7 String problems - Going back to 6 is weird

[Pablo]

Right I've been playing my 7 exclusively for a week. I then decide to pick up one of my other guitars.

The guitar in question was one of my eggle's which has a narrow neck even compared to a normal RG

I picked it up and it felt like a stick a kids plaything.

It's amazing how quickly you become accustom to a 7 string neck.

P

[bob oakman]

Yeah! Isn’t that right. I have nothing against 6-strings mind you, but it feels like there’s something missing when I play one now. I don’t always use that 7th string for anything super interesting, but just knowing it’s there is comforting somehow.

[steve]

Indeed - just feeling that extra mass resonating along with the rest, contributing that extra beef to everything... Your mind and hands become accustomed to the new geometry of the 7-String set-up, where the D string is the 'center,' the pivotal point. I feel quite lost on a 6 string. I've been playing 7 exclusively since early '91 myself.
I agree; nothing against 6 strings; it's just not what I'm used to.
Some folks have no problem switching back and forth - for me, it was something of a commitment, a big change.

(BTW: Bob, your JiBob is outstanding! You blend in that 7th nicely (on topic! =]) - and your sense of fun and humour is to be applauded. A real breath of fresh air.)

[sepsis311]

I have gotten used to the string spacing, especially on the floyd, on my Ibanez 7's. When i try to play gibson les pauls which i love the tone and look of, i suffer dramatically. That's why i'm waiting for the Les Paul Axcess

[TMatt142]

I agree as well.....Just picked up my S-470 today after exclusively playing my RG7620 for the last few months. You know, I used to think that the neck on the S was so thin but after playing my 7 for so long I find I'm just not as hip on the Wizzard II neck profile. I know weird but I'm digging my 7 so much I may never go back to a six stringer. I figured I'd keep the S around but...Nah...no need anymore. I'll be putting it back up for sale shortly....

[timi_h]

i still play 6ers loads, but they do feel really easy to play cos of the better angle you can get your fingers at after learning to wrestle with that big ol 7 string neck!
i consider a 7 string a worthwhile purchase for that alone!

[wildchild247]

I hate playing 6s now cos they give my hand cramps as the feels like nothing, I have been playing 7s for about a year without touching a 6 and its like new territory when I go to 6s

I guess the best way to keep you hand from cramping up is to change back and forth between a 7 and 6

[Algiman]

I've never had the slightest problem going from 6 to 7, but the reverse always throws me a bit.

[rvai]

I dontīt own a 7, but for me is seems kind of weird to play one, because I havenīt played a 7 for a extended period of time, enough to feel comfortable with it, but like bob said, I guess its like having one trem guitar and a hardtail guitar, even when I donīt need to use the trem I feel like something is missing on my sg and my other guitars lol, anyway Iīm buying my first sevn stringer in a couple of months, not sure what iīll ue it for, but it seems interesting lol

[wildchild247]

Originally Posted by rvai

I dontīt own a 7, but for me is seems kind of weird to play one, because I havenīt played a 7 for a extended period of time, enough to feel comfortable with it, but like bob said, I guess its like having one trem guitar and a hardtail guitar, even when I donīt need to use the trem I feel like something is missing on my sg and my other guitars lol, anyway Iīm buying my first sevn stringer in a couple of months, not sure what iīll ue it for, but it seems interesting lol

when you do decide to get it play the 7 string for one solid week and dont touch a 6 stringer, it will force you to adapt to the 7 and with regards to 7 string guitars go with either schecter or carvin and for a beater rg 7321

[C.Thep]

had the same problem too. it feels like "woah, this is only one string less?"

[Drew]

I guess the fact this was a seven year bump is kind of appropriate.

Really, the more you do it, the easier it gets. I'm perfectly comfortable on both my Strat and my sevens these days. However, when I first made the switch, totally different story. I kept reaching for notes that weren't there on my 6, lol.

The best story I can tell though, was the first show (I think) I played with both a 6 and a 7. It was being filmed for some local public access TV show which just adds that much more humor to the situation, but I opened the show with two songs on my seven string. The third track we were doing was a cover of "Sweet Home Alabama," and my Stratocaster seemed to be the most appropriate guitar for the song. So, I picked it up and broke into the intro.

Suddenly, I yelled out, "Hold up guys, I'm out of tune!" because the notes coming off the guitar just sounded wrong. So we stopped, and the almost simultaneously I realized that not only was it tune, my fingers were also in the correct positions. What'd happened was I was expecting the sounds to come out a 4th lower than they were. I was playing the right notes in the right positions, but my head expected them to be lower, so they sounded wrong to me.

These days, though, like I said, I feel perfectly comfortable on both. In fact, finally after playing sevens more-or-less exclusively for... seven or 8 years now, I guess, I'm starting to play my long-neglected Strat more than I used to because at the end of the day, six strings or seven, they're both guitars, and I own a pretty kickass strat. I still spend a solid 80% or so of my playtime on my UV, but that's up from 99.9% even a few years ago.