Rate Your 7 String Guitars

[USMarine75]

First year (2008?) Schecter Jeff Loomis:

Looks - Maple fretboard with "vampire red" stained body and back of neck. Only complaint is I could personally do without the cross fretmarkers, but otherwise killer.

Playability - Action as low as my EBMM Petrucci JP7 Stealth or KxK7, perfectly intonates, trem resets perfectly. This thing plays like a custom shop instrument.

Features - 26.5" scale, locking OFR (IIRC), neck-thru, EMG 707 pickups. Not usually an active pickup, EMG, or EMG707 fan; but they are perfect in this guitar.

Price - I think I paid $550 brand new back when MF would let you use coupons on actual brand name equipment lol. IIRC it was regularly $800.

Overall - How can you go wrong with the features, playability, and looks of this guitar... for that price. The only complaint I hear is it has a thick neck, but maybe that and the overall weight combine with the pickups to give it the crushing tone that it has.

[stock photos... mine is in temp storage]

 

[thraxil]

Guitar: Ibanez UV7BK "Green Dot". 1991 model.

Overall: 9/10

Bought this because... these are legendary and it doesn't need an explanation. Still own it, even took it through two international moves. I bought it used in 2012 for fairly cheap because it was pretty beat to hell by the previous owner. Lots of dings and corrosion on the hardware, but no structural or playability problems. I cleaned it all up and got it performing perfectly. Still cosmetic issues, but I don't mind those.

Neck is thin and flat and very, very fast. It's got the chunky old block style neck heel, but somehow it never feels like it's in the way. I'm not a big trem user so all I care about is that once you set it up, it basically keeps things in tune and feels comfortable to palm mute on. Pickups are amazing. Classic Morbid Angel for days, super articulate and biting, even cleans up nicely. This thing just has Mojo.

 

[WiseSplinter]

-Guitar: Carvin DC727

-Mods: None, still as it came.

-Story:
Got an increase at work so I thought I'd treat myself to my first 7 string (had been gassing for about a year).
When I placed the order I didn't really know what I was doing, today I would spec a build very differently but I got exactly what I ordered at the time.

-Still Own: Yes

-Pros:
Sounds good with the stock pups surprisingly, these are the older Carvin double-poles from before the Lithiums or whatever they have now.
Lots of tones as I opted for the everything-and-the-kitchen-sink electronics and controls (I had no idea what I wanted so I just got everything haha)
Woods are very pretty, the walnut neck even has some flame going on.
Build quality is very good IMO, I've had it for years and have not had to adjust much, still in perfect condition despite only a tung-oil finish. I might baby my guitars a bit.

-Cons:
Heavy. Like really heavy. Walnut body and neck look fantastic but they KILL my shoulder after an hour playing standing up.
I like downtuning so I would prefer a longer scale length (at the time of ordering they did not yet offer baritone or multiscale 7's).

-Rating & Final Thoughts: 8/11
I would say it has a more 'vintage' vibe than a modern made-for-metal axe, not at all in tune with my current preferences but it's a well made instrument that has it's place in my stable.
It's got a lot of options I find useful for layering some different tonalities when recording, but in general I prefer a leaner setup these days, especially for playing live.

 

[M3CHK1LLA]

^ what a beauty!

 

[bastardbullet]

I already wrote a bunch about it here; https://www.sevenstring.org/threads/hngd-ibanez-rga71al.338309/ but it’s been months since i got it and i’m so surprised to see people didn’t like these series at all according to the overall built quality, quotation and performance, so i wanted to contribute the post.

Ibanez RGA71AL:

Finish:

It still has the spell on it for sure, live tested on all other gear nerd friends and the first reaction when they see it in person is all the same. They simply freak out how crazy are the lillac to purple transitions. Neither me nor them couldn’t find a major blemish or a single sh*tty spot. Just the thickness of the white binding on the side of the body differs a bit here and there, totally unnoticeable & ignorable. Other than that, the finish quality is insanely perfect.

