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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Sterling Vermin RAT
The Sterling Vermin was born from a desire for something different — something refined, with the soul of a traditional RAT pedal, but with a voice all its own.
Built in small batches and hand-soldered in ACT’s Jackson, Missouri headquarters, the Sterling Vermin is a work of pure beauty that honors the brand legacy while taking a bold step forward for creativity.
The Sterling Vermin features the LM741 Op-Amp and a pair of selectable clipping diodes. Players can toggle between the traditional RAT silicon diode configuration for a punchy, mid-range bite, or the BAT41 option for a smoother, more balanced response. The result is a pedal that’s equally at home delivering snarling distortion or articulate, low-gain overdrive, with a wide, usable tonal range throughout the entire gain spectrum.
The pedal also features CTS pots and oversized knobs for even, responsive control that affords a satisfying smoothness to the rotation, with just the right amount of tension. Additionally, the polished stainless-steel enclosure with laser-annealed graphics showcases the merging of the pedal’s vintage flavor and striking design.
From low-gain tones reminiscent of a Klon or Bluesbreaker, to high-gain settings that flirt with Big Muff territory — yet stay tight and controlled — the Sterling Vermin is a masterclass in dynamic distortion. With premium components, deliberate design and a focus on feel, the Sterling Vermin is more than a pedal, it’s a new chapter for RAT.
Last August, metalcore giants Poison the Well gave the world a gift: They announced they were working on their first studio album in 15 years. They unleashed the first taste, single “Trembling Level,” back in January, and set off on a spring North American tour during which they played their debut record, The Opposite of December… A Season of Separation, in full every night.
PG’s Perry Bean caught up with guitarists Ryan Primack and Vadim Taver, and bassist Noah Harmon, ahead of the band’s show at Nashville’s Brooklyn Bowl for this new Rig Rundown.
Brought to you by D’Addario.Not-So-Quiet As a Mouse
Primack started his playing career on Telecasters, then switched to Les Pauls, but when his prized LPs were stolen, he jumped back to Teles, and now owns nine of them.
His No. 1 is this white one (left). Seymour Duncan made him a JB Model pickup in a single-coil size for the bridge position, while the neck is a Seymour Duncan Quarter Pound Staggered. He ripped out all the electronics, added a Gibson-style toggle switch, flipped the control plate orientation thanks to an obsession with Danny Gatton, and included just one steel knob to control tone. Primack also installed string trees with foam to control extra noise.
This one has Ernie Ball Papa Het’s Hardwired strings, .011–.050.
Here, Kitty, Kitty
Primack runs both a PRS Archon and a Bad Cat Lynx at the same time, covering both 6L6 and EL34 territories. The Lynx goes into a Friedman 4x12 cab that’s been rebadged in honor of its nickname, “Donkey,” while the Archon, which is like a “refined 5150,” runs through an Orange 4x12.
Ryan Primack’s Pedalboard
Primack’s board sports a Saturnworks True Bypass Multi Looper, plus two Saturnworks boost pedals. The rest includes a Boss TU-3w, DOD Bifet Boost 410, Caroline Electronics Hawaiian Pizza, Fortin ZUUL +, MXR Phase 100, JHS Series 3 Tremolo, Boss DM-2w, DOD Rubberneck, MXR Carbon Copy Deluxe, Walrus Slo, and SolidGoldFX Surf Rider III.
Taver’s Teles
Vadim Taver’s go-to is this cherryburst Fender Telecaster, which he scored in the early 2000s and has been upgraded to Seymour Duncan pickups on Primack’s recommendation. His white Balaguer T-style has been treated to the same upgrade. The Balaguer is tuned to drop C, and the Fender stays in D standard. Both have D’Addario strings, with a slightly heavier gauge on the Balaguer.
Dual-Channel Chugger
Taver loves his 2-channel Orange Rockerverb 100s, one of which lives in a case made right in Nashville.
Vadim Taver’s Pedalboard
Taver’s board includes an MXR Joshua, MXR Carbon Copy Deluxe, Empress Tremolo, Walrus ARP-87, Old Blood Noise Endeavors Reflector, MXR Phase 90, Boss CE-2w, and Sonic Research Turbo Tuner ST-200, all powered by a Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2 Plus.
Big Duff
Harmon’s favorite these days is this Fender Duff McKagan Deluxe Precision Bass, which he’s outfitted with a Leo Quan Badass bridge. His backup is a Mexico-made Fender Classic Series ’70s Jazz Bass. This one also sports Primack-picked pickups.
Rental Rockers
Harmon rented this Orange AD200B MK III head, which runs through a 1x15 cab on top and a 4x10 on the bottom.
Noah Harmon’s Pedalboard
Harmon’s board carries a Boss TU-2, Boss ODB-3, MXR Dyna Comp, Darkglass Electronics Vintage Ultra, and a Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2 Plus. His signal from the Vintage Ultra runs right to the front-of-house, and Harmon estimates that that signal accounts for about half of what people hear on any given night.
