# AntonioTsai handcrafted inlaid 7 String



## Adam (Apr 28, 2006)

It's actually an amazing guitar; very solidly built (it was handbuilt), best I've tried other than the UV and K-7. It's made of solid alder, has a real flame maple top, 24 fret quarter-sawn maple neck, rosewood fingerboard, frets are perfect (no wear, crookedness, or anything else wrong), real mother of pearl and abalone inlays, has a 16 inch radius neck with scalloped neck joint, contoured heel (very comfortable neck!), Original style Floyd Rose Tremelo(which stays in tune perfectly), I've taken it apart checked everything and there are no flaws, the P/U's are OK but not great, very muddy with neck P/U, but Im going to replace them with EMG 707s anyways so I can get Rusty Cooleys and Francesco Fareris tone. Other than the P/U's nothing is wrong with it, I only got it for $400, this guitar could have easily sold well over a $1000.
If you want to see a pic check my profile for it, because I don't know how to upload pics's yet.


----------



## nyck (Apr 29, 2006)

Hmmmmmmm....


----------



## Adam (Apr 29, 2006)

nyck said:


> Hmmmmmmm....



?


----------



## David (Apr 29, 2006)

Yngwie said:


> Im going to replace them with EMG 707s anyways so I can get Rusty Cooleys and Francesco Fareris tone.


Well, Rusty's tone comes majorly impart by the fact that he's using a Bogner Uberschall, and a Rocktron Prophesy, along with the Mesa cabs. To me... EMG's have no tone at all, but are nicely accented when use with the right amp/effects/settings.


----------



## bostjan (Apr 29, 2006)

David said:


> Well, Rusty's tone comes majorly impart by the fact that he's using a Bogner Uberschall, and a Rocktron Prophesy, along with the Mesa cabs. To me... EMG's have no tone at all, but are nicely accented when use with the right amp/effects/settings.




No tone at all?!


----------



## Adam (Apr 29, 2006)

David said:


> Well, Rusty's tone comes majorly impart by the fact that he's using a Bogner Uberschall, and a Rocktron Prophesy, along with the Mesa cabs. To me... EMG's have no tone at all, but are nicely accented when use with the right amp/effects/settings.



I don't know, EMG 707's are supposed to have a bright tone right?, but it doesent really matter to me, as long as I get these peice of S#[email protected]$ P/U's out. But Francesco used Marshalls for his early stuff. I have my amp and effects setup so that I can almost replicate their tone, I just thought the EMG's would have just helped.


----------



## nyck (Apr 29, 2006)

Yngwie said:


> ?


I've heard mixed things about these guitars. I don't know what to think anymore about them.

Also, the trem appears to be a licensed, not original floyd.


----------



## Adam (Apr 29, 2006)

nyck said:


> I've heard mixed things about these guitars. I don't know what to think anymore about them.



Trust me they are actually of good quality, they are not like those chinease ripoffs, but they are no Universe.


----------



## nyck (Apr 29, 2006)

Yngwie said:


> Trust me they are actually of good quality, they are not like those chinease ripoffs, but they are no Universe.


Some of them looks pretty sweet actually. I've considered them a few times, but the shipping cost is what kills me.


----------



## Adam (Apr 29, 2006)

nyck said:


> Some of them looks pretty sweet actually. I've considered them a few times, but the shipping cost is what kills me.



Yeah $100 plus the $10 Shipping insurance they neglect to mention and the $45 customs fee. Like I said before the only thing wrong with it is the P/U's.


----------



## David (Apr 29, 2006)

ok... I'll change what I said. EMG's have pretty much no "substance." I've had 707's and I'm using Blaze's right now. I prefer the Blazes, becuase they give me that substance, but I think I could get a good chunky metal tone with the 707's and my POD Xt Live.


And dude, don't try and replicate ze masters.... try to be a master... that's just my 1/50th of a dollar though. Make music your own journey rather than follow someone else's.


