Strictly 7 NGD... and so, so very much disappointment :(

[awesomeaustin]

I remember talking to Jim at the first NAMM he showed up to, and that point his guitars looked and felt like garbage. The throat of the neck was so thin I could feel it flex when I bent a string. The neck shape and heel of the neck were so uncomfortable, I couldn't imagine selling anything like that for more than $5-600. The only redeeming factor was that he used nice hardware. Hipshot, Bareknuckle, etc. but it didn't make for his shitty "Custom CNC" guitars.

The idea was awesome, but when put into practice by him it was a train wreck. I'm super surprised he got to the status he did, but unsurprised that he fizzled and became a steaming pile of shit.

This is one of the worst "custom" guitar I've ever seen. Sucks bro...sucks hard.

 

[Pilgrim of the Dark]

The idea was awesome, but when put into practice by him it was a train wreck. I'm super surprised he got to the status he did, but unsurprised that he fizzled and became a steaming pile of shit.

I think the only reason S7G did well for those few years was because of Curran Murphy. That dude was basically their main builder when they were putting out quality stuff.

The guitar I got pics of with the shitty stain job (Curran never worked the finishing/painting end of things, that was always Jim) actually looked fantastic minus the stain, and had everything I wanted on it (at least up to the point in the process the guitar was).

However, It was right after I paid for a new body because of the horrible stain job on the original that Curran and the rest of the crew jumped ship. Can't blame them; Curran said they went months without pay on promises that they'd be caught up on pay "soon". Curran said he almost lost his house working for Jim.

 

[awesomeaustin]

He seemed like a shyster way back when, and my feeling was right. S7G should be in Business school texts books in the "How to Run an Unsuccessful Business" chapter.

 

[Tango616]

Agreed, once Curran and Allan Marcus left, you could tell who was really doing most of the work. Borderline firewood was being shipped out.

 

[fortisursus]

That sucks man. How the hell can you not drill the holes for a control plate. And that is complete bullshit that they made you pay an extra 250 for a new body along with every other screw up they made along the. No respect for a company that doesn't fess up to their mistakes

 

[Nour Ayasso]

Holy f*ck that story was brutal...SO much money...and such a F*CKED guitar...

 

[teamSKDM]

Only trustable customs nowadays on this forum seems to be ormsby, ola strandberg, and good ole carvin

 

[mnemonic]

Only trustable customs nowadays on this forum seems to be ormsby, ola strandberg, and good ole carvin

And Daemoness.

Honestly though, I can't think of a budget builder who popped up on here, and didn't gone up in flames. Even some 'trusted' names have went belly up.

 

[leonardo7]

People are still ordering from this guy?

OP, Im sorry that this had to happen to you, there is no acceptable excuse whatsoever for any builder to put out this kind of shitty work, but I think many of us want to ask "You ordered this in late 2013? What the fvck were you thinking ordering a Strictly 7 after all the shit that went down"

Edit: I see your a new member so perhaps you missed all the threads about how terrible Strictly 7 guitars are

Only trustable customs nowadays on this forum seems to be ormsby, ola strandberg, and good ole carvin

There's more. What about ESP, Schecter, Jackson, Daemoness, Skervesen, Mayones, KxK, ViK? Despite what you may have read, those are all trustable builders/shops, although some may take 3+ years such as KxK, Daemoness, and ViK, and maybe even Jackson, but they are all trustable customs who will make you a guitar that wont have issues.

If he actually turns up at NAMM, I hope some of his oh so valued customers go up to him and make his appearance there a miserable experience. He needs to be called out for this shit and seriously stop running this business at the expense of customers who end up with something expensive, yet useless.

He will be there. He was there last year like everything was good. Unfortunately you cant just walk in to NAMM off the street and start raging on a builder. Most people wont have what it takes to approach the guy at NAMM

 

[Pilgrim of the Dark]

People are still ordering from this guy?

OP, Im sorry that this had to happen to you, there is no acceptable excuse whatsoever for any builder to put out this kind of shitty work, but I think many of us want to ask "You ordered this in late 2013? What the fvck were you thinking ordering a Strictly 7 after all the shit that went down"

Edit: I see your a new member so perhaps you missed all the threads about how terrible Strictly 7 guitars are

You're half right, man; I was but a lurker back then, so I didn't see too much of it until it was too late... BUT, I did see enough to have known better. What can I say? I wanted to believe what Jim was feeding me; I didn't want to believe what I was seeing here. Lesson learned the hard way, lol!

