KM-7 III Standard vs MM HT7P vs RG Iron Label

[JimBob_99]

I've recently got back into playing Guitar after years and years off, and I always wanted a 7 string, went wayyy down the rabbit hole and have been trawling your fine forums reading up first on the Ibanez's 7421's and Iron Labels, then started looking into the KM-7 and finally checking out the HT7P. My local Guitar Center doesn't have any of these models, but some close(ish?) that I'm going to try out (Schecter C7 SLS and Jackson SL7P). I've read a bunch of opinions on these models individually on here, but wondering what your pick would be between the three...and happy to take suggestions on models I may not have considered.

 

[natedog_approved]

I am by no means very familiar with any of these guitars, but from my own perusing KM-7's are generally well liked. Iron Labels are somewhat less so, but mainly because of QC. Some people have no issues and swear by them, others are very let down with fret ends, finish imperfections, etc etc. No comment on the Jackson.

Hopefully someone else can chime in.

Another bang for your buck suggestion is to check out Solar guitars. Nothing fancy by any means, but the price is good and they're consistently well reviewed. And metal as fuck

 

[bassplayer8]

I've played a few MM HT7's across a few stores and I gotta say its a really fun guitar to play, however I'd always wanna play the particular model I'd be buying beforehand just as I've played two that were absolute trash compared to the rest.

edit: also if you don't mind going used you can often pick one up around 400usd used in decent condition which is a pretty decent deal imo

 

[Jacksonluvr636]

IMO these are vastly different.

The MM is 20" Radius and the KM7 is compound so which do like better?

If you are talking about the Pro series I think these are not apples to apples.

I cannot comment on the Iron Label but I do have a KM7 artist and it is one of the nicest guitars I have ever played and the neck is absolutely perfect for me.

 

[JimBob_99]

Thanks for your responses. Solar IS metal as fuck! Beautiful guitars! Unfortunately I cant bring myself to buy one without trying it myself..just learnt a valuable lesson too...stopped in to the local guitar store and played the Jackson Soloist SL7P, which has the HT7 neck, the Schecter C-7 SLS Elite and an Ibanez Axiom. I expected to like Jackson the most and Schecter the least due to reading about beefy necks, but the SLS with the ultra thin C neck I liked the most. The Ibanez was a bit meh tbh...
Unfortunately the KM7 Artist is out of my price range but if the Standard is anything like the SLS, I think I'm sold

 

[erdiablo666]

I don't normally say this, but I wouldn't hesitate to order a Solar without playing it. I have put my hands on a 7 and a 6 and they were both stellar guitars.

 

[Shoeless_jose]

The "beefy" Schecter necks were a thing long long ago. my Schecter 8 string neck is soooooo comfy, I think the MM model is a weeeee bit more guitar for your money than the KM standard, but it's purely a matter of preference, I would avoid the Ibanez unless you are in love with certain specific specs.

Also at the price point you are looking at either model could be a hit or miss so it all depends on what specimen you get really, go with whatever inspires you in your hands.

 

[Sogradde]

The Schecter SLS Elite is a crazy good guitar for the money. Can't go wrong with that.

 

[JimBob_99]

Damn some real Solar love on here, you got me seriously looking. Only concern with them is the neck thickness, I got the following measurements:
Solar 2.7A: 20.3mm 1st - 22.5mm 12
Schecter Ultra Thin 'C': 19.4mm 1st - 20.9mm 12
So we're looking at .9mm, which is yeah pretty small, but so are my hands lol..Keen to hear opinions here.
There's also a Banshee Eiite 7 Passive on Reverb going for $700 I'm eyeing up, not sure. Don't have the $$ saved yet so I'll keep looking.

