[Yoshi]

I agree that basswood is a good tonewood, its just not my preferred wood. So if he thinks it sounds awful to him then it does. You are in no position to tell him what sounds good to him and what doesn't.

As for the guitar? Get it, im not a fan of ash but it should sound tight with the 707's, then again you never know until you try.

[jsousa]

Originally Posted by Yoshi

I agree that basswood is a good tonewood, its just not my preferred wood. So if he thinks it sounds awful to him then it does. You are in no position to tell him what sounds good to him and what doesn't.

As for the guitar? Get it, im not a fan of ash but it should sound tight with the 707's, then again you never know until you try.

also i have gathered that the wood has much mUCH less an effect with emgs.

but i guess im more worried about build quality, tone vs other 707 guitars, and with blocknig the trem, that thing is BLOCKED!

[Naren]

If you don't use the trem, I think you'd do best going with a Schecter Hellraiser. The Loomis sig is based off of the Hellraiser, except it has a trem (which the Hellraiser doesn't) and has a maple fretboard. Other than that, they're mostly the same.

Originally Posted by stitch216

I am not a trem user at all but I have to have floyds on my guitars just for the comfort factor - nothing else feels right to me.

I'd look at the RG7's from Ikebe Gakki personally, like the RG7EXFX/RG7EX2FX and the HRG series.

I didn't know Ikebe Gakki had any RG7EXFXs or RG7EXFX2s. I got mine from Ishibashi, but I've never seen one at an Ikebe shop or on their online store. Ikebe has some nice Ikebe-only Ibanezes, but most of those are basswood as well.

Anyway, this would be out if he's not considering a basswood guitar, since both the RG7EXFX and RG7EXFX2 are basswood. The EXFX2 (which I have) has dual EMG707s, though, and the EXFX has a either dual 707s or an 81-7 and a 707 (I don't remember if the site I looked at that said the RG7EXFX had an 81-7 and a 707 was correct or not).

Personally I really like basswood as a tonewood, but I've never heard a tonewood that I didn't like. I just like some more than others. I've had guitars made out of: mahogany, alder, basswood, and I have no idea what wood the first guitar I owned was made out of.

Originally Posted by jsousa

also i have gathered that the wood has much mUCH less an effect with emgs.

but i guess im more worried about build quality, tone vs other 707 guitars, and with blocknig the trem, that thing is BLOCKED!

That's what I've heard as well. My RG1527 with a Dimarzio Blaze Custom in the bridge (a basswood guitar) sounds very different from my RG7EXFX2 with EMG707s (also a basswood guitar). I'm sure the basswood has some of an effect on the sound, but a guitar's wood doesn't seem to influence the guitar's sound/tone as much in a guitar with active pickups than in one with passives. The sound difference in my RG7EXFX2 is also much due to the baritone scale, I believe (even though I tune both guitars the same).

[Damnaged]

So here are my thoughts. I own a Schecter Hellraiser, a Schecter Jeff Loomis Sig, an Ibanez 7321, an Ibanez UV777BK, an ESP MH-307, and an ESP Custom Shop 7. So I have a couple models from each company that I've seen mentioned here so far (if I missed one I apologize). For what you are looking for it sounds like you should get the Hellraiser or the Loomis. I love both of those guitars. Schecter's quality control is not as great as say ESP's. I have a few imperfections in the finish on both the Hellraiser and Loomis, whereas the 12+ ESP's and LTD's I've owned over the years have never had any what so ever. But, in terms of playability the Schecter Hellraiser and Loomis are just as good as say a 1000 level LTD. Any Ibanez 7 you would get from the states would not have EMG's so you would have to route it to fit them. So that may be a negative for you. The ESP models IMO are killer guitars, but I personally would love to see ESP release some non Stephen Carpenter 7's with a normal pickup config (no offense to you middle pickup praisers). In a perfect world ESP would release a guitar inline with the Loomis specs (real EMGS, strat body, OFR, etc.). So like I said I think you should go Schecter.

