Prolly a dumb question but...

First off - not sure if this is in the right section. Please move it if it needs to be moved.

Second - without realizing it, I asked for a 7-string guitar for Christmas. When I got it, I went Oh boy, should have looked closer. But, didn't want to return it for the 6-string model because my dad went through quite a bit of trouble to get it to me, since I live so far away from him. :)

ANYWAY, my point - I am actually a bass player who decided to learn regular guitar as well, but...I'm not used to 6 teeny tiny strings, let alone 7. Would it be wiser for me to:

1. take the 7th string off, learn the basics on 6, and then stick the 7th on when I'm used to playing, or

2. Leave the 7th string on, and get used to where it is and playing around it but probably not using it at all because I have no idea why/how I would use it, haha.

Thanks in advance for your help.

If you're completely new to guitar, taking off the 7th string is probably a good idea so that t doesn't confuse you when learning open chords and stuff. But anything you can do on a 6 string can be done on a 7 string, so you shouldn't worry too much about it.

Yea I would have to agree. If you are a beginner, your best bet would be to remove the 7th string. It is basically the same as a six with just the added 7th (B) string on the bottom for a lower range.

Simply just taking it off would likely help prevent confusion when learning to play your standard six string.

Killer. Thanks!

Originally Posted by: punkyrubberducky41. take the 7th string off, learn the basics on 6, and then stick the 7th on when I'm used to playing, or

You may want to face the ridicule of an expert set up person at a store to help you do this. If the guitar has a Floyd Rose type tremolo, you would have to have help to do this at all since spring tension is set for the load of 7 strings. Even if you do not have a Floyd on the guitar, taking that tension off the truss rod might not be good for the neck unless adjusted to meet the different tension load.

...and hey, we all make mistakes....I just spent $100 on an external hard drive for my Mac and it was PC only...That, I'd say, was epic dumbness on my part ;)

Oh eep. Totally didn't think of that, and like everyone else in the universe, don't quite have the $$ to sink into rearrangings of strings and other such things. Back on it goes! Thanks for the tip though, don't want to break Mr Geetah only 2 weeks after having him, haha. (Guitars are usually female, aren't they? But most players are male so...I guess mine is male, since I am female. /shrug)

Sorry about the external, but I did get some srs lulz out of that. :)

PS - My husband says they can usually be reformatted for Mac. So maybe you didn't screw up.

The good news is this: if you get used to that Low B string, you'll be prepared to play a 6-String bass, which also starts on Low B. The other option is sending me the 7-String guitar. Is it an Ibanez? :)

-Carl.

Originally Posted by: punkyrubberducky4My husband says they can usually be reformatted for Mac. So maybe you didn't screw up.

...and I actually did that yesterday :D

Originally Posted by: JeffS65
...and hey, we all make mistakes....I just spent $100 on an external hard drive for my Mac and it was PC only...That, I'd say, was epic dumbness on my part ;)

A PC only hard drive? Never heard of such a thing. It probably just has some lame proprietary software. You should be able to format it with Disk Utility and get it working.

Sorry to get off topic :P

Originally Posted by: JeffS65...and I actually did that yesterday :D

Oh, I'm dumb. lol

Bahahahahaha. Computer help. <3

@Carl...nope, Schecter. I'm rather attached though, so I will be hanging onto him. Can we say, BATS!! BAAAAAATTTTTS!!!! There are bats on the neck! Not sure it gets any cooler/more BA than bats.

Also, like heck I'm good enough for a 6 string bass, or ever will be. :/

I honestly would stick with the 7 string to avoid having to do any crazy set up work like what was mentioned. Anything you can do on a 6 string you can do on a 7 string, and not so much the vice versa. However, you will have to hurdle over that low string to play some basic chords as most lessons are taught on a 6 string.

If you come from a bass background, the sound of that 7th string may work for you in many creative ways. The 7 string guitar is most commonly used in metal and jazz music. If either of these are of interest to you, than you have a very creative tool to use by way of a unique instrument.

I would stay stick with it for a while and see if it works for you. If you find after several months that the 7th string is not much of an advantage to you, than perhaps you could trade it in for something that works better for you. Give it a shot and see.
:eek: