# Strictly 7 Guitars ad/article in Guitar World mag.?



## MoshJosh (Feb 28, 2016)

Saw this in the Sound Check section of the latest Guitar world magazine, and I just thought it was kind of odd. S7G is pretty small, and as far as I know they are pretty unliked haha. . . I just skimmed the article, but it seems to make a big deal out of the fanned fret aspects, but I mean it looks very similar to the new Ibanez Iron labels and Ibanez is much more popular. Maybe I just missed some of the other fanned fret offerings articles, but it just seemed odd to me. 

Not really sure what I'm saying, just caught me off guard figured I'd see what you think. . .


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Feb 28, 2016)

Pics or it's a S7G... Oh wait.


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## Mattykoda (Feb 28, 2016)

Hmmm........
Doesn't he still owe guitars/money to previous buyers?
Review: Strictly 7 Guitars Cobra S7 Fanned Fret | GuitarWorld


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## MaxOfMetal (Feb 28, 2016)

When in doubt, throw guitars and money around. 

Worked last time........oh wait. 

My understanding is someone has invested in the brand. Jim is still involved unfortunately, so I doubt much has changed. Though he's apparently not customer facing. 

Anyone even considering S7G should:
-Check out the abominations they shipped
-See the unfinished crap they brought to NAMM
-Watch the videos of Jim Lewis, the owner, complain about customers for hours


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## Masoo2 (Feb 28, 2016)

May I ask, how did S7 get so popular in Japan?

Quiet a few of Japan's popular prog metal artists (Abstracts, Cyclamen) are using them, and a decent amount of Japanese guitar stores stock them IIRC.

(Also, are all Guitar World reviews looking like that now? That video looked (and sounded) much better than the older ones)


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## MaxOfMetal (Feb 28, 2016)

Masoo2 said:


> May I ask, how did S7 get so popular in Japan?
> 
> Quiet a few of Japan's popular prog metal artists (Abstracts, Cyclamen) are using them, and a decent amount of Japanese guitar stores stock them IIRC.
> 
> (Also, are all Guitar World reviews looking like that now? That video looked (and sounded) much better than the older ones)



I doubt anyone in Japan knew about their screw ups, which were pretty much all in the US. So they didn't have to worry about a poor reputation. 

Thier business model has pretty much always been: "Hey, want a free/super cheap/signature guitar? Well, then tell everyone we're awesome!".


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Feb 28, 2016)

"Brand new"

Werent they formed in 2007 or 2008?


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## MaxOfMetal (Feb 28, 2016)

HeHasTheJazzHands said:


> "Brand new"
> 
> Werent they formed in 2007 or 2008?



Not sure when they made thier first guitar, but it wasn't till around 2009/2010 they started getting serious about marketing on the Internet, but no one cared until about 2012. 

But shhhhhhhhhhhhhh........don't tell anyone about the past. It's not pretty. 

Fun fact, the first time Jim came on here spamming he got shutdown pretty hard folks pointed out his marketing BS, silly business model "only-metal-sevens-bro", bad name, and basic builds. 

Then a few years later he started giving away guitars and endorsements like popcorn and some of the usual suspects came and hyped them up. That didn't last long.


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## Five Ten (Feb 28, 2016)

I find it interesting that there is even a market for generic boring guitars, let alone ones being put out by a company that's notorious for ripping people off and making faulty gear. 

What I find amusing is that they have nothing but poorly cropped "artsy" pictures on their site. I even ran into this gem:






Is that intentional? To have pock marks in the finish? It looks half assed to me. I mean, I've seen some guitars where there is texture to the finish, but this just looks like they skipped a step in the finishing process.


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## Jaxcharvel (Feb 29, 2016)

Five Ten said:


> I find it interesting that there is even a market for generic boring guitars, let alone ones being put out by a company that's notorious for ripping people off and making faulty gear.
> 
> What I find amusing is that they have nothing but poorly cropped "artsy" pictures on their site. I even ran into this gem:
> 
> ...



Not to defend this joker in any way, but that's probably just an oil finish. My Carvin has a claro walnut top with just tung oil and it has that in it.


