7-String Guitars

Pioneered by Steve Vai and Ibanez, 7-string guitars have remained at the forefront of alternative music since the launch of the Universe model in 1990. Now joined by the likes of Schecter, PRS, and Jackson, Extended Range instruments are constantly evolving to meet the demands of modern metal musicians and those keen to explore the possibilities that extra strings can bring.

Filter

Showing 24 out of 105

per page
Page

Downtuning

The lowest string on a standard tuned 7 string guitar is a B, but many guitarists like to drop this further to an A or even G#. You can also experiment with dropping the rest of the strings or finding open-tunings which allow for inventive chord shapes, unusual intervals and patterns on the fretboard that you might never have tried out otherwise.


Not Just for Metal

Whilst extended range guitars are extremely popular in metal and heavy alternative genres, plenty of musicians across other styles have used 7, 8, and even 9 string instruments in order to experiment with different sounds. The lower strings on these guitars can mimic bass sections in solo guitar pieces and allow for incredible versatility in terms of creating textures and composing different passages on one instrument.


More Strings?

If you still don’t think that 7-strings will cut it, check out our other extended range instruments here.