7 string - help!

[Paul Dillon]

I just bought a 7 string guitar. Convention would have me play with an extra (low) A string – so I won’t be doing that. I was thinking of spreading it out from D in the bass end up to E at the top but closing up some of the intervals. This should make it easier to get voicings with altered notes in the middle instead of the top. Does anyone know of anyone else trying to do this, or something similar? Where can I look for inspiration? Cheers

[Luan]

The standard would be an B on the bass, but a lot of people (in jazz specially) use the low A.
I use a B, and it's really cool that way.

[brian evans]

not exactly an answer to your question, but when Lorne Losfsky played with a 7 string briefly, he used a high A, as I understand it. I owned that custom guitar for a while about 15 years ago.

[JohnW400]

I think there are better choices than D cosidering that drop D tuning on a six string is fairly common. Try C, this way its a 3rd and the fingering pattern would be similar to the G-B string. That way it would be kind of familiar and perhaps easier to learn/remember.

[Luan]

Still a B would be more logic than C.
1) you have the 5th of E (the low string, that is great for basslines in CM)
2) the 5th of every chord with root on the six string is just in the same fret but on the 7th string
3) a lot of chords with open strings like C, D and B can be played easily
4) most important of all, the pattern of 4ths tuning remains.

[HCPhilly]

I think that a or b is most common as other folks have said.
Here's a clip of Howard Alden playing his 7 string Selmac that Manouche guitras built for him.
[Full disclosure, I work with Manouche Guitars.]

YouTube - Howard Alden & Anat Cohen "After You've Gone"
BTW, You might want to email Howard to ask for his help.

Here's a clip of Howard talking about and plaing his Manouche 7 string up close.

YouTube - Howard Alden & Manouche guitars North America
Good luck!
Barry Warhoftig
www.ManoucheNorthAmerica.com

[Luan]

Wow!!! some great comping there!

[Dookychase]

Look up luthier Jimmy Foster on youtube. He uses a low A. Great playing.

[Stackabones]

Isn't B the metalhead default? Most of the jazzers use low A -- folks like the Pizzarellis and so on. I messed around with low B, but it inspired too much wankage on my part. Low A was hip as shit and I got some cool chord stuff as well as walking bass. Too bad the 7-string I was messing with was shredder git. I'd like to get an archtop or nylon one.

[Luan]

It's very cool for playing bossa to tune it to B.
Saying that a specific tuning or extended range is for metal is nonsense, really. With all the respect, of course.
It's not great when you say you have a 7 string and people goes like "oh that is only usable in metal"...

[Paul Jerome]

Hi,
Howard plays a 7 string Benedetto too...as does Bucky Pizzarelli. They tune to "A" . It's personal choice i suppose but if you watch them you see that they actually play Bass ,rhythm and lead all at the same time. That is an incredible skill.....so that extra Bass helps a bit.