Mahogany Body 7 String With Trem for around $1500?

[7StringsRule]

Hi guys, I’m looking into getting a 7 string right now and have been searching for a MIJ or USA mahogany body one for about $1500 or less. It needs to have a double locking trem, preferably Ibanez Lo Pro or Gotoh but Floyds are fine too.

Right now the only thing I can see coming close to that price point is are K-7s and Ibanez S Series. There’s a K-7 on reverb for $2000 right now, is that a normal price or can I bargain it down. As for the S Series, I don’t think the body shape fits seven strings the best.

If I can’t find anything I’ll just settle for a used prestige with a basswood body.

 

[Thesius]

Unsure if this is still for sale or not https://sevenstring.org/threads/ibanez-rg-7-string-mij-japan-market-only.356341/

 

[jonsick]

I cannot actually believe your username wasn't taken already hahaha. Just wanted to say that first. But to move onto the second bits.

Having a quick look at Thomann.de (they ship worldwide, but you may find it cheaper locally), the two obvious choices that come up for me are the Schecter C-7 FR Hellraiser and the Jackson Broderick Pro Series. Luckily I can speak a little to experience with both.

I was in a similar position in that I wanted a 7 with a floyd rose, 25.5" scale and ideally alder/maple construction.

The guitars I settled on were the Jackson Pro Series Broderick, just sort of agreed that it would be mahogany body maple neck, but the specs were right. My experience with both of my Brodericks (I have two white ones that I use live) is that they play well, fun guitars to use. The Floyd Rose Special bridges lasted me about six months before I changed them out for Floyd Rose bridges. I also replaced EMG 81-7/85-7 pickups which were not an easy fit, I modified the pickups to fit into both of them. I really do not like direct mount pickups but I just had to deal with it and experiment with wedging various bits of foam under the pickups to get them to the right height. It's a constant thing with direct mount pickups, adjustability is irritating and almost non-existent. The Brodericks are fairly heavy guitars too.

After a bit of work, primarily around fretwork and replacing the Special bridge with OFR-7 tremolos, both guitars are perfect for live use. I have been gigging one of them for about 6 years now, the other about 3 years. I did splurge on an E-II Arrow 7 string and that is my main guitar now, but the Brodericks are certainly doing the right job.

As for the Schecter Hellraiser C-7, I have had the pleasure of having a few in for repair. The bridge is instantly better quality given it's a 1000-series Floyd Rose. The OFR is of course better, but the 1000 series didn't give me many concerns. The guitar is quite heavy too and the three models I have had in for repair all required a good fret job to get them optimal. The thing that got me was the 26.5" scale. While 1" doesn't sound like it matters, I found it a little fatiguing towards the lower registers when just riffing around. Otherwise they are nice guitars.

For the record, getting hold of a hard case for the Broderick was a really irritating thing to do. When I bought the first one, they were pretty much in stock. The second Broderick I bought, I had to wait 2 months to come in and I would say that the first case I bought appears to be better quality than the second. As for Schecter, the C-7 case is a lot easier to get hold of and is perfectly fine. It was also cheaper.

Moving on, I recently had a mate buy a LTD M-1007 QR. I would honestly say that although it doesn't fit your requirement of having a mahogany body, if I was doing it all over again and only had £1200 or so to spend on a 7 string, this is what I would go for. The thing was great out of the box. It was really nice and clear sounding, did squeelies well, I could go on but LTD really hit it out of the park on this one. It's just great!

If you want to spend some serious money, E-II is likely where I would land. I have been really happy with my Arrow 7 string although I did change out the EMG 57/66 set for another set of 81-7/85-7. I just preferred them over the stock pickups. Nice easy control layout too with just one volume and a 3-way selector. If you are mad after a mahogany body, I have owned the E-II 7-string Horizon for a bit. Great guitar, plays very nicely, overall I just prefer alder body guitars and I had a mate who was really lusting for my Horizon so eventually wound up selling it to him.

If your budget is significantly less than all that, then potentially Solar is a good bet. They tend to go for the mahogany body construction. I have had a fair few Solars in though most of them new and needed a good amount of work to get them playing right. So most certainly budget in for a full nine yards fret job, set up and all the rest of it. They just seem to need it.

