ESP LTD AW-7 (belated) NGD + video demo!

[Guitarjon]

Hey guys,

I got a used LTD AW-7 a few months ago but I forgot to make a NGD post, so here it is!

I picked this guitar up for about 550 euro's iirc.
The previous owner had the action set up pretty high, probably because of the low-B nut slot, which was cut a little deep.
Other than that this guitar was in great shape and it felt good in my hands.

I haven't owned a standard scale 7-string for quite some years but I loved the features on this one and I felt it was time for me to get a 'regular' 7-string again.
My other 7-strings are baritones.

This guitar has a neck-through body, and I love that design.
To me it juts looks and sounds great.
The ebony fretboard is also a plus, since I love the feel, sound and look of ebony.
This guitar features locking tuners, which are also very welcome because it stays in tune very nicely and the black pick-guard gives this guitar a cool strat-like look.

I had never tried a guitar with Dimarzio D-Activators yet but I'm pleasantly surprised!
They have a very nice clarity and quack to them while still retaining some of the power you may expect from actual active pickups.
However, to me they really sound and feel like passive pickups.

I had to fix the nut slot myself with some super-glue but I got that done in 15 minutes, after that I was able to get the action set up just perfectly.

I made a video a while back, check it out to hear and see this axe in action!



Does anyone else here own an AW-7?
If so, I'd love to know what you think of this axe!

 

[AkiraSpectrum]

Looks and sounds awesome, congrats!

 

[ImBCRichBitch]

I played one when my old bassist got it about the time the 26.5" version came out on discount. Solid instrument. The scale seemed too small initially but once got used to it, i was in love. HNGD!

 

[lewis]

always loved these so much. These ones look way better than his latest natural wood finish imo.

Im surprised personally Alex is not into Baritone scale lengths as you would have thought being in Whitechapel and tuning to Drop G they would be.

Each to their own but had this been a 27inch scale I probably would have bought one. I have enough 25.5 scales.

anyhow lovely axe. Enjoy man.

 

[SJShinn]

I want one of those 25.5" scale models. Always did like the look of them!

 

[InCasinoOut]

Happy NGD! I've always loved and wanted this model, but have since switched exclusively back to 6s. I love that his was the most old-school strat like out of the Whitechapel guitars, and Im not a big WC fan.

Always love your demo videos by the way! They sound great and you write great stuff.

 

[Guitarjon]

always loved these so much. These ones look way better than his latest natural wood finish imo.

Im surprised personally Alex is not into Baritone scale lengths as you would have thought being in Whitechapel and tuning to Drop G they would be.

Each to their own but had this been a 27inch scale I probably would have bought one. I have enough 25.5 scales.

anyhow lovely axe. Enjoy man.

I thought the newer ones were baritone?

 

[lewis]

I thought the newer ones were baritone?

Ah i have no idea. I only thought that because i happened to watch the rig rundown with him where he says he doesnt like baritone lengths, before i spotted this thread.

He must have changed his mind since if his newer model is longer.

 

[Anquished]

I've always liked how these models looked. Very cool man, nice riffing too.

 

[Smoked Porter]

Nice playing man. Glad you're happy with it. I love my AW-7 and was lusting after one for awhile before getting it. When I got mine it had a Duncan Pegasus in it and I wasn't much of a fan, but after putting in a Black Winter it's the best sounding guitar I own.

 

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

That's a great guitar with a monster thick neck, resonant for days. I played one locally in a GC.
Congrats!

 

[rexbinary]

I thought the newer ones were baritone?

The newer ones are baritone, and a different color.

https://www.espguitars.com/products/17130-aw-7b?category_id=1963428-alex-wade

 

[rexbinary]

I had never tried a guitar with Dimarzio D-Activators yet but I'm pleasantly surprised!
They have a very nice clarity and quack to them while still retaining some of the power you may expect from actual active pickups.
However, to me they really sound and feel like passive pickups.
<snip>
Does anyone else here own an AW-7?
If so, I'd love to know what you think of this axe!

Congrats and HNGD!

I have one. I bought it direct from ESP's website when they were blowing them out.

It's a really great guitar, especially for the price. I'm very happy with it EXCEPT for the pickups. They just sound dead. I have heard nothing but good about these pickups, but I have also read others complain about these pickup in this guitar. So I'm not sure what the deal is really. Maybe ESP got a bad batch of pickups? No idea.

Anyway, I have finally ordered a set of shop floor special black winters.

Just getting the logo on them in blood red to match the finish like this:

JD27 on this site put black winters in his AW-7 and is happy with them. I plan to post if I like the black winters or not once I get them and have some time to try them out.

Here is JD27's thread (hope you don't mind man!): http://sevenstring.org/threads/npud-black-winter.270464/

 

[Ancestor]

Dude I love that opening riff and the solo is really cool. Looks like a great guitar. It sure sounds good. Congrats!

 

[lewis]

The newer ones are baritone, and a different color.

https://www.espguitars.com/products/17130-aw-7b?category_id=1963428-alex-wade

His tastes must have completely changed.
In the rig rundown vid on youtube where he is talking about his first sig model, he specifically states he does not like Baritone scales.

Fast track to now and this mode is a bari ? haha. Maybe he realised the positive tonal characteristics acquired by tuning low on a bari with better tension/thinner strings.

 

[theicon2125]

His tastes must have completely changed.
In the rig rundown vid on youtube where he is talking about his first sig model, he specifically states he does not like Baritone scales.

Fast track to now and this mode is a bari ? haha. Maybe he realised the positive tonal characteristics acquired by tuning low on a bari with better tension/thinner strings.

They changed their tuning from drop A to drop G shortly after they all came out with their first signature models. I can't remember his exact reasoning but I think the said he wanted smaller strings while still being tight. They use 11-68 for drop G with 26.5"-27" scale.