I’m looking for a seven-string guitar to purchase. I’m not necessarily looking for something second-hand. Leave me recommendations and beautiful guitars in this topic. Price range is up to $1500, but obviously you don’t need to spend that much to get a good instrument. Go nuts!
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Anything by Ibanez or Jackson are fairly safe shouts I think.
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I would recommend solar guitars. A friend of mine has a A1.7BOP model and it’s an absolute beast. Perfect for playing heavy stuff and it looks great. It has an Evertune bridge though which can be a pain in the ass if you like bending.
What makes that kind of bridge a pain for bending?
The guitar is always in tune, like, always and because of that bending the string doesn’t do anything to the sound (it just doesn’t change the pitch). Vibrato doesn’t work as well. Tweaking that bridge in order to fix all that can be frustrating.
I’d check out any model from the Prestige line of Ibanez. Made in Japan are very popular among the heavy side of musicians. For the budget side of things I’d go for Schecter Demon series.
I would strongly advise to not spend any money before you properly test and have a grasp for the feel of said guitar.
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The Ibanez and Solar recommendations are def on spot.
Also Schecter (avoid older diamond series models if buying used and look for blackjack series used, like the one Lynch guitarist was using for awhile.)
Ibanez Iron Label series are amazing and a steal used,
Evertune bridges are not that hard to set up for bending to be able to be done, can be set very quick actually! common misconception.
If you can find an Ibanez Apex model with the evertune that is an amazing model, super jealous as we dont have them in Japan. Anther KoRn model besides that one is Head’s LTD signature with Evertune also.
Ola is a really cool guy too so supporting Solar is always great, The time I talked with Ola his interest in Japan and hentai specifically was pretty funny xD.
For heavy downtune stuff Evertune is really the way to go in this day and age!
Recently got an Ibanez iron label 7 string but next time I will def get an Ibanez with evertune.
Good luck in your hunt!
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Seconded on the Schecter. I recently got my hands on a Korean Blackjack 7 for about ~399 dollars and it’s worth about 1,000. Plays like an absolute dream.
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+1 for Schecter. Amazing guitar.
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Another question would be what kind of music are you looking to play? That would make a big difference in what model to get. 
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I was originally going to play rock and metal, but my teacher said everything I play comes out jazzy LOL!
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Haha shuffles and such? Im similar.
If not just strait up metal pickups will be a big decider, passive with 5 way switch or 3 way switch + coil tap will give all the options needed for multiple genres.
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If you set it in the middle of it’s tolerance like most people do then sure, bending/vibrato will be a pain. But you can set it to be at the top point of it’s tolerance, so that bending and vibrato work generally as expected, maybe a slight technique adjustment necessary but overall not that big an issue. Devin Townsend has been using Evertune guitars exclusively for YEARS and he doesn’t have an issue with this at all.
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Ibanez Universe.
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yah if you are used to playing any type of guitar system with springs in it you will be ok not that big of a technical thing to get used to 
KoRn has lots of bends in its music and they are doing em all with those evertune guitars set to the right zone so, those guys are famously simpletons when it comes to gear haha. Townsend is a magical man @v@
Hina: The Ibanez Universe black and green pickups has been calling to me @_@ such a good guitar, but recently spent way too much moneyz on guitar stuff >.<
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Have you considered a multiscale guitar? Schecter Reaper-7 is a really solid choice if that’s the case.
I second Solar guitars recommendation, I own an S2.6C myself and it’s a really great guitar for the price. I’ve heard their Evertune models are sick so if you can afford it, that would definitely be an instrument you’ll enjoy playing.
When it comes to budget stuff - I can recommend Harley Benton Amarok but if you’re based outside of Europe that might not be ideal. They offer quite a lot for the price (locking tuners, stainless steel frets, etc.) but you have to get lucky since their quality control isn’t perfect. Mine only required a basic setup and I’m pretty happy with it.
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I’m brand new to this 
what’s a multiscale guitar?
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Let me use a quote that explains the first term required to understand how it works:
In the simplest terms, scale length refers to the length of the active/vibrating portion of the open string, between the nut and saddle.
The most common scale is 25.5" and while it’s fine for standard tunings, if you want to go really low, you have to use thicker strings what affects the tone, as well as the way it “feels” when playing, this can also introduce buzz and such. To solve this issue you can go for an extended scale, 27" and up, but this basically translates to a wider spacing between the frets, what makes it less comfortable to play, especially when it comes to solos. Multiscale guitar, as the name suggests, has a scale that changes across the instrument, take a look at this photo of Schecter Reaper I mentioned above:
This way you get the best of two worlds - no need to use very thicc strings because you get the proper tension for low tunings while keeping the comfort of a standard scale when playing solos. It feels a bit different though, due to the placement of frets so it’s a bit of a matter of personal preference. Some people just prefer to go with a baritone instead.
That’s basically the main idea, there are more things to consider and I’m no expert myself so others in this thread are free to correct me ^^
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There are the Dunlop heavy core strings now that allow you to use thinner/normal string gauges but with the same tension as thicker strings~ highly recommend those who prefer normal 7 string scale length!
fanned frets look cool but most people I know dislike them, it is def a personal preference so do not buy one without playing it, each fanned fret guitar has different ratio in its fanning too so best to play the exact model you want in person (really that goes for any guitar purchase though.)
Tbh seems like this is just a fad with a very niche market of djentie cork sniffers haha. but man they look cool!
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Ah ha! I’ve seen this guitars and I didn’t know the proper name for when the frets are angled and positioned like that. I’ll have to actually hold one in my hands and play with it to see if I like it right?
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