Sire Larry Carlton H7 Review & Prices

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Sire Larry Carlton H7 Review
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  • From Sire's 2020 H7 series
  • Larry Carlton Signature
  • Made in Indonesia
  • 6 strings
  • 24.75"'' scale
  • 12" Fretboard Radius
  • Flame Maple top
  • Top: Flame Maple, Side & Back: Maple (Center Block: Maple) body
  • Mahogany neck
  • Ebony fretboard
  • Bridge pickup: Larry Carlton Vintage Humbucker (Humbucker/Passive)
  • Neck pickup: Larry Carlton Vintage Humbucker (Humbucker/Passive)
  • 2 volume and 2 tone Speed knobs
  • 3-way Switch
  • Sire Standard Tune-O-matic & Stop Tail Piece bridge
  • C-Shape Set neck
  • 22 Medium Jumbo frets
  • Sire Premium Diecasting Tuner tuners
  • Compare Specs >

Our Scores and Tone Evaluation

Playability 77
Sound 65
Build quality 62
Value for money 73
Overall Score 68
Tone Evaluation
  • Heavy Metal
  • Hard Rock
  • Jazz
  • Blues
  • Funk
  • Country
Strengths & Weaknesses
Sire Larry Carlton H7
  • Expensive Wood
  • Bone Nut
  • Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
  • No Locking Tuners
  • Made in Indonesia
  • No Top Brand Pickups
  • No Neck-Through Build
  • No Push Knob or Extra Switch Option
  • No Luminescent Inlay
  • No Tremolo
  • No Compound Radius Fretboard
  • No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
  • No Strap Lock

Price Overview

Its average competitor's price is $850, which means that the Sire Larry Carlton H7 is around 17% cheaper than the competition. This takes into account all instruments of the same category in our database with 6 strings and Fixed bridge that are made in Indonesia.

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Videos

Sire Larry Carlton H7 Semi-hollow Electric Guitar Demo
The Sire Larry Carlton H7
Is a Sire Larry Carlton H7 As Good as a REAL Gibson ES335? [No, but it's pretty good!]
Sire Larry Carlton H7 Review, Demo & Comparison with Epiphone
Sire Larry Carlton H7 demo/review - does it live up to the hype...?
More Videos

Your feedback

Not all instruments are created equally. That's why it's important to have different opinions. Here's what our users who have played this instrument say. If you've played it before, help others by voting below!

Weight

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Tuning stability

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Neck speed (thickness)

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Neck access to high frets

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Neck profile shape

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Fret edges

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Pickups noise

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Pickups power

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Is it Easy to Play?

The Sire Larry Carlton H7 meets 5 out of our 8 criteria items for beginner friendliness, which means that it's a good guitar to start with as a complete beginner. This takes into account the type of frets, scale length, nut width, bridge type, fretboard radius, and neck profile to determine the easiest combination for new players to get used to.

New Player Friendliness

Sire Larry Carlton H7
  • Comfortable shape
  • Easy-to-use bridge
  • Tall frets
  • Narrow nut
  • Comfortable neck
  • Comfortable fretboard
  • Short scale
  • Locking tuners

Hand Size Comfortability

After taking into account the neck profile, scale size, fretboard radius, and nut width, we can conclude that the Sire Larry Carlton H7's construction favors people with relatively small hands.

Nevertheless, this comes down in the end to personal preference. Make sure you test this guitar—or another one with similar characteristics—before buying.

Big Hands
Small Hands

Scale Length

Scale length is the distance the strings will span between the bridge and the nut. It can tell you a lot about the overall playability and tone of the instrument. A longer scale length means longer distance between frets, brighter tone and more string tension—which means lower action, but more difficult bending of the strings.

