SE 7 String...tell me about it

[IRG]

I think I want one. Never owned a 7 string guitar before. As I understand it, the additional string on the SE is a low B. Everything else is standard tuning. How hard is to adapt compared to the extra string? I find myself enjoying Drop C tuning a lot, and I like the SE HFS humbucker a lot. Only comes in 2 colors though, and Sweetwater doesn't list the Saphire blue color, but maybe it could be ordered. Looks pretty hot:

 

[alantig]

It wasn't as difficult as I expected. I played around with one at Experience one year and really couldn't wrap my head around it. Couple months later, for some reason, I was thinking about it while I was getting showered, and it was like a light bulb went off (and this time, it wasn't my wife sticking a lamp in - I've started locking the door so she can't pull that again). Really, the most trouble I had adjusting was right-hand stuff - I kept hitting the fifth string when I wanted the fourth, that kind of thing.

Emil Werstler recommends treating it like you've described - standard tuning with a low B. But it's a quick adjustment to a B tuning with a high E, so that's something that can be played with as well.

 

[Dusty Chalk]

I have two, am in the Axe Palace run for a third. They're great for an SE. The pickups are great pickups for a bog standard, <US$1K guitar even new, but they're no 85/15s. I just bought the second one the other day, so I suppose that's really the third. Experimenting with different pickups (because that's how I role). (Thinking about SD JBs, because that's the closest I've heard to 85/15s.)

They're not that hard to learn. You can just play the top 6 strings like a normal guitar. I actually find sevens the perfect midpoint before having to play two-handed. Eights are too hard a reach.

They're constantly changing colours -- you can't get the amethyst any more (which is what I have), though I have seen the black and the maple in a local store (that is not shy about sevens).

 

[Djames]

My biggest issue was also hitting the wrong strings with my right hand but you adapt. After a while you get use to it and it becomes as is with a 6. I have short fingers so it took some adjustments and a bit of a different approach but for some I know, they had no issues at all.

For the money, this is where it's at and I'm not just saying that. Right out of the box it's ready to play. No fret dressing just tune and go. A friend of mine picked up a brand new ltd and it had to have a fret dress and he had to replace the nut right away due to action issues. It's still not as nice to play as my Prs even after he spent $200 on top of its original price. The only complaint I have was the pickups. I found the muddy and dull. I replaced mine with a JB in the bridge and it sounds huge.

 

[IRG]

I think I might have to make this my next challenge. I actually like the SE HFS in my Clint Lowery a lot, although I wouldn't mind trying something else. Maybe a set of SD Nazgul/Sentient could be cool.

The Sapphire Blue color I've seen online has some very green looking versions, as well as blue. Not sure why this color would look so different from one pic to another. Case in point:

 

[Dusty Chalk]

Yeah, there are some pictures of certain other companies' blue guitars that look purple to me -- I blame a non-color-calibrated camera or cameraphone. There might be some variance in dyes (as well as some variance due to underlying wood) but it shouldn't be that much. That's pretty green.

Thanks for the feedback on the JB, Djames, definitely going to try those next, now that you've posted. I was thinking of putting it in the neck, though. The Benedettos aren't as acoustic-ish as I would have hoped, so going to move them to the bridge. (I want two completely different sounds -- "electro-acoustic" in one position, and "dynamic/electric"/85/15-ish in the other.)

 

[shinksma]

That cyan-greenish SE-7 could be a re-finish or special run, but more than likely is indeed just a camera color balance thing. I pulled the image into GIMP (Photoshop-like, but free) and got it back to the typical stock color easily.

The SE-7 is awesome. It does take a bit of active-thinking at first to adapt to the regular-tuning with extra low B (or as alantig said, tune it as a standard B with extra high e a.k.a. Baritone tuning - all you do is retune the G string to F#).

If you don't like the current-model year color selection, look around for a used one, they can be found fairly easily. e.g. there is a New one in Amethyst on Reverb right now.

Every time I pick mine up I wonder why I don't play it more - then I remember all the other stuff I do (e.g. celebrated fiancee's birthday on the weekend by going out all day Friday, headed to the beach Sat/Sun, family birthday dinner Sun night, and Whitesnake concert on Monday), and remember that most of my actual guitar playing is either gigging, band practice, or writing new material. Or checking out the latest modification to one of my pedal boards.

