7 string guitar for Jazz (UK)

[olliekse]

Hi there, yes i am one of those extra-string freaks i am a newbie to the forum but have used the website quite a lot in helping me walk before i can run. I wish to purchase my first big-boy guitar (read non-solid body), but I'm having a bit of difficulty in sourcing one. This where i ask for your advice My budget is sub £1300/$1900. I have a few options so far but none that have made me commit yet. My options and difficulties are:

1. Eastman AR810CE - can't seem to find one in the UK, or one that won't cause the process of shipping one from USA to leave a large hole in my wallet. I like this guitar from what i have seen and heard, and i usually use a low B so scale length isn't an issue.
2. Ibanez AFJ957 - the cheaper and most available option, but i read that the pickups are not really up to scratch and various other annoyances. I have an Ibanez RG 7 though so am used to the necks.
3. Eastwood 7 string (Brian Eastwood Guitars - Eastwood 7-String) - I'm not so knowledgable on woods and the like, due to me living in an area where i can't really test guitars, so i can't judge on whether this guitar is worth the money from the description given, but it definitely is in my price range, however, it's a solid body. I don't know if that's a compromise worth taking.

If anyone who has had experience with the aforementioned guitars and may know of others that are available in the UK could add to the thread i would be very grateful as I'm only a whippersnapper compared to some of the big dogs on here. As i said, i can't really go to shops and test some out as they only sell rock/mainstream guitars, although i did test a PRS Custom 24 once in a different city and it was heavenly.

Merci

[JBPhilly]

You might want to take a look at the Yunzhi/Yolanda threads elsewhere on the forum. I bought a solid carved Yunzhi seven string two years ago for $1120 to my door in the US. It took about three months for the build and Lora Yu sent photos of the progress along the way. After some setup work it played great, and I recently swapped the electronics out for Schatten thumbwheels and a floating Kent Armstrong handmade single coil, which means it sounds just as great, acoustically and plugged in. I'm not sure how hard it would be to get one in the UK, and you are buying it completely sight unseen, but it really is an amazing instrument, especially for the price. Also, Lora was very easy to deal with, so I recommend buying from her if possible.

[olliekse]

what about this one?

7-string Archtop Jazz Guitar | eBay

[JBPhilly]

That's very similar to mine. Good wood, good woodworking, decent (not great) setup, electronics you want to replace. Kind of hard to beat. With a setup and new electronics, I'm still in under $1400. I hadn't really thought of getting one used, but that would be an even better deal. Good luck.

[destinytot]

Hi there, yes i am one of those extra-string freaks i am a newbie to the forum but have used the website quite a lot in helping me walk before i can run. I wish to purchase my first big-boy guitar (read non-solid body), but I'm having a bit of difficulty in sourcing one. This where i ask for your advice My budget is sub £1300/$1900. I have a few options so far but none that have made me commit yet. My options and difficulties are:

1. Eastman AR810CE - can't seem to find one in the UK, or one that won't cause the process of shipping one from USA to leave a large hole in my wallet. I like this guitar from what i have seen and heard, and i usually use a low B so scale length isn't an issue.
2. Ibanez AFJ957 - the cheaper and most available option, but i read that the pickups are not really up to scratch and various other annoyances. I have an Ibanez RG 7 though so am used to the necks.
3. Eastwood 7 string (Brian Eastwood Guitars - Eastwood 7-String) - I'm not so knowledgable on woods and the like, due to me living in an area where i can't really test guitars, so i can't judge on whether this guitar is worth the money from the description given, but it definitely is in my price range, however, it's a solid body. I don't know if that's a compromise worth taking.

If anyone who has had experience with the aforementioned guitars and may know of others that are available in the UK could add to the thread i would be very grateful as I'm only a whippersnapper compared to some of the big dogs on here. As i said, i can't really go to shops and test some out as they only sell rock/mainstream guitars, although i did test a PRS Custom 24 once in a different city and it was heavenly.

Merci

I have an Eastwood. It's an instrument I'd recommend without hesitation (the solid body is an advantage), producing tones - strummed or plucked - that I wouldn't believe possible if i hadn't heard, say, Ed Bickert on a Tele or Joe Pass on a Jaguar. I'm happy to make a quick video demo tomorrow if you like.

