The Official 7-String Bass Club.

[Logic_11]

Finding a 7 string bass for under 1000 is hard nowadays. Seems like the only options are the Ibanez 7 string, Conklin 7 string, and those random 7 stringers from china. Been looking around but they're all super expensive. I dont think Wolf sells anymore 7 string basses

 

[Symphony2040]

Finding a 7 string bass for under 1000 is hard nowadays. Seems like the only options are the Ibanez 7 string, Conklin 7 string, and those random 7 stringers from china. Been looking around but they're all super expensive. I dont think Wolf sells anymore 7 string basses

Not sure if you've heard of it, but Harley Benton used to make a pretty well-received 7 string bass for under 1k (I think it was the BZ-7000). These are made in Vietnam and there are a few reviews of them on YouTube. Granted, they are not as abundant as the Ibanez, but they will show up every once and a while on Reverb.

 

[Logic_11]

Not sure if you've heard of it, but Harley Benton used to make a pretty well-received 7 string bass for under 1k (I think it was the BZ-7000). These are made in Vietnam and there are a few reviews of them on YouTube. Granted, they are not as abundant as the Ibanez, but they will show up every once and a while on Reverb.

Thanks !! Ill check it out! Do you know of any other models?

 

[Logic_11]

Aww, i don't think Harley Benton is making them anymore. At least i have another model to enter into the search bars when i search at least lol

 

[Symphony2040]

Thanks !! Ill check it out! Do you know of any other models?

Honestly outside of the options that you mentioned previously, I can't really think of any under 1k (unfortunately).

 

[Razman]

Finding a 7 string bass for under 1000 is hard nowadays. Seems like the only options are the Ibanez 7 string, Conklin 7 string, and those random 7 stringers from china. Been looking around but they're all super expensive. I dont think Wolf sells anymore 7 string basses

It can be done! Just listed one of mine so I can finish fixing my GTBD and do some other things.

 

[overit]

Had a few years of 6-string in the late 90s and was looking to get another one when I saw a GT-7 available locally and got to try it yesterday. Really thinking of pulling the trigger on it but wanted to see what other owners think of this neck view from the top - definitely a twist in there. I checked it after playing it for a while but the action was pretty low, setup fairly well with no buzz. I'd probably want to lower the high C & F a bit but that's about it. Does the twist look out of the ordinary, esp to any GT-7 owners out there?

 

[Razman]

Had a few years of 6-string in the late 90s and was looking to get another one when I saw a GT-7 available locally and got to try it yesterday. Really thinking of pulling the trigger on it but wanted to see what other owners think of this neck view from the top - definitely a twist in there. I checked it after playing it for a while but the action was pretty low, setup fairly well with no buzz. I'd probably want to lower the high C & F a bit but that's about it. Does the twist look out of the ordinary, esp to any GT-7 owners out there?View attachment 4768303

It's hard to see from your photo how bad it is or if it's an optical illusion caused by the string sizes and/or nut height. Only way to really tell is remove the strings and loosen both truss rods and see what position the neck rests in without any stress applied to it. Then, string it up and readjust the relief.

Being a GT-7 my initial guess is that it is not set up correctly.

 

[overit]

That's a bummer. I've had to return a bass due to a twist that couldn't get the setup the way that I wanted. Being that 7s are rare to see in the wild, kind of on the fence to take the chance again.

 

[agfrag]

May I join please?

I've recently purchased a used Wolf 7, and a mystery 7 string fretless. Kinda weird how I ended up with both. I initially bought the fretless with the intent to fret it if it sounded any good, then while I was waiting on the fretless, I stumbled on the Wolf about a week later, and snapped it up figuring that I would keep whichever one I liked. Now of course, I like them both!

I was quite surprised at how good both sounded for as little as I paid... $350 for the fretless, and $450 for the Wolf. The Wolf sounds great right off the bat, so no mods on the Wolf.

The fretless however needed a bit of work. First off, the two soapbar pickups were wired in some strange fashion such that each had a volume and tone knob, kinda like wiring a P bass split pickup with separate tone and volume controls for each pup, then just soldering the outputs to the output jack. Really scratching my head on that.

So I ordered a Bartolini 108G67J B1/T1 7-string G6 candybar original dual in-line coil pickup set, and routed the cavities for them on my CNC router. That came out really well, but I had to make a ramp to cover the previous route. Due to the Bartolini "dead spot" I mounted the bridge pup upside down, and now all strings have about the same volume if I don't single one pickup out... which I rarely ever do anyway.
Then I resurfaced the purpleheart(? I think) fingerboard to my liking, shimmed the neck heel a bit, and voila! Man what a great sounding fretless, I am really digging the tone on the fretless.
Oh, and I chopped a bit of wood from the very top of the fretless as it wouldn't fit in a standard hardshell case. Fits just fine now.

No problems transitioning to 7 string, as I've been playing 6 strings for a while. And when I need inspiration, I just check out Eric Czar on utube and run to my sevens!

 

[Razman]

May I join please?

I've recently purchased a used Wolf 7, and a mystery 7 string fretless. Kinda weird how I ended up with both. I initially bought the fretless with the intent to fret it if it sounded any good, then while I was waiting on the fretless, I stumbled on the Wolf about a week later, and snapped it up figuring that I would keep whichever one I liked. Now of course, I like them both!

I was quite surprised at how good both sounded for as little as I paid... $350 for the fretless, and $450 for the Wolf. The Wolf sounds great right off the bat, so no mods on the Wolf.

The fretless however needed a bit of work. First off, the two soapbar pickups were wired in some strange fashion such that each had a volume and tone knob, kinda like wiring a P bass split pickup with separate tone and volume controls for each pup, then just soldering the outputs to the output jack. Really scratching my head on that.