I have a tremol-no on my UV777BK and it works great. I would imagine on a real Floyd, which IMO is way better trem than the edge pro, you would have no problems with the tremol-no.

That aside, do you want a volume for each pick-up? Do you need a tone? If so for either of those I would get the Hellraiser. If you are like me and can get by with 1 volume and no tone, then go for the Loomis. Soundwise I think the Loomis does sound better. It cuts more than the bassier Hellraiser. I think at some point I'm going to swap the 707's in my Hellraiser for 81-7's to get more bite out of the guitar. In terms of body wood with the Loomis you'll have an Ash body, with the Hellraiser I believe it's mahagony (somebody feel free to correct me if I'm wrong). With the Loomis you also get a 3 way toggle over the slotted switch on the Hellraiser. I personally find the toggle to be better for quick switching. But that's just me.

One issue with the Schecters is that the grover tuners are not the best in the world. So with the Loomis you get the ability to lock the nut and not worry about those tuners slipping. You don't get that with the Hellraiser. Lastly the look of the two are very different. The Hellraiser is more in line with the Ibanez's and ESP 7's that are available. Black finish, rosewood board, black hardware. That's standard on a lot of 7's. I know that there is a red Hellraiser but it seems to be more elusive than the black one. Although if you look you can find them. The Loomis has the maple board, black binding (which looks awesome) and satin finish. The satin finish for me is a major plus as you don't have a sticky painted neck that will slow you down.

When it comes down to it I'd get the Jeff Loomis over the Hellraiser, because to me it sounds like you won't mind having a tremol-no and you'll get the extra tuning security of a locking OFR. The only issue for you may be the lack of a tone knob and a second volume control. Anyways, those are just my thoughts, hope this helps.

[Jason]

Originally Posted by Naren

If you don't use the trem, I think you'd do best going with a Schecter Hellraiser. The Loomis sig is based off of the Hellraiser, except it has a trem (which the Hellraiser doesn't) and has a maple fretboard. Other than that, they're mostly the same

Actually the only thing the have in common is scale lenght and emg's there dif in every other way..

[Yoshi]

EMGS have a huge impact to my hear. The body does affect it, i can hear it. When my h-1000 was still with me, it was darker than the m-II i played (true different neck joint) and the 81 in the m-II is too bright for my tastes, 85 however is very good.

Emgs are just like any other pickup are affected by the wood. Dunno about everyone else but i cant stand 81 in alder. If they had no effect then why not just make an agathis guitar with emgs?

Anyway i think the loomis is the best option if you havent got too much money, otherwise i would look into a custom esp or jackson.

[Leon]

Originally Posted by Damnaged

7 string review GOLD

yep, now i DEFINITELY want the Loomis

[jsousa]

damnaged:

you hit the nail right on.

probably will get a loomis. dont mind the tremol-no as long as i can string it like a normal guitar when i want to restring it, and i love the single volume, 3 way toggle.

[eaeolian]

The Loomis I played this past weekend was an excellent guitar. If I liked the scale length, I'd have already bought one - it was a better guitar than every Hellraiser I've played.

[noodles]

Originally Posted by soldierkahn

I hate hearing people say this all the time. Granted i said it when i first started using Ibanez, but now i stand to disagree. Basswood is a perfect in between wood. Your standard Joe likes either Fenders or Gibsons (speaking metaphorically cuz those are the two most popular guitar companies). Fenders are generally made from Alder (a bright sounding wood) and Gibsons are generally made from Mahogany (a warm sounding wood). Basswood falls right between the two giving you enough bite to have a nice sounding bright tone if you want, but also warm enough to perform some soft leads and great cleans.

Why do you hate hearing it? People are allowed to have an opinion. Personally, I despise basswood. The low end is all mush, and the midrange is far to up front. Alder may be bright, but the low end on it is tight. Mahogany mids sit lower in the frequency spectrum, so they don't honk like basswood. Go ahead and hate me, because I will never play basswood guitars.