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Schecter Damien Platinum-6
Schecter Damien Platinum-6 FR
VS
Playability
78
Sound
76
Build
60
Value
76
Score
71
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Playability
77
Sound
81
Build
62
Value
78
Score
73
FIND IT ON:
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Schecter Damien Platinum-6 vs Damien Platinum-6 FR

Reasons to Get
Schecter Damien Platinum-6 over Damien Platinum-6 FR

Nut Width
1.654'' (42mm) vs 1.625'' (41.3mm)
Less likely to mute strings by accident and more space for fingerstyle
Bridge
Fixed vs Floyd Rose
Good sustain and needs no set-up

Reasons to Get
Schecter Damien Platinum-6 FR over Damien Platinum-6

Nut Width
1.625'' (41.3mm) vs 1.654'' (42mm)
Favors small hands, easier bar chords and other shapes
Bridge
Floyd Rose vs Fixed
Allows intense vibratos and techniques like Dive Bombs
Value Score
78 vs 76
Better price/quality relationship

Other Key Differences
Schecter Damien Platinum-6 vs Damien Platinum-6 FR

Nut Material
Black Tusq XL vs Locking
Different Nut Material

Shared Features
Schecter Damien Platinum-6 vs Damien Platinum-6 FR

Bridge Pickup
EMG 81
Same Bridge Pickup
Neck Pickup
EMG 85
Same Neck Pickup
Body Wood
Mahogany
Same Body Wood
Neck Wood
Maple
Same Neck Wood
Fretboard Wood
Rosewood
Same Fretboard Wood
Headstock
3-3
Same Headstock
Strings
6
Same playing style
Body Type
Solid Body
Feedback free
Switch Positions
3
Same pickups versatility
Volume Knobs
1
Same volume control
Tone Knobs
1
Same tone control
Pickups
HH
High output without hum
Number of Frets
24
Same maximum octave
Neck Thickness at 1st Fret
0.79'' (20.1mm)
Same neck comfortability
Neck Thickness at 12th Fret
0.87'' (22.1mm)
Same neck comfortability
Paint Finish
Poly
Resistant paint that ages well
Scale Length
25.5'' (647.7mm)
Same string tension and fret separation
Fretboard Radius
14'' (355.6mm)
Same fretboard comfortability
Pickups Power
Active
More output
Neck Profile Type
C
Comfortable neck that works for most people
Neck Joint
Set
Neck is glued to the body
Type of Frets
XL Jumbo
You won't feel the fretboard when pressing down the strings

Common Strengths

  • High-Quality Nut
  • Top Pickup Brand
  • Expensive Wood

Common Weaknesses

  • Neck-Through Build
  • Pickup Alter Switch/Knob
  • Weight Relief
  • Stays in Tune (Evertune)
  • High-Quality Frets
  • Compound Radius Fretboard
  • From a High-Quality-Standards Country
  • Luminescent Sidedots
  • Strap Lock
  • 21:1 Tuner Ratio
  • Active/Passive Preamp

Table of Contents

Price History Comparison

SET PRICE ALERT
SET PRICE ALERT

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Which One is Better Overall?

After going through our comparison algorithm, the results show that the Schecter Damien Platinum-6 FR is probably the better product overall with its final score of 73 compared to the Schecter Damien Platinum-6's 71 score, although not by a lot.

The Schecter Damien Platinum-6 FR wins when it comes to sound, build quality, value for the money. On the other hand, the Schecter Damien Platinum-6 has the upper hand when it comes to playability.

If you got small hands, none of these instruments will make a big difference when it comes to comfortability.

Which One is Better for Beginners?

If you're looking for your first guitar to learn how to play, the Schecter Damien Platinum-6 is the better choice.

The Schecter Damien Platinum-6 meets 5 out of our 8 criteria items for beginner friendliness, while the Schecter Damien Platinum-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

Schecter Damien Platinum-6
  • Comfortable shape
  • Easy-to-use bridge
  • Tall frets
  • Narrow nut
  • Comfortable neck
  • Comfortable fretboard
  • Short scale
  • Locking tuners

New Player Friendliness

Schecter Damien Platinum-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.

