More players are exploring below the 6th string than ever before. Here’s a raft of options from across the tonal and aesthetic spectrums to help you develop your low-end theories.
Schecter Hellraiser C7
Here’s a sleek rock machine with an arched mahogany body, 24 jumbo frets, a Graph Tech XL Tusq nut, and a pair of EMG 707TW humbuckers.
$1,049 street
ESP LTD Eclipse EC-1007
Loaded with an EverTune bridge, this single-cut shred monster is bound to keep your djenty riffs in check. It features set-thru construction, a Macassar ebony fretboard, EMG active humbuckers, and thin neck profile.
$1,399 street
Ibanez Axion Label RGD71ALMS
Powered by a set of Fishman Fluence Modern humbuckers, this multi-scale 7-string keeps things dead simple with only a master volume and pickup toggle plus two different voices via a push-pull knob. Its Wizard-7 neck shape is ready for speed.
$1,199 street
Jackson Pro Series Soloist SL7A MAH HT
This modern take on a 7-string houses a pair of Seymour Duncan Distortion 7 pickups along with 24 jumbo frets, a compound radius fretboard, and a mahogany body with an ash top. And dig the new take on the pearloid piranha-tooth inlays.
$1,299 street
Ernie Ball Music Man JP15 7
Legendary prog-metal shredder John Petrucci’s latest signature model 7-sstring is built for speed and chugs. It’s loaded with custom DiMarzio Illuminator pickups, a piezo bridge pickup, and an onboard gain boost.
$3,999 street
Strandberg Boden Prog NX7
Looking for a guitar with untraditional style? This headless 7-string is an ergonomic wonder. It comes with Fishman Fluence Modern humbuckers, a sassafras body, a multi-scale Richlite fretboard, and the company’s EndurNeck profile.
$2,495 street
Epiphone Matt Heafy Les Paul Custom Origins
The third collaboration between Epiphone and the Trivium frontman is undoubtedly metal. Each guitar sports a pair of Heafy’s signature Fishman Fluence humbuckers (with three voices), a SpeedTaper D neck profile, gold hardware, and Les Paul Custom cosmetics.
$1,099 street
Caparison Guitars Dellinger 7 Prominence
Built with a carved mahoghany-maple-mahoghany body, this 7-string can be customized with either a Schaller or Floyd Rose bridge and is available in three different colors. It also has a 5-piece maple and walnut neck, 25.5" scale length, and custom Caparison pickups.
$3,699 street
Charvel DK24-7 NOVA Angel Vivaldi
Building upon a modified Dinky body, this signature model comes in satin sage green or black with gold hardware. Dig the reversed Fender headstock and the pair of DiMarzio pickups (Air Norton in the neck and Tone Zone in the bridge). The five-way switch also offers standard and parallel pickup options.
$1,749 street
PRS SE Mark Holcomb SVN
As 33.3 percent of Periphery’s guitar army, Mark’s latest signature model is an affordable update that comes loaded with his signature Seymour Duncan passive humbuckers, a push/pull knob for single-coil tones, and a newly designed violin-top carve.
$1,099 street
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Celebrating 10 years of Revv & 5 years since the release of the G2, Revv is debuting V2 circuit revisions of the G2, G3, & G4, implementing new designs for more tone in 3 little pedals, in a limited edition colorway.
The Revv Amplification 5th Anniversary G-Series V2 Lineup features:
- 3 Fresh Flavors of Boutique Canadian Tone - G-Series pedals are sonic recreations of 3 of Revv’s boutique amp channels used by Nashville session stars & metal touring artists alike.
- The Standard, Redefined - V2 circuit revisions are based on the Generator 120 MK3 Rev. B & incorporate new design elements for the most tube-like response & tone ever.
- Limited Edition - Exclusive new colorway featuring a black enclosure w/ custom graphics, embossed Revv badge, & color-coded knobs.
