[il_echthros_777]

So...as far as I can tell there are currently only 3 7 string Prestige models available: Rg1527, Universe, and Apex...but thats it! so it goes without saying, and I'm sure you guys are very much aware, there is a very limited choice on premium Ibanez 7s.

My question would be is how do these guitars compare to one another when put through the paces. which has better craftsmanship and playability? Is the mahogany Apex much more alive than its basswood counterparts?

Also...for the price...is the rg1527 worth it? I had an opportunity to buy one when I seen them for $799USD...but now they are $999USD...OUCH!

I appreciate the input in advance!

[djpharoah]

Have ya tried searching cuz this stuff has been talked about a lot already.

The Apex will absolutely be better than the UV and rg1527 because its just at a different level. Between the UV and the 1527, I'd go 1527 only because its the same thing minus the gaudy stuff.

[NiCkMiLnE]

ive played the apex, own an rg1527 and played a couple of OLD universes.

my opinion, if i were going to buy another 7 string, i'd get an old universe...full stop.
then, id go for the rg1527.
amazing guitar, change put the pickups and it can rival most out there..gorgeous neck, playability, feel, looks and tone.

IMO its only downfall is that the finish can chip if your careless..so dont be a fool!

the universe is a fantastic guitar (new uni's) if you can get your hands on one for about 1/2 of shop price..but that will be used and slightly beaten.
the apex is nice, very classy and interesting guitar but the pickups and looks arent for everyone.

[loktide]

i've played the apex and it's definitely a really nice guitar. it sounds and plays great, but i fucking hate those inlays

i've never played a 1527.

the universe is just insanely overpriced, imo.

[toolsound]

I bought my 1527 for $799 (used, but in mint condition). It came with dimarzio pickups also. I don't have another 7 string guitar to compare it to, but it's an excellent instrument. I haven't touched my other guitars since I got it.

[trippled]

Originally Posted by il_echthros_777

So...as far as I can tell there are currently only 3 7 string Prestige models available: Rg1527, Universe, and Apex...but thats it! so it goes without saying, and I'm sure you guys are very much aware, there is a very limited choice on premium Ibanez 7s.

My question would be is how do these guitars compare to one another when put through the paces. which has better craftsmanship and playability? Is the mahogany Apex much more alive than its basswood counterparts?

Also...for the price...is the rg1527 worth it? I had an opportunity to buy one when I seen them for $799USD...but now they are $999USD...OUCH!

I appreciate the input in advance!

Well as I see it, there's no current production ibanez 7 string
that worth buying.
Everything is totally overpriced and have bad to average specs:

Rg1527 -
1. Basswood body - if you like basswood well go for it,
to me it's just a low grade wood that sounds bad.
2. No real pups.
3. There's nothing relly prestige about it,
to me that guitar felt really cheap and sounded really bad and dead.

Apex 1 -
- Stupid inlays.
- Overpriced as hell... Who's gonna pay 1800$ for that?

Rg7ct -
- Basswood.
- No neck pickup.

Apex 1 -
- MII
- No tremolo.

To my opinion the only 7's in the 1K range that worth getting
are schecters, I tried the loomis and I was really surprised from
the quality, really sounds and feels great, the neck felt much better
to me than the 1527.
It's all preference at the end but it's pretty much a fact that the 1527
or any other production guitar will be sounding thin and dead near any
hellraiser.
And just to clear up:
Hellraiser fr
- Mahagony body.
- Mahagony sat neck.
- Real Emg's(although I prefer passives).
- 26.5 scale.
- Body and headstock abalone binding.
- Ofr-7.
- Bigger cutaway.

To me, if it had a nicer finish and passives, it was pretty much perfect.
Schecter's are really decent.

[Xaios]

Originally Posted by trippled

There's nothing really prestige about it.

Edge Pro 7, while not as good as a Lo-Pro, is still a very nice unit. Plus, the neck feels amazing, at least to me. It's pretty much the best neck I've played.

Pups though, I'll give you that.

[Mr. S]

Originally Posted by trippled

Rg7ct -
- Basswood.
- No neck pickup.

The RG7CT was mahogany with a maple top man and it did have a neck PU

Originally Posted by trippled

Apex 1 -
- MII
- No tremolo.

Also I assume you mean the Apex2 here, but just wondering whats an MII?