Schecter Damien Platinum-6 Overview

  • From Schecter's 2015 Damien series
  • Made in South Korea
  • 6 strings
  • 25.5"'' scale
  • 14" Fretboard Radius
  • Mahogany body
  • Maple 3-pc neck
  • Rosewood fretboard
  • Bridge pickup: EMG 81 (Humbucker/Active)
  • Neck pickup: EMG 85 (Humbucker/Active)
  • 1 volume and 1 tone Dome knobs
  • 3-way Switch
  • Tune-O-Matic w/ String Thru Body bridge
  • Thin C Set neck
  • 24 XL Jumbo frets
  • Grover tuners
  • Compare Specs >

Schecter Damien Platinum-6 FR Overview

  • From Schecter's 2015 Damien series
  • Made in South Korea
  • 6 strings
  • 25.5"'' scale
  • 14" Fretboard Radius
  • Mahogany body
  • Maple 3-pc neck
  • Rosewood fretboard
  • Bridge pickup: EMG 81 (Humbucker/Active)
  • Neck pickup: EMG 85 (Humbucker/Active)
  • 1 volume and 1 tone Dome knobs
  • 3-way Switch
  • Floyd Rose Special bridge
  • Thin C Set neck
  • 24 XL Jumbo frets
  • Grover tuners
  • Weight around 8.4lbs (3.8kgs)
  • 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 wood pattern used for guitar building
Maple
Rosewood wood pattern used for guitar building
Rosewood
Mahogany wood pattern used for guitar building
Mahogany

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.

Rosewood is an almost purple-looking wood that is used mainly for fretboards since it's heavy, rare, and expensive. It's sometimes used on acoustic guitar bodies to create stronger warm tones. Find out more about Rosewood.

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.

Winner: Tie.

Pickup Configuration

Both pickup configurations are HH. 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

Both come with some of the top pickups on the market. You can't go wrong with either of them. You'll probably never need a pickup upgrade.

You can purchase similar pickups to the Schecter Damien Platinum-6's and use them on any guitar:

We found the same or similar pickups to the Schecter Damien Platinum-6 FR's online:

Both use Active pickups. These pickups use an additional 9v battery to be able to increase their output for high gain tones. This is why they're popular among heavy metal guitarists. Their disadvantage is that you need batteries for the pickups, so you'll need to spend money on batteries and time swapping them. Also, the clean tones aren't as clean as other pickups because they'll have really hot output.

Winner: Tie.

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.

They both share the following switching options:

Schecter Damien Platinum-6 and Schecter Damien Platinum-6 FR pickups switch and push knobs diagram
Schecter Damien Platinum-6 and Schecter Damien Platinum-6 FR's switch options

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 Damien Platinum-6 FR.

Final Sound Quality Scores

Schecter Damien Platinum-6
Pickups 95
Sustain 90
Versatility 49
Tuning Stability 70
Sound 76
Schecter Damien Platinum-6 FR
Pickups 95
Sustain 85
Versatility 59
Tuning Stability 85
Sound 81

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 Schecter Damien Platinum-6 compares to the Schecter Damien Platinum-6 FR.

Country of Origin

The manufacturing country can tell a lot about the build quality of an instrument. Both in this comparison where made in South Korea.

South Korea was for many years the number one choice for mass-producing semi-premium guitars. They can build excellent guitars for a cheap price. Now, it's less common to find Korean guitars because Indonesia has proved capable of building guitars just as well, but likely for cheaper.

Winner: Tie

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 Schecter Damien Platinum-6 has a Black Tusq XL nut. TUSQ nuts are usually the highest quality you can get. Black TUSQs are made from a special slippery material that helps the strings get back to its original position (one of the keys to tune stability).

On the other hand, the Schecter Damien Platinum-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 Schecter Damien Platinum-6's brige is a Fixed. It's a simple bridge that is very beginner-friendly since it doesn't require any set-up. You can swap strings easily. It might also give more sustain since it doesn't have complex moving parts that make the strings lose vibration. However, it doesn't have the same versatility as a tremolo bridge.

On the other hand, the Schecter Damien Platinum-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: Schecter Damien Platinum-6 FR.

Tuners

Both come with regular tuners. Both come with Grover.

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 Set neck joint. This neck is tightly glued to the body. They give you the least versatility because you can't swap them for a neck that fits your hand better if you want to, unlike bolt-on necks. Some people think this gives more resonance and sustain, but there's no real difference if the bolt-on joint is well built.

Winner: Tie.

