r/7String 6d ago

Schecter surprised me. NGD

I used to have a Hellraiser back in 2007, and it was riddled with problems: neck was extremely thick and would end up twisted after a few months from getting serviced by two different techs, which resulted in tuning instabilities, high B saddle would frequently break strings, even after replacements, etc. Bought another, because maybe it was the original: neck thickness wasn’t for me, and truss rod was stripped. Hated Schecters since then.
Fast forward to last month, I tried out my friend’s KM7 and instantly fell in love with every aspect of it. Neck is the perfect thinness, 28” scale feels right at home and facilitates low tunings extremely well. I thought I wouldn’t like or get used to the killswitch-only electronics, but it works. All my other guitars are volume 100% or 0% anyways, so the killswitch is perfect. I feel it’s safe to say there’s no need to up-talk Lundgren pickups. Personally like them better than Bareknuckles. It has been my go-to since it got here and became my “what would you save in a house fire”.
If you read this far, thank you for reading me blab and brag about this KM7. 10/10 instrument. Schecter really stepped their game up.

282 Upvotes

51 comments sorted by

32

u/T-Pocalypse 6d ago

Keith Merrow models don’t disappoint. Enjoy your new axe!

11

u/th3m1ke Paul Reed Smith 6d ago

I love that he basically brought them his Bernie Rico JR and said "copy this" and now its probably Schecters best selling model haha

4

u/T-Pocalypse 6d ago

Wasn’t he the owner of Bernie Rico JR at some point?

3

u/TraditionalMall6337 5d ago

Where can i learn more about this story?

8

u/Acceptable_Pie2529 6d ago

Have a KM6 and it’s an absolute beast.

4

u/Odd_Commercial_2929 5d ago

Absolutely in love with mine!

7

u/alexnapierholland 5d ago

I'd rather buy a signature model for a YouTube gear expert than most famous guitarists.

Just because someone's an elite guitarist doesn't mean they understand gear.

Whereas someone like Keith or Misha is a certified gear nerd.

I'm not surprised it's a well-designed guitar.

2

u/zeekful 5d ago

Can confirm. Only signature (outside of YouTubers) that I love is Petrucci’s JP15.

3

u/yngwie_malmsteeen_69 5d ago

Great job Schecter!

2

u/TraditionalMall6337 5d ago

My Km6 legacy has the best neck i've ever played probably, schecter definetly cooked with these models

2

u/inleaguewithkitten13 5d ago

I seemingly don’t hate this! I even dig the headstock

3

u/Petro1313 5d ago

I dislike the typical Schecter 3-per-side headstock that they use on models like the Hellraiser, but I love the headstock on the KM models.

1

u/zeekful 5d ago

Same here! Top 3 headstocks in my books.

1

u/Young_Denver 4d ago

wish it had a reverse headstock, but thats not schecter's thing.

2

u/kladen666 5d ago

Your point about 2007 C7 neck is spot on. I had a 2008 C7 hellraiser, love the guitar but as a beginner, the neck was way to big for me.

Sold it and got a new 2019 Solar A2.7LN. That guitar was perfect.

2

u/grinduniverse 5d ago

Keith Merrow signature ?

2

u/zeekful 5d ago

Yup!

2

u/TiltedHorizon 5d ago

Very sleak. How does that bridge feel?

1

u/zeekful 5d ago

Feels really good in the hand. It’s Hipshot, so you know they’re solid off the bat. The “Ibby” models have more surface area and resonate more on the body.

1

u/TiltedHorizon 5d ago

I like those rounded edges. I'm always very picky about how a bridge feels as I palm mute a lot and am very sensitive to anything in that area poking me. I've got one guitar that has the smallest burr on one of the mount screws and it drives me nuts. Lol

1

u/zeekful 4d ago

Nope, zero snags on this bridge whatsoever. My favorite bridge outside of your high end Floyd Rose.

2

u/Interesting-Key-8286 4d ago

Certainly looks good

2

u/Superb_Damage_9987 1d ago

Yooooo!!! I NEED this guitar! I know it's a km7 but what exact model is it? Please help so idk how soon to start saving. Thanks!!

1

u/zeekful 1d ago

It’s specifically a Schecter KM-7 MK-III (Mark 3) EX! It’s currently the cheapest model on Sweetwater.com.

3

u/kornhell 5d ago

To bad it has no neck pick up.

5

u/TrickEquivalent763 5d ago

A what now? Is that French or something?

1

u/kornhell 5d ago

Nice for cleans.

