@@federicogonzalez8945 No problems so far. The only thing you need to know is that SE SVN pups aren't designed for all-out metal tone. It's natually more like a jack-oif-all-trades 7 string. BTW, for 2020, the SVN has been discontinued and replaced with SE Mark Holcomb SVN. This bad boy comes standard with SD Alpha&Omega, ebony board as well as flatten radius of 20 inches. So if you can wait, I recommend you consider the SE Holcomb SVN for better performance. Oh and all PRS SE come with their gig bags.
7 and 8 string guitars are great. Not just for the low notes but allow you to play a lot of notes without jumping too much all over your fretboard. For an 8 string guitar I definitely would choose a multi-scale guitar! That's the best option without going to ticker string gauges.
@@tallciaran Lol! No problem playing a neck that wide, providing you've got hands as wide as Popeye's! Then the real question would be: Who plays meaner Thrash Metal? Popeye or Bluto?
The best 7 string running I’ve found is B E A D F# B E. Tuning this way means you are playing in B standard with a high E as opposed to E standard with a low B. It means all the chords and scales (especially with open strings) you are used to on a six can be played on the 6 strings B to B.
that best tuning you're talking about is not "B standard" with a high E . Its called Baritone Tuning. B Standard for 7 Strings is the one mentioned in the video. The tuning you mentioned is a workaround tuning for 6 strings guitars to have the "B standard" of 7 strings guitars on the 6 strings guitars. B standard for 6 strings would look something like this B - F - A# - D# - G - C (I guess)
That's true if you talk from the perspective of 6 string, for 7 string guitars "B standard" is BEADGBE. I'd call your tuning baritone 6 tuning with added high E to avoid confusion
When I bought my 7 string I was like yeah metal. Which dont get me wrong I still love to play but I have also found that 7 string jazz playing is awesome and I'm trying to learn more about that. And when I get an 8 eventually I'm gonna do that same thing.
If you're interested in Jazz, chord melody, and chord accompaniment, I'd strongly suggest the 7th tuned to A not B. I've been playing like that for 40 years. Of course I'm not playing metal and grunge. I sound more like a fusion of Bucky Pizzarelli, Tony Mattola, and Joe Pass. Tuned 7th=A all your conventional chords with root on the 5=A is a simple finger drop to put it in the bass range instead of baratone. And by the way, I play the 7 string mostly finger style (coffee house jazz flavor, as i had a lot of classical training.
I've never been good with relationships. Is it an open relationship ? they only like me for my cash. Seriously though, I did get one of his online tutorials. He's very intelligent and explains things very thoroughly.Excellent Guitarist. I actually forgot all about having that. Thanks for reminding me.
I've been a bassist all my life,recently decided to pick up guitar and drums to help my writing process. The muting explinations here really helped me out
I never consciously thought about compensating for the palm mutes on the low string before, I just did it naturally. Interesting to hear some reasoning behind it.
The tips are great!!! Thank you. I must also add I’m glad to see you not standing in front of tens of thousands of $$$$ worth of guitars and amps most of us can’t afford. Makes me want to scream ...Yeah we get it “ya got money” but I’m here to watch you play. Thanx for just playing. Keep it up.
I've owned a 7 for a few months now and I also like playing around in A E A D F# B E. It shifts that weird "one fret off" string from string 2, to string 3, so it feels more familiar from a top-down perspective. Does that make sense?
I was at the gates Ram's legs, my pizza black, my plants dead My planet X, I might bleed green I'm what's under the uncut chia seed I'm what, what, what, what from the guillotine A little flea and tick, a little fever dream A little plead the fifth Roadkill, I'm off leash
Thanks for this great video, I learned a lot and am gonna purchase my first 7-string soon. I recorded my debut album on a 6 string and now it's time to step up my game.
Thanks Trey. Great basic info on buying / playing 7 string. Wish I would have known the newer PRS 7s were 26.5. The old ones were 25" scale. Which is stupid.
