I want to hear your opinion

[JustMac]

RE the "playing 6 string stuff on 7", although to me it never feels right, especially for metal (where the bottom string truly is home!), the guys in Obscura I've only ever seen use 7 strings despite having many songs never touching the 7th, and they sound rather fantastic. Now, to me, and maybe it's a string gauge discrepency, playing it that way never sounds right, I can't attack the string in the same manner... but if those guys can make it sound like that, then I'm sure it's possible.

No matter what, I'll always feel most comfortable on 6 string guitars, I have played 7s for possibly an equal amount of time but I still can't feel as natural as I do on a regular guitar. For that reason I'd really stress the importance of trying a 7 string first, before dropping the Mayo-money on a high-end one. Some people, as you'll find in other posts, are far more adaptable than myself and find the extra range just gives them more freedom, which is also undeniably true. You'll just have to try it yourself!

 

[El Caco]

but you can't play seven string songs on a six at all.

Why not? How many 7 string songs are there that can't be played on a 6? At most you lose a few high notes and the rest can be adapted so how many songs would really be adversely effected and can't be adapted to a 6, that is can't be played effectively on a 6?

Personally if I could only have one nice guitar it would be a 6 string first and I bought a 7 as my first guitar and a few 7's after that before I bought my first 6 string. I'd have a 6 as my go to guitar and then look at adding a 7 and it wouldn't have to be a high end 7. I'd rather have a nice 6 and there are some great cheap 7's.

I keep saying I'm going to get rid of all my guitars and just have 1 or 2 nice 6's but I'd probably end up keeping a 7 around or getting another if I sold the 7's I have. My RG7EXFX2 always seems like the right guitar if I'm in the mood for some Fear Factory but I really don't like the feel of any of my 7's anymore compared to a nice feeling 6.

 

[bostjan]

Take an arpeggio of the movable shape:

E -----------------------------2-h-5-p-2------------------------------
B --------------------------3---------------3--------------------------
G -----------------------2---------------------2-----------------------
D -------------------4----------------------------4--------------------
A ---------------5------------------------------------5----------------
E ------2-h-5--------------------------------------------5-p-2--------
B ---3------------------------------------------------------------3----

How do you play that on a six string?

Also, if you do any two hand tapping, you open yourself up to a huge range of possibilities on ERG that you don't have on a six string.

Even if you just play chuggah chuggah chords, it's a PitA to have to retune for every song, and transposing some sections up an octave doesn't give the same feel to the song.

If you prefer a six string, then there's no reason why not to stick to six strings. If the OP prefers a seven string, then the same argument applies for seven strings.

You, personally would go for a six; you, personally, prefer a six, etc. It sounds like you are a six string guitarist, and there's nothing wrong with that. But, then again, you are bringing up expensive six strings and cheap seven strings... maybe it should be no surprise that you think six string guitars feel better.

 

[El Caco]

You didn't answer my question which was relevant to your quote. Never mind.

You have me figured wrong too. I only have cheap 6's and I want a decent 6. I have awesome 7's, one of them has won guitar of the month here and on MG but I also have cheap 7's I love and it seems the cheap 7's are better value by being better guitars in general than cheap 6's. I've got a Dean Evo 7 here that is stock and that is one of my cheapest guitars and everyone loves it because it's a great guitar. I currently have 16 guitars in the house but I'm looking at bringing that number down by a lot. The guitar that gets the most play time is a Tremonti SE, apart from the nut which I really should radius, it just feels nicer to play than any other guitar I have and since getting it I really don't appreciate my other guitars. Other than a bunch of acoustics the PRS is my first full size 6 string with all the other 6's being shorter scale guitars and even they get more play time than the 7's. My next guitar will hopefully be a Fender Jag.

 

[bostjan]

You didn't answer my question which was relevant to your quote. Never mind.

Umm, I don't really see how you can say that.

You have me figured wrong too. I only have cheap 6's and I want a decent 6. I have awesome 7's, one of them has won guitar of the month here and on MG but I also have cheap 7's I love and it seems the cheap 7's are better value by being better guitars in general than cheap 6's. I've got a Dean Evo 7 here that is stock and that is one of my cheapest guitars and everyone loves it because it's a great guitar. I currently have 16 guitars in the house but I'm looking at bringing that number down by a lot. The guitar that gets the most play time is a Tremonti SE, apart from the nut which I really should radius, it just feels nicer to play than any other guitar I have and since getting it I really don't appreciate my other guitars. Other than a bunch of acoustics the PRS is my first full size 6 string with all the other 6's being shorter scale guitars and even they get more play time than the 7's. My next guitar will hopefully be a Fender Jag.

How does anything I said go against anything you just said? I'm not trying to start something (I always seem to come off that way in text these days), I'm honestly confused.

I'm just trying to say that 1) there is some stuff that you can't play on a six that you can play on a seven, and 2) some people prefer sixes and some people prefer sevens.

