Thinking about a seven stringer - talk me in/out of it

Ravelleman

I know we have a few seven stringers here (*cough* Karl Hungus and Doctor J *cough*) so I thought I'd post it up here.

So, for the past few months I've been gassing for a nice new guitar to go with my Fernandes Ravelle. A while ago I was thinking of getting a Strat or a Tele for some nice single coil action but I convinced myself to sort out my rig before getting a second guitar. Now the rig is nearing completion (just need a delay pedal) and I'm opening up to realistic options again. I could go for something like a Strat or Tele but to me it seems a little too safe.

At first I was thinking of bass but I'm not sure I'm willing to invest the money and effort into a buying a bass setup and learning it properly (what with school work and such like).

Anywho, I had a moment of inspiration yesterday while cruising ebay - to buy a seven stringer. I've found a beast :eek: of a Carvin running at about 800euro shipped, taxed, encased etc and I'm strongly thinking about placing a bid or two on it.

So my questions are: what can I do with a seven stringer? Is it hard to incorporate the new string into your playing? I find the idea of learning new chord voicings really intriguing and I think it would be great to mess about with it.

I'm not into heavy metal or death metal so I wouldn't be relying on the B string to get my sound. I like classic rock and blues mainly but I'm opening up to jazz, prog and prog metal so it could be very useful and interesting to use there.

I might as well post the link so you can see what I'm talking about.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Carvin-DC727C-7-String-Electric-Guitar-Walnut-LIKE-NEW_W0QQitemZ7368410084QQcategoryZ2384QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Inspire me people.

mayordenis

6 strings is the perfect amount

Ravelleman

Right...

Karl Hungus

Ravelleman wrote:

So my questions are: what can I do with a seven stringer? Is it hard to incorporate the new string into your playing? I find the idea of learning new chord voicings really intriguing and I think it would be great to mess about with it.

I'm not into heavy metal or death metal so I wouldn't be relying on the B string to get my sound. I like classic rock and blues mainly but I'm opening up to jazz, prog and prog metal so it could be very useful and interesting to use there.

I for one love 7 strings. I think that you really have to just let your imagination go with what you can do with it though, so it's no use me telling you. It's not hard to incorporate it at all in my opinion, but my advice is that the first thing you do should be to play a 6 string song on it, avoiding the low B, that way you'll be very much away of it. This will help your playing loads.

One thing I find is that the whole fretboard feels so much more open, as you can play things you couldn't before in the one position, if you know what I mean, and the extra low end really does add a lot. I find that you can really make some interesting chords incorporating that low B, especially if you're playing clean.

I say go for it.

Beecher

I frankly love 7's, I have 2 at the moment! The main reasons being that you can be more creative with it, for example im playing right now and I have the guitar in standard but the 7th string in A, and the chords im playing really gives it a kinda piano spread kinda sound, its savage. Also for solo's the 7th string has some advantages, say for example a 3 octave run in G major, instead on going from the 3rd on low E to the 15th on the high E you can start on the 8th of the low B and keep the same hand position all the way down till the high E. It didnt take me any time to adjust from 6 to 7 and I dont think i've played a 6 in 3-4 weeks

Doctor J

I'll could be all artistic about my initial motives but be absolutely honest with you, I ****ing love the low chug, blame Black Sabbath. It's a sound I've loved for years and it still makes my balls jangle. That's what really drew me to a 7 after years of downtuning but after I got a 7 I discovered you can do a whole lot more than just low chug (not that you'd ever want to ). Basically you have a greater amount of options as to what you can play, not just heavy stuff. You can voice chords differently, you can play more without changing position and so much more. What I love about 7's is that I've got the low chug on tap without compromising standard tuning. If you want to play regular guitar stuff, just ignore the B (if that's how you want to tune it). It's just a regular guitar with a few more options, without compromising the playability of the instrument, like a 5 string bass. I use it primarily for heavy stuff but someone more creative than me could do fantastic things with it.

They're not everyone's cup of tea but try one out and see what you think. I really like 7s. I'd never not play a 6 too but the 7's are what I'm playing most of the time at the moment.

feylya

7's are nice. That is all.

Johnny Storm

FWIW Carvin's are supposed to be very good value second-hand in the US.
PS I cant get your link to work:v:

Maccattack

6 it baby!

Karl Hungus

Maccattack wrote:

6 it baby!

Shut up. 7 is one better.

magpie

7 is one better.