Here's the Sire Larry Carlton H7's 24.75" scale length compared to other common sizes:

Sire Larry Carlton H7 Scale Length Comparison
Sire Larry Carlton H7's scale length (at the top) compared to other popular sizes

This is the scale length used in most Gibson guitars. If you like the playability of a Gibson, this guitar will feel pretty similar. It's a lot shorter than the typical Stratocaster (25.5'')

As you can see from the picture above, a shorter scale length also means shorter separation between frets. If you got really small hands, you probably will feel more comfortable playing this guitar than a Fender Stratocaster.

This scale length also allows for easier bends and vibratos because the strings will have lower tension due to the shorter scale.

Finally, another thing affected by scale length is tone. A shorter scale will give less room for the harmonics, thus resulting in a warmer, more 'bassy' tone.

Still, remember that you string gauge plays an important part in all of this. A lighter gauge will make it easier to perform bends, vibratos and will also give you a brighter tone.

More with the same scale length:

Neck Profile

Sire Larry Carlton H7 Neck Profile
Sire Larry Carlton H7's neck profile

The neck profile tells you the thickness (neck depth) and shape in cross section. Every difference will completely change the feeling and comfortability of the neck. This is a highly subjective thing, but most players indeed prefer certain types of necks (like Cs and Ds) because they feel nice in most hands.

The Sire Larry Carlton H7's neck thickness is approximately 0.9'' (22.9mm) at the first fret, and 0.94'' (23.9mm) at the twelfth.

These measurements were taken either from the official Sire website, or, in case this information wasn't provided, by researching multiple online marketplaces and forums where owners of this model have posted their measurements.

It has a C type neck. C-shaped necks like this have been the most popular for the last years. The reason is that they feel good in most hands. It's generally a thin neck that doesn't get in your way when playing fast, but that also has enough mass to give your hands a comfortable grip for chords if they aren't too big.

Thin necks like this make it easier to move your hand across the neck and it helps when playing fast solos, especially if you like to leave your thumb free while playing high on the fretboard. However, thinner necks are also weaker and will need adjustment more often than a thicker neck.

More for different hand sizes

Fretboard Radius

When it comes to fingerboard radius, personal preference will dictate which one is better for you. However, most people seem to agree that a more curved (lower) radius will make it easier to play chords while a less curved (higher) radius is better for soloing and bending.

The Sire Larry Carlton H7 has a 12" fingerboard radius.

Here's an image comparing this fretboard radius to other popular choices:

Sire Larry Carlton H7 Fretboard Radius Comparison with Fender Stratocaster and Gibson Les Paul
Sire Larry Carlton H7's fretboard radius compared to others

This is the same radius that Gibson uses in most of their guitars. When compare to the other popular radius of Fender Stratocasters, you can see that it's a lot flatter. Guitars with this radius are usually made to bring a good balance between single-note and chord playing.

Compound radius fingerboards give the best of both worlds. Unfortunately, the Sire Larry Carlton H7 has the same radius across the board.

More with the same fretboard radius:

Playability compared to main competitors

24.75'' Scale Length
C Neck Profile
1.575'' Nut Width
12'' Fretboard Radius
24.75'' Scale Length
U Neck Profile
1.688'' Nut Width
12'' Fretboard Radius
24.75'' Scale Length
U Neck Profile
1.688'' Nut Width
12'' Fretboard Radius
24.75'' Scale Length
U Neck Profile
1.688'' Nut Width
12'' Fretboard Radius
24.75'' Scale Length
U Neck Profile
1.688'' Nut Width
12'' Fretboard Radius

Nut Width

Sire Larry Carlton H7 Nut Width
Sire Larry Carlton H7 Nut Width

The Sire Larry Carlton H7 has a nut width of 40mm (1.575''). This is considered a narrow width for a 6-string guitar. This means that this guitar will have a narrower string separation at the nut, which will affect your fretting hand.

If you are a player with big hands, you might find it difficult to play chords without muting strings. However, this is good for players who have smaller hands, as it will allow them to reach each string more easily at the nut.

