aoresteen
Well-Known Member
My first 7 string was a made in Japan Grey Pewter Ibanez AX7521 that I rescued from a pawn shop in Orlando,FL in Feb of 2010. It was lying abused in a corner behind the counter, dirty with rusted strings. I was able to save her for $100 "out the door".
In Nov of 2010 I bought a basket case Stagemaster 7 HT. In Jan 2015 I bought my 3rd 7 string, a Stagemaster 7 FR.
Here's some back ground on the Stagemaster 7:
From 2000 to 2002 Squier made two Stagemaster 7 seven string guitar models. One had a hard tail bridge (HT) & normal nut and the other came with a licensed Floyd Rose tremolo bridge (FR) & locking nut. Scale length is 25.5" for both models. The only pickup configuration available are two humbuckers HH. Both models came in Black, Blue, and Galactic Purple.
Info on the AX7521:
Ibanez made the AX7521 from 1999 to 2002 in Japan. It's a hard tail bridge string thru body. Neck scale is 24.75".
http://ibanez.wikia.com/wiki/AX7521
Now onto the guitars & mods!
After I bought the AX7521 I traded it to my son-in-law for an Ibanez N800NT acoustic six string. He hung it in his basement until March of 2016 when we traded guitars back and the AX7521 7 string came home.
In Nov 2010 I picked up a Galactic Purple Stagemaster 7 HT (hard tail) 7 string as a basket case for $65 off of eBay. It was in pieces but all there (including the extremely hard to find Squier curved neck plate) except for the bridge pickup. I bought a Seymour Duncan SH-4 JB (Jeff Beck) bridge pickup and sorted out the wiring issue and it was up and running. I added two mini-toggle switches to tap the humbuckers to single coils
It played well and I left it alone as I really didn't play much 7 string at the time.
In Jan 2015 I found a Black Stagemaster 7 FR (Floyd Rose) on Craig's List Atlanta and decided to get it to round out my 7 string arsenal.
(generic photo like my 7FR in Black)
I left the FR model stock except for a set of Schaller Strap locks.
Fast forward to March 2016 - I got the AX7521 back and I decided to show some love to all my 7 strings.
The Stagemaster 7 HT was first. I pulled the stock neck pickup from the 7 HT and installed a Seymour Duncan SD SH-1 for the neck & had my tech add a bone nut.
Much better balanced sound
.
I then upgraded the AX7521. I had my tech install a bone nut and a DiMarzio Crunch Lab 7 String Bridge Black/Creme. The neck pickup was upgraded to a DiMarzio Liquifire 7 String Neck Humbucker in Black/Crème. John Petrucci would approve ! The difference with the new pickups is huge. The Ibanex AX7521 sounds superb.
Not bad for a $100 pawn shop rescue.
Next up was my 3rd seven string, the Stagemaster 7 FR. I had a set of DiMarzio Blaze 7 humbuckers installed into it and added a 34mm big brass block to the bridge. Wow! What a difference from the stock pickups.
I enjoyed it for awhile.
But something was missing. All my 7 strings were HH and I started thinking that since DiMarzio makes a Blaze 7 middle pickup I should convert the Stagemaster 7 FR to HSH. So in Jan 2017 I bought the Blaze middle and took it to my tech and asked him to install it. He said sure, no problem. My oh my, the Stagemaster 7 FR HSH screams!
Jon at Brown's Guitar Mill in Newnan GA did the conversion. He had to make a 7 string single coil routing template to rout the opening. The guitar looks like it came from the factory as a HSH. Obviously, the 3 way switch was replaced with a 5 way and it was wired so that positions 2 & 4 tap the humbucker like Ibanez & Steve Vai do.
I installed Schaller Strap Locks in all three guitars.
The Squire licensed Floyd Rose bridge is a good copy of the FR bridge. Floyd Rose genuine parts will fit it so if the the locking nut is missing screws/clamps or the bridge is missing parts no worries, Floyd Rose parts will fit. The brass trem block that I installed was for a genuine Floyd Rose 7 and it fit perfectly.
I've decided to get another Squier 7 FR and tune it to Eb. The hunt is on! I'm not sure on just what pickups I'll install but for sure the stock ones will go.
The Stagemaster7s & the Ibanez AX7521 aren't fancy guitars. They are solid, well built, and sound OK stock. They are easily found for under $200 and with a little love can be made to sound sound fantastic. While I'm by no means a good 7 string player, I'm learning. Highly recommended if you are looking for a seven string guitar without breaking the bank!
