# My First 8-String. Power Chords Sound Awful



## Webmaestro (Apr 18, 2019)

I've played 7-string guitars for many years now, but recently found a mint Ibanez RG2228 for a price I couldn't ignore. So, it's my first 8-string. It was stock, so it had EMG 808's in it, and I think the strings were 10 - 74. Standard tuning.

First thing I noticed: overdirven power chords, using the lowest string as the bass, sounded awful. Just... genderless mush. Essentially, it sounded the same way a bass sounds when you try to play a power chord on the lowest strings.

So, I thought that maybe a lighter gauge (9 - 68) of strings would help. It was a bit better, but only marginally. Still unacceptable, indistinguishable mush when playing power chords.

So, I swapped the EMG 808's out for a Tosin Abasi set, which I wanted anyway. The guitar sounds a LOT better overall (love these pickups), but power chords using the lowest string are still a no-go.

Is this just a "thing" with 8-strings? Do I need to avoid power chords using that lowest string?


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## Anquished (Apr 18, 2019)

Congrats on the guitar!

I've only owned two 8 strings (Schecter Banshee 8A and my Ibby S8) and both sound awful when playing power chords that low. I generally only play powerchords as low as the 7th string for that reason.


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## Webmaestro (Apr 18, 2019)

Anquished said:


> Congrats on the guitar!
> 
> I've only owned two 8 strings (Schecter Banshee 8A and my Ibby S8) and both sound awful when playing power chords that low. I generally only play powerchords as low as the 7th string for that reason.



Cool, thanks for the info. I've read elsewhere that you generally have to avoid power chords on 8+ string guitars, but wanted to confirm. Curious to hear what others say.

I'm wondering if a longer scale length, like on the M8M (29.4") would help, due to the higher string tension?


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## KnightBrolaire (Apr 18, 2019)

i found myself chasing after the clearest pickups I could find because I had a similar issue with extended chord voicings.
From what i've found most 8 string pickups i've tried suck for that level of clarity, but there are a few standouts (lace xbars, elysian trident 1, guitarmory orion, bkp black dog).
also it really helps to dial out the bass on your rig


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## Webmaestro (Apr 18, 2019)

KnightBrolaire said:


> i found myself chasing after the clearest pickups I could find because I had a similar issue with extended chord voicings.
> From what i've found most 8 string pickups i've tried suck for that level of clarity, but there are a few standouts (lace xbars, elysian trident 1, guitarmory orion, bkp black dog).
> also it really helps to dial out the bass on your rig



Yeah, that was my hope with the Fishman Abasi pickups... since Fishmans, in general, are always being lauded for their clarity. I'm definitely happy with their sound otherwise... but bummed they didn't solve my power chord issue.

I do need to spend some time working on my amp/eq settings. Dialing-in a good 8-string (overdrive) tone is totally new to me, and I haven't spent as much time experimenting yet to figure out what's needed.


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## KnightBrolaire (Apr 18, 2019)

Webmaestro said:


> Yeah, that was my hope with the Fishman Abasi pickups... since Fishmans, in general, are always being lauded for their clarity. I'm definitely happy with their sound otherwise... but bummed they didn't solve my power chord issue.
> 
> I do need to spend some time working on my amp/eq settings. Dialing-in a good 8-string (overdrive) tone is totally new to me, and I haven't spent as much time experimenting yet to figure out what's needed.


the abasis are the warmest and most low mid heavy of the fishmans so they're not going to be the clearest. moderns are clearer.
dialing in your rig will help a lot though


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## Thaeon (Apr 18, 2019)

KnightBrolaire said:


> the abasis are the warmest and most low mid heavy of the fishmans so they're not going to be the clearest. moderns are clearer.
> dialing in your rig will help a lot though



Tosin's tone on the last album was much warmer and rounder. Less stringiness. Not surprised his fishmans aren't the most defined. I would expect that Carp's sig pickups are clearer since he uses a lot of gain and doesn't do any leads.


