Howdy folks -- as the title says, I think it's time to get into the 7-string game. I've been playing guitar for 20+ years; mostly metal, but not exclusively, in that time. I've played a few random 7s, but haven't really spent any time with them. My reasons for wanting one may be a little different than why most people get into them -- I've no interest in extreme low tunings and would likely leave the 7 in B Standard.
For my main band/solo project, I play in D Standard and C# Standard; occasionally Drop C, and even more rarely, Drop B. Black metal, death metal stuff primarily -- but definitely not djent or "prog" metal whatever that means.
In my other personality (lol) I am often asked to perform classic rock and bluesy songs and/or teach lessons, which I'm happy to oblige. However, most of that stuff is in E Standard and whenever I have to play something like that it requires I change strings on one of my other guitars to get the right feel, and I'd prefer to keep those guitars where they're at -- it's a pain to change them all the time and/or transcribe the music higher on the neck. But I do like playing in E Standard sometimes.
So, I'm at a point where I need either a dedicated E-standard 6-string guitar (which I haven't entirely ruled out) , or (what I think is a better idea) a 7-string so I can have E-standard + the low B for any of the other stuff I want to play.
Admittedly, I'm reluctant to step out of my 6-string comfort zone, so there's that. I've probably not come to the right place to get any validation there.
Here's the thing -- I have no idea where to even start looking. My local store has a PRS SE SVN that I think is really sweet. It plays nice, and is obviously pretty high quality. But I'm not sure I can justify the $820 price tag when I'm not sure I'll even like a 7-string. However, I do not want a low-end guitar by any means. I'm willing and actually prefer to go used, and get a higher-quality guitar for a better price. Smooth fretwork is a must, and the ability to have a pretty low action is crucial.
A few other things I want in this guitar:
Super-Strat shape
Passive pickups (I'll be putting a SD Black Winter in the bridge for sure)
Push/Pull tone pot for coil-splitting is preferred
At least 25.5" scale, but maybe longer
I like burst or zebra-stripe finishes, but it's not mandatory
$400-600 used budget
Help me start narrowing down my options. Thanks!
For my main band/solo project, I play in D Standard and C# Standard; occasionally Drop C, and even more rarely, Drop B. Black metal, death metal stuff primarily -- but definitely not djent or "prog" metal whatever that means.
In my other personality (lol) I am often asked to perform classic rock and bluesy songs and/or teach lessons, which I'm happy to oblige. However, most of that stuff is in E Standard and whenever I have to play something like that it requires I change strings on one of my other guitars to get the right feel, and I'd prefer to keep those guitars where they're at -- it's a pain to change them all the time and/or transcribe the music higher on the neck. But I do like playing in E Standard sometimes.
So, I'm at a point where I need either a dedicated E-standard 6-string guitar (which I haven't entirely ruled out) , or (what I think is a better idea) a 7-string so I can have E-standard + the low B for any of the other stuff I want to play.
Admittedly, I'm reluctant to step out of my 6-string comfort zone, so there's that. I've probably not come to the right place to get any validation there.
Here's the thing -- I have no idea where to even start looking. My local store has a PRS SE SVN that I think is really sweet. It plays nice, and is obviously pretty high quality. But I'm not sure I can justify the $820 price tag when I'm not sure I'll even like a 7-string. However, I do not want a low-end guitar by any means. I'm willing and actually prefer to go used, and get a higher-quality guitar for a better price. Smooth fretwork is a must, and the ability to have a pretty low action is crucial.
A few other things I want in this guitar:
Super-Strat shape
Passive pickups (I'll be putting a SD Black Winter in the bridge for sure)
Push/Pull tone pot for coil-splitting is preferred
At least 25.5" scale, but maybe longer
I like burst or zebra-stripe finishes, but it's not mandatory
$400-600 used budget
Help me start narrowing down my options. Thanks!