7 String Electric Guitar

Although 7 string electric guitars have been around for hundreds of years in one form or another, it has really only been over the last couple of decades that they have become more prominent in popular music cultures, and especially in the low-end riffing metal mayhem of bands like Korn, Morbid Angel and Dream Theatre.

They have one extra string at the low end (the thick strings) which in some initial tests by the likes of Steve Vai would have been tuned to a high ‘A’. But the tension on the string was found to make the string more prone to breaking and so now, it is more likely to tuned to a ‘B’. Check out how to tune a 7 string electric guitar.

They are not really suitable for the beginner, although it should be reasonably straightforward for a competent guitarist to make the switch as the rest of the strings are tuned to the standard EADGBE. So, if you’re a beginner, avoid the seven string for the moment. By all means visit your local music store and see if they have one in stock and ask for a demo. If you really, totally, MUST have one, and you are just learning, you have a couple of options.

1. Just go for it. Get your low-end riffing badness right out there.

2. Try removing the bottom ‘B’ string, put it somewhere safe and learn to play with the remaining 6 strings. Then, when you become a bit more competent, dig the ‘B’ string out again and string up!! Don’t forget though that the extra string also means extra neck width to accommodate it, so you will be making things difficult for yourself when forming those initial chords.

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