I don't think that 25" are stupid. He said that he plays A-Tuning on a 25.5" scale, so when he can do this then you can surely play 25" scale 7 strings in B or Bb. Matt from Trivium plays a 24.75 scale Les Paul tuned to Bb. Just try to do some experiments.
@@stevestevestevesteve6466 Lee Malia plays non Evertune guitars with 24.75" scale in Drop-A. There are so many examples. It's not about the Evertune bridge, it's about the setup of a guitar
Awesome. I got my first 7 string a little over a year ago and that's all I play now. I sold all my 6 strings to fund other gear. I miss 6 sometimes but I love my 7. I got an ESP E-II Horizon NT-7B with a 27 inch scale
2:55 That's what my Pennsylvania license plate reads. I love watching people in my rearview mirror at red lights trying to figure out what it means. "Be A Digbee?", Bead gee bee?" "Be ag di bee?" I can read their lips the whole time. Sometimes I hold up seven fingers to give them a clue.
My first guitar was a strat style electric, my second was an Ibanez gio 7 string, I wanted because of korn lol so quickly after learning 6 at 14/15 years old 7 wasn't a huge stretch
@@unknownuser38 I bought a 7-string GIO back in high school that I like to noodle around on, it's currently my first and only 7-string. Coming from being a bass player the neck felt more comfortable compared to a 6-string, which felt like I was going to snap the neck like a toothpick at any second. I've had a few issues with it over the years that I had to have a tech fix but at $200 for a 7-string you only have so many options. The thing's super light too, every time I pick up another guitar I'm like "Oh yeah, these are made of much denser wood." If you do get one it may need some work out of the box to get it in good playing condition, mine had issues with fret sprout and humming.
Been playing a 6 string for 30 years and finally going to buy my first 7 string in a couple months. Drop A is going to be my tuning. It's low but not LOW. Chord extension is important to me and getting the biggest chord voicing is very important.
I've played 6 string for about 15 years, primarily drop C, Drop D and standard. My first 7 string will arrive next week, so I'm trying to figure out what tuning I should keep it in, really into "nevermore" but they play in Bb, so that wouldn't be ideal for jamming with others. So ye ill be joining you with the drop A... or D standard with the 7th string dropped to G🤔
When i get an electric guitar, it'll be a 7-string. Gotta have all the chugs without loosing the ambient highs Oh and also, i think it was Tom Searle (rip) from Architects who said that he'd rather have a longer scale length than thicker strings because of weird overtones appearing with thicker string gauge
I prefer Devin Townsend's tuning - GCGCGCE (Open C with extra low G)- great range and also having those Gs and Cs in multiple octaves makes it easier to learn chords and scales.
@@Tangalang22 Yeah, slide works great with that tuning. Also there's Devin's way- just play octaves with two fingers and let the orchestra do the rest 😁
@@courtneymunger9094 yes, learn positions of notes in a scale for C and G strings and boom- you know how to play that scale on 6 strings out of 7. For chords- you can play same chords on same frets in multiple octaves, for example, all chords you can play on strings 4-5-6 can be played on strings 2-3-4 on the same frets.
Im building myself a guitar and I really wanted to build a 7 string but I was afraid it would be to complicated for me so I ordered a 6 string bridge and now I regret not getting a 7 string bridge
My first build was a 7 string man, it was tough but I doubt that it was any tougher that building a 6 string for the most part since I was just starting out anyway
Zenghost 13 Also check out Black Crown Initiate, who are also from Reading and are touring with Rivers of Nihil this year in Europe. Admittedly I really have no perception of the metal scene around me but all I know is they’re all really nice hardworking guys and I guess I’ve just bumped into them because of that. Glad to see people know of them.