Features:

I was a “nyatoh” virgin, so i looked up for it a while and the conclusion was it’s simply a type of mahogany, or something so close. Tonally, i’d prefer to have the body in ash but after it arrived, it sounded as open and bright as my km-7 so i didn’t care. Still not sure if the top is a veneer or a real flame maple, since it has a cool texture i don’t bother for that either.

You don’t come across the wenge, panga panga and macassar ebony everyday on a mass production guitar neck, so i consider these as “custom grade”. Woodwork is superb, jumbo sized zero treated frets feel and sound similar to the stainless ones which is a thumb up. No sharp ends, no weird height issues, no toolmarks.

The only thing i dislike is the ugly plastic nut. It wears much faster than any other material and will definitely need a replacement in the near furure. Why man, seriously why you wouldn’t just put a decent bone or black tusq nut for such a beautiful gear? Just a weird choice.

I love how stable is the 25.5” scale for A standard tuning with eb 10-62 cobalts. No intonation or sustain issues. Since i don’t go any lower than drop G# or don’t use thicker gauges than 0.74, 25.5” is my go to scale.

I will not butter up the bkp aftermath’s anymore. Shortly, this set suits all my needs but i’ve seen a lot fellas who doesn’t enjoy these at all. Gotoh locking tuners and schaller s-locks are just perfect. After i used the schaller s-locks, i immediately ordered a set of these for each of my guitars.

Anyone who prefers the look of the gibraltar than the hipshot highmass bridge? Well, if it came with a hipshot i’d get so frustrated. I don’t know why but i totally hate the highmass bridge.

Playability & sound:

If i had to define my style of playing, i’d say it’s a mixture of prog, djent and some technical death riffage. Maybe a little clean stuff too. I’m not a shred guy at all, i can only write simple licks to fill in. Tbh, i suck at shredding. So i can’t rate it if it’s a match for shredders, but it will definitely blow out the mind of any riff guy. Neck is insanely fast, total weight and balance is perfectly set. No neck diving, no back discomfort.

I haven’t met someone who didn’t enjoy the coil splitted tones on it yet. For a djenty higain, crunch or clean setting, i love the results of both pickups selected and splitted most. Neck pickup alone is also a beast for dirty mellow cleans too.

price & overall thoughts:

I bought it from zuhal music which is the official Turkish distributor of ibanez, and paid 8300 Turkish Liras for it at that time (6-7 months ago) which is something close to $1450 now. Haven’t paid for additional taxes or shipping.

After i’ve read all the negative comments about the axion label specimens here, idk guess i’m a lot luckier than i’ve known. I really love both of my rgd61al and rga71al and would totally suggest these for everyone in search of something different than a regular “metal” axe. I wish ibanez will fix up the QC process for these soon. Oh, and please put something better than a sh*tty plastic nut.

 

[nightlight]

-Guitar: Carvin DC727

-Mods: None, still as it came.

-Story:
Got an increase at work so I thought I'd treat myself to my first 7 string (had been gassing for about a year).
When I placed the order I didn't really know what I was doing, today I would spec a build very differently but I got exactly what I ordered at the time.

-Still Own: Yes

-Pros:
Sounds good with the stock pups surprisingly, these are the older Carvin double-poles from before the Lithiums or whatever they have now.
Lots of tones as I opted for the everything-and-the-kitchen-sink electronics and controls (I had no idea what I wanted so I just got everything haha)
Woods are very pretty, the walnut neck even has some flame going on.
Build quality is very good IMO, I've had it for years and have not had to adjust much, still in perfect condition despite only a tung-oil finish. I might baby my guitars a bit.

-Cons:
Heavy. Like really heavy. Walnut body and neck look fantastic but they KILL my shoulder after an hour playing standing up.
I like downtuning so I would prefer a longer scale length (at the time of ordering they did not yet offer baritone or multiscale 7's).

-Rating & Final Thoughts: 8/11
I would say it has a more 'vintage' vibe than a modern made-for-metal axe, not at all in tune with my current preferences but it's a well made instrument that has it's place in my stable.
It's got a lot of options I find useful for layering some different tonalities when recording, but in general I prefer a leaner setup these days, especially for playing live.

