# Update on my 11 string!



## Adam (Apr 2, 2010)

Hey everyone, today I finally managed to reach a high A4 rather than G4 which I've been stuck with for about 6 months. It is a VERY special .0059 Octave4plus string not available to the public So this instrument finally has 7-1/2 octaves (91 different notes)

*EDIT: forgot to mention earlier, one thing I didnt realize when I recieved the fretboard from canuck brian it was slightly longer than 30", closer to 30.20" so thats why I had so much trouble reaching A4, which caused Garry to work VERY hard to develope a A4 string for up to the 31" scale, which I am EXTREMELY grateful for.* 

I've also since gotten rid of the Graphtech MIDI system, and its been replaced with a 3 band EQ system with treble, mid, and bass. Also replaced the 2 MIDI miniswitches with an on/off switch and a Artec QTP "varitone". 

I also had to replace the 11th saddle with a locking floyd saddle so that getting to A4 was alot more convient and longer lasting, while it stands out it functions perfectly just like it does on a floyd bridge, so it does intonate. I have also replaced frets 1-36 with jumbo frets, frets 37-39 are still medium jumbo and frets 40-41 are now vintage sized banjo frets which make the 41st fret playable with my finger rather than my fingernail.

Also I upped the string guages, Im now using:
A4(.0059 custom guitar string)
E4(.010 guitar string)
B3(.013 guitar string)
G3(.017 guitar string)
D3(.032 guitar string)
A2(.042 guitar string)
E2(.052 guitar string)
B1(.068 guitar string)
F#1(.090 guitar string)
C#1(.120 bass string)
G#0(.140 custom bass string)

I'll be making a new video shortly as promised earlier. If there is any requests just ask

Here's some new pics:










Bridge needs a repaint (this was not painted using the same paint/technique as normal painted bridges so it flakes like crazy)


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## Necris (Apr 2, 2010)

Congratulations man, you've officially achieved mind-bending range. That string looks ridiculously fragile.


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## McCap (Apr 2, 2010)

How do you play that thing 

Cool instrument, nicely done!!
Is G#0 the G below a bass' B??

Cheers
Stephan


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## AngelVivaldi (Apr 2, 2010)

Wow, tremendous tremendous work!! I can't even begin to imagine the amount of time, effort and talent it took to pull this off... VIDS!!!

The only thing I noticed was the high A floyd saddle looks a bit crooked


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## Adam (Apr 2, 2010)

McCap said:


> How do you play that thing
> 
> Cool instrument, nicely done!!
> Is G#0 the G below a bass' B??
> ...



With ease 
Yes it is
Heres the preview vid I made a while ago:


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## Adam (Apr 2, 2010)

AngelVivaldi said:


> Wow, tremendous tremendous work!! I can't even begin to imagine the amount of time, effort and talent it took to pull this off... VIDS!!!
> 
> The only thing I noticed was the high A floyd saddle looks a bit crooked



Its because of the size of the saddle is larger than the rest of the saddles so I angled it slighty so that the string spacing matched the others, but the picture makes it look worse than it is. Also I just poseted an old vid of it in my above post.


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## Customisbetter (Apr 2, 2010)

wait.. wouldn't that be a high A5? 

also AWESOME!


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## Adam (Apr 2, 2010)

Customisbetter said:


> wait.. wouldn't that be a high A5?
> 
> also AWESOME!



? In Europe it may be A5 but over here in North America its A4.


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## Adam (Apr 2, 2010)

Necris said:


> Congratulations man, you've officially achieved mind-bending range. That string looks ridiculously fragile.



The instrument has been done for about 6 months but it didnt have the high A string just G, bigger frets, and new electronics. The string isn't as strong as the ones for the 25.5" scale but Garry has assured me that it will last a long time with light playing, which is fine since an instrument of this size, it doesen't allow me to "drive" it as hard as my 6,7 and 8 strings.


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## SYLrules88 (Apr 2, 2010)

your lowest string, it looks like from the photo that its unwound to a very thin diameter where it rests on the saddle. do you have to go easy on that one like with your high A so it doesnt break? thats fkin hilarious how high that saddle is too!

i think its really cool you are putting so much effort into making sure all of the strings are useable at every fret. the gtr looks beautiful too. ive seen that vid before and enojoyed it. must go watch it again!


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## Adam (Apr 2, 2010)

SYLrules88 said:


> your lowest string, it looks like from the photo that its unwound to a very thin diameter where it rests on the saddle. do you have to go easy on that one like with your high A so it doesnt break? thats fkin hilarious how high that saddle is too!
> 
> i think its really cool you are putting so much effort into making sure all of the strings are useable at every fret. the gtr looks beautiful too. ive seen that vid before and enojoyed it. must go watch it again!