I prefer sevens. Sometimes I play six or eight, but my "home base" is on seven. I play a six string guitar like its a seven string guitar with a broken string. I approach eight strings like they are seven strings with an extra string. Ultimately, seven is my comfort zone. Even though my main guitar for years and years was an eight string, my backups were all sevens, so I had to be careful not to get too reliant on the extra string in certain situations.

If your comfort zone is not a six string, then why would you have said all of the stuff you just said?!

 

[El Caco]

You said you can't play 7 string songs on a 6 at all. I want to know how many songs can't be played at all and how many songs would lose too much when adapted to a 6 string? I added that at most you might lose a high note here or there. You didn't answer that instead you threw an arpeggio up as a challenge which still fits what I said. You may need to play for different tunings, you may need to reinterpret a section but most songs are playable and at worst the differences are so small the average person will not pick it up.

For the second part you had me pegged as a 6 string guitarist who plays expensive 6's and is comparing them to cheap 7's when in fact I started guitar on 7's and only recently started playing 6's and my expensive guitars are 7's and I've only had cheap 6's.

But I guess you forgot the OP when you replied to me because the OP has a cheap 6 and is looking to get a more expensive guitar and was trying to work out if he should get a 6 or a 7.

Now I'm not trying to start anything but you were pushing the idea that the 7 is necessary because it can play 6 string songs but the 6 can't play 7 string songs and this just isn't true. Mr Vai plays his 7 string songs on a 6, people play Dream Theatre stuff on a 6, a 6 string just isn't limiting in the way you are making it out to be. But there are people who will find it more difficult to play 6 string songs on a 7.

As for tunings, does everyone who plays a 7 use the same tuning? Of course not, I have 7's tuned differently and again when I want to play a 6 string song with an alternative tuning do you think it is easier for me to play it on a 7 string or to just tune a 6 string to the correct tuning? I guess that is why I like fixed guitars more than trems and I'll tell you some things you might find strange. Despite having so many guitars we will always need to change the tuning on the guitar we are playing because there will be times when no guitar is tuned to the tuning we want and even if there is a guitar tuned to the tuning we want most of the time we would rather change the tuning on the guitar we want to play. As you can appreciate there are guitars that we prefer for certain types of music and there are guitars we just prefer in general.

So getting back to the OP, if it has to be one guitar it should be the guitar the OP will most enjoy playing and the OP demonstrated a lack of experience by asking the question. In answer to the OP's question, yes for me those songs are harder on a 7 but for some others they are not. And as a person who started out on 7's if I did it again I wouldn't, I would own a nice 6 first and add a 7 after. Generally speaking I don't agree that playing a 6 string (that the tuning can easily be changed on) limits you and I believe you can play most 7 string songs but some might need some tweaking. As it is if you wanted to play songs played on a 6 string with alternative tunings and you only had a 7 you are still more likely to change the tuning on your 7 than adapt the song and there are more 6 string songs. The best part is people have already worked out how to play 7 string songs on a 6 so if you are not my son who can just listen to a song and play it and you are an idiot like me then learning to play a 7 string song on a 6 is easier than adapting certain 6 string songs to a 7.

 

[prlgmnr]

You can't play "Where The Slime Live" in it's entirety including the solos on a 6, I think we can all agree that's the end of this debate once and for all.

 

[El Caco]

That doesn't effect anything I said. One song, a few notes at the end, song can be tweaked.

 

[bostjan]

That doesn't effect anything I said. One song, a few notes at the end, song can be tweaked.

You can want to know the exact number of songs that can't be played on a six string all you want, but it has nothing to do with my point.

"Lie" is a song that I've never seen played on a six string. I hesitate to bring up specific songs, though, because it doesn't sound like you feel it's up for discussion. The point I made is that you can't play a song on a six string that was designed for play on a seven string. I think that's a pretty solid statement on its own, and I'm not sure why you found a bone to pick with that statement. Which Dream Theater songs were designed to be played on a seven string, and who plays them on a six string?

Like, what logic are you following that you can play any song on a six string? Just omit the notes you can't reach?!

Also, if you own one or more PRS guitars, doesn't that contradict "only owning cheap six strings?"

 

[vividox]

The only Dream Theater song recorded on a 7 string that can easily be played on a 6 string that I know of is Dance of Eternity, and that's because it was written to be easily playable on a 6 string.

 

[bostjan]

Steve, if you can play a song written specifically for seven string guitar by just omitting the notes you can't reach, then, iterative logic reduces to the point where you can play the guitar part for any song simply by not playing any notes. I know that must sound absurd, but to be fair, the idea of omitting certain notes just because you can't reach them is absurd to me, and, I believe, to most guitarists.

Am I missing something here? If so, what, specifically?

 

[El Caco]

We clearly are not living in the same reality. PRS SE guitars are cheap guitars, they are not Paul Reed Smith guitars and that is why they are called PRS not Paul Reed Smith. I guess you think Squire's and LTD's are expensive guitars too.

