8-String!

Demigod

So I finally feel that i am ready to move on to 8-string. Would get the RG2228 but unfortunately that is about R12000 out of my price range. Any suggestions?

Malkav

Demigod wrote: So I finally feel that i am ready to move on to 8-string. Would get the RG2228 but unfortunately that is about R12000 out of my price range. Any suggestions?

http://www.rondomusic.com/8StringGuitars.html

Two of my friends recently got these, they're a Korean made to order brand that ships directly to your door - cuts out the middleman so they offer insanely nice specs at lower prices. Both of my friends went for the Intrepid model, neck-thru, mahogany body, ebony fretboard, grover tuners - you may want to change the pickups but that can come later, at first what you'll have is a good playing instrument with a fundamentally good tone that can be improved later. My friends ended up paying just under R8k each including shipping and hardcase.

These are the shapes they make, different finishes are available and different wood combinations. I own an RG2228 and I've gotten to play these and they are very decent contenders in the 8 string market, an absolutely cost effective way to get into the ERG world. My next door neighbour has the neck-thru, mahogany bodied, ebony fretboarded, seymour duncan blackout equipped, 27" scale seven string so I really can vouch for these things quality wise ?

Demigod

Thanks! These look awesome! What is the import tax rate if i import a guitar?

MikeM

Uggghhh GAS.

Would be cool if they had a decent 6 string that took regular buckers :\

Malkav

Demigod wrote: Thanks! These look awesome! What is the import tax rate if i import a guitar?

I have no idea, as I said my friends paid under R8k each for their 8s which included shipping to their door.

MikeM wrote: Would be cool if they had a decent 6 string that took regular buckers :\

To my knowledge they do the normal clone style 6s with normal pickups, with regards to fanned frets it's very expensive to get passive pickups that fit without paying out your ass for them so that's most likely why the fanned options are a bit limited ?

Demigod

Whats with the skewed frets? Is it for better intonation?

MikeM

Chad Adam Browne wrote: To my knowledge they do the normal clone style 6s with normal pickups, with regards to fanned frets it's very expensive to get passive pickups that fit without paying out your ass for them so that's most likely why the fanned options are a bit limited ?

A regular 7 string pup works fine underneath a 6 string fanned most of the time. Would dig that with a regular horizontal 6 string neck pup. Ah one can dream.

@Demigod, string tension.. The bass strings are stiffer. Supposedly very comfortable too.

Malkav

Demigod wrote: Whats with the skewed frets? Is it for better intonation?

It's a fanned fret system, essentially it makes the scale length on the lower strings longer than the high strings which can be a nice compromise in terms of tension and intonation. On an 8 string this is especially useful as the longer you make your scale the more mid range it pulls out of the frequency response, essentially lets say the the shorter the guitars scale length is the more nasaly and banjo like it'll sound, the longer the scale length the more piano-esque it begins to sound with a tighter clearer top end and more defined bass. On an 8 string often you see a 27" - 25,5" scale for the fanned fret or multi-scale guitars as this is a nice compromise to get clarity out of the low notes and to give them a tighter feel for rhythm playing etc whilst also keeping the high notes nice and sweet sounding like a normal guitar ?

EDIT: To give you some idea of the tone here's a video of an 8 string with a 30" scale. Wood choice, amp choice, pickups etc do pay major contributions to this, however I think this roughly illustrates what I mean about the clarity in the tone.

Demigod

Yeah I've seen that vid. Tosin Abasi is legend man! Thanks that's been bothering me for a while lol.

Malkav

Demigod wrote: Thanks that's been bothering me for a while lol.

Well that's not all, owing to the direction the fan flows in it is considered more ergonomic or more comfortable essentially. The reason for this is that if you were to for instance observe the angle that your hand naturally gravitates towards when positioning up and down the neck you'll notice that the fan would follow this and according to people who've played them will feel more comfortable than a normal straight fretted guitar. If you go online you'll hear pretty much no end to the praise behind the idea as it is truly brilliant from a comfort perspective. The only issue I've ever heard come up is that your palm muting technique must be adjusted to the angle of the fan which is a bit tricky, but only really takes reconditioning your playing - afterwards apparently you'll never want to go back. Agile, the brand I mentioned to you before, also offers a fanned fret 8 string, it's a bit more expensive but still somehow works out cheaper than the RG2228 - It has unfortunately only got a bridge pickup though and I believe it's an EMG which really isn't everyone's thing. I know as soon as I have the money together the EMGs in my 8 are coming out for Dimarzios.

Demigod wrote: Tosin Abasi is legend man!

On the topic of ergonomics, fans and 8 strings, Tosin Abasi recently recieved a new 8 string by an amazing ergonomic minded luthier named Ola Strandberg.