That is one beautiful guitar!

 

[M3CHK1LLA]

Guitar: RAN Crusher 7

-Mods: None

-Story: Already own a Crusher 6 and it's my personal favourite guitar I've ever owned or played. I wanted the same thing in a 7 string format.



-Still Own: Yes


-Review:

Pro- Fit, finish and setup out of the box was incredible. The Lundgren M7 is an incredible bridge pickup, but the Heaven 57 is absolutely the star of the show. Incredibly versatile, gorgeous cleans, I was absolutely floored by it and still am.

The finish is the exact shade of purple I asked for, and Dariusz was very thorough in communicating with me that he would try his best to get the exact shade. We reviewed 10-15 reference images to ensure he had a solid understanding of what I wanted, and he absolutely nailed it.

I was also very specific about the woods and Dariusz sent me several examples to choose from.

Cons- RAN is no longer in business, or I'd have ordered more (and do regret not ordering at least two more when I was considering doing so)

-Rating & Final Thoughts: 10/10
This guitar, as well as my Crusher 6 are "my" guitars. Nothing else I've played or owned has satisfied my wants and needs as a player more than these two. I've bonded with these exceptionally and have nothing but praise for them.

those are awesome looking axes.

back when i was gonna get a custom built, a friend of mine tried to talk me into one of these. sad they are not still around....they made great guitars.

 

[M3CHK1LLA]

-Guitar: Carvin DC727

-Mods: None, still as it came.

-Story:
Got an increase at work so I thought I'd treat myself to my first 7 string (had been gassing for about a year).
When I placed the order I didn't really know what I was doing, today I would spec a build very differently but I got exactly what I ordered at the time.

-Still Own: Yes

-Pros:
Sounds good with the stock pups surprisingly, these are the older Carvin double-poles from before the Lithiums or whatever they have now.
Lots of tones as I opted for the everything-and-the-kitchen-sink electronics and controls (I had no idea what I wanted so I just got everything haha)
Woods are very pretty, the walnut neck even has some flame going on.
Build quality is very good IMO, I've had it for years and have not had to adjust much, still in perfect condition despite only a tung-oil finish. I might baby my guitars a bit.

-Cons:
Heavy. Like really heavy. Walnut body and neck look fantastic but they KILL my shoulder after an hour playing standing up.
I like downtuning so I would prefer a longer scale length (at the time of ordering they did not yet offer baritone or multiscale 7's).

-Rating & Final Thoughts: 8/11
I would say it has a more 'vintage' vibe than a modern made-for-metal axe, not at all in tune with my current preferences but it's a well made instrument that has it's place in my stable.
It's got a lot of options I find useful for layering some different tonalities when recording, but in general I prefer a leaner setup these days, especially for playing live.

i really miss the old carvins. used to drool when the catalog came in the mail...back before the interwebs lol

 

[Doug Craft]

Number 1 - Jackson SLATQM Soloist - bought new - originally with EMG actives, I replaced them with Duncan JB/Jazz set with series-single-parallel switches. Now a very versatile instrument with lush and sparkling cleans and monstrous high gain settings - and it plays wonderfully all the way up the neck

JacksonSLATQM Soloist 001

• Doug Craft
• Nov 15, 2019

My first 7 string - Jackson SLATQM Soloist - I added Duncan JB/Jazz set and...

Number 2 - Ibanez RG7420PB - bought new - wonderful low action and versatile 5-way switch with single coil and parallel selections. Perfect without any mods.

Ibanez RG 7 001

• Doug Craft
• Nov 15, 2019

Ibanez RG7420PB

Number 3 Eastman Jazz16 Archtop - bought used - buttery low action and suprisingly versatile Kent Armstrong humbucker - great acoustic tone and wonderful fit and finish - recent fret leveling and bridge pinning makes it perfect - the only con is that it does not have a whammy

Eastman 7-string 006

• Doug Craft
• Nov 15, 2019

Eastman Jazz16 7 string

Number 4 - Jackson DK7QM - bought used - needed fret work and new pickups. Equipped like my SLAT Soloist with JB/Jazz set and series-single-parallel switches - plays very well but clunky compared to the RG and Soloist at the upper frets.

