7-string players: why play 7 strings?

[Anthony Parish]

Genuine curiosity... Why do you 7-string players play 7 strings?

6 strings are conventional, simple, and allow for various tunings. There's lots of charts and whatnot for 6 strings.

8 strings offer a broader range of pitch and even more tuning possibilities. 8 strings get you everything you get with 7 strings, and then some.

7 strings seems just... Odd. I'm sure I'm missing something.

So, to the world's best group to answer this question, what is it about 7 strings that makes you reach for THAT guitar?

Tony Parish

[Noah Miller]

I play A6 tuning, and 7 strings allows me the root on the bottom and the fifth on top with no gaps in between. It maximizes what I can play with minimal movement of the bar. An 8-string equivalent would normally mean putting a 6th in the bass, which I don't find useful.

[Allan Revich]

Easy for me to answer!

7 strings gives me my favourite 6 string open major chord tunings, and lets me add the “magic 6” somewhere—without losing any of my other strings.

Why not 8 strings? Why bother making my life more complicated than it needs to be?

For example my current 7 string favourite is GBDEGBD. The 8 string versions of G6 are either EGBDEGBD or GBDEGBDE. The low E gets into bass territory, and the high E puts a 6 on top for major chords, which I don’t like, or need.

At the end of the day it always comes down to personal preference and what works for the music one plays. Plenty of steel greats made careers out of 135135 and 151351, while others wanted 3 tunings and 24 strings to accomplish what they wanted.

[Eric Dahlhoff]

7 strings seems just... Odd. I'm sure I'm missing something.

I find an odd number of strings easier to keep track of. 6 I can handle. With 8 I get lost.
Everybody is different!

[Mike Christensen]

You can also put the seventh in place of the sixth and have a very different sound and easy to play, In either case you need to learn to dance around those notes when you dont want them. It is nice to have the one on the bottom and I also like the five on top. On a six string I would use a 356135 but many also play 135613' I think 7 string guitars have a cool factor also. My stringmaster necks are 61356135 and 51357135. working for me for now' That being said 6 strings will play it all just fine. Happy Trails. MikeC

[Jack Hanson]

What Noah, Allan, Eric, & Mike said!

Like Noah, I also play some A6. I also prefer the root on the bottom, and like having a fifth on top (1356135). In C6 on a seven string, I feel the top string (a high G) is too skinny, too "whiney" and thin-sounding. A6, with an E on top, is a great compromise.

Allan's sentiments mirror mine, although he experiments with more tunings than I do. I pretty much stick with standard C6 on my six strings, and A6 on my seven strings -- although one of 'em is set up in C6 with a re-entrant string in the lowest position, which I tune to a flatted seventh, which results in a C13. I'm not hesitant to tweak a string or two up or down to achieve something different, like C6/A7 or B11.

Like Eric, for whatever reason, I've never been able to wrap my brain around eight strings. Six are good; Seven is fine. Eight? Uh-uh!

Mike knows what he's talking about.

[D Schubert]

I don't have a seven string, but I think I'd like 7 vs 8 on an acoustic/ resonator guitar for a little wider string spacing for my right hand. I'm thinking GBDEGBD.

[David Cook]

Hi
I mostly play 7 strings on a 8string dobro because of string spacing and less pressure on the cone. On lap steel I like to keep the same relations so I Play either G6 or A6 with different lap steels

[Michael Kiese]

The most common use for 7 string is for A6 tuning. 6 string A6 tuning lacks the root, so that’s where the extra string helps.

Uncle Bobby Ingano primarily uses 7 string C6 with a High G, and uses that as his primary tuning. It’s amazing how much he can do on it.

Like someone else mentioned, having 8 strings can throw you off visually. So some players, like Uncle Bobby consolidate and it’s a valid approach. Nobody questions your decisions when what you play sounds good.

As for me, I have 6, 7, and 8 strings.

6 string C6 is home for me. That said, forcing myself to take C6 8-string out on gigs has been very good for me. It forced me to get acquainted and adapt. I use ACEGACEG for C6, and sometime ACEGACED. That is a re-entrant high D which is buddy Emmons’s C6.

