Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: North London, innit bruv, safe, UK
Posts: 1,722
Re: 6 String VS 7 String
I dunno, i got my first seven string about 4-5 years ago now, and the transition was quite natural.
I mainly decided on one as I've always played heavily downtuned and got sick of problems with action and having to have a wound g-string. That and the pickups always had quite a bit of mud in them when downtuned.
Anyway, apart from the extended scale in one position, you also get to do walking basslines, have a good setup for low tunings and get a good sound out of the low notes. All that and it just feels natural to me now, I kind of miss the extra string on the 6. Also I find with a 7 you start to get weirder ideas when it comes to chords and experimentation. AND you can play anything you can play on a 6string, in fact using two "views" as it were, one with the 7th string being dominant (as looking at a 6 string with an extra trebel) and one where the low string is seen as an extra and you play it like a 6 string and throw it in when needed is a good way to go about it.
Having said that, it isn't for everyone, but personally I think they are great. I feel a bit naked with a 6string!