The 7-string guitar completely replaces the 6-string guitar ?

[soul_lip_mike]

Playing songs in standard drop D tuning (6 string) while doable on a 7 just feels weird to me. That said, any song that is in standard tuning I’d probably opt to play it on a 7 in drop a for more chugga chugga.

 

[vark]

I get that, but for me the issue is that my ideal 6 string specs don't really work on a 7 string (24.75" scale, 45mm nut width so the 7 string version of that), and I doubt I'm the only one.

That makes sense but what about the people who want 23" scale and 43mm nut on their 5 string guitar? jk but you see where I'm going with it. The 6 is so prevalent because it was the starting point, not because its better IMO

I guess it comes down to personal preference with how much you are willing to compromise on your ideal specs.

my majesty 7 is 25.5 scale and 47.6mm nut, it's close enough for me to my ideal 6 string specs(similar to yours)

but I'm probably not skilled enough to notice the difference either. I don't think 24.75 would be impossible on a 7, tuning up a half step and using heavier strings could potentially fix any issues related to scale length. But again it comes down to preference.

 

[ManOnTheEdge]

Had my RG7321 as my main guitar for 15 years (was a 21st bday present from my wife it’s going nowhere). I mainly play 6 string based songs and enjoy the wider neck (big hands) so was firmly of the opinion that it was only pros and no cons

Just picked up a couple of new 6’s and the way I intuitively attack the guitar differently to my 7 has surprised me

 

[Edika]

At some point around, when I joined this site, I was all about the 7 strings. At some point I had a few 6 strings and a few 7 strings and was mostly played the 7 strings. They covered the 6 string songs too but while initially I had no problem doing that, for whatever reason, it gradually got more confusing. Then I played a 6 string again and it felt so much better. They also sounded a lot better.
I got rid of all my 7's and played only 6 strings for a few years but got the bug again and got me a few more 7's. But I enjoy playing both and play 7's for 7 string songs and 6's strings for 6 string songs. Less confusion and more guitars lol.

 

[TimSE]

I've been playing 23 years and spent most of the time not even considering 6 strings and being 100% 7s. These days I play more 6 strings than 7 in the last few years as they have a more comfortable feel to me now, weirdly enough. I think this stuff comes and goes in cycles and I do enjoy chugging the 7 but I feel I do my best playing on 6s.
It's possible that my inclusion of thumb over top of the neck playing has become more common in my playing which isnt really doable on 7s. I think its all what we choose and our minds make it happen.

 

[Christopher Har V]

I love my 8-string, but would hate to have to play it for all the song's I've written that only use 7 strings. So maybe I'm not so different from Petrucci and others who don't use their 7s on songs they wrote with 6s. Most of this type of preference is probably due to songwriting. Maybe they're just more comfortable writing songs on 6's rather than 7's... so if a song doesn't use the 7th string, why use a 7 for the the performance of that song? Bear in mind these guys are also worth a ton of money, so they can afford to have a different guitar for damn near every song if they wanted to. If we all had that option, maybe we would switch guitars more often than we currently do. I'm sure they also grew up on 6's and just feel more at home writing on them for that reason. 7's didn't really come around til early 90s.

There are other reasons too besides songwriting. More strings = more responsibility. More strings to tame and keep quiet while not being played. Also, more strings can often mean longer scale length. I personally need a 27" scale for a low B string, especially if I'm dropping it to a low A. But that 27" scale comes at a cost for the higher strings. Higher strings are harder to bend, stiffer, and can have a harsher sound on a longer scale guitar. This effect is mild when going from a 25.5 to a 27, but if you're going from a les paul to a 30" 8 string (like I have) then it's a massive tonal shift. Longer scale length always means bigger stretches also. Petrucci and them have the same scale length for their 6s and 7s but still, it's a factor for other people such as myself.

So I would chock it all up to songwriting, string muting responsibilities, and personal preference.

 

[GuyB]

I'm playing 27 inch scale to 25.5inch scale fan frets, works well for both low string and high string tension.

 

[jephjacques]

I don't actually play any of my guitars, I just make a big pile of them and roll around in it. The 7 and 8 strings hurt more than the 6s

 

[Mortargag]

The only 6 I play is my acoustic. 7 when I have a cord, 6 when I don't. Simple for me.

