Schecter Sun Valley Super Shredder Exotic Ziricote vs Fender American Performer Stratocaster
Reasons to Get
Schecter Sun Valley Super Shredder Exotic Ziricote over Fender American Performer Stratocaster
Reasons to Get
Fender American Performer Stratocaster over Schecter Sun Valley Super Shredder Exotic Ziricote
Other Key Differences
Schecter Sun Valley Super Shredder Exotic Ziricote vs Fender American Performer Stratocaster
Shared Features
Schecter Sun Valley Super Shredder Exotic Ziricote vs Fender American Performer Stratocaster
Common Strengths
- High-Quality Nut
- Top Pickup Brand
- Expensive Wood
Common Weaknesses
- Neck-Through Build
- Weight Relief
- Stays in Tune (Evertune)
- Compound Radius Fretboard
- 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 Schecter Sun Valley Super Shredder Exotic Ziricote is probably the better product overall with its final score of 79 compared to the Fender American Performer Stratocaster's 73 score, although not by a lot.
The Schecter Sun Valley Super Shredder Exotic Ziricote wins when it comes to sound, playability, build quality, value for the money. This means that it wins over the Fender American Performer Stratocaster in every aspect.
If you got small hands, you'll probably feel more comfortable playing the Schecter Sun Valley Super Shredder Exotic Ziricote.
Which One is Better for Beginners?
If you're looking for your first guitar to learn how to play, the Fender American Performer Stratocaster is the better choice.
The Fender American Performer Stratocaster meets 6 out of our 8 criteria items for beginner friendliness, while the Schecter Sun Valley Super Shredder Exotic Ziricote meets only 5. 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 Sun Valley Super Shredder Exotic Ziricote- Comfortable shape
- Comfortable fretboard
- Tall frets
- Narrow nut
- Comfortable neck
- Short scale
- Locking tuners
- Easy-to-use bridge
New Player Friendliness
Fender American Performer Stratocaster- Comfortable shape
- Easy-to-use bridge
- Comfortable fretboard
- Tall frets
- Narrow nut
- Comfortable neck
- Short scale
- Locking tuners
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 Sun Valley Super Shredder Exotic Ziricote Overview
- From Schecter's 2021 Exotic series
- Made in South Korea
- 6 strings
- 25.5"'' scale
- 12" to 16" Fretboard Radius
- Ziricote top
- Black Limba body
- Wenge w/ Carbon Fiber Reinforcement Rods neck
- Ebony fretboard
- Bridge pickup: Schecter USA Sunset Strip (Humbucker/Passive)
- Neck pickup: Schecter USA Pasadena (Humbucker/Passive)
- 1 volume and 1 tone Dome knobs
- 5-way Switch
- Floyd Rose 1500 Series bridge
- Thin C Bolt-On neck
- 24 XL Jumbo Stainless Steel frets
- Grover Rotomatic 18:1 tuners
- Weight between 7.8lbs (3.5kgs) and 9.3lbs (4.2kgs)
- Compare Specs >
Fender American Performer Stratocaster Overview
- From Fender's 2019 American Performer series
- Made in United States
- 6 strings
- 25.5"'' scale
- 9.5" Fretboard Radius
- Alder body
- Maple neck
- Rosewood fretboard
- Bridge pickup: Fender Yosemite Single-Coil Stratocaster (Single Coil/Passive)
- Middle pickup: Fender Yosemite Single-Coil Stratocaster (Single Coil/Passive)
- Neck pickup: Fender Yosemite Single-Coil Stratocaster (Single Coil/Passive)
- 1 volume and 2 tone Bell knobs
- 5-way Switch
- 6-Saddle Vintage-Style Synchronized Tremolo bridge
- Modern C Bolt-On neck
- 22 Jumbo frets
- Fender ClassicGear tuners
- Weight between 7.625lbs (3.5kgs) and 8.125lbs (3.7kgs)
- 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 the Schecter Sun Valley Super Shredder Exotic Ziricote
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.
Ebony is a high-end wood, so it is not cheap. It's only used for fretboards because it's also very heavy. It does an excellent job as a durable material while looking elegant. Find out more about Ebony.
Limba is a relatively rare wood that shows exotic tight dark grain stripes. It comes in white or black. As a tonewood, it is comparable to Mahogany but with richer mids. Find out more about Limba.
Woods Used in the Fender American Performer Stratocaster
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.
Alder is the most popular wood that Fender uses in most of their guitars nowadays. Even though they say it's because of its balanced tone with an emphasis in the upper midrange, it probably is because it isn't too expensive, and it's also pretty lightweight—more than Mahogany. Find out more about Alder.
Winner: Schecter Sun Valley Super Shredder Exotic Ziricote.
Pickup Configuration
The Schecter Sun Valley Super Shredder Exotic Ziricote has an HH configuration while the Fender American Performer Stratocaster has SSS pickups.
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.
On the other hand, SSS is perfect for players who like to play clean. The definition you get between notes and the crispiness is unmatched by most other configurations. You can still use it for distortion, but you won't get the same kind of output and power compared to a humbucker, and the hum they produce also makes them less adequate for high gain.
