Schecter Aaron Marshall AM-6 USA - Overview and Best Prices
- 3 Prices - New from $3,499 >
- From Schecter's 2024 Artist series
- Aaron Marshall Signature
- Made in United States
- 6 strings
- 25.5"'' scale
- 16" Fretboard Radius
- Alder body
- Quartersawn Roasted Maple neck
- Quartersawn Roasted Maple fretboard
- Bridge pickup: Aaron Marshall Signature USA Solstice (Humbucker/Passive)
- Neck pickup: Aaron Marshall Signature USA Equinox (Humbucker/Passive)
- 1 volume and 1 tone Dome knobs
- 5-way Switch
- Schecter Gotoh 510 Tremolo bridge
- Custom Thin "C" Bolt-On neck
- 24 Medium Jumbo Stainless Steel frets
- Custom Aaron Marshall Hipshot Locking tuners
- Side-By-Side Comparison
Show Specs
| Schecter Aaron Marshall AM-6 USA | ||
|---|---|---|
| General | ||
| Brand: | Schecter | |
| Year: | 2024 | |
| Configuration: | HH | |
| Strings: | 6 | |
| Made in: | United States | |
| Series: | Artist | |
| Colors: | Blue | |
| Left-Handed Version: | No | |
| Body | ||
| Type: | Solid Body | |
| Body Material: | Alder | |
| Bridge: | Schecter Gotoh 510 Tremolo | |
| Neck | ||
| Neck Joint: | Bolt-On | |
| Tuners: | Custom Aaron Marshall Hipshot Locking | |
| Fretboard: | Quartersawn Roasted Maple | |
| Neck Material: | Quartersawn Roasted Maple | |
| Decoration: | 3mm Shifted Offset Black Acrylic Dots | |
| Scale Size: | 25.5" | |
| Shape: | Custom Thin "C" | |
| Thickness: | 1st Fret: 0.79'' (20.1mm) - 12th Fret: 0.84'' (21.3mm) | |
| Frets: | 24 Medium Jumbo Stainless Steel | |
| Fretboard Radius: | 16" | |
| Nut: | Black Tusq XL | |
| Nut Width: | 42.4mm (1.67'') | |
| Electronics | ||
| Bridge Pickups: | Aaron Marshall Signature USA Solstice (Humbucker / Passive) | |
| Neck Pickup: | Aaron Marshall Signature USA Equinox (Humbucker / Passive) | |
| Switch: | 5 | |
| Knobs: | Dome | |
| Volume Controls: | 1 | |
| Tone Controls: | 1 | |
| Hardware | ||
| Strap Lock: | No | |
| Hardware Color: | Black | |
Show Diagram
Our Scores and Tone Evaluation
- Heavy Metal
- Hard Rock
- Jazz
- Blues
- Funk
- Country
Schecter Aaron Marshall AM-6 USA
- Stainless Steel Frets
- Locking Tuners
- Made in United States
- Black Tusq XL Nut
- Top Brand Pickups
- Luminescent Inlay
- Tremolo
- No Expensive Woods
- No Neck-Through Build
- No Push Knob or Extra Switch Option
- No Weight Relief
- No Compound Radius Fretboard
- No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- No Strap Lock
Price Overview
Its average competitor's price is $3100, which means that the Schecter Aaron Marshall AM-6 USA costs around 13% more than the competition. It might be due to it having additional features, but know that you can find cheaper similar alternatives. This takes into account all instruments of the same category in our database with 6 strings and Tremolo bridge that are made in United States.
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User Reviews & Feedback
Not all instruments are created equally. That's why it's important to have different opinions. Here's what our users who have played this instrument say. If you've played it before, help others by voting below!
Weight
VoteTuning stability
VoteNeck speed (thickness)
VoteNeck access to high frets
VoteNeck profile shape
VoteFret edges
VotePickups noise
VotePickups power
VoteOften Compared With
Hand Size Comfortability
After taking into account the neck profile, scale size, fretboard radius, and nut width, we can conclude that the Schecter Aaron Marshall AM-6 USA's construction favors people with relatively small hands.
Nevertheless, this comes down in the end to personal preference. Make sure you test this guitar—or another one with similar characteristics—before buying.
Beginner Friendliness
The Schecter Aaron Marshall AM-6 USA meets 6 out of our 8 criteria items for beginner friendliness, which means that it's a good guitar to start with as a complete beginner. 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 to get used to.
