First I started with 6 strings in 1998. In 2002 I bought my first Ibanez RG-7420 BP. It was inspired by KoRn and watching their Rock am Ring 2000 live show in the MTV Live over and over again.
Then I realized Fear Factory was using the same standard A tuning on the Obsolete record as KoRn does. So, I started to play FF songs, and really liked the style.
I was really happy when saw Stef from the Deftones using sevens on the self-titled album, but hated, that he used standard G# tuning, and drop F# later... I could transponate some songs into A, but it wasn't really cool.
So, I go to work as doctor in 2011, and bought Ibanez RG 7321 for standard G# (without Floyd Rose I could easy tune down to drop F#, or use it for the Bizkit songs with standard C# or tune this string down to get a drop B ) and an ESP LTD SC-208 8 string tuned standard F# for Deftones Diamond eyes record and for Fear Factory 8 string song on Mechanize and Industrialist. Tuned down the 8 string to drop E, I can play the Koi No Yokan record now.
Now I bought an Ibanez RGD 7320Z. It was cheap because a painting failure, but I want to make it repainted by an artist, I want a Fear Factory Demanufacture logo guitar, quite the same, as Dino has (he uses RGA with Demanu logo, but who cares).
Next dream is to make a copy of Ibanez Giger RGHRG1 (laser engraved), but on a seven string (maybe with the old RG-7420).
Korn back in the day. But i did not keep the 7 long. This time around I honestly got inspired by Keith Merrow. Agile should cut that dude a big check, I'm sure Im not the only one who picked up a 727 after watching Keith.
Dino would be the biggest for sure. I've been listening to FF for about 17-18 years, so even before I started playing Dino has been planting 7 string seeds in my mind!
Petrucci. Especially when I 1st heard Six Degrees, The Glass Prison was so heavy! Then onto Train of Thought with This Dying Soul etc etc
Buz McGrath. Being a teenager when Metalcore was on the rise in 2001, that new stuff was everywhere. But Unearth really stuck out for me & they still do! Buz is a great player & they write killer Metal
Of course I was listening to Korn, even before Dino started using them. Although I love their stuff, not sure they made me want to get a 7.
Funnily I was curious about the 7-string for a long time but was always concerned of being labeled as a "nu-metal" guy Then I saw some footage of Morbid Angel with Erik Rutan, Cannibal Corpse, Meshuggah and some Brodequin (!!!) bootleg. All that looked so awesome that I had to get one! And here I am 10+ years later, using sevens, not really caring much for Brodequin and unable to be a Rutan fanboi cos he's back to sixers...
My buddy on Steam a number of years ago peaked my interest when I was younger telling me that it'd be cool cus I could play like nevermore/trivium and what not.
The reason Im getting a 7 soon is because I basically wanna keep the standard tuning I know so well, but also have the ability to play downtuned music as well. So the 7 string lends itself excellently for that.
The 7 string artists that impress the hell outta me are: Jeff Loomis,old Korn, old fear factory, Unearth.
Seriously (aside from agreeing with the fat part above), it's as many have already said, the idea of seamlessly moving in a downtuned direction while maintaining standard tuning was pretty appealing.
I actually bought my first 7 in a pawn shop for $150 (LTD F-207). Replaced the pups with SD Invaders and I still use that axe in the studio.
Tony Macalpine, Bulb, and to some extent Tosin (which may see me going to an 8 string at some point). I should have made to leap a long time ago but despite the fact that I do shred, I was always kind of in denial about it. I make no apologies now. If you want to hear blues stuff, get a time machine.
My main influences for getting my first 7 string were Trey Azagthoth and Erik Rutan, mainly the Domination album from Morbid Angel, however their later albums also swayed me in that direction:
And to a lesser degree, John Petrucci on the Awake album: