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Ibanez RG7620 I just managed to redeem myself from what was perhaps one of my biggest regrets in my musical life: selling an Ibanez RG7620. Let's turn back the pages a bit to back when I was much younger and dumber. I use to own what was probably one of the best 7-string guitars in the market, next to the ubber expensive and Ibanez Universe line or a custom built axe from the Ibby LA custom shop. This guitar literally had everything from a super thin/fast neck to an extremely stable bridge, yet I rarely played it and generally misunderstood the guitar when it was a part of my collection. I eventually got rid of the guitar to fund a mixing console and three decent microphones, which luckily I still have and use today. Recently, I realized the mistake I made and eventually found myself on a lengthy search for one of these guitars. Thanks to Sevenstring.org, I finally found a black RG7620 for an extremely reasonable price of $400—they went for $1200 new back when I first got mine. You can check out the unveiling pictory here: RG7620 arrival Unfortunately, this particular guitar had seen better days and needed serious TLC. The paint was in bad shape, it needed a professional setup, and was extremely dirty when I got it. I quickly decided to sand off all the paint down to the basswood body and leave it completely natural with a tung oil finish. This project took roughly ten days to complete, due to the very slow drying time of tung oil, but well worth the wait. After the body was finished, it was time to take it to a local music store out here to get a solid setup: the neck, bridge, pickups, frets, everything needed adjustment beyond what I felt comfortable with. I had also managed to damage the neck pickup during the refinish process, but yet again a member of Sevenstring.org came through with a $30 replacement. Now after weeks of preparation, hard work, and money, this guitar is ready to go and already has a major role in two of my latest songs: Hydra and Helios. Check out the entire refinish process here: RG7620 project Again, the RG7620 is simply the best 7-string bang for your buck. The extremely cool (and horribly overpriced) Universes are built from basswood, maple/rosewood neck, and edge bridges, which are very similar components to the 7620's: basswood body, maple neck, and a lo-pro edge bridge (improvement over the edge IMO). The only downside is that the Universes have what many consider to be a better pickup, but pickups can easily be swapped out. Simply put, the RG7620 plays fast, sounds killer, and is extremely inexpensive, even compared to 7-string models that are currently in production from Ibby and other top companies. I may regret selling my first 7620 years ago, but to finally have this guitar back and truly understand it now is simply wonderful. You'll definitely be hearing more tracks being written and recorded on this guitar, stay tuned!!
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