7 String Tuning

[The Rhone]

Hey,

Buying an 7 string and want to tune it to, G, C, F, A#, D#, G, C.

Will it be able to cope with this and which guage strings would you recommend.

I currently tune to, C, F, A#, D#, G, C on six strings with no real issues, but want to do some doomier stuff on a 7 string.

Cheers.

 

[AdamWathan]

How fucking low do you need to go? Jesus. Christ.

 

[The Rhone]

Jus for a couple of tunes

 

[Zack Uidl]

I would just get an 8 string (Goes to low F# on most, others have a high A)

But that is just me, I like 8 string guitars. Yes, the 7 would be able to handle it, but you may find that you end up with some intonation issues. Wouldn't have a long term effect, but might happen. (Just to point out)

 

[theunforgiven246]

What brand and model? I play almost exclusively 7 strings, and will be getting an 8 string when more come out for cheaper. Also the intonation would be better if the scale length is longer than 25.5 but even then it should be fine.

 

[Zack Uidl]

Well, I have an endorsement from Conklin Guitars. They are making a custom 8 string for me now so there is no real model number. It will have fanned frets for multiple scale lengths.

 

[TomAwesome]

It'll work fine as long as you have the right strings and a proper setup. I'd say maybe somewhere between 60 and 70 for the G, but that really comes down to your preferences with strings (I've got a .059" tuned to G#, and it works fine).

 

[Where She Wept]

You going to play some Devin Townsend licks? You could try a regular set of 7string 10's and get something big for the bottom. I used an 80 bass string when i tuned mine to A standard.

 

[JBroll]

Hey,

Buying an 7 string and want to tune it to, G, C, F, A#, D#, G, C.

Will it be able to cope with this and which guage strings would you recommend.

I currently tune to, C, F, A#, D#, G, C on six strings with no real issues, but want to do some doomier stuff on a 7 string.

Cheers.

You'll have to work your entire distorted sound around that low G. That takes some serious work to accommodate.

If you can keep your picking hand sissy enough to use light strings, I'd seriously consider spending time with a tension calculator to get a set balanced around the tension you like to have your strings at.

I'd go for something with a nice, long scale length. 25.5" is right out, go 26.5" or 27" at the very least.

Oh, and a Tube Screamer is a must, as is a tight sound. Active pickups would be a really good idea.

Jeff

 

[TomAwesome]

I don't think 25.5" is out of the question. My lowest string is only half a step higher than that, and a .059 is working fine for me, though I do generally prefer light strings and have a light touch. A while back, I decided to retune my other 7-string from C standard with an extra high F to C standard with a low G (which is what he's talking about doing), and it actually worked pretty well with that same 10-59 set. I didn't keep it like that because I was using the high F a lot more than I was using the low G, but something like an 11-64 set probably would have worked great for me if I had decided to keep that tuning. IIRC, didn't Mnemic tune down to something like F on a 25.5" scale on their last album? I could be wrong, but I think that's what I heard, and it sounded fine on the album.

That being said, I'm not arguing that a longer scale would work better. 26.5" or 27" would be a pretty good scale length for that tuning, I think. 25.5" should still work, though.

 

[JBroll]

Lesson learned, kids... use light strings, wind up with a boxy face in a cowboy hat that doesn't fit and a perpetual "Who farted?" face. Don't let this happen to you.

I think they used longer ESPs, actually, and they tuned to F#. They also didn't use the F# as much as most 7 guys.

Oh, and there's a whole forum for 7-stringers, sevenstring.org - use the search, find every discussion that ever needed to happen (and the other gazillion that didn't) on string gauges, tension, tuning, clarity, pickups... that's where we got this Tom guy, and we'll have his rectangular face sorted out in no time so you don't have to worry about too many health hazards (until you enter P&CE or actually give the impression that you know what you're talking about with recording) while you're there.

Jeff

 

[The Rhone]

Oh, and there's a whole forum for 7-stringers, sevenstring.org - use the search, find every discussion that ever needed to happen (and the other gazillion that didn't) on string gauges, tension, tuning, clarity, pickups...

Thanks for the info, I check it out.

The guitar in a old BC Rich N7. The Mahagony ones not the Basswoods..

 

[TomAwesome]

And yeah, sevenstring.org is a fantastic source of good information.