Are you perfectly happy with your 7 String?

[Achilleion]

How many of you 7 stringers never went beyond that? And have you been tempted to go up to 8? I've been eying a Kiesel Zeus 8 but I want to try different tunings on the 7 before I pull the trigger, starting with Drop A. I've always been a standard Low B player and always in 440, but recently I've gotten into more chunkier playing and a much heavier brand of metal than I'm used to. Has anyone tried 432 or lower tuning while still going a full step lower with the B string?

 

[jaxadam]

7 is almost a little too much for me. I tried an 8 and couldn't do it.

 

[Achilleion]

7 is almost a little too much for me. I tried an 8 and couldn't do it.

I don't really want the neck width that comes with an 8, but I want to get as low as possible with the 7. I'm putting on Duncan Heavy Core 10-60 strings as opposed to the 9-54 that I usually use, then go from there.

 

[Nag]

I'm good with 7. I'm good with 6, really, but 7 is fun for some things. 8 strings... meh. I considered it very briefly when they were getting popular but it would have been "mostly for the lulz", honestly.

I barely listen to any 7-string stuff... most of it is like, prog, djent, -core, tech death, and I don't like any of those genres. Very few bands I care about have made 7-string music I actually like, but I did practice those few riffs when I first got my 7 though, just to have something to help me get used to the instrument. Now I could just write my own music for a 7-string guitar, and I have written a few things, but the vast majority of the time, I just prefer a 6-string. The "logistics" of how my brain approaches a 6 vs a 7 are just different, and I'm way more at home on a 6, even after owning and using a 7 for 10 years. Recently, I've noticed that I really struggle writing music with the 7 in a dropped tuning, I don't know why.

As for an 8, there's like, one song I like written for 8 strings (Demiurge, by Meshuggah, if anyone wonders). So even just for playing covers, an 8-string wouldn't really be worth it for me. And then... if the scale length is too short, the low strings sound ass, and if the scale length is too long, the high strings get into snappy tension territory, so I'd want to go fanned fret, but there aren't many quality fanned fret 8's around, and if I'd want to swap pickups or something, there isn't that much choice IMO. Another thing for me is, the chords... with the kind of guitar tone people use on an 8 to make it sound tight and all, guitar chords sound kinda just bad to me, I don't like that. I'd rather tune a little less low, and at that point, a 7 is good enough. I don't venture below B very often, I'll do Bb and maybe A but that's pretty much it. Don't care for F#, Meshuggah F, drop E or whatever.

So, yeah, I'm good with 7 strings maximum.

 

[Nag]

As for the 432hz thing... forget about it, it barely matters.

 

[CanserDYI]

I'm genuinely upset my most recent Kiesel I didn't go for 8 strings. I just got into them and Jesus Christ I don't think I'll ever go back.

 

[makecamera]

For me, the 7 and 8 are completely different things. Both are Vaders. The 8 is straight scale and the 7 is multiscale. I like playing the 8 more. There's something special about it. I would not be happy with just a 7.

 

[Dayn]

I went to an 8-string straight from a 6-string, and it took me a decade of exclusively using 8-strings to even get a 7-string. I have a couple of other 8-strings and I'll be getting a 10-string soon. In short, I love my 7-string for what it does that my other guitars can't. Likewise, it can't do what my other guitars do.

If you just want to tune down and you don't care about retaining the top end of notes, then just keep experimenting with what you have. You don't need more strings to tune low unless you want to keep the high notes.

And don't bother using 432hz as a reference pitch unless you have a reason to, or you'll just be out of tune with everything.

 

[Konfyouzd]

Went up to 8.

Liked it--didn't love it.

Back at 7s and the occasional drop tuned 6.

Turns out I don't need much more range than that.

 

[odibrom]

I've an 8 stringer I don't play for more than a year already, it helps it needs an electronic rewiring...

I started with 7s in early 2000s, and it was a breeze coming from 6s. The 8 stringer felt difficult to play in the beginning (bad setup, longer scale length), so I was fighting it. Then PSIORB came along and I wasn't really sure how we'd develop as a band, so I stayed in the 7s realm. I'm not into having to load a truck with guitars just for rehearsals, so 7s have been since then.

I'm also not a tall guy and my hands are average to small sized, so that contributes as well for the feel. I'm sure that if there is will, one goes around the Sun for it, but for the moment I am very satisfied with my 7s.

One ting I noticed was that longer scale lengths affect the things one does a lot. Stuff that gets cramped in 25.5" scale lengths may be fairly easy to play in 27" ones, as stuff with over stretched chords in 25.5" may feel smoother than in 27", which can become really hard to play clearly.

I'm mostly a standard tuning user, from B2 to E4, but the 8 stringers opened the door for experimentation. The few tunes I've came up with all have different tunings, one drops the low F# to E, other sharpens the high B to C and the high E to F, so to have full perfect 4ths. It was weird that it was the 8 stringer that "asked" for these tuning, outside of the standard box I'm in.

So, for the moment, and for the PSIORB stuff, 7s is the way. We're still yet to experiment into the fretless realm, I'm waiting for the bass player to have his fretless operational and also am to redo my fretless wiring... so... lots of things to experiment with, so little time... choices...

 

[Winspear]

Used to play a 7 AEADGBE style. Was looking at an 8 string for EAEADGBE but tried EADGBEA on the 7 first. Fell in love with having a high A, ended up ordering a 9 string for EAEADGBEA and playing that almost exclusively, long term.
Loved it, but in the end, my tastes shifted enough that not only was I happy to drop the high A, but I didn't need a high E either. Playing 28"+ 7 string F standard range these days and a high ~B is plenty for me. I enjoyed especially the high A for extending chords and playing things lower down the fretboard, moreso than actually extending the range of the guitar. I find myself having to use the upper frets more now of course, but the range is enough and I'm enjoying not having to reach over trebles for riffing which I spend most of my time doing. I'm also very onboard with the occasional pitch shifter effect for higher licks if needed, though I sold my whammy for now.

