Request for opinions from COW7 owners.

[ken]

Hi everyone.

As the COW-7 has been out for a couple of years now, I was wondering if anyone can share their long-run thoughts on owning one: Happy with it? The single pickup versatile ? Bolt-on neck work for you? Do they really sound too sharp through a clean channel?

I'm fast running out of reasonable excuses to buy guitars. Not owning a 7-string is one of my remaining plausible reasons. I nearly pulled the trigger to buy a COW7 over the last couple of weeks. The only thing that's stopped me is the possibility of getting a 7-string neck-thru 2 Hum from Jackson Stars in Japan. Logistically, the COW7 would be way easier, but the choice between a difficult route and an easy one... for some reason the difficult always wins.

Any thoughts would be welcome.

All the best,

Ken

[shadowcat]

Well I own both a COW6 and a JacksonStars semicustom Rhoads, so I'll take the liberty to respond...
And I also tried out a COW7 extensively because my local shop accidentally ordered that one for me instead of the six-string version. I almost went home with it because it played so nice, but finally decided to wait for the COW6.

So here are my thoughts:
In terms of build quality my COW6 and JacksonStars Rhoads are on the same level. Only differences are cosmetic, as my Rhoads got binding, MOP inlays and a transparent finish. But they both feel fantastic and are built without flaws.

Yes, I am very happy with my COW6, love it just as much as when I got it one year ago.
The single pickup is not versatile, that's why I only use this guitar for full on death metal. I also swapped the EMG81 for a Duncan Distortion (which of course didn't help with the versatility ), but I like the sound better now.
Right now I'm in the studio and have used the COW6 exclusively for tracking rhythm guitar, but I'm gonna need to use another guitar with a neck pickup for smooth leads.

The EMG707 is voiced a little different than the 81 (like a cross between an 81 and 85), but a bridge pickup remains a bridge pickup, and without a tone control there's not much you can do.
Definitely not the best choice if you intend on playing clean... you have to decide if you can live with it.

To the bolt-on neck: I don't mind the heel (both on COW6 and COW7), and I think that the snappier attack of this neck construction actually works well for low tunings, as it helps to prevent a muddy sound on the low B.


So what it comes down to is if you can live with one pickup.
IMO two are better than one, I'd love to use my COW6 for something else than deathmetal... the full mahogany construction gives a great sound and would surely be awesome for leads and cleans with a neck pickup. But of course I knew that when I got it.

I'd also like to add that the whole process of ordering my JacksonStars semicustom through Ishibashi was a pleasurable experience. Great customer service from them; the bank transfer transaction went smooth, and shipping to Germany took 4 days without any problem (except me not being at home when it was delivered).
Of course this route is more difficult, but there's also lots of info on this board and several people who can help with experience on ordering from Japan.

Last point to think about is the price, I believe a neck-thru sevenstring from JacksonStars might cost you alot more than the COW7 (don't forget the shipping fees and bank fees, if you pay via bank transfer).

That's all I can think of at the moment, I hope it helps.

[sakeido]

I've had a COW7 and 6 for awhile now. The 6 was alright, but the one pickup thing really hamstrung it in my opinion. I got rid of it because it is really easy to find a guitar built in a similiar way that comes with a full set of pickups.

The COW7 though, is amazing. Probably the best 7 string I've enjoyed. For me, the biggest selling point was that it had an ebony fretboard, no trem, and looked awesome in black. Almost all the 7 strings still available have rosewood, the Ibanez ones all have trems, so on... and I really hate trems. It plays brilliantly though - imagine the awesomeness of your typical Jackson with the added awesomeness of more bottom end.

The one pickup is still a problem, but I am more willing to live with it on a 7 just because it is impossible to find a comparably built 7 string for a price even close to the COW7's retail. The bolt-on sounds great and the COWs both have something different about the neck joint so they are not instrusive at all, they have never bothered me. That said, my COW7 is in the shop right now getting routed out for a neck pickup (another EMG 707) and a blade switch but I will not be adding a tone knob to it.

edit: JacksonStars is kind of appealing to me too. I am always on the lookout for a nice neck through 7 string with ebony fretboard and all that and if they could make one custom, that'd be great, but I can barely read japanese and can't find the 7 string option on their order sheet.

[shadowcat]

I've had a COW7 and 6 for awhile now. The 6 was alright, but the one pickup thing really hamstrung it in my opinion. I got rid of it because it is really easy to find a guitar built in a similiar way that comes with a full set of pickups.

The COW7 though, is amazing. Probably the best 7 string I've enjoyed. For me, the biggest selling point was that it had an ebony fretboard, no trem, and looked awesome in black. Almost all the 7 strings still available have rosewood, the Ibanez ones all have trems, so on... and I really hate trems. It plays brilliantly though - imagine the awesomeness of your typical Jackson with the added awesomeness of more bottom end.

