I recently got my hands on my first LTD M-17 and after having it for about a week, got rid of it in order to replace it with another Jackson JS22-7.
When researching both of these guitars, I often see them in lists of "best entry live 7-string," "best budget 7-string" etc. But after owning the LTD and (now) two JS22-7s, I can confidently say they do not belong in the same class. Since these are things I'd wish I'd known going in, I thought maybe they might be helpful for someone else looking at budget 7-string guitars.
While the LTD played ok and had a half-way decent sound through a 5150 at the store, upon getting it home and really digging in, the areas where it just didn't measure up became glaring.
Tuners:
The LTD M-17:
I've owned dozens of guitars over the last 30 years and never once had one where the tuners were so close together. I hardly have "fat fingers" but had difficulty adjusting any of the tuners without bumping the one(s) next to it, which brought a minor amount of frustration to the tuning process. Aside from that, they were what you would expect from an entry level tuner.
Jackson JS22-7:
The Jackson tuners are well spaced (like every other guitar I've ever owned aside from the LTD M-17), hold tuning nicely and move easily compared to the LTD tuners. While not as nice as those on my MIJ Ibanez S540 or the Hipshot or Gotoh ones I have, for stock tuners they're definitely not entry-level quality.
Neck:
The LTD M-17:
The shorter scale (25.5" vs 26.5" on the Jackson) and the way it set in the body felt uncomfortable to me after several minutes of playing - this is purely a personal preference. It had a considerable amount of fret buzz that no amount of saddle/bridge/truss adjustments could overcome, so if you get one, expect to have to do fretwork. Multiple sharp fret ends didn't help.
Jackson JS22-7:
The Jackson necks are smoother, faster and come from the factory well set-up as far as string height and fret work - sure it isn't the same as getting a high end Soloist/HT7 or a Schecter KM-7, but for the money, it's possibly the best I've ever seen. There is slight fret buzz at the top of the neck, but nothing like the LTD. The comfort factor, for me, is huge as well, but that's a personal variable.
Body:
The LTD M-17:
Anyone who is familiar with the term "dead plank-itis" will recognize it in this one. Even though it was a string thru-body/TOM bridge, the sustain wasn't good, the string vibration through the body wasn't good and overall it felt dead. The body diid look good/feel good as far as how it sat on my lap/against my torso and it was comfortable for my right hand placement.
Jackson JS22-7:
Very resonant for a budget friendly guitar, very comfortable overall and the contour on the face adds some visual spice. It feels like it's a slightly bigger body than the LTD, but that may be all in my mind due to the extra scale length and the way the neck sits in the body.
Bridge:
The LTD M-17:
I briefly had a Schecter 7 with a TOM bridge and loved it, along with the 6-string TOMs I've had (including an LTD 6 MH series 6 and a few BC Rich 6s) - this one not so much. While chances are the TOM was perfectly ok, the lack of resonance in the body seemed to detract from what I expect with a TOM bridge.
Jackson JS22-7:
While I prefer the Hipshot style bridges found on the JS32-7s, the bridge on the JS22-7 is totally fine, although I wish it was bolted on the same as the 32 version for easy replacement to the Hipshot style.
Pickups:
The LTD M-17:
While pickups are usually the first thing anyone wants to upgrade, they're clearly the first thing on this one that should be upgraded (with the tuners in second place). At once both muddy and tin-ey, very inarticulate and fairly blah. But, for entry level, they get the job done.
Jackson JS22-7:
The Jackson HO pickups are clearly a step above the ESP Designed ones - the Jackson's are thicker, fatter, fuller and more articulate without adding the thin/tin sound the ESP's have. Most will probably want to replace them sooner or later, but they aren't a "this has to happen immediately" need like the ESP ones.
Overall:
The Jackson JS22-7, hands down wins for quality, musicality, ease of use (tuning, etc.) and feel (again feel is totally personal comfort).
In conclusion, I'd recommend if the LTD M-17 is considered "entry level" then the Jackson is the next step up the ladder. Maybe that category is "budget friendly professional" or some such, but there's a noticeable quality difference in the two. Since you can buy both in the same price range, I could never confidently encourage anyone to chose the LTD over the Jackson. There's no contest...
