7 extended

If you are familiar with a 7-string in terms of feel & tone but wish for a lower, detuned performance - perhaps rivalling an 8-string - this one might be it. The Solar A2.7W-29 is an extended scale (29") 7-string with simple appointments. 

This is a neck-through model, so upper fret access is impressive. 

Pics: SOLAR

SOLAR: Windstein & extended

Another signature model in the SOLAR camp - EFR1.6KW. It's the signature model for Kirk Windstein (Crowbar / Down), spec'd out for a very heavy metal application: EMG 81 / 85 pickups. That 'reverse' headstock might not sit well with some of us. 

In similar territory, there's the E1.6AAN-27. The 27 there refers to the extended scale length. This one's equipped with an Evertune bridge & a pain of Fishman Fluence Modern humbuckers.

Pics: SOLAR

Inspired

Flu, bad weather & very little indoor engagements so I watched some live Dissection clips online. This pic here is from their Live Legacy album, one of the few live albums I really enjoyed listening to. Both guitarists in the band played Gibsons; Nodveidt here with his Flying V & Norman (not seen but at left) with an Explorer. Their guitars were downright no frills & they managed to drive things through with maximum aggression. Find this very inspiring. I noticed there were many moments when Nodtveidt just focused on pressing heavy riffs to underscore the composition, his left fingers hardly moved.

So out came the RGD321 to help me live some heavy moments, not necessarily fast, just heavy crushing moments. I'm glad that I have a guitar dedicated for detuned ideas & one that sports a slightly longer scale length to minimize string tension issues. Note- longer scale length, not a longer guitar. I started out thinking that the longer scale length impedes speed but being me, I had to try one & be open to the fact that I might be wrong. I was definitely wrong. A guitar of this nature requires  adaptation & once your fingers are good after some playing moments, it's like playing another guitar. 

I ended up owning 5 longer scale guitars but currently, only 3 are residents here. 2 went to more deserving owners. I might just get one more once the right Solar model ships in & that won't be any time soon. 

conFUSION

Final re-string entry of the year & possibly the final entry for 2018- Ibanez RGDIX6MRW. This is one of the extended scale length guitars I own (26.5"). It's tuned down to C# because who would spend good money on such a guitar for standard tuning, yes?

I kept this one aside especially for this guitar. Flatwound means I get less noise on the lower end strings should I choose to slide up/down for quick movements. Generally, I spend more time on the thicker strings in this tuning so it's a worthy investment.

This is how serious the DR people are when it comes to freshness. My thumbs up to them 👍👍

The guitar comes equipped with a pair of DiMarzio Fusion Edge humbuckers. I've been enduring these pickups & holding back from some performance appraisals but here goes:

• You might have probably read glowing reviews about them elsewhere but as far as I am concerned, after hearing them perform through my set up, these pickups are not my kind of pickups.
• They are DiMarzios so they must be good somehow, no? Brand name means nothing with regards to performance. The fact that they are in this guitar means somebody at Ibanez believes this is how this guitar should sound like given the specs. We can choose to disagree especially if they don't meet our needs. We buy this instrument because we believe it would suit our needs not because someone else thinks it sounds good according to their interpretations. 
• The bridge pickup does not hold low tuning well. Notes are muffled & sound fuzzy at higher distortion/ gain settings. No amount of external treble injection could cure this deficiency. From my perspective, it's a let down.
• The neck humbucker isn't any better when it comes to clarity. Unlike other dedicated neck DiMarzios, I can't even manifest a smooth top end here. Very frustrating.
• Because I had Beez instal a coil split switch here, there's an opportunity to hear the pickup in a tampered manifestation & I must say, there's a little more clarity in single coil mode. The neck humbucker sounds decent with tapped notes but we don't always tap our notes, in fact, majority of us pick more than tap so these aren't quite the winner from this standpoint. 

Maybe, being a Seymour Duncan fan through & through, there's no way I could bring myself to hear good things from the Fusion Edge but that's not true. I hold some DiMarzios in high regard but this one is simply below the liking point to begin with. There is no reason to keep them for long.