I just picked up a Jackson JS22-7 for $150 and man, I think that’s a freakin steal and I’m stoked to finally have a 7 string! I was debating between this and an ESP LTD MH-17. From what I’ve read, it does come down to preference but for being on a slightly tight budget, but the JS22 seems a bit better quality A few weeks back I picked up a Jackson JS32 which I love, but having to keep the tuning and string gauge exactly the same for the guitar’s life to keep it in good shape is a bummer From what I’ve learned from tuning with 7 strings, it’s nice to see the only difference in tuning is just the B string, but I have much to learn! Thank you for the video, now I know a little bit before jumping in
"but having to keep the tuning and string gauge exactly the same for the guitar’s life to keep it in good shape is a bummer" whoever told you this is full of shit.
I really appreciate this. Having just bought my first 7 string I've been feeling a little discouraged because there are small things no one talks about that make playing quite a bit different lol. Still figuring out what gauge strings I like and all that other shiz is stressful and a little demoralizing. Thanks for the content! :D
Also check out Rob Silvers 7string website. He has it all free and it is a huge wealth of information as well as notes and scales specifically for 7 string. It’s my go to and it’s absolutely free.
Just take your time and enjoy the process. It will grow Into you and your style. Recommend staying with a standard 10 set for a year at least just to eliminate that variable. The 7th string is more than enough variable to figure out for at least that long. But it can be so much more personal than a six. More like a symbiotic relationship. My Jackson custom shop Dave Davidson built by Mr. Mike Shannon is my best friend and confidant. I love stating at her curves. She loves the attention. And she rewards me with a masterbuilt feel that is like falling Into the arms of your woman that happens to be your best friend. When I look at her my wife gets jealous. No joke. True relationship. True love.
Thank you for your good pointers on the 7-string guitar! I wonder if Jazz guitarist George Van Eps, who had promoted the 7-string guitar, ever had any idea about just how much the 7-string guitar would eventually take off? For ages, I had been curious about how some Metal guitarists had been achieving this fantastic big guitar sound, and eventually realized that these musicians were playing 7-string guitars.
You can do the same with a baritone though. If you think about you only need a way to get a few semitones lower for that metal stuff. I'm pretty sure they don't play 7 string chords that often, do they?
@LuLeBe In loose general terms, I've seen the term "Metal" used almost synonymously with Hard Rock by some. But, to me at least, correct use of the term gets one among the assorted sub-genre Metal types, which often emphasize darker, & more sinister sounding musical themes. With use of the 7-string guitar for those sub-genres, one hears a lot of lower-register triads, double stops, and "Chugs" or "Djents" (Onomatopoeia for palm-muted, & sometimes rhythmic, staccato pulses of a high-gain distorted guitar tone). These expressions give the guitar a bigger, meaner sound. (I also anticipate that some hard-core devotees of such sub-genres may pounce all over me for trying to define this). So, as you might gather, in some instances only a few strings may be played. However, when one wants that big growly tone, a triad or partial bar chord that dips into the lower register does the job, is easy to get to on a 7-string, and doesn't require as much string length, when putting on new strings. Regarding a baritone guitar's longer scale, I myself don't mind a longer scale. I just don't run across baritone guitars much. I enjoy playing an 8-string bass (about a 30" scale, a shorter bass scale). It can be harder though to find long enough strings for the higher octave part of certain pairs.
Generally very good stuff, nice video! Though I think for the part about scale length and tension - I think it's important to say *not always* longer and tighter is better. If you want a slightly grittier, more oldschool tone I'm 99% sure 25.5" is fine unless you're really tuning way down - there's the timeless example of John Petrucci who uses 25.5" 7-strings and his tone is monstrous. The high strings also don't just get too tight on a long scale, but start to sound icepicky. Longer scale length is also not very comfortable for small hands. *sigh*
I have a schecter demon-7 seven string guitar but I put eight string guitar strings on it and turned it into E standard E.A.D.G.B.E.A 74-13 the high A is now extra and you can play fiths with it
I`d also add choosing string gauge may also depend on bridge system, I had a guitar with Tunomatic and .60 Low B was floppy, and with Evertune and some hardtail bridges .54\.56 seems tight enough. Standard scale on both.
