25'5 neck vs 26'5/27'

[TGI11]

Hey,

I'm planning to buy a 7 string guitar...
Only thing I'm still unsure about is which guitar i should choose...

My choices are:

Agile Interceptor 727 pro... 27' neck
Ibanez RGD2127z... 26'5 neck
Ibanez RG1527... 25'5 neck

All guitars seem great, but I'm unable to choose between the neck lenghts.
I would like to play the guitar in a pretty low tuning, but still have the strings tight..... Drop G (G D G C F A D) or A (A E A D G B E).....

Do you think the RG1527 25'5 neck would do the job or should i consider the agile or RGD?

Please leave your opinions and suggestions!

 

[Xenos0176]

One guy posted this about a thread i had about 8 string guitars, maybe this will help u out:

In a nutshell, it's tone vs. playability.

Obviously tone's subjective, but it's widely accepted that the longer scales sound better for low notes. The longer scale gives you more tension (tighter strings basically), and means you can use lighter gauge strings (for example, say a .072 for low F), which have more clarity and sound more guitar-like. It's also easier to intonate thinner strings on a longer scale.

Shorter scales are more playable (less huge stretches), and the higher notes sound a bit fatter and sweeter. To achieve desirable tension for the lower strings, though, you'll have to use significantly heavier strings (say, an .080 for F). Because the string's got a larger core, it's gonna sound a lot rounder and boomier, like a bass.

IMHO, I'd say shoot for an Agile. The Schecters can work, but it's pushing it. I owned a Damien Elite 8, and I used an .080 for my low F/E, and the tension was decent, but it sounded pretty fat. It could be done for F#, but barely. I think 27" is the reasonable minimum for anything below F#, and even then, I notice some flub.

If you didn't tell me the Schecters had a 26.5" scale, I probably wouldn't have realized it. Even with 27", it's noticeable, but it didn't take any adjustment time for me, and wasn't uncomfortable at all, just slightly different. I have really stubby fingers, too.

I say go Agile, because the 28.6" scale seems to be the sweet spot, for most people, between playability and tone

kudos to philligan

 

[exordium]

It all depends on what you want from the guitar. If you want to play in Drop A, you don't need an extended scale guitar, 25.5" scale 7s are fine. In fact, some bands (like Born of Osiris) even play in Drop G on 25.5" scale guitars.
Having an extended scale guitar like the RGD would mean that you could get more (or the same) string tension with the same (or lighter) string gauge. It would feel tighter, and the low notes would be better defined.

Since you said you want to play in a low tuning but with tight strings, I would say go for the RGD2127Z. It's well worth the money, from what I've seen. The RG1527Z is also a great guitar, you'd just have to use a heavier set of strings to achieve the same tension.

I haven't played any Agiles, so I'm not sure how these play vs. the Ibanez guitars. My vote goes to the RGD.

 

[Emperoff]

Both Ibanezs smoke the Agile. For tuning that low I'd go for extended scales without a doubt. I play in drop A and 26'5" is my favourite scale lenght so far, best of both worlds.

Also keep in mind that there are quite a few more factors in tightness and definition than scale length, such as construction (bolt-on has the snappiest attack) and the woods used (basswood attack sucks, but being bolt-on helps).

My recommendation? Surf the web and get a nice RG1077XL or RG2077XL used (Or a RG7421XL if you want a hardtail). They're all 27" scale and high-quality axes that will get the job done.

 

[XylemBassGuitar]

TGI11, do you have access to any of these guitars? It would be great if you could test them out a little bit because the tension you will feel on the strings of these guitars at lower tunings will be very subjective. That is, none of us know your exact playing preferences and what feels right in terms of string tension to us might not feel right to you.

Very generally, longer scale lengths will have tighter-feeling strings and heavier-gauge strings will usually feel tighter too. Again, this is very general, there are exceptions and it is always subject to your own personal preferences.

In my opinion, dropping the 25.5" length Ibanez to a low G will make the 7th string pretty "floppy" feeling (though it should still play fine) while the longer scale lengths will feel a bit tighter at that tuning. However, as mentioned by other members, you could definitely try some thicker gauge strings to increase the tension a little on the 25.5" scale guitar.

Again, your best bet might be to try these out. You might even consider slapping a low string on a 25.5" six string guitar for a day or two and seeing how that feels, it might at least give you an idea.

 

[Sepultorture]

I'VE owned 27" scale length guitars, and i even now can never feel a difference between a 25.5 and a 27.

 

[ZXIIIT]

I have a 25.5" and a 27" 7 string, I noticed how the 27" 7 string felt tighter right away (a bit too much for me)

I would recommend a 26.5" 7 string but try test play all 3 if you can before you buy one.

 

[Shannon]

Any of these guitars will do just fine for the tunings you brought up.
Say, if you use 10 gauge strings on a 25.5, you'll get the same feel by using 9 gauge strings on 26.5-27. You do not need baritone scale lengths of 27+ to achieve this. Personally, I prefer 25.5, but I do have a 26.5 schecter & it feels fine. I only notice the larger stretches from 27+ instruments.