 

[Wiltonauer]

I like a lot of different kinds of guitars, to the point where resolving to buy only sevens would cut me out of a lot of cool instruments. I’ve also not built my playing around seven strings, so I don’t feel like I’m always missing something when I play a six. I need a seven, and I need a Les Paul (for example), but I don’t feel like I need a seven-string Les Paul. I gave up a long time ago on owning one guitar that would do everything, so I don’t require a lot of versatility out of any one instrument.

 

[nightsprinter]

That makes sense but what about the people who want 23" scale and 43mm nut on their 5 string guitar? jk but you see where I'm going with it. The 6 is so prevalent because it was the starting point, not because its better IMO

I guess it comes down to personal preference with how much you are willing to compromise on your ideal specs.

my majesty 7 is 25.5 scale and 47.6mm nut, it's close enough for me to my ideal 6 string specs(similar to yours)

but I'm probably not skilled enough to notice the difference either. I don't think 24.75 would be impossible on a 7, tuning up a half step and using heavier strings could potentially fix any issues related to scale length. But again it comes down to preference.

Ibanez did a 24.75" 7 - the AX7221. I see them for sale here and there.

 

[bostjan]

I'm sure it's just a feel thing. But, there are a few more objective reasons:
1. Can't use your left hand thumb the same way.
2. Fewer available guitars.
3. Fewer available pickups, bridges, nuts, etc.
Also, if it's your signature guitar, you will sell fewer of them, which means less money in your wallet.

That said, I'm way more used to a 7 than a 6. I probably represent <0.1% of guitarists. I've tried 8's a couple times. I do NOT have the same mindset about 8's. So I'm used to 7 string techniques, pickups, hardware, etc.

 

[Moongrum]

Probably because I'm a n00b to sevens and have yet to reach enlightenment, but I'm starting to feel like I should sell my 6
I've only had my 7 for a month or so, and the overlap feels quite large between it and my 6. Like I could grab either for what I play (the low B is a nice to have bonus). Whereas my 8 is a completely different thing to me. It's easy for me to ignore one string for standard songs, but 2?...phew, no way lol.
But time will tell, I'll hang onto both for the time being. Plus, left handed headless guitars are pretty much worthless on the 2nd hand market anyways

 

[High Plains Drifter]

Probably because I'm a n00b to sevens and have yet to reach enlightenment, but I'm starting to feel like I should sell my 6
I've only had my 7 for a month or so, and the overlap feels quite large between it and my 6. Like I could grab either for what I play (the low B is a nice to have bonus). Whereas my 8 is a completely different thing to me. It's easy for me to ignore one string for standard songs, but 2?...phew, no way lol.
But time will tell, I'll hang onto both for the time being. Plus, left handed headless guitars are pretty much worthless on the 2nd hand market anyways

Good call to not sell off your sixers. I almost made that mistake when I got into sevens.. thought sevens were the end-all and that I might never play a six again. But within a year I would occasionally pick up one of my six-strings and I found it a really nice re-connection of sorts. Now I'm down to just two sevens... one hard-tail and one FR and that's all I need. I still play my sevens but have migrated back to sixes as my primary go-to.

Not sure how much age or dexterity may play into things but I have at times struggled with the wider necks on sevens... mainly as it relates to the exaggerated stretching of my hands/ wrists wrapping around the neck... and more so down towards the first half-dozen frets. I'm good now for the most part but I do tend to fatigue after spending too much time with a seven in my hands as opposed to my six-strings and almost no fatigue whatsoever.

 

[wheresthefbomb]

Playing songs in standard drop D tuning (6 string) while doable on a 7 just feels weird to me. That said, any song that is in standard tuning I’d probably opt to play it on a 7 in drop a for more chugga chugga.

When I first got a 7 I played it in ADADGBe (both low strings dropped a whole step) for a while for this exact reason. Worked well for our existing songs and inspired some interesting riffing. Eventually though, I switched to a more straightforward drop A tuning and finally just a regular scale 6 in B std/drop A. It wasn't so difficult to transpose things and it wasn't long before I forgot they'd even been written using another tuning.