The one pickup is still a problem, but I am more willing to live with it on a 7 just because it is impossible to find a comparably built 7 string for a price even close to the COW7's retail. The bolt-on sounds great and the COWs both have something different about the neck joint so they are not instrusive at all, they have never bothered me. That said, my COW7 is in the shop right now getting routed out for a neck pickup (another EMG 707) and a blade switch but I will not be adding a tone knob to it.

edit: JacksonStars is kind of appealing to me too. I am always on the lookout for a nice neck through 7 string with ebony fretboard and all that and if they could make one custom, that'd be great, but I can barely read japanese and can't find the 7 string option on their order sheet.

The heel is different because the body on the COWs is thinner than a normal Dinky. Since the neck is (of course) normal size, the heel has to be thinner.

If you order from a Japanese dealer you can let them handle the order, just tell them exactly what you want and they'll check with JacksonStars if it is possible.
I ordered a finish for mine that wasn't on the order form (transparent green) and it was no problem at all. During the building process they even asked me if I wanted the back to be black or matching.

[ken]

Many thanks to both Sakeido and Shadowcat for your replies.

It really is helpful to see that the early impressions have, pretty much, remained unchanged. The COW7 is appealing. Such a clean, simple design and does exactly what it should.

However, as it would be my only 7-string (for now!) I guess I really do need to find something with a second pup for that extra flexibility. I haven't bought a bolt-on since, oh maybe 1989, which is why I asked about that. Of course, the next guitar I bought was around 1999, but that's a long story. SInce got hooked on the neck-thru concept, but I inherited a mex. strat recently, which sounds great - although if it doesn't look it!

I hadn't even thought of going semi-custom with JacksonStars. There are three 7-string (two Kellys and a RR) J2 guitars (so neck through, fake MOP and streaked ebony board) on

http://www.ikebe-gakki.com/shopping_20.php?state=1&cate=1&s_cate=1&brand=261

I e-mailed the shop in question a couple of days ago, but haven't heard back.

They work out around 800 Euro, without shipping + tax (as Shadowcat pointed out). That's a lot more than, say, 675 Euro (inc. shipping and tax) from Thomann for a COW7, but I don't really mind. I couldn't face/afford spending US Custom Shop money on one, but something lower than USA Select, I can live with.

Shadowcat, did you just mail Ishibashi ([email protected]) with your request and
go from there? I guess as you had a semi-custom made, it wasn't like you found one for sale and enquired about it!

Once again, thanks for your replies. I think I'll look into the JacksonStars further.

All the best,

Ken

[shadowcat]

Yes, I mailed my request to this address. They got international sales agents for the foreign customers... in my case Noriko Sada took care of me, in a very nice and competent way.
They also take both credit cards and bank transfer payments.

I actually enquired both about a standard RRJ1B and a semicustom with my changes... the transparent green finish, matching headstock and mahogany body. I was surprised that my changes only made for an upcharge of 8.800 yen compared to the standard model (you can make the conversion yourself... it's not much more, and WAY less than stated on the semicustom order forms for these changes).
That's why I fully recommend going semicustom if there's anything special you want... I waited exactly four months for mine and got my dream guitar.
You can't ask for more here... in the past I sometimes had to wait longer for standard Jacksons ordered through my local dealer (for example my COW6).

We've had quite a few threads about JacksonStars in the last year, do a search in this section and you'll find lots of info.

[shadowcat]

BTW, after reading your post again... I did mail my enquiry to Ikebe-Gakki too, at first. But I never heard back from them, so I took my business to Ishibashi.

[ken]

Thanks for the advice Shadowcat.

What a deal you got: basically 60 Euro for a different wood, custom colour and headstock? I've had more expensive taxi fares!

After reading your earlier post, I searched for JacksonStars and found all that useful information (previously I searched for Jacskon Stars - with the space - and didn't get as much).

I'll construct an e-mail for Ishibashi. One problem is that there don't appear to be any "standard" 7-strings on the jacksonstars webpage. I guess I'll pick the body-style and ask about a 7-string version. The second problem is that when looking back through earlier posts I came across the natural-finish ash soloist. I feel feature creap coming on!

Incidentally, I presume you paid German import duty when the guitar got delievered? I'm in the EU too, so if you did, I will.

All the best and thanks for your help, . I'll let you know how my financial ruin is coming along...

Ken

[shadowcat]

Yes, 16% import duty. I'm glad I got the guitar last year, VAT has just been raised to 19% here. Hoorah.

On the other hand, I still saved about 800 Euro compared to a new trans-green USA select RR1T, for which I probably would have waited up to a year, and which would have neither the 24 frets nor my beloved mahogany body.

I've also never seen any 7-strings on the JacksonStars page, so I assume that these are special dealer orders. Like, they take a standard model and order it as seven-string/string-thru.

