The ESP Guitar Company

Baritone.

Its one less string.

do you like 7-string necks? Depends on what you would feel more comfortable playing.

a baritone is a great alternative to a seven string, especially because of the longer scale.

I would go with a Baritone over a 7 any day. I hate 7's with a passion though.

It's all personal preference really, some people don't like the thickness of the neck, others don't like the longer scale length.

I have a 7 already and think it's absolutely amazing, Looking at getting a Baritone too.

I think for myself the thicker neck is definitely what does it for me. ....plus I can barely use 6 strings :P.

Problem is, I live in the boonies, so I can't go test out either of them. Let's consider the pickups. How does the 81-7 do compared to the 81 on the Bari?

And the 707 vs the 85.

I hated the viper 7 string. I played it a few times at sam ash and i hated every bit of it. But, i own a viper 400, and love it. The 707's didin't sound good at all to me, the guitar was heavy, bad neck etc. I'd go with the baritone.

It comes down to personal preference and playing still. If you dislike long scales and see yourself using all 7 strings (and not just the low strings), a 7-string would be feasible. But it is also the string spacing, which has to fit your hand.
I chose a baritone because I wanted something just to always keep in B/Blat/A-tuning and I preferred the feel of the six-string fretboard.

I suggest the 7 string. The wider neck WILL be more uncomfortable to play. When I broke my MH400NT by being a dumbass with a soldering iron, I had to wait a week in the for the new parts to come. I had to play my H207 in the meantime. It was hard at first, but after a few days you pick up on it. When I played my 400 again, it was so much easier. I had gained substantial strength from that 7th string and my overall speed and accuracy increased.

So, in short, the 7 string can be a useful training tool as well as a unique instrument to add to your arsenal. Thats my vote.

7 string + 1
baritone is not enough

baritone !

interesting topic!
I see the opinions are pretty 50/50 so I guess the only possible choice would be to try em both and go with your feelings...

My ESP dealer in Salem doesn't have either, and any other shops are too far to go to just to try out non ESPs with different set-ups. I'm just going by statistics and your experience here, people. So far we have the experience that the 7 string pickups don't sound as good as the 6 string pickups, which may or may not be an isolated incident. We have the fact that 7 strings take some getting used to and keep you having to think for a while. Is there a drawback to the baritone that competes with those drawbacks to consider, or are we done here?