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!

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Featured Extended-Range Guitars

  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.