Thanks! the saddle itself is high but the area at which the string rests is on level with the other saddles, I wouldn't make my highest string have higher action than the others The lowest string has a skeleton core at the saddle so it can actually fit on a guitar saddle and it allows for better intonation than a full wrap, you can see in the photos than it gradually thins out to the core. This high A isnt as durable as his 25.5" A4 strings, but it should last a long time with light playing. which is fine for me.


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## Hollowway (Apr 2, 2010)

So Adam, those string gauges and that scale... doesn't that make for a tremendously taut string? i.e. I'm surprised you're using a .010 for E4 and a .090 for F#1. Granted, I like spaghetti on my guitars, but I use a .008-.068 on my 28.625" Intrepid.


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## Adam (Apr 2, 2010)

Hollowway said:


> So Adam, those string gauges and that scale... doesn't that make for a tremendously taut string? i.e. I'm surprised you're using a .010 for E4 and a .090 for F#1. Granted, I like spaghetti on my guitars, but I use a .008-.068 on my 28.625" Intrepid.



I love the sound they reproduce, especially if Im just using the lowest 5 strings as drone notes. To my ears they just sound more full, a little more boomy but with all the bright woods I used it easily combated that The .010 sounds great aznd full sounding above the 24th fret which is a big plus for me, I didnt like the .009 I had on there before, its sounded too thin and shrill.

Also believe it or not with all this tension the neck barely bows, both trussrods have no tension on them.


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## Dark_Matter (Apr 2, 2010)

...there is a god...


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## Stealthdjentstic (Apr 3, 2010)

That's some crazy range


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## Sebastian (Apr 3, 2010)

Wow, that's really nice !


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## Apophis (Apr 3, 2010)

Awesome, your guitar is one of the most extreme instruments I saw in my life


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## maxident213 (Apr 3, 2010)

Apophis said:


> Awesome, your guitar is one of the most extreme instruments I saw in my life



Agreed. 

Massive, monstrous, marvelous - great work man, this is ground-breaking stuff.  Years from now you'll be one of the elite few who can look back and say, "man, I was rocking a 41-fret 11-string _before_ they were cool." 

Cheers.


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## 7 Strings of Hate (Apr 3, 2010)

dude, your friggin metal


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## s_k_mullins (Apr 3, 2010)

Awesome guitar, and the amount of range is f-ing insane!


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## george galatis (Apr 3, 2010)

really huge! :\


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## Esp Griffyn (Apr 3, 2010)

How do you EQ it to get a good sound across all the strings? I would have thought the easiest method would have been to use several pickups and split them through different EQs to different speakers, but that would be quite an expensive method.


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## Adam (Apr 3, 2010)

Sebastian said:


> Wow, that's really nice !


Thanks


Apophis said:


> Awesome, your guitar is one of the most extreme instruments I saw in my life


Thanks, I really love your work


maxident213 said:


> Agreed.
> 
> Massive, monstrous, marvelous - great work man, this is ground-breaking stuff.  Years from now you'll be one of the elite few who can look back and say, "man, I was rocking a 41-fret 11-string _before_ they were cool."
> 
> Cheers.





7 Strings of Hate said:


> dude, your friggin metal





s_k_mullins said:


> Awesome guitar, and the amount of range is f-ing insane!


7-1/2 octaves seems to be the most I can do at the 30" scale, amount of strings and frets wise. 


Esp Griffyn said:


> How do you EQ it to get a good sound across all the strings? I would have thought the easiest method would have been to use several pickups and split them through different EQs to different speakers, but that would be quite an expensive method.



With the mid cranked and the treble and bass at normal it gives a pretty even and smooth sound across all the strings. 
You read my mind, for my next 11 string (which will be fanned 31"-28") Im planning to get nordstrand to make me an 11 string pickup that is actually a 7 string(for the lowest 7) and 4 string(for the highest 4) combined in one pickup so that it will have 2 outputs leaving the pickup with each one leading to its own EQ system. It will be expensive but not as expensive as the MIDI route I originally took with this one.


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## cvinos (Apr 3, 2010)

An extreme range. *speechless*

You are using a different (consistent and modern) system to describe the tones.

In the "regular" system, which is given here, your B1 is still the B1 (in German notation H1). Your G#0 however is here a G#2! When I got this I was destroyed. You have all my respect.


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## John Strieder (Apr 3, 2010)

Fantastic! 

