7 string ok for beginners?

bostjan

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playing 6 string songs on 7 is a huge pain, especially on chord or strum heavy songs

Even if you use a windmill strumming approach, the only way that this could be a problem is if you are less conscious of the seventh string than the sixth string.

The first thing I did when I bought a seven string guitar was figure out which bass notes sounded good with which chords (for example, playing D major as 3 x 0 0 2 3 2, G/B as 0 3 2 0 0 3 3, A/C# as 2 0 0 2 2 2 x, etc.)
 

P-Ride

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I find it interesting how rarely anyone debating scale length and number of strings mentions their age/size/general build.

My girlfriend is 5'5" and weighs 100lb.. I tried to teach her a few chords on my 24.75" Gibson Les Paul recently and she' can't manage the fret reach for some really basic chords.

Honestly, if she wants to learn, she'll need to go for a 3/4 size.

Whereas I'm 200lb and have fingers so wide that I cannot fret three strings next to each other on the same fret. It's impossible. That affects my whole style of play (rhythmic, lots of two-note chords).

I'm consequently venturing towards longer scale lengths.
 

bostjan

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I find it interesting how rarely anyone debating scale length and number of strings mentions their age/size/general build.

My girlfriend is 5'5" and weighs 100lb.. I tried to teach her a few chords on my 24.75" Gibson Les Paul recently and she' can't manage the fret reach for some really basic chords.

Honestly, if she wants to learn, she'll need to go for a 3/4 size.

Whereas I'm 200lb and have fingers so wide that I cannot fret three strings next to each other on the same fret. It's impossible. That affects my whole style of play (rhythmic, lots of two-note chords).

I'm consequently venturing towards longer scale lengths.

Maybe because it really has more to do with conditioning than size. I'm 5'9" and I have no problems playing a Dingwall for a four hour show. I also gravitate toward rather large guitars, 28" and longer scale. But I also love to play microtonal guitars and Mandolins, which have much closer fret spacing. But the difference in tuning means I don't have to bunch my fingers up.

My wife is significantly shorter than your girlfriend, but she has no issues with a 34" bass (although she's said that she doesn't like my Dingwall). And I've seen plenty of complaints on this forum from guys over two meters tall who shy away from extended scale guitars.

So I don't think it's height or weight that's the issue.
 

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TedEH

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If there's anything surprisingly missing from the conversation, it's the options OP picked for "beginners" guitars.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but an rg652fx is a prestige level isn't it? Seems overkill to me for someone who has only been playing for a year. It's probably not a bad choice of instrument just in general, but it's not a "learners" instrument. I've been playing for maybe 15 years, and I still use a standard series Ibanez most of the time.

If the original question was "are these ok for beginners", the answer is "those are ok for anyone".
 

Psionic

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If there's anything surprisingly missing from the conversation, it's the options OP picked for "beginners" guitars.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but an rg652fx is a prestige level isn't it? Seems overkill to me for someone who has only been playing for a year. It's probably not a bad choice of instrument just in general, but it's not a "learners" instrument. I've been playing for maybe 15 years, and I still use a standard series Ibanez most of the time.

If the original question was "are these ok for beginners", the answer is "those are ok for anyone".

Dosent really have to do with being beginner or an advanced player, anyone is free to spent as much money on his gear as he wants.(Scale is a different thing, wouldnt say 8 string 30 inch is very beginner friendly)
A good guitar may keep you practicing and playing more since you have more fun doing it.
And if you buy something used you mostly dont even loose money if you dont play anymore or dont like the guitar, because you can sell it for the same price you bought it if you dont damage it.

I would say if you like playing and are willing to invest some money get what you really want before you get stuck with something you dont want and bought because it was cheap or someone told you it would be right buying it.
Try to get something used preferably japanese/korean made at least and spare yourself of chinese Toy Guitars its just a big gamble with them.
Never had a bad Japanese Guitar and actually a Schecter blackjack V was one of the nicest sounding intruments i owned still regret selling it but would mainly stick with japanese if you buy it used and cant test it.
 

TedEH

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^ Didn't mean to say you can't learn on a good quality instrument. It might even be better to learn on one like that. Just meant to point out that these aren't entry level guitars we're talking about, so that could be taken two ways- if we're trying to find the minimum bar for "good enough to properly learn on", we've easily surpassed that - but also, there's room to jump down a tier or two in terms of quality if cost is an issue, which would mostly be cutting out details or polish etc. that might not even be very noticeable to someone who hasn't been playing very long. It certainly took me more than a year to be able to discern the quality of an instrument outside of looking at the price tag.

But if those thing's aren't a concern, then by all means, go for the best thing that you're willing to invest in.
 

Psionic

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Its pretty hard at least on the price hand to determine beginner level.
Depends on how much you want to spend and your preferences.
Better to take a aim at a price range and find out whats the best for the buck.
Some years ago i bought a rg760 from the early 90s for under 300€ what would you say is this guitar? :D
Looking on the price beginner level i would say, on the other hand quality wise top notch.

So to me beginner guitars are non existent.

Anyways back on topic i think if you want to play 7 string and you are willing to practice get one, get it used and if you dont like it sell it.
I honestly think playing 7 strings improves playing in terms of technique (if you practice proper) at least for me it did.

899€ for the indo ibanez seems way too much to me considering what you can get used for the money.
 

GrayLion

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Also beginner here. Currently learning on a classic guitar and looking for my first electric. Looking at the Harley Benton R-457 WH Fanfret (sorry, not allowed to post link) where the pickups are reportedly utter sh*te, so they'd need replacing immediately.
 

