Madness at Gardmore Abbey (Module) Questions

[Dralnu]

My players and I (DM) are new to 4e and we're finishing up our first module, Keep on the Shadowfell. It's alright, I think it's a bit too combat-heavy for my tastes, but nonetheless a very good introduction to the system.

I'm looking for the next module to run and I stumbled upon Madness at Gardmore Abbey. I love Deck of Many Things, and all the reviews that I've read say it's one of the best products currently out there. I'm going to pick it up at my gaming store either tonight or tomorrow.

I have a few questions for people who are familiar with this module before I buy it:
1) It's an "Essentials" module, right? Is it still compatible with non-Essential characters? None of us have any Essentials books, we all have only 4.0 stuff
2) It's very likely that there will be 7 players participating. The module says it's a level 6-8 adventure but doesn't say for how many players it was designed for. With 7 players, should I lower their starting level, make the encounters stronger, or both?

[Giggling Ghast]

1) It's Gardmore Abbey. I haven't played the module, but I do know that it's called Gardmore Abbey.
2) The difference between 4E and 4E Essentials lies mostly in character design. I've pitted Essentials monsters against regular 4E characters without noticing any significant difference.
3) Generally, these modules assume you're running a party of five players. Depending on the party's starting level — let's say you start the adventure at Level 6 — you will have to adjust some of the encounters by adding a couple monsters or traps. Any Solo monster who matches the party's level will have to be strengthened by a couple levels.