Ibanez S7420 or Schecter Hellraiser C7 FR >> WHICH ONE?!

[Abhimanyu]

Hi Everyone...

Im New to the world of Seven String guitars and hence ss.org t00..

I've been playing for about 7 years now (on 6 strings!) and Id like switch to 7 strings now.

I play mainly heavy metal and blues/rock/funk/jazz occasionally and I'd like a guitar that can cater to all of the aforementioned. .. good cleans, leads, overdrives, dry low gains bla bla .. virtually everything!

I play for "AbraXas" - a heavy metal band in INDIA ... we won a national competition last year which spawned 8 cities and 500 bands!
(abraXas | Facebook)
(myspace.com/abraxas)

I'd like everyone's humble opinions on which 7 string guitar to purchase of these two... they have all the specs Im looking for .. locking trems, 24 frets .. um yeah .. thats it! No really... they are a must have!

So ... the Ibanez S7420 or Schecter Hellraiser C7 FR?!!

Im really confused.

Thanx for patiently reading thru the mandatory intro ... Wud like everyone's expert opinions!

Thanx!

 

[Metalus]

I own the S7420 and i ADORE it. If i could, i would buy the C7 because i think its a great guitar. The only reason i would take the S7420 over the C7 is because the S7420 has a thinner wider neck and a thinner body then the C7.

Id say it really depends on your hands and how it feels

Oh and welcome to SS.org

 

[CrushingAnvil]

I suspect the Hellraiser will sound better. Their hardware is pretty much on par with eachother but the Hellraiser comes stock with EMG pickups. I can't remember if the S7420 is made in Indonesia but the Hellraiser is made in Korea which is always a good thing when the price is right.

I'd personally go for the Hellraiser since I'm not a huge fan of the S. I know It's probably a little trickier finding one of these guitars to play in India (maybe I'm wrong) but if you could, that would influence your decision.

 

[vigil785]

I would go for the S7420. You are really limiting your pickup options with EMGs. And you said you want something that can cater to a lot of styles. So a guitar that can take passives if probably a plus. I have an s7320 an the S series are the most comfortable guitars I have played.

 

[CrushingAnvil]

I would go for the S7420. You are really limiting your pickup options with EMGs. And you said you want something that can cater to a lot of styles. So a guitar that can take passives if probably a plus. I have an s7320 an the S series are the most comfortable guitars I have played.

That is also a good point.

+1

 

[Ytseman]

Schecter comes with comes with 26,5 scale, emgs707tw and ofr, you cant go wrong with this. My s7420 had serious problem with nut that was cut for 10-52 gauge low B pitch goes up even when muted.

 

[scottro202]

On the Schecter's defense, I have Blackouts in my Agile, and I can do lots of styles with it.

That being said, I'm putting passives in it ASAP.

 

[vigil785]

Schecter comes with comes with 26,5 scale, emgs707tw and ofr, you cant go wrong with this. My s7420 had serious problem with nut that was cut for 10-52 gauge low B pitch goes up even when muted.

I dont understand why the nut has anything to do with your B string pitch going higher when you are palm muting. You either need a bigger gauge B string, or you dont need to palm mute so hard.

 

[signalgrey]

i prefer Schecters for overall comfort and sound when comparing them to Ibanez.

Again its all preference. I like the feel schecter is selling.

 

[EliNoPants]

personally i'd go Schecter, but then again, i've only tried the Hellraisers, and love the neck, and have only tried a few low to mid level Ibanez guitars, and don't care for the necks on them at all, though i do think that the S body is one of the best looking and most comfortable superstrat shapes i've seen/felt

 

[Scar Symmetry]

Both guitars give you a very distinctive type of sound, so it boils down to which sound you want.

I'd go with a Schecter personally, maybe not a Hellraiser but a Blackjack or Blackjack ATX, maybe even a Jeff Loomis?

Sweet band by the way

 

[voyager]

For baritone Schecter much better. I love hellraiser series really good.

 

[Ytseman]

I dont understand why the nut has anything to do with your B string pitch going higher when you are palm muting. You either need a bigger gauge B string, or you dont need to palm mute so hard.

The B string was pinched within the nut slot and that caused string binding (which has a noticeable pinging sound when tuning) and tuning problems.

 

[tacotiklah]

A point that hasn't been brought up yet is there's a VAST difference between the neck of these 2 guitars. The ibanez has a thin, flat neck and the hellraiser is big and beefy. Getting one with a neck that you're uncomfortable playing will make life hell for you. For instance, I'm not too big on beefy necks and therefore I don't play very many schecters or Les Pauls because I end up with sore wrists and joints trying to play them. For some people though, that's true of flat, thin necks and they need something a bit thicker to play comfortably.

Schecters do have the extra longer scale length which will be beneficial to you if you tune very low however in the end, i'd go with the ibanez. They just feel like butter to my hands and all my riffs seem so effortless on 'em.

 

[vigil785]

The B string was pinched within the nut slot and that caused string binding (which has a noticeable pinging sound when tuning) and tuning problems.

Interesting. So the low B nut slot was cut for a 52 gauge? So did you get it fixed? Have you tried putting some foam behind the nut? That might help. Sorry for all the questions.

 

[Ippon]

At the end of the day, you'll end up buying the one which feels/plays best, sounds better with your current amp, and possibly looks better.

I have the S7320 (assuming it feels similar with the 7420 except for the 22 vs. 24 frets) and the HellRaiser OFR and both are extremely playable. The set neck and OFR of the C7 FR are pluses but the Abalone binding looks gaudy. The S7320 is so solid, comfortable, and not attention whorish.

You'll be happy with either one.

 

[Nightside]

It is all preference. I myself have never played a Schecter 7 that I got along with. Every time I would try I would wind up going back to an Ibanez.

 

[Abhimanyu]

@ Scar Symmetry: hey thanx man!

A Huge Thank You to all for the responses .. I found a guy with a Schecter C7 String Thru .. goin to check it out ... lets see wot it feels like ...

I once played on an Ibanez 1527 with SD Blackouts and I probably never shred that bl00dy fast in my entire 21 years of existence!!
Would the Ibby S compare?

I find myself leaning towards the Schecter mainly because of the EMG - TWs and the seemingly endless possibilites along with it!

Lets see ... really confused... hows the Jackson SLAT 3 Soloist btw? .. the baby inlays put me off tho...!

Thanx ...!

 

[Wierdoom]

The C-7 is the highest quality of the two, but personally I would go for the S7420, since I hate the neck profile on Schecters. The C-7 is best for metal, but the S7420 is far more versatile. Especially since it doesn't have EMG-sized pickup routing like the C-7 does.

 

[Cheesebuiscut]

Interesting. So the low B nut slot was cut for a 52 gauge? So did you get it fixed? Have you tried putting some foam behind the nut? That might help. Sorry for all the questions.

Yeah I'm confused... you don't file a floyd nut for heavier strings... I've used everything from 42 to 74 in the same slot with no issues and I've never had to file.