----------



## Adam (Apr 29, 2006)

David said:


> ok... I'll change what I said. EMG's have pretty much no "substance." I've had 707's and I'm using Blaze's right now. I prefer the Blazes, becuase they give me that substance, but I think I could get a good chunky metal tone with the 707's and my POD Xt Live.
> 
> 
> And dude, don't try and replicate ze masters.... try to be a master... that's just my 1/50th of a dollar though. Make music your own journey rather than follow someone else's.



I know, I know, but I just like playing their songs for fun it's nice to get the sound/tone dead on when your covering it, you have to agree with me on that right? 
The music I make up isn't like theirs but it is still shred, I just can't make up a song with 7 minutes plus of shred like they can. My signature sound is kind of the best of both worlds thing, so it's different from them.......kinda.


----------



## bostjan (Apr 29, 2006)

David said:


> And dude, don't try and replicate ze masters.... try to be a master... that's just my  though. Make music your own journey rather than follow someone else's.



Here here! 

There's only one Rusty.

Not that I'm assuming that's what he's going for, but just don't go too far after someone else's tone.

As for EMG's, they do have less color than passives, but it gives you greater tone control and fidelity. But for an active pickup, they color the sound quite a bit. They're kind of like the middle ground. I've played some jazz boxes with Bartolinis and tried Shadow actives, and all I can say is that they offer a very clear, almost acoustic tone.


----------



## nyck (Apr 29, 2006)

How's the hard case that comes with it?

Is the neck similar to Ibanez or what?


----------



## Adam (Apr 29, 2006)

I originally wanted the EMG's because they the best for harmonics and artificial harmonics from what I hear, but the idea of carving up my new guitars flame maple makes me cringe a bit, so I actually might end up going for Dimarzio's.



nyck said:


> How's the hard case that comes with it?
> 
> Is the neck similar to Ibanez or what?



The hard case is good, comes with a lock and key, weird design that you dont see in the pics, but the case is a bit too big so the guitar moves around inside.
As for the neck it is very similar to the ibanez 7620 or Prestige 1527, exept that those 2 have necks with 17 inch radius, and this neck has 16, so its a bit flatter, but still amazing I can shred on it so its good enough for that. And it doesent feel like a baseball bat.


----------



## eleven59 (Apr 29, 2006)

Yngwie said:


> As for the neck it is very similar to the ibanez 7620 or Prestige 1527, exept that those 2 have necks with 17 inch radius, and this neck has 16, so its a bit flatter, but still amazing I can shred on it so its good enough for that. And it doesent feel like a baseball bat.


Actually, a 17"-radius is flatter than a 16"-radius.


----------



## Adam (Apr 29, 2006)

eleven59 said:


> Actually, a 17"-radius is flatter than a 16"-radius.



Whoops, sorry.


----------



## guitarjitsumaster (Apr 29, 2006)

The EMG's are very articulate. Thats why rusty likes them. The notes standout individualy very well and stay focused in high gain situations. I dont understand why people say EMG's have no tone. Its just that they have one tone "rip your face off distortion" and no other pickups IMO do it better than EMG's. Listen to rusty's new tracks with outworld. His 707's and 81-7s scream!

People who balk at the EMG's are typically those who are more versatility oriented and want pickups that can do many things decently. Rather then a pickup that is best suited to Molten Metal only for the most part. You can see this in who those who play EMG's, Metallica, slayer, Deftones, fear factory, Zakk Wylde, Judas priest, Nevermore, These guys are looking for this one tone that EMG does well. PS. I know some of these guys dont use EMG's at all times.


