Guitar suggestion - 7 string

Have you, guys, any suggestion on 7 string guitar with Floyd rose near 1400$

If you don’t mind the Korean-made Floyd Special with the zinc alloy saddles and sustain block, the Agile Interceptor from Rondo at $300 and up gets good reviews on youtube and is probably the best value.

For a little more recognizeable name, Schecter and Jackson both have 7-string Floyd offerings under $1400. If you stretch to $1500, you could get an Ibanez Prestige, though personally I think they’re over-priced.

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What do you think about esp tho?
For example this one
https://www.espguitars.com/products/17110-buz-7-qm?category_id=1964652-7-8-string-guitars

Hi @nick636.

Do you have any experience with Floyd Rose vibrato systems?

If not, the recommendations I would make would depend on how much you think you’d actually use the Floyd Rose.

If you just want a Floyd Rose for occasional special effects, like dive-bombs and harmonic squeals, I think you should really consider the benefits of a fixed bridge instead. When I was a teenager, a lot of my friends wanted Floyd Rose bridges for dive-bombs and squeals (like Dimebag Darrell). For most, the novelty of these special effects eventually wore off.

If you’re not using it, a Floyd Rose is just a hassle. It takes a long time to re-string, to stretch in new strings and to tune to pitch. It’s difficult to change between standard tuning and alternate tunings. Switching to different string gauges requires you to re-balance the bridge. Any setup work, like action or intonation adjustment is a chore. A 7th string makes all of this even more difficult and time consuming.

If you’re going to make use of the Floyd Rose, or if you have some experience with Floyd Roses already, there are plenty of very nice guitars in your price range with quality bridges. There’s really no reason you shouldn’t be able to find something that would satisfy you.

I’d recommend you avoid low-end licensed bridges. These are often made of softer metals which deform over time, which makes it impossible for the bridge to return accurately to pitch. Sometimes the low-end bridges can be replaced easily with a quality bridge, but sometimes not.

@Frylock mentioned Jackson and Schecter, which are both solid choices. At that prices range, there will be some models which have German made Original Floyd Rose bridges and others will have the Korean (Ping) made FRT-1000/2000/3000 series bridges. The German made bridges are excellent. The Korean made bridges are not quite as good, but they’re still a solid, well made bridge. I have a Korean Floyd Rose on a Charvel Pro Mod, and I’ve had no problems. The FRT-1000/2000/3000 series bridges can be replaced by an Original Floyd Rose if required.

The Gotoh and Schaller made Floyd Rose bridges are excellent also. I think they’re both superior in to the Original Floyd Rose in terms of performance and feel.

Personally, I think that the best floating double-locking vibrato systems available are the high end Ibanez systems; the Edge, the Lo-Pro and the Edge-Pro. There are difference in feel, but are astonishingly good when set up correctly.

Most current Ibanez Prestige series guitars come equipped with the Lo-Pro. I think Ibanez can be a bit pricey for what you get (a lot of them have poor stock pickups), but if you’re going to have the vibrato bar in your hand as often as not, like Steve Vai or Jeff Beck, I think it’s worth it.

Ibanez has also made it’s share of low quality bridges. Avoid anything with a Lo-TRS or Lo-TRS II, Edge III, Edge Pro II or Edge Zero II.

I don’t know much about ESP or ESP/LTD. It looks like that model you’ve linked to has a high-quality Floyd Rose bridge. If you’re set on ESP or ESP/LTD, maybe check to see if there is a similar model which isn’t a signature model? Many (but not all) artist models are just standard series guitars with different pickup configurations and a different finish.

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Wow, that 's a lot of information.
Thank you
What do you think about this one?
http://www.ibanez.com/products/u_eg_detail17.php?year=2017&cat_id=1&series_id=1&data_id=221&color=CL01

I don’t own any ESP/LTD, but they have a solid reputation.

The Ibanez you linked looks like it might be OK, but note that the bridge is an Ibanez Edge-Zero II, which @Tom_Gilroy is warning against. I haven’t dealt with them personally, so I don’t have a strong opinion, except to observe that it’s not identical to a Floyd, Original Edge, or Lo-Pro Edge, even though it seems to take most of its design cues from the Lo-Pro Edge. EMG 707s are pretty popular “metal style” pickups for a 7-string.

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https://www.jacksonguitars.com/gear/all/x-series-signature-corey-beaulieu-king-v-kv7-dark-rosewood-fingerboard-satin-black
VS
https://www.espguitars.com/products/17110-buz-7-qm?category_id=1964652-7-8-string-guitars

When you’re looking at two gutiars with drastically different body shapes, you really have to factor in your own preferences about body shape when you make a comparison. I prefer traditional strat-ish shapes, but your preferences may differ.

The Jackson you listed uses the Floyd Special, if that matters to you. The Duncan Blackouts on the Jackson are popular. I don’t know much about the Fishman pickups on the LTD (though Fishman is a well-known brand). Hard to be sure from the promo copy which version of the Floyd is on the LTD.

