# NGD - The Strictly 7 Anaconda Slithers Home



## Soopahmahn (May 5, 2010)

Oh noes! 






After about a year of torture, I've finally managed to get myself a Strictly 7 guitar! I met Jim and Curran at the Philadelphia "Great American Guitar Show" in summer 2009, and playing their guitars was the first time that I actually realized I liked seven-strings. I had been lurking around here and flirting with the idea, but I ended up getting my used RG7620 shortly after that show. I learned how comfortable they could be and watching Curran shred made it clear what the extended range could do for one's sound.

I've had the ERG bug for a few months now... and lucky me, Jim had a prototype of his Boa +1 guitars, a.k.a. the Anaconda, ready for sale. We traded about 50 emails and phone calls talking about his operation and guitar building. I got the details about his prototype, asked him to swap out the 808's for Blackouts, and am now a proud owner!


Specs:


Poplar body
Flatsawn 3-piece hard rock maple neck
Indian Rosewood fingerboard
Gloss black finish
26 medium-jumbo Ni-Ag frets
27.5" scale length
16" fretboard radius
Neck thickness approximately 23mm @ 12th fret
D-shape neck profile, very flat on the back
Sperzel locking tuners
4/4 headstock
String thru-body, Hipshot bridge
SD AHB-1 8-string Blackouts
Chrome hardware
3-way switch
Set up for 10-72 strings, low F#
Body/neck CNC machined and hand-built in Medina, OH
TKL hardshell case
As we all know...

So...

_Materialized in my room like the monolith from 2001: A Space Odyssey_.





_Cat gaining intelligence from the monolith_.





_Standard implement images... this won't do._





_Maybe, but..._





_CUTCO for the win!_





_Beginning the delicate carving process._





_I opened yer flap fer you._





_No way! Jimmy Hoffa!_





_*slither*_





_TKL case._





_Apprehensive kitteh._





_Unlocked..._





_Teasing..._





_Still teasing... *creak*_





_What is this that stands before me?_





_It's a... snaaaaake!_





_Super glossy._





_Awesome Indian Rosewood._





_Sperzel locking tuners._





_Meaty joint._





_Love this headstock. The new version is a bit narrower and longer so the outside strings aren't pulled sideways as much._





_Can you count them?_





_Mmm... glossy + Blackouts._





_Side profile of headstock. The "gap" between the nut and headstock has been beefed up as an aesthetic choice in the production 4/4 headstock._





_Case has a huge pocket, and Jim was nice enough to give me a free 0.080" bass string to try out when I drop the 8th to E._





I'm already making a monstrous NGD thread with all these photos, so I'll be brief here. This guitar is LOUD acoustically and sustains for days. I think it's a combination of the high quality poplar tonewood Strictly 7 used for the body (when you hit it with your knuckles, it makes a loud tone, very resonant and musical), the large heavy-duty neck joint and the string-thru Hipshot bridge.

The guitar is insanely comfortable. I'm happy stretching all the way across the board with my relatively small hands, and have unfettered access to the 26th fret on the treble side. The long scale makes this guitar super snappy but bends are quite easy. The neck shape is perfect to me - I'm used to my RG7620 neck, but this is a bit flatter and just as thin... Somehow I tend to keep my left hand in good form while I'm noodling around, whereas I am still trying to break the habit of adopting goofy hand positions on my Les Paul's neck.

The fretwork is impeccable (my best reference is a USA Jackson KV2, and this slays it for consistency and finish on the frets). The body finish is perfect. The setup was great out of the box. All the electronics are as they should be. Intonation is dead nuts. I like the aesthetics. The case is of excellent quality. In short, despite this being a prototype/b-stock guitar, Strictly 7 put the same effort into the quality of this guitar as they would someone's custom, and I think that says a lot about them.

I don't know what else to say - perhaps I've said enough - but I'm super happy. Strictly 7 is the reason I'm on this site at all, and despite buying this guitar sight-unseen, I knew I would be pleased and Jim delivered.


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## MaKo´s Tethan (May 5, 2010)

the nut scare me, it`s soooo thin, I love how the body looks, I hate when 27.5 scale guitars looks like a bass. not a fan of the head, but overall, great guitar man, congrats.


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## Malacoda (May 5, 2010)

Pretty nice looking, but not a gloss black fan. Everything else looks fantastic.


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## MaxOfMetal (May 5, 2010)

Congrats man!


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## Soopahmahn (May 5, 2010)

Malacoda said:


> Pretty nice looking, but not a gloss black fan. Everything else looks fantastic.