I bought my 1st 7 string the day before yesterday an played it 5 hours straight. I caught onto it quick thankfully and I must admit it’s the way to go. I’m hooked for life.
Something like the DiMarzio PAF7 on a 25.5" scale guitar with an alder, ash, or mahogany body has more of a "regular" tone. Without touching the low B string, my 7 string basically sounds normal.
Here’s what I do for one of my 7-strings. It’s an Agile Interceptor Pro 727. 27’’ scale length, tuned to E standard (1 octave below standard tuning (EADGCFA). To achieve this, I installed a set of D’addario NYXL 8-string .010-.074 (leaving out the .010). The guitar has a Floyd Rose installed, keeping it in tune, well-intonated, and plus you get to dive bomb until your audience loses control of their bowels. Excellent little djent machine, for a great price!
ADGCFAD for 7 String is probably my favorite. You can do so much with it. Alot of metal bands use it. If you need to play D standard (DGCFAD) then you ignore the low A. If you need to play Drop D, same thing. Need to play B standard? Put a capo on the 2nd fret. You can in most cases also get away with throwing a capo on the 3rd fret for C standard or drop C songs.
D standard is my favorite tuning as it is ESPECIALLY on my 7-string, it sounds awesome as GDGCFAD as well, and C standard is sick on it too. I 100% recommend to everyone using thicker stringers and drops tuning a 7 string is great.
Great video! I used to have my 25.5” 6s tuned to drop B with 13-70 strings. Now with my 7 that’s 27”, I tune to standard with the low B an use a set of 9-46s and buy a low 60, or String Drop compensated sets. I’ve got the muting down good enough that I can even play drop D and not hit the low B when I do. The fret wrap is vital. When I first got the guitar the extra ringing drove me crazy. They are cheap and came in a 3 pack and totally kill the noise.
25.5” is for standard dude I’ve always had trouble with that scale I have 27.5 with 11-60 and it perfect the low end is tight and the high end sings but you need hand strength
Very informative Plus this guy is very good on guitar man-I think he can make any guitar sound cool-something which I cnt do other than make my own guitar sound ok.
One of my reasons to buy a 7 string is to play stuff like carcass and such, but Cannibal corpse play 6 string guitars tuned to g#. Thats really low, So low infact that you should get a 7 string and just down tune it.
I want to get a 7 string but most of them look atrocious...so for a strat guy like me i have to make my own....i ll make a multiscale(26.5 to 25.5) string through strat,rear routed,3 single coil( or at least looking like that)stainless steel frets,scalloped fingerboard etc etc etc...not only it ll look way better and do what i want it to..but it ll have the added bonus of confusing the folks that watch me play...getting some blues double stop bendy licks on that thing ll be amazing..."hey man thats a nice str....wtf is that thing?"
7s start to get really fun when you tune the 7th string to a higher but still low tuning like C# standard or Drop C you get a huge amount of added higher notes which is really exciting if you’re into Prog and Jazz I own 2 seven strings one that’s 25.5 and and other that’s 26.5 the 25 I use in C# Standard/Drop C and it adds an extra high F#/G string The 26 in B Standard/Drop A For me I use 2 sets of Ernie Ball strings band hybridise them The Skinny Heavy 8 string and Mammoth Slinky pack So the 25 is strung with (9, 11, 16, 24, 34, 46, 62) The 26 is strung with (12, 16, 24, 34, 48, 64, 80) Hours of fun
i have an agile 727 i absolutely love it. i have a 10-70 custom set from string joy so i can do a standard to, well i have it in drop c# rn and its pretty good. the practical tunings for it are a standard to drop f/f standard
Has agiles quality control improved? I got an 8 string awhile back and the intonation was off as well as some bad fret buzz. Would you recommend the 727?
