The Synyster Custom-S Distressed has a finish that already looks like it's been through something. Scuffs, wear marks, faded edges — it's baked in at the factory. So when a unit comes through as B-Stock with a cosmetic blemish, the obvious question is: does it even matter?

Usually, no. And at $1,599.20 against a $1,999.00 MAP, that's a meaningful gap for a guitar loaded with a USA-wound pickup, a Sustainiac system, and a Floyd Rose 1500 locking bridge. Here's how those components actually behave when you're tracking.

View the Schecter Synyster Custom-S Distressed guitar in Distressed Satin Black Product Page

What B-Stock Means on a Distressed Guitar

On a gloss or satin finish, a B-Stock blemish stands out. On a guitar that's been factory-aged — intentionally worn, scuffed, and faded — the distinction between a manufacturer's cosmetic note and the guitar's intended aesthetic is genuinely blurry. We've handled B-Stock units of this model where we had to look hard to find the noted flaw against the background of the distressed finish itself.

That's not us dismissing the B-Stock designation — it's there for a reason, and the listing photos will show you exactly what the specific unit looks like. The point is that the finish design works in your favor here in a way it wouldn't on a Gloss Black or See-Thru finish.

The Studio Case for This Guitar

The Synyster Custom-S is a specific tool. It's not a utility player and it's not trying to be. If you're producing rock or metal and need something that can generate textured, evolving lead sounds without heavy post-processing, the electronics on this guitar do real work.

Sustainiac — What It Actually Does in a Session

The Sustainiac system sits in the neck position and drives the strings electromagnetically, creating infinite sustain or feedback-style effects on demand. In a studio context, that means you can track long, singing lead lines without fighting the room, without needing a specific amp volume, and without relying on a compressor to hold notes together. The two mini toggle switches on the lower bout control Sustainiac mode and harmonic selection — once you've mapped those to your playing, it integrates into tracking naturally rather than feeling like a gimmick.

It also means the neck position is dedicated to the Sustainiac driver rather than a conventional pickup. Your clean or mid-gain neck tones come from blending or the bridge — worth knowing before you buy if your session work leans heavily on neck-pickup warmth as a standalone voice.

USA Synyster Gates Signature Pickup

The Schecter USA Synyster Gates Signature pickup in the bridge is wound domestically to Gates's spec and ships with a black engraved cover. In practice, it's a high-output humbucker voiced for clarity at gain — tighter low end than you'd expect from a hot pickup, with enough top-end definition that it doesn't turn to mush on fast picked passages. For tracking rhythm guitar in dense mixes, that clarity is worth more than raw output.

Floyd Rose 1500 Locking System

The Floyd Rose 1500 Series handles both the nut and the bridge — a full locking trem setup. In a recording context, the pitch stability is the headline feature: once the system is set up and strings are stretched, tuning holds across a full session even with aggressive tremolo use. The tradeoff is setup time. Restringing and intonation adjustments take longer than a fixed-bridge guitar, and open-tuning between takes isn't practical. If your sessions involve frequent tuning changes or alternate tunings, that friction is real.

Construction Details Worth Knowing

• Body: Mahogany, flat top, deep insert joint with Ultra Access heel — the upper-fret access is genuinely better than a standard bolt-on, which matters when you're tracking above the 17th fret
• Neck: 3-piece mahogany with carbon fiber reinforcement rods, Ultra Thin "C" profile — 0.748" (19mm) at the 1st fret, 0.787" (20mm) at the 12th
• Fretboard: Ebony, 16" (406mm) radius, 24 X-jumbo stainless steel frets — the flat-ish radius keeps bends in tune across the board, and stainless frets hold up to heavy playing without wearing into the tone over time
• Scale: 25.5" (648mm), tuned to standard with Ernie Ball Regular Slinky .010–.046 from the factory
• Tuners: Grover, black hardware throughout
• Inlays: Gold pearloid 'SYN' and Deathbat side dot markers — visible under studio lighting, which matters more than it sounds when you're tracking in a dim live room

Who Should Pass on This One

The mahogany body and USA pickup give this guitar a warm, thick foundation — but the Sustainiac occupying the neck position means it's not a two-pickup guitar in the traditional sense. If you need a full-range clean neck voice for session work that spans genres, or if you're tracking mostly clean and edge-of-breakup tones, this isn't the right tool. A guitar with two conventional pickups will serve you better.

Similarly, if the Floyd Rose setup friction doesn't fit your workflow — you're switching tunings between tracks, you prefer a guitar you can restring in five minutes before a session — a hardtail would be a smarter buy regardless of the savings here.

The B-Stock Math

At $1,999.00 new, this guitar's price reflects the USA-wound pickup, Sustainiac system, and Floyd Rose hardware — none of which are cheap components. At $1,599.20 in B-Stock, you're getting the same electronics, the same construction, the same warranty coverage, and a cosmetic note that on a factory-distressed finish is often nearly invisible in context. Check the listing photos for the specific blemish on the unit you're buying. If it's on the back of the body or the headstock rear, you'll likely never see it during a session.

If the Sustainiac and Floyd Rose combination fits your production workflow, this is a strong buy at B-Stock pricing. If either of those features works against how you actually record, save the money and find something that fits the session.

View the Schecter Synyster Custom-S Distressed guitar in Distressed Satin Black Product Page

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the factory-distressed finish make B-Stock blemishes harder to spot?

Often, yes. Because the Distressed Satin Black finish is intentionally worn and aged at the factory, a minor cosmetic blemish — a scuff, a small mark — can be genuinely difficult to distinguish from the intended distressing. Always check the listing photos for the specific noted flaw, but on this finish, the B-Stock designation is frequently less visually significant than it would be on a gloss or clean satin guitar.

Can the Sustainiac be bypassed to use the neck position as a normal pickup?

No. The Sustainiac driver occupies the neck pickup position and replaces a conventional neck pickup entirely. When the Sustainiac is off, the neck position is inactive. Your pickup blending options while the system is off are bridge-only or bridge-and-middle if you use the 3-way selector creatively. This is a core design decision of the guitar, not a B-Stock issue.

Is the Floyd Rose 1500 a full-spec Floyd or a licensed version?

The Floyd Rose 1500 Series is a genuine Floyd Rose product — not a licensed copy from a third-party manufacturer. It's a step below the Original in terms of materials and machining tolerance, but it's a real double-locking trem system made by Floyd Rose, and it performs accordingly for studio use.

What strings does it ship with, and should I change them before tracking?

The guitar ships with Ernie Ball Regular Slinky .010–.046 — a standard light set that matches the 25.5" scale well and is a reasonable starting point for most rock and metal tracking. If you're planning to record immediately, give the strings time to stretch and stabilize after setup before committing takes, especially with a Floyd Rose system. A fresh set of your preferred strings, properly stretched and intonated, will serve you better than tracking on strings that came in from shipping.