Yet another thread about Jackson JS22-7 - Help! :)

[Kokavic]

Hello everyone!!

New to the forum.

I am writing as I have read most threads and content on this guitar, seen all reviews and YouTube videos, and still cannot make up my mind about it, so I would kindly ask for your help!

I'd like to get my first seven strings guitar, as I recently made a small home studio to record my own demos, projects, and most importantly, learn as much as possible about creating music, and production in general.

I have a few 6 string guitars, being my main one the LTD EC-401 with EMG pickups. I do metal 90% of the time, but I also love to experiment with the midi keyboard and beats and see what comes up, so I love to have all sorts of tools and "sounds" available.

Going back to the main topic... I'd like to start experimenting with seven strings. I'm not too picky, but I am not sure I would get more seven string guitars in the future, so I'd like this to be a smart purchase. I do not want to spend too much (hence the option), although I CAN spend some more if needed.

My questions for this particular guitar, since it seems to be really good for the price:

- Is it really as good as people put it? (Not expecting top-notch quality, I own some Harley Bentons for instance)
- Will I need to put a lot of work on my POD Go to dial in good tones for this guitar, or are the pickups fairly good to work with a somewhat basic preset? I am not such an expert here and I struggle when pickups are difficult to work around.
- Is it really worth upgrading in the future? (This I believe it is for what I see)
- Any option you would DEFINITELY choose over this even if a bit more expensive? (Say, I don't know, Schecter Omen Extreme 7 at double the price, for instance)

I unfortunately don't live somewhere with an active second hand market, or access to it, so I'd rather be able to purchase new from an online store (there's also no local stores around), so that option is (kind of) out of the equation.

Thank you so much, even if just for reading this

Take care!

 

[nickgray]

Is it really as good as people put it?

It's a $200-something guitar, right? You should tame your expectations.

All in all, every guitar is different, you can get an expensive lemon, you get a decent budget guitar, it all depends on the QC and on the workmanship on your individual instrument.

so I'd rather be able to purchase new from an online store

Which means that you can't inspect the guitar in question. There are tons of problems that might or might not happen - improper fret crowning, bad fret leveling, nut not glued dead center, not not slotted properly, high nut, bad neck pocket, bad neck angle, numerous cosmetic issues, play in the tuners, botched routing for the hardware, botched soldering job, shit neck wood that will warp, shit fretboard so that you'll get fret sprout, and so on and so forth.

Some of these problems can be fixed for cheap, and some are expensive to fix. You also need to find a tech that will do a good job, which is also not a given.

Will I need to put a lot of work on my POD Go to dial in good tones for this guitar

Guitars don't matter too much really, even pickups don't contribute a whole lot to the tone (the biggest difference is just single coil vs humbuckers). IR is the main contributor, and then the amp sim itself. Plus you can use pre and post EQs, and boosts.

Is it really worth upgrading in the future?

Depends on the quality of the guitar that you get. If you're lucky and your guitar has no real technical problems, and you really like how it plays and all that - yeah, you might upgrade the hardware and the pickups.

Bear in mind that upgrading can get expensive. You know, you get a decent budget guitar, you give it to a tech for leveling, new nut, and a setup, you swap the tuners and the bridge, swap the pickups, add a push-pull or whatever, and by the time you're done you could've just bought a used prestige.

 

[Gtan7]

Never played that one but seen positive reviews on reddit /r/7string recently. I had an Ibanez RGMS7 Multi-Scale, purchased used for around $350, played well, pretty decent fret job, pickups were... lacking in tone, unmelodic, etc but I would recommend that model.