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## Pikka Bird (Feb 29, 2016)

Five Ten said:


> Is that intentional? To have pock marks in the finish? It looks half assed to me. I mean, I've seen some guitars where there is texture to the finish, but this just looks like they skipped a step in the finishing process.



The worst issue here isn't the marks in the finish, which may well be intentional, but check out that flat spot on the side right next to the switch. Yuck!. Also, notice how far back those saddles are all across the bridge, which is placed way too far forwards. Not a make-or-break type dealio, but not really very professional looking.


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## Warg Master (Feb 29, 2016)

Jaxcharvel said:


> Not to defend this joker in any way, but that's probably just an oil finish. My Carvin has a claro walnut top with just tung oil and it has that in it.



I have a Carvin 727 Mahogany in Tung oil. can see all the grains as well. No defending here, but I kind of like the raw wood look. I've seen a lot of those finishes though with the multiple colors in varying stages of finish. those look pretty horrible and half-assed.


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## MaxOfMetal (Feb 29, 2016)

The finish would be the last thing I'd worry about given S7G's track record. 

We're talking gouges, not small grain marks, on $3k guitars and endorsee models with frets falling off. No exaggeration here. 

Never mind the awful guitars, the super protracted build times, botched specs, and the owners abhorrent attitude towards customers, publicly complaining about them and calling them names, anyone who buys one of these is a chump of the highest order.


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## Emperor Guillotine (Feb 29, 2016)

Ok, straight-up, are the Guitar World guys even aware that the bridge pickup is a Duncan Retribution and the neck pickup is a Duncan Blackout AHB-1? Or are they just stupid? ("Custom designed S7G Blackout". It says it is a Retribution on the S7G website.)


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## Five Ten (Feb 29, 2016)

MaxOfMetal said:


> The finish would be the last thing I'd worry about given S7G's track record.
> 
> We're talking gouges, not small grain marks, on $3k guitars and endorsee models with frets falling off. No exaggeration here.
> 
> Never mind the awful guitars, the super protracted build times, botched specs, and the owners abhorrent attitude towards customers, publicly complaining about them and calling them names, anyone who buys one of these is a chump of the highest order.



Oh no, I wasn't saying that the finish was the biggest concern. 

I was unaware that it was a thing to have pock marks on a guitar as an oiled finish. I've seen some guitars where the grain is texured, like on some Mayones (gothic?) builds, and Kiesel does the raw tone, but it never looks cheap. My whole point was more that they took up close images of (what I thought was) a flawed finish with no attempt to hide it. It just sort of felt like those glaringly flawed guitars they brought to NAMM that one time. Like, why would you display so prominently such flawed gear?

I also remember Keith Merrow's proto sig with frets falling out, hours long videos of Jim railing on customers, and wormholes up the ass on some guitars they _did_ manage to complete. Let's not forget all of the unfulfilled orders while they keep trying to sell new builds.

S7 can be described as nothing other than one humongous .... show.

Regarding the image I posted before, I still think it looks cheap. Perhaps it's because the grain divots don't look uniform. It looks like only around the switch has them, though that just may be the lighting.


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## JumpingInFire (Feb 29, 2016)

I used to work at a Guitar Center down the road from Jim. He used to bring his guitars in to sell to us that we would have to resell as used when he needed money. I haven't worked there for almost 2 years but the last I heard from a friend that is still with that GC said that Strictly 7 was closing shop. That was a couple months ago. Who knows what is going on there. Jim is a shady guy to deal with. Guitar World sucks and produced one of the most generic reviews imaginable. They could have done that without even playing the guitar and it probably happened that way. I recommend staying away from both S7G and Guitar World!


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Feb 29, 2016)

Said it before and I'll say it again (although this is common knowledge at this point); Guitar World reviews aren't reviews. They're glorified demos that make the gear seem as nice as possible. The only time I've ever seen a negative comment from them was for a review of a Yamaha bass, saying the electronics were noisy because they used true single-coil electronics.


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## cip 123 (Feb 29, 2016)

Five Ten said:


>



I don't care if it's an oil finish that binding is terrible. Also the blurry edit on the side of the body is very suspicious.


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## BrailleDecibel (Feb 29, 2016)

Didn't even notice that blurry edit...who knows what could be lurking under there.