[olliekse]

I'm happy to make a quick video demo tomorrow if you like.

This would be wonderful

[JSanta]

I have been playing an Eastman 805CE-7 for nearly two years. I prefer the 16 inch body and the Gypsy guitar style cutaway. Fantastic guitar. It did need a bit of setting up from a pro to be perfect, but well worth the $30 I spent to have the frets filed.

For the money, it can't be beat. Really love the guitar.

[olliekse]

The Eastman's look fantastic but are rarer than rare in the UK sadly

[JSanta]

The Eastman's look fantastic but are rarer than rare in the UK sadly

I couldn't find one locally, so I ordered from a dealer a few states away. Very happy with my purchase!

[GuyBoden]

Hi there, yes i am one of those extra-string freaks i am a newbie to the forum but have used the website quite a lot in helping me walk before i can run. I wish to purchase my first big-boy guitar (read non-solid body), but I'm having a bit of difficulty in sourcing one. This where i ask for your advice My budget is sub £1300/$1900. I have a few options so far but none that have made me commit yet. My options and difficulties are:

1. Eastman AR810CE - can't seem to find one in the UK, or one that won't cause the process of shipping one from USA to leave a large hole in my wallet. I like this guitar from what i have seen and heard, and i usually use a low B so scale length isn't an issue.
2. Ibanez AFJ957 - the cheaper and most available option, but i read that the pickups are not really up to scratch and various other annoyances. I have an Ibanez RG 7 though so am used to the necks.
3. Eastwood 7 string (Brian Eastwood Guitars - Eastwood 7-String) - I'm not so knowledgable on woods and the like, due to me living in an area where i can't really test guitars, so i can't judge on whether this guitar is worth the money from the description given, but it definitely is in my price range, however, it's a solid body. I don't know if that's a compromise worth taking.

If anyone who has had experience with the aforementioned guitars and may know of others that are available in the UK could add to the thread i would be very grateful as I'm only a whippersnapper compared to some of the big dogs on here. As i said, i can't really go to shops and test some out as they only sell rock/mainstream guitars, although i did test a PRS Custom 24 once in a different city and it was heavenly.

Merci

Do you already play a 7 string?

[bananafist]

Check out Thomanns website. They may have 7 string instruments which might suit. Prices and service, in my experience, excellent.
There was an Eastwood on ebay a little while ago, looked very nice, and he seems to have a good rep.

[destinytot]

This would be wonderful

I've just come online and have to again, but I'll get onto it by noon tomorrow.

I've spent the afternoon trying out guitars, none of which come close to the Eastwood. The only thing I don't like about it is the colour of the back... when this is set up and played by someone who can do it justice, it's an excellent instrument.

[olliekse]

Do you already play a 7 string?

Yes, Im quite used to using a Low B now, 6 strings feel weird to me now.

[olliekse]

I can see myself either buying the Ibanez AFJ957 as its all there really is, or reverting back to 6 string - this one for example is a peach:

Eastman ER-2 El Rey Series Guitar Brand New Half Price | eBay

[destinytot]

Here you go - hope it's of some use:

[olliekse]

Here you go - hope it's of some use:

I want it! Thanks for doing that, you can tell its a great guitar.

[Guy]

I acquired an Ibanez AFJ957 a few weeks back so can give a little feedback if it helps.

I'm very fortunate to have a good friend who is a superb luthier albeit semi-retired. Whereas I understand a little bit of the theory but am not good with my hands. So any new guitar goes straight to him for a set-up.

He said he could not fault the construction and finish. The neck is excellent, frets fine, flawless binding and lacquer, tuners good, nothing to complain about at all.

The guitar played really quite well out of the box. Action was a little high for me. The truss rod was initially in a neutral position (ie neither compression nor tension) which was good.

If you intend to tune the bottom string to low B then you are fine with the installed D'Addario Chrome Flatwound CG065 (in the ECG24-7) set. The packet for these sets only lists the tension for the 065 tuned to low B so it would appear to not be intended for use at low A.