[ken]

19%, is that all? It's been 21% here for years...

I've mailed Ishibashi about the KE7-J2 and enquired if it's possible to buy a 7-string as a semi-custom. If anything interesting comes of it, I'll be sure to let you know.

Thanks for your help.

[sakeido]

Definitely let us know what happens... as much as I like my COW7, I would kill for a SLSMG 7 string.

[ken]

Just to let you know...

No news update: I didn't hear back from either of the Ikebe or Ishibashi. I also e-mailed directly to one of the stores with the KE7 (which has since disappeared from the ikebe-gakki website). I didn't hear back from them either. They're probably still trying to figure out if Ireland is a real country!

Anyway, on to plan B. If only there was a plan B...

[ken]

KE7 update

I'm delighted to report that Ishibashi got back to me with a (very reasonable ) quote for a KE7-J2.

I think the delay was partly due to the fact they had to ask the factory what the dealio was on 7-string guitars. There are a couple of limited edition KE7-J2s for sale from Ikebe, who don't appear to ship internationally. However the factory was happy to make one for Ishibashi. The build time is only about 3 months. Awesome.

I asked them about the KE7-J2, because I had seen three for sale online (I also saw an RR7-J2, incidentally). However, while string-thru is what I'd want, I would like MOP inlays, MOP logo, ebony rather than stripped ebony board, and a transparent colour body plus headstock. Basically a J1 without a trem, in other words.

As Jackson Stars are going to build the guitar to order, Ishibashi are going to ask the factory if they'd make a KE7-J2 with those options and, if they will, Ishibashi will give me a price. At what I've seen so far, it will be quite a bit cheaper than a USA select, but - of course - far more expensive than the COW7 I originally asked about in this thread. Not to mention the 21% tax I'll get stung with in Ireland. Still, pretty excited about the whole thing...



More updates as it happens (though perhaps I should start a new thread with Jacksonstars in the title?!).

[pro-fusion]

Cool. Hope it works out for you. Ikebe will ship internationally, but you have to e-mail the right person at their headquarters, not the individual stores. I believe there's a thread here somewhere talking about that. Ikebe regularly orders special runs of JacksonStars sevens, and they had a blue dual-hum SL7-J2 a couple of months ago that was *very* tempting.

I didn't know that you could do sevens as a semi-custom. I thought those would have to be full custom orders, which I understand cost almost as much from the Japanese shop as from the USA shop. Something to think about...

[ken]

Ikebe will ship internationally, but you have to e-mail the right person at their headquarters, not the individual stores. I believe there's a thread here somewhere talking about that.

Ah, that's interesting. I obviously didn't read the past threads as carefully as I thought. Although I think I read threads where people said who they had dealt with. I just didn't want to cold-call them. Doesn't seem the Japanese way...

Ikebe regularly orders special runs of JacksonStars sevens, and they had a blue dual-hum SL7-J2 a couple of months ago that was *very* tempting.

.

When I e-mailed Ikebe, I sent one to their general e-mail address and when I didn't get a reply, I sent one to the shop in Shibuya. I didn't get a reply from either. I think the SL7-J2 disappeared in between the mails. The KE7-J2 also disappeared, but has since been replaced. The RR7-J2 has been there since the start. I have a KV2 and an SLATQH, so the Kelly appealed to me.

I didn't know that you could do sevens as a semi-custom. I thought those would have to be full custom orders, which I understand cost almost as much from the Japanese shop as from the USA shop. Something to think about...

Maybe you can't do sevens as semi-custom? I hope you can. I should find out this week after Ishibashi get a response to their enquiry on my behalf. I'll post here once I know.

The Ishibashi quote for the KE7-J2 was basically the same as the Ikebe price. As they'd have to build the guitar for me and the base price is not too far off a KE-J2 (say 20% more), maybe they're not THAT special? I hope there's no good reason why they wouldn't build it with a few semi-custom extras.

After I got the quote for the KE7-J2, I listed a bunch of semi-custom options and asked Ishibashi if they could give me a revised quote - if the guitar could be built that way. The chap at Ishibashi said he'd ask the factory if they'd make it, but there may be an extra cost (as you'd expect). It didn't sound too negative, so hopefully it'll be okay.

As this started out as an exercise to buy a seven string, I guess I'd proceed with the KE7-J2 if it was the only version available. Afterall, the changes I'm thinking of are all cosmetic. I'm happy with a string-thru, neck-thru, maple/alder guitar with Duncans. It would just seem a pity that if they were going to build the guitar from scratch, it wouldn't be possible to get it built with MOP, ebony and so forth.

Does anyone have decent pictures of stripped ebony? I've seen some that look like ebony and some that look like rosewood. Maybe I should only worry about that if the semi-custom isn't available!

I'll update as soon as I hear anything...