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## CaptainD00M (Feb 29, 2016)

Am I the only one whose glad the guy didn't play blues in that gear test?


But yeah, .... S7G with one of their own hideous guitars. I remember when he messaged me saying 'hey I saw you were looking at getting a custom' which wigged me, as I'd casually mentioned one day that I'd like a custom... probably like many people who play guitar might casually mention, one day, during their midlife crisis when they have cash it would be nice to have a custom.

So ....ing glad I didn't pull the trigger


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## JoeChugs (Feb 29, 2016)

I find it amazing that S7G still comes up. Company is a joke.


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## lewis (Feb 29, 2016)

i wish someone was rich enough to just buy the entire company, just to then have 1 giant "Burn a business" with one heck of bonfire to destroy it once and for all. Its a cancer that has no place in this world.

Would be doing un suspecting victims a huge service too. The dudes should be in Jail


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## marcwormjim (Feb 29, 2016)

I never posted this at the time, due to believing you don't kick someone when they're down:

I passed S7G and Vik at NAMM, following their respective social suicides. They had a similar approach in begging passersby to hold one of their guitars - I guess in the hope that you'd develop a sentimental attachment and try to breastfeed them.

The poor new guy with S7G was giving his spiel about how "this is the most comfortable guitar neck in the world; because it was designed by a physical therapist!" I felt bad for the kicked puppy-vibe I got from him and Kuletski. I just smiled and told them they felt great, then handed them back while offering thanks for letting me disgrace them with my hands. The Vik wasn't as memorable as whatever the hell was with that S7G neck - It and a Petrucci prototype neck have been the only two to compress a nerve and make my fretting hand tingle toward numbness just from holding them.


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## cip 123 (Mar 1, 2016)

marcwormjim said:


> I never posted this at the time, due to believing you don't kick someone when they're down:
> 
> I passed S7G and Vik at NAMM, following their respective social suicides. They had a similar approach in begging passersby to hold one of their guitars - I guess in the hope that you'd develop a sentimental attachment and try to breastfeed them.
> 
> The poor new guy with S7G was giving his spiel about how "this is the most comfortable guitar neck in the world; because it was designed by a physical therapist!" I felt bad for the kicked puppy-vibe I got from him and Kuletski. I just smiled and told them they felt great, then handed them back while offering thanks for letting me disgrace them with my hands. The Vik wasn't as memorable as whatever the hell was with that S7G neck - It and a Petrucci prototype neck have been the only two to compress a nerve and make my fretting hand tingle toward numbness just from holding them.




You don't really have to kick...Just point out the obvious VISIBLE flaws with the guitars.

You seem to have felt for yourself how bad they are. I don't get where he gets of saying "Most comfortable guitar neck in the world" It looks like every other neck apart from necks that are designed to be comfortable like the enduraneck...


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## feraledge (Mar 1, 2016)

Maybe for the sake of ultimate Google-ability, there should be a sticky-ed thread on one of the sub-forums to log and sum up all of the lengthy threads regarding individual builders and their scams/failures. Certainly enough info here to deflate a large handful of builders and save some folks from getting duped.


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## mphsc (Mar 1, 2016)

sort of related: 






Eww


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## MaxOfMetal (Mar 1, 2016)

feraledge said:


> Maybe for the sake of ultimate Google-ability, there should be a sticky-ed thread on one of the sub-forums to log and sum up all of the lengthy threads regarding individual builders and their scams/failures. Certainly enough info here to deflate a large handful of builders and save some folks from getting duped.



Too much liability on Alex's part. Not gonna happen. 

I've said it before and I'll say it again, anyone who gives thousands of thier hard earned money to a builder without at least a two-page-deep Google search _deserves_ to get screwed.


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## thrsher (Mar 1, 2016)

mphsc said:


> sort of related:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



of course the execution is off, but i really like the idea of what they are trying to pull off. if i was gonna go headless i would be interested in something in this realm with a full body


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## cip 123 (Mar 1, 2016)

mphsc said:


> sort of related:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I'm liking the floyd nut to hold the strings....


