Schecter Damien Platinum-8 - Overview and Best Prices

Schecter Damien Platinum-8 Review
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  • 3 Prices - New from $849 >
  • From Schecter's 2015 Damien series
  • Made in South Korea
  • 8 strings
  • 28"'' scale
  • 20" Fretboard Radius
  • Mahogany body
  • Maple 3-pc w/ Carbon Fiber Reinforcement Rods neck
  • Rosewood fretboard
  • Bridge pickup: EMG 808 (Humbucker/Active)
  • Neck pickup: EMG 808 (Humbucker/Active)
  • 1 volume and 1 tone Dome knobs
  • 3-way Switch
  • Schecter Custom Hardtail w/ String Thru Body bridge
  • Thin C Set neck
  • 24 XL Jumbo frets
  • Grover tuners
  • Side-By-Side Comparison
Show Specs
Schecter Damien Platinum-8 Specifications
Schecter Damien Platinum-8
General
Brand: Schecter
Year: 2015
Configuration: HH
Strings: 8
Made in: South Korea
Series: Damien
Colors: Black
Left-Handed Version: Yes
Body
Type: Solid Body
Body Material: Mahogany
Bridge: Schecter Custom Hardtail w/ String Thru Body
Neck
Neck Joint: Set
Tuners: Grover
Fretboard: Rosewood
Neck Material: Maple 3-pc w/ Carbon Fiber Reinforcement Rods
Decoration: Platinum Bats
Scale Size: 28"
Shape: Thin C
Thickness: 1st Fret: 0.79'' (20.1mm) - 12th Fret: 0.87'' (22.1mm)
Frets: 24 XL Jumbo
Fretboard Radius: 20"
Nut: Black Tusq XL
Nut Width: 54mm (2.126'')
Electronics
Bridge Pickups: EMG 808 (Humbucker / Active)
Neck Pickup: EMG 808 (Humbucker / Active)
Switch: 3
Knobs: Dome
Volume Controls: 1
Tone Controls: 1
Hardware
Strap Lock: No
Hardware Color: Chrome
Show Diagram
Schecter Damien Platinum-8 pickups switch and push knobs diagram
Schecter Damien Platinum-8's switch options

Our Scores and Tone Evaluation

Playability 75
Sound 74
Build quality 60
Value for money 75
Overall Score 70
Tone Evaluation
  • Heavy Metal
  • Hard Rock
  • Jazz
  • Blues
  • Funk
  • Country
Strengths & Weaknesses
Schecter Damien Platinum-8
  • 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

Price Overview

Its average competitor's price is $1260, which means that the Schecter Damien Platinum-8 is around 33% cheaper than the competition. This takes into account all instruments of the same category in our database with 8 strings and Fixed bridge that are made in South Korea.

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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

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Tuning stability

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Neck speed (thickness)

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Neck access to high frets

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Neck profile shape

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Fret edges

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Pickups noise

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Often Compared With

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Hand Size Comfortability

After taking into account the neck profile, scale size, fretboard radius, and nut width, we can conclude that the Schecter Damien Platinum-8's construction is balanced for most hand sizes.

Nevertheless, this comes down in the end to personal preference. Make sure you test this guitar—or another one with similar characteristics—before buying.

Big Hands
Small Hands

Beginner Friendliness

The Schecter Damien Platinum-8 meets 4 out of our 8 criteria items for beginner friendliness, which means that it's not bad for beginners, but it could be better. 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 Damien Platinum-8
  • Comfortable shape
  • Easy-to-use bridge
  • Tall frets
  • Comfortable neck
  • Comfortable fretboard
  • Narrow nut
  • Short scale
  • Locking tuners

Videos

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Karma (Original) by AE Schecter | Damien Platinum 8 guitar

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 Damien Platinum-8's 28" scale length compared to other common sizes:

Schecter Damien Platinum-8 Scale Length Comparison
Schecter Damien Platinum-8's scale length (at the top) compared to other popular sizes

This is a scale used for baritone guitars, and it's probably one of the longest scales you'll ever encounter. Since the scale is so long, the strings will have a lot of tension. This means that bending will require a lot more strength than with a shorter scale. However, it also allows you to use really low tunings without causing fret buzz and without needing to increase your string gauge too much. Standard tunings on this scale will sound a lot brighter than on a normal guitar.

More with the same scale length:

Neck Profile

Schecter Damien Platinum-8 Neck Profile
Schecter Damien Platinum-8's 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 Damien Platinum-8's neck thickness is approximately 0.79'' (20.1mm) at the first fret, and 0.87'' (22.1mm) 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.

More for different hand sizes

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 Damien Platinum-8 has a 20" fingerboard radius.

Here's an image comparing this fretboard radius to other popular choices:

Schecter Damien Platinum-8 Fretboard Radius Comparison with Fender Stratocaster and Gibson Les Paul
Schecter Damien Platinum-8's fretboard radius compared to others

This radius makes the fretboard almost completely flat, which means that it's perfect for playing single notes and bends. However, making complex chord shapes will be harder because you might mute the strings accidentally. It's a fretboard made for shredders, and probably for heavy music genres.

Compound radius fingerboards give the best of both worlds. Unfortunately, the Schecter Damien Platinum-8 has the same radius across the board.

