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Buying Parts For A 7 String..?


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Hey guys

I'm new to the guitar building world and I am making a 7 string guitar for my final year of school in woodwork. Right now I am spending a few weeks working things out and making a design brief (Have to for the course :D).

Since 7 string parts aren't nearly as common as 6 string ones, I was wondering if it would be cheaper and realistic to buy a 7 string guitar and rip the components I need off that (bridge, pickups, electronics). If I didn't do that my shopping list would be Neck, pickups, bridge and the other minor parts.

Just curious to which would be better to a student with a limited budget and unexperienced skill with building guitars.

Thanks a lot :D

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Well, you could always buy a used 7-string and build a new body and neck for all the parts you took off the old guitar, but it'd probably be a wash compared to just buying new parts. Although, you could then sell off the old body and neck and recoup some money, but I doubt the money saved would be worth the hassle of shopping for a guitar that's cheap enough to rip apart but has enough quality components to justify the effort.

7-string parts really aren't that hard to find anymore. 8-string is the "new" 7-string and those parts are also becoming easier to find.

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Thanks for the advice.

What you said sounds right to me, but down here in Australia it is harder to pick up 7 string parts and especially pickups for a decent price. The USA (Well, most of them are USA) internet shops don't ship out pickups down here because of some issue with the warranty, so I'm forced to pay a lot more.

But it seems that if I want a good sound, buying separate seems the way to go.

Are there any aussies that have had experience with some decent priced 7 string pickups in Victoria?

Oh and one more question, are there any guides out there to making a string-thru-body type bridge? (like most ESP guitars, and others)

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I'm in Australia and building a 7 string too. I got some Dimarzio pick ups off eBay. A lot of sellers don't mention international shipping in their auctions, but if you email them some will be happy to sell to you.

The biggest problem I have had is finding an original 7 string Floyd Rose. After buying one on ebay, I was told 2 months later the guy never shipped it and he gave me a refund. Then I tried to get one through guitarasylum.com, and they said they're not shipping those out at the moment.

I finally found someone selling lisenced Floyds on sevenstring.org so I sent him the money and am now playing the waiting game til it gets here.

I got the tuners from stewmac.com - they sell individual tuning machines, but not for every model.

Everything else should be the same as on a 6 string.

Hope this helps.

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