Here is the list of features that were considered when choosing the winner in the Features subcategory:

Strengths & Weaknesses
Schecter Damien Platinum-6
  • Expensive Wood
  • Black Tusq XL Nut
  • Top Brand Pickups
  • Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
  • No Locking Tuners
  • Made in South Korea
  • No Neck-Through Build
  • No Push Knob or Extra Switch Option
  • No Weight Relief
  • No Luminescent Inlay
  • No Tremolo
  • No Compound Radius Fretboard
  • No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
  • No Strap Lock
Strengths & Weaknesses
Schecter Damien Platinum-6 FR
  • Expensive Wood
  • Locking Nut
  • Top Brand Pickups
  • Tremolo
  • Retainer Bar
  • Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
  • No Locking Tuners
  • Made in South Korea
  • 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

Schecter Damien Platinum-6
Quality of materials 61
Features 50
Quality Control 70
Build Quality 60
Schecter Damien Platinum-6 FR
Quality of materials 51
Features 65
Quality Control 70
Build Quality 62

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

Schecter Damien Platinum-6 Nut Width
Schecter Damien Platinum-6 Nut Width
Schecter Damien Platinum-6 FR Nut Width
Schecter Damien Platinum-6 FR Nut Width

The nut width will affect the separation between strings at the nut. In this comparison, the Schecter Damien Platinum-6 has the wider nut with 42mm (1.654'') vs 41.3mm (1.625''). This is a 0.7mm (0.029'') difference

This means that it will be more difficult to do bar chords on the Schecter Damien Platinum-6, especially closer to the nut. However, it's also easier to play without muting strings accidently. This favors people with big hands.

Scale Length

Schecter Damien Platinum-6 and Schecter Damien Platinum-6 FR's Scale Length
Both have the same 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

Schecter Damien Platinum-6 Neck Profile
Both guitars have the same 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 Schecter Damien Platinum-6 and the Schecter Damien Platinum-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

Schecter Damien Platinum-6 Fingerboard Radius
Both Guitars Have The Same 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.

Both the Schecter Damien Platinum-6 and the Schecter Damien Platinum-6 FR have the same fretboard radius of 14". This radius y closer to the 12'' that most Les Paul guitars have, but a bit flatter. It'll make it easier to play single notes than chords, but it's still comfortable for playing chords without muting strings.

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.

After taking into account the scale length, nut width, neck profile and fretboard radius, we can conclude that both in this comparison favor small hands .

Schecter Damien Platinum-6:
Big Hands
Small Hands
Schecter Damien Platinum-6 FR:
Big Hands
Small Hands

Fret Size

Schecter Damien Platinum-6 and Schecter Damien Platinum-6 FR Frets Size
Both have a similar XL Jumbo fret size

Both have a XL Jumbo fret size. These are really tall frets made like this so you don't meet any resistance when playing techniques like vibrato, bending, tapping, etc. They should make the guitar easier to play, but you have to be careful not to get the notes out of pitch by pressing down too hard, which might happen since the fretboard will be too low to stop your hand.

Final Playability Scores

Schecter Damien Platinum-6
Bending & Vibrato Ease 85
Chord Playability 60
Solo Playability 90
Playability 78
Schecter Damien Platinum-6 FR
Bending & Vibrato Ease 80
Chord Playability 60
Solo Playability 90
Playability 77

Specs Side-by-Side

Schecter Damien Platinum-6 vs Damien Platinum-6 FR
General Schecter Damien Platinum-6 Damien Platinum-6 FR
Brand: Schecter Schecter
Year: 2015 2015
Configuration: HH HH
Strings: 6 6
Made in: South Korea South Korea
Series: Damien Damien
Colors: Black Black
Left-Handed Version: Yes Yes
Body
Type: Solid Body Solid Body
Body Material: Mahogany Mahogany
Bridge: Tune-O-Matic w/ String Thru Body Floyd Rose Special
Neck
Neck Joint: Set Set
Tuners: Grover Grover
Fretboard: Rosewood Rosewood
Neck Material: Maple 3-pc Maple 3-pc
Decoration: Platinum Bats Platinum Bats
Scale Size: 25.5" 25.5"
Shape: Thin C Thin C
Thickness: 1st Fret: 0.79'' (20.1mm) - 12th Fret: 0.87'' (22.1mm) 1st Fret: 0.79'' (20.1mm) - 12th Fret: 0.87'' (22.1mm)
Frets: 24 XL Jumbo Nickel Silver 24 XL Jumbo Nickel Silver
Fretboard Radius: 14" 14"
Nut: Black Tusq XL Locking
Nut Width: 42mm (1.654'') 41.3mm (1.625'')
Electronics
Bridge Pickup: EMG 81 (Humbucker / Active) EMG 81 (Humbucker / Active)
Middle Pickup:
Neck Pickup: EMG 85 (Humbucker / Active) EMG 85 (Humbucker / Active)
Switch: 3 Way 3 Way
Knobs: Dome Dome
Pickup Mods: None None
Volume Controls: 1 1
Tone Controls: 1 1