[TheSixthWheel]

I'm Nick, I'm 25, from Australia and new round here. I like the whole communal vibe you guys have here at Sevenstring.org. It's a great source of information too.

A bit about me: I've been playing guitar for around 8 years now, and teaching guitar for about 2 of them. I own 8 guitars but only a few of them I couldn't do without. I'm a huge fan of Ibanez, awesome guitars at an affordable price. My first couple of guitars were an Ibanez RX-20 and an RG350DX. Don't even get me started on how bullshit companies Gibson and Fender are. They just ripp people off. I guess it's their customer's fault for being blindly willing to fork out over $5,000 for an instrument that would have cost no more than $500 in parts and labour to manufacture. At least companies like Ibanez and ESP are consistant. Anyway...
I started out trying to focus on lead guitar, as that's where my (young and naive) interest lay. It's taken a few years but as a result I'm finally sick of seeing people trying to play lead guitar at 1000 notes a second, without thought for other engaging musical elements such as song structure. If a riff sucks, it won't matter how fast you play it. It's still going to suck. To each his own I guess. Gradually it's been a shift from lead to rhythm for me. I've got nobody to impress - I think that's the difference from when I was 17 and was self-important.
These days I guess I'm more interested in songwriting skills and composition. Even the more technical aspects of recording and understanding software and equipment.
I was already well into metal from the outset of learning guitar and I knew that bands like Korn and Fear Factory were using extra strings and lower tunings but to be honest, Meshuggah have really opened my eyes (and ears) to the realm of extended range guitars, and what aural wonderment those extra strings can produce. Chaosphere, the I ep and Nothing made me take notice and in turn, I craved those hellish, beefy low tones in my own musical creations. ObZen is pure gold! Fredrik Thordendal's solo material - Sol Niger Within - is also quite amazing, being as chaotic and dischordant as it is in places, yet so calm in others. Mårten Hagström is also overlooked as a skilled guitarist, with 'Acrid Placidity' being a subtle example of his songwriting abilities. Other guitarists who rate in my mind as being worth mentioning as an influence to me are: Dino Cazares, John McLaughlin, Eric Clapton, Mikael Akerfeldt, Michael Amott, Al Di Meola, Andrés Segovia, all the old blues greats and all of the less conceited jazz guitarists. I swear I meet an elitist jazz-head on average of once a day.

After learning more about downtuning, I was using thicker and thicker strings (11-56 to 13-60) to cope with it all and to keep some tension. More recently I've been tuning down to A and G, just for that distorted growl or bite you get at those tunings. Even on a clean tone the rich, warm jazzy tones are killer. The only bad part about this is that I'm missing the highs of a 2nd B and 1st E string. Now the time has come to expand, into a seventh and maybe an 8th string, and to still be able to reach those highs, all the while keeping the tension.

The main reason I'm here is because I'm looking to buy a couple of new guitars and hoped I could glean some information from some of you folks. The purchase nearest in the immediate future will be a fixed 7 string - hopefully another Ibanez, but my mind is open...
The next and last purchase for some years I imagine will be a custom 7 or 8 string, depending on what I want at the time of ordering. Mike Sherman does some brilliant work, as I'm sure you all know. Hi Mike!
I've been researching these two purchases for longer than is either natural or healthy, but I'm stubbornly adamant about the fact that I don't want to be stuck with something I feel lay be inferior or poor value for money.

Retail prices here in Australia are crazy, compared to EVERYWHERE else in the world! Example: Ibanez RG2228. USA List price: $1,999.99. Australian recommended retail price: $3,295.95. If currently the Aussie dollar is worth around 90 US cents, I'd like to see someone explain that to me!?

So that's me, if anyone (preferrably in australia) has a 7 string for sale that they want to see go to a good home, let me know and the price just might be right. Or if you'd just like to share your thoughts on what constitutes an excellent 7 string guitar, I'd be interested to hear.

Thanks for your time people, seeya!
Nick.

[Apophis]

[playstopause]

That's quite an introduction! You have more words there than all of Apophis (^) posts combined!

Have fun around.

[s7eve]

Welcome

I've got a RG7EXFX2 that I've been thinking of selling, it set me back $1100 back when I bought it and I was going to list it on ebay with a starting price of $1000 but I'm open to offers if it means a quick sale.

@ PSP, that's not hard, when does Sebastian use words.

I should add that you will be able to get one cheaper from Japan now (where I got this from), this might be a little easier for an Aussie. I'm confident it will sell on ebay for that.

[Durero]

Have you checked out Oni?

[Alien DNA]

And a big fuckin gday to another aussie!!!!! Welcome aboard dude!!!!

[TheSixthWheel]

Originally Posted by s7eve

Welcome

I've got a RG7EXFX2 that I've been thinking of selling, it set me back $1100 back when I bought it and I was going to list it on ebay with a starting price of $1000 but I'm open to offers if it means a quick sale.

@ PSP, that's not hard, when does Sebastian use words.

I should add that you will be able to get one cheaper from Japan now (where I got this from), this might be a little easier for an Aussie. I'm confident it will sell on ebay for that.

Thanks for the welcome! Your RG7EXFX2 looks great but as you mentioned, for about AU$800 I can get a brand new one from Japan. I'd definitely think about helping to relieve you of yours if you lowered it enough under that.

[Stitch]

Hello friend!

Ibanez pwns.

That is all.

Before anyone tells you different, I'm not gay.

[s7eve]

Originally Posted by TheSixthWheel

Thanks for the welcome! Your RG7EXFX2 looks great but as you mentioned, for about AU$800 I can get a brand new one from Japan. I'd definitely think about helping to relieve you of yours if you lowered it enough under that.

Actually $800 wouldn't even get one in the US.

You will get one for ¥71,000 from Ikebe ¥82,500 from Ishibashi, I bought mine from Ishibashi, to that you need to add ¥14,000 for shipping and then you need to factor in your banks exchange rate and fee to wire the money. Either way your looking at over $1000. If you buy from Ishibashi you will be paying the same price I paid for mine.

I don't mind if your not interested, I just thought you should know the facts.

As for the price I mentioned above, that is the price I would start at if I listed it on ebay. I am trying to raise some cash but I have only two days left to do so, if an Aussie was to offer me a reasonable amount and have it in my account before then, I would part with it but there is no way I would let it go for $800.

[Mattmc74]