Baritone, 7 string or 7 string baritone?

[metropolis_4]

ESP LTD MH-1000 Baritone, to be precise, @metropolis_4


Put it in the house over lunch after delivery because UPS and leaving it on the front sidewalk


Grumpy, 5 minute first impressions:

Positives---
1. Sleek AF
2. 27" scale is not an issue. Neck profile is great and super comfortable. It feels fairly chunky towards the neck joint area.
3. Plays very nice and not a big jump in neck perspective from 25.5 I am used to imo.

Initial negatives---
1. Reverse headstocks suck. They look cool but in actual usage for tuning; getting used to what seems like always grabbing the wrong tuning peg is going to take some work.
2. After playing with an actual guitar physically tuned to B; it isn't the Boss pitch shifting with that weird low end. It's the tuning. Too loosey goosey and sounding like a dubstep wobble for my tastes. That is the exact description for the low B, too; dub step wobble.
3. Active pickups suck. I thought it was the Fishmans but I don't like these EMGs either. Blech.

Ran it through the Boss XS-100 and tuned it up a step for LB riffs. Sounded fake but passable. Sort of a side quest to this overall discussion.

So the jury will decide over the weekend. Ideally; C# standard with a pickup swap to passives would be about perfection I'd say. Unironically I was kind of hoping for an out of the box slam dunk but it's me (ugh) and also the real gear world doesn't work that way either.

I had the regular 25.5” scale version and I liked the guitar itself. I thought the neck felt great.

I’m with you on reverse headstocks. They’re the worst. It’s one of the few non-starters for me with guitars.

If the pickups are the typical 81/85 it’s worth swapping them and putting the 85 in the bridge to see if you like it any better. I don’t think there’s a pickup in the world I hate more than the 81. I like the 85 better. It’s not the best EMG but it’s better.

 

[Mikael Dez]

My favorite pickups are SDs, all the way. I love the Pegasus, Custom 5, or JB in the bridge, and I don't have a preference between the Jazz or 59 in the neck, both are sweet.

 

[JiveTurkey]

I’m surprised even with the extra length that low string is wobbly. I wonder what they used for a gauge? I’ve been using 10-59’s on my 7, which has been in drop A for a little over a year now and while I do need to lighten up my picking hand a bit but not terribly so.

I actually have a pack of Trivium signature strings 7-string set (they were like $5 on Amazon a couple weeks ago) that’s 10-63 I plan on putting on this weekend, I’ll let ya know how it goes.

Some of that wobble probably works well for the first 2 albums, before they had other people ensuring their guitars were setup to handle A standard.

It doesn't FEEL wobbly (though there is some give to it) it SOUNDS like a dubsteb wobble. It's the tuning. My ears must be super sensitive to it for whatever reason?

Clearly there’s no bitchpicking on JT’s side of the fence!

My Dimarzio pickups are so damn low it's not even funny! Lotsa wrist

I had the regular 25.5” scale version and I liked the guitar itself. I thought the neck felt great.

I’m with you on reverse headstocks. They’re the worst. It’s one of the few non-starters for me with guitars.

If the pickups are the typical 81/85 it’s worth swapping them and putting the 85 in the bridge to see if you like it any better. I don’t think there’s a pickup in the world I hate more than the 81. I like the 85 better. It’s not the best EMG but it’s better.

It has 81 and a 60. Not swappable for a good upgrade. The neck is AWESOME but the headstock is real close to falling into that instant nope zone. I'm such a picky turd!

 

[gearJunkie]

I'm such a picky turd!

 

[DrewJD82]

Ibanez just put this up today, fitting for this thread-