[Drew]

Originally Posted by Nik

Let me just say that, while right now I'm seriously interested, a 28 5/8" will make me NOT buy one. I'd end up getting a Schecter C-7 instead. I'm sorry, but IMO, seeing as how not everyone will be tuning to F#, 27" seems to me like a nice compromise scale between 25.5" and 28 5/8", and it can hold both a low F# and a high-A, while not being too over-the-top for the average guitar player.

I'm actually surprised there's even a handful of you pushing a high-A here. Personally, I've never wanted to go higher than the available range on a 6 and I've never gotten the handful of people who have.

Also, owning two 26.5" guitars and stringing them with .68 B's, I don't really think a .70 at 27" is going to cut it for F#. I can tune my Schecters down to A comfortably - Ab's a bit iffy, but G is borderline at best. F# would require a significantly bigger guage, and I don't think .02mm and .5" are going to make that much a different. 27" is, like I said, the LOWEST I'd even consider, but I don't think it'd be ideal.

And on the other side of the coin, tuning a .08 or .07 up to A on a 25.5" scale neck is almost unusuably tense and incredibly prone to breakage. Gary Goodman has, I believe said he's been able to get his strings up to A on a 32" neck with no problems, so either way you're probably going to require special strings if you're going to tune up - another inch or inch-and-a-half ont he scale doesn't change that.

And ultimately, the real benefit here isn't the extra 5 notes an extra string will afford you - rather, it's the extra five notes in any given scale position. The added range an extra string gives you going from a 24-fret 7 to a 24-fret 8 is negligable, it's the flexibility that makes an instrument.

[NewArmyGuitar]

Looks good to me. I'd buy an 8 like that.

[Metal Ken]

Originally Posted by kurtzentmaier

Kurt> Getting a bridge for an 8 string is another problem - we would probobly use individual saddle tuners like we use on the Prestige Z bass. Or possibly use a combination of a guitar bridge on the guitar strings and individual bass saddles on the bass strings. If we did not use fanned fets, some kind of compensated nut or multi-nut system would probobly need to be used to keep intonation correct between the 1st and 8th strings.

Individual saddles are AWESOME. Do it.

[Drew]

...also worth noting is that low-F# seems to be gradually becoming accepted as standard tuning for an 8, just as low-B has become accepted for a 7 after some flirtation initially with the idea of tuning up.

Basically, I don't see a high-G or -A tuning cutting it on anything longer than 25" without special strings, while low F# is much more feasible.

[Drew]

Originally Posted by kurtzentmaier

Kurt> No chance - not in the target price range (<$600) - getting a good quality ebony board that's wide enought for an 8 string is going to cost much more - price of guitar would be more like $999 I think rosewood or maple should be possible.

Kurt> No problem - but fanned could add at least $100+ to the price ($75 for the license alone)

Kurt> Getting a bridge for an 8 string is another problem - we would probobly use individual saddle tuners like we use on the Prestige Z bass.

I'd definitely prefer individual saddles. For one, it looks sexy as hell. For another it gives you a bit more intonation flexibility in the design, and by not doing a split bridge it weakens the "guitar with three bass strings" associationes - I think it makes more sense to think of it as one instrument, and not two stuck together.

I'd LOVE a maple board by the way. Say you did this with a maple board, fanned frets, and individual saddles - what sort of price point do you think we'd talking? Say, a 25" to 28" fan - this should keep both the high-A and low-F camps pretty happy, and I believe is still within the realm of feasibility, in terms of fanning.

[darren]

Thanks for your feedback, Kurt!

If there are ways to economize, such as a maple board and a plain alder or ash body, generic pickups/electronics and off-the-shelf hardware like the individual bridges, hopefully that would make something like a fanned fretboard feasible within a reasonable price point. A 25" to 28" fan sounds like it'd work very well for everyone. And fanned frets look frickin' cool.

I wouldn't be averse to a generic soapbar pickup setup as long as it's got an active treble and bass boost/cut and a sweepable midrange boost/cut. This should allow people to zero in on the perfect tone in the absence of going through a whole R&D and custom fabrication process to make purpose-built 8-string guitar pickups.

The specs i've proposed are not set in stone, so it's great to see lots of discussion happening.

[Shorty]

Id buy that in a heartbeat (with Drews suggestions of maple board with single saddles)!

[FredGrass]

Man, reading this thread makes my heart skip beats. A ~$600 8-string?? Jesus. I'd be in the first set of orders, undoubtedly. Especially with the 28-5/8" scale.

[noodles]

Originally Posted by Drew

Also, owning two 26.5" guitars and stringing them with .68 B's, I don't really think a .70 at 27" is going to cut it for F#. I can tune my Schecters down to A comfortably - Ab's a bit iffy, but G is borderline at best. F# would require a significantly bigger guage, and I don't think .02mm and .5" are going to make that much a different. 27" is, like I said, the LOWEST I'd even consider, but I don't think it'd be ideal.

I bet you don't have any problems with mud from the larger string gauge, either, do you?

* Noodles is tired of people telling him that heavy strings can't sound bright and punchy.

[bostjan]

Man, if I were to buy one, I would gladly add $100-$200 for the fret fanning.

As far as scale lengths go, and string gauges, .070" at 28.5ish" at F# is the same tension as a .070" at 25.5" tuned to Ab, but with a little less mud. Some people like their strings that floppy, certainly, so it shouldn't be a universal problem. Tuning a store-bought .008" to high A will lead to a broken string for sure, that is neither an option at 25.5" nor 28.5" but believe it or not, a .010" reinforced will stand high A at 26", but it feels like a cheese slicer.

Garry Goodmans string hold up to high tensions at light gauges, but AFAIK, they are yet unavailable to the public.

High A is a bit of a problem, so just tune down a whole step to G.