Schecter Damien Platinum 9 SBK

As others have noted this is the best 9 string you can get and has exactly the right scale length.. anything less than 30" and you might as well string that guitar with some heavy duty spaghetti! EMGs are obviously aiming at the metal market but I would say with some EQing you can pull off other passable sounds. This however is a rock machine through and through. Fantastic build quality and not as massive as you would think (especially if you have handled the odd 8 string guitar beforehand). The neck is beautiful and not a massive adjustment, especially if you are used to thin (depthwise!) neck profiles. Likewise if you have ever played a 8 string guitar or a 6 string bass, this will be no challenge at all (and I do not have gorilla sized hands before you ask). If you are looking to go to this scale, short of spending custom-guitar level money, this is by far your best choice

I needed a great studio guitar able to handle all kinds of tunings, from a tight C# to a standard high E. This was the perfect purchase. This Schecter Damien 9 is the longest 9-string scale available and I wouldn't recommend going any lower than 30" for that tight low end. These strings have proper tension which is essential if you don't want to sound like a detached electrical cable. There's no flaws in the finish or setup. It was ready to play out of the box and the matte finish is very nice.

The negatives? With the EMG's, you'll be very limited in your sound. This is a metal machine, so don't expect to get a great funk playing- or sounding experience. The neck width and scale length don't lend themselves very well to other genres than metal. But that's not what I bought it for either way.

All in all, well worth the price for this extraordinary guitar. Just don't expect to easily go beyond metal with this guitar.