tjon901 « Budget 7 string V »
Published on 01/21/12 at 09:55There are not many 7 string V's on the market but this guitar really gets the job done. It reminds me of the Negral signature guitar but without all the signature stuff on it making it a bit cheaper. This is the ESP V307. The 7 standing for 7 string. This guitar comes with all you need to get a ripping 7 string tone. It is super stable and has great pickups. This guitar comes with a mahogany body all around. The maple neck is set into the body and has a rosewood fretboard with 24 jumbo frets. Up top you get a 4x3 headstock with Grover tuners. I prefer these types of headstocks to 6 or 7 inline headstocks because you not hit your fingers on tuners when you are tuning. The best feature about this guitar is the electronics. This guitar comes with 7 string EMG's from the factory. If you are playing with 7 or more strings you need active pickups. In the bridge you get an 81-7 and in the neck you get a 707. This is pretty much the 81/85 set but in 7 string form. The controls are simple with two volumes and a master tone with a 3 way toggle.
UTILIZATION
This is a big solid 7 string. The neck is wide but not too wide. It is nice and thin as well so it is easy to adjust to. The V shape body gives you good balance but some people may not like how you have to sit with it to play it. If you play it sitting down you might have to use the classical position which some people do not like. This is the same on most every V shaped guitar. ESP is nice and they throw in a battery compartment for the EMG's which you need because they are active and powered by batteries. With the tune-o-matic bridge you get rock solid stability and you can tune it to whatever you want whenever you want.
SOUNDS
The tones from this guitar are brutal. A 7 string with EMG's can make even the weakest player sound super heavy. The 81-7 in the bridge is just like an 81 but for 7 strings. On a 7 string the pickup is even better with its crunchy high end sound. This lets the pickup retain all its clarity even with the super low 7 string tunings. The sound is still super heavy but with great clarity because of the high end grind the 81-7 has. The 707 in the neck is just like an 85 in a 6 string so you get the classic combo. The 707 is a bit smoother than the 81-7. The 7 string version has a bit more high end to keep it clear since the 7 string is going to be handling lower frequencies.
OVERALL OPINION
This guitar is a good 7 string if you are looking for a 7 string V. Like I said there arent many 7 string V's on the market and this comes with the pickups you want. Getting a 7 string with active pickups like these stock is something to look for since they are not the same size as passive 7 string pickups. If you got a 7 string that came with passives originally fitting a set of these in it would require modification to the body. If you get one with active pickups from the factory you can swap in other active pickups easily without any body modification. This guitar is reasonably priced as well. Coming with 200 dollars worth of pickups stock this is a good value in the guitar world.
UTILIZATION
This is a big solid 7 string. The neck is wide but not too wide. It is nice and thin as well so it is easy to adjust to. The V shape body gives you good balance but some people may not like how you have to sit with it to play it. If you play it sitting down you might have to use the classical position which some people do not like. This is the same on most every V shaped guitar. ESP is nice and they throw in a battery compartment for the EMG's which you need because they are active and powered by batteries. With the tune-o-matic bridge you get rock solid stability and you can tune it to whatever you want whenever you want.
SOUNDS
The tones from this guitar are brutal. A 7 string with EMG's can make even the weakest player sound super heavy. The 81-7 in the bridge is just like an 81 but for 7 strings. On a 7 string the pickup is even better with its crunchy high end sound. This lets the pickup retain all its clarity even with the super low 7 string tunings. The sound is still super heavy but with great clarity because of the high end grind the 81-7 has. The 707 in the neck is just like an 85 in a 6 string so you get the classic combo. The 707 is a bit smoother than the 81-7. The 7 string version has a bit more high end to keep it clear since the 7 string is going to be handling lower frequencies.
OVERALL OPINION
This guitar is a good 7 string if you are looking for a 7 string V. Like I said there arent many 7 string V's on the market and this comes with the pickups you want. Getting a 7 string with active pickups like these stock is something to look for since they are not the same size as passive 7 string pickups. If you got a 7 string that came with passives originally fitting a set of these in it would require modification to the body. If you get one with active pickups from the factory you can swap in other active pickups easily without any body modification. This guitar is reasonably priced as well. Coming with 200 dollars worth of pickups stock this is a good value in the guitar world.