[NiCkMiLnE]

Originally Posted by trippled

BLAH BLAH BLAH

GO HOME NOOB!

[gunshow86de]

Originally Posted by trippled

Rg1527 -
1. Basswood body - if you like basswood well go for it,
to me it's just a low grade wood that sounds bad.
2. No real pups.
3. There's nothing relly prestige about it,
to me that guitar felt really cheap and sounded really bad and dead.


To my opinion the only 7's in the 1K range that worth getting
are schecters, I tried the loomis and I was really surprised from
the quality, really sounds and feels great, the neck felt much better
to me than the 1527.

I have owned the Loomis in the recent past and I currently own an RG1527.

Let me say that IMO, the 1527 is much higher quality than the Loomis. Yes the pickups on the Loomis might be better (that is of course a relative better), but you are paying for craftsmanship. The Loomis is made in Korea, and the frets are dressed as such. My Loomis' frets were not only not crowned or polished (that's forgivable), but they were actually crooked. I took it for a professional repair shop, and he said about 5 of the frets were so bad, they would need to be replaced. I couldn't stand the buzzing on the Loomis or the bulky neck joint, so I sold it.

Now I have an RG1527 and the frets and neck are absouletly perfect. Frets are very well dressed and polished, no buzzing anywhere on the neck. Don't be turned off by the basswood body. I always thought I hated basswood on the assumption that it's a cheap wood so it sounds bad. But it actually produces a nice tone. And the stock pickups aren't that bad. Mine is currently in the shop getting an Evolution and a Blaze put in because I am kinda tone obsessed, but the stock pickups can meet most people's needs.

Sorry for being long winded, I'm just really sick of the 1527 catching a bad rap on this site. It blows any Korean Schecter out of the water in terms of quality. Schecter's are pretty good, but the QC at the J-Craft factory is so much better than the Korean Schecter plant.

[Mr. S]

Originally Posted by NiCkMiLnE

GO HOME NOOB!

Dude, chill out he's just expressing his opinion and while you may not agree with it he's being somewhat more eloquent than you.

[trippled]

Originally Posted by Mr. S

The RG7CT was mahogany with a maple top man and it did have a neck PU



Also I assume you mean the Apex2 here, but just wondering whats an MII?

My bad, I remember another rg model with only a bridge pickup?
MII = Made in indonesia.

[Metal Ken]

Originally Posted by gunshow86de

I have owned the Loomis in the recent past and I currently own an RG1527.

Let me say that IMO, the 1527 is much higher quality than the Loomis. Yes the pickups on the Loomis might be better (that is of course a relative better), but you are paying for craftsmanship. The Loomis is made in Korea, and the frets are dressed as such. My Loomis' frets were not only not crowned or polished (that's forgivable), but they were actually crooked. I took it for a professional repair shop, and he said about 5 of the frets were so bad, they would need to be replaced. I couldn't stand the buzzing on the Loomis or the bulky neck joint, so I sold it.

Now I have an RG1527 and the frets and neck are absouletly perfect. Frets are very well dressed and polished, no buzzing anywhere on the neck. Don't be turned off by the basswood body. I always thought I hated basswood on the assumption that it's a cheap wood so it sounds bad. But it actually produces a nice tone. And the stock pickups aren't that bad. Mine is currently in the shop getting an Evolution and a Blaze put in because I am kinda tone obsessed, but the stock pickups can meet most people's needs.

Sorry for being long winded, I'm just really sick of the 1527 catching a bad rap on this site. It blows any Korean Schecter out of the water in terms of quality. Schecter's are pretty good, but the QC at the J-Craft factory is so much better than the Korean Schecter plant.

I'd have to disagree. the fretwork on my loomis and hellraiser are better than what was on my last universe, 1527 & S7320. the Hellraiser feels like a profoundly more solid guitar than any of the last 3-4 ibanezs i owned.
As far as the basswood body, i had often wondered my 1000$ universe paled next to my hellraiser right after i got that. The Hellraiser was the nail in the coffin for my universe.

[Stitch]

Originally Posted by trippled

Well as I see it, there's no current production ibanez 7 string
that worth buying.
Everything is totally overpriced and have bad to average specs:

Rg1527 -
1. Basswood body - if you like basswood well go for it,
to me it's just a low grade wood that sounds bad.
2. No real pups.
3. There's nothing relly prestige about it,
to me that guitar felt really cheap and sounded really bad and dead.

