OzoneJunkie
Well-Known Member
So, it arrived today. Very quick from Beat Street Music, seeing how I ordered on Wednesday (today is Saturday). Total price: $999 shipped.
So, bare (bear?) with me - I'm going to post my other guitars here as well, since they never got a proper NGD.
EBMM JP7: Ernie Ball MusicMan John Petrucci 7-string with pre D-Sonic bridge pickup, in Pearl Red Burst. Purchased this guitar new (even though it was 2(?) years old from a local shop). This guitar played well in the store. Once I got it home and adjusted the action a bit, a fret issue revealed itself. A high section with fret 18, causing fret out on the A,D,G strings, when fretting at the 17the fret. I took the guitar back to the store, they agreed there was an issue. The guitar went back to EBMM. Long story short - they decided a new neck was the right thing to do. 5 weeks later, JP7 back in my hands, and it plays beautifully. More on the JP7 in a bit.
Ibanez RG320FM: bought used for $350. Had DiMarzio Evolution pickups installed in both b/n positions.
HM87: Home made (circa 1987) strat style guitar, with Warmoth ebony neck. I did the body/wiring, and a local luthier installed the neck. I did the scalloping myself.
RB2: Rock Band 2 strat - quieter buttons, better strumbar. Enough said. GH3 LP guitar is better in some aspects but hurts my wrist after time. Never played a GH explorer - I hear they're the shizzy.
Ok, on to the Rusty Cooley RC7X in black (metallic black or whatever it's called). So, I'm posting pictures here, from my phone's camera, so the pictures suck. But, here's the rundown:
Bridge/Vibrato system: As you can see, the tuning posts are not low profile. They get in my way... but not so much as that I can't play it. Just causes me to slide my picking hand towards the neck, probably an inch or so more than where I'd normally play from.
Neck: very thin - slightly thinner than my RG320FM. Great access - nothing gets in the way. Big cutaway and contoured neck joint assure that.
Frets/fingerboard: well... certainly looks like rosewood to me. Frets are definitely not what I was expecting - they are no taller than my RG320, and in fact may be shorter. They're also very narrow. Having played a scalloped fingerboard for a long time, I can say that the RC7X does NOT feel like you're playing a scalloped board. Furthermore, the fingerboard/frets have a cheap feel to them. Not completely terrible mind you, but again, cheap feeling.
More on this- looking at the pictures of the frets - they certainly look tall, but again, they are not as tall as I was expecting. The Ibanez has taller frets.
More stuff: I can hear the battery moving around inside the cavity - haven't opened it up yet but it needs to be secured. Case is decent enough.
Overall opinions: Ok, I want to do a little comparison, history, etc. I've been playing since 83. I have not owned many guitars. Here's my history:
1984 American Fender Stratocaster
Korean Jackson - not sure what model.
My home made axe.
and now, again, the JP7, RG320FM, and the RC7X.
The JP7: a total picker's machine. I find my picking most accurate on this guitar. May be the string tension, which I perceive to be higher compared to the Ibby, even with the same string type. The frets are not tall - bending is not as easy as on the Ibby. Sweeps I'm more accurate on the Ibby as well.
Ibanez: Well suited for legato, bends, sweeps. Picking is very good on it too, just not as good as the JP7.
Dean RC7X: Hmm... falls short, in my humble opinion. I prefer both the JP7 and Ibanez. I can get around on the RC7X - in some things I feel it is superior. But I keep coming back to what I perceive to be a cheap feel to the fingerboard/frets. The neck itself I think is really good. Better frets - ones that I was expecting, and this could be a monster.
Will I keep it? I can't decide that after only an hour on the thing. I'll keep it for at least a month, then decide. Also, I have a pending Mike Sherman 8 string, fanned fret coming, so I'll likely wait until I have that, and then decide what stays and what goes.
Feel free to ask questions - and if you have requests for particular pictures, let me know - I'll do my best. Don't have a real digital cam, so again, the pix suck.
PS - adding pix to thread - forgive me if they fall into the next few posts...