Hope that helps someone.
When researching both of these guitars, I often see them in lists of "best entry live 7-string," "best budget 7-string" etc. But after owning the LTD and (now) two JS22-7s, I can confidently say they do not belong in the same class. Since these are things I'd wish I'd known going in, I thought maybe they might be helpful for someone else looking at budget 7-string guitars.
While the LTD played ok and had a half-way decent sound through a 5150 at the store, upon getting it home and really digging in, the areas where it just didn't measure up became glaring.
Tuners:
The LTD M-17:
I've owned dozens of guitars over the last 30 years and never once had one where the tuners were so close together. I hardly have "fat fingers" but had difficulty adjusting any of the tuners without bumping the one(s) next to it, which brought a minor amount of frustration to the tuning process. Aside from that, they were what you would expect from an entry level tuner.
Jackson JS22-7:
The Jackson tuners are well spaced (like every other guitar I've ever owned aside from the LTD M-17), hold tuning nicely and move easily compared to the LTD tuners. While not as nice as those on my MIJ Ibanez S540 or the Hipshot or Gotoh ones I have, for stock tuners they're definitely not entry-level quality.
Neck:
The LTD M-17:
The shorter scale (25.5" vs 26.5" on the Jackson) and the way it set in the body felt uncomfortable to me after several minutes of playing - this is purely a personal preference. It had a considerable amount of fret buzz that no amount of saddle/bridge/truss adjustments could overcome, so if you get one, expect to have to do fretwork. Multiple sharp fret ends didn't help.
Jackson JS22-7:
The Jackson necks are smoother, faster and come from the factory well set-up as far as string height and fret work - sure it isn't the same as getting a high end Soloist/HT7 or a Schecter KM-7, but for the money, it's possibly the best I've ever seen. There is slight fret buzz at the top of the neck, but nothing like the LTD. The comfort factor, for me, is huge as well, but that's a personal variable.
Body:
The LTD M-17:
Anyone who is familiar with the term "dead plank-itis" will recognize it in this one. Even though it was a string thru-body/TOM bridge, the sustain wasn't good, the string vibration through the body wasn't good and overall it felt dead. The body diid look good/feel good as far as how it sat on my lap/against my torso and it was comfortable for my right hand placement.
Jackson JS22-7:
Very resonant for a budget friendly guitar, very comfortable overall and the contour on the face adds some visual spice. It feels like it's a slightly bigger body than the LTD, but that may be all in my mind due to the extra scale length and the way the neck sits in the body.
Bridge:
The LTD M-17:
I briefly had a Schecter 7 with a TOM bridge and loved it, along with the 6-string TOMs I've had (including an LTD 6 MH series 6 and a few BC Rich 6s) - this one not so much. While chances are the TOM was perfectly ok, the lack of resonance in the body seemed to detract from what I expect with a TOM bridge.
Jackson JS22-7:
While I prefer the Hipshot style bridges found on the JS32-7s, the bridge on the JS22-7 is totally fine, although I wish it was bolted on the same as the 32 version for easy replacement to the Hipshot style.
Pickups:
The LTD M-17:
While pickups are usually the first thing anyone wants to upgrade, they're clearly the first thing on this one that should be upgraded (with the tuners in second place). At once both muddy and tin-ey, very inarticulate and fairly blah. But, for entry level, they get the job done.
Jackson JS22-7:
The Jackson HO pickups are clearly a step above the ESP Designed ones - the Jackson's are thicker, fatter, fuller and more articulate without adding the thin/tin sound the ESP's have. Most will probably want to replace them sooner or later, but they aren't a "this has to happen immediately" need like the ESP ones.
Overall:
The Jackson JS22-7, hands down wins for quality, musicality, ease of use (tuning, etc.) and feel (again feel is totally personal comfort).
In conclusion, I'd recommend if the LTD M-17 is considered "entry level" then the Jackson is the next step up the ladder. Maybe that category is "budget friendly professional" or some such, but there's a noticeable quality difference in the two. Since you can buy both in the same price range, I could never confidently encourage anyone to chose the LTD over the Jackson. There's no contest...
Hope that helps someone.
