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tjon901 « Oldschool Ibanez 7 »
Published on 12/27/11 at 20:31This guitar reminds me of the good old days. It was one of the first 7 strings I ever saw then played. Back when Korn was relevant they were ruling the world. To most metal guys at the time Korn had seemingly invented downtuning. This was one of the first Ibanez signature 7 strings and they pretty much got it right the first time. The basic guitar itself was great although the factory setup based on Korns music style was no so great. This guitar is basically a 7 string RG. One main difference is that the body is made out of mahogany which is a much better tone wood for lower tones. The neck is nice and thin and based off the Universe neck. The neck is free from inlays except for a K7 at the 12th fret. Later models had some dot stuff goign on. It has a locking nut up top and a tremolo bridge. From the factory these guitars came weight a weird U shaped tremolo bar. The one I demoed has a normal bar fitted to it. This example also had EMG pickups fitted in it. You will find most older Ibanez guitars have had their stock pickups thrown out unless it came with Dimarzios. The controls are super simple with just a volume and a 3 way.
UTILIZATION
I heard that back in the day these came with some pretty weird setups from the factory. I know they came tuned to A so I guess the action was changed to suit that. Years later im sure it will be pretty difficult to find an example that still has the stock setup. This one certainly didnt and it played great like every old Ibanez RG. The neck is super thin and easy to play for a 7 string. Lots of people get Ibanez guitars for the first 7 strings because they are so easy to play and make the transition easy.
SOUNDS
I am not really sure what pickups this guitar came with stock. I hope they were Dimarzios because it would be pretty sad if this guitar costing all it did when it was new came with no name Ibanez pickups. The EMG's in it now were dual 707. This is my preferred 7 string pickup set unless you are playing super low. These EMG's are like 7 string EMG 85s. They have a really thick tone that compliments the nature of the 7 string. If you are tuning super low they can get muddy and if you are I recommend the 81-7s or whatever the EMG 81 based 7 string pickup is. That pickup has a more high end voicing that lets you retain clarity when you are tuning super super low. For regular tunings the 707s give you a really thick sound with enough clarity for most every situation and style of heavy 7 string riffage.
OVERALL OPINION
Nowadays these guitars might be a bit of a novelty. There are tons of 7 strings on the market now. Back when this was new this was a really exotic guitar. You can find these guitars all over the place now because they made them for a long time. The mahogany body makes them a bit better than the normal Ibanez 7 string models but if you do not limit yourself to K7 models you have tons of options when it comes to 7 strings. If you have a chance to pickup a K7 for a good price get it because it is a good solid 7 string with a mahogany body. I would not recommend anyone go out and look for one specifically if they want a 7 string, there are plenty of viable options nowadays in that market.
UTILIZATION
I heard that back in the day these came with some pretty weird setups from the factory. I know they came tuned to A so I guess the action was changed to suit that. Years later im sure it will be pretty difficult to find an example that still has the stock setup. This one certainly didnt and it played great like every old Ibanez RG. The neck is super thin and easy to play for a 7 string. Lots of people get Ibanez guitars for the first 7 strings because they are so easy to play and make the transition easy.
SOUNDS
I am not really sure what pickups this guitar came with stock. I hope they were Dimarzios because it would be pretty sad if this guitar costing all it did when it was new came with no name Ibanez pickups. The EMG's in it now were dual 707. This is my preferred 7 string pickup set unless you are playing super low. These EMG's are like 7 string EMG 85s. They have a really thick tone that compliments the nature of the 7 string. If you are tuning super low they can get muddy and if you are I recommend the 81-7s or whatever the EMG 81 based 7 string pickup is. That pickup has a more high end voicing that lets you retain clarity when you are tuning super super low. For regular tunings the 707s give you a really thick sound with enough clarity for most every situation and style of heavy 7 string riffage.
OVERALL OPINION
Nowadays these guitars might be a bit of a novelty. There are tons of 7 strings on the market now. Back when this was new this was a really exotic guitar. You can find these guitars all over the place now because they made them for a long time. The mahogany body makes them a bit better than the normal Ibanez 7 string models but if you do not limit yourself to K7 models you have tons of options when it comes to 7 strings. If you have a chance to pickup a K7 for a good price get it because it is a good solid 7 string with a mahogany body. I would not recommend anyone go out and look for one specifically if they want a 7 string, there are plenty of viable options nowadays in that market.