Why 7 strings? Or Ibanez?

[ShortBuSX]

A freind of mine was telling me about this Ibanez 7 string basswood with a mahogany top that he just had to have.

First of all I gotta ask...why 7 strings? I(as well as he) have a hard enough time mastering 6...then there are all the other hardware issues: buying string sets? Pickups? Bridge/tremelo? Neck...tuners? Then tuning? How would you tune one? He said the top would be in B. I remember the BC Rich's from the 80s...but never really grasped the concept then either. The impression I get its for really low "death metal" stuff...but I dont really get that either(but Im not downing it either).

Then, having owned an 80s Ibanez Roadstar, and having hated its tone forever...I was immediately reminded of this tone when I heard my buddy playing his newer model Ibanex(I dunno what model, they kinda all look very similar, but Id call it an HSH)...although his did sound better than mine did, it still lacked sparkle, jangle, twang or quack...and it makes me wonder why do some many people have or want these guitars?

And so then basswood...thats what I blamed my guitars tone on. I felt thats why it always sounded so low and deep...would I be wrong to assume that? And then mahogany top? I just dont get it...

I see alot of people are Ibanez owners(I am too)...so Im hoping this doesnt sound like a bash topic, Im really just trying to figure out what kind of tone an Ibanez owner is looking for...because I all I hear is effect driven flat(almost lifeless) low notes...and can only think of 3-4 different Ibanez players tones that I could somewhat appreciate...Alex Skolnic, Via, Satch...and some Maiden.

So could you school me...whats the appeal of Ibanez and 7 strings?

[ted s]

My brother has an 7 string Ibanez with a FLoyd Rose. Nice machine but it's a pig to play and set up.

[Danzego]

While most of the people I see playing them are from bands of the "chugga chugga" variety...and that's cool, because there are I listen to a few of them (though 95% of them just tune down a standard 6 stringer), you have to look at 7 string guitars line a 5 string bass: it just gives you somewhere to go lower than standard Low E. Not just for soloists like Steve Vai and then the chuggers; also for having a nice extra low end on a lot of chords.

Is it absolutely necessary? Maybe not, but then is a high E string absolutely necessary?

Whatever the case, I'm not real big into Ibanez guitars because I like more than just a thin piece of wood around my neck and in my hand when I play. I do have an Ibanez, however. It's an '85 Destroyer, which is basically their version of an Explorer. It's often called the "Phil Collen" model being that's the one Phil Collen from Def Leppard was playing at the time. You can see the one I'm taking about in the Photograph video- a black one with three (yes, THREE) humbuckers.

http://vintageibanez.tripod.com/destroyer/images/dtcollen.gif

That's what I have, except with dot inlays on the neck. A real pain in the *** to sit down and play and the thing looks and has been through hell and back, but I like it. It has a lot of body in its tone due to all that wood and the huge rout (due to the third pickup) and it doesn't have that typical thin Ibanez neck (though not as fat as a Gibson). Someone offered it to me for $165 like more than 12 years ago, so I figured why not? It has served me well since, I must say. :)

[ShortBuSX]

When I was a kid, the guy who gave me guitar lessons had one of those...I know exactly what youre talkin bout(pic doesnt show)...his looked like it had been through hell...his was bound.

[Danzego]

Mine has been through many owners. I wouldn't be surprised if it was the same exact guitar. ;)

[Spudman]

I'm not really sure where to start...but

Basswood while being softer than alder or mahogany has a pleasant and responsive tone of its own. It's just a different tone-wood is all. Yes many Ibanez guitars are basswood, but many Ibanez guitars are mahogany and maple as well. I think they use it because it is a good tone-wood and is sustainable, meaning it grows quickly so they don't have to harvest old growth forests.

There are plenty of pro guitar models out there using basswood so it isn't shunned buy the industry or players. I find it much better sounding than another inexpensive alternative, poplar. If you hear a good basswood guitar played by a skilled player you probably couldn't tell which wood it was by the sound. A few manufacturers use basswood for single coil guitars, but mostly it seems that humbuckers are more the norm. That might be because it isn't as bright sounding as other tone-woods and does sound better with humbuckers.

As for the 7 string...just different sound options man. Mostly you think of chuga chuga players, but in reality one of the earliest 7 string players is a jazz man. I can't remember his name but he was featured decades ago in Guitar Player Magazine's Spotlight section, and I attended a clinic that he was in while I was in New Orleans. His name is Steve but his last name escapes me. He also was or maybe still is faculty at a Louisiana university.
So for him is was just a way to experiment with what other sounds he could get from the instrument.

I feel like a lot of potential for the 7 string is being ignored, but it is great for shaking pant legs.:R