Hi everyone,
Sorry for the long post but this has been building up for a while... I GOT A LOT TO SAY, OKAY?! I'd appreciate any input on anything I say in this very very wordy post. Sorry, again.
TL;DR: Meat and potatoes section at the bottom.
So, like I mentioned in my intro thread I've been sporadically checkin' in here throughout the years when I learnt that 7string guitars are a thing. Well, the time has finally come for me to actually get one. Part of this delay is because I'm in Lithuania and there's hardly any 7 strings around to speak about and I really hate buying something without trying it out, especially a guitar. Thankfully enough time has passed for decent reviews to come out and thomann is a godsend for places smaller markets like Lithuania that only get the generic stuff so I finally feel comfortable enough in ordering a guitar online before even touching it.
With that said I guess you get the idea that "try before you buy" is not a real option for me. So I've been researching a bunch of guitars in this forum and other places. Not just guitars but stuff like true temperament and whatnot. Sort of narrowed it down to what I think are good options.
Here's the deal:
1) I'll be buying from thomann. I don't know any better place to buy stuff when I'm in Lithuania. Feel free to let me know otherwise.
2) You can probably tell from my avatar that I like At the Gates. But I don't want a strictly "metal" guitar. I think a tone knob is essential for me to get that Electric Wizard type of sound or more of a I don't know, atmospheric vibe. I'd actually want a guitar that is primarily for metal but could do a decent job at more mainstream stuff. Metal is priority though. I don't think listing bands I listen to would help much since I have a wide range of music I listen to and I sort of want a guitar that could sort of do the same as much as possible without it having 5 pickups on it. Decent cleans is a plus of course.
3) Not sure how I feel about coil splitting.![Frown :( :(](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
4) I've been listening to a bunch of pickup comparisons and I think I prefer passives. Even fishman fluence didn't impress me all that much. Then again it's not like I heard em live and they are very expensive.
5) Decided to not bother with tremolo systems. I think.
6) Have been drooling over an Evertune system for a while since I heard about it. More on that later.
7) Budget is up to 1500 euros. But that's including other shit that I'll be buying from thomann. Like a hard case. I really don't want to spend more than 1300 euros on a guitar if I can help it but more than 1400-1500 is a definite no.
*8) Looks of a guitar. I can live with most shapes and it's hardly a deciding factor, although I'm a bit tired of the strictly black guitars that are so prevalent in metal and I really enjoy when there's binding on the edges (I hope that's the term) like many schecter guitars have.
I've been reading various forums on various things that I'm basically burnt out by now and I'm feeling like everything would be fine. In the end everyone says "it's all good, it just depends on personal preference" but since I can't try before I buy and I've been weighing pros and cons of a bunch of stuff for a long time now that I'm starting to doubt my own preferences, haha (kill me).
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Questions about stuff:
1) Like I mentioned earlier I researched stuff like true temperament, earvana and that buzz smth one. If I understand it correctly the buzz and earvana ones just pretty much make it better for the first 5 or so frets but makes it worse for the rest of em. Thus getting an earvana nut for my newly purchased guitar would just be a waste of money. Am I understanding that right?
While true temperament might be a better deal but it has its shortcomings as well as alternative tunings and the fact that it only comes in nickel which seems to be a thing that people absolutely hate in this forum when compared to stainless steel, haha. Not to mention that I'd probably need to ship my guitar somewhere if I needed recrowning or whatever. I'm probably overthinking this...
2) Tremolo systems - I have a shitty tremolo on my LTD m-50 so I've fiddled with the usual tricks like dive bombs and dimebag squeels and I messed around with slightly better trem systems as well. Is there something I'm missing with it? What's more to it that vibratos on chords that you sort of can do anyway? Those tremolo tricks just sound like cheesy 80's solos to me. But then again you always want to have more option than less...
3) Speaking of more options. Why do people around here seem to hate tone knobs? Also what am I missing with coil splits? What's the difference between coil splits and coil taps? A 5 way blade switch = coil split right?
4) Scale length. As I understand it it's not the end of the world if the 7 string doesn't have an extended scale length but it's generally preferred that strings be at least 26.5". Amirite?
5) Lastly - Evertune. And this is a big deal because I really want one but it's not a deal breaker per se... I've heard great great things about it. The only thing holding be back on it is the sustain. How true is this video? Is sustain an issue for anyone using evertune in this forum? Like I mentioned before I'd want to play some doomy stuff
besides faster death metal.