Jackson Dinky 7 002

• Doug Craft
• Nov 15, 2019

Jackson Dinky DK7QM with Duncan JB/Jazz set and seties-single-parallel switches

Number 5 - bought new - is an Agile Renaissance classical 7 - it plays well but I am having the fret edges shaved off and the action lowered a bit. The piezo element on one string is not working - so poor QC for the MIK Agile - the jury is still out, but it will likely remain the Number 5 slot if I keep it after fixing up...

 

[JP Universe]

1990 Ibanez UV7BK with edge trem 11/11

Pics? (Scroll up a few posts for a taste of something similar)

Bought this one from Rich Harris and foolishly sold this off years ago. It was set up to shred. I think the action was 1.1mil on the high side. Ridiculously low but MAGIC. This guitar oozed mojo.

I could take off half a mark for the pickups and block heel not being to preference but that only adds to the legend.

It’s simply the greatest 7 string guitar I’ve ever played

 

[fps]

-Guitar: Carvin DC727

-Mods: None, still as it came.

-Story:
Got an increase at work so I thought I'd treat myself to my first 7 string (had been gassing for about a year).
When I placed the order I didn't really know what I was doing, today I would spec a build very differently but I got exactly what I ordered at the time.

-Still Own: Yes

-Pros:
Sounds good with the stock pups surprisingly, these are the older Carvin double-poles from before the Lithiums or whatever they have now.
Lots of tones as I opted for the everything-and-the-kitchen-sink electronics and controls (I had no idea what I wanted so I just got everything haha)
Woods are very pretty, the walnut neck even has some flame going on.
Build quality is very good IMO, I've had it for years and have not had to adjust much, still in perfect condition despite only a tung-oil finish. I might baby my guitars a bit.

-Cons:
Heavy. Like really heavy. Walnut body and neck look fantastic but they KILL my shoulder after an hour playing standing up.
I like downtuning so I would prefer a longer scale length (at the time of ordering they did not yet offer baritone or multiscale 7's).

-Rating & Final Thoughts: 8/11
I would say it has a more 'vintage' vibe than a modern made-for-metal axe, not at all in tune with my current preferences but it's a well made instrument that has it's place in my stable.
It's got a lot of options I find useful for layering some different tonalities when recording, but in general I prefer a leaner setup these days, especially for playing live.

Gorgeous guitar, love my Carvin DC727, and sounds like I was in a similar place to you in some ways when ordering! Maybe I should post up some pics.

 

[Malhomme]

Ibanez UV777BK
The version that existed 1 year, with the flamed maple neck, no saandwich wood.

1. I bought it because I dreamed of a 7 strings, ad this seemed a good option (back in the days, i bought it around 2000-2003, I don't remember).
I still own it (not that I haven't tried to sell it).

2. rating : hardly a 4/10 for the price involved. Quality is sub par for that level (prestige, signature model, blah blah).
The mirror plate doesn't exactly fits the body form (it a bit bigger than the lower horn)
The trem locking system is way to high on the nut resulting in notes being too sharp on first fret and making action higher that it should be.
The trem arm get blocked by the knobs making it difficult to fully use (neck very thin, only protruding 5 mm from body,so the whole neck + trem are low to the point the arm trem get into the knobs quickly).

3. all that resulting in low playability, a trem hardly possible to use, intonation off.

4. Bottom line, I obviously got a lemon, but I was too young to understand it when I bought it.

I would require a lot of work by a luthier to get it properly finished and I am not willing to shed more money on that thing. Funny as I have a rare version that existed only one year.

