it comes to feeling of the instrument in your hands. Any variation can completely change how comfortable a guitar feels in your hands.
Nut Width
The nut width will affect the separation between strings at the nut. In this comparison, the Fender Custom '68 Tele Thinline Journeyman Relic has the wider nut with 41.9mm (1.65'') vs 41.3mm (1.625''). This is a 0.6mm (0.025'') difference
This means that it will be more difficult to do bar chords on the Fender Custom '68 Tele Thinline Journeyman Relic, especially closer to the nut. However, it's also easier to play without muting strings accidently. This favors people with big hands.
Scale Length
The scale length is one of the things that influences playability the most. This is the distance between the nut and the bridge and will affect everything from low action allowance, difficulty to perform bends, fret separation, and even tone.
In this case, both have a scale length of 25.5".
This is the scale used in most Stratocasters. It's slightly longer than the typical 24.75'' size found in Les Pauls, and it's one of the main reasons why Stratocasters have such a bright sound in general. A longer scale also means that the strings will have higher tension. This will help you get lower action without suffering fret buzz, which will also be helpful when playing in lower tunings without having to increase your string gauge.
However, this also means that there will be more separation between frets, which can make it more difficult to play. Also, bending the strings will require more strengths due to the increased tension, but remember that a tremolo guitar will offset this difficulty.
Lastly, remember that you can also affect the tension of the strings by changing your string gauge. You can use a thicker gauge for more tension and a lighter one for less tension.
Neck Profile
No single neck shape is better than others. However, most people tend to prefer a thinner necks because it doesn't get in their way when playing fast and most hand sizes can adapt to it pretty well. However, some people still prefer thicker necks for a better grip, especially if they have big hands.
Both the Fender Custom '68 Tele Thinline Journeyman Relic and the Schecter Demon-6 FR have a C-shaped neck. This is what you'll find in most modern guitars. Most people feel like the thickness of a C neck is simply the less intrusive one for playing fast, while at the same time allowing you to grab the neck easily for resting if you want to.
Fretboard Radius
Most guitar fretboards are not flat; they usually have a curve or arc across their width. A curved fretboard will make it easier to perform chords without muting strings, while a flatter one will make it easier to play single notes, which is good for bending and soloing in general. The best fretboards have a compound radius that varies across the fingerboard, but they're not common since they take a lot more work to build.
In this case, the Fender Custom '68 Tele Thinline Journeyman Relic's fingerboard radius is smaller, which means it's more curved than the Schecter Demon-6 FR's. This extra arc will make playing chords easier in this model. You won't be as likely to mute the strings, especially if you have big hands. However, playing single notes and bending will be easier on the Schecter Demon-6 FR.
Hand Size Comfortability
Everyone has a different hand size, and that's why it's recommended to try a guitar before buying, even if others tell you that it's comfortable to play. However, we can know whether a guitar favors small or large hands just by knowing its exact measurements.
And after taking into account the scale length, nut width, neck profile and fretboard radius, we can conclude that the Fender Custom '68 Tele Thinline Journeyman Relic favors large hands more than the Schecter Demon-6 FR. But it's still more comfortable for people with small hands, as you can see in the score meter below.
Fender Custom '68 Tele Thinline Journeyman Relic:
Schecter Demon-6 FR:
Fret Size
The Schecter Demon-6 FR has XL Jumbo frets, which should be taller than the Fender Custom '68 Tele Thinline Journeyman Relic's Narrow Tall frets.
Some people prefer taller frets because they result in more sustain since the strings get pressed cleanly without interference from the fretboard. However, if they're too tall—like Jumbo frets—, you might change the pitch of the strings accidentally if you press too hard because you won't be touching the fretboard with your fingers. This is also why some guitarists with a heavy grip prefer smaller frets. They like to feel the fingerboard to avoid pressing down too hard and getting out of pitch.