Apex 1 -
- Stupid inlays.
- Overpriced as hell... Who's gonna pay 1800$ for that?

Rg7ct -
- Basswood.
- No neck pickup.

Apex 1 -
- MII
- No tremolo.

To my opinion the only 7's in the 1K range that worth getting
are schecters, I tried the loomis and I was really surprised from
the quality, really sounds and feels great, the neck felt much better
to me than the 1527.
It's all preference at the end but it's pretty much a fact that the 1527
or any other production guitar will be sounding thin and dead near any
hellraiser.
And just to clear up:
Hellraiser fr
- Mahagony body.
- Mahagony sat neck.
- Real Emg's(although I prefer passives).
- 26.5 scale.
- Body and headstock abalone binding.
- Ofr-7.
- Bigger cutaway.

To me, if it had a nicer finish and passives, it was pretty much perfect.
Schecter's are really decent.

I think your nuts man. No offense, but now that I sell Schecter and Ibanez side by side, both suck intensely as far as value-for-money goes, but man, the 1527 tramples anything in the seven string field at that price point, and I much preferred it to the Loomis.

[trippled]

Originally Posted by gunshow86de

I have owned the Loomis in the recent past and I currently own an RG1527.

Let me say that IMO, the 1527 is much higher quality than the Loomis. Yes the pickups on the Loomis might be better (that is of course a relative better), but you are paying for craftsmanship. The Loomis is made in Korea, and the frets are dressed as such. My Loomis' frets were not only not crowned or polished (that's forgivable), but they were actually crooked. I took it for a professional repair shop, and he said about 5 of the frets were so bad, they would need to be replaced. I couldn't stand the buzzing on the Loomis or the bulky neck joint, so I sold it.

Now I have an RG1527 and the frets and neck are absouletly perfect. Frets are very well dressed and polished, no buzzing anywhere on the neck. Don't be turned off by the basswood body. I always thought I hated basswood on the assumption that it's a cheap wood so it sounds bad. But it actually produces a nice tone. And the stock pickups aren't that bad. Mine is currently in the shop getting an Evolution and a Blaze put in because I am kinda tone obsessed, but the stock pickups can meet most people's needs.

Sorry for being long winded, I'm just really sick of the 1527 catching a bad rap on this site. It blows any Korean Schecter out of the water in terms of quality. Schecter's are pretty good, but the QC at the J-Craft factory is so much better than the Korean Schecter plant.

Well so you got one with bad frets but my friend's loomis sounds
and feels great with great fret work.
Besides fret replacing or dressing isnt so expensive, the woods on
schecters arent bad at all, and I'm a mahagony guy, I love warm sounding guitars, all 1527/basswood guitars I've tried were really sterile and didnt
sound good to me - even the old MM JPQ sounded sterile to me, and thats not a cheap basswood there.
So when with shcheter's the biggest problem you are going to have is the frets, Ibanez are having cheap woods,shitty pickups and are overpriced.
Aguitar like the rg1527 shouldn't cost more than 700$.

[sworth9411]

Basswood is a matter of opinion.

Ibanez uses basswood for the following reasons…..
It is sustainable, and much more readily available than most other tonewoods
Because of that it is dirt cheap, and easy to mill and machine.
And it is a fairly tone neutral wood has less of a distinctive sound (unlike woods such as say mahogany which has a much darker tone, or ash that is very bright).

Replacement bodies are only a pm away (Elysian) and as far a quality goes, you won’t get better that your local luthier, or Custom shop.

Don’t get me wrong I’m sure some Schechter’s are great but I could never get into their sound, and the neck. I have played bad Ibanez also, but I feel on a whole both companies produce very nice very different sounding guitars, and IMO I really feel that Ibanez have consistently left me extremely satisfied, where as I have felt Schechter has left me wanting something different… Just my 2 cents.

[trippled]

Originally Posted by Stitch

I think your nuts man. No offense, but now that I sell Schecter and Ibanez side by side, both suck intensely as far as value-for-money goes, but man, the 1527 tramples anything in the seven string field at that price point, and I much preferred it to the Loomis.