 

[Metropolis]

Damn some real Solar love on here, you got me seriously looking. Only concern with them is the neck thickness, I got the following measurements:
Solar 2.7A: 20.3mm 1st - 22.5mm 12
Schecter Ultra Thin 'C': 19.4mm 1st - 20.9mm 12
So we're looking at .9mm, which is yeah pretty small, but so are my hands lol..Keen to hear opinions here.
There's also a Banshee Eiite 7 Passive on Reverb going for $700 I'm eyeing up, not sure. Don't have the $$ saved yet so I'll keep looking.

I have experience only from 6-string Solar neck but after 12th fret it is where it gets thick feeling, I guess sixer is near 19.5mm from 1st fret and 21.0mm from 12th. Keith Merrow neck is really kind of d-shape and feels thin, tried KM-7 MKIII once. This is a hard one because all those guitars are pretty much in the same range price and quality wise. Because of that choice should be made by trying them all and what you feel the most fitting for your hands and tonal preference. Personally I like bright sounding guitars with thin necks and Solar is more of a dark sounding with c-shape neck, it has some meat in it. So yeah, neck shape is a big thing if you're at all picky about it.

 

[JimBob_99]

Thank you, this was super helpful. Yeah, the SLS I tried, which I believe has the same neck, definitely has a D profile to it, imo

 

[LeviathanKiller]

Damn some real Solar love on here, you got me seriously looking. Only concern with them is the neck thickness, I got the following measurements:
Solar 2.7A: 20.3mm 1st - 22.5mm 12
Schecter Ultra Thin 'C': 19.4mm 1st - 20.9mm 12
So we're looking at .9mm, which is yeah pretty small, but so are my hands lol..Keen to hear opinions here.
There's also a Banshee Eiite 7 Passive on Reverb going for $700 I'm eyeing up, not sure. Don't have the $$ saved yet so I'll keep looking.

The Solar is a bit thicker C-shape than the MK-III's C-like shape. The KM-7 MK-2 is more of a D shape however and slightly thinner 0.4mm and 0.9mm at 1st and 12th frets respectively. I own a KM-7 MK-2, KM-7 MK-3, SLS C-7, and a Solar A1.7. For me the most comfortable is indeed the KM-7 MK-3, followed by the MK-II, then the SLS C-7, and last is Solar. The Solar is just a bit too thick/round for me to enjoy playing all of the time. All of that said, they're all fairly close. No major complaints with any of them really.

The RG Iron Label series QC is hit or miss so I've personally avoided them. I've had a few issues with Schecter myself but it was things that get ironed out after the first few batches of a new model line. The Jackson guitars would be the one I am most concerned about. I've heard/seen major issues with those going so far as improperly aligned bridges even. Idk if they've fixed those issues but it's enough to steer me away.

 

[JimBob_99]

The Solar is a bit thicker C-shape than the MK-III's C-like shape. The KM-7 MK-2 is more of a D shape however and slightly thinner 0.4mm and 0.9mm at 1st and 12th frets respectively. I own a KM-7 MK-2, KM-7 MK-3, SLS C-7, and a Solar A1.7. For me the most comfortable is indeed the KM-7 MK-3, followed by the MK-II, then the SLS C-7, and last is Solar. The Solar is just a bit too thick/round for me to enjoy playing all of the time. All of that said, they're all fairly close. No major complaints with any of them really.

The RG Iron Label series QC is hit or miss so I've personally avoided them. I've had a few issues with Schecter myself but it was things that get ironed out after the first few batches of a new model line. The Jackson guitars would be the one I am most concerned about. I've heard/seen major issues with those going so far as improperly aligned bridges even. Idk if they've fixed those issues but it's enough to steer me away.

Damn, really grateful for this info. Sticking with the Schecters and will be trawling Reverb while I save up. If you dont mind, can you shed any light on the differences between the Schecter necks? I thought they were all "Ultra Thin C"? Do they just use that as a generic name while having some variation between the models?

 

[LeviathanKiller]

Damn, really grateful for this info. Sticking with the Schecters and will be trawling Reverb while I save up. If you dont mind, can you shed any light on the differences between the Schecter necks? I thought they were all "Ultra Thin C"? Do they just use that as a generic name while having some variation between the models?

