Schecter Zacky Vengeance Custom Reissue vs Fender American Original 60s Telecaster
Reasons to Get
Schecter Zacky Vengeance Custom Reissue over Fender American Original 60s Telecaster
Reasons to Get
Fender American Original 60s Telecaster over Schecter Zacky Vengeance Custom Reissue
Other Key Differences
Schecter Zacky Vengeance Custom Reissue vs Fender American Original 60s Telecaster
Shared Features
Schecter Zacky Vengeance Custom Reissue vs Fender American Original 60s Telecaster
Common Strengths
- High-Quality Nut
- Top Pickup Brand
- Expensive Wood
Common Weaknesses
- Weight Relief
- Locking Tuners
- 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 Schecter Zacky Vengeance Custom Reissue is probably the better product overall with its final score of 74 compared to the Fender American Original 60s Telecaster's 70 score, although not by a lot.
The Schecter Zacky Vengeance Custom Reissue wins when it comes to sound, playability, value for the money. On the other hand, the Fender American Original 60s Telecaster has the upper hand when it comes to build quality.
If you got small hands, you'll probably feel more comfortable playing the Schecter Zacky Vengeance Custom Reissue.
Which One is Better for Beginners?
If you're looking for your first guitar to learn how to play, the Fender American Original 60s Telecaster is the better choice.
The Fender American Original 60s Telecaster meets 6 out of our 8 criteria items for beginner friendliness, while the Schecter Zacky Vengeance Custom Reissue 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 Zacky Vengeance Custom Reissue- Comfortable shape
- Easy-to-use bridge
- Tall frets
- Narrow nut
- Comfortable neck
- Comfortable fretboard
- Short scale
- Locking tuners
New Player Friendliness
Fender American Original 60s Telecaster- 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 Zacky Vengeance Custom Reissue Overview
- From Schecter's 2015 Artist series
- Zacky Vengeance Signature
- Made in South Korea
- 6 strings
- 24.75"'' scale
- 14" Fretboard Radius
- Mahogany body
- Mahogany 3-pc neck
- Rosewood fretboard
- Bridge pickup: Seymour Duncan JB SH-4 (Humbucker/Passive)
- Neck pickup: Seymour Duncan JB SH-4 (Humbucker/Passive)
- 2 volume and 1 tone Dome knobs
- 3-way Switch
- TonePros T3BT TOM & T1Z Tailpiece bridge
- Thin C Set neck
- 22 XL Jumbo frets
- Grover tuners
- Compare Specs >
Fender American Original 60s Telecaster Overview
- From Fender's 2018 American Original series
- Made in United States
- 6 strings
- 25.5"'' scale
- 9.5" Fretboard Radius
- Double Bound Alder body
- Maple neck
- Rosewood fretboard
- Bridge pickup: Fender Pure Vintage 64 Gray-Bottom Single-Coil Tele (Single Coil/Passive)
- Neck pickup: Fender Pure Vintage 64 Gray-Bottom Single-Coil Tele (Single Coil/Passive)
- 1 volume and 1 tone Dome knobs
- 3-way Switch
- 3-Saddle Vintage Style Tele with Barrel Steel Saddles bridge
- Mid 60s C Bolt-On neck
- 21 Vintage Tall frets
- Pure Vintage Single Line Fender Deluxe 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
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.
Woods Used in the Schecter Zacky Vengeance Custom Reissue
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 Fender American Original 60s Telecaster
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.
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 Zacky Vengeance Custom Reissue.
Pickup Configuration
The Schecter Zacky Vengeance Custom Reissue has an HH configuration while the Fender American Original 60s Telecaster has SS 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, 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.
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 Original 60s Telecaster has a slight sound quality advantage when taking into account other factors like the type of pickups, magnet, position, etc.
You can purchase similar pickups to the Schecter Zacky Vengeance Custom Reissue's and use them on any guitar:
We found the same or similar pickups to the Fender American Original 60s Telecaster'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 Original 60s Telecaster.
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 Schecter Zacky Vengeance Custom Reissue comes with some kind of pickup modification: Coil Split.
Coil Split lets you disconnect one of the pickup coils. When used with humbuckers, it turns them into single-coil with lower output and cleaner tone.
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 Zacky Vengeance Custom Reissue.
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 Zacky Vengeance Custom Reissue compares to the Fender American Original 60s Telecaster.
Country of Origin
The manufacturing country can tell a lot about the build quality of an instrument. The Schecter Zacky Vengeance Custom Reissue is built in South Korea while the Fender American Original 60s Telecaster 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 Original 60s Telecaster
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 Zacky Vengeance Custom Reissue 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 Fender American Original 60s Telecaster comes with 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.
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.
Both come with a similar bridge: 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.
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 Schecter Zacky Vengeance Custom Reissue's are Grover while the Fender American Original 60s Telecaster's are Pure Vintage Single Line Fender Deluxe
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.
The Schecter Zacky Vengeance Custom Reissue has 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.
On the other hand, the Fender American Original 60s Telecaster comes with 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: Fender American Original 60s Telecaster.
Here is the list of features that were considered when choosing the winner in the Features subcategory:
Schecter Zacky Vengeance Custom Reissue
- Expensive Wood
- Black Tusq XL Nut
- Top Brand Pickups
- Coil Split Pickups
- Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
- No Locking Tuners
- Made in South Korea
- No Neck-Through Build
- No Weight Relief
- No Luminescent Inlay
- No Tremolo
- No Compound Radius Fretboard
- No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- No Strap Lock
Fender American Original 60s Telecaster
- Made in United States
- Expensive Wood
- Bone Nut
- Top Brand Pickups
- Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
- No Locking Tuners
- 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
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, both have a nut width of 42mm (1.654'').
This is considered a narrow width for a 6-string guitar. This means that this guitar will have a narrower string separation at the nut, which will affect your fretting hand.
If you are a player with big hands, you might find it difficult to play chords without muting strings. However, this is good for players who have smaller hands, as it will allow them to reach each string more easily at the nut.
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.
The Fender American Original 60s Telecaster has the longest scale: 25.5". The Schecter Zacky Vengeance Custom Reissue is only 24.75" long. This is a 0.75'' (19.1mm) scale length difference.
This longer scale means that the strings need more tension to get in tune. This is good if you want to avoid fret buzz, which can happen when the strings are too loose and touch the frets while vibrating. This is especially important when playing in lower tunings. This will also let you reduce the gap between fretboard and strings (low action) to make them easier to press down. However, this higher tension will also make it harder to perform bends and vibratos as the strings will feel stiffer.
This also means that the frets have a longer separation between each other, so this will make it harder for people with smaller hands when playing some chord positions.
Another characteristic of a longer scale is that it makes the guitar sound 'snappier' or brighter. This is due to the extra separation between harmonics and overtones produced by the tension. This influences tone more than any other factor (except the pickups).
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 Zacky Vengeance Custom Reissue and the Fender American Original 60s Telecaster 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 American Original 60s Telecaster's fingerboard radius is smaller, which means it's more curved than the Schecter Zacky Vengeance Custom Reissue'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 Zacky Vengeance Custom Reissue.
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 Original 60s Telecaster favors large hands more than the Schecter Zacky Vengeance Custom Reissue.
Schecter Zacky Vengeance Custom Reissue:
Fender American Original 60s Telecaster:
Fret Size
The Schecter Zacky Vengeance Custom Reissue has XL Jumbo frets, which should be taller than the Fender American Original 60s Telecaster's Vintage 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.