Well it's all preferece.
I cant stand how the 1527 sounds.
I'd probably take the hellraiser fr over the loomis cause I like low mids.
The loomis really felt like a much more expensive guitar to me, the 1527
felt and sounded like a low end guitar to me.
Again, it's all preference, I also prefer alot the schecter necks and my hands are pretty small(I like c shaped necks), to me anyway the fact that the schecter has better woods, pups and is a sat neck while the 1527 is bolt on,
it's pretty much it.

[jacksonplayer]

The simple answer to the original poster's question is "nowhere to be found." It seems like Ibanez is steadily shrinking down its Prestige lineup across the board in favor of cheaper Indonesian-made guitars.

The 1527 probably has the worst price-to-value ratio at its current price. The UV and Apex1 are much nicer, but are at prices that start to get you into KXK territory. Ibanez is certainly capable of making top-rate guitars, they just increasingly choose not to.

[bulletbass man]

Eh both companies consistently produce several bad apples with thier ones that rival some luthiers.

Really they both have issues with QC. In all regards I've found high end Ibanez's to be better but at that price i'd go used or save more for a really solid guitar anyways.

[7 Strings of Hate]

Originally Posted by sworth9411

Basswood is a matter of opinionIbanez uses basswood for the following reasonsIt is sustainable, and much more readily available than most other tonewoodsBecause of that it is dirt cheap

thats my only beef really with ibanez, the basswood is readily available and dirt cheap, but they dont price thier guitars like that. an new universe is like 2 grand or something, and the 1527 is 1 grand, and even though both are nice guitars, there is no justification for that price on average wood/spec guitars like that. on top of that, the 1527 doesnt even have decent pups, i mean, they were ok, but i'm talking relative terms of emg's, duncans, dimarzios or some other type of pup that are fairly standard on other guitars.

that being said, i'v owned a couple schecters, and a 1527, and i must say that both were quite phenominal. the 007 elite i had played great, it really felt like my les paul studio but in 7 string form.
and the 1527 played just as fucking great, i loved it, but i'm not into the rg/flattop guitars so much.

at the 1000 dollar price point, your bound to get a few duds through, but for the most part, 1527's and the schecters i'v played were killer for the dough, well, if the 1527 was still 799 new, then yea, it was killer for the dough, for 1000? not so much.

[gunshow86de]

Originally Posted by jacksonplayer

The 1527 probably has the worst price-to-value ratio at its current price

You also need to keep in mind that the 1527 comes with one of the best hardcases on the market. Might not mean alot to some people, but the case that comes with the 1527 is amazing

[leonardo7]

I agree, those cases with the 1527 as well as Apex1 are the best, period. As a generalization that reflects personal experience through ownership of all these guitars except the UV, the 1527 is all about the neck, Apex1 is all about the body, UVs are all about the look and Schecters are all about the pickups, near baritone length and set neck. Aside from looks, there is no need to spend more money on a new UV when you can get the 1527 for half the price. The RG1527 is only worth it if you put in some new pickups, the necks are very nice. If you like the tone on Korns first two albums then go for the 1527 and put in a blaze because they used Basswood with Blaze on those albums. If you like the sound on Korns newer albums then get an Apex1 because for the most part they used mahogany and PAF 7s on those records. If your going for more than those sounds and want the Apex1 you will need to spend more money and upgrade your pickups on the Apex but with a good eq dialed in those PAF 7 pickups can do alot. If all your strings will be lower than B E A D G B E and you dont want to have to change pickups and also want to spend the least amount then try a Schecter 7 string. Its the only one available as a hardtail too. A c-7 Schecter with tremolo and hardcase is exactly the same price as the 1527 stock with case. My number one choice? A 1527 neck on an Apex1 body with Schecters EMG pickups.

[Sepultorture]

i imagine the Apex one is all about the body AND the neck, as they are the exact same measurements and are both prestige model necks.

so apex 1 for the win

[Metal Ken]

Originally Posted by gunshow86de

You also need to keep in mind that the 1527 comes with one of the best hardcases on the market. Might not mean alot to some people, but the case that comes with the 1527 is amazing

Nothing like paying 900$ for a 550$ guitar with a 100$ hard case

[dtrax]

Originally Posted by Metal Ken

Nothing like paying 900$ for a 550$ guitar with a 100$ hard case

Don't forget the price increase dude! New RG1527's are now $1000USD... truely ridiculous.