It sucks too, because I was looking at Carvin, but they weren't offering the extended scale guitars yet when I ordered

Honestly, I could kick myself in the ass for going through with it and buying into the BS. The money isn't really a big deal to me after a year, tbh; it's the lies and shitty quality that really disappoint me.

I just hope this saves at least one person from ordering a S7. I didn't listen and should have; don't make the same mistake.

 

[capoeiraesp]

OP, very sorry for the experience you're having.

S7 have released a new website and there's one glaringly big lie right on the front page - "Our guitars are handmade.."
Sorry, and I love CNCs, but when you're getting a lot of work including cutting bodies, inlays etc. done on them, it's no longer 'hand-made'.

oh... and they have a djent model...

 

[AboutBlank]

There's more. What about ESP, Schecter, Jackson, Daemoness, Skervesen, Mayones, KxK, ViK? Despite what you may have read, those are all trustable builders/shops, although some may take 3+ years such as KxK, Daemoness, and ViK, and maybe even Jackson, but they are all trustable customs who will make you a guitar that wont have issues.

Trustable, atleast for me, implies honesty. And I have a hard time to believe that some shops are not able to quote realistic build times.
Imo it comes down to 2 alternatives:
They have no clue how long it takes to build the guitar in their current order situation or malicious deceit.
Some people do not care about that, at all, which is fine, but for me it leaves a bad taste and I don't get that some people defend vehemently such practices.

 

[Tango616]

There's more. What about ESP, Schecter, Jackson, Daemoness, Skervesen, Mayones, KxK, ViK? Despite what you may have read, those are all trustable builders/shops, although some may take 3+ years such as KxK, Daemoness, and ViK, and maybe even Jackson, but they are all trustable customs who will make you a guitar that wont have issues.

I don't know if Skerv stepped up their game, but I've seen quite a few with some flaws, same with Jackson, go look for a couple threads on that, I only take to heart the ones that aren't Misha or other artist customs because they have artist wait times and prices, and if an artist gets a subpar custom, they know a billion more people are going to hear about it, so they step up their game and throw them out the door hand over fist.

Misha alone has had like, 5-6 or so customs in the past few years, meanwhile people with super basic orders still have to wait 2-3 years EACH and can sometimes get a messed up order.

 

[Lorcan Ward]

oh... and they have a djent model...

Calling a model DJENT shows just how lazy they are and how little they care.

 

[CudBucket]

Sorry to hear this. Unfortunately it's fairly common with small builders who've only become somewhat known because of the internet. I would sue them for sure. The guitar is a mess.

 

[CudBucket]

BTW, I wouldn't really want a body or neck made "by hand". I'll take a CNC cut guitar every time. Hand made doesn't mean what it used to. And it shouldn't. Technology has given us the opportunity to move away from "hand made" in cases where a machine is more consistent and just, better.

 

[OWHall]

I really feel for you man. Bad times. This happens all too often. I don't know how you look at this but from an outsider's perspective, please know that I really do NOT think this was your fault. You got roped in and ripped off and it could happen to anyone.

 

[noise in my mind]

Sorry dude. S7 is so wack for this. They should refund your money, but I don't think they live by any morals from what I have seen in the past. Hopefully you can save up for a carvin dc7x soon. They are really awesome guitars with a very short build time!

 

[eaeolian]

Only trustable customs nowadays on this forum seems to be ormsby, ola strandberg, and good ole carvin

KXKs is still putting out quality work, but thanks to the likes of Strictly 7 and BRJ, he's not taking any new orders.

 

[eaeolian]

Misha alone has had like, 5-6 or so customs in the past few years, meanwhile people with super basic orders still have to wait 2-3 years EACH and can sometimes get a messed up order.

Yep. Then again, this is nothing new - endorsers always have CS priority, and Jackson's CS builds about 40x the number of guitars that the small builders do in a year. It sucks that they get screwed up occasionally, though.