NGD ESP USA M-7

[thejohnnewton]

A couple more in progress shots

 

[thejohnnewton]

And the neck joint

 

[jco5055]

How is the neck joint on the ESP USA's feel wise? AANJ level? I'm personally a biiiig Neck thru guy but I can live with an AANJ

 

[thejohnnewton]

How is the neck joint on the ESP USA's feel wise? AANJ level? I'm personally a biiiig Neck thru guy but I can live with an AANJ

Well I'm still waiting for this one to be delivered. I do have the 6 string version of basically the same guitar but I see the heals are shaped a little bit differently so I can't really say yet on the 7 string. On my 6 I don't feel anything on my fretting hand until my index gets up to about the 19th fret and then really only if I'm on the lower 3 strings. I just start to feel the heel playing the 23rd-24th on the high e. It's just brushing the base of my thumb. To me it's excellent access but I'm not a big time dusty end player. My only non-bolt on electric is a Gibson 335. Not exactly a shred machine. ESP does make neck throughs but not in a USA 7 string.

 

[thejohnnewton]

The middle guitar is my 6 string ESP. The heel looks a little chunkier than the 7 but I'll just have to see. The guitar on the left is my old 7 string Eclipse which is now hanging out with a friend who likes LP style guitars. On the right is a 5 string fanned fret beast of a bass.

 

[jco5055]

Thanks for the replies! I'd love to get a chance to play an ESP USA one day....

 

[thejohnnewton]

Just got it delivered to my office. Can't really give it a proper play through here but I will say I think the heel on the 7 is actually better than the one on the 6. Not only does it seem more out of the way but it's also smoother. Your hand doesn't contact any sharp edges.

 

[thejohnnewton]

Thanks for the replies! I'd love to get a chance to play an ESP USA one day....

Yeah that can be somewhat difficult but you're in a big city so maybe there is a dealer there with some in stock. The US shop is small and only makes 250-300 guitars a year so there's not a ton of them out there.

 

[thejohnnewton]

So now that I've had some time with it my thoughts are it's better playing than my six string US ESP M-III. Better heel, awesome neck, same fantastic build quality, and maybe due to the increase in neck mass it rings like crazy. When I ordered it to replace my old 7 string (A high end LTD Eclipse) my hope was it would be closer to the feel and playability of my six string but I think it has surpassed it. One thing I'm still not crazy about is the reverse headstock. The aesthetics of it are purely subjective (I find it ok) but it makes tuning awkward having to reach under to get to the tuners. Just put the damn things on top where I can get to them unencumbered.

Overall John Rating: A+. Honestly thinking I'll use it to play most everything even non-7 string songs.

Final thought, too bad they don't make an 8 string in the US. Javier Rayes has a signature model with them but the highest end version they sell is an LTD model. I'm sure it's a fine guitar but I'm in love with what the US ESP shop does.

 

[JimF]

I'm in love! In a world of AAAA+++ maple tops, I'm getting more and more keen on painted finishes! Especially these one of a kind hand finished ones like this and the Caparison sponge finished ones.

 

[MetalDaze]

I have a USA M-II and it rocks. They make good stuff.

 

[Cole Justesen]

Wow! That is a cool guitar. Congrats on such a unique purchase!!!

Cole

 

[yan12]

Sweet looking axe!

 

[Strobe]

starry night, baby

I thought the exact same thing the moment I saw these pics.

Very nice looking axe, I dig the color and the swirl in the paint.

 

[Nik/]

That paint job looks great! Really like that blue.