Why are 7-strings going out of style?

[DoctorCrunch]

What's the deal? You don't see them much anymore, and they're not selling, apparently. Why do you gus think this is happening?

I love having the extra range, and I would think plenty of people would feel the same way. Is fashion dominating this trend? I hope not, because that's just silly.

[Two hands31]

Because most people fear change. A lot of people see the extra low notes as ridiculous, and they don't see the possibilities it opens up.

[trajectory fish]

I think there are also plenty of people who don't quite see that a 7 string can still do everything a 6 string can do. It would be nice to see them as often as 5 string bass guitars, but I still get a little kick out of being the only guy in town that plays 7's exclusively.

[Polaris20]

7 strings are not as popular anymore because most of the mainstream realized that they can do what they do on a downtuned 6, because their music didn't require the range of a 7, just the low tuning.

I like the fact that their not as popular anymore, because it makes it more exclusive to those that can actually make use of all 7 strings.

[guitarkatana]

7-strings never really attained that much popularity anyways. Maybe for a short while, but thats it.

Look on the bright side, we seven stringers are different from the rest. It feels good.

[Reaper]

Originally Posted by Polaris20

7 strings are not as popular anymore because most of the mainstream realized that they can do what they do on a downtuned 6, because their music didn't require the range of a 7, just the low tuning.

I like the fact that their not as popular anymore, because it makes it more exclusive to those that can actually make use of all 7 strings.

yeah, I think it's just that more people are simply downtuning 6-strings, rather than go out and buy a new axe for those low tunings.

[BrianH]

To be honest, nobody even notices I play a 7 except another guitar player. As far as audience, I get very few people who even notice. Strange... but true.

I like that they aren't popular too. Does put me in the rather exclusive club of almost all my guitars being 7s.

I also realize that the 7 isn't for everybody and many just don't want to put in any extra time b/c they feel it isn't worth it for what you get. Amitedly you have to get use to it, make it apart of you, and the really get the most out of it, you need to learn new, and to me exciting, chords etc....

[DoctorCrunch]

I have to admit I don't have the 7-string skill yet. To me, it seems that playing guitar automatically causes you to progress in your ability, and that playing a 7-string will automatically teach you to use it in ways that cannot be easily translated to 6-string. So, why not pick one up and learn, right? That's what I'm doing.

The simplest reason for seven strings: low range for rhythm AND retaining the high range for solos. I guess the nu-metal guys dominating rock radio don't need the high range (no judgement or offense intended there ).

[Alain]

I don't think 7 strings are really out of fashion. They had a high rise because Korn and Bizkit and some other nu-metal bands played them. But all brands and types have that. Remember grunge? Everybody had to have a Les Paul. And hair metal...
Every genre in rock has it's typical brands of guitars, 7string was in, now a bit out.
But...
How many here have 7string guitars? According to all posts, a lot! So We all have that guitar, why do we need more... (well we want lots and lots more, but...)
And there aren't that many types and colours in that brand too.

I personnaly think that a XL neck may be a trend to watch out for in the future.

[Drew]

Well, it's like what happened to pointy headstocks when hair metal went out of style... All the grunge guys were coming up with these really beat up, cheap, "vintage-styled" guitars and turning heads with their sounds, and suddenly the stigma of a pointy headstock, body with sharp contours and deep cutaways, and a floating bridge was just not good- it was, to quote your typical abercrombie-shopping blonde, "like, so last year..."

It's not that they're falling out of favor with people who like them- Jim Soloway has a great point, that the jazz community has a long, solid history of 7-string use, and that isn't likely to change just because all the trendy kids reading the trendy mags think that a seventh string is about as cool as a floating bridge was in '95.

It's just that, for the kids who go out and buy guitars with daddy's credit card to be just like their heros, a 7-string is no longer THE thing to look for in a guitar. Stores and manufacturers know they're going to be a hard sell to anyone who doesn't want/need the range already, so they don't waste their time making new models or trying to push kids into a 7420 instead of an Epi Les Paul.

