Schecter Synyster Standard Plus Electric Guitar in Gloss Natural

The Schecter Synyster Standard Plus (SKU: SCH1752) is the Gloss Natural variant of the Synyster Gates signature guitar — and the natural finish is not merely a colour option. On this guitar, the Gloss Natural finish means the quilted maple top is left in its natural state, fully visible: the three-dimensional quilted figure in the maple is the centrepiece of the instrument's appearance, and the depth and movement of that figuring varies from piece to piece in a way that no coloured finish can replicate. The rest of the specification mirrors the rest of the Synyster Standard Plus range exactly: mahogany body, 3-piece mahogany neck with carbon fibre reinforcement rods, ebony fretboard at a flat 16-inch radius with 24 jumbo frets and Synyster Gates Deathbat inlays, Floyd Rose Special Hot Rod locking tremolo, Synyster Gates ceramic pickups with push-pull coil split, and black 1-ply binding that frames the natural maple top in sharp contrast.

Gloss Natural Finish and Quilted Maple Top

Quilted maple is a figure type produced by a particular growth pattern in the maple tree — a rippling, undulating grain structure that, when cut and finished, produces a three-dimensional visual effect where the surface appears to have depth and movement. The name "quilted" refers to the resemblance to a stitched quilt pattern: repeating, overlapping curves that shift appearance as the viewing angle changes.

The quilted figure is created in the growing wood and cannot be added after the fact. Boards with strong quilted figure are selected specifically for instrument tops because the visual character is a genuine quality point — it requires finding the right piece of wood, and well-figured quilted maple is more expensive to source than plain maple.

The Gloss Natural finish allows the full depth and character of this figure to be visible under a clear topcoat. Where coloured finishes — Gloss Black, Cherry Red, Trans Deep Red — sit over the top and either eliminate or reduce the visibility of the figure beneath, the Gloss Natural finish is, by definition, transparent: the colour you see is the colour of the wood itself. The result varies from instrument to instrument, because no two pieces of quilted maple have identical figuring.

The black 1-ply binding runs around the body edge and the fretboard, creating a sharp frame between the natural maple top and the surrounding hardware and fretboard. Against a natural finish, the black binding has more contrast than it would on a dark-finished instrument — the edge detail is more visible and the instrument reads as more structured.

Synyster Gates Signature Pickups with Coil Split

Both the bridge and neck positions carry Synyster Gates signature pickups — ceramic humbuckers developed in collaboration with Avenged Sevenfold guitarist Synyster Gates and voiced for his playing style: high output, focused midrange, and clear note definition under heavy gain. The satin black bobbins are a finish detail that contributes to the guitar's consistent dark aesthetic.

The push-pull tone knob activates a coil split on both pickups simultaneously. In standard position, both pickups operate as full humbuckers — noise-cancelling, high output, with the warmth and thickness that two-coil construction provides. Pulling the tone knob up splits both pickups to a single coil each, producing a thinner, brighter, more transparent voice with the single-coil hum characteristic. The coil split gives the Synyster Standard Plus tonal range beyond the rock and metal territory its pickups are designed for — clean and bluesy single-coil sounds are accessible from the same instrument without separate pickups or switching changes.

The control layout is simple by design: Master Volume, Master Tone (push-pull), and a 3-way toggle. Synyster Gates' approach to guitar controls favours directness — the split function is available but not the default, and the standard operating mode keeps the signal path as short and clean as possible.

Floyd Rose Special Hot Rod Locking Tremolo

The Floyd Rose Special Hot Rod is the locking tremolo on the Synyster Standard Plus. "Floyd Rose" is the original and definitive locking tremolo design — a double-locking system in which the string is held at both the nut and the bridge saddle, with fine-tuners on the bridge for pitch adjustment once the nut is locked.

The "Special" designation refers to Floyd Rose's licensed OEM version of their design, manufactured under licence rather than by Floyd Rose directly. The "Hot Rod" modifier indicates an upgraded specification within that tier — typically an upgraded block (the metal mass that anchors the bridge and transmits string vibration) and upgraded springs. The block material and mass affect how the bridge transfers vibration to the body, and the upgraded block in Hot Rod specification is intended to improve sustain and resonance compared to the standard Special.

