With the EMG pickups it clearly amplifies all ranges from the mids lows and the highs and this guitar has good sustain of notes. Ive owned several 7 strings from Ibanez through jackons and this one is def my fav.

For the price all the features on the guitar are solid. the tuners are nice and tight the knobs are responsive and pick ups work beautifully

The fretboard is thin and it doesnt feel like your gripping a baseball bat. For me this 7 string is the one I will pick up and use if I feel like soloing or playing some sweeps

Solid construction and when it shipped there was not even a scratch on it.

The guitar is worth every penny and then some. She plays beautifully regardless of genre. Ill sit at home and turn up the gain and play death metal or go clean and play clapton. It shipped quickly (thank you ZZ sounds) and with the payment plan thats available you cant go wrong with this buy. Its a great 7 string for the $

I made this neutral because I have never had to contact this company for support. But im sure they would cater to whatever your issue was had something gone wrong in a reasonable amount of time.

The guitar is insanely aesthetic. The satin black and trim on the head stock is beautiful and the solid construction makes it play as smooth as it looks.

Active Musician/Recording Engineer

Jazz, Deathmetal, Grind. You name it

This comes with an EMG 81 bridge pickup, which is the position I use mainly. In the seven string the EMG 81 is lacking in mids and low end just a little compared to the EMG 707, but EQ adjustments fix that easily. Brutal tone overall for lower B standard or Drop A tunings. It is very light compared to Shecter 7 stings, but not as light as the Ibenez RG 7 strings, so somewhere in the middle that feels pretty good standing with for long periods of time.

The inlay along neck is very cool and same as upper end ESP NT-7 guitars. The satin finish is different than gloss, but can be polished up and wax sealed for a shiny black finish if desired. Black is always great anyway regardless. The only feature I dislike is that there is only one master volume and one tone volume, which limits the tone of using both pickups at same time in middle position. Overall very nice as are most ESP LTD models that start over the $500-600 range.

The best feature about the guitar is the neck itself. It is fixed to the body for nice resonance, but the thinness and smooth satin finish on the back of the neck is the best feature of the neck playability. I own other seven strings and in comparison to say the Shecter Hellraiser C-7 series which has a very thick and beefy neck that resonates well, but can fatigue your hands quickly, and the Ibenez RG series seven string that has a thin neck like the MH-417, but lacks the dense sustain and feel of the MH-417. And lastly, the ESP LTD SC-607 which is similar in all aspects of design, but has a middle pickup that can take time to adjust to and the volume controls are a bit futher away from the bridge pickup. I own all of the above mentioned guitars and love them all. The MH-417 us a great addition to or intro to upper end sounds and playability at a good price.

The overall quality is very good and will last a long time I am sure. All of my other LTD have taken beatings and lasted for years. The knob and machine finishes will be the first to be affected by constant touching and the finish will change also from constant buffing like contact from the player as well. Not really seeing any real issues with it's quality so far.

Can't think of any other 7 string in this range with all the features and playability at this price currently. Many guitarist do not play 7 strings so there is no real bid demand to make any competion between the name brands out there today. I really think that in the next few years as rock and metal continue to down tune that 7 strings will become used much more in music.

I have actually contacted the company on the telephone and they were very respectful and helpful with quesions.

Black satin and matching satin neck in both front and back make it overall smooth and desireable to most players. My latest addition that I love to play Drop A, B standard, and even Drop A# with ease. EMG's are the crux of the brutal tone it puts out.

Active Musician

Rock, Blues, Jazz, Metal

Been jamming for 23 years guitarist sound engineer and performer

Deathblack to Medieval Folklore

Just jam at home. Playing for 1 year

Metal,blues,rock

30yrs exp. guitar and bass, from home to professional

metal

Playing for 25 + years

Metal

The sounds you can get from this guitar are really good, though the addition of a EMG707 bridge pickup would help the 81-7 works just fine.

This guitar is really simplistic, which i enjoy. There is only one volume, and one tone knob, so you don't have too many options. The neck plays really fast and is not too thick compared to other 7-strings i have played.

Plug it in and play. It literally is that simple.

Esp ltd always makes fantastic guitars that are all inspected before shipping out. You can't find this level of quality just anywhere.

Definitely worth more than what this guitar is priced at.

Haven't actually had to contact them but I assume they would be very helpful.

without a doubt this is the best guitar in my collection.

6 years experience with guitars, mostly at home though

hardcore, metal, acoustic