Are you perfectly happy with your 7 String?

[Asphalt driver]

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.

I‘m a djent guy, so I like some eight string tunings, but I usually find plenty of creativity within seven and sometimes six strings

 

[SCJR]

Just woke up from a dream that I tried someone's 8 string a loved it lol.

Maybe I'd take the leap but I'm not really interested in anything past the 26.25" on the low side of what I'm playing now. That's actually the biggest dealbreaker. I never was much interested in going past 25.5" in the first place.

 

[CanserDYI]

I mean, you could get a bass VI and tune it as low or even lower than an 8 string, so IDK if that is really an eight string thing.

But I know what you're saying. I'm desensitized as well. There are, however, plenty of bands/guitarists tuning to E standard or drop D that sound really heavy. For example, Dillinger Escape Plan always sounded heavy as hell to me, and I don't believe they ever tuned lower than that. I've seen a few local bands that tune drop C and actually don't sound any heavier than classic Metallica. It all depends on what you are playing in that tuning, what kind of tone you are going for, and, maybe most of all, what your drummer is doing.

My guitar collection is kind of all over the place with tunings at the moment. I have a 6 string I keep tuned up to G standard (G2CFBbDG4) which I really love. It's like a guitar with a capo on the third fret, but the extra tension makes it sound nice and shimmery.

Oh I meant I feel this after switching to baritones/8 strings with drop E, A1 just sounds like it needs to go lower lol

 

[Alberto7]

One has to dial down the Gain / Drive (distortion) and Bass levels when using ERGs. And keep in mind that when going for really dirt tones, avoid power chord (or any chord actually) chugging, it will sound super muddy and undefined, even with the bass EQ cut down to almost nothing. Single string chugging is where it's at. Another possibility is to use digital tools to change EQ settings according to note range. I've used this pitch detection tool in my G-Force to manage FXs parameters... It's interesting because the FX sound changes as you progress in the guitar range...

Yeah, those are exactly the things that bring out clarity. Problem is, I'm kinda sick of hearing that tone everywhere all the time that may bring out clarity in the low notes, but it makes the top register sound brittle as hell. And it isn't like I chug the 8th string all the time either, so these days I've been experimenting a bit with sacrificing some clarity on lower notes for the sake of a sweeter tone. Also playing with individual frequencies that may accentuate the fundamentals of the lower strings while keeping things warm all across the board.

Now that pitch detection tool you mention sounds interesting! It never occurred to me that that was a thing, but it makes sense. I can't imagine it working super well or very fluidly, but I'll investigate and give it a shot. Thanks for the tip!

 

[bostjan]

Maybe I'd take the leap but I'm not really interested in anything past the 26.25" on the low side of what I'm playing now. That's actually the biggest dealbreaker. I never was much interested in going past 25.5" in the first place.

Why not? You got a problem with bass guitars, bro?

In all seriousness, though, I adamantly think that a good portion of people who are against extended scale probably formulated that opinion after playing poorly designed instruments. It's really, honestly, not at all uncomfortable to play an extended scale instrument that is properly balanced and takes ergonomics into account. But a lot of long scale guitar manufacturers just slap a longer neck onto the same body that worked at 25.5" and call it a job well done.

OTOH, if you try a decent baritone guitar out and don't think it adds anything to your experience, then stick with what works for you.

 

[G_3_3_k_]

Why not? You got a problem with bass guitars, bro?

In all seriousness, though, I adamantly think that a good portion of people who are against extended scale probably formulated that opinion after playing poorly designed instruments. It's really, honestly, not at all uncomfortable to play an extended scale instrument that is properly balanced and takes ergonomics into account. But a lot of long scale guitar manufacturers just slap a longer neck onto the same body that worked at 25.5" and call it a job well done.

OTOH, if you try a decent baritone guitar out and don't think it adds anything to your experience, then stick with what works for you.

This. My Oni is actually easier to play than my 25.5" scale 6 string Suhr. It's all about the design and how the human relationship to the instrument is factored in.

 

[Kyle Jordan]

Why not? You got a problem with bass guitars, bro?

In all seriousness, though, I adamantly think that a good portion of people who are against extended scale probably formulated that opinion after playing poorly designed instruments. It's really, honestly, not at all uncomfortable to play an extended scale instrument that is properly balanced and takes ergonomics into account. But a lot of long scale guitar manufacturers just slap a longer neck onto the same body that worked at 25.5" and call it a job well done.

