Don't hold back...How do we feel about 8 string basses?

[KevInDaBassment]

I've played one before, and I think it would be excellent for textural effects like reverb, chorus, etc. I haven't gotten a chance to try it with them but I imagine it would at least sound interesting lol. An 8-string fretless would be pretty interesting too.

 

[NecroticImbecil]

All three of my basses are "coursed"-Schecter 8 String, Dean 12 String (modded electronics) and even an 8 string Ergo EUB. Just haven't been able to escape my love for the sound when I stumbled on it about ten years ago.

Cool! I bought a (the?) prototype Ergo 8 on Ebay a ways back. It takes some getting used to but it's fun. Once I modded a tuner so I could tune the G string... due to the steep angle, when it got tuned near to pitch the string would slip off. Had to take one apart and make a new shaft, longer than the stock one. I expect he fixed that for the production model. Great customer service though, emailed back and forth about strings and he was helpful.

 

[CopperheadLXXIX]

Cool! I bought a (the?) prototype Ergo 8 on Ebay a ways back. It takes some getting used to but it's fun. Once I modded a tuner so I could tune the G string... due to the steep angle, when it got tuned near to pitch the string would slip off. Had to take one apart and make a new shaft, longer than the stock one. I expect he fixed that for the production model. Great customer service though, emailed back and forth about strings and he was helpful.

Yeah, I exchanged a ton of emails with Jesse both during and after the build. Super nice guy, great instrument. I don't have the problem you explained, so I guess, yes, he did solve that. My only complaint is that there seems to be some loss of volume with the E string. Still working my way around it as I've only had it a few months and it is my first upright of any kind.

 

[OPBASSMAN1994]

8s are nice if the song needs some extra sound, but otherwise, no thank you. I'm happy with 4s and double necks.

 

[bassbenj]

Different strokes, etc.

I've never felt the need for more than the core four.

Know what you mean. Jaco didn't need 8 strings. And I thought why not sell my 15 basses and buy a 4 string P-bass? That's all I need!

And that's when I remembered that it was all I needed when I was 15 years old and only played one kind of music! I don't think I'm going back there...

Yes, I've got an 8 string bass (octaves) and I wish it were a 10 string. I looked at a 12 string bass (tripled strings) once and it sounded quite different again, but I didn't buy that one. Had it been a 10 string I probably would have. My 8 string is just a junker Carlo Robelli I got cheap at Sam Ash. But in spite of its cheapness it does have a great sound especially due to the killer electronics is has.

I really don't use it much, but to me it's a lot like my 12 string guitars (guitars, not bass...of which I own two). They are not what you play most of the time but when you WANT that 12 string sound, there is simply no substitute for a 12 string. How can you do Leadbelly without one? But as a main axe? I don't think so.

Same thing goes for my 8 string bass. As others have said here, an effects pedal (yeah got some of those too) is cool for certain sounds but simply can't give you that 8 string sound. In a way I'm a bit surprised that people (myself included) haven't done more experimenting musically with 8 and 12 string basses. Especially since there seems to be a certain (but not huge) popularity with 12 string electric guitars.

My "ultimate" which I would buy if I happened on a decent price would be a 15 string bass (basically a 5 string with trebled strings) And if I found a nice used 10 string I'd get that too. But for now I get by on the old Carlo Robelli. Yes, truly unique sound! And when it works, by God, it WORKS!

 

[Muddslide]

I actually prefer 8s (and even 12s) to 5s or 6s.

Just for me personally, I like 4 strings. However, unlike a 5 or 6 (or 7 or 9, etc.) string, 8s are just a 4 string with doubled courses (or a 12'er like a 4 string with tripled courses)--the guitar corollary is the 12 string to the standard 6 string of course.

I've played some 12s and they were fun but frankly more trouble to keep tuned and string, etc., not to mention the massive neck tension than I would want to own.

I used to own an 8 and while I didn't play it often it was cool.

I don't really GAS for one, but they are nice.

 

[Hevy T]

I have one that I almost never use, but you won't be able to pry it from my stubby little fingers

 

[BASSDROID]

I've been having some fun experimenting with the tunings on my 12ver....the same could be done with and 8string, I'm sure. I'll detune the top one or two courses and leave the bottom ones tuned in octaves.

I like to tune the octave string in the G and D courses down a 4th or a 5th. If I'm in a froggy mood, I might tune them down a 3rd or a 2nd.