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## MaxOfMetal (Mar 1, 2016)

thrsher said:


> of course the execution is off, but i really like the idea of what they are trying to pull off. if i was gonna go headless i would be interested in something in this realm with a full body



Quasi-ergonomic, fanned headless guitars are in right now. At least in the small niche that is extended range. 

This is absolutely nothing new.



cip 123 said:


> I'm liking the floyd nut to hold the strings....



You know, it's not the worst idea. Granted it's not a good idea, as it'll restrict string gauge variances for like strings. 

Its prettier than the "just stick a giant piece of brass with some holes drilled in it" thing that a lot of builders are doing.


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## cwhitey2 (Mar 1, 2016)

mphsc said:


> sort of related:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Whats wrong with the lower horn...looks like a finish flaw 


Maybe I'm just to critical though


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## cip 123 (Mar 1, 2016)

MaxOfMetal said:


> You know, it's not the worst idea. Granted it's not a good idea, as it'll restrict string gauge variances for like strings.
> 
> Its prettier than the "just stick a giant piece of brass with some holes drilled in it" thing that a lot of builders are doing.



I'm pretty interested in how they finished the neck off. Usually the Giant piece of brass covers the end, but the floyd nut leaves everything exposed, theoretically at least.


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## feraledge (Mar 1, 2016)

MaxOfMetal said:


> Too much liability on Alex's part. Not gonna happen.
> 
> I've said it before and I'll say it again, anyone who gives thousands of thier hard earned money to a builder without at least a two-page-deep Google search _deserves_ to get screwed.



Totally understandable. 
Puts a little extra glimmer of snark in my "oh you're a metal guitarist and you don't know about SSO" general attitude. The guitar world outside of SSO is overrated, anywhere that guitar flippers are welcome is a place where I'll gladly show myself the door. 



MaxOfMetal said:


> You know, it's not the worst idea. Granted it's not a good idea, as it'll restrict string gauge variances for like strings.
> 
> Its prettier than the "just stick a giant piece of brass with some holes drilled in it" thing that a lot of builders are doing.



They learned from the best: 




I'm not sure how much I would really trust a Floyd locking nut to hold everything down on its own. Especially on a 7 with the 3 strings on one clamp. I've read horror stories of people over-tightening those bolts to detrimental levels. 
Not that I think anyone should buy this or any other S7G guitar.


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## IChuckFinleyI (Mar 1, 2016)

cwhitey2 said:


> Whats wrong with the lower horn...looks like a finish flaw
> 
> 
> Maybe I'm just to critical though



It looks like more of an all out scratch. Of course it would be just as ugly with a flawless finish.


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## cwhitey2 (Mar 2, 2016)

IChuckFinleyI said:


> It looks like more of an all out scratch. Of course it would be just as ugly with a flawless finish.



Very true


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## mperrotti34 (Mar 2, 2016)

I just got to play 3 different Strictly 7 models one of which I know was featured at there booth at NAMM. To be honest They are really cool looking guitars but I do have a few complaints and I understand why the company has not caught on with many players. One thing I have seen mentioned in this thread is the quality control and attention to small details. I will agree that the ones I played did have some finish flaws and various other minute flaws but overall the playability was pretty good. The action on the ones I played was super low. My only major complaint is the neck shape. Not a huge fan of it. If anyone who hasnt played them has any questions about them let me know. I am actually going to be doing some demos for the guitar shop that has the ones I played so I spent a pretty good amount of time with them today to get to know all the details.


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## jmeezle (Mar 2, 2016)

I don't know... I like mine. It was spec'd by my friend and built for him by an ex-employee who left because of Jim's bull.... and inability to properly run a company. Either way, it's built very well without any horror stories to report.


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## Five Ten (Mar 2, 2016)

jmeezle said:


> I don't know... I like mine. It was spec'd by my friend and built for him by an ex-employee who left because of Jim's bull.... and inability to properly run a company. Either way, it's built very well without any horror stories to report.




Yeah, but with the frequency with which bad guitars came out, it's not worth gambling the thousands to _maybe_ get a good guitar, if you even get one at all. One of my biggest gripes with S7 is the fact that they had the balls to try selling new guitars to people at NAMM when they still owed lots of other people guitars already.

