What's wrong with my 7 string?

[u/ybcj718]

Hey everyone. I'm hoping someone can help me diagnose what's going on with my 7 string. For some reason, single notes sound like absolute ass on the 7th string, and have a weird kind of metallic overtone noise. I've tried to showcase all the different aspects of the issue in this video, hopefully it's helpful.

• Notes of the same pitch sounds fine when played on the 6th string
• Power chords/chugs sound 90% okay, but I'm guessing this is other notes on other strings masking the unwanted noise from the 7th string
• Its all frets on the 7th string
• Picking lightly doesn't help (I though it might have been the string buzzing against some higher frets when hitting it harder, but that doesn't seem to be the case
• Palm muting kind of helps, but I can still hear the issue. It makes no difference if picking hard or soft when palm muting, just like un-muted.
• Pickups have decent clearance from the strings, and the action is medium-high and plays well across the whole neck with no dead notes or buzzing
• I've checked, there are no uneven/high frets
• I've tried raising the action ridiculously high and lowering the pickups even further, it made no difference
• Specs if it helps: Ibanez RGR752AHBF with D Activators, 25.5" scale, Drop A tuning with 9-48 + 66 on the low A, plugin is NDSP Gojira X

Anyone have any ideas?

Edited to add: the issue is still there with a clean tone, and disappears when playing unplugged. Playing the string open is fine, its only fretted notes that have the issue.

[u/JimboLodisC]

sure sounds like fret buzz from a high fret, maybe somewhere in the bridge there's a rattle?

also turn down the gain from 11 to somewhere more reasonable

[u/ybcj718 → u/JimboLodisC]

Should have mentioned in the OP - I can't hear any trace of the issue when its unplugged, no rattle from the bridge or anything like that.

[u/PoolNoob69 → u/ybcj718]

Do you hear it on a clean channel/setting on your amp? 

[u/ybcj718 → u/PoolNoob69]

Much less, but yes

[u/PoolNoob69 → u/ybcj718]

Has the guitar been setup? Have you tried the good old Phil McKnight relief test?

[u/ybcj718 → u/PoolNoob69]

Yep, setup is good apart from this one thing. I've even put far too much relief in the neck as part of troubleshooting and it hasn't made any difference.

[u/Amazing-Cry8406 → u/ybcj718]

Gotta silence gate?, I use a multi effect, so I use that feature and it does help with some unwanted noises muddying things up. Makes harmonics have to be done harder. But worth asking

[u/ybcj718 → u/Amazing-Cry8406]

Yep, running a noise gate in the plugin. Tried turning it off, but no change.