----------



## Adam (Apr 29, 2006)

guitarjitsumaster said:


> The EMG's are very articulate. Thats why rusty likes them. The notes standout individualy very well and stay focused in high gain situations. I dont understand why people say EMG's have no tone. Its just that they have one tone "rip your face off distortion" and no other pickups IMO do it better than EMG's. Listen to rusty's new tracks with outworld. His 707's and 81-7s scream!
> 
> People who balk at the EMG's are typically those who are more versatility oriented and want pickups that can do many things decently. Rather then a pickup that is best suited to Molten Metal only for the most part. You can see this in who those who play EMG's, Metallica, slayer, Deftones, fear factory, Zakk Wylde, Judas priest, Nevermore, These guys are looking for this one tone that EMG does well. PS. I know some of these guys dont use EMG's at all times.



So, I guess if I want my notes to be heard while playing arpeggios or fast shred like Rusty I should stick to buying the EMG's? becase I'm pretty much just into shred and I don't require alot of versatility.


----------



## bostjan (Apr 29, 2006)

If you want a hot, molten tone with tons of focus, get the EMG's.

I like DiMarzios when I don't feel like performing surgery or having surgery done, otherwise, I go for EMG's. They are hardcore, hi-fi, high output, wide band pickups.


----------



## David (Apr 29, 2006)

guitarjitsumaster said:


> The EMG's are very articulate. Thats why rusty likes them. The notes standout individualy very well and stay focused in high gain situations. I dont understand why people say EMG's have no tone. Its just that they have one tone "rip your face off distortion" and no other pickups IMO do it better than EMG's. Listen to rusty's new tracks with outworld. His 707's and 81-7s scream!
> 
> People who balk at the EMG's are typically those who are more versatility oriented and want pickups that can do many things decently. Rather then a pickup that is best suited to Molten Metal only for the most part. You can see this in who those who play EMG's, Metallica, slayer, Deftones, fear factory, Zakk Wylde, Judas priest, Nevermore, These guys are looking for this one tone that EMG does well. PS. I know some of these guys dont use EMG's at all times.



LISTEN

EMG's have no tone. EMG's plus some good settings, or a nice amp, sound amazing. Rusty doesn't get his incredible tone from them EMG's, he gets his punctuality from them, but not the majority of his tone.


And to "yngwie," I was just looking at your gear... and seeing that you're not really finding yourself there, more or so finding the signature models and what others "play" (even though they don't use those guitars). I myself, once dug myself into an area like that, and I ended up wasting a lot of money. Whenever I have the chance to tell someone to think otherwise, I will, becuase that was one mistake I will never live down. Gibson LP + lots of boss pedals = lots of wasted money. I'm harsh and to the point because I care.


----------



## nyck (Apr 29, 2006)

David said:


> LISTEN
> 
> EMG's have no tone. EMG's plus some good settings, or a nice amp, sound amazing. Rusty doesn't get his incredible tone from them EMG's, he gets his punctuality from them, but not the majority of his tone.
> 
> ...


So you're saying good passives such as dimarzios+a mediocre amp=good tone?


Little confuzzled at what you're trying to say.


----------



## David (Apr 29, 2006)

nyck said:


> So you're saying good passives such as dimarzios+a mediocre amp=good tone?
> 
> 
> Little confuzzled at what you're trying to say.


now your confuzing me.


----------



## Adam (Apr 29, 2006)

David said:


> LISTEN
> And to "yngwie," I was just looking at your gear... and seeing that you're not really finding yourself there, more or so finding the signature models and what others "play" (even though they don't use those guitars). I myself, once dug myself into an area like that, and I ended up wasting a lot of money. Whenever I have the chance to tell someone to think otherwise, I will, becuase that was one mistake I will never live down. Gibson LP + lots of boss pedals = lots of wasted money. I'm harsh and to the point because I care.



Look, I don't really see the problem with using signature gear, if its just for fun, I'm not gonna use any of my malmsteen gear for gigs and that, its just for home use, the overdrive and all my effects were meant for my 6 string, I'm buying new non signature effects, ect... for my 7 string, as for my 7 string itself, I had the option to get a RG7620 or an RG7420 but I chose this one instead because it was different from what Rusty, Francesco and most others use, and as for the EMG's for my 7 string I was just considering them because I thought they were the best for shred, but I still might get a Dimarzio Air Norton for the neck and maybe a Dimarzio EVO 7 for the bridge.