 

[guitar_player4_2_0]

I have two. A maple board one and a rosewood one with soap bar passives. My friend bought a maple board one after I got mine, so I have experience with three of them personally. The maple board one has a chunkier feeling neck than the rosewood one, and the maple board ones also have a hip shot style bridge. They are very decent for the price, although they are a bit spotty on QC. My fiends had the bridge shifted a bit from where it needed to be and he had some intonation issues. He upgraded to a hip shot and got it sorted, just something to keep in mind. Frets were level but a little sharp on the ends. The pickups were actually the best part of the guitar. I upgraded both mine to EMGs, but my friend so far has stuck with the stock pickups and we both agree they are some of the best sounding stock pickups we’ve heard on a guitar in this price range. Tuners on this model are the weakest point. I also own an LTD MH-17 and it’s about the same quality wise, so I think that’s about what you can expect at this price point from any manufacturer. If you’re comfortable doing set ups and minor mods they’re a great starting point. If you want something that’s gonna blow you away out of the box I’d save for something better.

 

[Kokavic]

Thank you so much guys, your experience is really helpful!

 

[Gtan7]

Forgot to mention on that Ibanez and all of their multiscales I've looked at recently, the vertical/neutral fret is at 12 so the first few frets off the nut slant a lot, which bothers some people but most other makers except Cort have the neutral fret somewhere around 7-9. Just something to consider along with everything else.

I think part of what throws setup off is it could have had a really hot trip over the Pacific ocean in a top container or it could be shipped from e.g. Chicago to Seattle in an extremely cold UPS truck.

 

[Gtan7]

Forgot: I also just tried the $200 ESP 7 string at Guitar center, it seemed like it would be decent but I couldn't tell if it needs frets levelled cause the action was too high at nut and bridge and it needed trussrod relaxed (why do they always ship with no relief?), maybe a neck pocket shim. Fret ends were sharp, you can take care of that yourself.

 

[ExplorerMike]

Like others have mentioned it’s a $200 guitar so it won’t blow you away, but I would recommend it. I bought mine (the maple fretboard/gloss body version) for the same reason you have, to dip my toe in the 7 string game. I guess I got a good one because I have had zero complaints or issues with mine. I’ve upgraded the nut and saddles and tuning stability is much better. The tuners like everyone said are probably the worst part of the guitar but are manageable. I agree the pickups are pretty decent for stock low end pickups, I still have them in mine. I tried a few other entry level 7s and I didn’t think anything from the other companies was near as good as the JS at that price point. Give it a shot and good luck!

 

[Kokavic]

I really appreciate everyone's perspective on this, it is somewhat difficult at times to buy "blindly" without being able to try it first

I also considered seriously the Shecter Omen Extreme 7 (in either colour), as I understand it is a step above the Jackson, but I honestly don't know if it is worth paying double, cause while the looks and craftmanship are definitely better, the pickups are probably not much better for what I've read/heard, and the use I would give it is for a home studio.

Having the split coil option is nice tho, but nothing that can't be achieved by upgrading the Jackson in the future with a bit of extra work and awesome pickups (I do have a friend that really knows how to do this) - I guess?

Thanks everyone!

 

[Ivars V]

Ehh, I have limited run of older js32qs (qs stands for quicksilver), but I have also played js22-7 (my old bandmate has one). I bought it for 290 euros at Thomann about 6-7 years ago. Time flies!
In my experience, both the js32 and js22 are are pretty good bang-for-the-buck 7strings. Of course, you should expect to drop it off to a luthier for a fret levelling & setup. Cost me 40 euros and was totally worth it. Later on I bought a tusq nut & MIK oem locking tuners & upgraded the pickups. Stock pickups were decent, I just wanted something with a more character. Overall, highly recommended!

 

[Gtan7]

So the looong list of upgrades you might be looking at, most not expensive except fret level where I am. A lot you can do yourself esp if you can solder.

- fret level/crown
- tuners
- nut
- refinish back of neck if its sticky
- pickups along w/wiring (push pull pots/caps/switchcraft switch, better jack)
- bridge
- shield cavities with copper tape

 

[Ivars V]

So the looong list of upgrades you might be looking at, most not expensive except fret level where I am. A lot you can do yourself esp if you can solder.

- fret level/crown
- tuners
- nut
- refinish back of neck if its sticky
- pickups along w/wiring (push pull pots/caps/switchcraft switch, better jack)
- bridge
- shield cavities with copper tape

The cavities are shielded with graphite paint. There's no point in covering that up with copper tape.