General Music Chat

I'm sure you guys hve been down this road a thousand times, but I'll dredge it up again...sorry.

For years, I've looked for an electric guitar that I am comfortable with, with no luck. Granted, I haven't spent a lot of cash on one-I am a bass player first and foremost, but I do some guitar work as well.

Seven years ago, I bought a cheap acoustic guitar, and it practically never leaves my side-even in instances that I'm playing bass, I take it along.

For some reason, however, I just can't find that ONE electric guitar that feels right. I've tried some oddballs, too.

Peavy Milano
Oscar Schmitt Electric
Fender Squire
Danelectro (my current doorstop)
...there have been others, but none worth mentioning.

They always feel weak in my hands, flimsy. I've tried heavy gauge strings, etc.

What's your main axe and why?

Ibanez RG7321 (Excerpt taken from my website).

First Impression: I first encountered the Ibanez (RG7321) 7 String at Guitar Center a month before I bought it. My reason for wanting a 7 string was to eliminate switching between a drop D tuning and standard and also wanted to extend my solos by fretting the lower registers on scales using the extra low B string. The Ibanez 7 string looks very much like the standard Ibanez RGs, with the edgy super strat-like bodies and the only thing noticeable at first glance is the thicker width neck.



This particular model I have is of Ibanez RG7321 and is Korean made in 2005. The neck has 24 jumbo frets on rosewood finger board. The toggle is a 5 way selector and a H/H pickup configuration. The pickup models are passive Ibanez Axis Humbuckers and they sound pretty good for stock pups which has a punchy neck sound and tight bridge lead. The body of the guitar is made from basswood and bridge is a fixed one. The tuners are standard grade and nothing special.

Here is a run down of the Tech Specs:

Wizard II-7 neck

5pc. maple/walnut neck material

Basswood body

24 jumbo frets

Bound rosewood finger board

Fixed 7 bridge

IBZ AH1-7 (H) neck PU

IBZ AH2-7 (H) bridge PU

Pearl dot inlay

Hardware color: black

How is the Sound?
My style of playing covers a wide spectrum of sounds from jazzy chord vamps to saturated shred leads and chunky overdriven riffs. The neck position on the pickup selection gives you a punchy clean tone, very round and solid, sounds very good going through a clean amp without any type of effects. The middle position on the pickup selection has a wiry twang and percussive tone, very similar to a strat-like single pickup which is great for choppy funk and picking-style country. The bridge position on the pickup selection is tight and thick which sounds great with a slight overdrive or a full on distortion. This setting cuts through the mix given the right EQ on the amp. The basswood body is known for not projecting lower bass tones which I think helps the low b-string becoming not too overpowering, giving it just the right amount of bottom end without getting too muddy and lost in the mix. I think the guitar does a good job emulating the little nuances of a player's style.

How is the Feel?
Before I purchased the Ibanez (RG7321) 7 String, I did take the time to try out other brands of 7 strings like a Schecter Omen 7. The feel between these guitars are very different. The Ibanez felt more comfortable because of the thinner radius neck and I felt the action was better. What I liked about the Schecter was the cool finish but that's about it. In my opinion, the tone is better on the Ibanez. I went to three different stores which had the Ibanez 7 strings and they felt the same with every guitar, so the factory set up is comparable. I did do some truss rod and bridge adjustments because I kept on changing different string gauge through out the year that I have owned it. I had some problems with the volume knob where it kept on cutting out on the maximum volume setting, a common problem with all guitar brands. This was fixed with cleaning and re-soddering of pots. The transition between six to seven string was not a problem and it took me about a couple months to fully udjust to the feel of the seven string. I have the Wizard II neck to thank for this because it really feels comfortable and fast. I felt that I got the most out of it for the $400 price tag.

Final Thoughts
I have been playing guitar for well over a decade now and owned numerous types, both electric and acoustic, I was overall very pleased with this guitar as it can handle a wide variety of genres. The Ibanez (RG7321) 7 String is a very good example for the saying "more bang for the buck" and is an ideal transitional guitar for the 6 to 7 stringer. The best qualities are the comfortable neck, light basswood body that doesn't muddy up the lower end, the excellent stock pickups and last but not least, the playability and versatility of the guitar as a whole. The only one thing that I wished was better? The tuners as they seem to go out of tune frequently.

jsantos.net rating:

I am not a musician but have a suggestion. A guitar that is not
mentioned on this site.

Heritage, worth a check and check the history behind it.[/b]

jsantos,
I love Ibanez products (I prefer Ibanez basses). The 7-string is also a good suggestion...I had laid one away a while back, but ended up not getting it...I can't remember the model. That's a good thought though.

KLUGMO, I will definitely check out the Heritage. That name sounds familiar, but for some reason I think of acoustics. At any rate, I'll give it a look-see.

Thanks, guys. Any other suggestions?

'72 Strat with a maple neck for too many reasons to list.

I never have been an afficienado (sp) of instruments... When I was a kid... my mother bought me a "Picador" steel string guitar... She got it at KMart ... I took that to school with me and learned how to play S'tairway tp Heaven' from one of my friends... Then I learned home Sweet Alabama...and then a boat load of Neil Young songs... By the time I got that far, The ol Picador gave up the ghost... Didnt help that I smacked one of buddy's over the head with it ...