I first learned Sleepwalk on a 6 string. I borrowed Uncle Bobby’s S8 stringmaster for a gig in Waikiki last time I visited home, and boy did that top string throw me off! lol! But now I can do it no problem. In fact, I like the extra options it gives me.

I recently started trying out Mike Neer’s GACEGACE C6.

All those versions of C6 have been very good for my brain. It forces you to see the tuning from different perspectives.

Each version has different advantages and tradeoffs, and it’s all C6.

The more I delve into C6, the more I see how powerful it is. You can change just one note and get C6/A7, or change another note and get Aminor6.

I have two 7 strings, a Bakelite and a 1937 Epiphone electar. The Bakelite is in A6, and the electar is in a 7 string version of Jerry Byrd’s E9.

From what Rick Aiello told me, Jerry used to always keep an 8 string frypan in E9. But I figured a 7 string would do just fine.

After studying Jerry’s transcriptions, he rarely touches those lowest strings. That’s something I noticed a lot across many players who play 8 string steels. They rarely play that lowest string. It’s just too low and in bass player territory.

So 7 string steels are very pragmatic from a players perspective. But 8 string steels are pragmatic from the builders perspective. It’s a pain for builders to make 7 pole pickups, and to source 7 string tuner setups.

In the end, it’s all just what you like.

Whatever I have in front of me 6, 7, or 8. It all makes me happy. With 6, I’m happy because everything is so simple, so it forces me to play with more feel, and to really play stuff that complements the singer. With 7 and 8, I have much more improv and chord options. They all make me play different, and it’s all C6.

Everything I learn or discover on one, I try to apply to the other. Like I said, it’s been good for my brain.

[Andy Volk]

You don't see many 7-strings hit the market but Gryphon has one now for sale ...

https://www.gryphonstrings.com/products ... steel-used

[Michael Kiese]

You don't see many 7-strings hit the market but Gryphon has one now for sale ...

https://www.gryphonstrings.com/products ... steel-used

Nice looking instrument. But at $3,500 for a Bakelite, I don’t think it will sell. It’s just too high of an asking price.

I got lucky, but my 7 string prewar Bakelite, I got for $800 and that was a couple years ago.

Maybe some collector or Blues Lawyer will buy it. lol.

[Andy Volk]

Agree re the price. I saw two perfect Bakelite six-strings for sale 1.5 years ago at the music emporium for $1700 and $1800.

[D Schubert]

Blues Laywer

[Stanislav Paskalev]

An extra string or two, tuned half or full step away can be very useful for playing trills. Those ornaments have been used for centuries in music and not being able to easily do them on the steel is a shame.

[Fred]

I've always wanted a 7 string instrument tuned like a Dobro G with an E in the middle.
5 High
3
R
6
5
3
R Low

Unfortunately I've only ever had 6 and 8 string instruments. I occasionally shop around for a 7 string dobro.

[Michael Kiese]

Blues Laywer

Hey, they exist! Lol.

They have all the most expensive vintage gear, and they play 12 bar blues, singing about their problems and woes.

Then you go “wow you must have it pretty bad to be able to afford to play through that dumble.”

And not to knock these guys. If they have the money, why not spend it on nice things?

But, it is a real phenomenon. 1st world problems. Lol.

[Gary Meixner]

Tony,

I regularly play a homemade seven-string guitar tuned to C13 (Bb C E G A C E). The utility of the Bb is hard to beat. The reason I don’t just opt for an eight-string guitar is I prefer a wider string spacing. The standard 3/8” string spacing on most eight-string guitars isn’t comfortable for me so I use an eight-string pickup with a bar magnet and adjust they string spacing to my liking. I don’t seem to miss the low G.

Gary

[Anthony Parish]

So many good perspectives here. For instance, I hadn't been thinking about string spacing at all when I asked the question.

[BJ Burbach]

Wait... If a Rick (or Fender) cost that much this year and half the time the pickup isn't quite right, or whatever = more $;
Is it now cheaper to just get a Clinesmith??

BJ

[Pete Martin]

Blues Lawyer

I know several musician lawyers up here. They are all intermediate bluegrass banjo players. I often see them at the beer garden at festivals hanging out together.

