7 string guitars out of style?

[straymond]

do you think 7's are gonna go out of style as they once
did, or are they here to stay?

when we're on the subject:
8's... only for specially interested or the the next big thing?

[Two hands31]

They're coming back. There's quite a few bands still using them (Nevermore, Ra, Korn, and there's a bunch more I can't think of at this time of the morning).

[whatshisname]

The cool thing about alot of these new bands playing 7(and some eight)strings, is that they're using more than just the bottom two strings.

Never quite understood that... Why did some of these guys need more strings, when they actually used less? But I digress...

Yeah, they seemed to have disappeared for a while, and now I'm seeing alot more of them again.

[wemedge]

No, I don't think 7-strings will go out of style.

As far as music listening trends- certain types of music played on a 7-string may may experience and increase or decrease in popularity as times passes, i.e., bone-crunching low notes, etc.

However, in my opinion, as far as players are concerned, the ability of one to reach notes on the low A or B, or extra high note, whichever the case may be, will always be a good thing. The extended range is integral to the styles of players like John Pizzarelli, for example.

I can't see the 7-string going out of style.

The extended range doesn't mean that one needs to play all 7 or 8 strings all the time . If one listens to Beorge Van Eps, for example, one can hear that usually only three or four strings are being sounded at any one time.

wemedge

[Jim Soloway]

I think the 7-string is settling in to a very small niche and barring some sort of miracle, that's where it's going to stay. It won't go away because enough people have proven its true value for it to survive, but most of its previous momentum was only being driven by a desire to tune lower and the baritone actually does a better job of that than most 7-strings. The true benefit of a 7-string is not going lower, but increasing the total range of the instrument.

[The Dark Wolf]

Well said, Jim.

To elaborate, Vai brings us the 7-string Ibanez. It puts 7's on the register. Along comes Korn, and they really help propel the 7 into mainstream awareness. The inevitable copying/influenced by/ripoff, whatever you call it, comes along, and everyone wants to sound like Korn, or some derivitave thereof. But they only go with the heaviness of Korn, and overlook alot of the more funky, melodic things they did using the treble strings. So, for Korn, a 7 made sense. They needed range. But to everyone else who just sort of rode the 'Nu-Metal' bandwagon Korn (probably inadvertently) started, they just wanted to go lower. Hence, a baritone.

Jim's ideas make a lot of sense, esp. in this context.

I agree. 7's will be around for awhile. But I think I'm only 1 of a handful of 7 string players here in Toledo. Maybe the only one, actually playing out.

[Dylan7620]

i really dont think seven strings will ever become as popular as they did at the commercial pinacle of korn (97-01) or so. the people that use them now have more of a reason rather than because its trendy at the moment.

[Two hands31]

Originally Posted by Dylan7620

i really dont think seven strings will ever become as popular as they did at the commercial pinacle of korn (97-01) or so. the people that use them now have more of a reason rather than because its trendy at the moment.

I'd say that since the people that use them now have more of a reason than because it's trendy, then they'll finally gain some respect that they lost during the whole Korn thing (who, in fact, do use all 7 strings extremely frequently).

[Sephiroth000]

The fact that they are not all that popular keeps used prices very manageble.

I also like the fact the I kinda stand out from most other players due to the fact that I only use a 7 string now. Allthough this does not always mean it's a good thing..

[Two hands31]

Originally Posted by Sephiroth000

I also like the fact the I kinda stand out from most other players due to the fact that I only use a 7 string now. Allthough this does not always mean it's a good thing..

When would that not be a good thing?

[The Dark Wolf]

Originally Posted by Two hands31

When would that not be a good thing?

I agree. Everytime another guitarist sees me with my guitar, and lots of time even non-guitarists, they all go, "Wow! Is that a 7-string?" with either A) a big grin, or B) a look of wonderment.

Pretty cool.

[hobz]

I find that a lot of the teens in school who are just picking up guitar as a hobby tend to think that an Ibanez 7-string (especially the K-7) is the coolest guitar you could own. 7-strings certainly have the cool factor, and are different. The wide neck, low notes, it's very appealing to a large group of people, so there will always be a market for them there, and it is advantageous to some serious guitar players who want to extent their range. So yeah, I can't see the 7-string straying too far.
Wahoo!

[Chud]

7-strings can't really go out because of them being damn good

I can play pretty much anything (bar 8string songs) on my 7, so i see no need for buying any other guitars for live work (apart fom backups )

[the.godfather]

Yeah I agree. I dont have a 7string at the moment. I owned for a little while and loved it. I have just been waiting for the "right" one to pop-up at a good price. I liked it because it opened a new world kinda thing. It just gives you the extra oomph when ya need it. And as Chud says, you can play almost anything on one.

I think if Vai started playing them more often again. Like he did a while back, in the PAW days or something - they would defenitly come back into fashion more. People would be back buying them more again.

But only time will tell. I cant see them dying out - they have been around too long now.

[guitarkatana]

Honestly, it no longer concerns me if 7 strings go out of style.