David said:


> LISTEN
> 
> EMG's have no tone. EMG's plus some good settings, or a nice amp, sound amazing. Rusty doesn't get his incredible tone from them EMG's, he gets his punctuality from them, but not the majority of his tone.



I'm aware of his setup, he has alot of rack effects and so forth, but I don't want to emulate him, if I wanted to I would have spent thousands upon thousands of dollars for what he uses, but like I said I'm not trying to emulate him or anyone else. I like the punctuality from the EMG's, and I will mix that in with my own setup, unless of course you can recommend P/U's(preferably Dimarzio's) good for shredding and retaining crystal clear notes. 
Because like I said before I don't like the idea of cutting up my flame maple top on my new guitar, and having to replace batteries for the P/U's.


----------



## evil (Apr 29, 2006)

Nice axe, but let me say that EMG's are known for their tone. You say they are known for their clarity and harmonics, but these are characteristics of tone.

You are all welcome to dislike the tone of an EMG pickup through a solid state amp, but I tell you, it's tight and brutal like no other pickup + amp combo. I dare you to get as tight or brutal a sound with a Seymore Duncan through a Vox or even a Dimarzio through a Marshall.


----------



## Adam (Apr 29, 2006)

evil said:


> Nice axe, but let me say that EMG's are known for their tone. You say they are known for their clarity and harmonics, but these are characteristics of tone.
> 
> You are all welcome to dislike the tone of an EMG pickup through a solid state amp, but I tell you, it's tight and brutal like no other pickup + amp combo. I dare you to get as tight or brutal a sound with a Seymore Duncan through a Vox or even a Dimarzio through a Marshall.



How would EMG's sound through a solidstate Marshall half stack?


----------



## evil (Apr 29, 2006)

I've never been a huge fan of Marshalls, so I never tried them with EMG's. I'd like to, though. I'll get back with you in a few days about that one.


----------



## Adam (Apr 29, 2006)

evil said:


> I've never been a huge fan of Marshalls, so I never tried them with EMG's. I'd like to, though. I'll get back with you in a few days about that one.



K, thanx that would be great


----------



## Shaman (Apr 29, 2006)

I have EMG's in my Gibson SG, and I wouldn't trade them for anything!

They make my amp sound huge. The tone is very clean, focused and very tight.

And they are very versatile. There's a lot you can do with the volume knob when you have EMG's.

It's OK David if you don't like EMG's, but stop making a total ass of yourself by telling that if you like EMG's, you don't know what tone is...

Yes, it seems to be a popular opinion to dislike EMG's, but well, A LOT of people love 'em.

I have a a Dimarzio Evo7 in my Ibanez, because EMG's still aren't the only pickups in the world. Dimarzio, Duncan, EMG, they all make great pickups, so that's why I went for Dimarzio. What I'm sayng is, you don't have to hate EMG's if you like Dimarzio, or hate Duncan's if you like EMG's etc. I love the sound of the Evo7 in my Ibby and I love the way the EMG's sound in my Gibson, so...

Apples and oranges. Some people like 'em and some don't.


----------



## David (Apr 29, 2006)

hey shaman... I'll just quote what I *already *said again.



> LISTEN
> 
> EMG's have no tone. *EMG's plus some good settings, or a nice amp, sound amazing.* Rusty doesn't get his incredible tone from them EMG's, he gets his punctuality from them, but not the majority of his tone.



And as for you:


> You are all welcome to dislike the tone of an EMG pickup through a solid state amp, but I tell you, it's tight and brutal like no other pickup + amp combo. I dare you to get as tight or brutal a sound with a Seymore Duncan through a Vox or even a Dimarzio through a Marshall.


please read what I posted and quoted for myself, above...




