ESP 7 String Arrows

[Vyn]

I haven't really posted an NGD on here for ages however since I've kept all of these. Anyone who's followed some of the pointy guitars hashtags on instagram or is a member of some of the ESP FB groups has probably seen some of these photos before.

So at the end of 2021 I managed to assemble all 4 E-II 7 string Arrow models in the one spot. From left to right:
ESP E-II Katana JL-7
ESP E-II Muramasa
ESP E-II Arrow-7
ESP E-II Arrow-7 Babymetal

Since that original photo at the end of 2021, I've modified all of them to varying degrees, all but the Babymetal have been fully scalloped. I did all the scalloping myself, first one was 12 hours over a few days, by the time I got the third one done I had it down to about 8 hours. It's not perfect and you can see imperfections however functionally it's excellent and I learned a lot in the process. The Arrow-7 and Baby Arrow-7 have been converted to single humbucker guitars with the pickup wired straight to the jack, the Katana has also had its bridge humbucker wired in a similar fashion. All are running Lundgren M7 bridge humbuckers now with the exception of the Standard Arrow-7 that has an SD Nazgul in it (mainly because I had it lying around and I've been too lazy to order another M7 from Lundgren haha). Que photo dump!

And of course, the obligatory live shot:

Probably the happiest I've been with a guitar collection in a long time. They all get use both at home and live, they all sound and play great. If anyone has any questions feel free to ask away, I've spent way too many hours researching all of these.

 

[Hollowway]

Awesome collection! Do you have you pants custom made? Because you clearly have balls bigger than mine. No way in hell I’d scallop my own E-II. That said, they did come out reasonably well.

Question - why not leave the neck pickup in? Do you like it better with the hole there? For me, I think I’d rather have the pup there, or put something in the hole, like a little army man or something.

 

[M3CHK1LLA]

wow...nice collection.
still love pointy guitars.

ive been wanting to pick one up myself and was looking at the babymetal for a while.

ultimately couldnt justify another 7 string since i dont my xiphos or hornet as much anymore and am almost exclusivly using 6ers now.
a friend bought the katana and loved it so much he got the muramasa. they really are nice guitar...

which is your favorite?

 

[Vyn]

Awesome collection! Do you have you pants custom made? Because you clearly have balls bigger than mine. No way in hell I’d scallop my own E-II. That said, they did come out reasonably well.

Question - why not leave the neck pickup in? Do you like it better with the hole there? For me, I think I’d rather have the pup there, or put something in the hole, like a little army man or something.

Haha, nah my pants are the same size as everyone else's - I was shitting myself the whole time However I do come from motocycle culture where modding and doing potentially irreversible, expensive mods is the norm. I'm quite utilitarian with guitars, to me they are tools to get a job done and if they need modifying to do that then it is what it is. I've been playing on fully scalloped guitars now for nearly 4 years and I don't really want to go back, so my options are limited if I just stick to factory guitars (which is basically Yngwie sigs or some japanese strats which are only 6s or custom 1-offs which are prohibitively expensive, and that's before the up-charge for a scalloped board).

I like the hot-rod look of it just being an empty hole, no controls (although I have thought about being a bit punk by putting a bit of gaff over the empty hole with "NOPE" written on it haha). Additionally they are just that little bit lighter which makes a difference - the Katana, Babymetal and standard Arrows are all maple neck-through, any bit of weight saving is a bonus.

wow...nice collection.
still love pointy guitars.

ive been wanting to pick one up myself and was looking at the babymetal for a while.

ultimately couldnt justify another 7 string since i dont my xiphos or hornet as much anymore and am almost exclusivly using 6ers now.
a friend bought the katana and loved it so much he got the muramasa. they really are nice guitar...

which is your favorite?

My favourite is hands down the Muramasa as the 27" scale is way more comfortable (all of them are in Bb standard which isn't low tuned at all, I just find 27" more comfortable than 25.5"), although the Katana is solidly in second place. I do wish I could combine the two of them, a Muramasa with a floyd would be the ultimate!

 

[Sebastian]

Impressive! Hard to choose the best looking one! (maybe the silverburst! )

 

[Edika]

Awesome collection, not a fan of scalloped frets but if they suit you like then that's great! That JL-7 Katana was literally the perfect V. A shame it's not produced anymore or at least a variation of that!

 

[narad]

Looks really well done. I've been wanting to scallop a horizon for a while, but the problem is those side dots getting weirdly distorted. I wonder - I heard of guys "upgrading" their side dots before (usually to luminlay), so does that mean they could be replaced with white dots before scalloping so it blends in with the binding?

 

[Vyn]

Impressive! Hard to choose the best looking one! (maybe the silverburst! )

A good silverburst is the best finish on any guitar!

Awesome collection, not a fan of scalloped frets but if they suit you like then that's great! That JL-7 Katana was literally the perfect V. A shame it's not produced anymore or at least a variation of that!

You can get a Katana if you have enough coin as ESP still offer it as a CS Artist model:

https://espguitars.co.jp/artists/7345/

They also pop up from time to time used although I haven't seen one in a long while.

Looks really well done. I've been wanting to scallop a horizon for a while, but the problem is those side dots getting weirdly distorted. I wonder - I heard of guys "upgrading" their side dots before (usually to luminlay), so does that mean they could be replaced with white dots before scalloping so it blends in with the binding?