Okay, so I actually decided to dive in and list out everything for your benefit and even my own.

Ultra thin "C" that is on the SLS Elite models feels different than the KM-7 MK-2 to me. Spec-wise nothing is different but in-hand it didn't feel as smooth. I wonder if they did the finish differently somehow. I feel the same about the MK-1. Some of those are glossed, including the one I have. The KM-7 MK-1 neck may actually be thicker if the measurement was done before glossing. I have one of the lambo orange MK-1 models and it's great but definitely feels slightly thicker to me and slower due to the gloss.

Now looking at the Ultra thin "C" among the MK-3 variants, yeah, they kinda throw that term around a bit. If you check Schecter's site , it has the exact thickness measurements for each model. Super helpful to go by that. You'll see some have a slight increase in thickness. That's the 0.4mm/0.9mm difference I was talking about before. While they're all supposedly Ultra thin "C", the MK-3 Artist feels more like a C-shape than the ones that are thinner. That slight bit of thickness feels my hand a bit more and reduces some fatigue that I can experience on the thinner ones at times.

The new Banshee model has a Ultra thin "U" profile that I'd like to try. Same thickness as the KM-7 MK-2 and KM-7 MK-3 Hybrid.

If the Apocalypse series was on your radar, just know that the neck profile and thickness for that series happens to be the thickest of any of the recent Schecter offerings I've tried. Sold it because of that and because I had gotten a poorly book-matched swamp ash top. The Red Reign variant looks cool enough for me to think about buying another though. The neck was still quite usable. This also applies to the newly released Silver Mountain series. They have the same neck specs but the Silver Mountain's neck appears to be glossed and it's a multiscale guitar as well.

Ignore the Hellraiser Hybrid series imo. While the specs says it's the same as the thinnest Ultra thin "C" profile, it has a disgusting-feeling semi-satin neck. It's like they glossed it and then sanded the gloss off. I hate it and it gets dirty easy. The guitar itself looks gorgeous though.





• KM-7 MK-3 Artist (the $1699 ones)
Ultra Thin ‘C’ = @ 1st Fret- .763” (19.4mm)/ @ 12th Fret- .822” (20.9mm)
https://www.schecterguitars.com/guitars/artist-models/keith-merrow-km-7-mk-iii-artist-1-detail

• KM-7 MK-3 Hybrid (the $1399 ones)
Ultra Thin ‘C’ = @ 1st Fret- .748” (19mm)/ @ 12th Fret- .787” (20mm)
https://www.schecterguitars.com/guitars/keith-merrow-km-7-mk-iii-hybrid-detail

• KM-7 MK-3 Standard (the $899 ones)
Ultra Thin ‘C’ = @ 1st Fret- .763” (19.4mm)/ @ 12th Fret- .822” (20.9mm)
https://www.schecterguitars.com/gui...km-7-mk-iii-standard-toxic-smoke-green-detail

• KM-7 MK-2
Ultra Thin ‘C’ = @ 1st Fret- .748” (19mm)/ @ 12th Fret- .787” (20mm)
https://www.schecterguitars.com/guitars/artist-models/keith-merrow-km-7-mk-ii-natural-pearl-1-detail

• KM-7 MK-1
Ultra Thin ‘C’ = @ 1st Fret- .748” (19mm)/ @ 12th Fret- .787” (20mm)
https://www.schecterguitars.com/vault/keith-merrow-km-7-2014-10-08-detail

• C-7 SLS Elite (+ Evil Twin variant)
Ultra Thin ‘C’ = @ 1st Fret- .748” (19mm)/ @ 12th Fret- .787” (20mm)
https://www.schecterguitars.com/guitars/c-7-sls-elite-detail

• Hellraiser Hybrid C-7
Ultra Thin ‘C’ = @ 1st Fret- .748” (19mm)/ @ 12th Fret- .787” (20mm)
https://www.schecterguitars.com/guitars/hellraiser-hybrid-c-7-detail

