7 strings, novelty, shite or the best thing ever?

7 Dying Trees

7 Dying Trees

Bastard Albino Elf
Apr 18, 2002
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The woodland fern
www.nemecyst.net
So we all know that these wonderfull little things have been used to create good (morbid angel, dream theatre etc) and for bad (korn, various band wagon bands) but how does everyone here see them?

Are they a novelty? Are they an instrument for people too retarded to play simple power chords (drop d tuning is cheating and lame unless you are playing something that merits doing it) and can't understand the concept of detuning a 6string? Are they for people who are too talented / too much of a virtuoso to be limited by a 6string? Are they an instrument that leads to experimentation? What are they to you, a good tool or just a marketing ploy?

Personally I love them, best things ever. I can have a detuned guitar, play stuff in normal tuning, play around with chords on all 7 strings, play leads etc. Brilliant, and they inspire me to write and play... I just think they got a bad rep of the numetal fad thing...
 
I think they're a bit of everything you said...

Can be useful by someone who would use them correctly, a fad, a marketing gimmick, for the too talented, for the nu-metal hacks, for hardcore death metal... etc..

I don't have one yet, all the 7 string guitars I've played were CRAP.

I'm going to be getting a NICE one sometime soon, so I'll let you know what I can personally make of it.

The times I've tried I've felt too uncomfortable with them, but have yet to play a REALLY nice one.

Guess I'll have to get back to you on that.

One thing I can tell you, they didn't sell well enough for Jackson to continue making them...

And it seems most guitarist don't feel the need for the extra string...

I think it has interesting potential though...
 
I like my two UV's I have, but I love ibanez anyway... The ones jackson made weren't brilliant, very bulky and not nice to play. The old Universes are nice to play on. I found that I had to adjust my technique overall, but in the end I came out of it with a better playing technique. They are weird to start of with, but you can have so much fun with them :D

I think the whole reason a lot of manufacturers stopped making them was oversaturation of the market. Too many hacks realised they could just down tune a 6string and use that for playing power chords.

If you like your playing, then pick up a cheap high end ibby, good value for money and if it's second hand pretty much gives you the same resale value if you don't like it. Or go custom :D

But yes, they are a bit of everything really :)
 
I switched to the 7str about 4 years ago, and have never even considered going back to 6. Once people try one they soon realize that they don't have to sound like korn or other mud-metal bands just because of the added low end.
I've always liked wide necks, and the ibanez rg7-620 fit me like a glove. Now I just see the 7str as a different kind of instrument, and not just as a 6str + 1. It is fully incorporated into my style and technique.
People should give this wonderful instrument a fair chance and not judge it because of the image nu-metal has given it.
 
I have a Jackson DR7 and it's ok. I'm not exactly a guitar wizard, but I'm finding it quite interesting so far. We've written a pretty cool doom song with them (my co-guitarist as a BC Rich Warlock 7 string). I'm not getting a real good sound at the moment on the low end though...real muddy chords. Of course, we're a half step down and then dropped to Ab, so it might be pushing it a little as far as my speakers go.

Another aquaintence of mine has a Squier 7 string, and I was amazed at how great it played. It was a lot heavier (weight) than my Jackson, but had a great neck and a nice tone. I was quite surprised, I didn't think Squier's were that well made, but his was. I'd probably trade him if I had the chance.

Oh, and we're all in our extreme :cry: upper 30's, so marketing or trends don't mean crap to us. It's just the quest for all things heavy metal!
 
Never played a Carvin 7 string, but I assume they would be just as nice as their 6 strings...

Carvin makes EXCELLENT guitars for the price, and they're basically US Custom Shop guitars...
 
The thing with muddy 7string chords on the low end is because you haven't adjusted your sound to cope with them. Give your amp a bit more focus untill you can really hear those chords, and it should be cool. Otherwise get some good pickups, that should help as well.
 
All I know, is the one time I've played a 7-string, I was in love. I listen to a fair amount of Dream Theater, and Petrucci uses the 7th string a pretty good amount, and trying to follow along frustrates me (well, there's also the fact that he's better than i'll ever be). As long as you use all strings, and vary how you use them, it's a great thing.

Now let's talk about these 6-string basses... why do some "nu" bands even have these when it might actually sound better to just use four strings and play the notes higher on the fret board? some of the songs I've heard can be played on a four string no problem, but I guess if you have to use six strings, so be it. Again, at least Myung knows how to do it (and so well).

End rant now.
 
hey xeno, where in the south bay u from? I'm from there too... good to hear there are good metal fans around here.

My take on 7 strings is that they began as a combination between curiosity and marketing ploy. It sure as hell wasn't requsted by the studio's, who already have problems with low-register instrument balancing (ie, bass, drums, guitar, and some vocal). I know I hate when bands come into the studio who are tuned below D, it makes it almost impossible to seperate all the low end. Another reason they haven't become the mainstay of guitar as we know it, is that it's relatively recent and most people who have learned on 6 strings just aren't comfortable with it or the added neck width. Although, I have to say if they make a 7 string classical, I'd be very interested.
 
I have Ibanez Prestige RG2027X 7-stringer and it's very good to play! It also has 2 outputs and piazzo-mic, so there's much to work with. I also have few 6-stringers, but haven't really played those since I bought this one. Before I bought this, I had played few 7-string guitars and they was so bad to play with, so I was really amazed when I got this one! I use all strings and have no problems to play normal chords with it if needed...I just love this guitar ;) Now I can play much more varieted things and have huge inspiration from the guitar itself, I had played 10 years with 6-strings, so this really gived a new spark for me :)
 
Personaly I feel finding equipment (amps, pre-amps and so on) that works well with the 7 str is the only hard part in changing over from 6 str. Not many amps manage to give tight controlled distortion in the lower end. I'm positive this is the reason why many people initially find the 7 str very muddy and undefined. I have yet to try a single "stomp-boxes" that I feel works well with the 7str. The 7th Heaven thing from Boss was a huge joke!
I use a Rocktron Chameleon preamp that for some strange reason works perfectly for me. I use a Marshall 8008 Valvestate power amp. I've tried Marshall's different tube power amps, rocktron's velocity series, and a few others, and none of them come close to the compact sound of the valvestate... expensive is not always best :)
What equipment do you 7 stringers use?
 
I don't use a 7 string, but I have the heaviest gauge strings I can get, and I lower to B or B flat. I use a Marshall AVT50. It's closed back and seems to work fine. I used to use a cheap Sovtek 50 watt head, and a Carvin 2X12 cab. I also used a Peavey Dual 2X12. All of them worked fine. Personally, I think you can get a good sound from a variety of amps. I've used stomp boxes and amp distortion, and they all work for me. I am extremely picky about getting a clear sound, but I have not really had that much trouble. I think heavy strings help as much as anything.
 
I'm using a Sansamp GT2 through a Laney 2x12 with a 4x12 ext. cab.
I need to clarify my "muddy" statement from above - I get decent sound from low B (3rd fret in my case) and up, it's really just the lower couple of chords that are sub par. I really don't think we need to be THAT low, but we're just playing around with it at the moment.
 
Originally posted by M.Lehto
I have Ibanez Prestige RG2027X 7-stringer and it's very good to play! It also has 2 outputs and piazzo-mic, so there's much to work with.
Click to expand...

Hey I've got one of those too! :D

I love my 7 string guitars. I first started playing them way back in 1998... I can't see myself ever going back to playing 6 strings.
 
I've never played a 7-string...I'm wondering for those who play 7-strings...how often do you use the high B and E strings?
 
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