I was very irritatated by those octave-Values (like "what? so high!?"). After watching your Video I may convert this into european octave-values:

G#2,C#1,F#1,B1,E0,A0,d0,g0,b0,e1,a1


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## Ironberry (Apr 3, 2010)

Adam said:


> Thanks, I really love your work



I believe you're addressing the wrong Sebastian...

Looks amazing. INCREDIBLE instrument.


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## Adam (Apr 3, 2010)

cvinos said:


> An extreme range. *speechless*
> 
> You are using a different (consistent and modern) system to describe the tones.
> 
> In the "regular" system, which is given here, your B1 is still the B1 (in German notation H1). Your G#0 however is here a G#2! When I got this I was destroyed. You have all my respect.





John Strieder said:


> Fantastic!
> 
> I was very irritatated by those octave-Values (like "what? so high!?"). After watching your Video I may convert this into european octave-values:
> 
> G#2,C#1,F#1,B1,E0,A0,d0,g0,b0,e1,a1


Ah I see, thanks for explaining that I still prefer the octave values we use over here though.


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## Adam (Apr 3, 2010)

Ironberry said:


> I believe you're addressing the wrong Sebastian...
> 
> Looks amazing. INCREDIBLE instrument.



Whoops too many quotes Ill fix that.


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## thefpb2 (Apr 3, 2010)

This thing is awesome, good work


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## Customisbetter (Apr 3, 2010)

Adam i have a quick Question on your strings.

How far can you bend that A (or the old G) until it breaks? Im getting really pissed off at my RG for breaking the high G# and im trying to find another solution...


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## ellengtrgrl (Apr 3, 2010)

As I basically said the last time you posted about your 11-string - POSITIVELY MIND BLOWING!  I'd be leery about even playing the A4. I'd probably break it!


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## Adam (Apr 3, 2010)

Customisbetter said:


> Adam i have a quick Question on your strings.
> 
> How far can you bend that A (or the old G) until it breaks? Im getting really pissed off at my RG for breaking the high G# and im trying to find another solution...



Are you using Garrys strings or regular strings? Whats the scale length on your RG? Is it a locking trem, or a backloading fixed bridge? Right now I haven't tried doing any bends yet since I just reached A4 yesterday, and would prefer to let it stretch a little longer before I do. When I had a D'adarrio .007 for my high G though I could only do half step bends and a few full step bends before it broke, but being able to have a high G at 30.2" scale is pretty amazing.
At 25.5" you can do abiut the same range in bends as you can with your high E string. Check out an old vid I did demonstrating bending and vibrato:


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## Adam (Apr 3, 2010)

ellengtrgrl said:


> As I basically said the last time you posted about your 11-string - POSITIVELY MIND BLOWING!  I'd be leery about even playing the A4. I'd probably break it!



Thanks It is alot more fragile than the high A's I used on my 8 strings but will still last a while with light playing.


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## Rokkaholic (Apr 3, 2010)

God was melding his super shred 7 string, but he accidentally bumped his bass into the pot and now we have this...thing. Sweet!


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## Janiator (Apr 3, 2010)

So A4 = fifth fret on standard tuning e string?


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## Adam (Apr 3, 2010)

Janiator said:


> So A4 = fifth fret on standard tuning e string?



Yes


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## XxXPete (Apr 3, 2010)

ADAM..Killer axe man..looking foward to more vids!


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## Adam (Apr 3, 2010)

XxXPete said:


> ADAM..Killer axe man..looking foward to more vids!



Thanks, the next one will have quality, and like i said in my orginal post if there's something you want to see in the new vid, just ask.


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## silvercheeze (Apr 4, 2010)

As soon as I saw that thing, I laughed. That is freaking amazing! I love it!!! Excellent job.


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## Durero (Apr 5, 2010)

Fantastic Adam. Your guitar looks beautiful and a high A at that scale is an incredible achievement. I love how Garry is constantly pushing the limits of string performance.


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## ittoa666 (Apr 5, 2010)

You have officially dominated meshuggah and melted my brain.


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## Colton165 (Apr 5, 2010)

Build for the public man!


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## Adam (Apr 5, 2010)

Colton165 said:


> Build for the public man!



Dear god no This is only my 3rd guitar I've built and it does have finish flaws.


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## Colton165 (Apr 5, 2010)

Adam said:


> Dear god no This is only my 3rd guitar I've built and it does have finish flaws.


whatever you say...


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## Adam (Apr 5, 2010)

SKJORH said:


> Awesome stuff mate. I'll get some pictures of my bass, etc. up before long.



Rob is that you? Did you get the Audere EQ yet for your 15 string?


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## leftyguitarjoe (Apr 5, 2010)

Fantastic. I love this guiat and the concept behind it.

