Eight-string guitar
Aneight-string guitaris aguitarwith eight strings, or one more than theRussian guitar's seven. Eight-string guitars are less common than six- and seven-string guitars, but they are used by a fewclassical,jazz,andmetalguitarists. The eight-string guitar allows a wider tonal range, or non-standard tunings (such asmajor-thirds tuning), or both.
Various non-standard guitars were made in the 19th century, including eight-string guitars played by ItaliansGiulio RegondiandLuigi Legnani.[1]
Eight-string electric guitars gained popularity among metal bands, largely inspired by Swedishprogressive metalbandMeshuggah(formed in 1987). Contemporary use outside of metal has picked up in the last decade, and owes much toAnimals as Leadersand their stylistic eclecticism.
Designs
[edit]Semi-acoustic guitar (hollow-body guitar)
[edit]Seeking aguitar tuningthat would facilitate jazzimprovisation,Ralph Pattinventedmajor-thirds tuningin 1963.[2][3][4]Patt's tuning is aregular tuning,in the sense that all of theintervalsbetween its successiveopen stringsaremajor thirds;in contrast,standard guitar tuninghas one major-third amid fourfourths.[5]
Seven-string guitarsare needed for major-thirds tuning to have the E-e' range of the standard tuning.[5][6]Having an eight-string instrument allowed Patt's guitar to have G♯(equivalentlyA♭) as itsopen note.[6]Patt purchased six-stringarchtophollow-body guitarsthat were then modified by luthiers to have wider necks, wider pickups, and eight strings. Patt's Gibson ES-150 was modified by Vincent "Jimmy" DiSerio c. 1965.[4][6]LuthierSaul Kollmodified a sequence of guitars: a 1938 Gibson Cromwell, a Sears Silvertone, a c. 1922 Mango archtop, a 1951 Gibson L-50, and a 1932 Epiphone Broadway; for Koll's modifications, custom pick-ups accommodated Patt's wide necks and high G♯(equivalentlyA♭);[6]custom pick-ups were manufactured bySeymour Duncan[6]and by Bill Lawrence.[4]Roy Connors, former member of the 1960s folk singing group,The Highwaymen,reconfigured a Martin O-28 six-string guitar to an eight-string of his own design and received a U.S. Patent on it (#3269247).
Solid-body
[edit]Solid-body eight string guitars are also used by many bands today. The construction of a solid-body eight-string guitar is comparable to that of seven- and six-string variants. The standard tuning (from low to high) is F♯,B, E, A, D, G, B, E.[7]Many prefer to tune the F♯to a low E (E1), the same note as the lowest string on a four-stringelectric bassin standard tuning, and providing the guitar with a fuller sound by having three different E strings.[8]This tuning is equivalent to tuning a six-string guitar toDrop D tuning.
Like the seven-string, the first mass-produced eight-string guitar was made byIbanezguitars in Japan; theRG2228.[citation needed]
Scale length
[edit]The main design issue faced with an eight-string guitar is tuning stability with the lower strings. This is due to the neck being constructed too short, bridge problems such as improper intonation, uneven spacing for floating bridges, or the use of wrong string gauges. Other problems associated with tuning stability rely on the proper setup of the guitar.
Extended range eight string guitars sometimes will have amulti-scaledesign where the bass strings will be longer than the treble strings (fanned fret design). This helps with properintonationof the lower strings, improves string tension balance across the strings, improvesharmonic overtones,overtone series,and improvesinharmonicity.(See alsoinharmonicity in pianos). The bass strings on an 8 string typically require the saddle to be pulled back a bit more than the other strings to properly set the intonation. Some bridge designs accommodate this by offsetting back the 7th and 8th strings or providing a bit extra room for adjustment. Longer scale lengths require less offset for proper intonation.[citation needed]
Notable players
[edit]Classical
[edit]Paul Galbraithbegan using an eight-string guitar in 1994 when, in collaboration with luthierDavid Rubio,they designed theBrahms guitar.Galbraith generally tunes AEADGBEA. Egberto Gismonti(born 1947) is a Brazilian guitarist and pianist who favors the 8-string classical guitar.Livio Gianola(Premana, 1964) is an Italian guitarist. It is considered by the specialized critic "The Master of the Eight String Guitar".