 

[sleewell]

I love my 7s. I think about maybe getting something with a longer neck for lower tunings but I'm not sure I'd jive with an 8.

I love that you can still strum 7s and the neck doesn't feel super wide.

 

[TheBolivianSniper]

I don't listen to much 8 string stuff and I like using my 7 like a 6 too so I just bought a longer scale 7 and told them to set it up for drop f# if I ever wanna play 8 string riffs

 

[thebeesknees22]

I've only tried an 8 string once and it was before I moved to 7's. It felt like playing a 2x4 so ...it didn't feel good lol. It may be different if I were to try one now, but I don't really need an 8 for what I play. I do listen to a fair amount of 8 string stuff though.

 

[Tom odd 7]

Yeah, 7 !!!
Pretty happy with , in B, down to F and everything in between. Especially for band/practice/improvisation
6 and 8 string as well with different scale, mainly for solo/experimentation
Tuning down, up in 430/450 Hz.
The 7 works best for me for live, recording, writing, rehearsal applications, but I basically enjoy using any other type of guitar.

 

[bostjan]

My primary guitars:

• Eight string 24-26" tuned standard +low B + high A, i.e. B'EAdgbe'a'
• Seven string 26-28" tuned A standard, a whole step down, i.e. A'DGCfad'
• Seven string 27" tuned 19-EDO +low A, A=440 Hz
• Six string 25.5" tuned 14-EDO drop D, A=440 Hz

I've done drop G and even drop F on my sevens, but I think I'm done experimenting in the downward direction and onto experimenting with in-betweens. The high A is super handy for me. I don't use it all of the time, but I use it enough that it hurts me when it's not there. I wouldn't want to go any higher unless someone comes up with some sort of magical string that could handle it. I guess three octaves down from there and I'm thinking you can get some really nifty sounds, but anything lower than G is an all new set of pains to deal with. I've played around with 27" factory 8 strings in factory tuning with a low F# and wasn't impressed. The strings that ship on them are like mom's spaghetti, and, if you thicken them up, it seems like they get sloppy muddy sounding from being too thick before they develop enough tension to be playable. I'd not be surprised, but I think I play with a very light picking hand, so it seems weird to me that the trend took off. Again, though, if someone developed some magical string with high density windings and not a crazy high elasticity, I'd change my tune.

All that said, I still love experimenting. I'd love to play around with a 9 string. Although I have some ergonomic concerns.

And I'll reiterate what a bunch of people are already saying, 432 Hz is going to get you some dirty looks. Even if you know that it's not some sort of magical cosmic password tuning, mentioning it associates you with people who believe that it is a magical cosmic password tuning.

 

[Crungy]

I'm relatively happy with the ones I have, not perfection but close enough for me. I'm up to four sevens now, two floating trems in drop A and two hardtails in drop G.

All are 25.5" Ibanez RG's, and I like how the drop G guitars play and sound. Especially with EB Cobalts, I'm hooked on those. I don't think I'll go any lower on the 7's as I don't like or want to use heavy strings. I've considered grabbing an 8 string, but I feel drop G is low enough for me. For now haha

It's likely I'll buy more 7's or at least tinker with electronics and finishes. Maybe an 8 if it's a deal I can't refuse.

 

[Achilleion]

I'm relatively happy with the ones I have, not perfection but close enough for me. I'm up to four sevens now, two floating trems in drop A and two hardtails in drop G.

All are 25.5" Ibanez RG's, and I like how the drop G guitars play and sound. Especially with EB Cobalts, I'm hooked on those. I don't think I'll go any lower on the 7's as I don't like or want to use heavy strings. I've considered grabbing an 8 string, but I feel drop G is low enough for me. For now haha

It's likely I'll buy more 7's or at least tinker with electronics and finishes. Maybe an 8 if it's a deal I can't refuse.

I would imagine that low tension in drop G requires a truss rod adjustment, so I guess you plan on staying there for a while on That guitar.

 

[Crungy]

I haven't yet on the RG7321: the low G string buzzes very little unless I'm strumming/picking too hard. The other guitar (GIO/GRG Frankenstein) buzzes even less but has slightly higher action. That one is intended to be more of a riffing guitar since a single humbucker setup.

 

[c7spheres]

- I've considered 8 before after I checked out an Aristides 080s because it was so much easier to play than something like an Ibby Rg 8 string, but 7 is enough for now.

- Anything below a drop G on a 25.5 and it becomes a problem, ime. I've tried that with as low as a 0.74 on the low string. I'm currently at Bb standard 432hz usig 0.70 on the low.
- I tune to 432 and like it a lot. It feels better, imo, but it will get you eye rolling etc. - People that have tried it for any extended period also seem to like it. The main disadvantage is playing with anyone else that doesn't tune to it. - They don't know. After you play with it for a year you start having visions and supernatural things happen to you. jk. - The problem is few really want to give it a chance and the standard 440 is in place. - If you're playing a lot of covers or with others a lot and your guitar doesn't retune fast then maybe it's more pain than it's worth. - If you give it a chance, then once you go back to 440 it sounds nasal and annoying, like when you first try 432 it sounds a little flat and dull or soft. It's all in our heads, but I do know if you play at loud levels a lot it's noticably better over time. Less harsh on ears and somehow 'correct' sounding and feeling. At this point I think in studies all they've found is that it decreases blood pressure a small amount.