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TL;DR: Meat and taters section:
Guitar comparisons:
So with all that said. If I sort the guitar on thomann by scale length + evertune then the only guitar fitting for me is the Solar 7 string. I checked the pickups on it and it being based on SD custom-5 is perfect for me because I liked the custom-5s the best from that Keith Merrow comparison video. Again, it's via youtube so maybe some others sound better live but whatever. Gotta work with what you have. It also fits my price range pretty well, so Solar 7 is the frontrunner atm. It's a bit too pointy for me and it's uninspiringly (is that a word?) black but I still dig it. It's also the only 7string on thomann with passive pickups that comes with an evertune (and a longer scale).
If I don't bother with evertune but keep the 26.5" + passives requirement this is what I get when sorting 450-1500 euros: -------> link <-------
Other guitars in there that are drawing my eyes are:
ML1-7 Pro Modern Iris Sea - Really like the colour but I've seen less than stellar reviews for it. Also a lot of haters for the headstock, lol.
Pro Dinky DKA7M Natura - The kill switch is what's intriguing about it. Same thing as with the tremolo though. It's more options but I'm not sure it's necessary with all the pedals available not to mention you can make one yourself easily in the switchblade. Also I'm not too hot about the pickups.
Banshee Elite-7 CEP - Looks REALLY nice. Except I don't know how the pickups compare to a custom 5. I really don't want to be switching pickups on a new guitar![Frown :( :(](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
ESP LTD M-1007 Multi-Scale STBLKS - I like the sentient/nazgul pickups but his guitar is really up there in the price range for me. Also I have no experience with fanned frets. I could end up hating it, right?
Some others in there (one with actives even). I think if I don't bother with evertune then it's a toss up between the white Solar or the Banshee Elite (I'd need to look into pickup comparisons though). Then again they all look great to me. I'm just not sure how diamond pickups sound on the schecters and stuff like that.
And LASTLY, If I don't bother to sort by scale and evertune this is what I get: --> link <--
Lots of overlap. Guitars to catch my eye the most that were not available before are the Ibanez models, the Charvel, and the Jackson Pro Soloist. Questionable (for me) pickups on those.
All in all I think I'm leaning towards the longer scale.
Help end my misery, please. Share your thoughts. Sorry again for the essay.
Sorry for the long post but this has been building up for a while... I GOT A LOT TO SAY, OKAY?! I'd appreciate any input on anything I say in this very very wordy post. Sorry, again.
TL;DR: Meat and potatoes section at the bottom.
So, like I mentioned in my intro thread I've been sporadically checkin' in here throughout the years when I learnt that 7string guitars are a thing. Well, the time has finally come for me to actually get one. Part of this delay is because I'm in Lithuania and there's hardly any 7 strings around to speak about and I really hate buying something without trying it out, especially a guitar. Thankfully enough time has passed for decent reviews to come out and thomann is a godsend for places smaller markets like Lithuania that only get the generic stuff so I finally feel comfortable enough in ordering a guitar online before even touching it.
With that said I guess you get the idea that "try before you buy" is not a real option for me. So I've been researching a bunch of guitars in this forum and other places. Not just guitars but stuff like true temperament and whatnot. Sort of narrowed it down to what I think are good options.
Here's the deal:
1) I'll be buying from thomann. I don't know any better place to buy stuff when I'm in Lithuania. Feel free to let me know otherwise.
2) You can probably tell from my avatar that I like At the Gates. But I don't want a strictly "metal" guitar. I think a tone knob is essential for me to get that Electric Wizard type of sound or more of a I don't know, atmospheric vibe. I'd actually want a guitar that is primarily for metal but could do a decent job at more mainstream stuff. Metal is priority though. I don't think listing bands I listen to would help much since I have a wide range of music I listen to and I sort of want a guitar that could sort of do the same as much as possible without it having 5 pickups on it. Decent cleans is a plus of course.
3) Not sure how I feel about coil splitting.
4) I've been listening to a bunch of pickup comparisons and I think I prefer passives. Even fishman fluence didn't impress me all that much. Then again it's not like I heard em live and they are very expensive.
5) Decided to not bother with tremolo systems. I think.
6) Have been drooling over an Evertune system for a while since I heard about it. More on that later.
7) Budget is up to 1500 euros. But that's including other shit that I'll be buying from thomann. Like a hard case. I really don't want to spend more than 1300 euros on a guitar if I can help it but more than 1400-1500 is a definite no.
