My 8-string...Part I (Pics inside!)

[frankfalbo]

Originally Posted by Jem7RB MK

Or my original idea of 2 edge's ;-)

I was thinking about that yesterday and I figured and OFR baseplate would be easier to work with, since it's thin and flat. You could make the split at any point since the radius isn't cut into the baseplate. You'd need to have the screwholes for the block line up somehow, or make a custom block (no way!). On either one, you'd be shimming the two middle saddles. You could also reinforce the OFR with a thin sheet of metal epoxied across the whole bottom of the baseplate. Or find someone to stamp out a custom baseplate and thread/cut your own! Finally, you could take a TRS-7 type trem, and simply mount a fixed style "extra" saddle to the edge of the baseplate. There're dozens of ways to make that work. On an Edge 7 you could take advantage of the pre-drilled lefty trem arm hole to drill a smaller string hole, and use a bass string with some special saddle built right there. It would look pretty neat, to have an eigth "phantom" string shooting out of the side. You couldn't fine tune it, but you could just use a 7-string lock nut and bone or graphite on the eighth. Actually you could fine tune it if you drilled and tapped that slanted back edge of the baseplate and rigged it up to pull or release the ball end.

[guitarkatana]

Originally Posted by The_Grindfiend

That is a great looking guitar, and I can't wait to see/hear the finished product.

On another note, all this 8 string excitement recently has gotten me really itching for one, which leads me to a very important question. Is there ANY way to build one with a Floyd-style trem on the top 6 strings and the lowest two fixed without having to have a totally custom bridge designed and built? I want an 8, but I don't get along too well with fixed bridges.

Sure, you could do this. The top 6 string strings could be on a floyd and the 2 low strings could be on a little fixed bridge next to the floyd. The only problem is that there will be a big space between the top 6 strings and low 2 strings, and the neck of the guitar will be really freakin wide. But if you think you can get by that, go for it.

Oh, and it'll be pretty much impossible to build an 8 string wihtout getting a custom bridge of some type built. The Floyd will obviously be the floyd, not a custom bridge. But for the rest of the strings, the bridge will have to be custom, since no one makes a bridge for two string guitars.

[Jammy]

Originally Posted by guitarkatana

But for the rest of the strings, the bridge will have to be custom, since no one makes a bridge for two string guitars.

But you can, of course, buy single string bridges (individual ones). I think they have some over at universal jems...

-better shred than dead-ANDY

[guitarkatana]

Cool. Would that be kinda like those individual string bridges on some Ibanez Basses?

[Jammy]

yeah, I suppose....


-better shred than dead-ANDY

[The_Grindfiend]

Been doing some thinking and mulling over past 8 string posts/pictures, and I have a question. Remeber PerpetualBurn's 8 string?

http://www.jemsite.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=27180

It's awesome, but anyway, would it be possible to use a tailpiece like that one has on there except have a trem and a couple individual bridges behind it, so that all the strings would intonate from the tailpiece? Am I being clear? Thanks guys.

[Jammy]

Now THAT is a clever idea It would have to be a total custom job, probably with roller saddles - but it sure would be cool. A bigsby for the 21st century!

-better shred than dead-ANDY

[darren wilson]

Just to clarify... that kind of bridge system has two parts, the bridge (where the strings break over and the intonation is done) and the tailpiece, where the string ball ends are anchored.

So are you proposing a fixed bridge like that with a Bigsby-style tremolo tailpiece and then two fixed tailpieces for the lowest two strings? (You could also run them through the body and eliminate the need for a tailpiece altogether.)

You won't get the kind of trem range you're used to with a Floyd, but i don't see why it wouldn't work.

[davester1234]

at least someone won't be hooking their right thumb over the fretboard while they're soloing LOL!

[guitarkatana]

I don't have a clue what you're talking about.

[pawel]

Originally Posted by davester1234

at least someone won't be hooking their right thumb over the fretboard while they're soloing LOL!

How exactly do you hook the right thumb over?

[darren wilson]

Originally Posted by pawel

How exactly do you hook the right thumb over?

Some people *are* left-handed.

[pawel]

Originally Posted by darren wilson

Some people *are* left-handed.

Lol, I know, I just thought that davester would be talking from a righty perspective and I wanted to be an a$$

[Two hands31]

I hook my thumb over the edge of the neck on my 7-string (and we're not talking thin-Ibanez neck, it's a Schecter which is a little thicker I think) while playing chords on the low-B string, bring on an 8-string

[sam669]

I have pretty big hands, but this is just weird... what chords do you play when you have your thumb up there, I gotta see if I can do it!