If I'd ordered it custom I would have gone with either an oiled finish or a trans stain. Black was the only choice


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## Adam Of Angels (May 5, 2010)

Soopahmahn said:


>



Least effective method I've ever seen


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## Malacoda (May 5, 2010)

Oh gotcha I thought it was a custom


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## Hollowway (May 5, 2010)

Super cool! I'm very happy to hear about/ see the quality there. Congratulations.


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## pink freud (May 5, 2010)

Awesome guitar.

That said, more pics of the cat!


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## Soopahmahn (May 5, 2010)

pink freud said:


> Awesome guitar.
> 
> That said, more pics of the cat!



Thanks everybody!

This is Anna. She is not always impressed by human antics such as the Santa Claus. But she loves to help on my rare NGDs!


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## Jay Jay (May 5, 2010)

It's scary how thin the neck is at the nut!
I'd be afraid to snap that thing off!

Otherwise though, that guitar looks awesome!
Congrats man!


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## ittoa666 (May 5, 2010)

I also have that pizza cutter.


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## Soopahmahn (May 5, 2010)

Jay Jay said:


> It's scary how thin the neck is at the nut!
> I'd be afraid to snap that thing off!
> 
> Otherwise though, that guitar looks awesome!
> Congrats man!



Thanks man! I hear ya on the thinness there, but it's only about 1/8" or 3mm thinner than the rest of the neck at that point. The new headstocks were redesigned to have a beefier looking slope there, though the headstock is still flat. I'll let people know if I ever have a problem but I highly doubt it.


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## Customisbetter (May 6, 2010)

Definitely an interesting guitar.


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## Nick1 (May 6, 2010)

Very Cool! I would have went with the pizza cutter and chucked the cutco. I hate those buttheads.


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## Prydogga (May 6, 2010)

Damn man! Huge GAS for a Strictly 7 now! Looks great!


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## mattofvengeance (May 6, 2010)

Haha you and I have practically the same cat. I present to you, Hayley.










Also, that guitar looks very familiar to me. I wonder where I've seen it. 




Now I remember!


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## MaxOfMetal (May 6, 2010)

Twist the knife Matt.


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## mattofvengeance (May 6, 2010)

MaxOfMetal said:


> Twist the knife Matt.



haha well he's the dude who has the 8, yet I still search for one, so I suppose the joke is on me


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## signalgrey (May 6, 2010)

wow that neck looks like its gonna snap off.


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## Apophis (May 6, 2010)

congrats, guitars looks awesome


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## 13point9 (May 6, 2010)

signalgrey said:


> wow that neck looks like its gonna snap off.



Its is pretty thin but as has been said before this was the prototype 8 and the new headstocks are thicker there, and if i know Jim well enough, he would ship out a new neck, probs for free if this one snapped due to that problem...


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## Soopahmahn (May 6, 2010)

13point9 said:


> Its is pretty thin but as has been said before this was the prototype 8 and the new headstocks are thicker there, and if i know Jim well enough, he would ship out a new neck, probs for free if this one snapped due to that problem...



Yep, the necks are well-warranted etc. Honestly I don't see the issue, I'm no luthier but I've definitely seen very thin headstocks, and this thing is not the thinnest. Jim says the beefing up was for aesthetic purposes to instill confidence... 

Thanks for the nice words everybody. Now to get off my butt and finally record something... someday... so busy...

EDIT: Look at the side profile of a Fender headstock... the only difference is this has a sharp drop-off (changed in the new headstock) instead of a rounded one, which will act as a stress concentrator. I still expect no issues at all.


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## Nonservium (May 6, 2010)

Bro, I'm glad you got your guitar. I have serious 8 string GAS and this isn't helping. Though I did have fun playing yours 

What did you think of the neck?

I'm almost to the point where I'm gonna home depot my own fuckin 8 string lol. I hate being broke.


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## Soopahmahn (May 6, 2010)

Nonservium said:


> Bro, I'm glad you got your guitar. I have serious 8 string GAS and this isn't helping. Though I did have fun playing yours
> 
> What did you think of the neck?
> 
> I'm almost to the point where I'm gonna home depot my own fuckin 8 string lol. I hate being broke.



Thanks man! 

I forgive you guys for pawing my gitfiddle... Jim wiped all the fail off before shipping it to me 

I love the neck. Jim's a physical therapist of some sort, and one of the reasons he got into this business on the side is because he figured he could design a neck that would be ergonomically superior for most hand types. I think he succeeded. What did you think of it? How do you think it compared to his 7-string necks?

It is pretty darn thin and flat in the back, and has a great feeling contour at the edges. I think the best way to describe it would be if an Ibanez Wizard neck had sex with an ESP U-shape neck. I _hate _the ESP U-shape but did have a soft-spot for the flatness in the back. I should have Jim make me a replacement neck for my RG7620 with his profile and better fretwork 

What to call such a hybrid monstrosity?


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## paintkilz (May 6, 2010)

Soopahmahn said:


> *Body/neck CNC machined and hand-built in Medina, OH*



how is it CNC and hand built? Hufs, Elysian, Bowes, Decibel..those are hand built. CNC are nice and way accurate, but not the same as a human hand doing all the carving.


guitar looks good though, i must say im not a fan of the headstock though.


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## Soopahmahn (May 6, 2010)

paintkilz said:


> how is it CNC and hand built? Hufs, Elysian, Bowes, Decibel..those are hand built. CNC are nice and way accurate, but not the same as a human hand doing all the carving.
> 
> 
> guitar looks good though, i must say im not a fan of the headstock though.



I didn't say hand-carved. Perhaps it's a bit redundant or something, but what I meant was that the body and I assume necks are roughed out on CNC, but everything is sanded, finished, polished, assembled, blah blah, by hand. Custom parts and premium woods are all sourced personally. There is the human attention to detail that some shops forgo for speed and let machines/assembly line drones handle. That's all I meant. Perhaps I should have said "hand-finished" or something. I am on mega Benadryl right now so forgive the rambling responses.


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## MaxOfMetal (May 6, 2010)

Soopahmahn said:


> I didn't say hand-carved. Perhaps it's a bit redundant or something, but what I meant was that the body and I assume necks are roughed out on CNC, but everything is sanded, finished, polished, assembled, blah blah, by hand. Custom parts and premium woods are all sourced personally. There is the human attention to detail that some shops forgo for speed and let machines/assembly line drones handle. That's all I meant. Perhaps I should have said "hand-finished" or something. I am on mega Benadryl right now so forgive the rambling responses.





There's nothing wrong with CNC, it means that everything is consistent and made to high tolerances. 

Besides the important things such as fretwork, and edge finishing are still done by the hands of a skilled craftsman.


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## Dark_Matter (May 6, 2010)

This guitar is fucking sexy.

I want a strictly seven..8..

I kind of wish for 8's you'd have a fancy 8 on the headstock instead of a 7


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## MaxOfMetal (May 6, 2010)

Dark_Matter said:


> This guitar is fucking sexy.
> 
> I want a strictly seven..8..
> 
> I kind of wish for 8's you'd have a fancy 8 on the headstock instead of a 7



I'd see about inlaying a "+1" as that's the name of the series. I think Jim might consider it.


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## Dark_Matter (May 6, 2010)

MaxOfMetal said:


> I'd see about inlaying a "+1" as that's the name of the series. I think Jim might consider it.



sent in a quote

Thanks for the advice man, I should have thought of that I remember he said they were the +1 series in a video.


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## Nonservium (May 6, 2010)

Soopahmahn said:


> Thanks man!
> 
> I forgive you guys for pawing my gitfiddle... Jim wiped all the fail off before shipping it to me
> 
> ...



LOL my kind of fail is eternal and very contagious, you're stuck with it 

I thought it was an interesting design. I would need to be left alone with it for a few hours to get my hands used to it. I felt really clumsy with it but that is in no way, shape or form Jim or the guitars fault. I just wasn't used to the 8th string. That was the first time I was able to take one for a spin. I'd love to get an Agile, Schecter or Ibanez 8 a try just to see what other necks felt like. 

It was comfortable to me and my main guitar is a Schecter with a thicker neck than most people seem to like. Outside of piddling with that low string for a bit I didn't get to do a whole lot with either model. I liked what I got to do though. Those blackouts are unreal. I hope you enjoy it!


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## Soopahmahn (May 6, 2010)

I had that exact idea for adding a cool "+1" to the S7 logo. The only problem is a 6-string would be labeled "-1"... and, well, if someone's wimpy enough to be ordering a 6 from these guys, they'd probably be too frail to handle it 

I kid of course, but that was my one problem with that idea.


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## Soopahmahn (May 6, 2010)

MaxOfMetal said:


> There's nothing wrong with CNC, it means that everything is consistent and made to high tolerances.
> 
> Besides the important things such as fretwork, and edge finishing are still done by the hands of a skilled craftsman.



_Low _tolerances.

I'm a jerk engineer.


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## anne (May 6, 2010)

Every NGD pic series needs a cat! <3


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## Strictly 7 (May 6, 2010)

Soopahmahn said:


> Thanks man!
> 
> I forgive you guys for pawing my gitfiddle... Jim wiped all the fail off before shipping it to me
> 
> ...


 
Thanks man, I'm glad you're happy with the Anaconda! I appreciate the kind words...videoes of shred will be most awesome 

Peace,
Jim


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## Ben.Last (May 7, 2010)

Strictly 7 said:


> Thanks man, I'm glad you're happy with the Anaconda! I appreciate the kind words...videoes of shred will be most awesome
> 
> Peace,
> Jim



Jim, do you think you could post some pics of the new headstock so that we could get an idea of how it's changed?


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## Soopahmahn (May 7, 2010)

Lern2swim said:


> Jim, do you think you could post some pics of the new headstock so that we could get an idea of how it's changed?



Good idea. Nonservium has a recent thread that includes some photos, but none super close up.


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## Nonservium (May 7, 2010)

Yeah my photo came out like shit. It basically has better string angles and a nice little design around the truss rod area. It was pretty slick.


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## Louis Cypher (May 7, 2010)

Christ on a bike!! Its a fcuking scary beast!!! ....and the guitar is pretty beastly too! LOL!! 

Looks absolute mustard! nice score! 
I Neeeeeeeeeed an 8 string sooo bad!! haha!!


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## Ben.Last (May 7, 2010)

Nonservium said:


> Yeah my photo came out like shit. It basically has better string angles and a nice little design around the truss rod area. It was pretty slick.



So, is the headstock, as a whole, narrower? Because I like the general shape but it looks a bit wide in this iteration.


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## Soopahmahn (May 7, 2010)

Lern2swim said:


> So, is the headstock, as a whole, narrower? Because I like the general shape but it looks a bit wide in this iteration.



Compare to Nonservium's thread.

http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/se...sions-caution-very-long-read.html#post1950458

Hopefully Jim comes on and can show us a few photos.


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## Daemon (May 8, 2010)

Sorry but it's all I hate, black body, rosewood fingerboards, bolt on neck, nickel Hardware, and big headstock... =(

But congrats, all my critics are for the design, it must be sounding great


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## Soopahmahn (May 8, 2010)

Uh mmkay... 

Jim shot me a couple of photos of the new headstock. This looks to be in rough unfinished stage. Unfortunately no side profile for those of you concerned about it, but you can sort of tell that there's less of a gap past the nut there in the second picture. He "added a peninsula" in his own words.

FWIW I am pretty sure there's more thickness there than in the Roter sideshots I've seen, as well as the Fender headstocks I looked up for comparison. And it's 3-piece quartersawn hard rock maple (mine is flatsawn), or 5-piece with stringers if you want.

Anyway, definitely more balanced looking. Not fat, but lean and mean with some meat.


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## Strictly 7 (May 8, 2010)

Hi Guys!

I will be doing another 8 this week, so I will be sure to get a side view, these pics were all I had, sorry. 

Peace,
Jim


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## Stealthdjentstic (May 8, 2010)

Looks awesome, very LACS like.


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## Nonservium (May 8, 2010)

Soopahmahn said:


>



OM NOM NOM NOM


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## Hollowway (May 8, 2010)

Daemon said:


> Sorry but it's all I hate, black body, rosewood fingerboards, bolt on neck, nickel Hardware, and big headstock... =(
> 
> But congrats, all my critics are for the design, it must be sounding great



Wow, exact same taste as me. I've got a strictly 7 +1 on the way that isn't all black and rosewood. Black paint and rosewood FB is a pretty popular combo, though.


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## Ben.Last (May 8, 2010)

Very nice. I was mainly asking for pics to see the new profile anyway, not the thickness. The first pic of the thickness didn't worry me at all.

I'm not sure how I feel about the raised area around the truss rod access.


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## Metalus (May 8, 2010)

Damn man thanks for the Strictly 7 GAS . I recently sent a quote to Jim to see how much one would cost and i was surprised at how well priced his customs are. Hes also a very cool dude to talk to 

When i get some money i plan on owning a custom Strictly 7. Im wondering if he could built me an RC7X like neck....That would be amazing


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## sol niger 333 (May 8, 2010)

Like it. Not keen on the h/stock though. Probably an acquired taste


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## Dark_Matter (May 8, 2010)

sol niger 333 said:


> Like it. Not keen on the h/stock though. Probably an acquired taste



I think the new, longer one looks better.

Definitely getting an 8 in the near future.


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