PRODUCT REVIEW
Cut, he plays around 10 gigs a month,
which gives him an ideal testing ground
for his guitars. Clear Cut performs a wide
range of music, and this requires Schroeder
to deliver a variety of sounds. Tired of taking a carload of instruments to each gig, he
decided to design an electronics package
that could handle it all. The result became
the pickup combination you see here in our
review version of the Edge Doublecut.
Weighing In Unpacking the Schroeder from its shipping box, I had to eschew my usual method of pull- ing it straight up out of the end, as the weight
Aside from the three unusual-looking pick-
ups (more on them in a moment), the first
thing I noticed about this model was the
stark contrast of the dark-brown cocobolo
neck and fretboard against the body’s matte-
white finish. Matching cocobolo pickup rings,
knobs, and even strap buttons are features
that will appeal to exotic wood fans. Those
fans might have preferred that the one-piece
black limba (korina) body remained unpaint-
ed or at least coated with a translucent fin-
ish. Still, it adds up to a striking instrument.
(Schroeder responds, “Visually, the pair of
ridge lines running down the body get com-
pletely lost on a piece of wood like black
quite comfortably, and the tightness of the
wood grain made it feel silky despite its lack
of gloss. The high, round frets felt smooth
and evenly finished. As one who primarily
plays Fender instruments, I felt quite at home
with the Schroeder’s 25" scale. The 1. 70" nut
allowed me to fret chords without cramping
my fingers. The action was extremely low
and even. Though the setup would work well
for shredding and players who favor gain, I
found the sixth and fifth strings tended to die
too quickly when I played clean single notes.
Loosening the strings, I turned the two large
screws that anchor the wraparound bridge,
raising it enough to let the bass strings ring to
made it more than my decidedly un-Schwar-zenegger physique could handle. Instead I
placed the box lengthwise on the floor and
extracted the guitar sideways. That’s when I
discovered that a significant part of the hefty
load stemmed from an extremely sturdy hardshell case. Removing the guitar, I discovered
that, while no lightweight, it proved no heavier
than many Les Pauls. Strapped on, the instrument balanced beautifully. The burden felt
comfortable enough for a two-hour show—if a
little heavy for a four-set club gig.
limba that has contrasting grain. The limba
was used strictly for tone.”)
Schroeder has modestly left his name off of
the headstock, inlaying instead a stylized
“S.” The only inlay on the fretboard is an
“S” that consists of two arcs and is folded
over in a manner that recalls a yin-yang.
Plugging In
Playing the Schroeder Edge Doublecut was
a pleasure. The C-shaped neck fit my hand
my liking. This particular stop tailpiece bridge
offers individual string intonation, but not indi-
vidual saddle height adjustment. Fortunately,
the bridge arc seems to correspond perfectly
to the neck’s flattish radius. Two setscrews let
you move the entire bridge back and forth for
gross intonation adjustment, should you radi-
cally change the string gauge.
To cover the range of sounds Schroeder
needed for his gig, he decided to use
three Seymour Duncan P-Rail pickups and a