TonyIn Nov of 2010 I bought a basket case Stagemaster 7 HT. In Jan 2015 I bought my 3rd 7 string, a Stagemaster 7 FR.
Here's some back ground on the Stagemaster 7:
From 2000 to 2002 Squier made two Stagemaster 7 seven string guitar models. One had a hard tail bridge (HT) & normal nut and the other came with a licensed Floyd Rose tremolo bridge (FR) & locking nut. Scale length is 25.5" for both models. The only pickup configuration available are two humbuckers HH. Both models came in Black, Blue, and Galactic Purple.
Info on the AX7521:
Ibanez made the AX7521 from 1999 to 2002 in Japan. It's a hard tail bridge string thru body. Neck scale is 24.75".
http://ibanez.wikia.com/wiki/AX7521
Now onto the guitars & mods!
After I bought the AX7521 I traded it to my son-in-law for an Ibanez N800NT acoustic six string. He hung it in his basement until March of 2016 when we traded guitars back and the AX7521 7 string came home.
In Nov 2010 I picked up a Galactic Purple Stagemaster 7 HT (hard tail) 7 string as a basket case for $65 off of eBay. It was in pieces but all there (including the extremely hard to find Squier curved neck plate) except for the bridge pickup. I bought a Seymour Duncan SH-4 JB (Jeff Beck) bridge pickup and sorted out the wiring issue and it was up and running. I added two mini-toggle switches to tap the humbuckers to single coils
It played well and I left it alone as I really didn't play much 7 string at the time.
In Jan 2015 I found a Black Stagemaster 7 FR (Floyd Rose) on Craig's List Atlanta and decided to get it to round out my 7 string arsenal.
(generic photo like my 7FR in Black)
I left the FR model stock except for a set of Schaller Strap locks.
Fast forward to March 2016 - I got the AX7521 back and I decided to show some love to all my 7 strings.
The Stagemaster 7 HT was first. I pulled the stock neck pickup from the 7 HT and installed a Seymour Duncan SD SH-1 for the neck & had my tech add a bone nut.
Much better balanced sound
.I then upgraded the AX7521. I had my tech install a bone nut and a DiMarzio Crunch Lab 7 String Bridge Black/Creme. The neck pickup was upgraded to a DiMarzio Liquifire 7 String Neck Humbucker in Black/Crème. John Petrucci would approve
! The difference with the new pickups is huge. The Ibanex AX7521 sounds superb.
Not bad for a $100 pawn shop rescue.
Next up was my 3rd seven string, the Stagemaster 7 FR. I had a set of DiMarzio Blaze 7 humbuckers installed into it and added a 34mm big brass block to the bridge. Wow! What a difference from the stock pickups.
I enjoyed it for awhile.
But something was missing. All my 7 strings were HH and I started thinking that since DiMarzio makes a Blaze 7 middle pickup I should convert the Stagemaster 7 FR to HSH. So in Jan 2017 I bought the Blaze middle and took it to my tech and asked him to install it. He said sure, no problem. My oh my, the Stagemaster 7 FR HSH screams!
Jon at Brown's Guitar Mill in Newnan GA did the conversion. He had to make a 7 string single coil routing template to rout the opening. The guitar looks like it came from the factory as a HSH. Obviously, the 3 way switch was replaced with a 5 way and it was wired so that positions 2 & 4 tap the humbucker like Ibanez & Steve Vai do.
I installed Schaller Strap Locks in all three guitars.
The Squire licensed Floyd Rose bridge is a good copy of the FR bridge. Floyd Rose genuine parts will fit it so if the the locking nut is missing screws/clamps or the bridge is missing parts no worries, Floyd Rose parts will fit. The brass trem block that I installed was for a genuine Floyd Rose 7 and it fit perfectly.
I've decided to get another Squier 7 FR and tune it to Eb. The hunt is on! I'm not sure on just what pickups I'll install but for sure the stock ones will go.
The Stagemaster7s & the Ibanez AX7521 aren't fancy guitars. They are solid, well built, and sound OK stock. They are easily found for under $200 and with a little love can be made to sound sound fantastic. While I'm by no means a good 7 string player, I'm learning. Highly recommended if you are looking for a seven string guitar without breaking the bank!
Newnan, GA
Looking for a 2000/2001 Mars Stagemaster Blackburst
Thanks for the inspiration, those are some epic fiddles you've got there!