OTOH, if you try a decent baritone guitar out and don't think it adds anything to your experience, then stick with what works for you.

Very much this. And I just discovered how true this can be recently.

I love my Ibanez S8 and it had the best neck I had played for a long while and still has one of the best necks in my book. But as stated above, Ibanez just slapped a larger neck and a longer scale on the S body and called it done, which lead to my major complaint with the guitar and it's terrible upper fret access. I still loved the way the body felt and sat on me, but that was a problem.

Getting my Aristides just showed how poor that choice was on Ibanez's part. The 080 isn't an ergonomic design, but it's a much better thought out design and it really shows that. The damn guitar plays better and easier than my 6 string USA Soloists. My only real, yet minor complaint is the weight. And even with that, it's only about .75 pounds heavier than my black Soloist.

I think it was Rob Scallon that talked about 8 string being not too old and makers still figuring things out. I think that over the years, I've changed the way I think of the guitar as well. I think of and approach an 8 string as a slightly different instrument because I feel there are enough changes that warrant a slightly different treatment.

Not really sure how this could be addressed to make the better options available to be tried by players sadly.

 

[Drew]

So, I play my 6s more than my 7s these days, so maybe I'm not the best example.

But, from a pure "does it work musically" standpoint, 8s are tough. You CAN get some cool sounds out of a guitar tuned that low, but to make it work clarity and impact really become the priorities, which means you're probably giving up something even for rhythm playing up a string or two, much less the treble strings. It's just really tough to balance the requirements for getting a usable tone out of a low F# or E, and the upper registers of the guitar. At that point, for distorted playing, I kinda feel like you're better off more often than not just tuning down, unless you're able to switch patches from a low-B and F# riffing tone that will sound thin everywhere else, and then a moree midrangey, more saturated tone for lead playing elsewhere on the neck, and just accept the fact that your lowest notes are going to be flubby and undefined.

Clean? Different story. If I had any aptitude for touchstyle playing or Charlie Hunter style "juggling multiple parts fingerstyle," I'd probably own one.

 

[SCJR]

Why not? You got a problem with bass guitars, bro?

In all seriousness, though, I adamantly think that a good portion of people who are against extended scale probably formulated that opinion after playing poorly designed instruments. It's really, honestly, not at all uncomfortable to play an extended scale instrument that is properly balanced and takes ergonomics into account. But a lot of long scale guitar manufacturers just slap a longer neck onto the same body that worked at 25.5" and call it a job well done.

OTOH, if you try a decent baritone guitar out and don't think it adds anything to your experience, then stick with what works for you.

Definitely agree that the first 8 strings I ever picked up were the low end Jackson/Ibanez offerings you would find at most GC's and the like and they did absolutely nothing to sell me on them. Very fair point.

I don't own a bass currently, had but sold a Dan Briggs sig that I sometimes still wish I had around. I think the reason I was never bothered by the bass scale was that I never played anything beyond dyad shapes if I was ever playing more than single notes. Getting around on that scale length for that purpose, speed and technique-wise, was never an issue. These days I just get by with GroveBass.

For me the increased scale length becomes a problem when I'm stretching to play certain shapes and extensions. Especially when in the lower registers. Few years back I broke my left hand in three places and a tendon healed hyperextended over the bone from my thumb into my inner palm. That paired with the repetitive stress of my day job has made me pretty careful about those things and I forced my technique into the classical position. It's forced me to be super picky about neck shapes as well, especially regarding the shoulders.

The only way to know would be to try a well-designed ERG in that range over a decent sample size of time. That paired with not having anything musically driving me to the extra range tends to kill the situation before it even starts. Though I once said that about 7's so I know anything is still possible.

 

[bostjan]

So, I play my 6s more than my 7s these days, so maybe I'm not the best example.

But, from a pure "does it work musically" standpoint, 8s are tough. You CAN get some cool sounds out of a guitar tuned that low, but to make it work clarity and impact really become the priorities, which means you're probably giving up something even for rhythm playing up a string or two, much less the treble strings. It's just really tough to balance the requirements for getting a usable tone out of a low F# or E, and the upper registers of the guitar. At that point, for distorted playing, I kinda feel like you're better off more often than not just tuning down, unless you're able to switch patches from a low-B and F# riffing tone that will sound thin everywhere else, and then a moree midrangey, more saturated tone for lead playing elsewhere on the neck, and just accept the fact that your lowest notes are going to be flubby and undefined.