I kinda wish there were some 7 string semi-hollow/archtop guitars. I can think of a ton fo different possibilities for jazz and country playing. Hell, a basic strat or tele with 7 strings would be phenomenal. I've seen some custom 7 string jazzboxes where the bottom 3 strings are an E, A, and D bass string, and the top 4 are standard D, G, B, and E strings.
I love GCGCFAD. Hella heavy and sounds amazing through my Kiesel Vader7 25.5” scale. 9’s on it. And it handles perfectly. Going to try with the 9.5’s NYXL.
I've wanted to like the prs svn sooo bad. I mean bad. I love prs guitars. But I got my hands on the grey svn one day and I hated it. The grey finish looked like an oxidized green, it had a hideous flame maple veneer, it looked like plywood there was almost no figure in the wood grain. The pickups were very trebly, but flat on the low end. There was no character to it. And the neck, god it was so uncomfortable. I put it back, very very disappointed, and completely thankful I got to try it out before just ordering it online. I hope they come out with other 7 strings in the future. A Holcomb se 7 would be the tits. I ended up going with an Ibanez rga71 from their new axion label.
I have gone through the same thing with PRS. I have found maybe "two"? out of the many, many defined as over 12 kinds and different times at different stores just trying to love on the PRS. I can't get comfortable on the neck, and forcing it is like forcing, well, it's just not going to mesh. The biggest issue for me is the neck, the neck HAS to be, has to be workable, and fluid, to a point you forget that its an issue and you start focusing on the tone, the sound and the asthetics of the guitar. PRS has a great product, its just not for me. I love Gibson but only the slim taper necks and I REALLY just love the IBANEZ's premiums and Prestiges. I am glad it isn't just me, so when I see a new PRS, or a new ad and everyone going wow, ewwww look at that! i.e. the John Mayer PRS. I don't even blink, maybe there is a slim neck PRS out there that I might like, but I haven't found it. \M/!
@@rolandlemus203 oh I love 6 string prs guitars. I havent found one that i havent loved. I was speaking on this svn model only. On the 6 string prs the necks have always been fantastic to me, super easy to play and just always feels familiar right out the box. That's why I was so taken aback and disappointed with the 7 string.
I don't think the lower notes make for a heavier sound, you can make some killer riffs with a standard tuned 6 string like Metallica or Slayer. I just like the extended range that you get from a 7 string guitar.
Have a Dean 7 s style, 25.5" scale. I like to tune to drop A and found the standard 7 string packages to flimsy. Currently rocking a .074 tuned to drop G. Previously used a bass D string but the ball end was huge and stuck out the back (string through body)
I have a Dean Avalanche 11 thru 70 Double drop D. 7th string is an octave lower, than the 6th string drop D! I take a Zakk Wylde lotune set add a .26 to the set. Sounds huge!
GhoulishTendancies I have a six string baritone and I love it. I do kinda wish I had a slightly smaller scale length seven string though. I want the range. The scale length on my baritone is 28 inches too which is a bit overboard for six strings in my opinion. I’d really like a seven string similar to the one in this video. 26.5 scale and throw in some locking tuners and an evertune bridge with some Duncan’s in it... bro. It’d be awesome!
This is wicked, I've been 1 week getting into Nu Metal bands like Deftones, Korn, Limp Bizkit, Mudvayne, Static X and Disturbed, and just today I was thinking of getting a 7 string, but didn't know shit about 7 string guitars, so this is really cool and somewhat kind of creepy; but it goes to show the cyber spies really help out a lot sometimes with the youtube recomendations. This video was really helpful
Yeah, those microphones in the phones definitely help with some of the recommendations RU-vid do. Also despite what several people say, only Korn, Limp Bizkit in Significant Other and Deftones post-White Pony are the only Nu Metal bands to use 7 strings in entire albums