Maybe I'll play my SE-7 tonight, after I apply some lemon oil to the fretboard (I'm doing each of my Rosewood-fretboard PRSi gradually - looks nice, and makes the rosewood a little slicker to play, which I like).

 

[Ovibos]

I'm intrigued that the tuning of a standard 7 is throwing people off. As someone who's been primarily a bassist most of my life, I just think of it as equivalent to going from a 4 to a 5 - and being all in my own head, I just assumed everyone'd see it that way. It might sound trite, but this thread is a nice breath of perspective.

 

[Dusty Chalk]

...there is a New one in Amethyst on Reverb right now...

Not any more.

 

[IRG]

Not any more.

DId you buy it?

 

[Dusty Chalk]

Aye.

 

[shinksma]

Not any more.

DId you buy it?

Aye.

heh heh. Awesome!

EDIT: Oh, btw, I did indeed apply some lemon oil and polish to my SE-7 fretboard last night and had a good time playing. I even figured out the structure of a guitar solo that had stymied me for years and years. [The key of the solo swaps back and forth every 8 bars between B (Major) and D (Major)]

 

[alantig]

Not any more.

DId you buy it?

Aye.

Attaboy!

 

[solacematt]

I have to admit I've been messing around with my 7-string explorer a lot because I've been figuring out the new Saint Asonia album which is about 70% all 7-string. I tuned down the whole thing like Mike Mushok does one and a half steps down and tuning the low string to an F#. The neck feels ridiculously uncomfortable to be honest and I thought maybe it's because I just can't get used to the 7-string, but I think the neck in general just kind of sucks, haha. I would be lying if I said I wasn't kicking myself right now for picking one of them up from Sam Ash when they were blowing them out back in December for 400.00

 

[IRG]

I have to admit I've been messing around with my 7-string explorer a lot because I've been figuring out the new Saint Asonia album which is about 70% all 7-string. I tuned down the whole thing like Mike Mushok does one and a half steps down and tuning the low string to an F#. The neck feels ridiculously uncomfortable to be honest and I thought maybe it's because I just can't get used to the 7-string, but I think the neck in general just kind of sucks, haha. I would be lying if I said I wasn't kicking myself right now for picking one of them up from Sam Ash when they were blowing them out back in December for 400.00

Interesting. Maybe that's not what I want then, lol. I might actually get the Digitech Drop pedal to simplify some of my lower tunings. Easier, and cheaper to boot!

 

[shinksma]

Interesting. Maybe that's not what I want then, lol. I might actually get the Digitech Drop pedal to simplify some of my lower tunings. Easier, and cheaper to boot!

Well, it really depends on your intentions - do you think you want a 7-string for lower tunings down to B or A standard? If so, maybe a Baritone guitar is better. if you want to go even lower, you'll need a Baritone with thicker strings, or perhaps even a 6-string bass is better.

But if you want to maintain access to the high notes found on a normal 6-string guitar at the 22nd/24th fret, then you need a 7-string guitar (or an 8-string if you want even lower bottom end).

A 7-string is also a good idea if you don't like the extended-length neck of a typical baritone guitar.

OTOH, the wider neck of a 7-string can throw you off (worse on a 8-string).

And yes, a Digitech Drop or similar is a relatively cheap way to explore drop tunings, although, like any device that pitch-shifts, there is going to be tracking miscues, latency, and issues with chords. The Drop is pretty good, from what I understand, though.

There, does that help? :flute:

 

[IRG]

Well, it really depends on your intentions - do you think you want a 7-string for lower tunings down to B or A standard? If so, maybe a Baritone guitar is better. if you want to go even lower, you'll need a Baritone with thicker strings, or perhaps even a 6-string bass is better.

But if you want to maintain access to the high notes found on a normal 6-string guitar at the 22nd/24th fret, then you need a 7-string guitar (or an 8-string if you want even lower bottom end).

A 7-string is also a good idea if you don't like the extended-length neck of a typical baritone guitar.

OTOH, the wider neck of a 7-string can throw you off (worse on a 8-string).

And yes, a Digitech Drop or similar is a relatively cheap way to explore drop tunings, although, like any device that pitch-shifts, there is going to be tracking miscues, latency, and issues with chords. The Drop is pretty good, from what I understand, though.

