Looking to buy my first 7-string. Pls help :'( guitar comparisons+questions about stuff (text wall)

[Grumul]

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.

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

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.

 

[angl2k]

Holy wall of text lol.

Anyway, may I suggest LTD ec-1007 evertune or the LTD mh-1007 evertune if you can get live with the active pickups. These are made in Korea, while the Solar guitars are made in Indonesia. Not to downplay the Solar quality but in general, MIK are a bit better than MIA.

Don't worry about scale lengths with evertune, people want extended scale lengths to downtune while still having clarity. Higher gauge strings muddy up your tone. With evertune you can use really low tension, light gauge strings and the evertune will keep those in tune and stop the negative side effects of low string tension. Of course the strings will feel like spaghetti There's also 7 stringers like Matt Heafy who have 24.75" scale and their tone is great.

Also, people sometimes want a guitar without tone knob because it slightly increases treble response, it's all personal preference though.

 

[Grumul]

Yay, someone replied.

Holy wall of text lol.

You were warned! lol

Anyway, I guess the LTD ec-1007 is an option. I know LTD mh-1007 come with evertunes as well but thomann doesn't have any. Hell most guitars I listed are an option... What makes Korea vs Indonesia so much better though? I'm guessing they have more than 1 factory per country so this Korea > Indonesia seems odd to me. The Solar guitars seem to be getting good reviews on the quality so If I do go with that I don't think I should be worrying too much about the quality. Do let me know if I'm being naive, though.

Not hatin on the 1007 but if it's just a matter of Korea vs Indonesia then I'm not convinced since the passives vs actives thing gets my vote personally. Especially since I really enjoy the custom 5 sound.

The scale thing isn't a big deal I guess but what about the sustain on an evertune? Do you have a guitar with one? Can you share your thoughts on the sustain with evertune if you have one?

Also, people sometimes want a guitar without tone knob because it slightly increases treble response, it's all personal preference though.

Well, I'm more of a mid guy so sound like a tone knob is for me.

Any thoughts on the guitars I have listed?

 

[cReePyLunatic]

Rekomenduoju imt sita kol dar yra Link

 

[You]

If you can live with the fishman fluence pickups The Ken Susi sig might be right up your alley

https://www.espguitars.com/products/17104-ks-m-7?category_id=1963512-ken-susi

Or alternatively you can search for one of the discontinued models with EMGs and swap them out with passives.

https://www.gak.co.uk/en/esp-ltd-ks...h-signature-guitar-with-evertune-system/94114

 

[gujukal]

Personally I would stay away from evertune if you're not touring or recording a ton. You probably experience some sustain issues with it.
Have you looked at the Schecter Km7 mkii? Has some great features for the price.

 

[Grumul]

Personally I would stay away from evertune if you're not touring or recording a ton. You probably experience some sustain issues with it.
Have you looked at the Schecter Km7 mkii? Has some great features for the price.

Well that's what keeps me from going all in with it. How much is "some sustain issues" ? Absolutely no one is talking about it. Or no one that I can find anyway. If anyone brings anything up other than bending and "it really works" is that tone change is not a big deal (for them) and not a peep on sustain.

The KM7 MKII definitely looks sweet, but it doesn't have a tone knob

Do you have any thoughts on the guitar I've mentioned?

 

[gujukal]

Well that's what keeps me from going all in with it. How much is "some sustain issues" ? Absolutely no one is talking about it. Or no one that I can find anyway. If anyone brings anything up other than bending and "it really works" is that tone change is not a big deal (for them) and not a peep on sustain.

The KM7 MKII definitely looks sweet, but it doesn't have a tone knob

Do you have any thoughts on the guitar I've mentioned?

Yeah i know, it's hard to find info about that. I actually heard people complaining about it on facebook when i just ordered my Ken Susi guitar. It's definetly not much of an issue if you play mainly riffs. But doing solos on the higher strings with long ringing notes didn't work, notes died off after a second. I did compare it with my MH1000nt and it was night and day, and those guitars have very similar specs except the extra string on the KS7.

Of those you mentioned, the Banshee Elite seems like a really solid guitar, the M-1007 is probably really good too but it might have a slightly thicker neck than the Schecter. I could also recommend the Ibanez rgdix7mpb, it's quite a lot cheaper and has some decent specs. Might not be as solid as the Schecter though.

 

[gunch]

I think you're thinking too much about everything and weighing yourself down with option paralysis.

My random 2 cents:

-I researched and researched my balls off for a decent 6 string, thought I had it with an LTD EC1000 only to find that I really don't get on with it because my picking forearm arm digs into the edge and I'm a big (fat) guy. That means from now own any carve top or slab body guitar I probably won't like. That's something I would have found out had I tried before I bought. Ergonomics matter before sound, at least to me. You have to think about the amount of time you are in contact with your instrument, if there's something off that you don't like it's not going to pay off in the long term.

-Pickups and tonewood are important but your amp and EQ matter a lot more.

RE: Splitting vs Tapping, from Halo guitar's website:
Both terms refer to electric guitar pickups, and while the two terms are sometimes used interchangeably, coil splitting and coil tapping are definitely not the same thing.

Coil splitting refers in particular to humbucking pickups, in which two coils of wire and two magnets are used together. These coils and magnets are of opposite polarity, which cancels (“bucks”) unwanted noise and hum and produces higher output and a thicker, heavier sound. In coil splitting, the connection between the two coils of a humbucking pickup is broken, disabling one coil and allowing the other to continue to function.

In effect, coil splitting turns a humbucking pickup into a single-coil pickup - a useful feature for guitarists who like both options at their fingertips without having to switch guitars. On instruments that feature it, coil splitting is usually accomplished by means of various onboard switching types.

Coil tapping, on the other hand, refers in particular to single-coil pickups. Tapping a coil means taking the signal from somewhere within the coil of wire rather than from the end of it, thus reducing pickup output (more windings means higher output); it too is accomplished by onboard switching. Some high-output single-coil pickups use coil taps to produce lower output that more closely resembles that of, say, a vintage Fender single-coil pickup.

Of the two features, coil splitting is more prevalent than coil tapping.

If you like the sound of the Custom 5, get something with an alnico 5 magnet, get the Custom 5 itself or do a magnet swap (not as hard as you think)

-Evertunes don't really seem worth it for basically having as much wood taken out of the body as a tremolo system and having to set it a finicky way to even be able to do bends. A good, well cut and lubricated nut and locking tuners go a long way. Unless you absolutely beat the utter shit out of your strings when you play then I could see the benefit.

All that said I also second going for the Banshee Elite 7

 

[The Silent Man]

I totally understand you, as I live in a far-off place where it's even hard to know someone who knows someone else playing 7-string guitars. Basically all of my guitars were blind on-line purchases.

I have nearly the same needs as you: I am looking for a great 7-string guitar which can be used for nearly anything - and clean sounds must be decent.
After years of Ibanez mania (mainly because of the amazing necks), I finally grew an interest towards Jackson guitars.
Some months ago, while travelling to a far city to attend some metal concerts, I intentionally stopped by a guitar retailer and tried all of the 7-string guitars available at the shop.

I was impressed with the crisp sound (even clean sound) and playability of a neck-through Jackson Soloist (SLAT3-7) with active EMG pick-ups and 5-way switch; it's a discontinued model but I'm keeping an eye on their current line-up.
I also tried a nice Schecter Hellraiser. Boring black, yet definitely enjoyable.

 

[Grumul]

Thanks for your input, everyone.