*8) Looks of a guitar. I can live with most shapes and it's hardly a deciding factor, although I'm a bit tired of the strictly black guitars that are so prevalent in metal and I really enjoy when there's binding on the edges (I hope that's the term) like many schecter guitars have.
I've been reading various forums on various things that I'm basically burnt out by now and I'm feeling like everything would be fine. In the end everyone says "it's all good, it just depends on personal preference" but since I can't try before I buy and I've been weighing pros and cons of a bunch of stuff for a long time now that I'm starting to doubt my own preferences, haha (kill me).
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Questions about stuff:
1) Like I mentioned earlier I researched stuff like true temperament, earvana and that buzz smth one. If I understand it correctly the buzz and earvana ones just pretty much make it better for the first 5 or so frets but makes it worse for the rest of em. Thus getting an earvana nut for my newly purchased guitar would just be a waste of money. Am I understanding that right?
While true temperament might be a better deal but it has its shortcomings as well as alternative tunings and the fact that it only comes in nickel which seems to be a thing that people absolutely hate in this forum when compared to stainless steel, haha. Not to mention that I'd probably need to ship my guitar somewhere if I needed recrowning or whatever. I'm probably overthinking this...
2) Tremolo systems - I have a shitty tremolo on my LTD m-50 so I've fiddled with the usual tricks like dive bombs and dimebag squeels and I messed around with slightly better trem systems as well. Is there something I'm missing with it? What's more to it that vibratos on chords that you sort of can do anyway? Those tremolo tricks just sound like cheesy 80's solos to me. But then again you always want to have more option than less...
3) Speaking of more options. Why do people around here seem to hate tone knobs? Also what am I missing with coil splits? What's the difference between coil splits and coil taps? A 5 way blade switch = coil split right?
4) Scale length. As I understand it it's not the end of the world if the 7 string doesn't have an extended scale length but it's generally preferred that strings be at least 26.5". Amirite?
5) Lastly - Evertune. And this is a big deal because I really want one but it's not a deal breaker per se... I've heard great great things about it. The only thing holding be back on it is the sustain. How true is this video? Is sustain an issue for anyone using evertune in this forum? Like I mentioned before I'd want to play some doomy stuff
besides faster death metal.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TL;DR: Meat and taters section:
Guitar comparisons:
So with all that said. If I sort the guitar on thomann by scale length + evertune then the only guitar fitting for me is the Solar 7 string. I checked the pickups on it and it being based on SD custom-5 is perfect for me because I liked the custom-5s the best from that Keith Merrow comparison video. Again, it's via youtube so maybe some others sound better live but whatever. Gotta work with what you have. It also fits my price range pretty well, so Solar 7 is the frontrunner atm. It's a bit too pointy for me and it's uninspiringly (is that a word?) black but I still dig it. It's also the only 7string on thomann with passive pickups that comes with an evertune (and a longer scale).
If I don't bother with evertune but keep the 26.5" + passives requirement this is what I get when sorting 450-1500 euros: -------> link <-------
Other guitars in there that are drawing my eyes are:
ML1-7 Pro Modern Iris Sea - Really like the colour but I've seen less than stellar reviews for it. Also a lot of haters for the headstock, lol.
Pro Dinky DKA7M Natura - The kill switch is what's intriguing about it. Same thing as with the tremolo though. It's more options but I'm not sure it's necessary with all the pedals available not to mention you can make one yourself easily in the switchblade. Also I'm not too hot about the pickups.
Banshee Elite-7 CEP - Looks REALLY nice. Except I don't know how the pickups compare to a custom 5. I really don't want to be switching pickups on a new guitar
ESP LTD M-1007 Multi-Scale STBLKS - I like the sentient/nazgul pickups but his guitar is really up there in the price range for me. Also I have no experience with fanned frets. I could end up hating it, right?
Some others in there (one with actives even). I think if I don't bother with evertune then it's a toss up between the white Solar or the Banshee Elite (I'd need to look into pickup comparisons though). Then again they all look great to me. I'm just not sure how diamond pickups sound on the schecters and stuff like that.
And LASTLY, If I don't bother to sort by scale and evertune this is what I get: --> link <--
Lots of overlap. Guitars to catch my eye the most that were not available before are the Ibanez models, the Charvel, and the Jackson Pro Soloist. Questionable (for me) pickups on those.
All in all I think I'm leaning towards the longer scale.
Help end my misery, please. Share your thoughts. Sorry again for the essay.