It depends if the fretboard is bound or not. It's trickier if it's bound I think. If it's not you can file away first, dislodge the dots, fill with fretboard dust and then drill new ones. I think you'd almost have to re-do the binding on a bound fretboard because it would have small sections missing from where the old dots used to be.

 

[Dumple Stilzkin]

Goddamn, them are looking mighty fine.

 

[Emperoff]

If anyone has any questions feel free to ask away, I've spent way too many hours researching all of these.

Yes, YES I have questions

I've wanting to do the very exact thing for a looong time. These guitars are the only ESPs that haunt me in my sleep. And I want them all. Specially the Babymetal. So here I go:

- Neck... How is it? I've heard the Babymetal neck is quite thick. How thick are they, and which kind of profile? And of course, are the necks on them all the same? If not, could you tell me more about them?

- Do they neckdive?

 

[Chri]

Fuck me, this thread is bad for my wallet
Amazing collection you've got there!

 

[Pingu]

No offence to the sixers but Arrows just look 'right' as 7s. This is so badass! Really hope to own a Babymetal one day.

 

[Emperoff]

No offence to the sixers but Arrows just look 'right' as 7s. This is so badass! Really hope to own a Babymetal one day.

This right there. They're the perfect 7-string Rhoads.

 

[Captain Shoggoth]

Kick. ASS. I got an Arrow-7 recently; fretwork, bridge setup, body ergonomics, weight distribution, neck profile are all a clear and stark improvement vs my MIJ RR24 which, other than the compound radius, feels kinda obsolete now next to this precision-engineered weapon. Was always a Jackson/Rhoads guy but now I just want more Arrow 7s! That Katana with the Lundgren especially is

Some conservative mods (FU-Tone titanium parts, push-in Floyd arm, Schaller Sure Claw), farthest I pushed on that front was drilling it out for Dunlop flushmount straplocks - that scalloping is brave! Now I feel half tempted to give mine the tone pot it's asking for...





Only catch as I see it is the gloss finish feels a tad weird to the touch (I wanna say it feels almost oily??) and the clear coat is egregiously scratchable, even by pointy standards. Is that a thing on the others too? Might just me being unused to ESP?

 

[Bloody_Inferno]

That an impressive utilitarian weaponry you have there. Absolutely love the Arrow shape. Go forth and conquer.

 

[MAJ Meadows SF]

I don't know what's more impressive, the collection or the DIY scallop work! Absolutely awesome all the way around. I totally approve of this much pointed weaponry.

 

[Vyn]

Yes, YES I have questions

I've wanting to do the very exact thing for a looong time. These guitars are the only ESPs that haunt me in my sleep. And I want them all. Specially the Babymetal. So here I go:

- Neck... How is it? I've heard the Babymetal neck is quite thick. How thick are they, and which kind of profile? And of course, are the necks on them all the same? If not, could you tell me more about them?

- Do they neckdive?

So the Babymetal and the standard Arrow-7 are basically identical in terms of neck, feel, specs, really the only difference is the paint job and that the Babymetal is routed for soapbars where as the standard is routed for conventional sized humbuckers.

Comparing them to the Jess sigs, things start getting different - Both the Muramasa and the Katana have completely different necks. The Katana is still a 12"/305mm radius like the Babymetal and standard Arrow-7 however it's got a lot more girth to it (personally I find it more comfortable). The neck on the Muramasa is the most radically different as the Muramasa is 27"/686mm scale bolt-on instead of 25.5"/648mm scale neck-through like the other three and has a 16"/405mm radius, along with a different neck profile again (although I find it really comfortable, it's my daily driver).Can't find my callipers at the moment however when I do I'll post 1st fret and 12th fret measurements.

Other noticeable differences are that both Jesse sigs have a rear body carve and they also have their strap buttons on the horn more towards the centre of the V than the other arrows. I've actually moved the strap button location on both the standard and Babymetal Arrows to match that of the Jesse sigs, and I've also changed them to dunlop flush mounts (the Muramasa comes standard with flush mounts, once I tried them there was no going back, especially on the neck strap button as the guitar doesn't try to fall away from your body as much).

Regarding neck dive - they all neck dive to a degree. The Muramasa is the worse for it because the body is so light (honduras mahogany combined with being a bolt-on) however with the strap button placement even that doesn't dive that much. Live I kinda lock the lower horn into my leg so I don't really notice it however I guess if you had a different posture it could make a difference. The 25.5" Arrows don't do it as much as they are all 3-piece maple neck-through with floyds so there's probably an extra kilo in the body alone.

Kick. ASS. I got an Arrow-7 recently; fretwork, bridge setup, body ergonomics, weight distribution, neck profile are all a clear and stark improvement vs my MIJ RR24 which, other than the compound radius, feels kinda obsolete now next to this precision-engineered weapon. Was always a Jackson/Rhoads guy but now I just want more Arrow 7s! That Katana with the Lundgren especially is

Some conservative mods (FU-Tone titanium parts, push-in Floyd arm, Schaller Sure Claw), farthest I pushed on that front was drilling it out for Dunlop flushmount straplocks - that scalloping is brave! Now I feel half tempted to give mine the tone pot it's asking for...

View attachment 123372

View attachment 123373

Only catch as I see it is the gloss finish feels a tad weird to the touch (I wanna say it feels almost oily??) and the clear coat is egregiously scratchable, even by pointy standards. Is that a thing on the others too? Might just me being unused to ESP?

That's sick man! I've been thinking of tarting up the standard Arrow with gold, you've just confirmed that it's an excellent choice