Sire Larry Carlton H7 Semi-hollow Review

Hard to beat for the money

Let me preface by stating I own multiple high end guitars from PRS, Gibson, Fender Custom Shop etc. The Sire H7 punches way above its price point. Out of the box it did need some slight adjustment, but that's to be expected. Pickup height had to be adjusted for balance, factory had the bridge much too low. Once I got action/relief/pickups height set I have been very happy.… read more The frets were level, verified with rocker, and the fret ends were rounded nicely. Frets were also polished well. The paint finish is great, I haven't found any flaws. The fretboard is listed as ebony, although it is lighter in color than others I have. The binding along the fretboard is rolled, but does have some marks on it. It appears to be wood dye from the fretboard. It's very noticeable up close, but not terrible. Pickups sound fantastic to my ears. Much more clarity and articulation than the competitive epiphone variants. It has that bark and growl of a paf equipped 335. They are staying, absolutely no reason to replace them. The pots and jack are weak points to me, but nothing out of the norm at this price point. They don't have a great roll to them, very on/off feeling. I would consider 50s wiring with proper cts audio taper pots and a quality jack. The bone nut feature is nice, but it could use just a little work. The slots are cut fine, just could use a little finesse finishing. No issues with tuning stability. This guitar won me over with the neck profile. Where the epiphone 335 has a D shape this has a much more rounded C profile. I found it very comfortable, and much preferred. Everything I mentioned above is complete nitpicking from a cork sniffing guitar collector (admittedly) The Sire is absolutely a beast of a guitar out of the box. If you spend a little time on a proper setup, it will absolutely treat you well. I would highly recommend this to anyone looking for this type at this price point. I haven't put it down since it got home, and I don't plan to. I would gig with this no questions asked.

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The H7 knocks me out!

I've owned a 335 and a 336 and like the Sire Larry Carlton better than either of them. It's beautiful to look at, plays great and sounds better than any of the many electric guitars I've owned. At gigs I'm often knocked out by just how good it sounds. A great guitar for the price - or for any price.

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Sire Larry Carlton H7 signature model

I purchase this guitar from the Guitar Center Southfield Michigan. Played it right off the wall hanger acoustically it sounded very good but it felt very solid which was very strange for a guitar at that price point $ the same price as the Gibson inspired Epiphone ES-335 but they feel totally different I mean this feels like a vintage Gibson 1967 or 1968 ES-335. The neck profile… read more feels really different it's slim by the headstock but spreads out toward the body. It feels really good the setup out of the box. I played it for about 10 minutes before I plug it into a Fender Twin Reverb. Once plugged in the pick up sound very good a very nice vintage paf sound. I kept looking at the finish of the guitar I did an inspection of the overall fit and finish very good at this price range actually outstanding at this price range. It will need like most guitars out of the box the nut slots refinished it will need a fret polishing like most new guitars. This guitar does not feel like it cost $ it feels like something well over $.

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Very nice guitar for the money

I bought a Sire S7 ( strat style ) a little over a year ago and was very impressed with it, so I decided to get the "335" style as well. They are not easy to find in stock , plus I wanted the white one, so I waited as long as I could and ended up buying mine from another dealer when I found a white one available. I wish I had more patience because with the Sweetwater 55-point… read more inspection and set-up would have been nice and saved me some work. The one I received needed a set-up in the worst way, but other than that it was very nice. On mine I had to file the nut, clean and polish the frets, and do a major set-up before it played properly where as with Sweetwater it would have come ready to play. On the plus side : 1: it is a beautiful guitar with very good fit & finish throughout, including the binding in the F-holes. 2: The pickups are a bit dark for me, but after adjusting my Boss GE-7 EQ they sound excellent and yield a wide range of tonal options. 3: The neck is a modern "C" profile that is very comfortable and fills your hand while the rolled edges give it a nice played-in feel. THe tuners are very smooth and it holds tune very well. 4: I prefer a low action and this guitar allowed me to take the low "E" string down to just 1.2mm and the high "E" to 1mm with no buzzing or sustain loss making it super easy to play. Bottom line is other than some personal preference adjustments I don't see any need to upgrade any part of this guitar. Now, on the Negative side : 1: My guitar weighs 8-1/2 pounds. THat's not a bad weight by any means, but it is much heavier than it needs to be, especially when it causes the neck to lift while playing. The Center block is just too big and should have been contoured and weight-relieved. If that center block was 1 pound lighter it would be a perfect 5-star review. It's a beautiful guitar that gives other brands costing quite a bit more a good run for my money.

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Cherry Red Sire H7

As many know these guitars are hard to come by. I searched far and wide finally found one used in mint condish. At first I wanted a semi hollow 335 style for the coolness factor. After 3 months of playing it 6 hours a week, I don't know how I ever got along without it. Fit finish and tone are impeccable. I'm a seasoned player with 34 years experience playing and 20 years teaching/playing… read more professionally. I have owned PRS, Godin, Yamaha, Martin, Gretsch, Fender, and Brian Moore. This Sire holds its own and competes easily with guitars at twice the price. Find one and keep it!