I still got you beat by one string though hahaha.


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## Ironberry (Apr 5, 2010)

Adam said:


> Dear god no This is only my 3rd guitar I've built and it does have finish flaws.



Halo sells to the public


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## Adam (Apr 5, 2010)

Ironberry said:


> Halo sells to the public



Good point But I don't want to tarnish my name this early in the game


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## Adam (Apr 5, 2010)

leftyguitarjoe said:


> Fantastic. I love this guiat and the concept behind it.
> 
> I still got you beat by one string though hahaha.



I still got ya beat by 17 frets though


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## Stan P (Apr 10, 2010)

you have exceeded the piano rane! Looks like a good design to me!


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## Antimatter (Apr 10, 2010)

Good to see that this is still working out for you man. Awesome guitar!


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## The Echthros (Apr 11, 2010)

this is good shit. thought the midi stuff sounded pretty cool especially that last little bit with the electonic bass/mag pickup mix at the end. Why did you opt to get rid of the midi stuff?


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## Adam (Apr 11, 2010)

il_echthros_777 said:


> this is good shit. thought the midi stuff sounded pretty cool especially that last little bit with the electonic bass/mag pickup mix at the end. Why did you opt to get rid of the midi stuff?



The original plan was to get all 11 strings hooked up but due to some money issues, I never pursued it and the bills were piling up, but to be honest Im happier with my EQ system and with my BOSS GT6 which can produce some synth/midi sounds as well. What annoyed me though was the MIDI's ability to only handle up to 28 notes per string(including open), making 14 of my frets useless, so if I ever got the other 5 strings hooked up I would have not been able to use my instruments entire range through MIDI.


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## chucknorrishred (Apr 13, 2010)

so um.......?? its a seven sting with a 4 sting bass on top or ???? u made this....???? sell it to me


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## Adam (Apr 13, 2010)

chucknorrishred said:


> so um.......?? its a seven sting with a 4 sting bass on top or ???? u made this....???? sell it to me


Its still a guitar I just used 4 bass tuners to handle the larger guages I needed, I did make this yes. Its tuned G#0 C#1 F#1 B1 E2 A2 D3 G3 B3 E4 A4, an easier way to think of it would be its an 8 string guitar with a low B and high A but with 3 lower strings added that follows guitar tuning. I don't think I could sell this, I doubt I would get much for it and it would be a better idea to keep it. It is just a protoype afterall. 
A recap for anyone who missed it Im using:

A4(.0059 custom guitar string)
E4(.010 guitar string)
B3(.013 guitar string)
G3(.017 guitar string)
D3(.032 guitar string)
A2(.042 guitar string)
E2(.052 guitar string)
B1(.068 guitar string)
F#1(.090 guitar string)
C#1(.120 bass string)
G#0(.140 custom bass string)


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## xtrustisyoursx (Apr 13, 2010)

How is this thing playing with that GT-6? I like knowing that after serving me so well, it'll be playing nicely with that beast.


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## Adam (Apr 13, 2010)

xtrustisyoursx said:


> How is this thing playing with that GT-6? I like knowing that after serving me so well, it'll be playing nicely with that beast.



Pretty nicely actually, the strings patch sounds great on all 11 strings, I made my own patch just for the 11 string and it sounds great. i really love this unit Thanks again man.


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## xtrustisyoursx (Apr 13, 2010)

Adam said:


> Pretty nicely actually, the strings patch sounds great on all 11 strings, I made my own patch just for the 11 string and it sounds great. i really love this unit Thanks again man.



My fav patches are the space echo patch and the ethereal patch


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## Adam (Apr 13, 2010)

xtrustisyoursx said:


> My fav patches are the space echo patch and the ethereal patch



I kept those love em.


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## xtrustisyoursx (Apr 13, 2010)

Adam said:


> I kept those love em.



They were quite good for just letting them cycle and going nuts on stage 

I had actually intended PMing you to ask you what you thought about all the patches I left on there that I had created lol


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## nseal31 (Apr 18, 2010)

i just jizzed my pants


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## Adam (Apr 19, 2010)

nseal31 said:


> i just jizzed my pants



 Thanks


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## phaeded0ut (Apr 25, 2010)

Simply delicious work, Adam! Congrats on getting up to the A you wanted!


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## Adam (Apr 25, 2010)

phaeded0ut said:


> Simply delicious work, Adam! Congrats on getting up to the A you wanted!



Thanks it took over 7 months but it was worth it, but now I actually tune this beast down a half step so now its a high G# which now allows me to choose from a wider variety of string guages. Garry is working on a string that can handle G0 better right now since the string he made for me was for G#0, might end up being only a .145 instead of the .140 I'm using now.


