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What’s The Point Of A 7-String Guitar?
The guitar is undoubtedly the most well-known musical instrument all over the world and is seen to be played in almost all parts of the world out there. That makes guitars not only extremely widespread but also diverse and you may be seeing completely different shapes, types, and varieties of guitars with various options of them available in the market as well.
The reason for all this diversity is just about the same and you get to enjoy totally different genres, cultures, and authenticity of the region from all these different sorts of guitars. Primarily there are two kinds of guitars nowadays acoustic and electric guitars but there are tons of sub-types amongst these as well that vary on basis of features and stuff.
All about 7 String Acoustic guitar you need to know that is one such kind of acoustic guitar that’s pretty nice to use and you’ll find it better at times since there’s an additional extra string on the guitar which means some extra tones on it as well. A couple of such features and characteristics that you’ll want to know about the 7-string acoustic guitar could be:
The Benefits Of Seven String Guitars
In case you’ve never played, or heard of a seven-string guitar before, you may be questioning what they’re even used for. Well, right now you’re in luck because we’ve got an answer for you!
- Extended range of the extra bass string range of a guitar by five notes in standard tuning and seven notes in drop tuning.
- Arpeggios are simpler to play in drop tuning.
- They make barre basic chords sound powerful.
- You’ll be able to cover some of your favorite songs with them.
- You will be more expressive while playing the lead guitar.
- You have the advantage of a 6-string guitar with an extra string to minimize constant down tuning.
- They sound wonderful for metal music.
Design
The overall design is just about the same as electric guitars and you’ll hardly notice any difference from afar. One of the best things about seven string acoustic guitars is that an individual who is just not into guitars will be unable to even tell that you’re playing a seven-string acoustic or a 6-string acoustic. But, some key elements are changed on the seven-string guitar to make it possible to adjust all these seven strings there.
To begin on that, you’ll be noticing that the fretboard is definitely a bit wider than the 6-string guitars and that’s actually necessary to adjust that extra string on the guitar fretboard. Along with that, you get a bit extra room on the bridge as well, because the bridge needs to be made wider as well. Besides that, the overall guitar design is kept identical and you could find some solid-body and even hollow-body guitars with seven strings on them.
Tuning
In fact, it is not standard tuning because you’re getting one extra string on the guitar, so you have to tune it accordingly and that might mean you’re going to require certain experience for that. While the 6-string guitars could be tuned pretty simply no matter what tuner you’re using, you’ll need to be careful about having the 7-string guitar tuned since you’ll need the appropriate tuner with it for standard tuning.
Not only that, there’s much more including getting your hands on the strings perfectly and adjusting them in the correct manner. It’s better when you learn to tune the 7-string guitars beforehand so you’re sure that you are able to do it right. Tuning is among the major factors that play an extremely important function in playing the guitar and getting the right tones on it and that’s the reason seven-string guitar would need a bit extra effort to make it give you the results you want.
Playing Style
The tunes are pretty much the same, and you’ll play it the same approach as you’ll be playing every other acoustic guitar since there usually are not many changes in the tones, and you’ll not want to worry about that.
You simply have to make sure that you are choosing the genre right and then tuning your seven-string acoustic guitar accordingly so it is going to be worth paying for, and that needs to be the best thing that you could get. The playing style and fingerpicking methods may be varying too.
You get to enjoy a much better and stabler experience, with the seven-string guitar because you get an additional string to pick. But, it could get a bit complicated as the 7-string guitars are different from the 6-strings, and in case you have learned to play guitar on a 6-string guitar, you will discover yourself in a fix while playing the 7-string guitar.
Practicality
While not all guitarists would conform to the actual fact, 6-string guitars and 7-string guitars are no different and you can choose all the tones on them the way you wish. Most significantly, you’ll need to know and understand that these guitars are almost the same when it comes to tunes, pickup styles, and almost every other notable characteristic that you might have an opportunity of getting on these.
The 6-string guitar is definitely a bit more practical for everybody to use, since it’s handy to tune and manage, and you got fewer strings to study at the same time.
However, the idea of getting freedom and one additional string to be played sounds fun to some individuals out there and they might like to get their hands on the 7-string guitar since it’s some sort of a brand new journey for them that they’ll use to learn and play their guitar with.
