Bass-Man43 Posted November 6, 2007 Report Share Posted November 6, 2007 (edited) Alrighty well my 7 string V is on hold until i get get my Pickup and my truss rod, so my brother will haev to wait on his guitar so now I am starting to build an 8 string ESP Fx 400, and my freind Ngaa is building the exact same thing...copier. Jk For the body i and using some nice Wenge and Bubinga i don't know what im gonna use for the neck yet though Neck Thru 27" scale Hardware-Black Hipshot 8 string bridge Emg 8 string pickup 4X4 tuners I have a couple questions though, first off is EMG selling their eight string pickup now? and if not would a 6 string bass pickup be suitable? and what other companies offer an 8 string pickup. Also lastly what gauge strings would be good for an 8 string tuned to F# B E A D G B E The help would be greatly appreciated as i have not dealt with a 27 inch guitar scale before Bass-Man43 Edited November 6, 2007 by Bass-Man43 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xanthus Posted November 6, 2007 Report Share Posted November 6, 2007 I know Metal Matt does a lot of extended range instruments, do a search or send him a PM. And it's not uncommon for people to use bass pickups for their 8's or 9 stringers. There are companies out there (I don't know their names, I don't use more than 6 strings ) that can custom make pickups at your request. But most importantly, all your information can be answered by searching the forums. Good luck building! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bass-Man43 Posted November 6, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 6, 2007 Thanks man, yeah i know hes building a couple 8 stringers right now, i really like his purpleheart one. If anyone hes the guy to go to ill try and PM him sometime or hopefully, more than likely he see my post Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PTU 7's. Posted November 6, 2007 Report Share Posted November 6, 2007 Hey man! EMG is selling the 808 pickups, that's an 8 string version of the 707 (or 85 in six strings). You can get them fro 101 dollars http://guitarpartsdepot.com/Merchant2/merc...itar-Humbuckers You can also use the EMG 40 or EMGHZ 40, they work also. You have Lundgren, that are hand made, but they cost like 200 dollars each. You can get them thru conklin. I used that tuning on a 6 string, considering that it was 25,5" scale, a 0.75 string worked like F#. But it was a bit floppy for my taste. You can use a 0.10 pack of strings, and use a 0.75 for the low F# and maybe if you like tighter tension you can use a 0.11 a 0.65 for the B and a 0.80 for the F#. The new Ibanez can handle the F# on a 27" scale, so i think that it will work. Frank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Digideus Posted November 6, 2007 Report Share Posted November 6, 2007 www.blackmachine.net Doug from Blackmachine has done an exceptional amount of work on extended range instruments and offers two 8 string models in his range. Go find the 8 string project in depth report he wrote up about how he approached it. As ive said before, according to Doug, 27" is too short for low tunings. he opted for a 30" scale which still allows you to use standard string sets. Tuners are a concern with 8 strings as well as unless you want a 18" headstock, youll need to be conservative with the placing of the tuners. Seymour Duncan offer an 8 string Blackout pickup I believe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PTU 7's. Posted November 6, 2007 Report Share Posted November 6, 2007 ^ I didn't see the blackout in 8 string. They have the 6 string available at the moment and they will start producing the 7 string version. Fredrik and Marten from Meshuggah, use 32" Ibanez 8 string guitars. They use 0.09 and a 0.70 for the F#. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ngaa Posted November 6, 2007 Report Share Posted November 6, 2007 so what scale do you guys recommend? 30, 32, or 27? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bass-Man43 Posted November 6, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 6, 2007 Thanks for all the help you guys i appreciate it, I am probably going to stick with a 27" scale probably because 30 inch is kinda of much for a guitar IMO. Does anyone know who makes a .75 string? bass-man43 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PTU 7's. Posted November 6, 2007 Report Share Posted November 6, 2007 I think that you can get bass strings on that gauge. I used a 0.75 that's the A (third) string from a bass. I think that if you can make the scale larger will sound more articulate and with more definition on the low F#. Something between 28"/30". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TemjinStrife Posted November 6, 2007 Report Share Posted November 6, 2007 I also found out in my seven-string fact-finding (read: playing every single one I can find) that running a TOM-style string-through setup improves low-string floppiness the most, while a hardtail string-through helps a bit less (but is still quite good) and a stopbar or top-loader results in a looser, floppier feel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bass-Man43 Posted November 6, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 6, 2007 well the hipshot bridge i think is a hardtail but the string come through the back of the guitar (like a string through) im not entirely sure but thats what it looks like and the same thing like that is for the seven string im building. And btw I took some pictures today albeit theyre not the greatest but ill post em later tonight or tomorrow to show you guys what ive got done. Bass-man43 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bass-Man43 Posted November 7, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 7, 2007 Sorry for double post but here is a couple pics of the template of the 8 string http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/ff103/m...ix/PICT2509.jpg The headstock drawing http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/ff103/m...ix/PICT2506.jpg thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ngaa Posted November 7, 2007 Report Share Posted November 7, 2007 (edited) hah, mock up kinda. just made it in photoshop cause I'm extremely bored. yeah, I realize it sucks. the woods for the neck are not in proportion or anything haha. LOL Edited November 7, 2007 by ngaa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bass-Man43 Posted November 7, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 7, 2007 OMG seeing that mock up i dunno if im gonna do wenge top or bubinga top...OH THE DECISIONS!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exafro Posted November 7, 2007 Report Share Posted November 7, 2007 Lundgren makes 8 string pups too, but they were $200 a piece last time I checked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikbojerik Posted November 7, 2007 Report Share Posted November 7, 2007 Guys....check your math please. No one on the planet is using a 3/4" thick string. If you're not careful, you'll be building a guitar with a 27' scale. Back on topic, the EMG40s will do just fine, plenty of room for 8 even with a fairly wide string spacing. Any 6-string bass pickup will do really, active or passive. I just finished one a few months ago with EMG 40TWs and they work fine. I have a 0.085" on a 27" scale (it is a D string from a set of bass strings) and it is relatively happy at F#, though I prefer to drop it to E. While it is not really so "floppy" at E (i.e. it doesn't rattle when I play it), what happens is that the string tension is low enough that my finger pressure has a large influence on the intonation when I press down. The higher the string tension, the less of a problem this becomes. I'd like to try a thicker string (perhaps 0.10" or so), but I don't feel that I can ream out the tuner post any more than it already is....so I would need some kind of custom taper at the end of the string, or snip the ball-end and tie it back on at a shorter length. Or have one bass tuner next to 7 guitar tuners...but that would just look stupid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bass-Man43 Posted November 7, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 7, 2007 Yeah my bad on the string gauge but thats just beating a dead horse.. lol but thannks for the information on the pick-up cause we have a 6 string passive emg bass pickup here, i will probably eend up getting the 808 if i can if not ill use the bass one bass-man43 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TemjinStrife Posted November 7, 2007 Report Share Posted November 7, 2007 One of the local guys here has an 8-string plan that uses a 2+6 headstock setup, with two bass tuners on the low side and a set of six lefty guitar tuners on the high side. It doesn't look too bad and it makes an awful lot of sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PTU 7's. Posted November 8, 2007 Report Share Posted November 8, 2007 Bass man, but EMG pickups have rail, like the X2N, no pole pieces. I don't know if another 6 string bass pickups will work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jammy Posted November 10, 2007 Report Share Posted November 10, 2007 One of the local guys here has an 8-string plan that uses a 2+6 headstock setup, with two bass tuners on the low side and a set of six lefty guitar tuners on the high side. It doesn't look too bad and it makes an awful lot of sense. Is that one of the Charlie Hunter style 8's? If so, where did he get the plans? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PTU 7's. Posted November 10, 2007 Report Share Posted November 10, 2007 One of the local guys here has an 8-string plan that uses a 2+6 headstock setup, with two bass tuners on the low side and a set of six lefty guitar tuners on the high side. It doesn't look too bad and it makes an awful lot of sense. Is that one of the Charlie Hunter style 8's? If so, where did he get the plans? Yeah, that's what I thought when I read it. Maybe he did some drawings about the guitar, or searched pics and made the plans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TemjinStrife Posted November 11, 2007 Report Share Posted November 11, 2007 Honestly? I don't know. I've seen the Charlie Hunter 8's, and his design looks nothing like that. No fanned frets, no nothing. I think it just came out of convenience. He had a set of lefty guitar tuners lying around and 3 random bass tuners left over from a 5-string project. So, he put them together, and visually, ergonomically, and functionally, it works. No need to drill out tuner holes or anything! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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