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7 string vs. 8 string???


the_SLOP_king

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Good evening, gentlemen. I have a weird question for you all. Have you ever gotten off work and realized that you smell like moldy milk? I did...

 

 

Ok, now I have a normal question. If you had to choose between a 7 or an 8, which and why? I've been listening to a lot of Animals as Leaders and have been thinking about getting an extended range guit-fiddle as of late. Suggestions? I want a 7 string and have for a good while and found the one I want. However, I've yet to play an 8 and I've been really interested in them after I saw this...

 

[video=youtube;ihqT1aA4Q88]

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7 string. I am not nearly good enough of a player to put 8 strings to good use. I know the guys from After the Burial, and I played around on their 8 strings for a bit and had no idea what i was doing.

 

That being said, Animals as Leaders is one of my favorites, and they take full advantage of their 8 strings.

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Haha, I know what you mean. Animals As Leaders' album Weightless is amazing. And I just finished watching a few more of Tosin's lessons on the tube. It's crazy what you can do with the extra strings, but I think you're right. It's not even an issue of hand/finger size or length. I can play a 7 string comfortably. Tosin was saying in one of his vids that the Ibanez he plays has a longer scale...coupled with the extra 1/2 inch on the neck...man. But you do get more range out of them...I dunno. My buddy has an Ibanez RG 7 string that plays really well...I can handle a 7 string...for the most part.

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Every time I pick up an 8 in a store I feel like I'm playing a Chapman Stick or something and I have pretty big hands. I mean I'm sure if I played it enough I'd get used to it, but not for me.

 

The other question you have to ask yourself is are you really going to use the extended range or are you just going to chug on the low strings because if it's the later then just get a 7 and tune it down a 4th so you get the same tuning less a high E string.

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I've had an 8 string for about a year now and have recently been considering selling it because I just don't play it often, and when I do, I can't find a good use for the last string.

I did however just spend a very rewarding hour with my 7 string last night :D

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See, you guys are just enforcing what I have been thinking. Plus, it's easier to hit chords on a 7 vs an 8. Jayd41, what kind of 8 string do you have?

 

 

I have a Schecter Damian Elite. It is a pretty cool guitar and it plays well, I just find myself keeping it more to say that I have an 8 string than anything. I have a friend who is a much better player than myself that has the same guitar and even he admits that he has a hard time writing anything good that incorporates the F# string.

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I owned an 8, have a 7 now. The 8 felt absolutely fine (comfortable), it just didn't inspire me to play anything beyond djent douche riffs so I got rid of it. Just couldn't do anything with those extra 5 notes.

 

Also, finding strings long enough for those 8 string agiles with the reverse head stock was a nightmare (I think mine was a scepter, it had an ash body and I loved the {censored} out of the neck, pickups were garbage though and finding aftermarket 8 string passive pickups is a pain)

 

Putting the low F# into any sort of chord just sounded like a soggy turd.

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I'd choose a 7 if I were in a band with a bass player but an 8 if I were playing without one. I like the dynamic of bass and guitar and having an 8 string guitar is like being a one string bassist + a 7 string guitarist. I think they sound super cool but I would never want to render a bass unnessesary (i know i can't spell {censored} u all) since a 4 string bass still sounds better doing bass parts than an 8 string.

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Owning several extended range guitars, why have only 7 if you can have 8? The neck isn't appreciably wider than a classical neck and extending your scale or arpeggios down is very easily done.

 

If you're making a leap from a 6, those 2 extra strings might be a little hard for you at first but you'll adjust in no time.

 

When I'm @ my place I almost never touch a 6 any longer, maybe once or twice a week a 7 as it is 8 all the way. 6s feel so little now and have limited options, but with a 7 and especially an 8 the range of notes you have to utilize is great, a shift or two and you're easily pulling off piano like grand arpeggios!

 

Anyone that has problems writing on 7s or 8s should play clean to get an appreciation of the notes and tones that the lower register affords for a bit and then let the creative juices flow.

 

Derek

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I have 7 and 8 strings. For me, going into 7 strings was easy. It felt like a regular guitar, just obviously with a lower strings. But, when I went into 8 strings it felt like I had to approach the instrument differently and changed how I think when writing. Kinda hard to explain, but me on an 8 string is nothing like me on a 6/7 string.

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I kind of agree with most of the above statements. I regularly play 6 and 7 string guitars. I love both. I have played 8's in the store a few times. I think they are cool and I have a lot of fun chugging on those low strings, but in the end I feel like I would get extremely bored with one over time. I think it would be a waste if I were to spend the money on one.

 

Plus, I like how 7's have become "common". You can get strings, pickups, etc... for the fairly easily. 8's are a pain in the ass in that regard. That is one reason I quit using 7's like 12 years ago, but I like how they have become more commonplace....

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It's actually becoming easy to get strings. For awhile I had to buy 7 string sets and then an additional baritone set just for the low F#, but now D'addario makes an 8-string set that even small stores are carrying. They're on their way to becoming "mainstream", I guess.

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I only see Ernie Ball 8 string sets in the stores and I hate EB's.... I would have to mail order....


Plus, a lot of the 8 string sets have some weird gauges....

 

Yea, they aren't the best sizes or anything, but my point was that 8-strings are slowly being accepted and "normal" at a much quicker pace than 7s were.

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