When you have the time to make guitars, you make them for the people who already payed you, not for new customers. You shouldn't even be thinking of new customers until you've taken care of your old ones.


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## Pikka Bird (Mar 2, 2016)

jmeezle said:


> ...built for him by an *ex-employee* who left because of Jim's bull.... and inability to properly run a company.



There's the keyword. Jim has had a few good people under his employ, but they've pretty much all abandoned ship after a while.

After seeing the NAMM stuff I was pretty appalled, even when I thought they had showed me all they had. A company who things this is show-worthy really has dropped the ball in a biiig way:


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## wannabguitarist (Mar 2, 2016)

^that was at NAMM?!


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## jmeezle (Mar 2, 2016)

Pikka Bird said:


> There's the keyword. Jim has had a few good people under his employ, but they've pretty much all abandoned ship after a while.
> 
> After seeing the NAMM stuff I was pretty appalled, even when I thought they had showed me all they had. A company who things this is show-worthy really has dropped the ball in a biiig way:



WHAT. IS. THAT?!?!

And I agree that Jim has brought all of the negativity on himself and his brand, that isn't even up for debate. I'm in no way a S7G supporter other than grabbing a pretty sweet custom 8 from a buddy who built with them... but I've played some pretty f'ing nice 7's that came out of that shop as well as an 8 string that felt and played like I built it (i've never built a guitar).


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## High Plains Drifter (Mar 2, 2016)

Pikka Bird said:


> There's the keyword. Jim has had a few good people under his employ, but they've pretty much all abandoned ship after a while.
> 
> After seeing the NAMM stuff I was pretty appalled, even when I thought they had showed me all they had. A company who things this is show-worthy really has dropped the ball in a biiig way:



I feel like it's looking at me... and not in a good way.


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## gunch (Mar 2, 2016)

S7s were always bland as hell in their design sensibilities and branding how did they ever got popular


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Mar 2, 2016)

Because "cheap" and "custom" sells.


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## MaxOfMetal (Mar 2, 2016)

silverabyss said:


> S7s were always bland as hell in their design sensibilities and branding how did they ever got popular



They made cheap custom RGs. 

The d-bag artists didn't hurt.


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## mperrotti34 (Mar 2, 2016)

Pikka Bird said:


> There's the keyword. Jim has had a few good people under his employ, but they've pretty much all abandoned ship after a while.
> 
> After seeing the NAMM stuff I was pretty appalled, even when I thought they had showed me all they had. A company who things this is show-worthy really has dropped the ball in a biiig way:



Funny enough this is actually one of the ones I got to demo today. Of the 3 that I played this one was the best playing guitar. The tuning stability, action and intonation were pretty good to be honest. The neck profile was killing me though.


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## BrailleDecibel (Mar 2, 2016)

The finish kinda reminds me of the dual-color Yamaha AES guitars they put out back in the day...only the Yamahas were much more tastefully done:


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## MaxOfMetal (Mar 2, 2016)

mperrotti34 said:


> Funny enough this is actually one of the ones I got to demo today. Of the 3 that I played this one was the best playing guitar. The tuning stability, action and intonation were pretty good to be honest. The neck profile was killing me though.



I don't care if they're the best playing guitars on Earth. That's not the point. 

The fact that a) the owner is an absolute jagoff, b) they have no problem lying to thier customers, c) have shown dubious efforts to actually ship guitars as ordered and in a reasonable time frame, seals the deal on them being a no-go.


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## mperrotti34 (Mar 2, 2016)

MaxOfMetal said:


> I don't care if they're the best playing guitars on Earth. That's not the point.
> 
> The fact that a) the owner is an absolute jagoff, b) they have no problem lying to thier customers, c) have shown dubious efforts to actually ship guitars as ordered and in a reasonable time frame, seals the deal on them being a no-go.



