My First 8-String. Power Chords Sound Awful

[Dayn]

All you folks who swear 27" isn't long enough or you need a .94 for f# are crazy, all my 8s are 27" with .74s and I can get nice clear power chords all the way down to drop E. It's all in how you pick.

Part of the problem is also that 808s just sound like ass. Also, turn down the bass and gain! 8 strings can be super picky, don't be afraid to get wild with your amp settings if it gets you the sound you're after.

I second this (though I use .090 for E at 27"). I don't have 808s anymore which certainly helped, but otherwise I have a tubescreamer with no drive, and amp is at 2/10 gain. Bass/mids/highs are at 4/5/6. It feels counter-intuitive but it's very clear.

 

[vick1000]

Intonate your guitar. Turn down the gain/ distortion. EQ/ mid boost before the amp.

 

[Masoo2]

All you folks who swear 27" isn't long enough or you need a .94 for f# are crazy, all my 8s are 27" with .74s and I can get nice clear power chords all the way down to drop E. It's all in how you pick.

Part of the problem is also that 808s just sound like ass. Also, turn down the bass and gain! 8 strings can be super picky, don't be afraid to get wild with your amp settings if it gets you the sound you're after.

My approach as well

Thin string gauge + adequate scale length (read: not 25.5) + hard yet precise picking + low bass + proper gain setting = great 8 string power chords

Currently using an 80 on my 28 inch fanned fret but I've used as thin as 74 down to D on a 27 inch with great results as well. The 80 is okay at Eb and D but I wouldn't tune it above F, 70-74 is best for that imo if not thinner. I'll probably move to a 72 or 70 around my next string change

 

[teamSKDM]

Some of us were simply giving the optimal results not exactly what gets you by. Ive played all those tunings with all those guages with the same scale (and probably same guitars) and frankly the results were uninspiring. Then moving to 28+" it began to sound as lively as my other 6's and 7's. If you wouldve asked me before hand if a .74 on 27" for the 8th string was good enough id say say absolutely but now with my experience I definitely cannot see the benefit of hindering the tonality of an 8 string guitar by simply settling for 27" other than it being the industry standard baritone scale.

 

[J_Mac]

Power chords sound fine on my Ibanez M80M. Might be the 29.4” scale.

 

[Chronophobia]

The first bit of this Means End song show how an 8th-string power chord can sound in a full band context. I think it's a whole octave below the low E on a 6-string guitar (they tune something like EADGBE a full octave down).

Edit: it starts at about 0:13 seconds in.

 

[LeviathanKiller]

wuuuut. That was the opposite of my experience. I got rid of the Tosins because of the brightness in comparison to the Moderns.

I'm so glad you made this thread @Webmaestro. I bought my first 8-string last year and have had the same experience but haven't worded it that clearly in posts I made seeking advice. I was hoping it wasn't just a "this is how 8-strings are" kind of thing. I ordered a Guitarmory ceramic Atlas set for mine. Hopefully that does the trick. Dialing out some of the bass and lower frequencies really does help too and I can get pretty close to 7-string clarity using the last 3 on my 8-string right now even.

I got my ceramic Atlas set in and installed them...complete perfection. I was having that issue with the low string being disjointed from everything else but this set has fixed it. Thanks to Agile's weird distance between pickup screw-holes, I had to use the Cepheus base plates instead of just dropping the set in. In the process of doing so, I discovered the keeper bars in the Cepheus set only sit next to like 5 of the poles and they're the high strings. I wonder if that's why the lower ones sounded so disjointed from the rest.

 

[MerlinTKD]

I got my ceramic Atlas set in and installed them...complete perfection. I was having that issue with the low string being disjointed from everything else but this set has fixed it. Thanks to Agile's weird distance between pickup screw-holes, I had to use the Cepheus base plates instead of just dropping the set in. In the process of doing so, I discovered the keeper bars in the Cepheus set only sit next to like 5 of the poles and they're the high strings. I wonder if that's why the lower ones sounded so disjointed from the rest.

This is all new info to me, and I own an Agile 8... what's this now?

 

[LeviathanKiller]

This is all new info to me, and I own an Agile 8... what's this now?