Discussion over - that's the best answer you're going to get on this issue. Nice work Hungus.

johnwoods

Well man I think if ya have a six and are comfy with it/wanna progress yourself... Go for it!

Doctor J

Well said johnwoods. If you have the urge, at least try it out

Ravelleman

Thanks for the replies. I think it could be an little interesting project and even if I don't like it I'm sure I could recover costs.

Check out the new link.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Carvin-DC727C-7-String-Electric-Guitar-Walnut-LIKE-NEW_W0QQitemZ7368410084QQcategoryZ2384QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Doctor J

Nice. Very nice

LundiMardi

it is nice, but if you don't play music that warrants a 7 string then i don't know what you'd get out of a 7 string?

but it's a nice guitar, and as you said, you'll probably recover your costs... So **** it!! won't know unless you try

Karl Hungus

LundiMardi wrote:

it is nice, but if you don't play music that warrants a 7 string then i don't know what you'd get out of a 7 string?

But how can he play music that warrants a 7 string if he doesn't have a 7 string in the first place?

LundiMardi

Karl Hungus wrote:

But how can he play music that warrants a 7 string if he doesn't have a 7 string in the first place?

shurrup!!:D

You know what i mean.... if i bought a 7 string i wouldn't automatically start playing Korn or something... however i'd give ''the audience is listening'' by Vai a shot:)

He plays the same stuff as me by the sounds of things, so a 7 string might not be much use to him in that regard, but may prove fruitfull with his own music, experiment and ****.

Karl Hungus

LundiMardi wrote:

if i bought a 7 string i wouldn't automatically start playing Korn or something...

I'd damn well hope not! An utter disgrace to the world of 7 String players. :v:

Ravelleman

I placed my bid of $740 last night. When I went to bed I was still the highest bidder. Unofrtunately, when I woke up, it had ended at $990, which more than I can afford anyway. I had a feeling that would happen. :mad: :v:

Karl Hungus

I recommend this. I payed a meager €730, including shipping, from gutiarbargains.com and it really is an excellent guitar altogether.

Doctor J

And I can recommend Schecter 7s as being spot on too.

Ravelleman

Hmm. The Ibanez and the Schecter seem nice and all but to me they really pale in comparison to that Carvin. I think I'm going into a Carvin induced depression .

I'll hold out and see what ebay brings up for the next few weeks and hopefully get something I really want. I sould be able to raise a bit more cash in a few weeks time anyway so I should be able to get something a little more... quilty.

Johnny Storm

Here's another one
EvilBAY
Edit: OOps just noticed he wont ship out of US

Doctor J

I do not sell outside of the lower 48 so don’t ask.

I wonder why he thought it was a good idea to install locking tuners on a guitar with a locking nut?

Johnny Storm

Doctor J wrote:

I wonder why he thought it was a good idea to install locking tuners on a guitar with a locking nut?

It's a problem, similar to GAS, called "options list mania".

Doctor J

LOL! I suppose :v:

Johnny Storm

Alrighty then! HERE IS another one that they actually are willing to ship into the unknown wilderness that exists beyond the borders of the fatherland, oops I mean of course "the homeland".

Ravelleman

That Carvin is probably great but it just doesn't call out to me, if you know what I mean. It's a little... boring looks wise.

Now that I think about it, I know I want a Floyd Rose equipped guitar and I know I want a 7 string but I also think that I want to keep them separate, since I not used to either. I probably wouldn't have gotten the best use out of the Carvin I bid on, since it has both an extra string and a Floyd Rose. Ultimately, I'd say it would have led to a lot of needless frustration.

So, my plan for the future is to buy a hardtail 7 stringer and a floyd rose-ed 6 stringer. For some reason I still want to give Carvin a goo so a hardtail DC727 is at the top of my GAS list at the moment.

I guess I'll have to wait and see what happens, and for the moment at least I can fiddle around on their website considering the options.

Doctor J

Schecter C7 Blackjack is you friend. Mahogany body, set maple neck, Grover tuners, TonePros tuneomatic hardtail bridge and a pair of real Duncans (JB and 59) and you should get on for about $450 or less second hand.

Karl Hungus

I'd say you should go for a 7 with a floyd, as it'll take some getting used to either way.

Johnny Storm

I've never actually seen much less played a Carvin, but there is something about them that makes me want one. I think it's mainly the thru-necks.