Another thing that didn't exactly help was Ibanez's marketing policy... The UV was safely entrenched in the hands of Vai followers when Korn really hit it big, but was WELL out of the price range of your average kid looking for a 7 to play Korn and the like on. Rich can attest to the fact that the majority of kids who e-mailed him about 7's weren't looking for price quotes on new UV's or 7620's, but rather for a used, abused, player-condition UV. condition wasn't important, the lower price was. Hell, if it looked like a truck ran over the thing, so much the better- looked more badass. And when they introduced the K-7, they COMPLETELY missed the price point- sure, their other sig models were commanding high prices, but look at their target audience- Vai, Satch, Petrucci, Benson, and Scofield fans. The first two, odds are they were teenagers in the 80's, and have had the last 10 years or so to secure themselves good jobs- they can afford to swing that kind of cash. Jazz guitars are always expensive- comes with the territory. And Petrucci, although DT is more recent, still targeted the same crowd as the other shredders. In other words, we're dealing with guys who are willing to spend the cash. The new-metal crowd wasn;t.

On the bright side, there's hope: We've got the 1527 (i think), basically a reintroduced 7620, LISTING for under $800, and the new (6-string) MM being Korean-made to save costs a bit, and falling in the same price category. You could probably score these on the street for about $500, i'm guessing... It's high for your 16-year old, but accessable, especially in the case of the MM, where you get the prestige of a signature series at an affordable cost- the "coolness" factor is higher for them. They've learned their lesson... Only problem is, it could be too late to capitalize on the 7-string boom.

ok, enough for now.

-Drew

[Jim Soloway]

Originally Posted by Alain

I personnaly think that a XL neck may be a trend to watch out for in the future.

I'm glad you think so because I'm working very hard on bringing our my own line of 27 inch scale instruments. The first few witll be 7 strings and then I'll hopefully add a 6 sting model. If all goes well, I'll have the first unit ready to ship around May 1.

[ATDVSBL]

7's are hard to come by these days. For some reason, people only want what they see on MTV, if the "stars" dont use it, it must not be good. We all know that's a bunch of crap. With all due respect, "Manufactured music" should not dictate what the mags print and what radio plays.....but thats life. I don't agree with it, but that means more 7's for us. It also means a custom guitar may be the only way to get what you want. We need more mid and high end 7's, to balance things out.
The extended scale 7 is almost a must. The jazz guys tune to low A...ever hear a low A on a 25" scale? If it has wimpy 9's, it will just rattle around. Long scales and at least 10's sounds sweet. Just check out Jim Soloway, He has posted quite a few mp3's here and on his site. They serve as great jazz examples of using all 7 strings.

[bryangraye]

Even if players were thinking of a seven string, they might be hesitant to get an Ibanez. I know a few 'alternative' style musicians who wouldn't touch one to save their lives. I guess it's just like the old pointless Fender vs Gibson debates some devotees have. The only decent production 7s now are Ibanez (if no the only ones), so Fender/Gibson/ other players might just discard the idea straight off.

Although I'm keeping my UV, I'm looking at Fender strats now, because I want a maple board, Lace Sensors and a trem that allows for alternate tunings as well as minimizing the trem cavity (retain the wooden sound).

sooo what's the point of this? I don't know.

[Dylan7620]

korn hit big and people were like : yeah! they rock. and even though some of us might not admit it they did use alot more range than people thought. most people found out they could get the chugga chugga riffs and it would sound basically the same while saving a few hundred bucks. i guess you could say that people learned they ould paraphrase korns music without a high e string.

[The Dark Wolf]

Dylan, you hit the nail on the head. And then the bands on MTV and radio followed that same line of thinking, and even a few bands took it further, with a "Sevens suck" attitude (Slipknot comes to mind,) and then boom. The trend was over. But I'm glad it came. It allowed for more experimentation/exploitation of the 7string guitar, and that left us with some great instruments, like the RG2027XVV and the RG1077XL, not to mention others.