# Mod Review - Jericho Fusion 7 String



## eaeolian (Jun 2, 2015)

After my very positive impression of the Avenger 7 string last year, Dave at Jericho Guitars was kind enough to send me an example of their new model, the Fusion, to check out, and I must say I'm impressed.

For those that don't know, Jericho is a Texas-based company that sells 27" scale Korean-built instruments with quality parts and USA Duncan pickups, with the final setup and QC being done at their U.S. facility. The price point (currently $949USD) is more than competitive with the bigger-name companies - and the Avenger has shown that the instrument quality is as good or better, as well. I had a few niggling issues with the Avenger, and I'm happy to say they've been addressed in the Fusion.

The single-cut body is definitely has some Tele DNA in it, but the cutaway is deep and roomy and the heel is non-existent thanks to the set-through neck, which makes playing to the 22nd fret easy and smooth - and, of course, the 27" scale makes the upper frets a little wider than a 25.5" scale does. The flame maple top is pretty and stained nicely, with as nice of a finish as I've seen on a Korean guitar. The rosewood board is dark, and nice and thick, too. put that maple top and rosewood board together with a lightweight mahogany body and neck, and the result is a smooth, pretty, and well-balanced instrument. The headstock has a matching flame veneer overlay, and the string pull is very straight - so combined with a TUSQ nut and good (if not locking, one peeve of mine) tuners makes for a guitar with very stable tuning. The Hipshot bridge is comfortable and very well-made, and while I'm not normally a fan of flatmount bridges I have to say this one works quite well.

Sonically, the guitar has an almost bolt-on like attack, but with good body to the notes when played unplugged. Plugging it in was a surprising experience for me - I like to start on the neck PU, and the Sentient was pretty good, sounding acceptable tapped and with the tone rolled back as well as full-out in humbucking mode, and useable for a wide range of stuff. Flipping to the bridge, though, really surprised me - the Nazgul (which is hotter than I usually like) is very alive in this guitar, giving it a ferocious distorted tone that cleaned up surprisingly nicely when the volume was rolled back. The V-T for each pickup with a 3-way, in classic Les Paul style, gives a lot of tonal options. In fact, my only real quibble is that the top hat knobs make it kinda hard to pull up the coil taps. Otherwise, everything works great.

Playing the guitar was actually a joy - the frets are big without being huge, and they are pretty much immaculate. I didn't find any high frets or buzzing issues out of the box, and the guitar stayed pretty stable during the entire time I've had it, even with the season change to spring. Bends are easy, the neck - which is a fairly solid C - is a nick thickness, not too thin but with enough meat to grab on to. The nut is cut correctly, and there weren't any binding issues thanks to the TUSQ material.

Overall, it's really hard to go wrong here. If I were looking for a 27" scale guitar in this price range, this would be my first choice of the instruments I've played. Jericho has taken the "do one thing, and do it well" approach with the only options being 6 or 7 strings and colors, and they've got it pretty much exactly right. Kudos for listening to the feedback from reviewers and forum members (Dave posts and reads here), too - it's a great path to success for new companies. In fact, kudos overall for making what most guitarists say they want - a great sounding, versatile (I played everything from smooth jazz to metal on it successfully), and well-made instrument at a great price point.

Plus, it's not black. In the seven string world, that's worth pointing out on it's own.


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