There, does that help? :flute:

Sure! I don't think I want a baritone, as I need the higher notes of a regular 6 string. My SE Clint Lowery comes in drop B, although I tuned it up to drop C, which I like a lot. Might switch another guitar to this lowered tuning, with 11 gauge strings. The 7 string could be neat, but likely I would find the transition a bit bothersome, as I would only play it once in a while. Neat idea, but I think I can live without. I have one friend who has the Drop, and he's quite fussy about his tone, and has enjoyed the pedal a lot.

 

[solacematt]

Sure! I don't think I want a baritone, as I need the higher notes of a regular 6 string. My SE Clint Lowery comes in drop B, although I tuned it up to drop C, which I like a lot. Might switch another guitar to this lowered tuning, with 11 gauge strings. The 7 string could be neat, but likely I would find the transition a bit bothersome, as I would only play it once in a while. Neat idea, but I think I can live without. I have one friend who has the Drop, and he's quite fussy about his tone, and has enjoyed the pedal a lot.

Did you have the Lowery re-setup for the tuning? You might screw the neck up tuning it up. The transition is a bit awkward though, you may want to to visit a local guitar store that has 7-strings and try them out and see how you feel about the neck shape. I really wouldn't suggest a 7 though if you don't intend to downtune the guitar more. It is interesting to tune the normal 6 strings down a whole step to standard D drop the low B to an A though. Tuning it lower kind of sounds like a garbage truck though, haha. If I have time tomorrow I'll make a quick video and send to you so you can get an idea of how weird it is tonally.

 

[IRG]

Did you have the Lowery re-setup for the tuning? You might screw the neck up tuning it up. The transition is a bit awkward though, you may want to to visit a local guitar store that has 7-strings and try them out and see how you feel about the neck shape. I really wouldn't suggest a 7 though if you don't intend to downtune the guitar more. It is interesting to tune the normal 6 strings down a whole step to standard D drop the low B to an A though. Tuning it lower kind of sounds like a garbage truck though, haha. If I have time tomorrow I'll make a quick video and send to you so you can get an idea of how weird it is tonally.

Nope, I haven't done anything to my SE Lowery since I tuned it to Dop C. In fact, I've played it a ton lately, and I just love this guitar. Oddly enough, it might be my favorite guitar, and it's my second cheapest of the 8 I own. It stays in tune better than my artist grade Core, and a lot better than than my S2 as well. The neck seems fine as is, but I will keep an eye on it for neck tension and the like.

I have 3 very cool guitar stores near me, none carry a 7 string guitar. Mostly because "metal" as a 7 string is mostly associated with, is not popular in this area. I think for the most part I'm pretty happy with what I have right now. I might hot rod the pickups on my S2 Standard Custom 22 though. They sound good, but for heavier stuff they don't quite work.

 

[0defects13]

I did not read through the whole post to see if you bought one or not but if you're looking to take the plunge into the 7 string realm, here's my suggestions.

Do not hesitate to buy a PRS SE 7 string.
I have owned Jackson, Ibanez, Epiphone, Gibson, and PRS SE 7 string guitars. I currently own the PRE SE 7 and a Matt Heafy LPC 7. I owned the standard LP that was awful. Returned it. The Ibanez guitars that I've owned have been K7 (MIJ ones) as well as a few RG 7 string models (MIJ as well, the Indos...suck) as well as a Universe (Indo). The universe was no fun. I needed to do fret work to it right after purchasing and it never got a "great" set up, just didn't ever appeal to me. The Jackson 7s I could take or leave. They weren't like my soloists where I won't part with them, but rather- they were good but never "screamed" to me.

The PRS SE has a lot going for it. It has a great price point for a platform that you can modify easily. I picked up some Phase II tuners for the piece and changed them out. I shaved some of the nut as well, as the angle wasn't ideal. Even still it doesn't seem as nice as the angle on my S2 or core/artist guitars. It's functional and doesn't go out of tune. The pickups are bright in this guitar. A little brighter than I like. I normally enjoy the HFS and VB combo, but in the 7, I'm not sure if I like it...and FWIW I had them in other maple neck PRS before (CE line) and liked them then. I'm just not convinced that they are the same "spec."

I'll probably buy another one- because I like things in 2s.