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## eleven59 (Apr 25, 2010)

Craziest looking piano I've ever seen 



Seriously though, very cool


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## Jtizzle (Apr 25, 2010)

It's a cool idea. But 11 is too many strings. I don't see the point of using the top string, though. The tuning is too low for the notes to actually sound out and play nicely. On the video you posted on the first page, the low two lowest strings pretty much sounded the same to me. And when you went to the low A on the first fret, it still didn't make much of a difference. Even when I'm playing piano I don't really ever use that side of the range. And the highest string just seems too fragile to even play. Still, it's a pretty good idea, and once you get that working I'm sure it'll be fantastic. Good luck with it


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## Adam (Apr 25, 2010)

Jtizzle said:


> It's a cool idea. But 11 is too many strings. I don't see the point of using the top string, though. The tuning is too low for the notes to actually sound out and play nicely. On the video you posted on the first page, the low two lowest strings pretty much sounded the same to me. And when you went to the low A on the first fret, it still didn't make much of a difference. Even when I'm playing piano I don't really ever use that side of the range. And the highest string just seems too fragile to even play. Still, it's a pretty good idea, and once you get that working I'm sure it'll be fantastic. Good luck with it



It's all subjective, and like I mentioned in the video the speaker I was using and the computer mic can't represent those frequencies too well, you would have to be here in person to really hear the differences. I have just installed a 3 band EQ system and the low notes come out alot clearer. Some people have to train their ears for some of these lower notes. On a full size piano I make use of ALL the range which is one of the reasons for this instrument.

Keep in mind that this instrument will only be played distorted about 20% of the time, and trust me the string is strong enough to play and now that I have decided to tune down a half step I will be getting a new batch of larger guage strings designed for G#4 and not A4 which will be even stronger. You're not supposed to be able to tune to a high A above 23.5" so having a playable one at 30.2" is nothing short of amazing. I am also getting a newly designed G0 string which will provide alot more tension than Im getting at the G#0 I have in that video so the notes will alot more defined.

I will be making a new video once I get the newer G#0/G0 string, and I guarentee that it will sound much more clearer and defined, especially with the EQ system now installed.


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## Jtizzle (Apr 25, 2010)

I'll be looking forward to that next video then 
Or maybe when you get everything ready try recording a direct in sample of the whole range through a pod or something. I wanna hear how it sounds with everything put together


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## Adam (Apr 25, 2010)

Jtizzle said:


> I'll be looking forward to that next video then
> Or maybe when you get everything ready try recording a direct in sample of the whole range through a pod or something. I wanna hear how it sounds with everything put together




I'll try something out with my lightsnake cable since I don't have a POD for an audio sample. For a video though it's still easier to record with a mic.


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## KahlerPlayer (Jun 6, 2010)

You built the guitar now. So learn how to play MARIO with both hands


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## Danxile (Jun 6, 2010)

holy shitballs lol. That's ridiculously awesome.


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## TreWatson (Aug 19, 2010)

Hey adam, I'm curious, I have a .145 on my bass and it's tuned up to G#, but it's floppy as all hell still. is yours?

(sorry to necro the thread, but i fgured you'd know)


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## 777 (Aug 19, 2010)

New Video?


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## Adam (Aug 19, 2010)

TreKita said:


> Hey adam, I'm curious, I have a .145 on my bass and it's tuned up to G#, but it's floppy as all hell still. is yours?
> 
> (sorry to necro the thread, but i fgured you'd know)



I don't use a normal .140, I use a custom Octave4plus one that provides a stiffer feel and clearer tone.


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## Adam (Aug 19, 2010)

777 said:


> New Video?



Soon, moved into a new apartment recently so things have been hectic.


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## ixlramp (May 10, 2015)

Hi Adam, i remembered you made an 11 string guitar so thought i would inform you that Kalium String's new webstore is opening soon. They will be selling an 11 string ERG string set (as well as singles and custom sets at no cost penalty), guitar strings up to .150 and up to .182 in future, and plain steels in steps of .0005 5 - 15 - 15 K A L I U M Strings


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## cakejetski (May 12, 2015)

Congrats on the build! It looks incredible. I wanted to give you a little insight on trying to hit a functional A4. I worked with Octave4Plus strings a few years ago trying to hit an A4 on my 27" RG8 and bought five .007 strings. While I got two strings to sit comfortably at A4 for a month or two, the other three snapped before I had even reached G. I would suggest picking up many more strings then you plan on using, and try to keep testing them out until you get one that works. For some reason (quality control?) the strings have varying degrees of tuning range. Good luck with everything!


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