Need high end custom 7 string guitar recommendations for prog metal

Budget?

 

Caparison make some really nice 7 strings, and since they are a child of jackson in some fashion the neck profiles are similar.

 

Aaawwww man - a Toone USM is not an option then...

 

10k...just to conform: in what currency/country?

 

You could spend the next few years of your life trying countless guitars that don’t suit you. What don’t you like about Ibanez and the JP models?

 

I would do this: try a lot of 7's (don't have to be high end, that's not the point) and write down what neck specs you do and don't like. The biggest deal IMO is the neck specs on any custom.

You can afford most customs available within your budget. Once you know the specs you want, research the companies. I'm sure some places like axe palace etc will have high end builds in stock.

Then just buy the one you like

 

PADALKA
or
Negrini

 

Dude. 10k.

Just choose the company logo you like the most and let them build you whatever you want.

10 fucking k.

 

I mean you can afford literally any good custom builder with that kind of budget. Everyone here will give you a different answer.

 

budda is right, just try as many 7 strings as you possibly can. don't go custom unless you know exactly what you want spec wise. I'm speaking from experience here.
At that pricepoint you could get pretty much any custom on the market besides a Toone/teuffel.

 

I think 10k would be wasted on a custom

Take that 10k and get your dream guitar: the one you always wanted when you were 13 but knew you could never get or afford

Now you can....get that

 

Yeah the custom option is good... if you can wait 3 to 5 years to get it...
Also, what are the specs you are looking for?

 

If you can find a j custom RG 2027xvv, I recommend that

 

As far as Ibanez necks go, there are definitely differences between how necks feel between different models and model ranges (Base/Iron Label/Premium/Prestige/J Custom), as well as differences within the same model over time. I love the feel of my RG1527's neck while I didn't really gel at all with the neck on my friend's S7320. The only differences on paper (as per Ibanez Wiki, both are 2007 model year) is that the Ultra Prestige-7 neck on my RG1527 is 3mm wider at the last fret than the Wizard II-7 neck on his S7320 (a difference that is somewhat mitigated by the fact that the RG1527 also had 2 more frets and so the difference would be less at the 22nd fret), and also had a slightly larger fretboard radius (17" vs 15.75"). These aren't huge differences on paper, but they're more pronounced in hand than what you might expect. Also, what you won't find in any official documentation is that the neck on the S7320 was also quite a bit more D shaped than the RG1527, which has more of a C shape, something which really has a big effect on my comfort while playing it because the shoulders are thinner on the RG1527. Because that aspect doesn't affect the thickness at the thickest part of the neck, it's not reflected in the numbers that are published.

The long and short of it is that when it comes to a company like Ibanez which has literally dozens of different neck profiles even within the same model range over the course of years, playing an isolated sample isn't necessarily a great indicator of how their other guitars will feel. Yes, Ibanez necks are generally thin and described as "fast", but there's still a lot of room for variance even with those qualifiers. YMMV, obviously.

Also, a fair chunk of people on this forum have had pretty negative experiences with custom guitar builders over the years, so the overall sentiment on them currently is generally "not worth the risk". Even Daemoness, a brand with years under their belt and a boatload of happy customers, hasn't been immune to shipping a couple guitars out that have had just utterly inexcusable QC failures, and I say this as someone who would probably still buy one if it were in the cards. And that doesn't even begin to compare to some of the heinous shit some other builders have pulled.

Now, you're working with a pretty healthy chunk of change, so you're in the position to afford to get a guitar built through the custom shop of a larger brand such as Jackson, ESP or Schecter if you so desire. That will increase your costs, but it will also mitigate risks. If you're serious about getting a custom guitar, I'd start talking to these builders as to how much flexibility they can afford you in shaping a neck profile to your taste.

At the end of the day though, neck profiles that appear nearly identical on paper can feel completely different in hand. People here could find guitars with necks that technically match every condition you list and there might still be something about it that you inevitably dislike. If you want to find the perfect profile, the only real option is to just keep trying guitars until you find it, or at least find something that's close enough that you can approximate with reasonable certainty how you'd change it to make it perfect for you.

Also, welcome to the site.

 

Dont forget there are other specs to consider besides just thickness and string spacing. You may know all of this already, but they all play important parts, but are rarely takes about.

- the neck's width (on both ends), which can effect how close the strings are to the edge if the fretboard and not just the string-to-string spacing
- neck profile shape
- are the edges rolled? Flat? Chamfered?
- fretboard radius...and is it uniform or compound?
- fret size (height and width)
- how the fret ends are finished

...and that all ignores how strings and setup can GREATLY effect how a neck feels/plays.