Clean? Different story. If I had any aptitude for touchstyle playing or Charlie Hunter style "juggling multiple parts fingerstyle," I'd probably own one.

I hardly play my 6's, but otherwise, I feel exactly the same way. I've never earnestly tried to get a decent distorted tone on a low F# for more than a few minutes, but it seemed hopeless to me. Stock strings on those are really noodley and even cutting the lows until there was nothing left sounded muddy to me. I've done low F at 29.75", but never with a ton of gain and not going for a metal tone per se. But I think that there are tons of really nice musical applications outside of those tones, and obviously there are a lot of guitarists in professional bands tuning super low on fairly short scale instruments and people love it.

Definitely agree that the first 8 strings I ever picked up were the low end Jackson/Ibanez offerings you would find at most GC's and the like and they did absolutely nothing to sell me on them. Very fair point.

I don't own a bass currently, had but sold a Dan Briggs sig that I sometimes still wish I had around. I think the reason I was never bothered by the bass scale was that I never played anything beyond dyad shapes if I was ever playing more than single notes. Getting around on that scale length for that purpose, speed and technique-wise, was never an issue. These days I just get by with GroveBass.

For me the increased scale length becomes a problem when I'm stretching to play certain shapes and extensions. Especially when in the lower registers. Few years back I broke my left hand in three places and a tendon healed hyperextended over the bone from my thumb into my inner palm. That paired with the repetitive stress of my day job has made me pretty careful about those things and I forced my technique into the classical position. It's forced me to be super picky about neck shapes as well, especially regarding the shoulders.

The only way to know would be to try a well-designed ERG in that range over a decent sample size of time. That paired with not having anything musically driving me to the extra range tends to kill the situation before it even starts. Though I once said that about 7's so I know anything is still possible.

Haha I was just kidding with you. But I think the cheap Ibanez and Jackson guitars are just starting to get a handle on this. It might be exciting to see where we are at in 5 years, if the supply chain doesn't totally crumble apart before that. I'd love to see more thought put into this for bass as well, but that's much more of an uphill battle.

 

[Drew]

I hardly play my 6's, but otherwise, I feel exactly the same way. I've never earnestly tried to get a decent distorted tone on a low F# for more than a few minutes, but it seemed hopeless to me. Stock strings on those are really noodley and even cutting the lows until there was nothing left sounded muddy to me. I've done low F at 29.75", but never with a ton of gain and not going for a metal tone per se. But I think that there are tons of really nice musical applications outside of those tones, and obviously there are a lot of guitarists in professional bands tuning super low on fairly short scale instruments and people love it.

Yeah, I mean it absolutely can be done, but the things you have to do to make notes that low sound articulate are going to involve some HUGE compromises for much of the rest of the typical guitar register. At that point, unless you're juggling very distinct parts within the same song and going back and forth from parts with a very "normal guitar" sound and parts with a very "low tuned guitar" sound - say, a super low tuned riff/chorus, and then a normal solo section entirely within the normal guitar range, and you can use two different patches or channels to make it work - I think you're better off just detuning a six or a seven because it's awfully hard to keep the upper registers sounding good while the lower registers aren't mush.

If I had a couple years of free time and nothing else to do, I'd buy an 8 and work on clean-toned touchstyle or fingerstyle stuff, because I think it has a lot of potential for that kind of stuff. but the sheer range of an 8 poses some huge amplification challenges.

 

[bostjan]

Yeah, I mean it absolutely can be done, but the things you have to do to make notes that low sound articulate are going to involve some HUGE compromises for much of the rest of the typical guitar register. At that point, unless you're juggling very distinct parts within the same song and going back and forth from parts with a very "normal guitar" sound and parts with a very "low tuned guitar" sound - say, a super low tuned riff/chorus, and then a normal solo section entirely within the normal guitar range, and you can use two different patches or channels to make it work - I think you're better off just detuning a six or a seven because it's awfully hard to keep the upper registers sounding good while the lower registers aren't mush.

If I had a couple years of free time and nothing else to do, I'd buy an 8 and work on clean-toned touchstyle or fingerstyle stuff, because I think it has a lot of potential for that kind of stuff. but the sheer range of an 8 poses some huge amplification challenges.

