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9 string guitars? No thanks!
- Thread starter Thomas Kievit
- Start date
What was interesting about BC Rich's 10-string was that many players just forwent the double-course strings and played it with six strings. Dave Mustaine did that while he was with Metallica.
I think the tuning can be a part of it as well.. If you look at Meshuggah, they tune their 8 string guitar to F standard : F Bb Eb Ab Db Gb Bb Eb. The bass guitar is tuned to Drop Bb : Bb F Bb Eb Ab. This way, only the low B is tuned lower while the rest is tuned up. You don't have to be as low tuned as the guitars. It works pretty well actually this way.
Same with Modern Day Babylon : instrumental band that does a lot with an 8 string guitar tuned Eb Ab Eb Ab Db Gb Bb Eb (so basicly like Drop Ab on a 7 string guitar but then with an extra added low Eb). The bass guitar is tuned to Drop Ab : Ab Eb Ab Db Gb.
Tosin Abasi from Animals As Leaders who plays in Drop E on his 8 string guitar while the bass guitar on the albums is tuned standard. It's all some stuff that works
With that said : a bass guitar doesn't have to be as lower or even lower than the electric guitar 
Same with Modern Day Babylon : instrumental band that does a lot with an 8 string guitar tuned Eb Ab Eb Ab Db Gb Bb Eb (so basicly like Drop Ab on a 7 string guitar but then with an extra added low Eb). The bass guitar is tuned to Drop Ab : Ab Eb Ab Db Gb.
Tosin Abasi from Animals As Leaders who plays in Drop E on his 8 string guitar while the bass guitar on the albums is tuned standard. It's all some stuff that works
With that said : a bass guitar doesn't have to be as lower or even lower than the electric guitar I think beyond 7 becomes a logistical problem. Even a 7 string benefits from fanned frets.
I would agree an 8 string or 9 string might not work as well with a bass, especially when you might consider that the low B of archtops was meant to be a substitute for a bassist.
I think the tuning can be a part of it as well.. If you look at Meshuggah, they tune their 8 string guitar to F standard : F Bb Eb Ab Db Gb Bb Eb. The bass guitar is tuned to Drop Bb : Bb F Bb Eb Ab. This way, only the low B is tuned lower while the rest is tuned up. You don't have to be as low tuned as the guitars. It works pretty well actually this way.
Same with Modern Day Babylon : instrumental band that does a lot with an 8 string guitar tuned Eb Ab Eb Ab Db Gb Bb Eb (so basicly like Drop Ab on a 7 string guitar but then with an extra added low Eb). The bass guitar is tuned to Drop Ab : Ab Eb Ab Db Gb.
Tosin Abasi from Animals As Leaders who plays in Drop E on his 8 string guitar while the bass guitar on the albums is tuned standard. It's all some stuff that works
I'd need to pay more attention to these bands. Generally, it gets challenging multiple instruments are crossing ranges. Something like an upright bass and a piano allow to play the same notes and have some tonal separation.
A 7 string jazz guy was teaching a course and said his low B use kinda angered the bassist and his wide range chords got in the piano player's way. Extremely talented player, but lost that particular gig.
Haha, yes sometimes it turns out just like that. I'm not a professional so I could be wrong, but I think like with the bands I mentioned it's not really difficult to make something up.
Like Tosin Abasi said : ''I don't want to use a bass guitar live since I think the guitars that are tuned in Drop E will dominate and therefore the bass will be inaudible.''
Only bass players I know so far that got as low as the guitar players are Jeroen Paul Thesseling (ex-bass player Obscura) and Nolly Getgood from Periphery. They both added an low F# on their bass guitar (Jeroen Thesseling got himself a custom 7 string Warwick Thumb NT for this and Nolly a 6 string Dingwall) since the guitars in both bands are in F# standard. If it would be different tunings like Meshuggah uses, I think that they might have choosen for Drop Bb.
Like Tosin Abasi said : ''I don't want to use a bass guitar live since I think the guitars that are tuned in Drop E will dominate and therefore the bass will be inaudible.''
Only bass players I know so far that got as low as the guitar players are Jeroen Paul Thesseling (ex-bass player Obscura) and Nolly Getgood from Periphery. They both added an low F# on their bass guitar (Jeroen Thesseling got himself a custom 7 string Warwick Thumb NT for this and Nolly a 6 string Dingwall) since the guitars in both bands are in F# standard. If it would be different tunings like Meshuggah uses, I think that they might have choosen for Drop Bb.
The jazz guitarist was Fareed Haque. Insanely good chops and great instructor. Without the bassist and piano, his playing was perfect on his 7 string archtop. With them, it was too much overlapping range. In those types of ensembles, he advocates comped jazz chords.
JAUQO III-X
Inactive
Here's a clip of me playing my fretless sub contra bass tuned C# F# B E along with two guitar players, the guitar player coming out of the left side of the speaker is playing a 9 string while the guitar player in the right speaker is playing a 6 and My playing is not getting in the way of these guitar player.
The guitar player in the left speaker sometimes play an 11 string guitar and a half fretless 13 string guitar.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BtKRphwEXQ
The guitar player in the left speaker sometimes play an 11 string guitar and a half fretless 13 string guitar.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BtKRphwEXQ
Pfew! That's some mighty stuff there!
Hey Jauqo, I was wondering : since your sub contra bass has basicly the same lowness like that 9 string guitar monster, it's not so hard for you to mix it all pretty well?
Hey Jauqo, I was wondering : since your sub contra bass has basicly the same lowness like that 9 string guitar monster, it's not so hard for you to mix it all pretty well?
JAUQO III-X
Inactive
Thank you Thomas.
It's no problem for me to mix such low frequencies at all. The cd The Low C# Theory was purposely recorded with the two renegade sounding guitars to show a level of what many would perceive as chaos. The engineer on that recording was a little nervous going in and in preparation for the mixing portion of the project but it was kool as things went along.
The biggest problem people have with certain low frequencies is that they are just not open minded enough to simply allow it to be what it is, people like that end up putting un wanted particulars on something and then it ends up going no where.
On a side note, while recording the album the guitar players could not hear each other they were only able to hear me and the drummer and they were each in separate rooms.
Here's another track from the same album.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoYti1XdMgs
Hey - I like that!
If someone want a 9er I say go for it, but personally I think 8 would be sufficient. Heck - I remember when Korn came out using 7string guitars, and I thought that was pretty heavy sounding.
As Jazz Ad points out, 10 (and more) string guitars have been around forever. Consult any decent work on the history of the instrument...
Both Narciso Yepes (classical) and Egberto Gismonti (jazz, for lack of a better term) have used 10-string nylon-string guitars extensively. Of course these are acoustic instruments; jillion-string electrics will have different issues due to amplification, I suppose.
So now I want an 11-sting fretless bass! (Just kidding. Unless I can get 7-digit hands to go with it.)
Both Narciso Yepes (classical) and Egberto Gismonti (jazz, for lack of a better term) have used 10-string nylon-string guitars extensively. Of course these are acoustic instruments; jillion-string electrics will have different issues due to amplification, I suppose.
So now I want an 11-sting fretless bass! (Just kidding. Unless I can get 7-digit hands to go with it.)
I would gladly play with any guitarist who knows how to really play the whole guitar, regardless of string count, not just cowboy chords, chuggachugga's or weedly-weedly's. All of the guys crying about string count are just insecure.