777timesgod

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Also beginner here. Currently learning on a classic guitar and looking for my first electric. Looking at the Harley Benton R-457 WH Fanfret (sorry, not allowed to post link) where the pickups are reportedly utter sh*te, so they'd need replacing immediately.

Did you try the fan fretted type and liked it? If not check it out first before buying. If you just need a 7 string then there are many choices but fanned fret is not so easy, especially on a budget.

If money is an issue, you can check the used market, Harley Bentons are not really a great choice. They are aimed at the new player who does not know anything about gear and does not want to spend much.

Since you like Korn/Deftones, Ibanez and LTD have many cheap models for you to choose from. Let us know your budget and maybe someone here can point you on the right direction.
 

GrayLion

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Wrong guy - my kink is Knopfler, The Edge, Gilmoure up to AC/DC. I just jumped into the thread.

The reason the Thomann guy gave was really poor quality control. I am now looking at a Cort KX500MS. But that basically means that it won't be my first ...
 

FILTHnFEAR

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Get a 7.

You can play everything you can on a 6, it'll improve your technique to avoid the 7th string if it's not needed, and honestly it opens up a lot of cool, creative possibilities.

Playing got so much more fun and interesting to me when I started playing 7's after a few years hiatus from them.
 

diagrammatiks

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Wrong guy - my kink is Knopfler, The Edge, Gilmoure up to AC/DC. I just jumped into the thread.

The reason the Thomann guy gave was really poor quality control. I am now looking at a Cort KX500MS. But that basically means that it won't be my first ...


I’d avoid the Cort unless you can try it out first. The design of the parallel fret makes it a very weird fan for anyone that doesn’t have Tom winspear sized yeti hands.

There is the cheaper Jackson and schecter reaper series available now you should look into.
 

LeviathanKiller

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Buy a 7 (preferably 26.5" imo, wouldn't do 27" or longer when starting out). If you decide that 7 is too complicated for now, simply remove the 7th string. WHY in the world have none of you other guys suggested this yet? :lol:

If you do remove the 7th string, you'll still be learning to work with a 7-string neck which will make perfect for when you do decide to add the 7th string back into the mix.

I switched to 7-strings about 2 years ago and haven't looked back really. Playing on a 7-string has been MUCH more comfortable for me.

Also, when selecting a guitar, be sure to post here so we can help you out with any options. While you don't need a fancy guitar to start out, I would at least get a decent one that has nice stock pickups. The Schecter Reaper series seems to be getting some love and Solar has some really nice options too.

What's your price range? I see you're located in London so Thomann is one of your major music gear distributors right?
 

GrayLion

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*g*, my profile says Ireland. where London isn't ;) Thomann is more or less the best option, since I am aiming to get most of my kit form there. And the Cort seems the next best option if I want fanfret which seems to be the rational thing with a 7 string. Since the HB had really crappy pickups, I was thinking swapping them out for Seymour Duncan PRails. Custom made for 7 string and with vintage rails rather than hot rails.

What I like about the Cort is that it is ash.

At the moment I am looking at a 6 string rig instead with the Cort G 260. If ye are saying I can do without fanfret What would you suggest? I'd prefer not to break 300€ or 400€ max
 

G_3_3_k_

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I transitioned from 6 to 7 almost ten years ago. 7 to 8, 7 years ago. Sold my 8's 2 years ago, and bought a new one this year. Missed it too much. I write songs and melody on a 6 because its easier to utilize the entirety of standard chord shapes. I write most of the riff on the lower strings and transpose the songs lower for the 8 if that's what I hear. There are myriad ways to tune a guitar however many strings it has. If you start out on a 7 or even an 8, it won't honestly be any different than starting out on a 6. Maybe a little more physical. But not by enough for it to matter all that much.
 

LeviathanKiller

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*g*, my profile says Ireland. where London isn't ;) Thomann is more or less the best option, since I am aiming to get most of my kit form there. And the Cort seems the next best option if I want fanfret which seems to be the rational thing with a 7 string. Since the HB had really crappy pickups, I was thinking swapping them out for Seymour Duncan PRails. Custom made for 7 string and with vintage rails rather than hot rails.

What I like about the Cort is that it is ash.

At the moment I am looking at a 6 string rig instead with the Cort G 260. If ye are saying I can do without fanfret What would you suggest? I'd prefer not to break 300€ or 400€ max

I was responding to OP but didn't realize you had necro-bumped and were the one seeking advice. My bad.

You can do with or without multi-scale. It'll make some chording work easier, some harder.

I'd avoid getting custom pickups made for your first electric guitar. There's plenty of great stock options to try first before diving into something custom. Plus custom shop would cost you quite a bit. You're looking at spending at least $300 USD for a set of customs from Seymour Duncan. That's a conservative estimate and it's already sitting equal to what you want to spend on a guitar.

Have you checked out Solar guitars? They ship to Ireland and Thomann also sells some models. The stock pickups in them are pretty good. They can be around $700 USD new but you might get lucky on a B-stock directly from them or try to find one used. They are really good quality in my experience.

There's not much in your price range of 300€ to 400€ that's going to be without some sort of compromises. The Harley Benton might be a good option and then just swap pickups when you can.
 

GrayLion

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Solar 7 strings seem to be costing over 1k$. What about the Dean MAB-7X Michael Angelo Batio CB , even though it has 25.5 string length, or the Ibanez RGMS7-BK Multiscale?

The Dean is tempting due to less loud pickups and tremolo.

Another option seems to be the Schecter Banshee 7 Extreme BCHB

My feeling at the moment is that I'd probably rather compromise on 7 strings than on the kind of pickups I want. That would just annoy me all the time. Again, I am looking for clean sound, not metal.
 
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