Yngwie said:


> I'm aware of his setup, he has alot of rack effects and so forth, *but I don't want to emulate him*, if I wanted to I would have spent thousands upon thousands of dollars for what he uses, but like I said I'm not trying to emulate him or anyone else. I like the punctuality from the EMG's, and I will mix that in with my own setup, unless of course you can recommend P/U's(preferably Dimarzio's) good for shredding and retaining crystal clear notes.
> Because like I said before I don't like the idea of cutting up my flame maple top on my new guitar, and having to replace batteries for the P/U's.


From your first post:


> *but I&#8217;m going to replace them with EMG 707&#8217;s anyways so I can get Rusty Cooley&#8217;s and Francesco Fareri&#8217;s tone.*


...




The way you can really see tone, is to run a pickup, through a clean channel, and play chords/acoustics. When I had my 707's, or heard 81-7's... it was really harsh, and stale. Add in some nice effects and settings, and it was alright. As for the shred part of it, all you really had to do was dial in your settings nicely, and you were ready to go. Very punchy and affective.


[action=David]is the all-out-ss.org advocator of shred...[/action]



And I know I sound like I'm being a hard-ass right now, but it's a hard-ass with love!


----------



## Shaman (Apr 30, 2006)

Yeah, I agree with the fact, that a pickup can't save a crappy setup. But well, a Dimarzio or a Duncan can't save it either.

So you really need a good rig first and foremost. Then add the pickups to give you that last missing piece of tone.

And even in my opinion, EMG's work better with tube amps than SS ones.

It's all hard-ass love around here man


----------



## David (Apr 30, 2006)

Shaman said:


> It's all hard-ass love around here man


lol! the way you arranged the hard-ass love cracked me up.      

and yeah, EMG's + tube amp = gold.


----------



## Adam (Apr 30, 2006)

David said:


> lol! the way you arranged the hard-ass love cracked me up.
> 
> and yeah, EMG's + tube amp = gold.



So if I continue to use my solidstate(I don't hate tubes, I just can't dish out $ for a tube stack at the moment), Dimarzio's would be the best then? Does this combo sound right (keeping in mind that I am looking for the best P/U's for shred) Dimarzio Air Norton 7 for the neck, and EVO7 for the bridge?


----------



## David (Apr 30, 2006)

That'd be a good combo. Not so sure on how well it'd work for punchy sound, because I haven't used them much. Best way to know, is to go try them all out, which could be hard since most stores don't carry sevens, haha. Especially if you don't want to reroute your guitar for the EMG's.

I'm using a Carvin TS100 poweramp which is tubes with a Line 6 412 cab. The TS100 was only $500, and it's got some tubeage on it. If you're looking for an excessively over-priced rediculous tube head... yeah those will be expensive. BUT, you can always look into cheaper, more affordable, yet same sound quality power amplifiers that use tubes if you prefer that sound.


----------



## Adam (Apr 30, 2006)

David said:


> That'd be a good combo. Not so sure on how well it'd work for punchy sound, because I haven't used them much. Best way to know, is to go try them all out, which could be hard since most stores don't carry sevens, haha. Especially if you don't want to reroute your guitar for the EMG's.
> 
> I'm using a Carvin TS100 poweramp which is tubes with a Line 6 412 cab. The TS100 was only $500, and it's got some tubeage on it. If you're looking for an excessively over-priced rediculous tube head... yeah those will be expensive. BUT, you can always look into cheaper, more affordable, yet same sound quality power amplifiers that use tubes if you prefer that sound.




Unfortunetly, I cant try them out, cuz I'm stuck in a small town, so I usually end up reading hundreds of reviews. I guess the EMG's were a pretty bad idea, but live and learn, as for amplifiers I usually stick to Marshall, I tried out a JCM 2000 DSL 100 and I'm probably going to buy that, the only other one that came close was a Crate tube stack, it was cheaper but I didn't like the sound as much as the Marshall's.


----------



## David (Apr 30, 2006)

with Marshall's, you usually end up paying a lot of money for just the fact that it says Marshall on it. 

