Hi all!
I've decided to surrender to my love for early Tyr/ last Emperor album and finally buy a seven string guitar, but i don't know very well this field and any advice is welcome

My budget is around 600€: i was aiming at a well built fixed bridge guitar with passive pickups (wich eventually i'll replace later with better ones)

Right now i've briefly tried few Schecters (Omen Extreme 7 and Demon 7) and i'm quite happy about them, but if i can find better feel free to suggest

Thanks!

Quite a number of companies have started doing mid tier 7-string production models so you shouldn't have trouble finding much in your price range. Ibanez and Schecter seem to be popular brands for 7 stringers, I might try a few Ibanez 7s and see if you prefer the necks. Ibanez tend to be very thin and sleek whereas eveyr Schecter I've played has been thicker and chunkier. The comfort will probably depend on the size of your hands

You can also find lots of used gear on the Facebook group "Music Gear Exchange--Brought to you by Guitar Porn. I've bought and sold a few things on there and they have tons of cool shit up for grabs all over the world.

Happy hunting!

Thank you!
I'm searching, but i'm quite sure i'll get a Schecter, i really liked the neck
...i'm even seeing used Hellraisers for that price, that would be a good deal, even if i'm a bit skeptical about active pickups

I have an Ibanez RG7 and love it. Really, which brand you go with is all based on personal preference, but here's a few tips that'll help. Since you said you're not too familiar with 7-strings, I'll go over some basic stuff as well as some cool tricks I've figured out.

- I tune my RG7 to drop A, which is pretty much what every 7-stringed player does. You might wanna set up your guitar for even heavier gauge strings than its stock gauges. I use Ernie Ball's 8-string pack, which is 10's to 74's. I string them (from 1 to 7) as follows: 10 13 17 30 42 64 74. I find that the 56 it comes with is too thick for my 5th (A) string.
- On the contrary, if you wanna go lower than drop A, it's best to stay above E. I tune my 8-string to that low as fuck E, with a bass string, and even that's still kinda flimsy.
- Get a capo. That way, if you're learning a song in drop B, C, etc., you don't have to retune everything (which on a 7-string, can be a pain in the ass). So for example, for drop B you would put the capo on the 2nd fret, for drop C on the 3rd fret...I usually don't go any higher than that though because it can start to weaken your tone.
- Also, I'll try and see if I can learn a non-drop A song, but a drop A version of it. For example: Suffocation's "Infecting the Crypts" is in C standard, but I figured out a drop A version that works very nicely. I've also done this with a few Cannibal Corpse songs - the ones in A# standard.
- Get thick picks. I use Dunlop's Jazz III, which are very small, pointy, and thick. They're great for speed picking and sweep picking, and are easy to use on the higher-gauge strings.
- Keep practicing 6-string stuff sometimes, as if you're 7th string isn't there. It'll sorta train your brain to use all the strings. A lot of 7-stringers fall into the trap of just chugging the bottom two strings constantly. Don't let that happen to you.
- Take extra good care of your guitar's neck. I mean, even more so than you would with a 6-string. If it gets worn down, warped, or (shivers) broken, 7-string necks are harder to fix/replace, and are surely pricier. Learn how to adjust your truss rod.
- Get familiar with bands who use 7-strings or play in drop A. Take note of how they play, how they write, and how their songs are structured. It'll help when you wanna improvise. 'Cause if you can successfully improvise on a 7-string, that's really impressive. Obviously, 7-strings are popular with deathcore bands. Carnifex, Thy Art Is Murder, Whitechapel, and Lorna Shore are some good examples - not the excessively chuggy types, but bands who actually write riffs. Nile plays in drop A, but on a 6-string. A lot of slam bands (Ingested, Abominable Putridity, etc.) either play in drop A or use 7-strings.
* The 6-string drop a and 7-string drop a are different. On a 6, the tuning is: AEADF#b. On a 7: AEADGBE. So when learning a drop a song, find out if the band is using 7-strings or not, because that half-step difference (G and F#) is important.

Hope this helps!

Thanks!
Don't worry, i'm not planning to play extreme/super chuggy music with it, i'm mostly using the extra string for harmonizations and big chords

I really agree with the warped neck part, it's my main concern with this kind of instrument and i'm trying to be very careful, in particular with used instruments

While some of the advice in the above post is solid, I would strongly caution against using drop-tuning (as opposed to flat-out down-tuning). Standard tuning variations on the 7 really open the door to a lot of interesting chord shapes. The strength of drop-tuning your low string to a 5th interval primarily lies in making it really easy to do power chords, but makes using certain other intervals a lot more difficult than usual. Given your inclination toward music that is more "progressive" and dense, I would recommend giving standard tuning a shot as well.

As far as gear goes, I would definitely echo others and recommend Ibanez. I personally use Kiesel/Carvin. If you can find one of those used in your price range, jump on it. Fantastic instruments.

Yeah, i'm noticing that too: with standard tuning it's way more easy for me to "find" scales and chords, almost feels i'm playing a regular six string for how familiar everything feels

Carvin and Kiesel models are really hard to find in Italy, i was interested in trying one of them
Right now Schecter and Ibanez seem to be the most likely choices

Random update:

i did myself a christmas gift and bought the Omen Extreme 7
It was the cheaper of the ones i've tried, but i loved the sound, the bulky neck and the surprisingly good pickup splitter.

I have to say that the transition has been more natural than expected (it just needs more care when muting strings) and even if i don't do it much it feels oddly very comfortable for sweeping.. also standard tuning it's great, i'm really liking the possibility to add new lower notes to the chords

I've also found a band where i can use it

Thanks all!