 

[Dave W]

I want an 8 or a 12er one of these days...or better yet a 10 string (so it's like a 5er).

 

[FunkMetalBass]

Don't know how custom you need to get. My bro had a reputable luthier make his Guild B302 into an 8 string. Luthier used a Warmoth neck. Bravely exploring new frontiers in neckdive and forward bowing that never quite came out despite any adjustments or string gauge changes. Bro ended up tossing that neck, getting a Carvin neck-through 5 string neck.. I am told they are available with various options if you call rather than just order off the web site. He made a much better bass himself by sawing up the body to make wings for the Carvin neck.

As for the OP.. I like good 8 strings. Not so fond of ones that aren't good. No use for 8 single strings, my fingers are not 18 inches long.

Unfortunately, I need something pretty custom to retrofit onto a Fender Jazz body. I'm going to start searching for a local luthier that is up to the challenge.

 

[8guy]

Well as you can tell by my username I do Play A 8 string alot its a inexpensive Brice from Rondo music but its wonderful. I use to own a Hamer 12 that I played in a Cheaptrick Cover Band I had to sell it a Decade and half ago due to a Divorce.
The Brice sounds Huge!!!! Ican play It with a pick or plucking with my fingers, With careful control I can use my fingers and just play the Bass strings and sound like a 4 And switch to Index Fingernail and engage the octave strings when needed then switch back. I do have a 4 and a 6 also but the 8 is my main.

 

[woodyng]

i used to own a viellette-citron 8 string bass years ago,and really loved it for a lot of different songs-i found playing live with it,that i could just roll off on the treble tone to emulate a more traditional sound if that's what the song called for,but it sounded best when i could mesh with the guitar players's sonic territory. i would love to get another 8 stringer someday- i recently played a hamer 12 string-they are just not for me,seems overkill to have 2 of the octave strings for each string,not to mention the overall difficulty in playing one,compared to an 8.

 

[TomA1234]

why not just use a chorus or octaver?

<Tho I admit I have toyed with the idea of having one, they just seem too much a 0ne-trick-pony to justify the money. Still would like one cuz its cool--the Ric for instance--but....>

A chorus doesn't really make it "octavey" more warbly.
Octavers may do it but it will still sound different (probably)

 

[nocontrols]

8 strings sound great! I, however, have never NEEDED one and if I used one, I would be worried about it filling up TOO MUCH sonic space. This is ironic because bass players usually have the opposite problem but if the bass is too rich and full there's a chance it could overwhelm the mix. You'd have to be careful about stepping on everyone else's air. This is also why I never play chords on bass.

 

[xUptheIronsx]

All I know is I'd sure like to try one. Never heard or played one.
Anyone have an example of one being used?

get Kings X's first two albums: Out of the Silent Planet and Gretchen Goes To Nebraska...not only for the 8 string bass, but b/c they are awesome albums overall...

 

[Corey Y]

I don't think I would be too concerned with overwhelming the mix playing an 8 string in a band. More than anything I'd be more concerned about the octaves courses getting lost in the mix. Most 8 and 12 string players I've heard tend to use a lot of distortion, at least in parallel to a clean tone, and in a band with distorted guitars it can tend to wash out. Depending on the arrangement of course. It might be totally different in a jazz trio or something else with typical tones and arrangements different from the typical modern rock based band context.

 

[Lateralus_cl]

You can play them fingerstyle just as well.

That must be a strange feeling to the finger... Do all the 8 string players feel the same way?

Is it good for finger playing too or is it best suited for pick playing?

 

[tdub0199]

4 strings are enough for me...

 

[Corey Y]

As far as fingerstyle vs picking goes with 8 string, I think it's just like 4 string in that it depends on the player and what they're trying to get out of the instrument. Depending on the instrument and the string spacing you can pluck the individual strings to good effect. Down strokes with a pick accentuate the octave string more on typical 8 strings, where octaves are strung on top. I think it just depends on your playing style, which might change from the way you typically play a 4 string anyway.

 

[Hoover]

I need something pretty custom to retrofit onto a Fender Jazz body. I'm going to start searching for a local luthier that is up to the challenge.

Ya mean like this?

It's a Warmoth Jazz Bass body with a custom Michael Dolan neck. (Schaller 471 8-string bridge, Gotoh tuning machines, EMG pickups, EMG BTC preamp.)

Warmoth also makes an 8-string neck but it will only fit standard Fender-type neck heel cutouts, which my bass didn't have, so I had to go custom.