Am I the only 8 string player in the country???

Ruan7321

Like the title says. I have been playing my RG2228 for about 2 years now, sice it came out in 2007.
I have recently found some musicians that want to play the same kind of music that I play, but
its always hard, because my writing process is being limited to what I can actually play live.

Been thinking of using some kind of looper or something so I can have rythm guitars behind my leads.

Most people in SA have a strange mentality to extended range instruments (in my experience). It's always

"why would you need a 7th string if you can't even master a 6 string" and thats not even to mention their
expression when I tell them I play 8's exclusively. LOL

I would like to know if I'm the only 8 stirng player in the country.

aja

Make no mistake, for a long time I have wanted an 8 string, especially the Schecter C8.

I just can't afford it - student you know...

I will join the ranks one day soon!!!

Ruan7321

Oh I know too well. Best is living on 2 minute noodles while saving up for gear. LOL

Hope to see some more 8 string players (and used mesa boogies) in our music industry soon.

AlanRatcliffe

IINM Chad Adam Browne also plays 8-string. He's always truing to convince me of their merits at any rate. ?

Ruan7321

AWESOME, I am not alone!!!

Charlie4

If you don't know him, check out Tosin Abasi - insanely good 8 string player that uses a looper to play solo guitar.

Ruan7321

Yeah man. He is insane. I love Animals as Leaders, Meshuggah, Chimp Spanner, Periphery, etc...

BMU

Cool man. I've had 8-string GAS from time to time, but not enough to actually DO it. Mainly because I strongly suspect I'll never use it. I can't think of anything I'd want to do on an 8-string, that I can't do by tuning one of my sevens down. (Which is on the to-do list for my Schecter Loomis one of these days.)

I know for sure you're not the only RG2228 owner in the country, Music Connection in JHB once told me they'd sold quite a few. How many people who bought them actually use them a lot, that's another question.

Ruan7321

Yeah. I guess I should have been more specifc. LOL

How many people own an 8 string and actually use it for writing / jamming / band stuff ???

A: I do. LOL

BMU

Ruan7321 wrote: Yeah. I guess I should have been more specifc. LOL

How many people own an 8 string and actually use it for writing / jamming / band stuff ???

A: I do. LOL

Yeah I'm curious too, I've wondered this before. My suspicion is people buy these things but most of them don't get used a lot.

Then again, if that were true you'd expect them to show up 2nd hand a lot, which isn't the case. So where are all the 8-stringers in SA? Come out people!

Vintage-Vibe

Mmm - I know an RG2228 owner who desperately needs strings - this seems to be an inhouse joke for local SA players - I can't find a company (generic brand anyway) that makes a set - it seems to be a case of JustStrings.com and add a 7 and or 8th string - anyone?
PS: D'Addario SA don't even supply a .60 much less anything thicker ... even though they also happen to be the importers for ... Ibanez!

MIKA-the-better-one

Ruan7321 wrote:
"why would you need a 7th string if you can't even master a 6 string" and thats not even to mention their
expression when I tell them I play 8's exclusively. LOL

thats me..... ?

Ruan7321

Wel I've found the best way to get strings is either buy a normal 7 pack and either a D'Addario Baritone set (which has a 65 or a 60) or a Zakk Wylde Boomer set which has a 70 in it.

dan77

I've played on an Ibanez RG 8-string in a local store and I REALLY tried to get the point of it and be interested!

Sadly there is no point! (like Jeremy Clarkson would say)

cain

Obviously there is a point? You get tonal variety from it, especially for jazz. And its great for metal guitarists, no downtuned guitar, no matter how low, can sound as heavy as an 8 string!

Ruan7321

Yeah is alway a either you love it or hate it thing. I personally believe that the 7 string is the best guitar ever.

I found it easier to learn music on a seven where my C 1st possition in C was on my first fret. LOL ?

I found myself gravitating more toward the low end spectrum. Maybe I'm a frustrated bassist, but I love playing on 8's.
All other guitars play like toys and its easier for me to switch back to 6's than a person that play 6's to play on an 8.

But still...I would still like to know how many of us are actually playing 8's.

LooneyAtTheGate

i would love to own an 8 string, just too expensive last time I checked.. How much they going for these days?

Been trying to record music with heavily down-tuned guitars, and pitch shifting effects, but its just not the same... Flappy flappy, muddy muddy >☹
I'm really inspired by your project Megalodon by the way Ruan7321! Makes me want to sell my entire rig for an 8 string.

BMU

LooneyAtTheGate wrote: i would love to own an 8 string, just too expensive last time I checked.. How much they going for these days?

No different to a normal guitar really. You get cheap ones and expensive ones. A good while ago TOMS Sandton had the Prestige RG2228 for R12k (I think) which is a bargain. Normal price is more like R18k I think? I thought long and hard before walking away from that one! US list price is $2900 I think... ??? The Ibby RGA8 or Schecter 8's aren't really more expensive than the equivalent 6 or 7 string models.

Ruan7321 wrote: Yeah is alway a either you love it or hate it thing. I personally believe that the 7 string is the best guitar ever.

Amen! Heh. I love sevens. There's really very little adaption from a six to a seven imo. (Then again I've hardly played anything else for a long long time so YMMV.)

The ONE thing about a seven is, it's harder to keep low strings quiet when playing lead. I'm always surprised at how well behaved six-stringers are when I play them LOL.

Now, with an eight string, I found that difficulty to increase GREATLY. It really is a very wide patch of real estate you have to mute while soloing on the upper strings. These things vary from person to person obviously, but since I'm primarily a weedly-wee lead player, my natural cutoff seems to be good ol' traditional (LOL) seven strings.

BMU

PS - sorry for the slight derail above but I thought we could pass the time talking eights while waiting for SA's huge eight-string community (HAHA) to notice this thread and chime in.

shawnv

hallo hallo hallo!

I'm the very lucky owner of Tosin's backup guitar (if anyone one went to the JHB clinic last year). Sad thing is, playing 8 string is scary as hell, but I guess I gotta pull finger and practice more. However, it is really useful with my studies at the moment and playing the "piano notation type" examples that the lectures use is way more accessible with extended range string instruments. If I had the time I would study piano again, but that is simply not something I can afford (time-wise) at the moment.