In use, the Floyd Rose system allows the full range of tremolo technique — aggressive divebombs, wide pitch raises, flutter effects, sustained pitch changes — without the guitar going out of tune. The double-locking mechanism means the strings cannot shift at the nut or bridge saddle under any tremolo movement; when the arm is released, the bridge returns to its set rest position and the locked strings return to pitch. The trade-off, as with any locking tremolo, is that drop tuning or string changes require unlocking both the nut and the bridge saddle locks, and rebalancing the spring tension in the body cavity may be needed after a tuning change.

3-Piece Mahogany Neck with Carbon Fibre Reinforcement Rods

The neck is 3-piece mahogany with carbon fibre reinforcement rods — a laminated construction that resists warping and movement more reliably than a single-piece neck. Alternating the grain orientation of the three mahogany sections works against the natural tendency of wood to move with moisture changes, and the carbon fibre rods add further rigidity along the length of the neck. Carbon fibre does not expand or contract with humidity: the rods act as stabilisers that resist any flexing regardless of environmental conditions.

The Ultra Thin C profile is the result: 19mm at the first fret and 20mm at the twelfth. This is a genuinely thin neck — noticeably thinner than standard C profiles, which typically measure 20mm to 22mm at the first fret. The thin profile reduces the reach required to wrap the thumb around the neck and fret comfortably, which suits fast single-note playing, sweep arpeggios, and the kind of extended lead technique that Synyster Gates built this instrument around. Scale length is 25.5 inches — standard Fender-style scale, providing clear string definition and a familiar feel.

Mahogany as a neck material (the spec does not describe the neck as solid) contributes warmth and resonance to the instrument's overall tonal character. Combined with the mahogany body and the ebony fingerboard, the tonal balance of the Synyster Standard Plus leans warm in the low-mid frequencies with clarity and attack in the high end — the combination that suits high-gain lead playing and thick chord work at equal measure.

Ebony Fretboard — 16-Inch Radius, 24 Jumbo Frets

The ebony fretboard is a hard, dense, close-grained tonewood with a naturally smooth playing surface and an articulate tonal contribution to the instrument's sound. At a 16-inch radius, the fretboard is extremely flat — chosen specifically to eliminate fretting out during aggressive upper-register string bending. The flatter the radius, the more parallel the fretboard surface is to the string's bending arc, and the less the bent string risks pressing into a higher fret and cutting the note. At 16 inches, bending in the highest positions can be done with maximum aggression.

Twenty-four jumbo frets extend the playable range two frets above the 22-fret standard. The fret size — jumbo — means a taller, wider fret profile that many players find improves bending response and requires less finger pressure to produce a clean fretted note.

Synyster Gates Deathbat and Gothic Cross Inlays

The fingerboard inlays are the Deathbat — Avenged Sevenfold's logo, a skull with bat wings — and Gothic Cross designs, positioned at the standard marker fret positions. These are signature-specific inlays that immediately identify the instrument as a Synyster Gates model. Against the dark ebony fretboard and the natural maple body, the inlays are visually consistent with the guitar's combination of craft aesthetic and metal attitude.

Grover Tuners

The Synyster Standard Plus uses Grover machine heads — a well-established American tuning machine brand known for smooth action and accurate gear ratio. In the context of a Floyd Rose-equipped guitar, the tuning machines play a different role than usual: once the locking nut is locked, the standard tuners are no longer in the string's active signal path for pitch — the fine-tuners on the bridge handle micro-adjustments during playing. The Grovers are used for initial tuning before locking and for retuning after string changes. Quality tuners remain important for the initial tuning process and for the speed with which the guitar can be brought back into tune after a string change.

Who Is the Schecter Synyster Standard Plus — Gloss Natural — For?

The Synyster Standard Plus in Gloss Natural is for the player who wants everything the signature instrument offers — locking tremolo, high-output signature pickups with coil split, thin fast neck, ebony board, Deathbat inlays — but in a finish where the instrument's construction is the visual story. Where a coloured finish presents the guitar's shape, the Gloss Natural presents the guitar's wood: the quilted maple figuring is different on every instrument, and the combination of natural maple, black binding, black hardware, and dark ebony fretboard produces a look that is elegant as well as aggressive. For players who came to Schecter through Avenged Sevenfold and want the precise guitar Synyster Gates designed, with the finish that shows the materials it is made from, this is the one.

Specifications

Expert Advice at Angkor Music

At Angkor Music Melbourne we stock Schecter Synyster Gates guitars. If you want to compare the Gloss Natural finish to other Synyster Standard Plus colour options in person, discuss Floyd Rose setup and maintenance, or try the Ultra Thin C neck profile against other Schecter neck shapes, come in and play — our team is glad to help.

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