Just bought my first 7

[donnyboy]

Just bought a great condition '99 RG 7620, in black with DiMarzio Blaze pickups for a great price. Already on it's way, so should be here tomorrow. Woohoo!

Never owned a 7-string before, so I'm uber excited about this one Can't wait.

Will post pics when it's here, of course!

[Demogorgos]

It takes some time to get used to a 7, but once you do you'll love it.

I only play my UV It rocks!!!!!

Regards,

JP

[Jem#5150]

Sevens kill!

I love the Blazes, they are really powerful. You'll love it!

[Distantshore]

Congrats!

[Drew]

Originally Posted by donnyboy

Just bought a great condition '99 RG 7620, in black with DiMarzio Blaze pickups for a great price. Already on it's way, so should be here tomorrow. Woohoo!

Never owned a 7-string before, so I'm uber excited about this one Can't wait.

Will post pics when it's here, of course!

Odds are, they're new 7's, and not Blazes - the Ibanez cataloge spec'd the 7620 with Blazes, but was wrong. Either way, they're Dimarzios, and not bad - a lot of people like the neck, but the bridge was originally wound with mahogany in mind and a switch probably wouldn't hurt.

Either way, 7620's rule. Congrats!

[djpharoah]

Dimarzio New7 is favored by some to the blaze neck in tone. I would also recommend changing the bridge for something else .... like an evo7.

[donnyboy]

Originally Posted by Drew

Odds are, they're new 7's, and not Blazes - the Ibanez cataloge spec'd the 7620 with Blazes, but was wrong. Either way, they're Dimarzios, and not bad - a lot of people like the neck, but the bridge was originally wound with mahogany in mind and a switch probably wouldn't hurt.

Either way, 7620's rule. Congrats!

Thanks. I'm really lookin' forward to the cool new stuff I can do with that extra string!

Bridge pup is definitely a Blaze, but I was wrong about the neck pup, which is actually a Duncan. Just re-read the sellers description, which says "Pickups have been upgraded.... a Duncan 7 string JB in the neck and a DiMarzio Blaze 7 in the bridge".

[Drew]

Ok, so he specifically mentions they've been swapped? Cool.

JB in the neck? That's a weird choice. It's a killer bridge pickup in mahogany, but I've never heard of one used in the neck of a basswood guitar before. When you get the thing, well, first off post up your thoughts on how it works (sound clips might rule, too ) but second you might want to grab an Air Norton or something and then experiment with the JB in the bridge. Or, if it's a Blaze neck (which evidently works well in the bridge, too), swap 'em and see what you think.

That's an odd configuration, but I've heard of people using the Tone Zone in the neck...

[donnyboy]

Yeah it does sound like a weird config doesn't it. I guess the proof of the pudding will be in the eating. Or the playing. Not planning to eat the pickups*

I'll definitely get a few sound clips up, once I've got some tasty 7 string riffage under my belt


* Unless they're REEAALLY good

[donnyboy]

Ok, so my 7620 arrived this morning (lame pic below, will post better ones tomorrow), setup like dogsh*t with an ancient, corroded set of 9's and a 52 on the bottom. The previous owner hadn't even bothered correcting the trem angle - the string tension was so low the lo-pro was sitting right back in the cavity.

Anyway, ripped those nasty, tetanus inducing wires off, cleaned the 8 year's worth of other people's skin off the fretboard, installed some D'Addario 10 - 56's, set the whole thing up and voila. Plays great now. Medium-low action, no buzzing.

Two major gripes
a) The pickups sound like crap. The neck is actually a Duncan Designed, NOT a Duncan JB as stated by the seller. That's coming out ASAP. The Blaze sounds ok on the top 5 strings, but the bottom E and B sound awful. Whatever the opposite of clarity and definition is, that's what it sounds like. Seems quite low output as well, along with the nice crackly pots and switch. New pups and a rewire methinks.

b) Even with a 56 for the low B it still feels like a rubber band and sounds like it wants to be tuned at least a full step higher. What d'you reckon? Replace it with a 60? 62? My local shop didn't have anything bigger than a 56. They did have a Marshall Mode Four half stack though, which I played a PRS through. Wow. *Adds to GAS list*

[Drew]

1.) Steer clear of that Mode 4. Seriously, for what they charge for the thing, you're better off with a DSL50.

2.) I use a .68 in standard. Admittedly, it's a LITTLE heavy, but I use it because Elixir jumps straight from .56 (too light for 10's) to .68 (just barely too heavy, but I hit pretty hard so it works). I think anything less than a .58 for a low B with a set of .9's is a joke, personally, but there's a lot of people who'd disagree with that. Do some experimenting, but if you're using 9's, a .58-60 is probably a goood starting point.

[donnyboy]

Thanks for the advice dude.

It's currently strung with a D'Addario EXL110-7 set (10 - 56). The 10 - 46 is my preferred regular set, but the 56 on the bottom is definitely too light. From what you've said, sounds like a 60 or 62 would be the way to go for me.

My only concern is intonation. To intonate properly for the 56, I've had to adjust the low B saddle as far back as it can go. If I install anything thicker, the intonation on the B is gonna be whack, at least above the 12th fret.

Is that something 7-string players just learn to live with?

[Drew]

Really? I've got mine intonated just fine with a .68. Are you sure you just don't have it back as far as you can go with the first screw hole, but not the second, deeper, one (that sounds REALLY lewd, but that was the only way I could describe it )

I've heard about guys having trouble going down past F#, but never having trouble intonating something that light for a low B...