New Player Friendliness
Schecter Aaron Marshall AM-6 USA- Comfortable shape
- Easy-to-use bridge
- Locking tuners
- Tall frets
- Narrow nut
- Comfortable neck
- Comfortable fretboard
- Short scale
Videos
Playability
Scale Length
Scale length is the distance the strings will span between the bridge and the nut. It can tell you a lot about the overall playability and tone of the instrument. A longer scale length means longer distance between frets, brighter tone and more string tension—which means lower action, but more difficult bending of the strings.
Here's the Schecter Aaron Marshall AM-6 USA's 25.5" scale length compared to other common sizes:
This is the same scale length used in Stratocaster guitars, and it's one of the main reasons they have such a bright sound. It's considered a long scale when compared to most non-baritone guitars.
Since the distance between bridge and nut is relatively long, you'll need to give the strings more tension to get them in tune. This higher tension will allow for a couple of things. First, you can get a lower action (get the strings closer to the fretboard) because the strings won't 'wiggle' too much when pluck and won't cause fret buzz. This can allow you to use lower tunings without increasing your string gauge, and it will make it easier to press down the strings fast.
However, the frets will also have a wider separation between each other, which can make it harder to play, especially if you got small hands. The higher tension will also make the strings feel stiffer, so bending will require more strength.
Neck Profile
The neck profile tells you the thickness (neck depth) and shape in cross section. Every difference will completely change the feeling and comfortability of the neck. This is a highly subjective thing, but most players indeed prefer certain types of necks (like Cs and Ds) because they feel nice in most hands.
The Schecter Aaron Marshall AM-6 USA's neck thickness is approximately 0.79'' (20.1mm) at the first fret, and 0.84'' (21.3mm) at the twelfth.
These measurements were taken either from the official Schecter website, or, in case this information wasn't provided, by researching multiple online marketplaces and forums where owners of this model have posted their measurements.
It has a C type neck. C-shaped necks like this have been the most popular for the last years. The reason is that they feel good in most hands. It's generally a thin neck that doesn't get in your way when playing fast, but that also has enough mass to give your hands a comfortable grip for chords if they aren't too big.
Thin necks like this make it easier to move your hand across the neck and it helps when playing fast solos, especially if you like to leave your thumb free while playing high on the fretboard. However, thinner necks are also weaker and will need adjustment more often than a thicker neck.
Fretboard Radius
When it comes to fingerboard radius, personal preference will dictate which one is better for you. However, most people seem to agree that a more curved (lower) radius will make it easier to play chords while a less curved (higher) radius is better for soloing and bending.
The Schecter Aaron Marshall AM-6 USA has a 16" fingerboard radius.
Here's an image comparing this fretboard radius to other popular choices:
This fretboard radius is really different than Stratocasters, but it's also a lot flatter than Les Paul fingerboards. It'll heavily favor soloing over playing chords. This doesn't mean you can't use it for chords, but it will be more comfortable to play chords without muting strings in a more curved fretboard. Bending and sliding without losing sustain will also be more likely in a flat fretboard like this one.
Compound radius fingerboards give the best of both worlds. Unfortunately, the Schecter Aaron Marshall AM-6 USA has the same radius across the board.
Playability compared to main competitors
Nut Width
The Schecter Aaron Marshall AM-6 USA has a nut width of 42.4mm (1.67''). 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.
Frets
The Schecter Aaron Marshall AM-6 USA has 24 frets. A lot of people mistakenly believe that having more frets will always be better because it gives you a higher octave. This is certainly an advantage, but there's also a disadvantage to this.
Since the fretboard will be longer, the neck pickup will need to be placed closer to the bridge. And as you may know, the further away the neck pickup is from the bridge, the warmer it sounds. This means you'll have a brighter-sounding neck pickup when using a 24-fret guitar, even if you use the same pickup on a 22-fret guitar.
Finally, these are stainless steel frets. They're the best fretwire available. This means you won't need to change your frets since they should last as long as your guitar. Some people also feel easier bendings after swapping to stainless steel.
Fret Size
Finally, let's talk about fret size. Some people prefer tall frets because it's easier to press the strings and perform bends since there's less friction against the fretboard. On the other hand, some people like shorter frets because they like to touch the fretboard when playing, or because they got heavy hands and tend to press too much on the string and alter the of the note pitch accidently.