So I ordered a Bartolini 108G67J B1/T1 7-string G6 candybar original dual in-line coil pickup set, and routed the cavities for them on my CNC router. That came out really well, but I had to make a ramp to cover the previous route. Due to the Bartolini "dead spot" I mounted the bridge pup upside down, and now all strings have about the same volume if I don't single one pickup out... which I rarely ever do anyway.
Then I resurfaced the purpleheart(? I think) fingerboard to my liking, shimmed the neck heel a bit, and voila! Man what a great sounding fretless, I am really digging the tone on the fretless.
Oh, and I chopped a bit of wood from the very top of the fretless as it wouldn't fit in a standard hardshell case. Fits just fine now.

No problems transitioning to 7 string, as I've been playing 6 strings for a while. And when I need inspiration, I just check out Eric Czar on utube and run to my sevens!

View attachment 4807292 View attachment 4807288 View attachment 4807289 View attachment 4807291 View attachment 4807290

Great scores! The second one looks like one of the Chinese 7 strings I see on eBay - the Wolf is a nice bass! I wish they would have extended the upper horn to the 12th fret for better balance, but if I ever run across a red one I plan on snatching it up. I'm really digging the 35" scale, and mine is my main worship team bass.

Welcome to the club! Not sure who is giving numbers out but they'll probably be along shortly...

Raz

 

[Gibson Victory]

Relax! ( A really great Lynch Mob tune BTW), your in, all of us should have this dedication.

 

[Razman]

Not sure why but I only like fives and sevens now. If I'm going to play a six string, why not just add one more? I only have one sixer - not really willing to convert it to low F# but might try that with another six string one day (if I ever buy another, but see 6 vs. 7 thought in last sentence). Maybe I like fives because to me they feel like I'm playing a four string (narrow neck) and are easier to find? Play on...

 

[Logic_11]

May I join please?

I've recently purchased a used Wolf 7, and a mystery 7 string fretless. Kinda weird how I ended up with both. I initially bought the fretless with the intent to fret it if it sounded any good, then while I was waiting on the fretless, I stumbled on the Wolf about a week later, and snapped it up figuring that I would keep whichever one I liked. Now of course, I like them both!

I was quite surprised at how good both sounded for as little as I paid... $350 for the fretless, and $450 for the Wolf. The Wolf sounds great right off the bat, so no mods on the Wolf.

The fretless however needed a bit of work. First off, the two soapbar pickups were wired in some strange fashion such that each had a volume and tone knob, kinda like wiring a P bass split pickup with separate tone and volume controls for each pup, then just soldering the outputs to the output jack. Really scratching my head on that.

So I ordered a Bartolini 108G67J B1/T1 7-string G6 candybar original dual in-line coil pickup set, and routed the cavities for them on my CNC router. That came out really well, but I had to make a ramp to cover the previous route. Due to the Bartolini "dead spot" I mounted the bridge pup upside down, and now all strings have about the same volume if I don't single one pickup out... which I rarely ever do anyway.
Then I resurfaced the purpleheart(? I think) fingerboard to my liking, shimmed the neck heel a bit, and voila! Man what a great sounding fretless, I am really digging the tone on the fretless.
Oh, and I chopped a bit of wood from the very top of the fretless as it wouldn't fit in a standard hardshell case. Fits just fine now.

No problems transitioning to 7 string, as I've been playing 6 strings for a while. And when I need inspiration, I just check out Eric Czar on utube and run to my sevens!

View attachment 4807292 View attachment 4807288 View attachment 4807289 View attachment 4807291 View attachment 4807290

Nice!!! They look good. When the pickups were P-style on the light brown bass, were the middle strings twice as loud as the rest of the strings?

 

[agfrag]

Nice!!! They look good. When the pickups were P-style on the light brown bass, were the middle strings twice as loud as the rest of the strings?

Good question, I wondered about that myself.
I could not detect any string to string volume difference due to the overlapping sensing zones. I did do my own (very crude) sensing range test on the original pickups and found that the outer 3/4 inch (20mm) of each one was not picking up string vibration to my satisfaction. So the sensing area of the stock pickups which are 4 1/8 in. (105mm) wide, is about 2 1/2 in. (64mm). Pic below shows roughly the sense area (untaped part) of the stock pickups.

 

[agfrag]

Kind of a general question to any 7 string owners, and to Wolf 7 owners in particular:

My Wolf 7 won't fit in a standard Roadrunner hard-shell case, or a standard Fender hard-shell case (two that I own). Anyone find slightly longer hard-shell cases that might fit? My Wolf is 47 inches long.

 

[Razman]

Kind of a general question to any 7 string owners, and to Wolf 7 owners in particular:

My Wolf 7 won't fit in a standard Roadrunner hard-shell case, or a standard Fender hard-shell case (two that I own). Anyone find slightly longer hard-shell cases that might fit? My Wolf is 47 inches long.

I have two hardshell case at home, I'll check and see which one mine fits into.

 

[agfrag]

I have two hardshell case at home, I'll check and see which one mine fits into.

Thanks Razman!

 

[Razman]

Thanks Razman!

No problem!

Okay, so it fits in both of mine but the Gator seems to work better. The neck pocket is a little bit wider than the TKL case, and I would fold up a hand towel and set it under the body to level out the neck. The tip of the head stock is barely touching the fuzz in both of them!

Raz

 

[agfrag]

Okay, so it fits in both of mine but the Gator seems to work better.

Liked the fit of the second case, Gator? Looks like it was made for the Wolf 7! I think that might be one of the Gator GC cases...?

Beautiful color on the Wolf btw.