[Ryan]

I bought one cause my other guitarist bought one. Then i got used to it.

[Addie5150]

I heard it for the first time on Dream theatre's Lie and then heard Steve Vai play one.
But i d have to say it was only after hearing Fear Factory and Nevermore did i want to play one.
After i heard Meshuggah i had to have one.

[ghoti]

Wasn't really one specific person. I saw a seven-string or two at Guitar Center back when I was just a bassist, but the feel wasn't too great, the low string was floppy, and the sound was mediocre at best.

I heard some of Korn's stuff, and thought it was cool, but you could do similar things on a detuned 6 (to my thinking anyway). Then I heard Steve Vai doing his thing on one and I figured maybe they can sound half-decent. I heard John Petrucci and Dream Theater and they were almost good enough to make me forgive the awful vocalist. I figured maybe I could try to pick up a cheap 7 and see if I liked it...I'm a pretty mediocre guitarist anyway so it's not like learning a 7 would be harder than really learning how to play 6, just a few extra notes...

I've got really long arms with big hands and thick fingers. It's also kind of a comfort issue for me to have a neck that's a bit thicker and wider (sometimes longer as well). There's an old saying too that could easily work for 6 vs. 7: better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.

[Variant]

I might have already posted to this one but, 'The Mirror/Lie' by Dream Theater and 'God Of Emptiness' by Morbid Angel pretty much sealed the deal for me.

[TaronKeim]

Matte Henderson was the first big "whoa, holy virtuoso" I must get one moment...

Then later came the jazz guys like Bucky and Van Eps.

_TJK*

[Ojinomoto]

Originally Posted by ghoti

I've got really long arms with big hands and thick fingers. It's also kind of a comfort issue for me to have a neck that's a bit thicker and wider (sometimes longer as well). There's an old saying too that could easily work for 6 vs. 7: better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.

I'm the same way.

+1

[Robotechnology]

Dream Theater: Awake was the 1st time I'd heard 7-Strings used in not just a chug chugga way, other than the limited 7 play time on Steve Vai's Passion & Warfare. These 2 CD's are what got me interested in 7's. Nevermore also came along and kept it fresh with This Godless Endeavor.

[sonofabias]

When I was a kid it was George Van Eps, the great jazz guitarist whose method book I discovered at a friends house, then Vai made me aware of its electric potential but Loomis and Petrucci made me really want to try playing one and I finally started this summer with my first one, a Carvin Dc 747 c. Now I'm so addicted to it that I often forget to play my six's!

[Brewtal_Damage]

Nevermore

[Reece Fullwood]

I'd blame Rusty Cooley, the chops he does on his geetar are imense, as soon as i tried a 7 i loved the feel of the wider neck and had my mind set on one, ordered the dean RC7 but thats taking ages, so i kept it on order and brought an ibanez to keep me happy for the meanwhile. Gonna make it a project guitar asoon as the dean arrives, emg, paintjob, all that lot, Rustys cool, and started listening to alot more 7 string player since, i love tuning flat,

Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb, Bb, Eb,
with guage 8's,
the lighter the strings the easier and faster you can play!