I spent the better part of Saturday night browsing through the selection at Guitar Center in Akron. I tested out a couple ESP-LTD's but the sales associate guy noticed some wiring issues in one of the models I was looking at and turned me away from them. Instead, he handed me a Schecter Damien FR and I fell in love with it. Very smooth playing, great thrash/death tone, and it looks cool (come on, it has bat-shaped inlays). Everything is fine except for when I hit the first fret on the high-e string... either I get a lovely buzzing sound or the string will hit the second fret (even though I'm fingering the first fret). Apparently, I need to adjust the truss rod a bit. Other than that, though, I'm really excited about this buy.

Also, what amp would you recommend me getting to compliment this? I can see myself playing more Swedish-style death than anything. I'm kind of looking for the tone that Dismember has accomplished.

Thanks

Dismember's tone is all due to the Boss HM2 pedal.

if that's the only style/tone it really doesn't matter much on what amp or cab you get.

If you ever notice a setup issue on a guitar like that at GC, you should hinge the sale of the guitar on having it fixed for free. It's not hard to fix it though, there are plenty of references. Remember that the truss rod is easy to break, if it's just the first string buzzing, turn it an eight of a turn or less and see if that works. The neck takes a bit of time to set after the truss rod has been adjusted, so allow it time between adjustments.

Find a cheap, high-power, solid-state combo amp if you're using the HM-2. If you can find one, the Peavey Special 212 is my longtime favorite.

I'd chance taking it back up to the store *with the receipt* and asking for a free setup.

Instruments in a music shop should all be playable and ready for gigging/recording, unless they're rock memorabilia.

Yeah, I went ahead and dropped an extra $45 to get a two-year full warranty. The guy told me I could piss on the guitar and bring it back in for a full refund as long as I'm not dumb enough to accept fault for any damage. The only thing is I live about an hour's drive from the Guitar Center I bought this at and I'm procrastinating the long-ass ride. And I guess this would be a good opportunity to test my repair skills without worrying too much about fucking something up... I can just take it back and be like "Gee, I dunno what happened".

And thanks again, guys.