Niloy63
New member
Hey guys,
Picked up my first seven string the other week... a pristine, used Ibanez RGD7321 (the Indonesian-made intro RGD model). Figured it would be a good , introduction into the 7-string world. The previous owner had installed a Dimarzio Evo 7 in the bridge. I really thought I was going to leave the Evo in the guitar, but boy, was I wrong. Several amps and hours of knob-tweaking later,
I couldn't get a tone I was happy with... flubby lows, mids that were anything but memorable, and sharp/brittle highs. It didn't help that the tuning wouldn't hold for more than 5-10 minutes. I'm happy to say that with just a couple mods and a full setup, this guitar is now a beast! :headbang:
Mods
My tonal analysis (I don't do well with EQ charts, so I'll try and describe what I hear... brace yourselves lol)
Nazgul
As many would imagine, it's an awesome rhythm p'up. Powerful, tight, and punchy chugs. Well defined when playing "large" chords; Controlled bass (nice and tight, but just loose enough to let the tone breathe - something that I cannot get with active p'ups), thick but not over-the-top lower mids; clear highs
Sentient
Warm... such great clean tones with even better lead tones (in my humble opinion, of course). I was surprised that such different p'ups would complement each other so well. I did have to raise the Sentient quite a bit higher than I do with most of my neck p'ups because it was having a hard time keeping up with the Nazgul, volume-wise.
Enough talk... here's some pics:
Picked up my first seven string the other week... a pristine, used Ibanez RGD7321 (the Indonesian-made intro RGD model). Figured it would be a good , introduction into the 7-string world. The previous owner had installed a Dimarzio Evo 7 in the bridge. I really thought I was going to leave the Evo in the guitar, but boy, was I wrong. Several amps and hours of knob-tweaking later,
I couldn't get a tone I was happy with... flubby lows, mids that were anything but memorable, and sharp/brittle highs. It didn't help that the tuning wouldn't hold for more than 5-10 minutes. I'm happy to say that with just a couple mods and a full setup, this guitar is now a beast! :headbang:Mods
- Seymour Duncan Nazgul/Sentient set
- Hipshot Grip-Lock Open Gear Tuners
- GraphTech TUSQ XL Nut
My tonal analysis (I don't do well with EQ charts, so I'll try and describe what I hear... brace yourselves lol)
Nazgul
As many would imagine, it's an awesome rhythm p'up. Powerful, tight, and punchy chugs. Well defined when playing "large" chords; Controlled bass (nice and tight, but just loose enough to let the tone breathe - something that I cannot get with active p'ups), thick but not over-the-top lower mids; clear highs
Sentient
Warm... such great clean tones with even better lead tones (in my humble opinion, of course). I was surprised that such different p'ups would complement each other so well. I did have to raise the Sentient quite a bit higher than I do with most of my neck p'ups because it was having a hard time keeping up with the Nazgul, volume-wise.
Enough talk... here's some pics:
