# NGD Schecter Jeff Loomis JL-7 Fixed Bridge



## TheRileyOBrien (Aug 20, 2014)

Prologue:

I know this is long...My intent is to inform those who may be interested in buying this guitar. If you just want the hot pr0nz then click here JL-7 - Imgur

When it comes to factory guitars I am a bit of an Ibanez fan. My last guitar purchase was an Ibanez six28fdbg which is an "Iron Label" so I didn't expect prestige quality...but for $1100 I expected some decent quality. The thing came with some hideous fret end treatment, a hump on the back of the neck that was not sanded smooth when the neck was shaped, and it had buffing compound residue all over it...I was able to take care of those issues myself and I will say it plays and sounds incredible now. I feel a bit let down by Ibanez and vowed to stick to prestige models going forward. I was about to order an rg752fx when I noticed the updated JL-7 was in the same price range. As a fan of Jeff Loomis I have always wanted one but I was not too impressed with the original ones. I have also played some really bad higher end Schecters...they were so bad that I haven't taken Schecter into serious consideration for the past 10 years or so. When Keith Merrow jumped on board it really piqued my interest because he is an honest dude that has great taste in guitars. I never really looked too far into these new Schecters until recently. Upon reviewing the specs I could not believe the value you get from these. Swamp Ash, Tusq Nut, Stainless frets, Hipshot bridges...definitely stepping their game up. I was very impressed with the specs but still quite cautious about the quality. I know what to expect from prestige Ibanez's but still have a bad taste in my mouth from the "old" Schecter. Upon further research I couldn't really find any serious complaints with the "new" Schecter guitars...aside from an issue with pots on the KM-7's which is not even a thing as far as i'm concerned since it is such a simple repair/replacement. It also appears as though that has been promptly taken care of by Schecter. I figured I would roll the dice and order a JL-7(The local stores around here don't keep good guitars in stock so I couldn't try one first). I am pretty picky and until I took it out of the box I was kind of expecting I would end up returning it and getting the Ibanez. 

NGD:

Fretwork - I was shocked as soon as I removed the wrapping and saw the shiny SS frets. I really like stainless frets and I put them on all my guitars when I refret them. These frets were very nicely polished and the ends are all rounded and uniform. Each fret end looks just like the next. Most importantly they are actually beveled properly all the way down to the binding. My iron label 8 string had bevels that started half way up the fret end...not joking...they were filed flush with the binding and then the top half was beveled off...felt like a serrated knife. They have the typical flat tops that Schecter has done as long as I can remember...but they are crowned a bit tighter than the "old" Schecters that I have played. There is nothing wrong with that method...heck Gibson has done it forever and they are fairly popular I hear. I usually prefer them as rounded as possible. They feel perfect though. They are super smooth and perfectly leveled. It is extremely rare to get a factory guitar that needs no fretwork whatsoever...I am super impressed with the frets

Neck - One of the reasons I didn't get the old JL-7 was the thick neck. The new neck profile is pretty much perfect for me. It is super thin but not totally flat...it doesn't have the shoulders like an Ibanez and is more rounded rather than flat. The neck is also really stiff for how thin it is. The satin finish is very slick and close to natural feeling. In terms of feel it is somewhere between Ibanez and Musicman. I have yet to find a factory guitar with a neck as smooth as the Musicman stuff but this one is probably the closest. The fretboard is a very light piece of maple which has very little visible grain which actually looks great to me. It is clear that one place Schecter saves money is with their inlays...they go for a larger bit in the cnc router so it doesn't break and wear out as fast. As a result the inlay has a ton of filler around it. It doesn't really bother me and you have to look really close to see it. I understand why Schecter does this though. If this guitar cost any more I probably wouldn't have considered buying it and prettier inlays aren't worth a price increase to me. I am in the minority here for sure but I think the crosses look ok...Wouldn't be my choice on a custom but I think they fit this guitar just fine. The binding is perfect...beveled on top and not at all sharp like the freaking iron label. The luminlays are a big plus. I have luminlays on a few of my guitars. They look great in the dark and are still very visible in the light. 

Body - One of the big selling points for me was the swamp ash. That being said I was skeptical because there are a lot of brands selling "swamp ash" guitars that are probably not actual swamp ash which is pretty obvious based on their weight...and sound. I had a Fender custom shop strat that was "swamp ash"...It was a beautiful guitar that sounded pretty good and I kind of regret selling it. It weighed a ton and I am convinced it was northern ash. This JL-7 has real swamp ash without a doubt and the best part is...it is a single piece. I love a light weight and thin guitar and that is exactly what this is. The back has a great scoop carved out that allows for more than enough room for accessing the high frets and the arch top is comfortable on the forearm. 

Hardware and Setup - The Hipshot bridge was another great selling point. I have several so I know what I was getting. As most of you know...they are very comfortable, simple, solid, and sound good. The tuners were something I was skeptical about seeing as the new prestige models have the Gotoh Magnums which are up there with Hipshots as my favorite locking tuners. The Schecter locking tuners seem to be great so far. They have a good amount of grip on the locking knobs much like the other two kinds I mentioned. No hurting fingers after string changes(looking at you Sperzel) Not sure what the gear ratio is but they seem to allow for very fine adjustment and turn smoothly. It needed very little adjustment out of the box and has stayed in tune for 6-7 hours of playing so far...awesome. Tusq nuts are my favorite so once again another selling point. This one is set up perfect and is smooth as expected. The engraved truss rod cover is a cool touch. The overall setup is great. As I mentioned it needs no touching up in terms of fretwork. The neck relief is perfect as of right now...might need a tiny adjustment when the guitar acclimates but we will see. The action was slightly higher than I like and I lowered it right out of the box and it didn't result in any additional fret buzz or problems what so ever. Intonation was spot on...absolutely no adjustment needed. I think it comes with Ernie Ball 9-46 with a 66 on the low b. I usually use Daddario 10-52 with 70 on the low b but I got some Daddario NYXL 9-46 and 66 because the tension feels fine with the smaller gauge on the 26.5" scale. 

Electronics - I have tried the EMG 57-66 set in a basswood guitar and they were kind of meh...better than the old 81, 85, 60's I am used to(I was a huge EMG fan years ago) but after playing Bareknuckles and the newer Dimarzio's I just wasn't sold. I was planning on getting some Juggernauts but decided to give the EMG's a fair chance in this guitar. So far I am actually enjoying them. They have a lot of clarity and dynamics as advertised but also have harmonics that jump out easily. Definitely must have just been a bad guitar I tried them in before. I needed to tweak my usual eq settings quite a bit to get them close to where I like my passives. They are still different than what I have been using lately and I will need a lot more time to decide if they are for me. This guitar is very resonant...it is fairly loud when played unplugged so it is in my opinion a great candidate for any pickups with good clarity. I cracked open the electronics cavity to check out the wiring and it is top notch. It has the typical emg mini pot that turns a little too easily...but that is fine on this guitar since I will play it wide open all the time. Another good little bonus is the volume knob with a set screw. I much prefer these because the press on kind will inevitably come off at a bad time. 

Finish - I couldn't decide between gloss black and vampire red. I ended up literally flipping a coin. The vampire red appears to be a bit different than on the old JL-7 I played...that was like 7 years ago so I could be wrong. In most lighting it just looks like a satin blood red/maroon/purple combo with no grain showing. Under direct light or sunlight the grain really pops. I tried to get that in the pictures since I haven't seen any online that do it justice. I really like how it looks. It really is beautifully done for a factory guitar. 

Flaws? - The only flaws I can see are a tiny pinhole sided dent on part of the 12th fret inlay...barely visible even up close...might have bumped something during setup. There is a millimeter sized bit of router tear out that was repaired near the headstock binding by the nut on the low b side...once again barely visible and was filled in nicely. I have seen far worse "minor" flaws in high end customs. That is seriously all I can find to nitpick on this thing..WELL DONE SCHECTER! 

I decided on a fixed bridge just so I could change tunings easier...I like this one so much I may end up getting the floyd rose version in gloss black

I know it is still the honeymoon period but I have personally owned nearly 100 guitars(kind of embarrassing to admit really)since I started playing at age 7 or so...over 21 years ago...so I have a good idea what I like. I like this one a lot. 

Here is a gallery link for more pics JL-7 - Imgur


----------



## Shimme (Aug 20, 2014)

Awesome stuff, I'm toying with the idea of a FR 7 and that version of your guitar is pretty much at the top of the list. Awesome playability, excellent workmanship, all with a cool look and high-quality hardware? What more could you want?

HNGD, hope she serves you well!

Edit: would you say that the neck profile is a little bigger than an Ibanez Wizard's? I find that they can be a little hard to do large barre chordes on personally.


----------



## Cowboyfromhell (Aug 20, 2014)

Really nice review im sure you pretty much covered everything and im glad you like the guitar . I am a Loomis fun myself and i want to grab one of these . The guitar looks awesome and i think you did an excellent choice by choosing the vampire red finish . HNGD and have fun with it!!


----------



## Dawn of the Shred (Aug 20, 2014)

Congrats and hngd!


----------



## Ludo95 (Aug 20, 2014)

HNGD! Thanks for the review, pretty accurate IMO.
Enjoy her!


----------



## Steinmetzify (Aug 20, 2014)

Have the exact same guitar and agree with all of your points. Hard to believe they're this good at this price point. HNGD man.


----------



## AkiraSpectrum (Aug 20, 2014)

Awesome review, really appreciate it!
Congrats on a sick guitar.


----------



## DocBach (Aug 20, 2014)

I really dig the vampyre red satin finishes. However my 2014 blackjack atx has a much darker looking finish, its almost maroon color no matter what the lighting -- love the streaks for arterial colored blood red!


----------



## thrastablasta (Aug 20, 2014)

Really informative review.


----------



## Electric Wizard (Aug 20, 2014)

Wow, the grain really pops in the sunlight. I'll never stop being the slightest bit jealous of these.

How are the NYXLs? I've been thinking I should try those out.


----------



## TremontiFan16 (Aug 21, 2014)

Excellent review,haven't seen one this good for a while.HNGD
Now I have GAS for one


----------



## Edika (Aug 21, 2014)

Very nice and informative review! It is the first photos that show the grain of the ash clearly with the new vampire red finish and I can say I like it! So far honestly all the photos I've seen of the new JL-7 VR finish looked very blunt! Congratulations on the new guitar!


----------



## TheRileyOBrien (Aug 21, 2014)

Thanks for checking it out guys!



Shimme said:


> Awesome stuff, I'm toying with the idea of a FR 7 and that version of your guitar is pretty much at the top of the list. Awesome playability, excellent workmanship, all with a cool look and high-quality hardware? What more could you want?
> 
> HNGD, hope she serves you well!
> 
> Edit: would you say that the neck profile is a little bigger than an Ibanez Wizard's? I find that they can be a little hard to do large barre chordes on personally.



As long as you like how it looks I don't think it can be beat for the price. The neck might be slightly thicker in the middle than a wizard. I will compare them with some calipers after work today if I can remember.



steinmetzify said:


> Have the exact same guitar and agree with all of your points. Hard to believe they're this good at this price point. HNGD man.



Thanks. Your NGD helped me make the decision to go for it. 



Electric Wizard said:


> Wow, the grain really pops in the sunlight. I'll never stop being the slightest bit jealous of these.
> 
> How are the NYXLs? I've been thinking I should try those out.



I have used 5-6 sets so far. They feel a bit slicker than regular daddarios and are noticeably louder...they aren't "brighter" from what I can tell but certainly louder. They seem to last a bit longer and retain the "new" sound for a while longer. Pretty much everything they advertise I have seen to be true. They aren't life changing and I am not entirely sure they are worth the price yet...but I like them.


----------



## Fierce_Swe (Aug 21, 2014)

HNGD! I would really like to have a Schecter Jeff Looomis signature!


----------



## Felvin (Aug 21, 2014)

HNGD!

If these came with offset dots or blocks I'd buy one too.


----------



## TheRileyOBrien (Aug 21, 2014)

Felvin said:


> HNGD!
> 
> If these came with offset dots or blocks I'd buy one too.



If they make one with offset dots or blocks I'd buy another one


----------



## TheShreddinHand (Aug 21, 2014)

Congrats dude! And excellent review. Couldn't agree more with your points there. Just got my 2nd Loomis in this week and need to take some pictures for another NGD thread!


----------



## lewstherin006 (Aug 21, 2014)

Congrats bro these guitars rule!


----------



## MAJ Meadows SF (Aug 21, 2014)

Awesome dude! I'm glad to keep reading that these are kicking ass and of great quality. The bang for the buck value of the JL-7 and KM-7 seems to be unbeatable. I really hope I get to try one of either some day soon, but I'm pretty confident after such a thorough review that I will love it even if I order one blindly. Good to read you are digging the 57/66 set; I've tried them in a 6 and really liked them despite being an avid BKP/SD/KxK pickup user. 

It looks wicked and I especially like the trans finish on the back. HNGD!


----------



## IbanezDaemon (Aug 21, 2014)

Sweet. Love the finish on those!! HNGD!!


----------



## TheRileyOBrien (Jan 21, 2015)

Quick little update.

I decided to swap the emg's out for some black covered dimarzio ionizers. I like the emg's but they are not fitting what I need right now. 

Another cool feature that not enough guitars have is threaded inserts for the pickup screws. They are much more reliable than screwing in to the wood. Especially with softer woods, it is very easy to strip the holes and have to fill and redrill. The only potential downside to the inserts is that you have to count on your aftermarket pickup having the same distance between the holes. The most popular brands are all close enough to work. The dimarzios needed a bit of coaxing to get the screws in both sides but it wasn't hard. 

I also put in a push pull volume knob to split the coils.

I made a how to on the pickup section for drilling the hole for the ground wire since it seems like a lot of people think their guitar will be ruined if they don't pay a tech tons of $ to do it for them. http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/pi...round-wire-hole-fixed-bridge.html#post4279048


----------



## Zado (Jan 21, 2015)

This is the kind of review I like the most: long,with tons of honest and objective infos and comparisons,with a sweet sweet end....about guitars I can actually afford


----------



## pushpull7 (Jan 21, 2015)

They have one of these down at a local GC, I think I'll cruise on over and take a look. Not sure that I like the inlays though. For some reason, I think I'll love the emg's in it.


----------



## pushpull7 (Jan 21, 2015)

So I checked it out. The one they have there suffers from "guitar center idis" so wasn't interested, but it's a really nice looking/feeling guitar. Might order one.


----------



## JBguitar2196 (Jan 22, 2015)

Happy NGD! I have been GAS'ing for the 6 string version for a long time.


----------



## stuglue (Jan 22, 2015)

How does the neck of the JL 7 compare to the KM7? is the radius the same?
What about the upper fret access, which of the two has the easiest access?


----------



## Art (Jan 22, 2015)

Awesome guitar and great review! HNGD!


----------



## TheRileyOBrien (Jan 22, 2015)

stuglue said:


> How does the neck of the JL 7 compare to the KM7? is the radius the same?
> What about the upper fret access, which of the two has the easiest access?



I believe the necks are exactly the same size and shape but the KM has a 12-16" compound radius and the JL is 16". The JL has more of a cutaway on the back of the lower horn for upper fret access and also has a bigger belly carve. The km has a slightly different overall body shape so the neck is not set as deep in to the body. I think upper fret access is more or less the same on the two. I am going from memory since I only have about 15 minutes on a KM compared to the many hours I have on the JL.


----------



## powerofze (Jan 22, 2015)

I think you should do more guitar reviews man


----------



## TheRileyOBrien (Jan 22, 2015)

powerofze said:


> I think you should do more guitar reviews man



Thanks! If anyone wants to send me guitars I'd review the crap out of them. 

I just try to post the stuff that I always wish was there when I was shopping around for something new. When spending the kind of cash that we do on these things I think it is good to know more than just the specs but also the fine details and quality. I know some people prefer "stop talking and let me hear it"...I am not catering to them.


----------



## wildrat666 (Jan 23, 2015)

good review..made me want one


----------

