Any 8 String players here?

[Dan Gleesak]

I’m looking to buy another 7 string to use for drop tunings (my other has a Floyd and is only 25.5” scale). This sent me down the road of looking at multiscale 7s, which made me wonder about multiscale 8s instead. It’s got a 7 string built in right? Could be fun right?

Looking for anyone with experience making the move from 7 to 8.

Thanks!

 

[Bloodrock]

Just buy a fucking Bass and plug it in your guitar amp...

 

[Techdeth]

I play 8 string more than half the time , the Hermansons love them . Gibson and Ibanez . Only 4 guitars I really play now . My Tele will have a comeback someday . Weird selection I know . I don’t play a 7 ever

 

[Tone Junkie]

6-7-8. Eights all gone right now. Just 6-7 strings. If I get another 8 string it will be headless.

 

[Strandberg Junkie]

Been really getting into Richard Henshell and his 8 string work with Haken. You 8 string players know him?

 

[Deleted member 38657]

AMA, haha!

Have a few more as well but would have to dig them out. 8 strings are great. Not just drop, but triple E tuning(or quad E) is a tasty secret for the shreddy shred and sweepy sweep. Recommend looking at zero fret position at the 7-9th for good all arounder. 25/26-28" scale for standard to full step drop 27"+ for lower than that. Zero frets at the first make a bit of a pain for sitting and zero at the 12th a bit of a pain for standing, ymmv. Most non multiscale passive pickups (pole for pole) can be swapped to the factory MS baseplates as there aren't a lot of options across the board for aftermarket.

Not pictured I have/had a Kiesel, a couple of Cort(ek) built Schecters, Ibanez, and Jacksons. The rest are World Korea built Legators, Agiles, and Deans which I personally recommend above the others. Legators are very nice as long as you stick with 2019+ or very early USA. Stay away from models with FS in the name. FP and+ are almost custom shop quality for under $1k. Deans come with Kahlers as do some Agiles. Strandberg I'm not very familiar with but hear great things all around. GOC is suppose to be pretty nice(only tried one example myself), but I personally don't promote Chinese guitars no matter how nice they may be.

IMO/experience the best bang for the buck out in the wild right now is the Dean Exile at proaudiostar for about $1200 or about 60% off, I think. Comes with a kahler, SD nazgul/sentient, and hardcase. Hit or miss on the aesthetics. After that, I'd recommend the Agile models with MOD in their name as they come with stainless frets and tons of other goodies for around $800-1200 depending on the model. Legator FP models are great players with what I would equate to the wizard neck of MS. My Kiesel cost me $4k and sits, tbh(though can be bought for less). Probably put up for adoption soon. These guitars are great finds and you can generally get a lot for a little no matter what you end up with. I've been tempted to drop the whopping $160 on a Harley Benton 8 MS just to see if it's a World build as a lot of them apparently are.

 

[Dan Gleesak]

Thanks all for the info! I’m on a huge BabyMetal kick and their tunings are all over the place so I have to figure out what will be best for me. Lots of drop G and G# and then a handful of songs in double C# but I’m not ready for a 9 string yet lol.
I don’t think the 8 will really help me with their stuff but I could still tune down the other strings as needed

I could always just transpose stuff like this dude

 

[stratjacket]

I tried 8 strings and just couldn’t get along with it. I’d either have the low strings too floppy or the high strings too tight. It was subtle but enough to bug me. If I went for an 8 String again I’d definitely go for the fanned fret which should remedy that.

 

[Spaceboy]

I guess I'm an 8 player. I had a custom build ages ago, was a major Meshuggah fan, before all these whackass metalcore bands started doing the 8 think and there were a bunch of off the racks 8s available. I have never had a band that made use of it though, it's more or less an at home novelty. Going from 6 to 7 is not big deal, you more or less can still play the instrument normally. But, when going to that 8th string, everything about your playing and even how you dial in a tone will need to change. Making that low string sound decent is almost like another instrument in some ways, you have to dumb down your playing and find other ways of being creative when incorporating that bottom string into the mix.

 

[Tone Junkie]

This dude uses extended tuning. He explains it in some of his other videos. Warning don’t try it with standard strings. Ask me how I know.

 

[Panhead5]

Just buy a fucking Bass and plug it in your guitar amp...

Yessssssssss! I can't play 6 strings never the less 7 or 8 !!

 

[Techdeth]

Here’s me playing 8 string . Primitive production lol

 

[cobrahead1030]

About a year & a half ago, I got back into playing 7 strings, after not owning one for several years.

On a whim, I bought a RG8 locally, and just can't get along with the 8 string at all. I can't bring myself to sell it just yet, I keep picking it up and giving it another shot, hoping something will eventually click like it did with 7.

 

[Dan Gleesak]

Here’s me playing 8 string . Primitive production lol

I dig it man. Especially the goose lol

 

[Deleted member 38657]

If y'all are feeling uninspired try new tunings if you're stuck on the flubby 8th. They don't have to be instruments of djent. I have a 10 string as well and find lots of options that don't have to include the key of brown. High A, 3E, etc... (8s, not 10, haha) Don't forget the EQ! If I have any complaints it's that off the shelf string sets suck. I buy two sets of NYXLs (great for taming the highs and articulating the lows) and pull what I want from them. It is $$$ though, so I tend to throw the lighter gauges on the longer scales and visa versa so there's not extreme tension. Don't give up Aynirar27!

 

[Techdeth]

I dig it man. Especially the goose lol

Thanks fr man !

 

[Techdeth]

If y'all are feeling uninspired try new tunings if you're stuck on the flubby 8th. They don't have to be instruments of djent. I have a 10 string as well and find lots of options that don't have to include the key of brown. High A, 3E, etc... (8s, not 10, haha) Don't forget the EQ! If I have any complaints it's that off the shelf string sets suck. I buy two sets of NYXLs (great for taming the highs and articulating the lows) and pull what I want from them. It is $$$ though, so I tend to throw the lighter gauges on the longer scales and visa versa so there's not extreme tension. Don't give up Aynirar27!

I honestly only listen to 2 djent bands. I don’t even think about djent . I’m kinda like in the vein of deftones where I make normal riffs but I add shredding lol . Fr it’s just 2 extra strings . I think making cool riffs with it just as if it’s got 6 the way to go . So many ways to go with an 8 string if you want to

 

[Dan Gleesak]

Oddly, Mattias Eklundh is one of my favorite players, but I rarely think of him as an “8 string player” because he isn’t djenty. He is just wonderfully out of his mind lol.

 

[Tone Junkie]

Sounds like Metallica and Buckethead got together to do a song. ??

 

[Giblesoqul2001]

Hell I barely can play 6 strings.