 

[Necros]

Ibanez RG7421XL (MiJ 2001 model)

27" scale
Mods:
Instrumental Pickups Sfty3 7 bridge
SD Black Winter neck
3-way switch
DiMarzio straplocks

Bought it used, i wanted a 7-srting and it was the only one available in my area and i was lucky the guy was selling it. Its an MiJ model and the build quality shows it, although it was a bit of a low string buzz and dullness no matter how i set it up but im not sure if its the guitars fault or just me not trying hard enough with the setup. I Play thicker gauges so that contributes to the problem (yes i did file the nut). I think im also being too picky with it and its actually fine.
Overall 7.5/11 id say, definitely the most comfortable guitar i owned (which was not many).

 

[Samark]

Guitar: RAN Crusher 7

-Mods: None

-Story: Already own a Crusher 6 and it's my personal favourite guitar I've ever owned or played. I wanted the same thing in a 7 string format.



-Still Own: Yes


-Review:

Pro- Fit, finish and setup out of the box was incredible. The Lundgren M7 is an incredible bridge pickup, but the Heaven 57 is absolutely the star of the show. Incredibly versatile, gorgeous cleans, I was absolutely floored by it and still am.

The finish is the exact shade of purple I asked for, and Dariusz was very thorough in communicating with me that he would try his best to get the exact shade. We reviewed 10-15 reference images to ensure he had a solid understanding of what I wanted, and he absolutely nailed it.

I was also very specific about the woods and Dariusz sent me several examples to choose from.

Cons- RAN is no longer in business, or I'd have ordered more (and do regret not ordering at least two more when I was considering doing so)

-Rating & Final Thoughts: 10/10
This guitar, as well as my Crusher 6 are "my" guitars. Nothing else I've played or owned has satisfied my wants and needs as a player more than these two. I've bonded with these exceptionally and have nothing but praise for them.

It does not get any better than that Ran

 

[garrett87]

Guitar: Kiesel Aries 7 Multiscale bone stock with Lithium pups
mini review:
I bought this as my first seven string and have had it for over 3 years. There's nothing special about it and its a pretty bare bones Kiesel compared to others ive seen, but thats how I like it. I had never played a multiscale guitar before but i took the risk because string tension is a big deal for me. Out of the box it was extremely comfortable and only took me a few days to get used to the fan. It is a one piece swamp ash body with antique ash treatment and has an ebony fretboard, headstock overlay and trussrod cover. It is my go-to guitar for everything I play. I can go from playing Ulcerate and Rivers of Nihil to jazz and ambient music and it still sound great.

Side note: All of the negatives Ive heard of Kiesel were simply just not true in my case. I was very hesitant to put my money into a company with so many negative reviews but the customer service sold it for me. They were extremely helpful and even expedited the shipping to my house in GA free of charge when the guitar was ready because I was going to be out of town. Thats how you do customer service. I cant recall the name of the salesperson I talked to but he was very knowledgeable and didnt have any sort of attitude and we even chatted about some music.

 

[drmayhem]

I currently have 3 7-strings so will pop up a post about each:

Firstly my original 7-String. An Ibanez RG series that I picked up as I found I couldn't get to grips with the width of their 8-string neck. This has gigged with me for 10 years or so. No modifications, other than the band logo. It's still my goto for my current band, as it's robust, stays in tune forever, and has a pretty nice tone.

I'd give it a 7 out of 10, partly because I love the finish, the cutaways are excellent, and the neck is one of the better 7-string necks around as Ibanez have kept it relatively narrow.

 

[drmayhem]

The 2nd one I got was a 7 string BC Rich Warlock that I got for one reason only, to be an addition to my 6-string Warlock when adding a guest guitarist at major gigs (we did a support for Monster Magnet that was on a much bigger stage than our usual places, and I wanted a Warlock at each side of the stage.

Mostly because I use them as a solid platform for pyro - we have one song which is a Rammstein tribute, and fire coming from between the Warlock horns is always a good look.

It's basic, but then Warlocks are, so I'd give it a 6. It goes out of tune reasonably quickly, but the intro to the one song I use it for is enough time to get tuned up.

 

[drmayhem]

And my 3rd 7 string is not used with my current band - it is a very different flavour.