So, bare (bear?) with me - I'm going to post my other guitars here as well, since they never got a proper NGD.
EBMM JP7: Ernie Ball MusicMan John Petrucci 7-string with pre D-Sonic bridge pickup, in Pearl Red Burst. Purchased this guitar new (even though it was 2(?) years old from a local shop). This guitar played well in the store. Once I got it home and adjusted the action a bit, a fret issue revealed itself. A high section with fret 18, causing fret out on the A,D,G strings, when fretting at the 17the fret. I took the guitar back to the store, they agreed there was an issue. The guitar went back to EBMM. Long story short - they decided a new neck was the right thing to do. 5 weeks later, JP7 back in my hands, and it plays beautifully. More on the JP7 in a bit.
Ibanez RG320FM: bought used for $350. Had DiMarzio Evolution pickups installed in both b/n positions.
HM87: Home made (circa 1987) strat style guitar, with Warmoth ebony neck. I did the body/wiring, and a local luthier installed the neck. I did the scalloping myself.
RB2: Rock Band 2 strat - quieter buttons, better strumbar. Enough said. GH3 LP guitar is better in some aspects but hurts my wrist after time. Never played a GH explorer - I hear they're the shizzy.
Ok, on to the Rusty Cooley RC7X in black (metallic black or whatever it's called). So, I'm posting pictures here, from my phone's camera, so the pictures suck. But, here's the rundown:
Bridge/Vibrato system: As you can see, the tuning posts are not low profile. They get in my way... but not so much as that I can't play it. Just causes me to slide my picking hand towards the neck, probably an inch or so more than where I'd normally play from.
Neck: very thin - slightly thinner than my RG320FM. Great access - nothing gets in the way. Big cutaway and contoured neck joint assure that.
Frets/fingerboard: well... certainly looks like rosewood to me. Frets are definitely not what I was expecting - they are no taller than my RG320, and in fact may be shorter. They're also very narrow. Having played a scalloped fingerboard for a long time, I can say that the RC7X does NOT feel like you're playing a scalloped board. Furthermore, the fingerboard/frets have a cheap feel to them. Not completely terrible mind you, but again, cheap feeling.
More on this- looking at the pictures of the frets - they certainly look tall, but again, they are not as tall as I was expecting. The Ibanez has taller frets.
More stuff: I can hear the battery moving around inside the cavity - haven't opened it up yet but it needs to be secured. Case is decent enough.
Overall opinions: Ok, I want to do a little comparison, history, etc. I've been playing since 83. I have not owned many guitars. Here's my history:
1984 American Fender Stratocaster
Korean Jackson - not sure what model.
My home made axe.
and now, again, the JP7, RG320FM, and the RC7X.
The JP7: a total picker's machine. I find my picking most accurate on this guitar. May be the string tension, which I perceive to be higher compared to the Ibby, even with the same string type. The frets are not tall - bending is not as easy as on the Ibby. Sweeps I'm more accurate on the Ibby as well.
Ibanez: Well suited for legato, bends, sweeps. Picking is very good on it too, just not as good as the JP7.
Dean RC7X: Hmm... falls short, in my humble opinion. I prefer both the JP7 and Ibanez. I can get around on the RC7X - in some things I feel it is superior. But I keep coming back to what I perceive to be a cheap feel to the fingerboard/frets. The neck itself I think is really good. Better frets - ones that I was expecting, and this could be a monster.
Will I keep it? I can't decide that after only an hour on the thing. I'll keep it for at least a month, then decide. Also, I have a pending Mike Sherman 8 string, fanned fret coming, so I'll likely wait until I have that, and then decide what stays and what goes.
Feel free to ask questions - and if you have requests for particular pictures, let me know - I'll do my best. Don't have a real digital cam, so again, the pix suck.
PS - adding pix to thread - forgive me if they fall into the next few posts...
Then again, if thats all it needs I guess it stops being truly good value for money and simply becomes an excellent 7 string if it fits your exact taste?
) used scalloped necks I might actually replace the frets with jumbos to get something approximating the string control I like 