Jazz
[edit]Hungarian born Australian Jazz guitaristLaszlo Sirsomplays 8-string jazz guitar made by Phil Carson Crickmore He's tuning as a normal guitar on the middle plus High A and lower B.Charlie Hunterplays an eight-string guitar made by Ralph Novak of Novax Guitars. Five of the strings are tuned to the standard guitar's upper five (A, D, G, B, E), while three of the strings are tuned to the standardbass guitar's three lowest (E, A, D). The bass and treble sections have separate pickups and are sent to separate amplifiers. Hunter also has a ten-string guitar based on the same principle—a combination of standard six-string guitar and standard four-string bass.[9]
Metal
[edit]The eight-string guitar is used by modernheavy metalguitarists such asFredrik ThordendalandMårten HagströmofMeshuggah,Dino CazaresofFear Factory,Stephen CarpenterofDeftones,Greg Burgess ofAllegaeon,Simon Girard and Kevin Chartré ofBeyond Creation,Justin Lowe and Trent Hafdahl ofAfter the Burial,Josh Travis ofEmmure(ex-The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganzaand ex-Glass Cloud), Per Nilsson ofScar Symmetryand Meshuggah as a touring member and others. The instrument is particularly associated with the “djent”sound popularized by Meshuggah,Vildhjarta,andPeriphery,among others.
Tosin Abasiand Javier Reyes ofAnimals as Leadersprimarily use a drop-E tuning (where the lowest string matches the E1 on a standard-tuned bass guitar) and incorporate "thumping," an adaptation of different bass guitar techniques — the term blankets all sorts of possible note groupings, but primary influences include a style á la funk bassistLarry GrahamandVictor Wooten's double thumping technique — as well as harp-like arpeggios extending across the full range of the instrument.
Ihsahnof theblack metalbandEmperorbegan playingseven-string guitarin 1999 and first played eight-string guitar on his 2010 albumAfter.
Rusty Cooleytunes his eight-string guitar like a standard six-string expanded in both directions. This tuning offers both deeper bass tones than a conventional guitar and extended range in the higher register for lead melodies.
GuitaristJustin Broadrickof the English industrial metal bandGodfleshintroduced his eight-string playing on the 2014 Godflesh EPDecline & Fall.
Guitarists Lucas Mann and Joel Omans from thetechnical deathcorebandRings of Saturnalso use eight-string guitars, with Mann primarily making use of a nine-string guitar for the band's 2019 albumGidim.Miles Dimitri Baker, one of their former members, also used one.
Chris Andrews of thedeath metalbandDevourmentuses eight-string guitars, starting with the albumObscene Majesty.
John Petrucciofprogressive metalbandDream Theaterplays an eight-string guitar on the song "Awaken the Master", from Dream Theater's 2021 albumA View from the Top of the World.
See also
[edit]- Brahms guitar
- Roy Smeck,popular player of the octachorda from the 1920s onwards
- Ten-string guitar
- Nine-string guitar
- Seven-string guitar
- Extended-range bass
- Harp guitar
- Eight-string bass guitar
- Chapman stick
References
[edit]- ^Noonan, Jeffrey (2008).The Guitar in America: Victorian Era to Jazz Age.American Made Music. University Press of Mississippi. p. 205.ISBN1934110183.
- ^Griewank (2010,p. 1)
- ^Kirkeby, Ole (1 March 2012)."Major thirds tuning".m3guitar. cited bySethares (2011)and (Griewank 2010,p. 1). Archived fromthe originalon 11 April 2015.
- ^abcPatt, Ralph (14 April 2008)."The major 3rd tuning".Ralph Patt's jazz web page.ralphpatt. cited bySethares (2011)andGriewank (2010,p. 1).Retrieved10 June2012.
- ^abSethares (2001)
- ^abcdePeterson, Jonathon (Winter 2002)."Tuning in thirds: A new approach to playing leads to a new kind of guitar".American Lutherie: The Quarterly Journal of the Guild of American Luthiers.72.Tacoma WA: The Guild of American Luthiers: 36–43 ].ISSN1041-7176.Archived fromthe originalon 21 October 2011.Retrieved9 October2012.: 37
- ^"8 String Guitar Tuning - All You Need To Know!".GuitarCasa.Retrieved19 April2021.
- ^"List Of Most Common 8 String Guitar Tunings - Guitar Lessons".Pickuptheguitar.2020-10-08.Retrieved2021-02-03.
- ^Alexander, Charles (2003).Masters of Jazz Guitar: The Story of the Players and Their Music.Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 180.ISBN0879307285.
Works cited
[edit]- Griewank, Andreas (2010),Tuning guitars and reading music in major thirds,Matheon preprints, vol. 695, Berlin, Germany: DFG research center "MATHEON, Mathematics for key technologies" Berlin,urn:nbn:de:0296-matheon-6755MSC-Classification 97M80 Arts. Music. Language. Architecture
- Sethares, Bill(2001). "Regular tunings".Alternate tuning guide(pdf).Madison, Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin; Department of Electrical Engineering. pp. 52–67.Retrieved19 May2012.2009 PDF version ofAlternate tuning guide,including a revised chapter on regular tunings
- Sethares, William A.(2011)."Alternate tuning guide".Madison, Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin; Department of Electrical Engineering.Retrieved19 May2012.
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