Is it Worth a Change?
In case you are making an attempt to buy a brand new guitar, and are searching for something that might add a learning edge for you, and you can play it in the best manner, you’ll not be dealing with any issues and it needs to be easier for you to be taught on the 7-strings guitar from scratch and you will be able to play it as simply as well on the same time.
Moving forward, if you already have the 6-string acoustic guitar and you might be searching for an upgrade, then it might not be worth it and you will get all of the tunes and playing styles on the 6-string guitar as well as you’ll be able to play on the 7-string guitars.
So, it’s simply best to stay to what you’ve got and keep improving your playing style and technique to make it work for you in a better manner. The 7-string guitar is great, but not definitely worth the upgrade unless you might want to have it for some specific performance or genre that you may be searching for.
Are 7-String Guitars For Beginners?
It’s not as common to see a beginner guitarist beginning with a 7-string, however, it is very possible. There are disadvantages that may slow down the training process, but with dedication and constant practice, it is achievable. For example, the neck of a 7-string guitar is slightly wider than a 6-string guitar. This could trigger an underdeveloped beginner to have a tougher time being able to properly fret chords.
Additionally, the scale length of a 7 string is often longer than a 6 string. This will make it harder for a beginner to stretch their fingers as the fret spacing is slightly wider. If they have long fingers this won’t be as much of an issue then if they had shorter, smaller fingers. Both ways, it goes, it simply depends on what style of music they play, and the drive to make the guitar a long-term commitment.
As we discussed earlier, a 7-string guitar is just a 6-string with a low B string at the top of the neck. Apart from the scale length and the neck width, a beginner can ignore the low string at first, and gradually learn to include it here and there as time goes on.
What to Look for in a 7-string Guitar
Neck Shape
Probably the most vital point to consider is the shape of the neck. A 7-string guitar has a wider neck than a 6-string so the shape of the neck does make an enormous difference in how comfy the guitar is to play. When you have large hands you won’t want to think about this, but when your hands are smaller, be sure you choose a guitar with an appropriate neck.
7-string guitars by Schecter and ESP tend to have thicker necks, followed by Jackson which tend to be a bit thinner. Ibanez 7 strings are popular for their thin necks while still being strong enough to support the additional string tension. Take into consideration what type of neck you want on a 6-string guitar and the chances are your selection would be the same on a 7-string.
Fanned Frets
You could have seen some guitars like this and questioned what the deal was:
These are known as fanned frets or multiscale guitars. The basic concept behind fanned frets is that a longer scale increases string tension. If the scale is too short on a 7 string, the low string can feel loose. A multiscale guitar means that you can have nice tight tension within the lower strings and lower tension within the higher strings.
As you can imagine, playing the guitar with fanned frets may be very different from regular parallel frets. Some guitarists love them and others hate them. So while there are some advantages to having a multiscale guitar, you have to decide whether these advantages are worth the change in feel.
In case you’re worried about not getting enough tension on a regular 7-string guitar, try using heavier gauge strings.
Bands That Use 7-String Guitars
There are a plethora of many guitarists that equip themselves with this unique and convenient guitar. Nearly all of them are Rock and modern metal bands, but it is usually used and sounds great with Jazz, Blues, and Funk. With Funk, it almost sounds like Slap Bass Guitar.
Here’s a list of 10 bands that use a 7-string guitar:
- Korn
- Meshuggah
- Dream Theatre
- Periphery
- Intervals
- Monuments
- Deftones
- Steve Vai
- Tesseract
- Trapt
The 7-string guitar has been a big piece of modern music. It’s widely used and very frequent these days. Certain bands have used it as a stamp for their sound, and have molded it into the instrument it is at present.
Conclusion
7-string guitars are an excellent instrument to have in your arsenal. As you’ll be able to see there are lots of things you can do with them to develop your creativity on the guitar. They take a little bit of getting used to, but when you get the hang of them, they turn into second nature.
We encourage you to surf the web and take a look at totally different artists and bands that use 7-string guitars to get the feel of what they sound like and the way they’re used in common situations. In case you decide to purchase one you won’t be disappointed. It gives you a challenge, and makes it easier to turn into a better guitarist all around!