Frets

The Sire Larry Carlton H7 has 22 frets. Even though 24 frets has become really popular, there's still a good reason to get fewer frets; the pickup at the neck position will be further away from the bridge. This makes the neck pickup achieve a warmer tone. You might want this if you're playing Jazz or similar genres.

However, if you don't care about the warmer neck pickup, more frets will always be better. It's always nice to have the option to play higher notes if you want to.

It comes with nickel silver frets, so they won't last as long as stainless steel frets. If you use your instrument a lot, you might need to replace the frets after a few years. But this is unlikely as most people change instruments before this happens.

More with the same amount of frets:

Fret Size

Sire Larry Carlton H7 Fret Size Comparison
Sire Larry Carlton H7's fret size (in orange) compared to other popular sizes

Finally, let's talk about fret size. Some people prefer tall frets because it's easier to press the strings and perform bends since there's less friction against the fretboard. On the other hand, some people like shorter frets because they like to touch the fretboard when playing, or because they got heavy hands and tend to press too much on the string and alter the of the note pitch accidently.

The Sire Larry Carlton H7's frets are Medium Jumbo size. These sit somewhere between a Jumbo and a Medium fret. They're not quite as tall as a full Jumbo, so you'll still feel the fretboard, but you won't feel it as much as with medium frets. This is a good size if you want to make it easy to press the strings but would also like a little bit of ''feedback'' to know when to stop pressing so the notes don't go out of pitch.

More with the same type of frets:

Playability Score

Bending & Vibrato Ease 85
Chord Playability 75
Solo Playability 70
Playability 77

Tone Analysis

Wood will have little influence in the final tone of an electric guitar or bass. Instead, the hardware, especially the pickups, will be the most important thing to look at. Bur first, let's see the quality of the wood.

Wood

Flame Maple wood pattern used for guitar building
Flame Maple Body
Mahogany wood pattern used for guitar building
Mahogany Neck
Ebony wood pattern used for guitar building
Ebony Fretboard

Flame Maple Body: This wood has beautiful patterns only found in specific types of maple.

Mahogany Neck: This is the type of wood found in many top-of-the-line guitars, so that's a positive point for the build quality. This red-looking wood Mahogany is found in Africa and Central America and has great sustain and a warm tone due to its high density. The downside about this type of wood is that it's relatively heavy.

Ebony Fretboard: This is one of the most expensive woods there is, which is why it's mostly used for fretboards. It is dense, heavy, highly resistant and comes in a really dark color that gives any guitar a classy touch. Tone wise, it helps the high side of the spectrum and provides good sustain.

Pickups

Unfortunately, it doesn't come with pickups from one of the top brands. This doesn't mean you will get bad pickups, but you might want to consider a pickup upgrade after some time.

These are passive pickups, so you can expect a rounder sound and a moderade level of output.

The Sire Larry Carlton H7's configuration is HH. With this pickup combination, you'll get warmer tones and more output than using single coils. Humbucker pickups cancel the noise that single-coil suffer from, which also results in a warmer tone. This pickup combination isn't only for high-gain music like Hard Rock or Heavy Metal. Their warmness is also popular for Jazz, Indie, R&B, Blues and more.

Versatility

It comes with the popular 3-way switch that is present in most guitars. For more versatility, players tend to prefer a 5-way switch, although it all depends on what you want to use your guitar for.

Unfortunately, it doesn't come with more options for coil split or coil tapping. This makes it less versatile than some competitors.

Diagram

Sire Larry Carlton H7 pickups switch and push knobs diagram
Sire Larry Carlton H7's switch options

What music genre is it good for?

As a 6 strings, Semi-Hollow guitar with HH configuration and Passive pickups, we'd recommend it for genres like Jazz or similar. However, you can use almost any guitar for any genre. This is just the typical type of music for this particular one.

Sound Score

Pickups 60
Sustain 75
Versatility 53
Tuning Stability 70
Sound 65

Build Quality Analysis

Country of Origin

Knowing where the instrument is produced is a good way to know how well it's built. Some manufacturing countries are known for having higher quality standards. For example, most expensive instruments are made in the US or Japan, but there are some exceptionally great countries—like South Korea—that are building a good reputation.