 

[JCD]

Any of these guitars will do just fine for the tunings you brought up.
Say, if you use 10 gauge strings on a 25.5, you'll get the same feel by using 9 gauge strings on 26.5-27. You do not need baritone scale lengths of 27+ to achieve this. Personally, I prefer 25.5, but I do have a 26.5 schecter & it feels fine. I only notice the larger stretches from 27+ instruments.

What he said. I used to have a UV777BK and an RG1077XL and I noticed a big difference in tension and stretches between the two. Universe was easy to do big stretch chords but the low B was much floppier than the 27" 1077. I would imagine a 26.5" would be a nice compromise.

 

[Emperoff]

What he said. I used to have a UV777BK and an RG1077XL and I noticed a big difference in tension and stretches between the two. Universe was easy to do big stretch chords but the low B was much floppier than the 27" 1077. I would imagine a 26.5" would be a nice compromise.

I actually notice it A LOT. I never understood people who claim they don't feel the difference. To me is inmediatly noticiable when I start stretching things.

I also don't think a 27" with 009s has the same tension than a 25'5" with 010s. It's more of a "in-between" spot that I personally love (even more on 26,5"). I'd try the 9,5 sets some companies do if they weren't so terribly mismatched in tension

I'm very curious about the 26 3/16 scale that Bernie Rico uses. Haven't tried that one (yet )

 

[Anonymous]

My RG7321 can hold G if that helps. 25'5
Next time I get a 7 though I'm probably going to look for something with a longer scale though, even if its just 26' or so

 

[zack6]

Go for the RGD dude, i'm using the lower version rgd 320, and its sounds great...
For the string tension, i think it feels really good with longer scale...
I cant imagine the tension on Gibby flying v and explorer 7 string LOL

 

[shogunate]

I had played the 26.5" scale on a few schecters and never knew until after I had put them back down. Had I known, I would have tried tuning them down to see the low end response. 27" is basically like adding another fret before the first fret of a 25.5" scale, if that makes any sense

One thing that was lightly touched on is the the tighter tension makes the high end sound shrill and brittle, an easy fix is to use lighter or custom gauge strings for the high end. Personally, longer scales are much better for me having thick fingers, I can actually move faster rather than scrunching my fingers on the high frets

Another small factor that puts the RGD2127z above the others, in my mind: The titanium reinforcement bars in the neck. The prestige RGDs have this, the regular ones don't

 

[Rook]

I will say this.

The added tension on a longer scale doesn't feel or sound the same as having say a thicker or higher tension string on a standard scale. There's more of a firm feel to it. I persoanlly love the feel of extended scales for soloing and lead playing.

But yeah, not the same thing. And the added tension isn't anything you couldn't get with thicker strings on a standard scale. You get a bit more clarity on the low string but that's because of the thinner string as much as the longer scale. High harmonics can oscillate more freely on lower tension and thinner strings and that's brightness/clarity.

 

[Dayn]

A 25.5" will do it... personally, I absolutely hate the tone of thicker strings on shorter scales. I'd rather a 27", as that's what I'm used to now, but it also sounds better than a 25.5" to me. I can tell the difference in playability between the two lengths, it's extremely pronounced for me. It's hard to play higher on the neck now on 25.5". Too cramped.

I haven't tried a 26.5" scale, but out of the Agile and the prestige RGD, I'd go with the Ibanez. Far better quality. Except it doesn't have a tone knob from what I remember...

 

[JCD]

Another thing I noticed is that there's a big difference in spacing based on frets too. 22 fret 25.5" feels almost as big as 24 fret 27". I'm sure most all extended scale guitars are 24 fret (and up sometimes) but it was an observation I made when comparing a couple guitars.

 

[7 Dying Trees]

If you're going to play a lot of lead stuff, and stuff in the upper mid-high registers, then I'd avoid a long scale length as it just sounds thin, way prefer 25.5" for that.

If you're going to play mostly in the bass register, go for the longer scale length.

I tune down to A and get away with a 64/62 on the bottom string, and have used 70's before at some point. Intonation may get a bit tricky on a 25.5" though for tuning down to G.

To be honest I'd be inclined to go for 26.5" as a happy comprimise, although I'd still plump for standard 25.5"

 

[clopstyle]

I use a .52-.09 set tuned to drop G# on a 25.5" and on a 27". The 27" is definitely a bit tighter, but both feel fine to me. This setup may be a bit too loose for some, but I like it.

 

[Scattered Messiah]

Imo, the difference is actually a bit more, than only about tension:
with the longer scale, you get a different sound first (a baritone tuned to E sounds different than a 25.5 tuned to E, even with same string tension). A baritone scale, at least to me, has a little different mid-spectrum than an same (but for the scale difference) standart ... it sounds a little bit bigger, I would guess.
If you have no problem, with slightly bigger stretches on the first 7 frets, I'd go for the baritones. Playing lead, you have more space available for your fingers - the shrill sound of the upper strings can be compensated by altering the pickup-heigth there and putting on slightly thinner strings. Playing rythm you usually have a clearer, tighter sound without having to mess with constructionsite wires.