Anyone play 7-string guitar?

[JeffGodoy]

Hi,

Having a great Labor Day, I won a Schecter 7-String guitar at the local Guitar Center. It is really cool but I am at a loss as to how to use the 7th string. Any ideas?

Thanks,

Jeff

[k0ldfuz10n]

Congrats on the win! I've never played one myself but I've seen them played. Here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wQ-5m9cPpA) is an example of one being used.

Hope it inspires a bit.

[Superhuman]

I have two 7 strings, an Ibanez Universe (custom) and a Ernie Ball Music Man Petrucci signature model. Schecter also make great guitars so well done on the win. The 7 strings add a really cool dimension to your playing, especially if you are playing metal. For traditional chords, you can still play as per usual just practice not picking the low string (just as you would play an A chord - you don't strum the E string).
The trick with getting the most out of the low B string is with the tone, I have read a number of articles and detailed posts on other sites that seems to support the idea of using light gauge strings - even though most 7 string guitars come equipped with heavier strings. Having tried both heavy and light on both of my 7 strings I have to agree, the tone is a lot clearer and there is much less chance of fret buzz on low action settings. The lighter the gauge the less mud when it comes to low tunings, also I would suggest rolling back the gain setting on your amp (more so than if you were playing a regular 6 string).
7 strings are great for arpeggios, you get a much easier pattern to work with on a sweep involving all 7 strings plus you can get a lot deeper harmonic tone off the low string. The real beauty is the low end of these guitars, with a good set of pickups behind them you will really notice that extra 'heavy' tone. If you don't like the pickups for any reason orif you are loking for something different tonewise in the future I would very highly recommend 'Dimarazio Evolution 7' pickups. I swapped the Breeds out of my Universe with these and now its my favourite guitar in my collection.
Another tip is not to play all riffs off the B string (especially the open string palm muted stuff), it works much better when used sparingly - the transition from the normal range of tone down to the low end adds serious kick to a song.
Only thing that causes me any problem is the extra hassle involved in tuning up all 7 strings on a floating trem system. It can take ages of frustrating fiddling to get it set up properly - if you have the facility, I woudl highly recommend you have a guitar tech set it up with a light gauge set of strings and intonate it for you.
Have fun with it, I basically view 7 string guitars as being 1 string better than 6 strings :) Stick with it and you should make the transition in no time and when you do, you probably won't ever want to look back.

[Superhuman]

Congrats on the win! I've never played one myself but I've seen them played. Here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wQ-5m9cPpA) is an example of one being used.

Hope it inspires a bit.

Here's something much better on a 7 string, I believe its eiher an Schecter or an ESP Ltd :) David Valdes, my favourite guitarist at the moment.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWp_DtjvvEo

If you like that clip , here is a better track on a 6 string Yamaha...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4ghUa97sMU&feature=related

And an even better one...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04-4e59YZ00&feature=related

[ChipShank]

I've got 3 7 stringers as well. 2 Deans (EVO AS7 / Avalanche 7) and a Squier Stagemaster 7....all 3 together, less than $600 total. LOL :D
There is nothing overly tricky about playing a 7 string, you just need to remember that they are typically setup with a low B string...so the tuning is B E A D G B E...Standard tuning, but with that low B String added. The main purpose of it, is just to let you get that ultra low end riffing, w/o having to tune your standard 6 string guitar down 2 full steps or more to get there. Your guitar still plays as a standard tuned instrument, meaning that cover tunes would sound the same without having to do any transposing, etc.

As for how to play it...pretty much same as normal, just remember that it's a low "B" string, so all the notes will be exactly the same as your regular "B" string, when it comes to scales, chords, etc.

An alternate way of tuning that I have seen, is to add a high "A" string (if I'm not mistaken) instead of the low B. I've come across several references to this sort of setup, but up to this point, it has been much less popular than going the low B string route. Mainly because it's been very hard to find a light enough gauge string to tune that high. Standard 9s/10s will typically snap before you even get them that high. There are a few string companies these days, who make gauges as light as 7s/6s so that they can be used in that manner...though the company names elude me right now. I'll update this if I can find them.

Don