More with the same fretboard radius:

Playability compared to main competitors

28'' Scale Length
C Neck Profile
2.126'' Nut Width
20'' Fretboard Radius
Multiscale Scale Length
C Neck Profile
2.126'' Nut Width
20'' Fretboard Radius
27'' Scale Length
U Neck Profile
2.126'' Nut Width
20'' Fretboard Radius
Multiscale Scale Length
C Neck Profile
2.126'' Nut Width
20'' Fretboard Radius
Multiscale Scale Length
D Neck Profile
2.126'' Nut Width
16'' Fretboard Radius

Nut Width

Schecter Damien Platinum-8 Nut Width
Schecter Damien Platinum-8 Nut Width

The Schecter Damien Platinum-8 has a nut width of 54mm (2.126''). This is considered a wide width for a 8-string guitar. It gives your fingers the extra space you need to play without muting accidentally, but this also makes bar chords harder to perform, especially if you have small hands.

Frets

The Schecter Damien Platinum-8 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.

It comes with nickel silver frets, so they won't last as long as stainless steel frets. If you use your instrument a lot, you might need to replace the frets after a few years. But this is unlikely as most people change instruments before this happens.

More with the same amount of frets:

Fret Size

Schecter Damien Platinum-8 Fret Size Comparison
Schecter Damien Platinum-8's fret size (in orange) compared to other popular sizes

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 Damien Platinum-8's frets are XL Jumbo size. These are extra-large frets, which are perfect for people who truly want the least resistance for techniques like vibrato, bending, tapping, and just playing fast in general. You won't be able to feel the fretboard with these frets, so if you press too hard you'll get the notes out of pitch. It might take a while to get used to them because of this.

More with the same type of frets:

Playability Score

Bending & Vibrato Ease 85
Chord Playability 50
Solo Playability 90
Playability 75

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

Mahogany wood pattern used for guitar building
Mahogany Body
Maple wood pattern used for guitar building
Maple Neck
Rosewood wood pattern used for guitar building
Rosewood Fretboard

Mahogany Body: This is the type of wood found in many top-of-the-line guitars, so that's a positive point for the build quality. This red-looking wood Mahogany is found in Africa and Central America and has great sustain and a warm tone due to its high density. The downside about this type of wood is that it's relatively heavy.

Maple Neck: This is one of the most popular types of wood used in all kinds of guitars. It's heavy, strong and compact, which makes it great for necks. However, it's also used for fretboards, bodies and tops due to its light color, resistance and beautiful patterns. When it comes to tone, it highlights the mid and high frequencies.

Rosewood Fretboard: Since the ban of Brazillian Rosewood, this has become a rare and expensive wood. It's not usually used for guitar bodies because of this, and also because it's heavy. Instead, it's used mainly for fretboards. Sometimes it's also used for necks because it's an extremely hard wood (even harder than maple). Its tonality tends to favor warm tones.

More made with the same wood:

Pickups

This guitar comes with pickups from one of the top brands: EMG. So you can expect well built pickups with great sound that shouldn't need an upgrade anytime soon.

These are active pickups, so you can expect a lot of output with a highly compressed signal that will give your tones more distortion while retaining a clear, defined sound, which is what many Heavy Metal players need. However, they have the disadvantage of sometimes lacking a fully clean sound when playing without distortion.

The Schecter Damien Platinum-8'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

24 Frets
Fixed Bridge
EMG 808 Bridge Pickup
EMG 808 Neck Pickup
24 Frets
Fixed Bridge
EMG 808 Bridge Pickup
EMG 808 Neck Pickup
24 Frets
Fixed Bridge
EMG 808 Bridge Pickup
EMG 808 Neck Pickup

Versatility

It comes with the popular 3-way switch that is present in most guitars. For more versatility, players tend to prefer a 5-way switch, although it all depends on what you want to use your guitar for.

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 8 strings, Solid Body guitar with HH configuration and Active 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

Pickups 85
Sustain 90
Versatility 49
Tuning Stability 70
Sound 74

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 Damien Platinum-8 is made in South Korea. Guitars made here are well-built and tend to have good quality control, even though they focus on mass production. This used to be the most premium option just below Japan or the US, but other countries like Indonesia are becoming great competitors because of even cheaper labor without sacrificing quality.

Bridge

Schecter Custom Hardtail w/ String Thru Body: The advantage of fixed bridges is that they don't require any kind of set-up. This makes it extremely easy when changing strings because you don't need to adjust anything besides tuning the guitar. Also, the fact that the bridge is directly attached to the body will help to increase sustain. The disadvantage is the lack of versatility since you can't create the same vibrato effects as with tremolo bridges.

More with the same type of bridge:

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 Damien Platinum-8 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.

More with the same nut material:

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 Set neck joint. This type of neck joint consists of using different pieces of wood for the neck and the body of the guitar. Both pieces are then glued together. This is more expensive to make than a bolt-on neck, but it's cheaper than a neck-through guitar. Some people believe that this gives more sustain than a bolt-on neck due to both pieces having a 'better connection' than with bolts. Still, it's something difficult to prove.

However, this type of neck joint does have the disadvantage of not allowing you to easily swap the neck for another. This makes this type of neck joint less mod-friendly.

More with the same build:

Build Quality Score

Quality of materials 61
Features 50
Quality Control 70
Build Quality 60