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7 strings

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5/30/2000 12:13 PM
sausagefinger	7 strings i m looking to buy a new guitar a 7 string so which firms make 7 strings for not too much money cause i m a student an i can t buy a guitar for 1500 $

5/30/2000 1:32 PM

Ibanez makes a few different models. The Original Steve Vai universe, an RG series with and without tremolo, and an AX body style. My store sells the RG style for 699. We've had tha AX style and it is even cheaper. All that being said, WHY would you want a 7-string?

Many manufacturers are jumping on the 7-string bandwagon because of a couple of bands that are"hot" right now use them.(for whatever reasons) To give you an example of how Ibanez is capitalizing on the naivite of kids who think they need a 7 string,(or have already got one), They are coming out with a "new" distortion pedal made JUST for 7 string guitars!

The majority of people who get one of these guitars are getting one solely because their "favorite" band uses one for the "big" detuned sound. Without fail, when a kid comes into the store and plugs one in, they dial up the most distortion possible and play on the bottom two strings. What they don't realize is with that much distortion, you cant even tell whether the guitar is a 7 string or not. Also, I'mm gonna guess they're gonna plug into a Crate or Peavey. Those amps are already blocking out a lot of low end so the low B is going to get lost on those even further.

I've been playing live with a baritone guitar tuned to B for many years. The key is to play through a BASS amp or a guitar amp like a Fender Bassman or an old 4 hole Marshall. Use a lot less distortion.

My advice FWIW... Buy a second guitar, and have it set up as a baritone, and get a good amp.

5/30/2000 5:24 PM

quote:
" advice FWIW... Buy a second guitar, and have it set up as a baritone, and get a good amp."

Sweetfinger, are you saying you use a normal-scale neck for baritone? If so what string guages do you use, I've wanted a baritone for a while, but figured it was pointless without a 27-28 inch scale length (and I build my own).

-Eric

5/31/2000 12:38 AM

My string guages are VERY light for a baritone as well as guages I use for other guitars. I got real tired of those "shooting" pains going up through my wrist while playing..opening doors, candy bars, etc. So on a "normal" guitar I would use 9 11 16 26 36 46. and prefer to tune flat to D.

The blueprint for my baritone sound is Mike Henderson w/the Bluebloods and previously with the Snakes. He uses something like 16 to 80 on an old silvertone or tele. Yowzah!

I use a Korean made 80's wankmaster special explorer that I bought for 120 bucks. Its a Strat scale bolt on. You can find these undervalued guitars under the Hondo, Avila, Lotus, and Empro brand names(as well as many others). Anyhoo.. On this particular guitar I use DR Zebras which are made specifically for acoustic guitars with magnetic soundhole pickups. They are wound with one spiral of steel and one spiral of bronze. They have a sound of their own on an electric solidbody. I think the heaviest guage available is 13 - 58. That's what I use and I switch out the wound 3rd for a plain 22. Its real slappy but I like it that way.

I will say that for Christmas I got myself a Dano reissue baritone and it doesn't work as well for me although it has that classic Dano baritone sound .

Hey, try it with about a 60 on the low B and see how it goes. The worst thing that will happen is you don't like it and put a new nut on and return your guitar to stock.

5/31/2000 2:57 AM

quote:
"Hey, try it with about a 60 on the low B and see how it goes. The worst thing that will happen is you don't like it and put a new nut on and return your guitar to stock.
"

Good point, I have a spare acoustic I can try this on (only 1 electric currently).

-Eric

5/31/2000 4:51 AM

It's kind of struck me recently, with all the 7-strings now, that the previous popularity of 7-string guitars was in the early 18th century. They were actually extremely popular, and almost drove various other European stringed instruments (notably the balalaika) out of existence. But the fad passed pretty quickly. Not saying they're not any good or anything, just an historical note. Or hysterical note, or whatever.
Hi

5/31/2000 10:14 PM
Stephen Conner	You have a point there. Why not just tune down a whole step. Or better still, use dropped D tuning and then tune down again. The 6th string is then C which is pretty low. A lot of grunge rock songs are in dropped D or other alternative tunings to get that big sound. In fact there were a couple of Soundgarden songs you could only play with all the strings tuned to E. Steve C.

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