• Banshee Mach 7 ($1599)
Ultra Thin ‘U’ = @ 1st Fret- .748” (19mm)/ @ 12th Fret- .787” (20mm)
https://www.schecterguitars.com/guitars/banshee-mach-7-detail
• (also comes in an EverTune variant for $1799)
https://www.schecterguitars.com/guitars/banshee-mach-7-evertune-detail

• C-7 Apocalypse (+ Red Reign variant)
Thin ‘C’ = @ 1st Fret- .787” (20mm)/ @ 12th Fret- .866” (22mm)
https://www.schecterguitars.com/guitars/apocalypse/c-7-apocalypse-red-reign-detail

• C-7 Multiscale Silver Mountain
Thin ‘C’ = @ 1st Fret- .787” (20mm)/ @ 12th Fret- .866” (22mm)
https://www.schecterguitars.com/guitars/silver-mountain/c-7-multiscale-silver-mountain-detail

 

[bzhang9]

both the kmiii standard and ht7 pro are pathetic for almost 1k price point. Budget sigs are generally poor value as you're paying for the artists name.

 

[JimBob_99]

Okay, so I actually decided to dive in and list out everything for your benefit and even my own.

Ultra thin "C" that is on the SLS Elite models feels different than the KM-7 MK-2 to me. Spec-wise nothing is different but in-hand it didn't feel as smooth. I wonder if they did the finish differently somehow. I feel the same about the MK-1. Some of those are glossed, including the one I have. The KM-7 MK-1 neck may actually be thicker if the measurement was done before glossing. I have one of the lambo orange MK-1 models and it's great but definitely feels slightly thicker to me and slower due to the gloss.

Now looking at the Ultra thin "C" among the MK-3 variants, yeah, they kinda throw that term around a bit. If you check Schecter's site , it has the exact thickness measurements for each model. Super helpful to go by that. You'll see some have a slight increase in thickness. That's the 0.4mm/0.9mm difference I was talking about before. While they're all supposedly Ultra thin "C", the MK-3 Artist feels more like a C-shape than the ones that are thinner. That slight bit of thickness feels my hand a bit more and reduces some fatigue that I can experience on the thinner ones at times.

The new Banshee model has a Ultra thin "U" profile that I'd like to try. Same thickness as the KM-7 MK-2 and KM-7 MK-3 Hybrid.

If the Apocalypse series was on your radar, just know that the neck profile and thickness for that series happens to be the thickest of any of the recent Schecter offerings I've tried. Sold it because of that and because I had gotten a poorly book-matched swamp ash top. The Red Reign variant looks cool enough for me to think about buying another though. The neck was still quite usable. This also applies to the newly released Silver Mountain series. They have the same neck specs but the Silver Mountain's neck appears to be glossed and it's a multiscale guitar as well.

Ignore the Hellraiser Hybrid series imo. While the specs says it's the same as the thinnest Ultra thin "C" profile, it has a disgusting-feeling semi-satin neck. It's like they glossed it and then sanded the gloss off. I hate it and it gets dirty easy. The guitar itself looks gorgeous though.





• KM-7 MK-3 Artist (the $1699 ones)
Ultra Thin ‘C’ = @ 1st Fret- .763” (19.4mm)/ @ 12th Fret- .822” (20.9mm)
https://www.schecterguitars.com/guitars/artist-models/keith-merrow-km-7-mk-iii-artist-1-detail

• KM-7 MK-3 Hybrid (the $1399 ones)
Ultra Thin ‘C’ = @ 1st Fret- .748” (19mm)/ @ 12th Fret- .787” (20mm)
https://www.schecterguitars.com/guitars/keith-merrow-km-7-mk-iii-hybrid-detail

• KM-7 MK-3 Standard (the $899 ones)
Ultra Thin ‘C’ = @ 1st Fret- .763” (19.4mm)/ @ 12th Fret- .822” (20.9mm)
https://www.schecterguitars.com/gui...km-7-mk-iii-standard-toxic-smoke-green-detail