Also, the cable output is in a weird spot on the back of the LTD. Your call on whether that’s a big deal to you or not.

For the money you’re talking, you could get the Ibanez below, with the Ibanez Lo-Pro Edge:

http://www.ibanez.com/products/u_eg_detail17.php?year=2017&cat_id=1&series_id=1&data_id=210&color=CL01

But considering how unsure you seem about exactly what you want, you might be better off going with something cheaper while you figure things out. Personally, I’d go for an Agile Interceptor and spend the cash I saved on something else.

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Your choices so far all have active pickups. Is this a feature you want?

I’d recommend not to worry too much about what pickups are in the guitar. Pickups can be changed quite easily. Even if you want to switch to active pickups, any competent luthier or guitar technician would be able to route a battery compartment.

Unless you already have a good amplifier, I don’t think the pickups really matter much at all.

Instead, I’d recommend that you prioritize other features, construction, fit and finish, material quality, etc.

If you’re set on a Floyd Rose type bridge, you can afford to get a high-end version. The RG752AHM that @Frylock linked to is equipped with the Lo-Pro 7, which is an astonishingly good system when setup correctly and well maintained. Also, unlike a lot of older Ibanez Prestige models, the RG752AHM has Dimarzio pickups as standard.

The Edge Zero II-7 on the model you’ve linked to just isn’t in the same league, and you can do better in your price range. I’d actually recommend against Ibanez unless you’re getting one of their high-end vibrato bridges (Original Edge, Lo-Pro or Edge Pro), or a fixed bridge model. Low-end Ibanez vibrato systems usually cannot be directly replaced with a high-end version when they start to give trouble, the routings are different.

Also, Ibanez have been making quality 7-string guitars for a long time. You might be able to find a used Ibanez Prestige RG1557 or RG1577 for a good price on the used market, they’re not rare.

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well it"s too expensive for me(

I don"t care about pickups much. I just want good 7 string with FR.
Also i can"t find guitars, that you suggested.

May be you want to look at Schecter guitars? They are known mainly by their ‘through-body’ guitar however they have version with floyd rose, like Damien Elite-7 FR or Hellraiser C-7 FR.
Although I didn’'t hear any comments on these models, because people ususally use 7-string guitars in extremal heavy styles where tremolo just doesn’t fit.

Keep checking your regional used market. A used Prestige is great value for money. The aforementioned Schecters are popular with the 7-string crowd as well.

Doing a little research on your end and doing some field work is your best ally now. You’ve had lots of great advice here so at this point your best bet is to go to some guitars stores and try out what they have. Also check your local used listings and don’t be afraid to meet someone in a public place to try out their used gear. I often meet people at guitar stores for this purpose. Just because you meet someone to look at their guitar does not mean you’re obligated to buy it. Especially if you’re looking at spending over a grand.

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Hi @nick636.

I’ve checked some of the major online retailers in the USA, and the Ibanez Prestige RG752 in Cobalt Blue should be in your price range at about $1300, though some retailers are out of stock until early 2018. I suspect this stock issue with import brands is the result of the recent changes in CITES legislation regarding the importation of rosewood. If I were in your position, that is what I would buy, even if there was a waiting time.

Alternatively, for about $1000, the Schecter Hellraiser C-7 FR looks like a good option, it’s a Korean made Floyd Rose 1000 series bridge, which isn’t nearly as good as the Lo-Pro on the Ibanez, but it’s still a good, well made bridge. It can easily be replaced with a German made Floyd Rose if you ever need to. It comes equipped with EMG pickups.

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Ibanez UV70P
Ibanez RGD3127 (above your price range)
Schecter Banshee Elite-7 FR S
The Schecter Sun Valley Super Shredder 7 III coming out in 2018 looks promising as well.
Carvin JB207C (above your price range)

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For less than USD$900, that Schecter looks like a killer value. 1500-series Floyd, but still. I also dig the wheel-adjust truss rod (and it’s a 2-way). And the figured top is probably just a thin veneer, but do we care? 26.5" scale is interesting, as I think in 7-strings it’s more common to see either 25.5 or 27.

Made in Indonesia (presumably at Cort’s big factory there), which is typically where the best bang-for-the-buck guitars come from nowadays.

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If you don’t mind going used, an Ibanez 7620 or 1527 are stupid-nice guitars for the money. In particular, early 2000s 1527s are way nicer than they have any right to be - I think when they first released them they were priced to compete with used 7620s (which had gotten blown out for nothing and at the time were selling for $400 or so, cased) and today that’s still helped keep resale value low. They’re both great “workhorse” guitars, nothing unusual but well-made, and generally with great necks.

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Not sure if I’m chipping in too late, but right now Guerilla guitars (Custom made in Canada) are having very interesting sales on their guitars. I personally love their neck-through design! The specs are pretty similar on all their guitars. Check this one for example : https://www.guerillaguitars.com/collections/on-sale/products/m7-fr-deep-atlantic-blue

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