7 string ok for beginners?

[ixlramp]

> 7 string ok for beginners?

Yes of course, you should play whatever instrument your intuition desires, otherwise you are just pointlessly torturing yourself.
Only playing a 7 is practice for playing a 7, playing fewer strings is not.

This 'master X first before you play the Y you really want' thing irritates me and is irrational.
Someone said that to me once when i desired a 6 string bass: "master 4 string first", i would have died of old age before touching a 6 string. He was a 4 string bassist, unsurprisingly.
No-one delayed me getting a 6 but now i do i wish i had started even sooner.

Also ridiculous is this idea you have to increment upwards by 1 string at a time, that just wastes even more of your money and time and makes your true desire even more distant.

Playing instruments that don't interest you as much increases the chances of you getting bored and giving up on playing before you get the instrument that inspires you.

 

[ixlramp]

Sounds like you're just trying to fit into the trend of "more strings" or "7 is the new 6" (whatever the mentality is).

Doesn't sound like it to me.

I think guitarist should be well rounded, before venturing too far left of center.
Learn the basics, then, transition to ERG's.

Nonsense. If you desire an ERG from the start, once you get to ERG you'll regret not starting sooner.

I got the idea of buying a 7 string because I've always been interested in what gives a style of music it's signature sound. But I guess there's still a lot of fun stuff I can do with the 6, without needing to over complicating things

This is very sad to see. You obviously have an interest in 7 but you're now pointlessly deciding to play instruments that interest you less.
7 is not overcomplicated, neither is 8.
Don't let fools kill your dreams with their own irrationality.

 

[LeviathanKiller]

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.

No, there's one for 619 euros. Quite a few between 600 and 700 euros actually.

I think I tried a cheaper Dean maybe once. I wouldn't recommend Dean based off that experience I had.

Ibanez in this price range isn't going to be good either. Schecter has been much better in my experience testing/playing the lower end series from those mentioned brands.

That Banshee Extreme looks like a great option actually. One of the few people I've seen with one said they enjoyed it a lot so I'd give it a shot.

 

[spudmunkey]

7-string isn't, like, 16.66667% harder than 6-string. If 7-string were "too hard", then why don't we all play 5-string, which would be easier? There's only 5 more notes you can't play on a 5-string that you can on a 6, right?

You'll find it MUCH easier to learn on a 7 than going from 6 to a 7. I tried for about 3 months to switch from 6 to 7, and it was way harder to re-program my brain than I was expecting.

 

[spudmunkey]

Moving from 6 to 8 strings can be quite a daunting move but moving from 6 to 7 is very natural..

Funny you say that...I've seen that mentioned before, but I've seen a couple people say that 6-to-7 was a bit of a struggle, because it was like they were dancing and then god suddenly gave them a 3rd foot...while an 8-string seemed like a whole 'nother instrument, which was easier to wrap their head around as it seemed to take a whole different mindset. I can't vouch for either, though, so don't listen to me.

 

[GrayLion]

What about Legator Ninja P?

 

[High Plains Drifter]

Funny you say that...I've seen that mentioned before, but I've seen a couple people say that 6-to-7 was a bit of a struggle, because it was like they were dancing and then god suddenly gave them a 3rd foot...while an 8-string seemed like a whole 'nother instrument, which was easier to wrap their head around as it seemed to take a whole different mindset. I can't vouch for either, though, so don't listen to me.

It really does seem to be quite different for everyone. I can certainly understand that mindset in regards to 8-strings. I think there's a lot of variables that go into the equation... learning ability, what type of music the person is wanting to play, etc. I'm an oddball because I use my sevens for sludgy stoner type stuff typically. In that regard I don't think I fit the norm of this forum because I'm not into the whole death/ black/ djent scene. I use my sevens when I want to bridge the gap between typical metal rhythm/ solo stuff and deep low end riffing. I think that the transition for me was easy due to the fact that 1) I don't do things right... and 2) it's nothing more to me than simply adding a low B to standard tuning.

 

[GrayLion]

Jackson DKAF7 MS X-Series Dinky IL looks like the best option so far

 

[LeviathanKiller]

What about Legator Ninja P?

No to Legator. The only Legator I'd ever buy was one someone took to a professional luthier and had fix into a decent instrument. The quality is horrible judging by the amount of complaints I've seen actual buyers/players have. Meanwhile, they'll give their artists nice fixed up ones to advertise with. You'll have much better luck with that Banshee Extreme.

 

[diagrammatiks]

Jackson DKAF7 MS X-Series Dinky IL looks like the best option so far

That Jackson ff is a great bang for the buck guitar.

 

[GrayLion]

That Jackson ff is a great bang for the buck guitar.

Yes, but no trem and hot pickups, where I want vintage. What looks very tempting, especially for the money is the Schecter Banshee 7 Extreme CB. Tremolo can be refitted and I'll have to live without the fanfret. That bears the question about pulling the high notes - doable? What kind of gauge would people recommend?

 

[Se7enHeaven]

For the price I think Solar is one of the best companies, at least if you're playing rock/metal. There's something buttery about the play and fretboard, whereas other guitars I have (1.5 to 2 times the price) have a stiffer feel when played. I like it easy on the fingers since I tend to press too hard at times (lack of technical skill, lol).

 

[GrayLion]

Thanks!. I am after clean tones though. Schecter Banshee 7 Extreme seems to currently tick most of my boxes

 

[Se7enHeaven]

Solar can do clean tones, that's not an issue.. it's when you start cranking things up that you hear the difference between other metal type guitars and the clarity of a Solar. The Solar pickups (presuming they are the Solar models) are very flat... no noticeable bass, midrange or treble, which makes them very ideal for tweaking your own gear and for the tone to cut through the mix.

 

[HungryGuitarStudent]

I'm sure you'll have a lot of fun learning to play a 7-string. At the end of the day, it's an outlet for musical creations and if having 7 strings inspires you more and corresponds more to your musical tastes, then go for it and don't listen to the irrational "increment by 1 string" argument.

For ease of playing I'd recommend one with "small' scale length (25.5), jumbo frets and a "thin" neck, but that's just me, try many and you'll find what feels right.

 

[PunkBillCarson]

Something that a lot of people forget is that when a player can't sound similar to what they want to play, it discourages them. People always told me that I should only play with a clean tone, no distortion when I was starting out and I'm like "well, Metallica and all my favorite bands don't play clean when they're really hammering, so why should I?" The closer you can get to sounding like how you want to sound, the better off you'll be and the more likely you are to pick up your instrument. If a kid just starting out wanted to get a 7 to play Korn, I'd tell them the same thing. You don't HAVE to start on anything you don't want to start on. Selecting the right tool for the job in music is half the battle.

 

[Se7enHeaven]

Not sure if anyone else stated this, but I think it also depends on how long your fingers are. I have smallish hands, and although I play 7 and 8 string guitars (often using 6 string), I don't find it that big a deal. Then again, I do more riffing and melodic lead vs. shredding (just can't get into that and it). If a beginner has a good finger span, I don't think playing a 7 string is a big deal, and often people use the top string as a open drone or the odd 'bass line' within a riff, etc. It's not like you have to learn much more music theory when adding a string.

 

[777timesgod]

A good thing with learning on a 7 string is that it is harder to wrap your thumb over the fretboard from the back to the front due to the width of the neck. When I begun I used to wrap the thumb over the neck and reached the fretboard as opposed to the more proper way of keeping the thumb out of sight and extending the fingers on the fretboard in a more linear way. When I began lessons my teacher called me out on it and my response was "But Slash does it as well..."
When I bought my first 7 string (a Washburn WG157) it helped a lot as it was a pain to go the wrong way.

 

[Se7enHeaven]

I find wrapping the thumb over top is useful in certain situations, long intense string bending (just ask Clapton). Hard on the fingers if you don't use your thumb joint and hand strength to participate. Tell your teacher that.

 

[777timesgod]

I find wrapping the thumb over top is useful in certain situations, long intense string bending (just ask Clapton). Hard on the fingers if you don't use your thumb joint and hand strength to participate. Tell your teacher that.

Agreed but I have not seen him in more than a decade to present the comeback. Lol. I do wrap the thumb for some instances in songs but I make sure to return to the proper position to prevent tiring myself as doing the wrap creates big tension.