The Sire Larry Carlton H7 is made in Indonesia. Many people prefer the quality of an Indonesian guitar over a Chinese. Respectable brands like Epiphone, Ibanez and Schecter are building in this country because of the great quality and lower price. Some people like to compare them to the ones built in Japan during the 80s, when Japanese guitar makers made a name for themselves.

Bridge

Sire Standard Tune-O-matic & Stop Tail Piece: The advantage of fixed bridges is that they don't require any kind of set-up. This makes it extremely easy when changing strings because you don't need to adjust anything besides tuning the guitar. Also, the fact that the bridge is directly attached to the body will help to increase sustain. The disadvantage is the lack of versatility since you can't create the same vibrato effects as with tremolo bridges.

More with the same type of bridge:

Nut Material

Another important thing to analyze is the nut material, as it's one of the most important aspects that can affect the sound and playability of your guitar. A well-cut nut will make sure it stays in tune and will make it more comfortable to play.

In this case, the Sire Larry Carlton H7 has a Bone nut. This material is one of the highest quality you can get. It provides excellent sustain and tune stability if cut well. The only disadvantage is that it's an organic material, so it's not consistent. Two different bone nuts, even if made from the same bone, will probably sound slightly different. However, bear in mind that this is only relevant when playing open strings.

More with the same nut material:

Neck Joint

The neck joint is the part where the neck of the guitar meets the body. There are three main techniques to attach both parts together: Set-In, Bolt-On and Neck-Through. The latter two provide different advantages, although neck-throughs are the most expensive.

This guitar has a Set neck joint. This type of neck joint consists of using different pieces of wood for the neck and the body of the guitar. Both pieces are then glued together. This is more expensive to make than a bolt-on neck, but it's cheaper than a neck-through guitar. Some people believe that this gives more sustain than a bolt-on neck due to both pieces having a 'better connection' than with bolts. Still, it's something difficult to prove.

However, this type of neck joint does have the disadvantage of not allowing you to easily swap the neck for another. This makes this type of neck joint less mod-friendly.

More with the same build:

Build Quality Score

Quality of materials 60
Features 55
Quality Control 70
Build Quality 62

All Specs

Sire Larry Carlton H7
General
Brand: Sire
Year: 2020
Configuration: HH
Strings: 6
Made in: Indonesia
Series: H7
Colors: Sunburst, Red
Left-Handed Version: No
Body
Top: Flame Maple
Type: Semi-Hollow
Body Material: Top: Flame Maple, Side & Back: Maple (Center Block: Maple)
Bridge: Sire Standard Tune-O-matic & Stop Tail Piece
Neck
Neck Joint: Set
Tuners: Sire Premium Diecasting Tuner
Fretboard: Ebony
Neck Material: Mahogany
Decoration: Pearloid Square
Scale Size: 24.75"
Shape: C-Shape
Thickness: 1st Fret: 0.9'' (22.9mm) - 12th Fret: 0.94'' (23.9mm)
Frets: 22 Medium Jumbo
Fretboard Radius: 12"
Nut: Bone
Nut Width: 40mm (1.575'')
Electronics
Switch: 3 Way
Knobs: Speed
Volume Controls: 2
Tone Controls: 2
Bridge Pickup: Larry Carlton Vintage Humbucker (Humbucker / Passive)
Neck Pickup: Larry Carlton Vintage Humbucker (Humbucker / Passive)

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1 user reviews:

dirkjanbuijs8 profile picture
dirkjanbuijs8
26/08/23 21:12:01

Very nice guitar, build quality can vary.. I ordered 2 and there were notable differences. I have the v2 with a slightly wider neck. (43 mm if I’m right) Pickups are very bright, not much my taste. However the guitar is beautiful and plays really good. Can compare to my gibson. Will swap the pickups and keep it. :)