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Expectations exceeded!

I opened the box in front of a few coworkers and there were audible gasps. Not only is it stunning to look at, but it also plays smoothly, and has an excellent tone range. As always, Simon did an excellent job putting what I wanted into my hands. Well done, sir, and many thanks.

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The one I received was average

I constantly purchase guitars from different manufactures so I can compare to the ones I make professionally. Some are outstanding and make me step up my game, others are not such a value. This falls in the average category which is a shame as I was expecting more from something that my guitar hero signed off on. Here is what I found insufficient. Compared to other guitars I have… read more purchased from Korea, Indonesia this was average. The finish and attention to detail was a "B" except for the fingerboard which I would give a "C-" because of stain residue left on the binding. The other complaints I have would be from sweetwater, not Sire the manufacturer. They failed to list the country of origin and if you Google search it seems like you would be purchasing from an American manufacture (you are not) and they failed to list the weight ( heavy) Musicians Friends list both of the failures that sweetwater neglected. I will keep the guitar for a while and flip at a loss which I expected but my suggestion would be to save for a real Gibson 335 or a better knock off.

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Above my Expectations .

This guitar plays and sounds like its name carrier. Thanks to the Master Larry Carlton Sire and Sweetwater .... I would call this a working man's guitar that will give you presence tone and pleasure. It could have costed above 2 or three grand if it was made in US. It sings on my Fender Deluxe Reverb amp and records excellent. Just get one and you will see what I mean. Let me thank… read more Brian Sheehan for his great customer service before I forget ...Thank you Brian

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Sire Larry Carton H7 Superb Value

I purchased this guitar as a compromise. Years ago I sold a 1968 Gibson 335 don't ask why, it still hurts and though I have a nice collection of instruments there was a piece missing I wanted to add. The problem was as I am strictly a weekend warrior these days I just could't justify the cost of a Gibson especially as I do have a couple of high end guitars already. After some… read more research I settled on the H7 and my goodness did I make the right choice. Right out of the box it felt like a much more expensive instrument. The finish, frets, setup and attention to detail were first class. When played acoustically it has nice sustain and tone, always a good sign in my book. Plugged into my Bias fx 2 software using a Blackface amp sim with a touch of reverb through a Headrush speaker it sounded superb. I especially liked the varied tonal response when switching from the neck to both to bride PUP selection. I added a tube screamer and was able to go from a nice crunch to singing lead easily. I also tried a Plexi sim and a jazz sim with equally impressive results. This guitar punches way above it's price point and I can't see me modifying it in any shape or form. I highly recommend it for anyone looking for a semi without breaking the bank. For anyone thinking my revue is a little over the top I can state that sadly neither Sire nor Sweetwater endorse me or send me free good or cash lol.

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Stunned by the Quality

I watched and read reviews of this guitar before buying it. I'll admit that what initially caught my attention was the Larry Carlton name, one of my favorite musicians, with his mind being involved with the design and with the great reviews I expected a lot. What I received was better than I expected! It looks good, sounds great, feels good in the hands and plays exceptionally well!… read more I have a American made Strat and SG guitars, but this is now my favorite. If this is the standard of Sire guitars then this will not be the last Sire that I buy. In my opinion, the bar has been raised in this price range.

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(For the money) it hits all the important points

1. Playability is just as good or better than my USA and overseas guitars2. Looks really good in pics and from arms length (although not nearly perfect up close)3. Sounds amazing and sustains for a very long time (amplified sounds great, with some caveats)4. It's affordable for almost anyoneI just wanna play when I pick up this guitar! It's screams and makes me wanna rip riffs,… read more leads, rhythms, anything. I was skeptical of the neck profile and taper. I knew I prefer ebony and maple boards, and this is a nice one with caramel streaks and a smooth feel. The frets are slightly grindy when doing vibrato/bends, out of the box, but they will smooth out with some playing or a polishing. The tuning stability is suspect, the tuners might be part of it, but the guitar is still acclimating to it's new home. First thing I did after pulling it out of the box was lube the nut slots (definitely needed) and stop the low E string from vibrating on the back of the bridge due to the string's angle from the stop tail. The binding isn't flawless, and there are some imperfections in the finish, but no one besides yourself will notice, and it's nothing that affects performance. I played it through my hand-wired Princeton-like amp, and 2204, and both together, and my biggest complaint is that this guitar has way too much output! If I turn down the volume controls to about 9.5, it sounds normal - not sure what they put in there... The voicing and character of the pickups are fantastic for an overseas guitar at this price, though! I swap out pickups for vintage style PAF or bright single coils 90% of the time, but these are fine as they come. I ordered some parts I didn't have and plan on replacing all the stock electronics except the pickups. I'll update my review when I get around to the (daunting) replacement procedure.

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