I have no clue honestly. When I removed the base plate you could clearly see the keeper bars and they are only long enough to go up beside 5 of the poles. They put them against the first 5 and it ends halfway on the 6th. So half of the 6th and then the entire 7th and 8th poles do not have anything beside them (other than the magnet which does run all the way across.

EDIT: I just rechecked actually and they may just be plastic shims. Still weird that they wouldn't go across the entire pickup though.

 

[lewis]

I mean i used to use Drop E on an 8 string and had no issues with clarity on low strings and chords. Think i used an 80 on bottom at 27 inch scale. (The ernie ball set)

I had a twangy almost single coil style tone (just not as extreme). I dialed out alot of bass and went with quite a fair big of treble

HACKTIVIST used to use Drop E on 8s and Timfy their old guitarist, never had issue with chords and EMGs



Granted these are 81s not 808s.

 

[noise in my mind]

I never had a problem with my rg2228 and power chords. It's a you problem. You need to learn how to dial in proper tone and/or set up your guitar properly etc.

 

[Konfyouzd]

+1 to adjusting amp settings.

Less bass and fiddling w my gain settings did a lot when I played an 8.

 

[Gmork]

I use anywhere from an 80 to a 90 on my 8th string (ibanez 27.5" scale i believe) and it sounds incredible. I typically use quite a bit of bass too. Not excessive amounts but maybe a bit more than most (no bassist in my band to compete in the lows)

Some of us were simply giving the optimal results not exactly what gets you by. Ive played all those tunings with all those guages with the same scale (and probably same guitars) and frankly the results were uninspiring. Then moving to 28+" it began to sound as lively as my other 6's and 7's. If you wouldve asked me before hand if a .74 on 27" for the 8th string was good enough id say say absolutely but now with my experience I definitely cannot see the benefit of hindering the tonality of an 8 string guitar by simply settling for 27" other than it being the industry standard baritone scale.

So my soon to be aquired 29" should sound pretty beastly on the 8th and 7th eh!?

 

[BananaDemocracy]

Ill briefly chime in my two cents on my iPad...
I got an M80M and I think it’s the exception to all other 8 strings because since I traded my 6 for another 8 with a Floyd and it has the second longes scale (28”) but I can’t play it comfy or get the sound like M80M

With that said, I am really bummed I gave away a great 6 for what I thought was a great 8 and now backsies so I’m stuck ...it’s really a good guitar but without the m8p and the extra 1.5” scale it isn’t as clear or power chord work

However I’m starting to think- is the 8 string and (first position in genral) imply, or at least suggest, were to play one note passaGes there?

I’m starting to think differently after reading this and then applying it to these examples...I’d imagine 8 strings 25.5-27” are really goin to be problematic

Thanks for posting, I think I’ll just sell this C8 or trade down

 

[trem licking]

Ill briefly chime in my two cents on my iPad...
I got an M80M and I think it’s the exception to all other 8 strings because since I traded my 6 for another 8 with a Floyd and it has the second longes scale (28”) but I can’t play it comfy or get the sound like M80M

With that said, I am really bummed I gave away a great 6 for what I thought was a great 8 and now backsies so I’m stuck ...it’s really a good guitar but without the m8p and the extra 1.5” scale it isn’t as clear or power chord work

However I’m starting to think- is the 8 string and (first position in genral) imply, or at least suggest, were to play one note passaGes there?

I’m starting to think differently after reading this and then applying it to these examples...I’d imagine 8 strings 25.5-27” are really goin to be problematic

Thanks for posting, I think I’ll just sell this C8 or trade down

so you have a hellraiser C8 floyd rose? im surprised you're having issues with the sound... playability is obviously a preference thing but the sound should be clear for sure, i have that guitar and it sounds clear and massive playing power chords on the lowest strings. try some lighter strings, i have a .68-.007 gauge progressive tension set on mine and it sounds awesome and plays quite easily. also makes using the floyd a bit easier too than what came stock on it (WAY too heavy of strings stock). i wouldnt think you would need to go above .74 to get a tight string if that's what you prefer

 