The Marshall JCM 2000 DSL 100 has 4 ECC83 preamp tubes, and 4 EL34 power tubes. My Carvin TS100, has 4 12AX7 preamp tubes, 4 EL34's power tubes. In the Carvin, the EL34's, (which are the same as in the Marshall), can be replaced with 6L6, or 5881 tubes. The 6L6's are the in amps such as the Mesa 2:90. One of the people I play with has that same Marshall, and when I emulate the preamp of one on my POD, with the poweramp, it sounds exactly like his... except for the fact that it was $100 cheaper for my whole rig (poweramp, cab, effects board), than it was for just his head.


I'm just being a dick as always, trying to keep the doors open to you. I thought a head was the only way to go, until Shannon enlightened me... in which case I then bought my TS100. Shannon is god.


----------



## Drew (May 5, 2006)

FWIW, Rusty recorded his debut with a solid-state Fender preamp...


----------



## Jerich (May 6, 2006)

yeah Drew it was called the Fender M-80 a rare find that really sounds good for shred but for chords it's too thin..that made it in Combo and one space rack version....Jason Becker used it alot too...same for marty friedman with his marshalls at the time...

But as far as EMG's you can put them into a Base ball bat and they will sound the same that's why they are A C T I V E!!!..Passive absorb the frequency's of a wooden instrument..I have been working with a Pickup manufacturer for over a year now and it takes alot to make a pickup (in my or your own desire)...i Hope to have a final product by sept 2006... I find that Active pickups work great with Gain-y distortion and with Bass Guitar...but in the tone of things they are very brittle and treble-y...I find that Passive pickups are more reponsive to playing...and Tube amps love passive pickups....


----------



## Chris (May 7, 2006)

Please remember that this is the *Gear Reviews* forums guys.


----------



## Metal Ken (May 8, 2006)




----------



## Ibanez_fanboy (May 11, 2006)

Metal Ken said:


>


 *AGREED!!!!!!*


----------



## Drew (May 11, 2006)

yikes, edited out that chain of : worth : emoticons.


----------



## D-EJ915 (May 11, 2006)




----------



## noodles (May 11, 2006)

Holy shit that profile pic is sweet. I demand more pics!


----------



## Adam (May 11, 2006)

noodles said:


> Holy shit that profile pic is sweet. I demand more pics!


of my guitar?


----------



## bostjan (May 11, 2006)

Yngwie said:


> of my guitar?



Yeah your guitar. I'm not saying that you're an unattractive guy or anything, but just pic's of the guitar.


----------



## Adam (May 11, 2006)

bostjan said:


> Yeah your guitar. I'm not saying that you're an unattractive guy or anything, but just pic's of the guitar.



sorry I thought noodles was talking about someone elses profile pic.
heres some,...............and if anyone could fill me in on how to properly post pics it would be greatly appreciated.


----------



## D-EJ915 (May 11, 2006)

What's the stuff in between the fretboard and pickup?


----------



## Adam (May 11, 2006)

heres some more


----------



## Shawn (May 11, 2006)

Cool pics. I like the color and the inlays but until you zoom in on it, you can see, it's a little rough looking, still cool though. I had thought about buying the dragon one on ebay a couple times, it is nice to see up close pics of these guitars...


----------



## Adam (May 11, 2006)

Shawn said:


> Cool pics. I like the color and the inlays but until you zoom in on it, you can see, it's a little rough looking, still cool though. I had thought about buying the dragon one on ebay a couple times, it is nice to see up close pics of these guitars...


it is a little rough looking but you are like a foot away you would never notice, and really you cant argue with the price I say buy the one off ebay it's worth it, just have to change the P/U's and thats about it


----------



## Adam (May 11, 2006)

Elysian said:


> oh, and that neck isn't quartersawn anything. its slab grain.



my mistake


----------



## Mark. A (May 12, 2006)

Those inlays make me sick, lesson is save up boys


----------

