No wonder why the production 7 strings didnt go over well...

[RobRR]

A little history... Almost 3 years ago, I bought a NOS RR7. I had wanted one for a while, once I finally found it, I was so happy to have it. Unfortunatley, it never played good and I didnt play it much... back then, I didnt really know anything about guitars. Then about a year later, once I became more educated, I realized why it didnt play good... all the fret ends were lifting! So it sat and sat...

Fast forward to today... I just got my second Jackson 7 string, this one being a black DR7, again, in MINT, basically unplayed condition as well.

Once I got it out of the box, I went right for the frets, and wouldnt you know it, THE FRET ENDS ARE LIFTING ON THIS ONE TOO! WTF???? I also noticed that the high e string is stuck UNDER A FRET!

Now I realize why most of these 7 strings are all in great shape... the played like shit and noone ever bothered playing them! Im SO disgusted right now, you have no idea. Ive spent almost $700 total to two mint, but useless guitars. Ive got 27 other import JC's, some pushing 22 years old, and NONE of them have this problem.

Its apparent that the frets were not radiused correctly for the neck, but noone at the factory took notice.

Back when we had an Ask Jackson section, I asked John Walker about this, and said that he had never heard of the problem and that, obviously, it was out of warranty. I figured my RR7 was a freak thing and accepted it. Well I find it really odd to have the SAME problem on TWO MINT GUITARS. Even if they were beat to hell, I wouldnt expect this... as Ive bought some pretty beat JC's and never had this problem.

If anyone owns an import 7 string, do me a favor and take a close look at your fret ends. Tell me if theyre lifting up?

Im not too sure what to do now... to be honest, its really not the sellers fault and I dont think I should hold them liable for this.

[NextInLine]

I have had a dr-7 for a short term. it wasn't playing good, it wasn't sounding good either. But didn't have the mentioned problem as far as I remember, never caught my attention..

But just today I was talking with a friend about 7 string jacksons and how jackson needs a decent 7 string with the floyd rose option. I haven't played a COW 7 yet, but it's too simple for most of the 7 string players so that's not enough IMO..

I remember John Walker stating that there was no demand for 7 string jacksons but I'm sure as hell if you come up with a well designed 7 string there will be!

[Strat God]

I've had 4 Ibanez UV's.

Awesome - playable guitars.

[Robert Burns]

Thats what i was thinking too...and another word..> CARVIN!
Perfect necks... and cheaper and quicker to have made.
And since the Ibanez 7's dont sell well...they are discounted
heavily.

[RobRR]

Yeah I know there are many better 7 strings out there... but I wanted a Jackson damnit! Itd be nice if they owned up to the problem and offered a solution... but its not a "high end" guitar so I guess it really doesent matter.

[fett]

Yikes I have a DR7 sitting in my closet. It's been there awhile. I'll have to check it out.

[cdwillis]

Couldn't you take a rubber mallet and hammer the ends of the frets back into the slot? I know you shouldn't need to do this, QC should have noticed this kind of stuff.

[RobRR]

Fett, please do check it out. Put your glasses on, it can be hard to see and I know your not getting any younger.

The frets cant just be pressed or hammered in... they arent bent tight enough to fit the curve of the fingerboard, so theyll just pull right out again.

[fett]

Fett, please do check it out. Put your glasses on, it can be hard to see and I know your not getting any younger.

The frets cant just be pressed or hammered in... they arent bent tight enough to fit the curve of the fingerboard, so theyll just pull right out again.

I just about killed myself getting that bastard out and tested with an amp. Other than that, the board on mine needs to be oiled. The frets are fine. As in a finger slide all the way down with no buzz. Mine are not pulling up.

[RobRR]

Your sure none are pulling up even a little bit? It may not feel like it, but if you look closely you should be able to see a gap between the fret and the board. Im just trying to narrow this down here! Thanks for the help my Viking-god friend!

[fett]

The frets are sharp, as in the ends could be cleaner. But, I scoped them all ways and ran a finger nail on the ends. On mine they are well seated. I guess it's a QC issue and when they were made.

[Newc]

I had a DR7 last year or so (when I ordered my WR7). Don't recall the frets having any such issues.

Are the serials on yours in sight of each other?

[yard dawg]

My seven played well. It had EMG 707s in it. I miss that guitar. I shouldnt have traded it off.

[levantin]

As much as I think the shape of the RR7R is cool as hell, I find that the MIJ's from that era are lacking in quality, especially in the hardware department. If I ever feel the need to buy a 7 string I'm going for another Schecter. Nice features, good quality hardware and lower prices. Jackson doesn't make a decent and versatile production 7, and the ibanez's just sound and feel lifess to me. Listen up Jackson!

[Bengal65]

I'm in no way a fret press expert, but it would seem to me you could find (StewMac as an example) or get a luthier that has an arbor press and a caul(s) shaped for you radius board and press them in. The nickel alloy is maluable enough to be formed to the radius when using a caul (fret shoe) with the proper radius. Just my .02.

It'a shame not enough attention was put into these guitars. Have they been in and out of big temperature swings? Remember humidity and temperature have factors as well.