Sire Larry Carlton S7 FM Electric Guitar – 2023 Reviews!

Sire Larry Carlton S7 FM Electric Guitar – Review!

The Sire Larry Carlton S7 FM Electric Guitar will surely capture the hearts of S-style solid-body enthusiasts. As a result of a collaboration with the Grammy-winning guitarist himself, the S7 FM provides the classic playability, tone, and stage presentation of well-respected S-style instruments at an incredible value.

This lightweight guitar offers incredible comfort and a rich tone even when unplugged, featuring an alder body with a flamed maple veneer. However, this beauty was designed to be amplified.

The Sire Super-ST pickup configuration on the S7 FM provides powerful sonic versatility to cater to various musical styles. It has a roasted hard maple neck, a fingerboard that makes it super playable, and a Sire Modern tremolo bridge that makes it sustain and tune up perfectly.

Sire Larry Carlton S7 FM Electric Guitar
Features:

  • Body: Alder.
  • Top: Flamed maple.
  • Bolt-on neck: roasted maple.
  • Fretboard: roasted maple.
  • Abalone dots fretboard inlays.
  • 22 Medium jumbo frets.
  • Scale: 648 mm (25.5″).
  • Fretboard radius: 241 mm (9.5″).
  • Nut width: 42 mm (1.65″).
  • Bone nut.
  • Pickups: 1 x S7 humbucker (bridge).
  • Pickups: 2 x S7 single coils (middle and neck).
  • 1 x Volume and 1 x tone control (push/pull for coil split).
  • 5-Way switch.
  • Ivory Pearl pickguard.
  • Chrome hardware.
  • S7 2-Post Tremolo with Steel Block and stainless saddle.
  • Sire Premium locking machine heads.

Build and Appearance

With its classy style and modern design construction, the S7 combines the best of both worlds. It has a bolt-on Alder body and roasted Maple’s neck and is made of high-quality materials. Roasting, otherwise known as baking, is an ancient technique to remove imperfections from wood and make it highly durable over time. At Sire, they specialize in this technique.

With its 9.5-inch radius roasted maple fretboard and medium jumbo frets, the S7 has a luxuriously contemporary playing feel. If you add a gorgeously-silky fretboard edge, you’ve got a guitar that plays like it should be four times as expensive!

Sire Larry Carlton S7 FM Electric Guitar - Build and appearance

Roasted neck and fingerboard

There is no doubt that a roasted neck makes quite a difference, as it removes small impurities from the wood, which can have a subtle effect on the overall resonance of the instrument. A testament to the success of this process is the roasted hard maple neck and fingerboard on this beauty.

With its rolled fingerboard edges and medium jumbo frets, this guitar delivers hours of comfortable chording and effortless lead playing. A number of guitarists who have tested the S7 FM have been blown away by the neck’s classic feel and responsiveness.

The Hardware of the Highest Quality

The S7 is equipped with incredibly high-quality hardware. With the premium locking tuners, even when using the Modern tremolo bridge for flutters and big dive bombs, the guitar remains as precise as possible.

As part of this, the traditional bone nut plays a significant role, as it is a low-friction material that permits smooth string glide and accurate pitch control.

Sire Larry Carlton S7 FM Electric Guitar - head and tuners

Tuners and Tuning

The locking tuners on the Sire Larry Carlton S7 FM Electric Guitar keep strings securely in place and speed up string changes. Once the string is threaded through the tuner, locking tuners clamp it in place, eliminating the need to wind the string around the post. The result is that slack and slippage are eliminated, which can lead to an inability to tune the instrument.

With the locking tuners on the S7 FM Electric Guitar, the strings stay in tune, even if you use the tremolo, which can cause tuning instability on some guitars. In general, the Sire Larry Carlton S7 FM Electric Guitar provides reliable and stable playing performance.

The Sound

In order to meet Larry Carlton’s high tonal standards, Sire created the Super-ST pickup set. In addition to their outstanding clarity, they deliver a treble-heavy sparkle.

As a pickup configuration, H/S/S is arguably the most versatile. As a result, the Sire S7 can produce dynamic cleans and lead tones at the neck, and a crunchy rhythm at the bridge.

You can get nuanced, characterful variations by mixing in the middle single-coil. With the push/push volume knob, you can also engage the coil-tap feature to get a single-coil sound.

Sire Larry Carlton S7 FM Electric Guitar - Three pickups and guitar soundbox

Three Pickups for a Spectrum of Sounds

There are two single-coil pickups in the neck and middle positions and a coil-splittable humbucker in the bridge. They deliver a range of sonic colorings, from snappy and spanky to sweet, snarly, and singing. Suitable for everything from funk to jazz to hard rock.

It can be driven hard without cracking up or played at a low volume for a pristine clean tone, making it perfect for stage and studio work. Those who remember Mr. Carlton’s most prodigious studio years of the 1970s and ’80s will hear that nostalgic sonic presentation right away!


In this video made by “Guitar Bonedo” you can hear the beautiful sound of Sire Larry Carlton’s S7 FM Electric Guitar, enjoy!


9.5Expert Score
Sire Larry Carlton S7 FM Electric Guitar

Sonic versatility is packed into a signature S-style electric guitar!

Features
9.3
Sound
9.4
Design
9.3
Price To Value
9.8
Pros
  • Great Build Quality.
  • Excellent sound and playability.
  • Great value for the price.
Cons
  • Pickups are extra bright.

Last Words

In summary, the Sire Larry Carlton S7 FM Electric Guitar is a superb instrument that delivers both style and substance. The smooth tremolo system and humbucking pickups, along with the transparent black finish and flamed maple top, make this guitar one of the most versatile guitars on the market.

Sire’s Larry Carlton S7 FM Electric Guitar is a high-quality instrument that can handle a variety of styles whether you’re a jazz or fusion enthusiast or a rock or blues player. You’ll be inspired to reach new levels of playability and tone with the impeccable craftsmanship and attention to detail on this guitar.

Happy Strumming!

Felix Sanchez

Felix Sanchez

Felix Sanchez specializes in string instruments and their use in contemporary music. Felix is passionate about music and has studied and played a variety of string instruments including guitars, ukuleles, and cellos.

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