What is the best 7 string guitar under us$800?

[jey1307]

hey guys! i need you help i stay in singapore so i have to order guiatar s from online cause they dont have good seven strings here. they have in ibanez iron label rg 7 and a RGA 7. but im not sure yet. i need you guys to help me! any brand! just tell me! thanks

 

[Meddl]

how about a used ibanez 1527 prestige 7-string? i own one and these guitars are awesome!

 

[BusinessMan]

The h 1007 is pretty beast. You can always a good used ibanez almost always under $800.

 

[drgamble]

I'll go ahead and vote for the PRS SE-7. Great guitar and goes for $739 brand new.

 

[MrPowers]

Used Schecter Loomis... Or maybe the new Jackson DKA7, but I kind of have to wait for mine to be shipped to me before I start recommending that.

 

[studmiester7]

ESP LTD MH-417 is the bomb. Especially for being a $600 guitar. It has a really nice matte black finish, and it has the neck-thru design. It's a solid guitar, and should last you a long time.

 

[haffner1]

BC Rich Jr V7

 

[Jes]

Ibanez RG's are usually well priced and in abundance. Any Ibanez really, but I've noticed alot of RGs specifically

 

[Sdrizis89]

LTD AW-7...Great guitar for the price. ebony board, passive pups (dimarzio dactivators), maple neck-thru with mahogany wings, locking tuners. I have it and love it. Ive played and iron label 7 and prefer the AW-7.

 

[Mike]

aw-7 is $900 new. He'd have to find that used. I say the LTD MH-417

 

[Sdrizis89]

ah, didn't see that $800 price limit...i actually paid $699 for my aw-7 but i got lucky at a local place.

 

[acauseforpatric]

Sterling By Music Man JP70 is $629 US for the colored ones and $579 for the Stealth Black one from Guitar Center. Can't really go wrong with that. I have experience (and heard from many others) that the Iron Labels have really bad fretwork. Did work on an RG8 yesterday and it had horrendous frets... A used Ibanez RG 7621 or old 7421 are always good options though.

 

[saxman42]

I picked up an Ibanez RGA7 a couple of days ago and I couldn't be happier. The neck is AMAZING! With the 25.5" scale and being as thin as it is, it makes transitioning from your six string guitar(s) to the seven very easy.

My first seven string was a Schecter C7 Hellraiser with a Floyd Rose. It was a nice guitar, but there were a few things I didn't like:
1) Big fat neck
2) Glossy finish on the neck made it very sticky (easy fix with 00 steel wool)
3) EMG 707 in the bridge was too muddy (I replaced it with an EMG 81-7)
4) Floyd Rose made it hard to bend accurately
5) Floyd Rose's resonate and make the low end a bit more flabby
6) Floyd Rose's are a b*tch and a half to adjust
7) Did I mention I'm not a fan of the Floyd Rose anymore?

Anywho, the RGA7 is a great guitar. I was particulary surprised by the pickups. I've hated every Ibanez pickup I've played, but the LZ7s that come in the RGA7 aren't bad at all. This may shock and anger some people... but I think I like them more than the active EMGs I've played...

I also like the active tone switch more than I expected. It seemed pretty hokey to me, but running this guitar through a Tube Screamer and a Dual Rectifier with the active tone switch engaged is Insta-Petrucci tone.

I definitely recommend the RGA7 for the price. I also wouldn't advise against a Schecter. It was built great, the action was wonderful, and the finish was absolutely gorgeous. It just wasn't for me.

 

[gsdejager]

My vote would be to go used as well. For $800 you can pick up an old Japanese RG 7.

Is shipping and customs/tax also included in the price? I don't know what shipping and taxes are like in Singapore, but where I live, I end up paying anywhere between 25-50% more to get the guitar to me.

A $800 guitar off ebay will be closer to $ 1200 by the time it gets to me.

 

[lookslikemeband]

I'll go ahead and vote for the PRS SE-7. Great guitar and goes for $739 brand new.

Just picked one up. Love it!

 

[Jes]

I think I might have to order up one of the new PRS 7's too, I used to be big into PRS, I had Ibanezes and PRS's for the longest time, but ended up just sticking with Ibanez because of the 7 string thing.

 

[suddhachittabtl]

My friend had an Ibanez RGA7, I'd played it a couple of times but did not like the stock pickups. I'd suggest that if you buy the RGA7 you should replace the pickups with EMGs.
I recently bought my first seven string, I'd have gone for the RGA7 with EMGs but the price was a problem for me as well. Also I live in India so I can understand that good guitars in Asia cost a lot more than that in the US because of shipping and stuff!
I bought a Schecter Omen Active 7 and replaced the pickups (which I sold back to the dealer) with Seymour Duncan blackouts and it cost me around $600 total and it sounds a lot better than an RGA7 with stock pickups!
I think you should try out some Schecter guitars or maybe some cheap Ibanez 7 string and replace the pickups with blackouts or EMGs

 

[Jes]

I had an RGA7 and HATED the pickups as well. try something passive. Id recommend blaze 7's. thats what I have and love it