Setting up my 8 string (schecter damien elite 8)

[Untiring]

Hi everybody,

I've been looking around for a while at 8 string guitars, and I finally ended up with a schecter damien elite 8.
I've read good thing about it and I loved the feel when I got it. I didn't have time to set it up properly because the next day I left for my vacation as where I am now. The thing that is bugging me is that mainly the low F# sounds quite muddy and i have to tilt my head towards the amp to define the note that I'm playing. Now I have read that this could be the stock strings, but is just wanna see what you guys have to say about it. I have an Engl Thunder 50 tube amp, and a zoom x5 fx pedal. I mainly play melodic and progressive stuff, so I want it to sound heavy when distorted, but still be able to here the tones, mainly the low ones. It doesn't have to exactly sound alike, but my aim is to sound a bit like modern day babylon.

I've been browsing around for quite a bit on this forum and found lots of useful information, so if any of you would be able to help me out here that would be awesome!

Rock on guys

 

[Go To Bed Jessica]

Firstly, setup!

Secondly, the stock gauge might be part of the problem but usually stock strings are too thin - which means that the note is generally clear enough, but the pitch is all over the shop.

Third - it might just be your amp EQ settings. If you're coming from a six or a seven and have your amp dialled in for low end chunk, it might just be overwhelming with the 8 string. Try rolling the bass down a bit and bumping the mids up. Generally speaking, for the low end of the 8 you want less fundamental and more harmonic content. This is might be down to the settings on the pedal too.

Congrats on the new guitar though - Schecter don't seem to get a whole lot of love around here, but imo they are solid guitars and well worth the pricetag. I love the chunkier neck and I think 28" is a great scale length choice for an 8.

Enjoy!!

Please tell me you were able to take the guitar with you on vacation?!

Edit: almost forgot - welcome aboard

 

[Untiring]

Thanks for your quick reply. No sadly enough I couldn't take it with me since I already have a c.f. Martin acoustic with me for some musical entertainment. So while I'm here I took my time to find out what I could do about it. I do have a 26.5" model though (not the newest model which is listed on schecter's site. Because the only options were RGA8 or some other ibanez stuff (no offense to the lovers but I just don't particularly like them), esp or schecter. Well 25.5" (esp) just doesn't cut it for an 8, and importing an agile just is way to expensive and risky (I live in the Netherlands, europe) so the only one left was this schecter. My amp's EQ is set to natural (every Dail on half, yes I know I'm a retard XD) since my effect pedal's sound can be adjusted. I don't know what kind of strings is on there at the moment except for them being earnie ball's. I came from a six string directly to an eight. The B sounds good as I'd like it to but the F# just isn't definable. Also the action is really low and i think that the neck is too straight at the minute but I'm going to get that fixed as soon as I'm back home. What kind of distortion (and the settings) do you guys recommend?

 

[Go To Bed Jessica]

I have a C8 Hellraiser with the old 26.5" scale and the best string set I found for it was this one:

9-84 Nickel Wound Set - Curt Mangan Best Guitar Strings

A lot of people here will recommend CircleK/Kalium. I never got around to trying them because they charge a lot for shipping to my country.

The stock 10-74 set that these guitars come with from the factory is just awful.

I strongly recommend restringing it before you even worry about amp settings and such.

I have had good distorted sounds with both amp (MI Megalith - my favourite distorted tone EVER) and pedals (MI Tube Zone for a Mesa-ish vibe and MI Crunch Box for a JCM800 type sound). I have a bunch of MI stuff and love all of it.

 

[Untiring]

A 9-84 set? Is that for a high A? I mainly play in standard 8 string tuning, so F# B E A D G B e that is, or a half step down. I do wanna be able to play drop E for some songs, but that is not gonna be my main tuning. I do use nickel wounds on my other schecter (6 string) and i can probably get them at a retailer near my place. What kind of gauge do you recommend?

Greetings

 

[Go To Bed Jessica]

I use it for EBEADGBE and occasionally for standard with the low string at F#.

You might get a high A out of it, but I think you'd be struggling and bends would definitely be out of the question.

 

[Explorer]

My simplest advice: Look at the tensions you already have liked, and then figure out how to duplicate that tension profile for your new scale length and pitches.

You can use the D'Addario string tension chart (look it up through Google) to see what you're currently using, and then use that same chart for pitches a half step higher than what you're intending, in order to compensate for the slighly longer scale length.

I tune to E1 at 25.5", and I use the Ernie Ball 2837 set for 6-string bass, along with two plain strings added on top. There are lots of set which will be close, with you then adding a couple of strings to hit your target.

Good luck!

 

[Go To Bed Jessica]

I tried that approach with my 26.5" scale guitar and ended up with huge strings that made it sound like a bass Really blunted the attack and made the notes kinda bloom when I wanted them to snap.

It ended up being a trade off - I had to sacrifice some feel/tension to get the sound I wanted. If you're not into heavy strings usually, you might not have the same problem though.

Explorer's suggestion is definitely the best starting point. There's nothing like having some actual numbers to work with.

 

[House74]

What kind of amp/cab are you running it through? The reason I ask is it may not even be a string problem (or at least not solely) if you are using a practice amp. For example, my VOX ADVT50 it sounds perfectly fine for both my Damien Elite 8 and Damien Platinum 8. Plug each into my Blackstar ID10 practice amp, and even the 28" scale and thicker .90 Kalium isn't enough to make it not sound like shit on high gain, especially the farther down the low f# you go.

As far as the strings for the Damien elite, yeah I would recommend at least a .80 for Drop E, that's what I use on mine and it does it ok. a .90 would be better though. I can tell you though you WILL have to file out the tuning peg a little.