Sterling By Music Man Jason Richardson 7-String Cutlass
A FINE WORKHORSE FOR THE MODERN METAL ENTHUSIAST.
Jason Richardson is one of our epoch’s pre-eminent shred dudes. I remember seeing him come up the metal ranks via the djent acts Born Of Osiris and Chelsea Grin. He then crowdfunded his way to a successful solo career, and currently does double duty for the metalcore monster truck All That Remains.
It would be fair to say that Richardson’s ample skill as a player has really helped codify many guitar tropes found at the nexus of extreme and progressive metal. He is fond of the chuggy pit-riff, yet from the beginning of his career his fleet-fingered leads – reminiscent of past virtuosos like Malmsteen and
Vai – have lent technical credibility to the deathcore scene.
This guitar here, the Sterling by Music Man Richardson 7, is not the man’s first rodeo. He already has a signature line with Ernie Ball,
Sterling’s parent company. The M.O. of the
Sterling line is to provide Ernie Ball-like designs at a lower price-point. NonethEless, this here guitar still comes up pretty pricey, with a street value of around $2,200. The top-shelf Ernie Ball model asks an eye-watering $7K plus change!
Overall, though, the Richardson 7 does a good job of justifying the thousands of dollars that it would take to own it.
The first thing that struck me is the quality of the body build, made from alder coated with poplar. While made in
Indonesia, the assembly is robust and competent. The guitar is smooth and comfortable to hold, surprisingly light given how solid it feels under the hands. The body and neck, taken as a whole, are roughly comparable in size to my Telecaster, yet all the edges are ergonomic and contoured. The
Richardson 7 felt comfortable to play, whether seated or standing.
The roasted maple neck is wide with a 40-centimetre radius, but has a pleasing and gentle thin C contour that curves all the way over the back. The scale length of 25.5 inches accommodates 24 frets – really par for the course on an instrument like this. The cutaway is quite deep, and the heel where the neck meets the body unobtrusive, allowing for extensive access to the higher frets across all strings. The fingerboard is rosewood, and the frets medium jumbo. While the neck didn’t feel superlative, it was nonetheless clean and comfortable. I am not really a fan of this guitar’s look, however. The yellowy-brown, woody, translucent finish ends up feeling both too busy and underwhelming. Granted, this reviewer’s preference is for the cleaner designs of yesteryear rather than the eye-popping woodgrain-heavy aesthetics popularised by brands like Kiesel and Mayones. But I do feel that offering at least one solid colour finish would have widened the appeal. The guitar’s hardware is black, and consists of black tuning pegs with locking tuners alongside a Sterlingbranded Modern Tremolo system. This hardware functions well. However, the choice of bridge is not going to please everyone. Simply put, I have no use for a Floyd Rose-style bridge, and dislike them generally. I accept that providing multiple bridge options, unlike multiple finish options, could be an insurmountable production challenge for a targeted signature model. Nonetheless, I know I am not alone in being wary of a floating bridge. Given the overall quality of the Richardson 7, I would have loved the opportunity to enjoy it as a hardtail.
The Richardson 7 has two custom active humbuckers designed by Sterling. Plugging the guitar in, I quickly found metal tones that I liked. Sonically, the guitar accentuated the low and high registers, sacrificing a bit in the lowmids to get a tighter, scooped sound. This is not a criticism however, and I found that the pickups responded well to a tube amp with boatloads of gain. Even heavily saturated, the tone retained a clarity that was able to articulate complex chords, and help leads sing. The low end was also pronounced and aggressive, remaining dynamic and hi-impact for palm-muted pit riffs on the low strings.
I’ve seen some online comments describing these pickups as a bit too dark, even muddy. To be honest, I do not agree. The pups are plenty bright yet stop short of unpleasant fizziness. Perhaps I’m revealing here my preference for murkier death metal tones la Entombed and Morbid Angel and am out of step with the desires of some
other players. As tone is highly subjective, let your ears be the judge, but to me the pickups seem well-selected.
The clean sounds made by the Richardson 7 are transparent and useable. The attenuation of the midrange did less favours for the tone in this context, but the sound still retained a pleasant glassiness. Some judicious use of compression and reverb offset some of the flatness, and since the instrument is clearly designed to excel in heavier applications, some trade-off here is understandable.
For controlling your sound, the Richardson 7 has a three-way selector, plus the requisite tone and volume controls. The player can engage a coil tap and a volume boost by popping these two pots in and out of position. I really like how engaging and disengaging these functions is always done by pushing on the knob. This means the meat of the hand can be used to make the necessary switches in between busy playing.
The Richardson 7 hits a lot of the sweet spots that a modern metal guitarist needs. While it is not an absolute top-of-the-line instrument, plenty of that design philosophy has survived the design and build process that has led to a more affordable price.
VERDICT
The Richardson 7 would be a fine workhorse for a player who vibes with Richardson’s style, or with modern metal in general. The major points of contention will be the bridge and the finish, but if those are your bag then you owe it to yourself to give this axe a go.
PROS
Full of authentic metal tones.
Does a great job adapting the $7K Ernie Ball model for a more affordable market.
CONS
Pickups might be a tad too dark or muddy for some.
The aesthetic is an acquired taste.
CONTACT
CMC Music
Ph: (02) 9905 2511 Web: cmcmusic.com.au