And the way you are replying you make it seem like you have never really listened to many cover bands or covers in general because the best are always interpretations, they are not note perfect to the original song. You know how an inverted chord sounds the same? In a similar way songs can be played differently and still be the same song which is what I think the better guitarists do. I think there is something to be said for a session guitarist who just plays something the way it was written but if that's your job then you will pick up the right tool at the time. If you are playing a cover then IMO the better musicians are the ones who interpret it and put their own style into it. I mean you had Joe Satriani saying Coldplay stole his song, it wasn't even the same progression but he heard it as his.

Like I said I think we look at music and guitar completely differently and possibly can't understand each other. I look at this as if you said to me I can't sing a song unless I share the same exact vocal range of the original artist and yet when I was a song leader there were songs I was unable to sing as written so I would change the key or interpret them differently, I only ever had one person mention it, usually people would compliment me and only one person ever brought up the fact that I didn't sing the song strictly but he was accusing me of showing off even though what I was actually doing was accommodating my tired voice. When you say you can't play a song originally written for a 7 on a 6 that to me is like saying you can't play a song originally written for another instrument on guitar or another different instrument. It is no different to saying you can't play a song originally written for a 24 fret guitar on a 22 fret guitar and yet guitarists do it all the time, some play it strict and skip some notes, others play it their own way but when the song is over no one is left scratching their head wondering what song was just played as if they played a different song.

 

[A-Branger]

yes you can play "Lie" or "The Mirror" on a 6 string. IF such 6 string is tunned to standard B, AND you dont play the solos.

yes, Most 7 string songs can be played on a 6 string if you ignore some part of the solos and tunne it to standard B, or you jsut play the octave up of the 7th string stuff.

that could be an easy solution, but this is not a "just drop D your E string" scenario, this is drop 5 semi-tones your whole guitar, not only its not longer playable, but intonation would be gone out of the window

the best solution, specially if you have a tremolo guitar is to get the Digitech Drop. Thats how I play 7 string songs on my guitar. I just need to step on the pedal for a solo or a high voiced chord

If you have several guitars, then awesome, get your 6 string in Bstandard, but again why not a 7?

The OP seems to only have one guitar, and looking for a good quality second. If he wants to play 7 string songs, then go for it. He would still be able to play his 6 string songs on it. Later down the track he can buy another 6 string as his main instrument and see if he wants more 6s downtuned or stick with a 7. But to think that he needs a 6 and jsut down tune 5 semi-tones for each song is far too much. Just get a 7


only reason why to have a 6string in B over a 7 string, is because you feel more comfortable with a smaller neck, and/or you are looking for a specific guitar model that cant be found in 7 string.

In my case Im getting a 7 string because not only I want to play those songs, but I want a 6 string guitar with a low B added. So if I want, I could still play 6 string songs so I can give the guitar much more use rather than those 3-4 songs I play in B. Maybe latter I would get a second 6 string to have it in dropD or C

 

[Dredg]

Hey OP, what kind of music do YOU want to play with a 7?

 

[El Caco]

The OP seems to only have one guitar, and looking for a good quality second. If he wants to play 7 string songs, then go for it. He would still be able to play his 6 string songs on it. Later down the track he can buy another 6 string as his main instrument and see if he wants more 6s downtuned or stick with a 7. But to think that he needs a 6 and jsut down tune 5 semi-tones for each song is far too much. Just get a 7

That is not what I took away from the OP. He is asking if he should get a 6 or a 7. He says what type of guitar he is planning on getting but isn't sure if he should get a 6 or a 7 and then he goes on to list his musical tastes and seems to indicate that he intends to play lots of 6 string stuff on this guitar. He also asks if it is harder to play 6 string songs on a 7.

 

[A-Branger]

That is not what I took away from the OP. He is asking if he should get a 6 or a 7. He says what type of guitar he is planning on getting but isn't sure if he should get a 6 or a 7 and then he goes on to list his musical tastes and seems to indicate that he intends to play lots of 6 string stuff on this guitar. He also asks if it is harder to play 6 string songs on a 7.

yeah I gave it another read, he only says he has a jackson, but doesnt say if its his only guitar or not.

But on another post he does mention he sometimes tunne it down to B, mentioning he was still able to play E standard riffs on it, hard but he could.

so IMO, if you want to keep playing the B stuff, and still be able to play all the E 6 string songs, then get a 7. If his priority is the standard 6 string stuff, as in this way he wont be tunning down/up all the time, or changing gauges,

unless he plays more the B stuff and its happy with the guitar like that, in that case get a 6 string, tunne one to B, and leave the other to E. Which one is up to you. Maybe if he plays 80% of the stuff in E, then have the new Mayoness to do that, while the old Jackson have it propertly settup for B with the right gauges/intonation, maybe even a new set of pickups

 

[vividox]

yes you can play "Lie" or "The Mirror" on a 6 string. IF such 6 string is tunned to standard B, AND you dont play the solos.

Which is precisely why I didn't include them. As you eluded to, you could do it with two guitars or a pedal tuner effect.