[BananaDemocracy]

so you have a hellraiser C8 floyd rose? im surprised you're having issues with the sound... playability is obviously a preference thing but the sound should be clear for sure, i have that guitar and it sounds clear and massive playing power chords on the lowest strings. try some lighter strings, i have a .68-.007 gauge progressive tension set on mine and it sounds awesome and plays quite easily. also makes using the floyd a bit easier too than what came stock on it (WAY too heavy of strings stock). i wouldnt think you would need to go above .74 to get a tight string if that's what you prefer

Exactly! As I said, it’s a great guitar. Actually I am surprised NO ONE besides you has heard of it or mentions it because I thought I found a treasure when the dude wanted to trade , I didn’t think there are any other brands or models that have an OFR. And this OFR is aBeast! It’s very stable, very strong, and it feels a lot more substantial , perhaps because it’s a massive guitar. Again, the oNly 8 string bigger is the exception , the M8M.... maybe that’s part of my problem along what others mentioned about my naïveté and lack of experience , but the meshuggah 8 string really has affected my perception and feel of ERGs*

I have restrung it , which was very hard for me, and I put an 8-74 set to try to approximate your advice. It definitely clarified it from stock strings. It’s not bad,at all...however, it’s just like I’ll put the C8 down and grab my M80M and all of a sudden all the gains I made and all the Progress I mad on the tone just flies out the window. It feels futile, and I honestly am hung up On it, if that makes sense. Actually, to be totally honesty, there a steady and growing dissatisfaction with my experience every time I plug in now. It’s getting tO the point where the C8 is now sitting in the closet on a time out( I know that sounds silly, but it is s bit frustrating to be “stuck” with an instrument....literally the last thing you want from your tool when working !

Anyway, I should just be quiet, mind my business, and go play my guitar instead because I dare fear sound spoiled lol and I don’t want to disrupt any one else

Again, the C8 as an instrument is great, beautiful wood and binding, and I got a pup upgrade included (!), and it’s a gorgeous example of a schecter. I think the Floyd is underrated, and it’s the best schecter Floyd I’ve tried, because I really abuse the he’ll of the whammy, and I believe ^ you did also say the tuning on yours is stable.....just have a little issue with my own ability perhaps ,in the end, it’s really just me(?)....I probably just suck and d not mean to play aERG lol


*(at this point, I need to clarify I’m talking about 8 strings only ....I truly feel 9 or more strings is just silly to even try to navigate with a standard straight fretboard , and I’m not into the fan fret, call me a boring vanilla old schooler but I think some luthiers have gone too far to get into their 13 year old parents pockets With “ERG marketing” like I only can see teenager wanting a 9 or 10 string, there was a crazy Halo 10 string that Was a real joke....IMHO obviously 6 is standard, 7 is perfect, 8 is really cool and interesting, and let’s say anything more is novelty...I don’t want to “limit it” but when I say ERG, I mean 7 but more or less 8 strings, just to be clear so I’m. It stepping on anyone’s toes, I don’t mean to offend so you can see my position . Enjoy whatever you like! )

 

[Carl Kolchak]

@Webmaestro You should look into that new Mud Killer pedal.

 

[BananaDemocracy]

Yes, I did a little adjustment to truss+ action....it’s just the M80M. It is the perfect ERG, from the pickup, to the neck, the scale, to the bridge, and I mean the resonance and sustain is the longest I’ve ever seen on any guitar...it rings and rings and rings, and it clear....

If anyone loves /plays ERG, the M80M is so essential to try, I cant imagine you would not be satisfied

Does anyone here have the $6000 version of the M80M? I’d like to hear your impressions

 

[jephjacques]

had one, it was pretty good

 

[cardinal]

I am becoming a huge fanboi of the Fortin 33. I've had one a few days and after adjusting to it, it really sounds great to me into a Marshall. Power cords on the 8th string come through nice and clear. It's quite bright and thin but somehow still chugs. Has a very mean/angry sound but is sweet/warm on the top end.

I've been going nuts trying to find an amp and pickups that would do what I wanted and the 33 seems to have solved my problems. I can still use my beloved Marshalls and passive pickups but just boost with the 33 instead of an SD1 or 808.