I wasnt saying they were good playing guitars at all. I just meant that of the 3 that I played that one was the better one. I have played guitars at half the price that slay these things all day. In terms of the company and the owner, I dont know the whole story so I cant really comment. I just wanted to post in this thread from a completely neutral standpoint since that is where I am at this point. That could change though if/when I find out more about what happened. I will say though that in terms of quality and finish and all that stuff that people have mentioned in here, it seemed a bit rushed. Like I noticed especially on the blue and white one that the line where the white stops and the blue begins did not match the body shape. It was kinda close but not quite there. Just seems like mayne they were trying to crank out these guitars for NAMM and didnt put the correct amount of effort in to make them look appropriate.


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## Mvotre (Mar 2, 2016)

BrailleDecibel said:


> The finish kinda reminds me of the dual-color Yamaha AES guitars they put out back in the day...only the Yamahas were much more tastefully done:
> 
> 
> nah, the Yamaha looks nice
> ...


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Mar 2, 2016)

...., now I want an AES again.


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## Five Ten (Mar 2, 2016)

Mvotre said:


> The S7G looks like they started with a burst idea, but in the end just ....ed it up and just go "whatever"



It looks especially ridiculous because they (poorly) masked it off, but not even all the way around. For some reason, the bottom half of the white sort of fades into the blue like a burst normally does, but the top half is a hard line. Just like the color choice, it's a questionable move and just looks like "baby's first attempt" at making an interesting burst or something.


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## ElRay (Mar 2, 2016)

MoshJosh said:


> ... latest Guitar world magazine ... Not really sure what I'm saying, just caught me off guard figured I'd see what you think. . .



I think EVERYBODY that is owed money, a refund, a guitar, repairs, etc. should contact Guitar World, explain the situation, state that it's been X months/years since you last heard from Jim, and you were hoping that they could provide you with more current/active contact info. Don't slag, insult, bitch, etc., just politely inquire about contact info because you'd like to have this on-going issue resolved.


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## anne (Mar 3, 2016)

Damn. I didn't know S7G rep took such a nosedive since I was last here. My super weird 2012 custom is still doing me really fine, and Jim responded to me earlier this year in less than a day, lol.


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## uni777 (Mar 3, 2016)

Whoever did this to a Fernandes Ravelle shape schould be shot..


mphsc said:


> sort of related:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## mniel8195 (Mar 3, 2016)

These guitars looks like total crap. I came across one in guitar center used and it had the worst neck profile i have ever come across.


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## mnemonic (Mar 3, 2016)

I never got the hype for these guitars. Sso seemed to really like them for a while there, but they all look like super generic amateur builds to me. Like something you'd see in the luthierie subforum from someone building their first guitar. 

That 'burst' single cut on the last page just screams "I've never finished a guitar before." It's like someone didn't even bother to google how to do a burst finish, they just went for it. I wonder how many other times that happened on that guitar, how many flaws are there that you can't see.


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## lewis (Mar 3, 2016)

Pikka Bird said:


> There's the keyword. Jim has had a few good people under his employ, but they've pretty much all abandoned ship after a while.
> 
> After seeing the NAMM stuff I was pretty appalled, even when I thought they had showed me all they had. A company who things this is show-worthy really has dropped the ball in a biiig way:



 its like someones attempt at making a shovel into a guitar. Covered in some sort of terrible kids hockey team jersey. This is simply the worst finish I have ever seen. Hands down.


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## Señor Voorhees (Mar 3, 2016)

Not gonna lie, this thread has me wanting to feel the neck profile for myself. Obviously I'm not going to spend any money on one, but I wish I could find one in a shop just to feel the neck. People make it sound like its a 2x4 with rounded edges, which is embarrassing if true.


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## jmeezle (Mar 3, 2016)

Señor Voorhees;4543893 said:


> Not gonna lie, this thread has me wanting to feel the neck profile for myself. Obviously I'm not going to spend any money on one, but I wish I could find one in a shop just to feel the neck. People make it sound like its a 2x4 with rounded edges, which is embarrassing if true.



The neck profile is really weird. It's very thick and flat and takes a bit of getting used to (especially if you're used to Ibanez necks like me). I will say that after getting used the profile it's pretty comfortable... I can play on my 8 for an hour+ and not feel any pain or fatigue. Not my neck of choice but I've played worse.


