Ibanez RG7321 or equivalent seven-strings

[Inazone]

Any RG7321 owners here, or someone with a similar, inexpensive seven-string? I bought one of the $99 Washburns from Music123 a year or two back to get a feel for sevens, and now I'd like to get something with a neck a little closer to what my Jacksons have. This would be for a potential side project, so I can't justify dropping much money on it and therefore am only considering guitars in the $200-400 range that I can "get by with" totally stock. I'll be experimenting a lot more with tones and effects, but playing more of a riff-oriented mid-paced style than my Under Eden death/thrash stuff.

The 7321 appears to routinely sell for under $400, and is of particular interest to me because of the following:

- 25.5" scale length
- Hardtail fixed bridge (not TOM)
- Presumably thin neck
- Bound fretboard
- Passive pickups

The reviews on Harmony Central are generally favorable, and it gets points for having good clean tone, which I would need. The only thing of particular concern to me is that it's made in Indonesia. I realize that this is the case for many cheaper Ibanez models, and is probably unavoidable, but I'm wary all the same. I hate TOM bridges, and wouldn't trust the trem on a cheap import, so the hardtail is a huge factor. Schecter, Agile and LTD offer TOM-equipped sevens for around $400, which means paying more for something I'd find less comfortable, and the COW7 would cost even more.

I don't expect the world for under $400, and would love to get the price down even further, but I also don't want a complete turd. Are there any other low-end (but better than a $99 Washburn) sevens that have fixed bridges and come in at below $400? For anyone who owns/owned an RG7321, are they good players?

[CharvelRocker]

I had an Indo Ibanez. The finish was some kind of glued on crap. It's hard to describe. My other issue was the wood was horrible and the trem post wasn't put in quite right, so the wood around the post cracked and caused the trem to shift. I wound up parting it for a heavy loss. Ibanez didn't seem to care either. While the second issue would likely not be a problem for you, I would not buy an Indonesian Ibanez, period.

[kmanick]

I would steer clear of those.
If you can go $400.00 you should ba able to find a 7420/7421 on Ebay that would be
much nicer than a 7321. if you can go $450.00 you could score a 7621 which would be a keeper (I love the 7620's, trem'd version)

[thetroy]

Get a 7421 or 7621. They both use the same neck which is way better than the 7321. Both also have way better stock pickups than the 7321.

[Inazone]

Unfortunately, I can't in any way justify spending over $400. I really would rather keep it under $300, but the options at that level are not in any way improvements over my Washburn. That's the thing with side projects - it could end up being a matter of recording a couple of rough demo tracks and never moving past that, or it could develop into a full-time pursuit, but I can't afford to spend much on a guitar that might collect dust most of the time.

Are there any other entry-level sevens out there, new or used, that have a fixed bridge? I'd be fine with an unknown brand if it isn't a complete eyesore made of mystery wood.

[J_A / 540s]

Personally I'd go for a 7421. They can still be found for about the same price as the 7321 but generally speaking are made better. I've had quite a few 73/74/7620's & 21's & for the money you cant beat 'em. You'll be giving up the binding on the neck, but probably end up happier in the end.

[thetroy]

There are some Agiles with fixed bridges which I believe are under $400.

I think some of the Squier Stagemaster 7's are also fixed bridge. If you find one on eBay it will probably be under $300.

I had one of the Washburns and it had the fattest neck of any 7-string I've played. It was just plain uncomfortable for me.

[Inazone]

The Agile 7s are all either TOMs or licensed Floyds, which is a shame since they are very nice looking and are supposedly of high quality for the money.

I stopped by Guitar Center after work, where they had a rather banged up 7321. The price wasn't very competitive, but it was worth trying out. As expected, I really liked the neck compared to my Washburn's baseball bat, and the hardtail is my preference for any guitar. I couldn't find any particular playability issues or defects. The only "problem" was that there was only one other seven in the entire store, and it was a low-end Schecter that I know from past experience I wouldn't like.

No rush on finding something yet, but the Ibanez may still win out based on specs alone. If I can find one for less money, or one of the higher-end versions for the same ballpark price, it wouldn't take a lot of convincing. For the moment, it's still the matter of justifying any purchase for what may or may not turn into my "other" band.

[thetroy]

The 7321 is not a bad guitar, it's just noticeably worse than a 7421.

The pickups in particular are much worse. The wood and fretwork on the couple I've played was fine though.

[Inazone]

How about the LTD H-207? Although they do have TOM bridges, that "con" is offset by an ash body which isn't very common and is a definite plus for me. I've only seen a trans red one on eBay so far, and the headstock is kind of goofy looking IMHO, but a bound fretboard and ash body in the under-$350 range would certainly be an option. I'm assuming Korean build on the older LTDs.

[kmanick]

not too bad
this was the first 7 model I ever owned
http://cgi.ebay.com/ESP-M-207-Black-...QQcmdZViewItem
there're pretty good for the money if they don't have the crappy stock pups in them.
fixed bridge version
http://cgi.ebay.com/ESP-LTD-M107-7-S...QQcmdZViewItem
these aren't bad
http://cgi.ebay.com/ESP-LTD-Stephen-...QQcmdZViewItem

this is probably the one to go for out of all these though
http://cgi.ebay.com/Ibanez-RG7421-7-...QQcmdZViewItem

[jgcable]

go with a 7620 or a 7621. Better electronics and hardware. Also.. made in Japan and extremely high quality. They are as well made as a Jem 7. I know because I have owned both.

[Inazone]

Between the used prices on eBay and new/clearance prices elsewhere, it looks like I can find *something* in the $300-350 range, either a 207-series LTD or the Ibby 7321. The 7421 and higher look nice if something turns up for cheap, so now I play the waiting game and see if something turns up locally that I can try first. For now, the Washburn will get me by.

Thanks for the input, folks.

[xxxcreaturexxx]

Get a 7421 or 7621. They both use the same neck which is way better than the 7321. Both also have way better stock pickups than the 7321.

+1

Also if the bridge doesnt matter too much, the the Jackson DR7 was a pretty decent 7 string. I found mine used for about $200 bucks.

[Inazone]

+1

Also if the bridge doesnt matter too much, the the Jackson DR7 was a pretty decent 7 string. I found mine used for about $200 bucks.

I had a DR7 for about two weeks, years ago. That was the first Jackson I ever owned with MOTO sharkfin inlays, and other than a project guitar that I parted out, it was also the last. That combined with the TOM bridge sort of killed it for me, although the neck was nice as expected.