Pickups Quality
Both come with very good pickups from at least one of the specialized brands in the market. With pickups like these, you probably won't need an upgrade anytime soon.
However, the Fender American Performer Stratocaster has a slight sound quality advantage when taking into account other factors like the type of pickups, magnet, position, etc.
We found the same or similar pickups to the Fender American Performer Stratocaster's online:
Both use Passive pickups. This is what's used for most music genres. They have a regular output and will serve you for both high-gain and clean tones. The alternative (Active pickups) offer a higher output that is mostly used for heavy music.
Winner: Fender American Performer Stratocaster.
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.
Only the Fender American Performer Stratocaster comes with some kind of pickup modification: S-1 Switch.
An S-1 switch can do a lot of different pickup combinations. It can split them, connect them in series, parallel, add more pickups to each position, and more. Check out the diagram to know how it affects this model.
When evaluating versatility, we also take into consideration bridge and neck joint type, number of frets, switch options, amount of pickups and more.
Winner: Fender American Performer Stratocaster.
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 Schecter Sun Valley Super Shredder Exotic Ziricote compares to the Fender American Performer Stratocaster.
Country of Origin
The manufacturing country can tell a lot about the build quality of an instrument. The Schecter Sun Valley Super Shredder Exotic Ziricote is built in South Korea while the Fender American Performer Stratocaster is made in United States.
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.
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.
Winner: Fender American Performer Stratocaster
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 Sun Valley Super Shredder Exotic Ziricote has 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.
On the other hand, the Fender American Performer Stratocaster comes with a Synthetic Bone nut. Bone is the best natural material for guitar nuts. However, its tonal properties can be inconsistent. That's the problem that synthetic bone fixes. This is much better than using a plastic nut because the nut is more slippery—which helps with tuning stability—, and it gives your open strings rich harmonics.
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.
In this comparison, the Schecter Sun Valley Super Shredder Exotic Ziricote is the only one that has stainless steel frets. These frets will basically last for the entire life of the guitar. They will never need polishing nor replacement. And not only that, but some people also notice that bending and vibratos are much easier to perform when they upgrade to stainless steel.
Winner: Schecter Sun Valley Super Shredder Exotic Ziricote.
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 Sun Valley Super Shredder Exotic Ziricote's brige 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.
On the other hand, the Fender American Performer Stratocaster's is a Tremolo. Tremolo bridges give you more versatility than fixed bridges. They let you perform the intense vibrato effects that would be impossible with a fixed bridge. However, since the bridge floats and there's less contact with the body, the strings lose sustain slightly faster. They can also be a bit harder to restring and set up correctly than fixed bridges.
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 Sun Valley Super Shredder Exotic Ziricote.
Tuners
Both come with regular tuners. The Schecter Sun Valley Super Shredder Exotic Ziricote's are Grover Rotomatic 18:1 while the Fender American Performer Stratocaster's are Fender ClassicGear
Both of them have a 18:1 tuner ratio. This means that it will take 18 turns of the keys to give the tuning posts an entire turn. Higher ratio means more precise tuning (and more time spent tuning your gutiar). Most guitars have a 18:1 ratio, while the most precise tuning can be achieved with a 21:1 ratio.
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:
Schecter Sun Valley Super Shredder Exotic Ziricote
- Stainless Steel Frets
- Expensive Wood
- Locking Nut
- Top Brand Pickups
- Luminescent Inlay
- Tremolo
- Compound Radius Fretboard
- Retainer Bar
- No Locking Tuners
- Made in South Korea
- No Neck-Through Build
- No Push Knob or Extra Switch Option
- No Weight Relief
- No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- No Strap Lock
Fender American Performer Stratocaster
- Made in United States
- Expensive Wood
- Synthetic Bone Nut
- Top Brand Pickups
- S-1 Switch Pickups
- Tremolo
- Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
- No Locking Tuners
- No Neck-Through Build
- 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 American Performer Stratocaster has the wider nut with 42.8mm (1.685'') vs 41.3mm (1.625''). This is a 1.5mm (0.06'') difference
This means that it will be more difficult to do bar chords on the Fender American Performer Stratocaster, 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 Schecter Sun Valley Super Shredder Exotic Ziricote and the Fender American Performer Stratocaster 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 Schecter Sun Valley Super Shredder Exotic Ziricote is the only one with a compound radius. This is a huge win because it will give you the best of both worlds: a more curved radius in the first few frets for chords, and flatter as you come closer to the body for soloing.
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 American Performer Stratocaster favors large hands more than the Schecter Sun Valley Super Shredder Exotic Ziricote. But it's still more comfortable for people with small hands, as you can see in the score meter below.
Schecter Sun Valley Super Shredder Exotic Ziricote:
Fender American Performer Stratocaster:
Fret Size
The Schecter Sun Valley Super Shredder Exotic Ziricote has XL Jumbo frets, which should be taller than the Fender American Performer Stratocaster's Jumbo 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.