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## katsusand (Mar 3, 2016)

Masoo2 said:


> May I ask, how did S7 get so popular in Japan?
> 
> Quiet a few of Japan's popular prog metal artists (Abstracts, Cyclamen) are using them, and a decent amount of Japanese guitar stores stock them IIRC.
> 
> (Also, are all Guitar World reviews looking like that now? That video looked (and sounded) much better than the older ones)



Easy answer. 
1) giveaway/rental to artists(mostly djentlemen)
2) S7G is very famous by Ola Englund. Most "metal-kids" buy it.(and payment is loan
lol)
3) Artists makes custom-order guitar. Dealers just add "Signeture model" rabel to sell same-spec guitars.
4) In the past, S7G failed of endorsement on Ola, Kieth, and Acle. maybe thinking of "Japan is a great market of selling S7Gs" 
This "method of endorsement" as same as ESP in Japan (Visual-Kei)

BTW: I played S7G on Gakki fair 2014, Neck is SOOOOOO FAT. Strong havit neck which is loved by some and hated by others.


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## mperrotti34 (Mar 3, 2016)

Señor Voorhees;4543893 said:


> Not gonna lie, this thread has me wanting to feel the neck profile for myself. Obviously I'm not going to spend any money on one, but I wish I could find one in a shop just to feel the neck. People make it sound like its a 2x4 with rounded edges, which is embarrassing if true.





jmeezle said:


> The neck profile is really weird. It's very thick and flat and takes a bit of getting used to (especially if you're used to Ibanez necks like me). I will say that after getting used the profile it's pretty comfortable... I can play on my 8 for an hour+ and not feel any pain or fatigue. Not my neck of choice but I've played worse.





Yes it pretty much feels like a 2x4 with rounded edges. I actually ended up speaking to Jason one of the employees about the neck last night. According to him a completely flat neck is supposed to improve the positioning of your hand and relax the muscles in your wrist and fingers.


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## op1e (Mar 6, 2016)

jmeezle said:


> I don't know... I like mine. It was spec'd by my friend and built for him by an ex-employee who left because of Jim's bull.... and inability to properly run a company. Either way, it's built very well without any horror stories to report.



I'm betting you mean Curran. All hope was lost with him gone. Good dude, he's offered to record us.


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## Emperor Guillotine (Mar 6, 2016)

mperrotti34 said:


> Yes it pretty much feels like a 2x4 with rounded edges. I actually ended up speaking to Jason one of the employees about the neck last night. According to him a completely flat neck is supposed to improve the positioning of your hand and relax the muscles in your wrist and fingers.


This is why you see Toone and Strandberg utilizing their designs of a trapezoidal neck profile.

A flat plane gives your thumb something to grip and push against; whereas, a curved surface causes your thumb to constantly struggle for traction and to get a grip, which is what causes that tension leading up to fatigue in between your thumb and index finger and in your fret hand wrist. 

I own an older S7G artist proto from their brief "heyday" back in 2012 (I've been meaning to make a NGD thread for 2+ months now), and the neck is not that thick by a long shot. Maybe it's not Ibanez "snap-over-your-knee" thin (sorry to the fanboys), but it definitely is not thick. I've played far thicker necks - as I am sure that many of you also have. (Could it be that the particular one that I have has a thinner neck?) 

The neck profile is actually really comfortable for me because of the larger flat surface that it offers. It is like a straight, flat cut of wood with rounded edges. Think of it this way: you have a C-shape, a D-shape, a V-shape, and the S7G [-shape. That is pretty much what it looks like. A bracket. Is the neck ergonomic? No. That word is something reserved for the likes of Toone and Strandberg who actually have invented a new design/shape for the guitar neck. But is it comfortable? Personal taste.


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## technomancer (Mar 6, 2016)

Sorry any comment that the S7 neck is shaped like it is to be ergonomic is complete bullsh1t. It's a rounded 2x4 because it takes less time, effort, and skill to just slightly round the edges of an appropriately sized block of wood than to carve an actual neck profile. It's also much easier to do consistently.

The bullsh1t people fall for around here astounds me sometimes 

As for Toone and Strandberg you'll notice their profiles are angled and shaped in very specific ways, not just a big chunk of lumber with rounded edges...