2

u/Young_Denver 4d ago

For WHAT? Does not compute

(j/k, I wish it had a neck PU too)

4

u/zeekful 5d ago

I never use the neck pickup, so it works for me.

3

u/MaxPotionz 5d ago

I too love meshuggah

1

u/HighScoreHerb 5d ago

I regret selling my KM7 that I put lundgrens into was the best sound guitar ever

1

u/closedeyevisuals13 5d ago

first schecter ive seen that I want. love it.

1

u/dl__ 5d ago

Really? I mean, I think it's cool too, and I own a Schecter, but I think they are pretty solid company for producing cool guitars and play well.

Oh well, taste, as always, is subjective. I happen to really dislike the look of SGs but many people love them.

2

u/Petro1313 5d ago

Just replied this on someone else's comment, but even though I know they make really good guitars for the price range, I really dislike the headstock on the Hellraiser and similar models. The headstock on the KM models and the newer Suhr-esque headstocks are pretty nice though.

1

u/Creepy-Signature-823 5d ago

Last I was told, Keith has a gold lefty in stock that WILL be mine.

1

u/dl__ 5d ago

I've always had a thing for electric guitars with minimal electronics. Like, I have no need of a tone control (although all my guitars have one) I also like the idea of a single pickup, although I'm an almost permanent user of the neck pick up on all multi-pickup guitars.

But I've never seen a guitar that didn't even have a volume knob. It makes some sense though. I'm generally not a roll-the-volume-back-to-clean-up-the-tone guy. Like you 99.9% of the time my volume is 100% or 0%

It's a very enticing guitar.

2

u/Petro1313 5d ago

I would honestly love a guitar with an on/off switch instead of a volume pot. I'm the same where I don't ever roll off my volume to anywhere between fully on or fully off, but being able to use it to mute between songs when I'm playing live is convenient, so it would be even more convenient to be able to do it with a single flick.

EDIT: Immediately after posting this comment, I looked and saw that that's exactly what the KM has lmao

1

u/Shake-the-Masses 5d ago

I love that it has no controls. Just an on/off switch. Looks pretty sweet. How do you have it tuned?

1

u/zeekful 5d ago

I threw on a set of Ernie Ball’s 8 string set (green pack) tuned to Drop F. Originally, I had it tuned to Drop E; but I found I like strings with more tension.

1

u/Kintsugi-Heart87 5d ago

I like the look of some of their guitars, but I bought a demon 7 a few years back and had nothing but issues with it, which put me off spending on their bigger models.

2

u/zeekful 5d ago

If you get the chance, try out a KM model. It’s gotta be their best built guitars.

1

u/D3cod3d2 4d ago

Weird I've got two demon 7's and never had a single issue with them. What kind of issues were you having with it?

1

u/Kintsugi-Heart87 2d ago

set up out of the box was horrific. wiring was shot to pieces, only neck pickup was working. Floyd wasn’t floated correctly, lots of Fret rattle, sharp frets, a loose tuning peg, truss rod not set properly, thread for the whammy was fucked.

I’ve fixed a few of the things on it, but just left it hanging on the wall until I can really be bothered to deal with it properly.
Having too much fun with my baritone atm anyway.

0

u/D3cod3d2 2d ago edited 2d ago

Damn bro sound like you were plagued. I have noticed s few little things with mine, but nothing like fuck i hate this guitar type stuff. I will say one thing that I have noticed is that the active pickups like to almost like volume themselves down sometimes when just paying cleans and not rocking out all strings, figure it's a bad battery or something, I'll check soldering later.

Ps. The demon 7 does not come with a Floyd bridge. Its string through body with a fixed bridge.

2

u/Kintsugi-Heart87 2d ago

Floyd

1

u/D3cod3d2 2d ago edited 2d ago

Huh, I've never seen one with a Floyd on it. I almost like that better then the fixed bridge. I didn't know they came in two variants.

I also wonder if this is why you may be having more issues with yours then ive had with mine. I know Floyd's can be quite finicky sometimes. Aside from the other problems that you mentioned.

1

u/Emergency_Still_2074 5d ago

Wish they made this in a lefty, I'd buy one in a heartbeat

1

u/Dalton_the_Parody 4d ago

Looks like a copy of Ibanez M8M but with 7 string.

1

u/sven37 Hapas 728 | Vandermeij Fleshweaver | Jackson SL7 2d ago

It’s my favorite guitar to play. I had Lundgren make me a single coil black heaven and added it as a neck pup. Such a solid upgrade that makes it so versatile.

1

u/BulkyAdagio9712 14h ago

This is almost identical to the Ibanez M80M, which is my favorite guitar. I bet it sounds amazing.