For £1500 though, I would get the LTD M-1007 FR and a nice hard case to go with it. I would say it was signficantly nicer than either my own Brodericks or the Schecter C-7FRs I've had in. I kinda want one after trying his even though I really don't need it at all.

Hope this helps!

 

[CanserDYI]

Any reason it has to be mahogany?

 

[7StringsRule]

Any reason it has to be mahogany?

I like the tone of mahogany. I'm familiar with it and I know it sounds good. Whereas I never had a basswood guitar.

Not saying it's bad, but I prefer what I'm used to.

 

[Emperoff]

Remove the (rather useless) handicap of wood species, and you'll have a lot more to choose from.

 

[7StringsRule]

Remove the (rather useless) handicap of wood species, and you'll have a lot more to choose from.

I found a pretty nicely priced K-7, so not a problem anymore

 

[MattFlat05]

Unsure if this is still for sale or not https://sevenstring.org/threads/ibanez-rg-7-string-mij-japan-market-only.356341/

Sorry but this one is mine now.

 

[odibrom]

Sorry but this one is mine now.

... and is hardtail...

:::::

On the subject, there are a few Ibanez that fit the bill quite nicely: RG2027XVV (from 2000 t0 2001) or the S5527 and S5427 (both 7 string S models). These are both super nice.

Regarding Mahogany versus Basswood, the tone difference isn't anything special, for everything else being the same, more on the weight and feel of the guitar than tone. I find that guitar woods interfere with how one feels the guitar, not necessarily nor objectively the guitar's tone. Both of these woods deliver good guitars. If it's Prestige and up level, you're good to go.

 

[7StringsRule]

... and is hardtail...

:::::

On the subject, there are a few Ibanez that fit the bill quite nicely: RG2027XVV (from 2000 t0 2001) or the S5527 and S5427 (both 7 string S models). These are both super nice.

Regarding Mahogany versus Basswood, the tone difference isn't anything special, for everything else being the same, more on the weight and feel of the guitar than tone. I find that guitar woods interfere with how one feels the guitar, not necessarily nor objectively the guitar's tone. Both of these woods deliver good guitars. If it's Prestige and up level, you're good to go.

I don’t really like the Sabre shape for 7 strings as I mentioned, and an RG2027X is pretty hard to find (probably out of my price range even if I do find one). I was planning to just settle with a basswood prestige if I couldn’t find a mahogany one in my price range, tonewood is not the biggest factor in a guitar’s tone anyway, especially under high gain. But as I mentioned above, I found a nicely priced K-7, so I’m just going to go with that.

 

[odibrom]

I don’t really like the Sabre shape for 7 strings as I mentioned, and an RG2027X is pretty hard to find (probably out of my price range even if I do find one). I was planning to just settle with a basswood prestige if I couldn’t find a mahogany one in my price range, tonewood is not the biggest factor in a guitar’s tone anyway, especially under high gain. But as I mentioned above, I found a nicely priced K-7, so I’m just going to go with that.

Don't forget to post a NGD thread when it arrives!...

 

[Emperoff]

Regarding Mahogany versus Basswood, the tone difference isn't anything special, for everything else being the same, more on the weight and feel of the guitar than tone. I find that guitar woods interfere with how one feels the guitar, not necessarily nor objectively the guitar's tone

People worrying about tonewood most likely plays unplugged or something

 

[ExMachina]

People worrying about tonewood most likely plays unplugged or something

One time I got a scratch in my tonewood and it's just never sounded the same since. Used to sound like a cannon went off each time I picked it, now it's like a little thud. I can't seem to sell it though, I'm pretty attached to it.

 

[kamello]

RGA427Z fits the bill, but they are kinda hard to find. Aside from that, I think practically any Ibanez S with a trem will be Mahogany

I won't give it too much thought though', I've tried and recorded hundreds of different guitars. Different woods indeed feel different in the way they resonate and all that, but it won't be noticeable in a recording or in a gig, plus, two of the same model can feel really different

 

[odibrom]

One time I got a scratch in my tonewood and it's just never sounded the same since. Used to sound like a cannon went off each time I picked it, now it's like a little thud. I can't seem to sell it though, I'm pretty attached to it.

If my cannon tonewood got a scratch, it probably wouldn't fire for a while... eeerrr...