The Schecter Aaron Marshall AM-6 USA's frets are Medium Jumbo size. These sit somewhere between a Jumbo and a Medium fret. They're not quite as tall as a full Jumbo, so you'll still feel the fretboard, but you won't feel it as much as with medium frets. This is a good size if you want to make it easy to press the strings but would also like a little bit of ''feedback'' to know when to stop pressing so the notes don't go out of pitch.
Playability Score
Tone
Wood will have little influence in the final tone of an electric guitar or bass. Instead, the hardware, especially the pickups, will be the most important thing to look at. Bur first, let's see the quality of the wood.
Wood
Alder Body: This is a lightweight type of wood that was popularized by Fender. According to them, it's a wood that offers a balanced tone but that favors the upper midrange slightly.
Roasted Maple Neck and Fretboard: Similar to simple Maple, but even stronger, darker, and more stable to temperature changes. This is thanks to the treatment process that consists in using high temperatures to drain the water, sugar, and resins from the wood.
Pickups
This guitar comes with pickups from one of the top brands: Schecter USA. So you can expect well built pickups with great sound that shouldn't need an upgrade anytime soon.
These are passive pickups, so you can expect a rounder sound and a moderade level of output.
The Schecter Aaron Marshall AM-6 USA's configuration is HH. With this pickup combination, you'll get warmer tones and more output than using single coils. Humbucker pickups cancel the noise that single-coil suffer from, which also results in a warmer tone. This pickup combination isn't only for high-gain music like Hard Rock or Heavy Metal. Their warmness is also popular for Jazz, Indie, R&B, Blues and more.
More with the same pickups
Versatility
It gives you a good amount of tone options with its 5-way switch. You can use it to choose at least 5 different pickup combinations.
Unfortunately, it doesn't come with more options for coil split or coil tapping. This makes it less versatile than some competitors.
What music genre is it good for?
As a 6 strings, Solid Body guitar with HH configuration and Passive pickups, we'd recommend it for genres like Heavy Metal or similar. However, you can use almost any guitar for any genre. This is just the typical type of music for this particular one.
Sound Score
Build Quality
Country of Origin
Knowing where the instrument is produced is a good way to know how well it's built. Some manufacturing countries are known for having higher quality standards. For example, most expensive instruments are made in the US or Japan, but there are some exceptionally great countries—like South Korea—that are building a good reputation.
The Schecter Aaron Marshall AM-6 USA is made in United States. Guitars made in the USA have the reputation of being the best instruments you can get. This statement isn't as accurate as a few years ago, but you should still expect top-quality from a guitar made in this country.
Bridge
Schecter Gotoh 510 Tremolo: This type of bridge allows you to change the pitch of the notes by pulling the bridge with the attached bar, which gives you better versatility. Also, since the bridge is not fixed to the guitar body, the bridge will move as you bend the strings. So you'll have to increase the distance of your bends to reach the same tension (note) compared to a fixed bridge. This allows you to perform smoother bends but will also make you slower. Finally, remember that this type of bridge requires a bit more maintenance than fixed ones, especially when changing strings.
Tuners
The Schecter Aaron Marshall AM-6 USA comes with locking tuners, which helps with tuning stability and makes changing strings a lot faster and easier. As long as they're high quality, these are the best tuning machines you can have. The only disadvantage is that they are a bit heavier than normal tuners.
Nut Material
Another important thing to analyze is the nut material, as it's one of the most important aspects that can affect the sound and playability of your guitar. A well-cut nut will make sure it stays in tune and will make it more comfortable to play.
In this case, the Schecter Aaron Marshall AM-6 USA has a Black Tusq XL nut. It's not made of plastic or low-quality materials. They're made to resemble the sound you get from bone and ivory nuts, but with slippery materials so the intonation and tuning are stable. Also, each nut is carefully cut to ensure you won't have tune stabilization problems.
Neck Joint
The neck joint is the part where the neck of the guitar meets the body. There are three main techniques to attach both parts together: Set-In, Bolt-On and Neck-Through. The latter two provide different advantages, although neck-throughs are the most expensive.
This guitar has a Bolt-On neck joint. Even though this type of neck was looked down upon for a long time, nowadays bolt-on necks are well built and provide just as much sustain as any other join method. First of all, it's cheap to make because it consists of simply 4 bolts that attach the neck to the body. And you can travel with the guitar more easily, swap out the neck if you damage it, or upgrade to a more comfortable neck later on.