• KM-7 MK-2
Ultra Thin ‘C’ = @ 1st Fret- .748” (19mm)/ @ 12th Fret- .787” (20mm)
https://www.schecterguitars.com/guitars/artist-models/keith-merrow-km-7-mk-ii-natural-pearl-1-detail

• KM-7 MK-1
Ultra Thin ‘C’ = @ 1st Fret- .748” (19mm)/ @ 12th Fret- .787” (20mm)
https://www.schecterguitars.com/vault/keith-merrow-km-7-2014-10-08-detail

• C-7 SLS Elite (+ Evil Twin variant)
Ultra Thin ‘C’ = @ 1st Fret- .748” (19mm)/ @ 12th Fret- .787” (20mm)
https://www.schecterguitars.com/guitars/c-7-sls-elite-detail

• Hellraiser Hybrid C-7
Ultra Thin ‘C’ = @ 1st Fret- .748” (19mm)/ @ 12th Fret- .787” (20mm)
https://www.schecterguitars.com/guitars/hellraiser-hybrid-c-7-detail

• Banshee Mach 7 ($1599)
Ultra Thin ‘U’ = @ 1st Fret- .748” (19mm)/ @ 12th Fret- .787” (20mm)
https://www.schecterguitars.com/guitars/banshee-mach-7-detail
• (also comes in an EverTune variant for $1799)
https://www.schecterguitars.com/guitars/banshee-mach-7-evertune-detail

• C-7 Apocalypse (+ Red Reign variant)
Thin ‘C’ = @ 1st Fret- .787” (20mm)/ @ 12th Fret- .866” (22mm)
https://www.schecterguitars.com/guitars/apocalypse/c-7-apocalypse-red-reign-detail

• C-7 Multiscale Silver Mountain
Thin ‘C’ = @ 1st Fret- .787” (20mm)/ @ 12th Fret- .866” (22mm)
https://www.schecterguitars.com/guitars/silver-mountain/c-7-multiscale-silver-mountain-detail

Really appreciate this info, thanks for taking the time to lay that out so clearly.

both the kmiii standard and ht7 pro are pathetic for almost 1k price point. Budget sigs are generally poor value as you're paying for the artists name.

Only things really important to me are thin necks / playability and to a degree, I like the more aggressively styled superstrats like the KM7 iii. I wouldnt have any issues with a non sig that ticks those boxes.

 

[bzhang9]

Only things really important to me are thin necks / playability and to a degree, I like the more aggressively styled superstrats like the KM7 iii. I wouldnt have any issues with a non sig that ticks those boxes.

a banshee elite, or used RGD2127/752, or probably a similar priced solar would crush those budget sigs, unless you are very partial to those particular designs

 

[LeviathanKiller]

I would personally skip the KM-3 Standard myself. It's nickel frets and I'm very much pro-SS frets. That said, I don't agree that the KM series has ever really been that much of an Artist signature series as much as it has been just a great player's guitar. It's the same price level as the Reaper series which isn't a Artist model.

The Banshee Elite's are a good option as @bzhang9 mentioned, if you can find one in good condition.

The KM-7 MK-1 models can be had for like $700 new. Actually found one right here from one of the best Schecter dealers out here, DrumCityGuitarLand, which is where I bought mine.
http://www.drumcityguitarland.com/S...-Orange-7-String-Electric-Guitar--P10797.aspx

The MK-2 models can be found used for about the same price as well ($700-$800).

 

[Sogradde]

a banshee elite, or used RGD2127/752, or probably a similar priced solar would crush those budget sigs, unless you are very partial to those particular designs

Lmao.
The KM models are really good guitars both quality and spec wise and in my opinion easily on par with a prestige.

 

[bzhang9]

Lmao.
The KM models are really good guitars both quality and spec wise and in my opinion easily on par with a prestige.

Yeah no... KM standard is not close to prestige tier