 Negoba wrote:
Cheers dude.
Back in 1990 when the Universe (Steve Vai 7 string signature) model was first released, they weren't making high A strings that had enough tensile strength to last long enough without snapping very quickly, which is the reason why Ibanez and Steve Vai dropped the idea.
It wasn't until the last few years, that the high A string started to really work.
There is some guy, I don't remember his name right in this moment, but he's fairly well as a string maker now, that is making 0.05 gauge high A strings that last long enough to make the high A usable without the frustration of constant snapping and breaking, so if you or anyone else does happen to be interested in a guitar with the high A string, I can find out the name of the guy for ya and he'll make you some strings.
There's no doubt the 430mm radius, low action and big frets help my playing.
I mean, I can shred on any guitar you give me, be it a vintage Les Paul or Fender with vintage spec neck, granted, but the right neck helps you get a little bit faster than what it possible on a vintage neck (I find I can alternate pick about 20bpm in 16th notes or so on a speed neck compared to a vintage, which is not a huge difference, but enough to want to own a fast neck) and compared to a Les Paul neck, it's done in greater comfort.
It takes me about 20 minutes for my hand to start feeling pretty fatigued on a thick classic style Les Paul/SG neck, whereas the Ibanez neck lets me do it with less stress on my hand and it takes far longer before fatigue kicks into my hands.
You possibly have bigger hands than me perhaps, which might explain why the thin neck doesn't agree with you. I know lots of guys that can't get into the super strat Ibanez guitars because the neck is just too thin for them and causes their hands to cramp, whereas I'm the opposite, thicker necks cause my hands to cramp and fatigue.
The guys that like thicker necks tend to go for the Schecter 7 strings instead, which are too thick for my tastes, but have a really easy to play fretboard though.
I have medium-ish size hands and the Ibanez Wizard 7 string neck fits extremely well. To date, I've actually yet to play a guitar with a neck that fits my hands this well, so I know I'm onto a good thing with this guitar here.
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I'm old enough to have been in my guitar obsession mode when the Universe came out. Vai premiered it live on the Whitesnake tour I saw. They were advertising it for a high A string at that time. I thought 7 strings really came in when ESP started making them in the mid 90's. But I wasn't in a guitar shop every week at that point anymore.
I actually like thin necks too, so I have no idea why the Ibanez didn't feel right. It may just have been the ones in my price range at the time. They were really overpriced then (I bought my main metal guitar in 1990) because of Vai, Satriani, along with several other big names at the time like Alex Skolnik (sp?) were using them. I cannot play a Gibson at all, it just feels like swinging a baseball bat. (I always thought SGs looked awesome but they felt terrible in my hands...oh well)
Have fun with that instrument. It looks like a beauty. |
Ah nice you got to see him play the guitar live
I never really knew the ESP 7 strings were taking off that much. I always see pics on the internet of bands going for Ibanez 7 strings in the 90s, while no one seemed to really be using the ESP 7 strings until the early 00s, but then again, that's just second hand account of what happened, you got to see it first hand anyway.
Sure enough, Vai has used the 7 for a few songs off Passion and Warfare and even had the Universe model on the album cover, and by 1994 there was Korn's debut album, and also John Petrucci first using 7 strings on a Dream Theater album (Awake) showing the full range of a 7 being used, but at the time the only model available was the Universe, which is what Korn and Petrucci used.
The Universe has always been an over priced guitar though. In Australia, I can expect to pay 4899 bucks for one.
For half the price, I can get a custom made guitar to my exact specifications at a small custom shop maker.
Sure, it isn't Vai's signature guitar, but I'd rather pay 2500 for a guitar that is exactly what I want, rather than spend 4899 dollars on a guitar which doesn't have the pickups I want, nor the fret wire I'd want, I'd have to spend 6000 dollars all up to make the UV model to my liking which just isn't worth it.
I'd rather spend 2.5 grand getting a Universe replica that a custom shop in Australia can make me with my exact specs.
So of course, the price of the UV was a big stumbling block for the 7 string really taking off.
You either had the money for a top shelf guitar, or you didn't get a 7 string from Ibanez, quite simply.
They didn't offer any 'lower end' models until much later on, in fact not until 1998.
In 1998, came the RG 7620 and RG 7621.
Now, the RG 7620 and 7621 were far from cheap guitars at the time, but at least Ibanez now had guitars aimed at the (slightly higher than) mid range of the market.
The RG 7620/7621s were no less playable than the UV, and arguably played even better because of the taller frets. Korn in fact, started endorsing the RG 7620 after (the guitar) they came out
The RG 7620 had the same tremolo as the UV, but didn't have a middle pickup, came only in very standard finishes for the most part and of course weren't a Vai signature, but despite that to this day they are actually one of the most in demand 7 strings Ibanez ever made and lately have been increasing in value on the used market due to the high demand, but lack of supply to meet.
The RG 7620 was available until 2003, when it was replaced by the still available 1527 model.
The RG 7621 was gone by 2001.
Both were made in Japan and are great guitars, for anyone possibly looking for an Ibanez 7 string, those are 2 models to look out for.
Then you had the RG 7421 model (which I own as you can see), which came in mid 1999 (which is why it wasn't listed in the 1999 Ibanez catalogue....the guitar was too late for production to have gotten in there) and lasted until the end of 2000 and was made in Japan.
Basically, it was an RG 7621 with cheaper pickups to cut costs and a very marginally different neck profile (the necks of the RG 7421s and RG 7621 are the same size technically speaking, but the 'shape' is ever so slightly different).
Why this model didn't last long, I don't know, because everyone that owns one loves theirs and reckons it's a seriously good guitar.
In 2000, Ibanez also released the RG 7420, a cheaper version of the RG 7620, with lower quality tremolo, cheaper pickups (the same ones that are in the RG 7421) and again, made in Japan.
Other than the knife edges in the trem going bust too quickly, they've held up well over the years for owners.
Ibanez then offered the RG 7421 in an extended scale variant, the 27 inch scale RG 7421 XL, which other than the longer scale, is the same as the RG 7421 and again, Jap made and was made from 2001 to 2002.
In 2002 Ibanez released the RG 7321 model, which was an even cheaper variant of the 7421 (which was already a cheaper version of the RG 7621) but unlike the RG 7421 and RG 7421 which were made in the same place and offered the same level of playability, the 7321 had a smaller fretboard radius contributing to a higher action, less easy bends and the quality of the 7321 was sometimes inconsistent unlike their Japanese made brethen and also, it came with the cheapest 7 string pickups Ibanez makes, and let me tell ya, having played the RG 7321, the pickups are pretty shocking. Very muddy, not much detail and definition and just dull sounding, very dull.
The quality of the 7321 is embarrasingly inconsistent to say the least.
Some examples are excellent, others that I've played, have sharp fret ends, poor fretwork in general and just don't feel solid enough.
2003 then came and marked the end of all Japanese made fixed bridge Ibanez 7 string guitars, which many, including myself, feel is where the company started to go wrong in terms of 7 strings.
Sure enough, they make the RG 1527, which is excellent, but Ibanez unfortunately don't offer any 7 strings guitars that sit between the RG 7321 and 1527, which annoys me quite a lot.
Fortunately, I was lucky enough to snap up a 7 string from when Ibanez were in their golden years for 7 strings.
People have played and gigged the sh*t out of their RG 7620s, RG 7621/RG 7421s, and they just keep going and going without a hitch.
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My New Guitar!(Pics+Comprehensive review)
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