7 strings guitar

[EmiAba]

I have never played a 7 strings guitar and I think it is time to buy one. It happens that two guys nearby home are selling theirs. An Ibanez rg7321 and a schecter damien 7 élite. Both are in good shape, the price is reasonable and I can’t decide on wihch one pulling the trigger. Generally speaking for a 7 string it is better a 25,5” scale or a 26.5” scale and why? Which of the aforementioned guitars have the best quality/cost ratio?

 

[Seashore]

I think either scale length is fine for a 7 string, as long as you get thick enough strings to give you the tension you want. My favorite 7 string is a 24.75" with either a .068 or .070 on the low B.

Between the two of those - having not played either model - I would get the Schecter. I've got two of theirs including a 7 and I'm impressed with the quality and bang for the buck. Securb has a 7 with those Heretic pickups and he seems to like them a lot. I'm a big fan of Ibby basses but I've never bonded with any of their guitars, so I'm biased.

 

[Seashore]

BTW - right now I have a .009-.068 set on both my 24.75" and 25.5" 7 string guitars, and to get a similar feel on the 26.5" scale of my Schecter 7 string, I use a .0085-.062 set. It's worth using a tension calculator to see what tension you're used to on low and high strings, and dialing in your 7 string set to suit that. I don't find any of the currently available sets to offer a good balance for tension between low and high strings - either the high strings are too tight or the lows are too floppy. You might be better off buying a 6 string set you like, and then a separate low string of the appropriate size.

 

[Securb]

Securb has a 7 with those Heretic pickups and he seems to like them a lot.

I absolutely love the Heretic pickups they use both ceramic and A5 magnets.They have the punch and bite of ceramics with that A5 bloom. The playability is killer, mine is an Omen Elite 7. Truth be told I have been looking at the Ibanez rg7 as a backup. However, I am over the moon about my Omen.

 

[ICTGoober]

Both brands have excellent reputations for 7 strings. No worries about buying either one IMO.

I had an LTD 7 string for awhile. Too many for me, I can barely keep track of 6 strings. Good luck, and let us know how it goes.

 

[EmiAba]

I think either scale length is fine for a 7 string, as long as you get thick enough strings to give you the tension you want. My favorite 7 string is a 24.75" with either a .068 or .070 on the low B.

Between the two of those - having not played either model - I would get the Schecter. I've got two of theirs including a 7 and I'm impressed with the quality and bang for the buck. Securb has a 7 with those Heretic pickups and he seems to like them a lot. I'm a big fan of Ibby basses but I've never bonded with any of their guitars, so I'm biased.

I owned a schecter km6 for a couple of years. I regret to have sold it. Great quality. I am still trying to decide which one is better for me. Specs-wise schecter is unbeatable, but I find the Ibanez neck more confortable.

 

[EmiAba]

I absolutely love the Heretic pickups they use both ceramic and A5 magnets.They have the punch and bite of ceramics with that A5 bloom. The playability is killer, mine is an Omen Elite 7. Truth be told I have been looking at the Ibanez rg7 as a backup. However, I am over the moon about my Omen.

The Damien élite 7 comes with emg 85-7/81-7. I am going to check those heretic pickups. Need to ear them. I have already a guitar with emg85/81 installed but I Guess the 7 string version is a bit different

 

[Seashore]

The Damien élite 7 comes with emg 85-7/81-7. I am going to check those heretic pickups. Need to ear them. I have already a guitar with emg85/81 installed but I Guess the 7 string version is a bit different

That's a bummer. I thought I saw the Damien Elite 7 with those Heretics. Sorry. If you like the EMGs I guess it's fine, and there are good Fishman options, but if you decide you want passives, there's not a lot of variety for passive pickups in that active soapbar format. I've converted a couple of 7 string soapbar guitars to passive and it's been more hassle than I wanted. I do really like my Schecter though, it's an SLS Elite, and it was worth the money and annoyance to get it squared away.