I bought my First Fender Telecaster It was a custom design... (Custom Deluxe)...and a Fender Super Reverb Amp (the "Tubeful Wonder" I called it). I went on to dabble in licks here and there... never really took it far...Wound up giving that one away...

I learned what I could with what I had,...and didn't really fuss over the models, per se...

I suppose, its like golf... Each person has their preference of clubs... But I never could see how any of it makes much difference against the wind , sand traps and water... At the end of the day I'm just lucky to be on the course..

Gibson ES339.
Fits me best.
Absolutely love the pick ups.

I've not been through a lot of guitars in my search.
But I can say that of the ones I have tried, the neck profile, balance, weight and playability of the ES339 is second to none in my hands.

[img][img]http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm74/sanshouheil/GibsonES339003.jpg[/img][/img]

Fender and Squire strat - You have to try a lot of them, but the older Squiers are worth checking out. Mine is Korean made, I'll never let it go. Plays and sounds great. But I checked out at least 100 of them before I bought it. I've only seen one american strat I liked as well, and I missed it, went back a week later to put it on lay away, it was gone.

Cort CL1500 - If you can find one, it's a keeper. The bridge may need work or changing. Otherwise I love mine.

Peavey Patriot - Stopped making them a while back, mine was made in about 1984 or so. Strat body and Tele pickup configuration. Chimes like a bell and it's the only guitar I ever bought that I knew I wanted in 30 seconds. Usually I play one for at least a half hour then come back and try it again a couple of times before I make up my mind. I decided on this guitar in 30 seconds. Never regretted it for a minute.

No matter what you try, all electric guitars will feel flimsy to a bass player. Strings anyway. The strings are much lighter and by nature much more stretchy. It's something you'll have to get accustomed to. After playing bass a guitar feels mushy to me too.

I see very few new electrics I really like. Some of the Ibanez guitars seem pretty good, Hamer might be worth looking at too. The Hamer that Martin Barre of Jethro Tull played for years is a very good guitar, I'd love to find one.

Same for the Yamaha SG 2000. They haven't made those in years either, but if you can find one in decent shape it's definitely worth a try. I played one that belonged to a friend for several years, always wanted one myself. But beware, it's 2 1/2 pounds heavier than a Les Paul...but sounds just as good and has a slimmer neck that I can play. I hate most Les Paul necks.

Always play it unplugged first. If it sounds dead and lifeless, I won't even plug it in. If it sounds good, I'll find a good amp and listen to it. Listen for good sound and sustain. You can put your ear against the upper arm above the neck and hear it really well. Not easy to play, but it gives you a very good idea what it sounds like by itself.

Great input, guys!

Paleopete, I wasn't aware that Cort made guitars-I've seen some basses and they seem to be quality instruments. I think you hit on my issue with the Peavey Patriot analogy. I've never picked up an electric and said "This is the one". I've done that with basses, and acoustic guitars, and I'm usually right. Both of my main instruments now are ones that I knew were for me the first time I picked them up.

I'm just gonna have to keep looking-but now I've got a few more options to look into...thanks everyone!

I prefer a 57' strat with the slim-v style neck.

The 50's pickups wail a little more and god knows, I want the wailing.

All the rest feels foreign to me.

I play a 97 american standard strat with a c shape neck. I think I'll always prefer strats you can get the ULTIMATE blues sounds out of them, they rock nice to, they get a VERY nice clean tone that almost sounds like an acoustic. I can see myself getting a new strat in the near future it will be an american standard strat HSS. I HAVE to have a whammy bar for those dive bombs and Hell I just like to wiggle the little feller LOL!

J-HALEY wrote:

Hell I just like to wiggle the little feller LOL

Are we still talking about guitars (or are you referring to your "other" weapon of choice?

J-HALEY wrote:

Hell I just like to wiggle the little feller LOL

Are we still talking about guitars (or are you referring to your "other" weapon of choice?

Guitars

I play a 2000 American Lonestar Stratocaster with maple necck. My backup is an early Telecastor Esquire (not squire...) aslo with maple neck.

I love both of these guitars. Two reasons: The playability, the sound.

For bass I use my Hohner Bass V which is pretty sweet and has active electronics. I want to augment this with a P-bass.

Have you looked at Jackson guitars? Some of those things stoke fires in my lower regions. When I found out they have an Explorer (Kelly) type guitar with maple neck I started acting silly, and making quacking noises like a duck.

All in all - there are some very sweet guitars out there but you proably need to touch them to know. I damn sure wouldn't have thought I'd ever be playing a Hohner bass. But I played it 20 times (really) before I bought it. Love it.

Talbot

I've abused my Strat worse than a rented Escort (both kinds). I've kicked it, scraped it on mic stands, bashed into cymbals, and nearly whammied the strings off from it several times (see "Helter Skelter"). But the thing can't be killed. And the tone is killer, from Trower to the Stooges to Elvis Costello this guitar has real balls. I have a 2009 American Strat Deluxe but I play the '72 95% of the time.