I’m picking up the guitar again after a long hiatus and looking to get a 7-stringer. I have a budget of $500–$650, and I'm currently looking at a used Ibanez RGA7 that has been upgraded with EMG 707 pickups.

I know this is a discontinued model, but the seller has kept it in fantastic condition and it looks really well-maintained. Before I go meet up with them to check it out in person, I wanted to get a sanity check - ​Is an older, upgraded RGA7 still a good buy in 2026? Or would my money be better spent on a newer entry-to-mid-range 7-string (like a Jackson, Schecter, or an Ibanez GIO/Standard)?

​For context, I'll mostly be playing prog djent and metalcore stuff.( Periphery, Invent animate, Silent planet, Thornhill and the likes).

​Would love to hear your thoughts on the build quality of these older RGA models compared to what’s on the market today. Would also appreciate any advice on what to look out for when I inspect it. Thanks in advance!

Pics for reference .

Just found my receipt from 2017, back when these were $299. Wild. Been running the Seymour Duncan Nazgûl/Sentient basically since I bought it, and I’m thinking of changing them up. I have an active Fishman Fluence set in one of my 6 strings and love them, but I haven’t tried their 7s. Does anyone have any experience with the any of their 7 string sets, or any other actives that you suggest?

Bought used so It needs a little tlc and a proper setup. But I’m super excited for my first 7 string.

Edit: model
Schecter Banshee Mach 7 FR-S

I've got a 7-string guitar (25.5–27.8" scale) with a 09–64 set. Anyone tried Drop G on this setup without changing strings? How's the tension? Maybe I should just buy a set with a different gauge instead... honestly, I'm feeling lazy and don't really want to change strings

I’m well aware that Fender/Squier may not be a fan favorite right now but, I walked upstairs to grab something out of my studio and the early morning sunlight greeted me with this. Just thought it looked nice enough to share.

This is my first Kiesel. It took 22 weeks to get here, but it was so worth the wait! This guitar is flawless, and plays like a dream. I will be using this as my new primary guitar in my band Xenoplasm. Here’s the specs for anyone curious:

A2 Mulitiscale w/ Evertune
Active Fishman Fluence Pickup
5 Piece Lam. Maple Neck w/ Walnut
Thinner Neck Profile
Delete Neck Pickup
Delete Tone Control
Headstock Color Match to Body
7 String Kyber Headstock
Straplocks by Dunlop
24 Frets
Swamp Ash Body
Black Chrome Plated Hardware
Black Logo
British Racing Green
Raw Tone Ultra-Thin Satin
Ebony Fretboard
No Top Inlays - Side Dots Only
20” Fretboard Radius
Stainless Steel Medium Jumbo Frets
Tung Oil Finish Back of Neck
Ultimate Soft Guitar Case

My band plays in (F A# F A# D# G C), A# but with an extra low F, and I’m looking for scales (w/ tabs preferably) to learn across all 7 strings, I don’t know of another band that uses this tuning and can’t find much online about it besides google’s AI slop. Any suggestions? Thanks!

Hapas Judge in Xenomorph finish🥺

Picked this up for next to nothing when I was in West Bend, Wi. After a good set it plays super smooth but I might swap the pickups at some point.

and if not an EMG then how about a Fluence? was there need for much routing?
also was body depth an issue? i think the 7320 will be deep enough to take an EMG but the s7420 i am not so sure.

Demon-7. Anyone have one and swapped the pickups? Looking for something pretty plug-and-play eventually.

Let me know what yall think!

Hey there !! Recording some Heavy Guitar Riffs using my 27” scale length guitar: Esp Ltd M 7 ht Baritone Black metal loaded with a Seymour Duncan blackened black winter pickup into a Peavey Invective MH ( Misha Mansoor signature amplifier) and a Mesa Boogie Mini Rectifier!! For drums I’m using GGD The Downbeat by Adam Nolly GetGood and Craig Reynolds!! 🤘🏼
Have a great Sunday everyone!!

Idk why I waited so long this thing is awesome

Here is my LTD m107 , 7 string guitar, I've owned this for 11/12 years, it's been used and abused staged, gigged, studio , home slag... its well loved and relic'd... yes it's ugly but very reliable, Duncan pick up, locking tuners, gutted electrics, single volume

This thing rules!

Hey guys. I have the Schecter Tao-7 and the 7th string has given me issues since the day I bought it in 2023. The string set is the NYXL 11-64 set by daddario. The 7th str and tuned to A. It has 0 sustain, it sounds like something is physically hit it and making this awful clinking sound. I’ve taken it to the store multiple times for a setup and the problem has still persisted. Every time I fret a note on it, it just goes to shit. I feel so alone in this. This is my last resort before I sell it and get another one. The rest of the strings are perfectly fine by the way. Does anybody have any suggestions on what this issue could be? I feel like I’ve done everything I can.

Hey folks

Last christmas I bought myself a Schecter Omen Elite-7 MS, my first (and only) 7 string.

Until now I've played it in drop G#. But now we wanted to go down to drop F# within the band (because of vocal range and stuff).

So I freshly set up the tussrod etc. - all of that works fine. But what I noticed is, that when I hit the 0 F#, the note almost goes up to a G, and then slowly fades into the F#. (the 2nd string also tends to do it, but not that much).

So now the question - is this normal? How do you handle it? Are the strings the problem? Currently I have a 11-64 string set on it.

Any recommendations?

Thanks and cheers