6/13/2023 0 Comments 6 strings theory![]() Conversely, longer scales allow players to use heavier strings at lower tensions, which can make heavy strings easier to play, especially when bending notes. Longer scale lengths require greater string tension when tuning to the same pitch as a shorter scale instrument, which allows players to use lighter string gauges that they are more comfortable with (especially on the high E string) instead of the heavier gauge strings required to maintain adequate tension on instruments with shorter scales. Some players use heavier string gauges to compensate, but intonation can become problematic for heavier gauge strings on shorter scale instruments and heavier gauge strings may not fit into the tuning pegs.įanned fret instruments provide the best of both worlds - shorter scale lengths for the treble strings and longer scale lengths for the bass strings On a shorter scale guitar, tuning down reduces string tension to a point where the lowest strings can feel too slinky and loose, which also makes those strings difficult to play in tune as even the slightest amount of excess pressure while fretting notes can bend the pitch. ![]() However, instruments with longer scales offer certain sonic advantages, particularly for players who want to tune down the lowest string a whole step or the entire guitar a whole step or more. ![]() For a guitarist who is used to playing a Gibson Les Paul with a 24.75-inch scale, playing a guitar with a scale that is 1.5 inches longer or more than they’re used to can literally prove to be quite a stretch.Ī seven-string guitar with a 25.5-inch scale is the best choice for a six-string guitarist looking to make a quick, easy and comfortable transition. Probably 99 Percent of all six-string solidbody electric guitars made today have scale lengths that fall somewhere between 24.5 and 25.5 inches, but the scale lengths found on seven-string guitars span a much wider range, generally between 25.5 inches to 27 inches or above.Įight-string guitars typically have scale lengths that are at least 27 inches, while a handful of examples (like the Ibanez M80M Meshuggah signature) measure almost 29.5 inches long. ![]() While the basic features on a standard six-string and seven- or 8-string guitar are essentially the same, many of these attributes on seven- and eight-string guitars require more careful consideration based on how one plans on playing the instrument (such as riffs, solos, chords and rhythm or all of the above), the tuning one prefers to use (standard, drop tuning or alternate tunings) and other playing and performance details.įortunately, price is no longer as much of an issue as it once was (the high cost of the first Ibanez Universe guitars accounted probably more than anything for their initial failure to catch on), and a wide variety of budget-priced instruments are available to choose from as well as expensive boutique models that can be customized to a player’s preferences. Over time, the design of the seven-string guitar has expanded to include instruments with extended scale lengths and alternate tunings, which has made the decision process more confusing for newcomers as well as experienced guitarists shopping for their first seven- or eight-string guitar. Today guitarists can choose from several hundred different models, and a handful of manufacturers each even offer a larger variety of models than what the entire industry provided at the dawn of the new millennium.Ībout the same time as the seven-string surge took place around a decade or so ago, a handful of companies started to offer the first mass-produced eight-string models, providing yet another tempting alternative instrument for guitarists interested in exploring a wider sonic range than that of a standard six-string guitar. ![]() The market for seven-string guitars has changed radically over the past 15 years, as have the designs of many of the instruments. ![]()
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