The Ormsby HypeGTR multiscale - the most amazing neck I have ever played. I was expecting to buy the Strandberg equivalent, and had played around for a half hour with one, but this was in the shop and looked good so 5 minutes of playing convinced me.

The neck guides your hand perfectly, the heel is fully blended and just gorgeous and the cutaways make full barre chords simple even up towards the 24th fret, and sound is full and clear everywhere on the neck. The fan allows the neck tension to be such that I can play without fatigue for extended periods, especially as I have it tuned to ADADGBE which allows for a wide range of styles from chugging rock to fast soloing, as well as clear ballads and complex jazz.

Definitely an 11 out of 10 with no mods at all. It is perfect with the stock hi-output humbuckers. In fact the only thing I would change is the jack placement, as I like Ibanez's low profile sockets, but that is a personal preference, and as with my Warlock, I have had to add something to kill wolf tones at the headstock.

 

[c7spheres]

Since I just posted a pict in another thread I figured I put this here incase any more info is wanted.

This is a 2005/2006 Abyss custom 7 string built by Kevin Pedersen, now Pedersen guitars. I commissioned this when I was getting more into the PRS style stuff but still wanted A LoPro bridge and EMG's. Here's some specs:
- 26.75" scale length
- Extra Thicker Black Limba body w/ 3/4" highly figured perfect walnut carved top. Best walnut top ever! It looks like the sun, especially behind the bridge and has mutiple layers of rings etc throughout.
- 5pc black limba neck-thru with 2 walnut stripes
- Macassar ebony fretboard with black ebony binding, Macassar ebony headstock vaneer and abalone side dots.
- Ibanez LoPro edge, EMG's, etc. with larger route to accomodate potential larger hardware upgrades.
- Custom abalone inlay I designed at 12th fret. (I put this on all my customs)
- Buzz Feiten tuning system installed (easly reversable just by reintonating and tuning as normal)
-
- I give it a 10.5 out of 11. This guitar was perfect in almost every way and played and sounded phenomenal. The extra thick body gave it a tone and resonance that was unparalleled. I kept it for a few years and tried to work with it the best I could but I could not get use to the 26.75" scale length from a 25.5", mainly when doing large chords. I eventually sold it and about a year later bought it back off the new owner. A couple years later of trying again I reached the same conclusion. I just couldn't get use to the long scale length. I since sold it again. I'm getting nostalgic for it again and I'm pretty sure the new owner will sell it back to me as he's offered before, but I'm not sure. Here's some pics.

 

[Iron1]

2015 40th Anniversary ESP LTD H7

Why: Went looking for a neck-thru 7 just to see how much I'd dig it over my bolt-on Jacksons, and unfortunately, Jackson doesn't seem to offer anything this nice in this price range. Stumbled onto this one on Reverb and got a smoking deal on it. Stock it had EMG Metalworks but the previous owner swapped them out for a Duncan Custom 7/59 set which sound amazing in this thing. (Thankfully, it came with the stock EMGs in the case should I ever want to return it to stock - which I probably won't, but it's good to have them anyway.)

Pros: Neck-thru construction with the string thru body makes it highly resonant. Fast, sleek neck - zero fret buzz with seriously low action. Very comfortable body. Precise locking ESP branded tuners. Tone Pros bridge stays put during string changes. It stays in tune forever. When the OG owner swapped the EMGs out, he replaced the electronics with high-end pots & switch which are much nicer quality that what I've seen in most guitars.

Cons: Not a huge deal but the headstock heal (a raised area on the back of the headstock where it meets the neck) didn't play well with my left thumb at first. Once I got used to it, I barely notice it. But, if I designed the guitar, that wouldn't be there.

Final rating: 8 - it would be a 9 if the headstock heal wasn't there. I'm totally used to it now, but when I switch back and forth while recording between it and my Jacksons it makes me aware it's there. I have 6-8 guitars at any given time and this one and my '91 S540 just feel so much more... "more" than any of my others. Played it and a gen 1 KM7 back to back and would take this over the Schecter all day long.