[jforsythe]

I've been recording a demo over the last few months using my Les Paul Standard and UV777BK, which I've had since 1998. Everything is coming out fine, however, the music will be impossible to pull off live without a 7-string guitar. Some of you are probably saying right now, "Well, you've already got a 7-string guitar." True, but I don't like playing the UV live. The body contour is does not fit my playing style very well, I don't like using locking tremolo bridge systems live, and I don't like the overall tone of the guitar. My Les Paul, however, feels (body contour-wise) and sounds PERFECT. What I've been trying to do for the last few weeks is find a solution to where I can have a 7-string with some very specific specs in a Les Paul/ESP Eclipse type body. The thing is, I love my UV neck. The thickness, width, feel, intonation, etc are perfect. The following specs are what I am looking for:

-Singlecut body based on Les Paul/ESP Eclipse
-Mahogany back/Maple top
-Mahogany neck/Rosewood fingerboard
-25.5 scale neck
-22 frets /w large frets
-Extra Thin "U" neck contour
-48mm nut width
-EMG 81-7 Bridge p/up
-EMG 707 Neck p/up
-Sperzel Locking tuners
-Non-tremolo bridge (Stop Tailpiece and Tune-o-matic)

I've spoken to a Custom Shop representative at ESP and he said that it would be an estimate of $5500-6000 for this guitar ($3000 minimum for any ESP custom, $1000 more for any 7-string, plus the features that I listed). There is no way I am willing to pay that much for a guitar, considering I would be using this for a touring situation and the thing could get damaged or stolen. It would be irreplaceable. I was hoping he'd say no more than $4000-4500. Even though that's alot of money, it's more manageable for me. So now that that option is probably out of the question, I'm considering a few more options:

-Buy an Epiphone Les Paul 7 and have a luthier build me a neck to my specs
-Have Abyss guitars build me what I'm looking for (I'm sure it's not going to be much cheaper than ESP)
-Have ESP build me the guitar anyway and get a really good insurance plan for the instrument

What would you guys suggest, especially those with touring experience? If you have any suggestions other than what I've listed, please tell. Thank again. You've all been so much help to me in the past.

[Doctor J]

Give Jeremy at LGM a call. That is an insane amount of money for a custom guitar. Maybe Schecter custom shop too? Shop around, you'll get the exact guitar you want built cheaper elsewhere for sure.

[Karl Hungus]

I'd suggest looking into other, smaller luthiers. I reckon you could get that built for half of what ESP quoted you.

Originally Posted by Doctor J

Give Jeremy at LGM a call

As far as I know, he's not taking any more orders as he's moving shop. Not to write him off, but I think it'll be next year before you could place an order with him.

[Naren]

I never thought of combining my Gibson Les Paul and my Ibanez RG1627 7-string... But I agree with you on many of the points. I just like the way my LP sounds much more than the Ibanez tone-wise and such...

I'm sure you should be able to get one built for under $4500 somewhere, but even so, it's still gonna be very expensive. Good luck on that.

[eaeolian]

Why not just buy a Dean EVO, add EMGs and shave the neck? They're mahogany, have rosewood boards, and could probably be made into a playable instrument MUCH faster than the Epi could.

For $3.5K or so, Jackson would build something similar to that. I can't believe ESP's CS is so expensive...

KXK would probabaly be even cheaper, although I dunno about him and Paul shapes...

[Karl Hungus]

I reckon that you could get it under €2500 if you looked around. My custom BC Rich Stealth 7 String is costing a mere €2299, and that's got a lot of non-standard options.

[Drew]

There's a 7-string LTD Viper with EMG's and a 25.5" scale, as I recall, I've seen in recent musician's friend catalogues - how'd that one work for you? I think it's around $600 street - pretty affordable, compared to 10x that.

EDIT - bingo. Not a singlecut, but it'd be a very 'Gibson" feeling guitar, I'd think...

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/...se_pid/512034/

[Chris]

Originally Posted by eaeolian

Why not just buy a Dean EVO, add EMGs and shave the neck? They're mahogany, have rosewood boards, and could probably be made into a playable instrument MUCH faster than the Epi could.

For $3.5K or so, Jackson would build something similar to that. I can't believe ESP's CS is so expensive...

KXK would probabaly be even cheaper, although I dunno about him and Paul shapes...

^ What he said.

Darren has a beautiful single cut EVO.

http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/vbg...do=view&id=131

[Karl Hungus]

There's a Dean Evo Special 7 going on ebay here, for a nice little buy it now price of $349. Not sure how much these things go for, but that seems pretty good for a 7 string.

[jforsythe]

What about going the Warmoth route, buying the individual pieces and having them put together? The only problem I see is that their 7-string necks aren't made to fit in their LP style bodies. Also, the guitar would have to be a bolt-on, which I could deal with for live purposes.