- Find Your Sound - The G2 is a powerful & versatile overdrive capable of everything from touch-sensitive boost to organic vintage stack tones, taken from Revv’s Green Channel.
- High Gain Clarity - The G3 utilizes Revv’s legendary Purple Channel, a tight & responsive high gain tone perfect for drop tuning & cutting through any mix.
- Fat Solo Tones - The G4 is based on Revv’s thick & saturated Red Channel, the ideal sound for chewy crunch, modern rock wall of sound, & liquid sustaining solos.
- Made in Canada - 100% analog circuit w/ top jacks, true bypass, & 2 year warranty.
Revv’s G-Series pedals have a street price of $229 & can be ordered immediately through many fine dealers worldwide.
For more information, please visit revvamplification.com.
Revv G3 Purple Channel Preamp/Overdrive/Distortion Pedal - Anniversary Edition
Hats off to Carmen Vandenberg of Bones UK, our celebrity Question of the Month respondent.
Guest Picker - Carmen Vandenberg, Bones UK
The cover of Soft, Bones UK’s new album, due in mid-September.
A: My favorite method these days (and to be honest, from when I started playing) is to put on my favorite blues records, listen with my eyes closed, and, at the end, see what my brain compartmentalizes and keeps stored away. Then, I try and play back what I heard and what my fingers or brain decided they liked!
Bone UK’s labelmade, Des Rocks.
Obsession: Right now, I am into anyone trying to create sounds that haven’t been made before—bands like Queens of the Stone Age, Jack White, and our labelmate, Des Rocs! There’s a Colombian band called Diamanté Electrico who I’ve been really into recently. Really anyone who’s trying to create innovative and inspiring sounds.
Reader of the Month - Sam C. Schiff.
Sam spent endless hours trying to learn the solo Leslie West played on “Long Red,” off of The Road Goes Ever On.
A: The best way to learn guitar is to listen to some good guitar playing! Put on a record, hear something tasty, and play on repeat until it comes out of your fingers. For me, it was Leslie West playing “Long Red” on the Mountain album, The Road Goes Ever On. I stayed up all night listening to that track until I could match Leslie’s phrasing. I still can’t, no one can, but I learned a lot!
Smith’s own low-wattage amp build.
Obsession: My latest musical obsession is low-wattage tube amps like the 5-watt Fender Champ heard on the Laylaalbum. Crank it up all the way for great tube distortion and sustain, and it’s still not loud enough to wake up the neighbors!
Gear Editor - Charles Saufley
Charles Saufley takes to gear like a duck to water!
A: Learning by ear and feel is most fun for me. I write and free-form jam more than I learn other people’s licks. When I do want to learn something specific, I’ll poke around on YouTube for a demo or a lesson or watch films of a player I like, and then typically mangle that in my own “special” way that yields something else. But I rarely have patience for tabs or notation.
The Grateful Dead’s 1967 debut album.
Obsession: Distorted and overdriven sounds with very little sustain—Keith Richards’ Between the Buttons tones, for example. Jerry Garcia’s plonky tones on the first Grateful Dead LP are another cool, less-fuzzy version of that texture.
Publisher - Jon Levy
A: I’m a primitive beast: The only way I can learn new music is by ear, so it’s a good thing I find that method enjoyable. I’m entirely illiterate with staff notation. Put sheet music in front of me and I’ll stare at it with twitchy, fearful incomprehension like an ape gaping at the monolith in 2001: A Space Odyssey. I’m almost as clueless with tab, but I can follow along with chord charts if I’m under duress.
The two-hit wonders behind the early ’70s soft-rock hits, “Fallin’ in Love” and “Don't Pull Your Love.”
Obsession: Revisiting and learning AM-radio pop hits circa 1966–1972. The Grass Roots, Edison Lighthouse, the Association, the Archies, and Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds—nothing is too cheesy for me to dissect and savor. Yes, I admit I have a serious problem.