Get an eight and tune it up a minor third! ADGCFBbDG or drop the third string and make like a lute/guitar hybrid: ADGCFADG. 0.007s. (0.008s if you like more tension). The tuning works great for classical, rock, metal, whatever. The low A is pretty chunky but not flub city and the high G gets you some nice chord shapes and allows you to economize left hand position motion for leads. If that's too boring, drop the high G to F and you get some cool piano-like voicings in bar chords. Tons of range. With the new mass-produced multiscale 8's (Jackson, Ibanez, etc.), this is even more doable than ever before.

 

[Drew]

Get an eight and tune it up a minor third! ADGCFBbDG or drop the third string and make like a lute/guitar hybrid: ADGCFADG. 0.007s. (0.008s if you like more tension). The tuning works great for classical, rock, metal, whatever. The low A is pretty chunky but not flub city and the high G gets you some nice chord shapes and allows you to economize left hand position motion for leads. If that's too boring, drop the high G to F and you get some cool piano-like voicings in bar chords. Tons of range. With the new mass-produced multiscale 8's (Jackson, Ibanez, etc.), this is even more doable than ever before.

Eh I have too many guitars as it is. That does make more sense to me and would seem to minimize some of the sacrifices though.

 

[bostjan]

Eh I have too many guitars as it is. That does make more sense to me and would seem to minimize some of the sacrifices though.

"Too many guitars?!"

 

[Achilleion]

Just woke up from a dream that I tried someone's 8 string a loved it lol.

Maybe I'd take the leap but I'm not really interested in anything past the 26.25" on the low side of what I'm playing now. That's actually the biggest dealbreaker. I never was much interested in going past 25.5" in the first place.

My Schecter 7 string feels pretty comfy to me, which is a 26.5" even when going from my Schecter 6 string. They're both Damien's with original Floyd Rose.

 

[SCJR]

Haha I was just kidding with you. But I think the cheap Ibanez and Jackson guitars are just starting to get a handle on this. It might be exciting to see where we are at in 5 years, if the supply chain doesn't totally crumble apart before that. I'd love to see more thought put into this for bass as well, but that's much more of an uphill battle.

Yeah and I'm going back to about 2012/13 being the first time I picked one up in a store. My instinct would be something like a Boden 8 as a workaround but I've heard people say Strandberg 8's are basically an uncomfortable 2x4 of a neck but I've never seen one in person.

Too bad the Abasi guitars are in the state they're in. The neck pattern could be a big step in the right direction if it's as comfortable as others have said.

This dude's hands are hardly frying pans and he gets around on 8/9's pretty fucking good lol so I guess when there's a will there's a way.



Edit: Aristides might have to be my next 6 string.

 

[Emperoff]

"Too many guitars?!"

Never heard about it. Is it some sort of an acquired syndrome?

 

[teamSKDM]

I used to be a part of the never ending cycle of trading 6 for 7 for 8 and back and forth, until i realized i just need to own all of them to stop the habit I was stuck in. now i cant imagine not having a 6 a 7 or an 8 . I need all 3 now , not just one. that being said my current 7 of choice is my 97 rg7620

 

[MetalheadMC]

Is it just me or is drop A "not low enough" for you guys? Like in my ear I have become so accustomed to downtuned music that a drop A power chord on my 7 sound like E standard did 10 years ago, and E standard sounds like alvin and the chipmunks?

Definitely doesn't sound low enough after having my Schecter 7 in drop E for some time now. Tuning up to drop A doesn't have a good sound or feel really. However, I'm willing to bet in my case it's due to the thicker strings I have on there to make the lower tuning work.

Same happened on my 8 once I installed the Lundgrens. Having it in standard was not fun due to the excess tension, Dropping it half a step made a massive difference.

 

[CanserDYI]

Definitely doesn't sound low enough after having my Schecter 7 in drop E for some time now. Tuning up to drop A doesn't have a good sound or feel really. However, I'm willing to bet in my case it's due to the thicker strings I have on there to make the lower tuning work.

Same happened on my 8 once I installed the Lundgrens. Having it in standard was not fun due to the excess tension, Dropping it half a step made a massive difference.

Jesus what strings do you have on there ?? I can't think of any guage I'd feel comfortable with tuning to both of those notes lol I use an .085 for my E1 on my 8 string, and a .068 for A1 on my 7, an .085 tuned to A1 would be like 30 pounds of tension lol