That said after all that's happened anybody that is stupid enough to deal with S7 deserves whatever they get


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## Emperor Guillotine (Mar 6, 2016)

I most certainly did not say that.

And even though I own a S7G, I would not do business with the company or even consider purchasing anything directly from them. I purchased my older artist proto used awhile back from a fellow player whose opinion I trusted and who answered any questions that I had. So I felt a little safer in my purchase. No dealing with S7G.


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## cip 123 (Mar 6, 2016)

Pikka Bird said:


>



What is this? 

The white fades then just cuts off? Looks like they tried some bust and just got bored half way through!

And its not even! It's all misshapen if you're going to go for a cut off it's a pretty darn good idea to make sure it looks good not all wobbly. 

And the fade is only at the bottom?

Also whats that nick right in the middle on the edge of the white at the bottom?

Something looks off about the bridge pickup or bridge and pickup alignment in general to my eyes anyway. 

The black binding on the right top corner also looks suspicious, you can see it most of the way round and it just goes wonky where it meets the neck.

And is that just a lighting thing or something actually on the low B string at the bridge.

Wood between the neck and pickup, finish looks off too.

The fact this was even on display at NAMM should show how bad these guitars are. NAMM is meant to be your best if this is the best...I don't wanna see their worst. 

They charge money for sh*t like this?


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## jmeezle (Mar 7, 2016)

op1e said:


> I'm betting you mean Curran. All hope was lost with him gone. Good dude, he's offered to record us.


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## mperrotti34 (Mar 7, 2016)

Emperor Guillotine said:


> This is why you see Toone and Strandberg utilizing their designs of a trapezoidal neck profile.
> 
> A flat plane gives your thumb something to grip and push against; whereas, a curved surface causes your thumb to constantly struggle for traction and to get a grip, which is what causes that tension leading up to fatigue in between your thumb and index finger and in your fret hand wrist.
> 
> ...




The neck profile has totally grown on me. I have gotten to know Jason who is the head of marketing now for S7G and he showed me a bunch of stuff about their necks. I absolutely love it now. I actually just did a video shoot for them and the local guitar shop that is stocking their stuff now. I got to play about 7-10 of their guitars total including the one that was just featured in guitar world and the new Madusa and I am honestly in love with the fanned fret stuff. I know a lot of guys on here are talking about build quality and attention to detail. I actually talked to jason about this and they are doing a lot to improve it. The newer models I played are fantastic and the attention to detail is top notch. They have completely redesigned their business model. I think a lot of people are going to be really surprised with S7G in the future. They are on the right track now.


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## MaxOfMetal (Mar 7, 2016)

mperrotti34 said:


> The neck profile has totally grown on me. I have gotten to know Jason who is the head of marketing now for S7G and he showed me a bunch of stuff about their necks. I absolutely love it now. I actually just did a video shoot for them and the local guitar shop that is stocking their stuff now. I got to play about 7-10 of their guitars total including the one that was just featured in guitar world and the new Madusa and I am honestly in love with the fanned fret stuff. I know a lot of guys on here are talking about build quality and attention to detail. I actually talked to jason about this and they are doing a lot to improve it. The newer models I played are fantastic and the attention to detail is top notch. They have completely redesigned their business model. I think a lot of people are going to be really surprised with S7G in the future. They are on the right track now.



Shill alert. 

You went from being not into them and saying they were nothing special, but now that you're repping them you're "in love". 

Sorry, seen this episode before.


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## technomancer (Mar 7, 2016)

mperrotti34 said:


> The neck profile has totally grown on me. I have gotten to know Jason who is the head of marketing now for S7G and he showed me a bunch of stuff about their necks. I absolutely love it now. I actually just did a video shoot for them and the local guitar shop that is stocking their stuff now. I got to play about 7-10 of their guitars total including the one that was just featured in guitar world and the new Madusa and I am honestly in love with the fanned fret stuff. I know a lot of guys on here are talking about build quality and attention to detail. I actually talked to jason about this and they are doing a lot to improve it. The newer models I played are fantastic and the attention to detail is top notch. They have completely redesigned their business model. I think a lot of people are going to be really surprised with S7G in the future. They are on the right track now.



Also since you're doing work for them please put your affiliation in your account signature.


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