However, I wanted to tune to low A and the CG065 will not intonate at all well at that pitch on this scale length. The D'Addario Chrome CG075 is much much better and it has virtually the same tension at A as the CG065 at B. (The D'Addario figures are actually given for 25.5" scale so one needs to multiply by (24.7/25.5) squared to get the actual (lower) tensions. But at 25.5" scale, the CG065 tuned to B has a tension of 22.9 lbs and the CG075 tuned to A has a tension of 23.6 lbs). The nut notch needed widening to take the CG075 and the tuning post a very slight boring out. The nut is quite good quality and I can see no pressing need for a bone replacement. The string was a little tight in the tailpiece so that was adjusted too, my friend being something of a perfectionist.

The standard bridge is compensated but not enough to obtain optimum intonation with my low A. I managed to find a decent quality Korean made gold plated tune-o-matic with the correct 84mm post hole spacing for the princely sum of 10.50 UKP. The holes were of a bigger diameter than the existing bridge base posts so my friend made some collars out of hard nylon which are an interference push fit in the T-o-M and also fit nicely onto the base studs - so no danger of rattling.

With this it proved possible to get pretty good intonation on the low A - for example F15 (C) on the low A is in tune with F3 (C) on the 5th string A. You are always going to get a mixture of overtones with these heavy strings on a relatively short scale - some overtones will be sharp and some flat so you do have to compromise and I'm very happy with the result. I also have an Ibanez ARZ307 solid 7 string (Les Paul shape) which has a slightly longer scale - 25.25" vs 24.7" - however the AFJ957 seems to intonate just as well.

Interestingly, Ibanez have recently changed the pickups - or at least their name. AFJ957s (mine included) built from December 2014 onwards are designated AFJ957-VSB 12-02. Earlier examples have the suffix 12-01. The pickup name has changed in parallel from ACH-7 to Classic Elite 7. So I can't tell you what an ACH-7 sounds like but the Classic Elite 7 is not bad. I only normally use the neck pickup BTW. It's rather bright perhaps due to its Ceramic magnet but if you roll the treble off it can sound quite warm yet clear. On my ARZ307 I have an Armstrong Hand Wound pickup (the one with 14 adjusters) which uses an Alnico magnet and is in a different league. Still, the Classic Elite 7 is OK and I don't see an urgent need to upgrade it right now.

You may or may not like the look of the tailpiece - personally I don't. But leaving looks aside, one thing is that it is not easy to change strings. You have to insert the strings from underneath and as you can't see what you are doing it has to be done by feel - small fingers are an asset here. It's all too easy to think you have the string locked tightly in the metal groove when actually it is right on the edge or even in the wooden channel by mistake.

What Ibanez appear to have done is to take an existing tailpiece design and cut the top (the strings end) off. This is then screwed to the underside of that big chunk of wood. Also screwed to the underside of the wood is what looks like a pretty standard 7 string stop tailpiece of the sort one might use on a (reinforced) flat top guitar.

The tail end of the tailpiece looks very similar to the tailpiece used on the Ibanez AF-125 so may be from the same source. There have been a number of cases reported on the web of AF-125 and AFJ-957 tailpieces cracking when heavier strings have been installed. So it would seem wise to stick to the stock strings. As I mentioned the tension on a CG075 at low A is hardly any more than that of the CJ065 at low B so hopefully that shouldn't cause a problem. Although I'm happy with an ECG24 set for the wound strings, I would normally change the plain 11 and 15 to 13 and 17 respectively. I shan't do that with this guitar because I don't want to increase the tension at all.

Long term, my friend has said he will make me a completely new tailpiece out of brass - highly polished and lacquered so no need for gold plating - whose fixing holes will exactly match the stock tailpiece's holes. I think it should look much lighter and prettier than the wooden one. But I think I'll wait for the warranty to expire before fitting that.

I haven't played the instrument outside of my home yet. I have a feeling it is going to be quite sensitive to feedback so probably I'll be needing some rubber F-hole mutes if I need to crank the volume up.

All in all I'd say this guitar is really excellent value for money. You've probably got to pay three times as much to go a step up. My friend said if he were to make a similar 7 string archtop from scratch, he'd have to charge close on £3k - of course he'd use higher quality electronics and hardware.