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Demo: Extended-Range Guitars

Are six strings not enough anymore?

For guitarists playing various styles of metal, jazz, ambient and experimental music, the range of a six-string guitar (even when down-tuned) may not provide enough low end. Ever since models like the Ibanez Universe charted the course for 7-string guitars in the early ’90s, manufacturers have continued to refine these extended-range instruments. They’ve also added more strings through the years, and though some traditionalists like to scoff and compare this to Gillette’s preoccupation with adding blades to their razors, these 8-string and 9-string guitars have legitimately changed the sound of music by creating entire subgenres based on their unique sound.

We recently got a whole slew of 7-and-8-string guitars, plus a 9-string guitar in the office, so we plugged them into a Line 6 Helix floorboard unit and let it rip! Check out the extended-range summit in the video above, and see even more extended-range guitars in our buying guide!

Extended Range Guitar Buying Guide

Featured Extended-Range Guitars

Ibanez RGIF8 Iron Label Fanned-Fret
Ibanez RG9QM
Ibanez RG9QM
Schecter Keith Merrow KM7
Schecter Keith Merrow KM7

Epiphone Limited Edition Matt Heafy Les Paul Custom-7
Epiphone Limited Edition Matt Heafy Les Paul Custom-7
ESP LTD Javier Reyes JR608QM
ESP LTD Javier Reyes JR608QM

Mark Holcomb Interview

RELATED:
Interview With Mark Holcomb of Periphery

 

So is there a limit to all this range? How many strings are too many? We may have found a number: 24. Twenty-four is too many. At least, it is on bass.

And don’t forget, you can always djent with just one string.

May 13, 2016Mason
Video6 years ago Gear Demos
Mason

Editor of the zZounds Blog. Donut snob. I love to write and to play guitar, so naturally, I love writing about guitars. My favorite kind of music is the kind that sounds like Muzak but cooler, you know?

Interview with Victor WootenEpisode 42 – Andrew Stockdale

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