7-string guitars

[skorb]

what's the deal w/ these? what is the 7th string tuned to? who came up with this?

they kinda turn me off for some reason I can't identify. but I do want to learn about them. [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

[pagemalicious]

Re: 7-string guitars

well, the extra string, is a Low B so tuning would be BEADGBE. All it is, is an extra choice of notes. You can get more chords too.

7 strings go back 100's of years, as they were used by classical guitarists. But having a Low B was started by some Jazz guitarist in the early 20th century (doesn't that sound odd [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img])

[eaeolian]

Re: 7-string guitars

The 7 string tuning most common in Jazz, though, is to use a low A - the van Eps school - if I'm not mistaken.

There are quite a few 7 stringers around here, but if you're really digging for info, try SevenString.org, where there are a whole lot of us around...

[toejam]

Re: 7-string guitars

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The 7 string tuning most common in Jazz, though, is to use a low A - the van Eps school - if I'm not mistaken.


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I thought it was a high A.

[eaeolian]

Re: 7-string guitars

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
The 7 string tuning most common in Jazz, though, is to use a low A - the van Eps school - if I'm not mistaken.


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I thought it was a high A.

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Not according to this - the only seven stringers with high As I can think of are rock guys. (Lynch, Roth, etc.)

[toejam]

Re: 7-string guitars

Hmm, interesting. I thought I remembered reading Van Eps used a high A in an old Guitar Shop mag, but my memory is hazy. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[jim777]

Re: 7-string guitars

High A presents a problem with guage and stress. I'd guess at least 99% of 7's use the low string. Now on an 8 or 9, I could see a high A having some use.

[eaeolian]

Re: 7-string guitars

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High A presents a problem with guage and stress. I'd guess at least 99% of 7's use the low string. Now on an 8 or 9, I could see a high A having some use.

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Rusty Cooley does exactly that on his 8 string, I believe. That neck's gotta be wide...

[noodlesatf]

Re: 7-string guitars

Most guitars I've seen that use a string higher than high-E are done the way the thumb string is done on a banjo--the string doesn't start until around the fifth fret. Otherwise, the tension is so tight, the string will keep snapping (think of the G octave string on a 12-string). Unless you could find a .006 string.

[jim777]

Re: 7-string guitars

Yeah, Rusty's Conklin is just scary looking with all those strings and fanned frets [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]
Does he still have the Conklin or was that the one he sold recently on eBay?

[pro-fusion]

Re: 7-string guitars

[ QUOTE ]
Most guitars I've seen that use a string higher than high-E are done the way the thumb string is done on a banjo--the string doesn't start until around the fifth fret. Otherwise, the tension is so tight, the string will keep snapping (think of the G octave string on a 12-string). Unless you could find a .006 string.

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"Maestro" Alex Gregory had a web page about this stuff awhile back (it's gone now), where, in addition to claiming that he created the idea for rock version of the 7-string guitar, which he said was stolen by Vai and Ibanez, he also claimed that he had a string company attempting to create a workable .006 string for him to use as a high-A, which was his original intent rather than a low-B. He claims that the string company couldn't create a workable high-A string that wouldn't break easily. Maybe he's talking out of his ass, but most stringed instruments that have higher pitched strings than a guitar do so by having a shorter neck, rather than by using thinner strings.

Jazz 7-stringers need a low B or A string because they use the low string to play separate bass lines underneath their chord/melody playing. Very difficult stuff, actually. The same is true of classical 7-string players. The 7-string guitar actually goes back many centuries in Russian folk music, apparently.

[noodlesatf]

Re: 7-string guitars

I see the modern seven string guitar as more of a return to the origins of the instrument, the lute, and every harp guitar with extra bass strings.

[eaeolian]

Re: 7-string guitars

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I see the modern seven string guitar as more of a return to the origins of the instrument, the lute, and every harp guitar with extra bass strings.

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I see it as a way to truly annoy your bass player.

[noodlesatf]

Re: 7-string guitars

There is that, too. Go much lower, and the bassist will have to string up some tow cables or something.

[eaeolian]

Re: 7-string guitars

[ QUOTE ]
There is that, too. Go much lower, and the bassist will have to string up some tow cables or something.

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Especially if you go for the 27" scale, and go down to, oh, G or F#...