Do you know why sharks don’t eat lawyers?

Professional Courtesy

[Michael Kiese]

Wait... If a Rick (or Fender) cost that much this year and half the time the pickup isn't quite right, or whatever = more $;
Is it now cheaper to just get a Clinesmith??

BJ

Aloha BJ,

Only Rickenbacher Frypans get around $3,500 - $7,000. They're very rare and also very desirable. I think only 1,200 total were ever made across all eras.

I had resigned myself to never owning one because during COVID, the prices for all music gear went INSANE. I saw a 7 string Frypan with serial # 001 on Reverb, and I think it sold for $7,000. I heard tell that someone in Hawai'i bought it.

Anyways, I couldn't justify spending that much, but lo and behold, I got an A25 for $3,000 including shipping on Reverb, then a year later I found an early 1930s A22 online at a Guitar Center in Lafayette, LA for $3,000. I scooped those up quick.

Just goes to show if you're patient, the deal will come your way.

Most people on Reverb or eBay are flippers. They make a living going to estate sales and auctions. They know what to look for, and they buy 'em low, and then double the prices, and let them sit on eBay or Reverb for 6-12 months.

Just because they list at those prices, it doesn't mean that they sell for those prices.

Motivated sellers always drop the prices to something reasonable.

$3,500 for a 7 string pre-war Bakelite in my opinion, is unreasonable. Thus my Blues Lawyer joke.

If you find a good deal for a Rickenbacher Bakelite, ACE, or Frypan, snag it before someone else does. The reason you don't see those prices is because they sell fast. The stuff that sits for months on end don't sell because the price is too high.

Just remember: it's not what they LIST for, it's the prices they actually sell at that matters.

Also, don't worry about having problems with the pickups on an old Fender or Rickenbacher. You can always fix 'em - rewind them and/or re-magnetize the magnets.

All that said, Clinesmiths are excellent instruments, so you can't go wrong there either.

Either way you go: fixing up/maintaining an old lap steel vs getting a new Clinesmith, you won't be sorry. They're both good options. And either way, you gotta wait, lol. Sometimes Todd has waiting lists. And sometimes you just gotta bide your time until a great deal on a vintage steel comes your way.

I just personally prefer the old stuff. They don't make 'em like they used to.

You only get anxiety when you don't have a good steel. Once you get yourself a good steel, then inevitably, other steels will come across your path...and that's where the collection starts. haha.

Enjoy!

[Michael Kiese]

Blues Lawyer

I know several musician lawyers up here. They are all intermediate bluegrass banjo players. I often see them at the beer garden at festivals hanging out together.

Do you know why sharks don’t eat lawyers?

Professional Courtesy

I joke about that stuff, because it's a real phenomenon. But hey, can't hate on em too much. What's the point of having money if you can't spend it, right? Amirite?

Most of those guys are cool anyways.

It's always nice when you come across a big EGO blues lawyer type, and they complement you on your tone, and they see you're playing through really cheap gear. haha.

Wow, your 335 sounds really great, Mike! What year is it? "Oh I borrowed this from my friend. It's an EART. Amazon Special. $250." lol.

[Tony Oresteen]

I love 7 strings. I feel I am missing a string on top with 6 strings. With 6 strings C6 is 135613 missing the top 5th. C6 with 7 strings is 1356135 full major chord on top.

I have 4 of them so I am biased .

[Anthony Parish]

C6 with 7 strings is 1356135 full major chord on top.

I have 4 of them so I am biased .

I like it -- full 1-3-5 chord on top and bottom with that 6 in the middle. That tuning seems very practical and easy to apply.

[Charley Erck]

Coming to lap steel from Dobro, like many,
I was lucky enough to buy, years ago, from a Seattle man, a 7 string
Audiovox, Tutmark original.
So just happenstance.
I just stuck that 6th in the middle of the GBDGBD.
So was able to play my familiar triad stuff.
But I found this distracted from actuality learning to play in a 6th tuning.
I have just returned to playing, after a few years, and am in GCEGACE.
Keeping the standard C6th where it won’t confuse things for me.
I’m not sure where to end up on that low string yet, trying different things.
So, 7 string by random chance/serendipity!