Specs: - 8-string neck through body construction - Baritone hybrid scale 28.75" – 25.5" mixed scale - Rosewood / maple / carbon fiber neck - Intersecting Plane Neck Profile (tm) Licensed from Rick Toone - Swamp ash chambered body with flamed maple top and f-hole - Rosewood fingerboard - Stainless steel frets - Custom Lace Alumitone pickups

More pictures of the guitar and it's various stages of production can be found here: http://guitarworks.thestrandbergs.com/gallery/?album=18

Demigod

Chad Adam Browne wrote:
Demigod wrote: Thanks that's been bothering me for a while lol.
Well that's not all, owing to the direction the fan flows in it is considered more ergonomic or more comfortable essentially. The reason for this is that if you were to for instance observe the angle that your hand naturally gravitates towards when positioning up and down the neck you'll notice that the fan would follow this and according to people who've played them will feel more comfortable than a normal straight fretted guitar. If you go online you'll hear pretty much no end to the praise behind the idea as it is truly brilliant from a comfort perspective. The only issue I've ever heard come up is that your palm muting technique must be adjusted to the angle of the fan which is a bit tricky, but only really takes reconditioning your playing - afterwards apparently you'll never want to go back. Agile, the brand I mentioned to you before, also offers a fanned fret 8 string, it's a bit more expensive but still somehow works out cheaper than the RG2228 - It has unfortunately only got a bridge pickup though and I believe it's an EMG which really isn't everyone's thing. I know as soon as I have the money together the EMGs in my 8 are coming out for Dimarzios.

Demigod wrote: Tosin Abasi is legend man!
On the topic of ergonomics, fans and 8 strings, Tosin Abasi recently recieved a new 8 string by an amazing ergonomic minded luthier named Ola Strandberg.

Specs: - 8-string neck through body construction - Baritone hybrid scale 28.75" – 25.5" mixed scale - Rosewood / maple / carbon fiber neck - Intersecting Plane Neck Profile (tm) Licensed from Rick Toone - Swamp ash chambered body with flamed maple top and f-hole - Rosewood fingerboard - Stainless steel frets - Custom Lace Alumitone pickups

More pictures of the guitar and it's various stages of production can be found here: http://guitarworks.thestrandbergs.com/gallery/?album=18

Dude, thats awesome.
Oh, and while im at it, does anyone here have any experience with Schecter guitars? they have a few beautiful 8 strings.

Malkav

Demigod wrote: Oh, and while im at it, does anyone here have any experience with Schecter guitars? they have a few beautiful 8 strings.

I don't really like them, I'm not saying they're badly built but there are a few things I can't stand about their 8s. Firstly 26,5" scale is not enough, on my 27" scale I have to use an .080 gauge string for my low E (Tuned: E - B - E - A - D - G - B - E) so I don't think you'd really get much joy in terms of action and tightness of sound out of a 26,5" scale - Mainly because most string manufacturers don't go past .076 gauge and those that do that are available locally don't go past .080 gauge so I hope you enjoy ordering strings online. Secondly their necks are quite thick, some people like this I find it a bit overboard on guitars with this many strings. Lastly, and I may be wrong about this, but I know that most of the affordable 8s they do don't have sculpted neck joints where the body and the neck meet so you have a big square block to have to deal with and it sucks. These are just my issues with them, lots of people praise them as well so I think it's important to consider what it is you're hoping to achieve on it.

Demigod

Ok thanks, good to know because i hate bulky necks. I'm thinking of ordering one of those Agiles but i dont want to rush in without playing on one beforehand. I guess ill be spending a few good ours in music stores testing out 8's ?

Malkav

Demigod wrote: I guess ill be spending a few good ours in music stores testing out 8's ?

You won't find Agiles in the local stores as they're an online order company only, literally not 2 hours ago I was playing on an Agile 8 and though the hardware may not be up there with the Ibanez the fit and finish are definitely the best you'll find in that price range for an 8 IMO. If you stay in Cape Town you could always come and try out my friends, just PM me if you wanna arrange it.

Demigod

Basically i should buy an agile and stick a pair of EMG 808's on it?

Malkav

Demigod wrote: Basically i should buy an agile and stick a pair of ~~EMG 808's~~ Dimarzio D-Activator 8s on it?

That's better.

Demigod

Lol ok. BTW I haven't seen any 8-string pickups in any music stores. Do I have to import that as well?

Malkav

Demigod wrote: Lol ok. BTW I haven't seen any 8-string pickups in any music stores. Do I have to import that as well?

Well locally there is an agency for Dimarzio so you can order them through them, Dimarzio to my knowledge work on production months so the pickup will only get made when you order it. You haven't seen any 8 string pickups in SA because there are probably less than 10 8 string guitars on the entire continent. Remember ERG players like us are a complete minority and it costs quite a bit of money for stores to get in stock and then have it wait around and not sell for ages just because one day one of these fabled 8 string players may show up and buy it. If you're gonna get into the 8 string world be prepared to wait for things or order them online, which you'll probably end up waiting for anyway, we're more of a hindrance on a music store than something really worth looking out for so it helps if you build up a relationship with one specific store so they won't give you issues when you ask to order in some of these weird and wonderful things. This isn't like the six string world or even the seven, these are majorly niche instruments right now so you definitely couldn't expect stores in South Africa to have woken up to them yet.

Demigod

Yeah i guess you're right.
Why is there no website where you can calculate import duties for SA. I dont want to be surprised with tax and such costing as much as the guitar itself.
Could you tell me what Agiles they ordered? I may be able to calculate the duties based on that.

Malkav

Demigod wrote: Could you tell me what Agiles they ordered? I may be able to calculate the duties based on that.

This is the one I was playing last night http://www.rondomusic.com/intrepidprodual828ebnat.html as stated before my friend paid just under R8k including shipping & tax.