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## Exchanger (Apr 18, 2019)

There's a reason bass players rarely play chords. Same for piano, the left hand, in the lower octaves, rarely plays dense chords, mostly arpeggios or open octave maybe sometimes fifths. In this low register, there simply not enough definition for it to sound nice. Add to it all the quirks of intonation and pitch shifting on attack of the low strings and it all goes sideways. The tips above help a bit, but you can only fight the physics of it so much.
In my view, you can play a 7 just like a 6, but an 8 strings I think of as a guitar merged with a bass and the lowest string will be mostly for single notes, occasionally a hard palm-muted chord, but this has more percussive than harmonic qualities.


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## LeviathanKiller (Apr 18, 2019)

KnightBrolaire said:


> the abasis are the warmest and most low mid heavy of the fishmans so they're not going to be the clearest. moderns are clearer.
> dialing in your rig will help a lot though



wuuuut. That was the opposite of my experience. I got rid of the Tosins because of the brightness in comparison to the Moderns. 

I'm so glad you made this thread @Webmaestro. I bought my first 8-string last year and have had the same experience but haven't worded it that clearly in posts I made seeking advice. I was hoping it wasn't just a "this is how 8-strings are" kind of thing. I ordered a Guitarmory ceramic Atlas set for mine. Hopefully that does the trick. Dialing out some of the bass and lower frequencies really does help too and I can get pretty close to 7-string clarity using the last 3 on my 8-string right now even.


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## KnightBrolaire (Apr 18, 2019)

LeviathanKiller said:


> wuuuut. That was the opposite of my experience. I got rid of the Tosins because of the brightness in comparison to the Moderns.
> 
> I'm so glad you made this thread @Webmaestro. I bought my first 8-string last year and have had the same experience but haven't worded it that clearly in posts I made seeking advice. I was hoping it wasn't just a "this is how 8-strings are" kind of thing. I ordered a Guitarmory ceramic Atlas set for mine. Hopefully that does the trick. Dialing out some of the bass and lower frequencies really does help too and I can get pretty close to 7-string clarity using the last 3 on my 8-string right now even.


i might be confusing the tosins and the caprenters, either way, single coil mode is the only way to get really good extended chord definition ime. i'm honestly at the point where i'm going to ask elysian to build me a set of 8 string p90s with dummy coils.


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## KnightBrolaire (Apr 18, 2019)

Exchanger said:


> There's a reason bass players rarely play chords. Same for piano, the left hand, in the lower octaves, rarely plays dense chords, mostly arpeggios or open octave maybe sometimes fifths. In this low register, there simply not enough definition for it to sound nice. Add to it all the quirks of intonation and pitch shifting on attack of the low strings and it all goes sideways. The tips above help a bit, but you can only fight the physics of it so much.
> In my view, you can play a 7 just like a 6, but an 8 strings I think of as a guitar merged with a bass and the lowest string will be mostly for single notes, occasionally a hard palm-muted chord, but this has more percussive than harmonic qualities.


ehh 8 string power chords and extended chord voicings are definitely viable, but you have to deliberately choose a pickup and rig eq setting that emphasizes low end clarity over pure br00tz if you want a decent sound.


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## Strobe (Apr 18, 2019)

KnightBrolaire said:


> i might be confusing the tosins and the caprenters, either way, single coil mode is the only way to get really good extended chord definition ime. i'm honestly at the point where i'm going to ask elysian to build me a set of 8 string p90s with dummy coils.



I own the Tosins and multiple sets of the moderns. Your experience matches my experience. The Tosins are warmer. More Tone Zone like to my ears. Not as clear, just as you said. They are, however, still very clear and would crush most pickups in clarity. V2 is a little clearer than V1. 

I think a clear pickup will improve the OP's problem, but not solve it. You can get a little better still by EQ'ing your amp for the 8 string (you probably need less bass). Subjectively, I think it's a little better with longer scale lengths. As many have mentioned, however (and I will echo), you have to adjust how you approach the 8th string. More single notes. On the bright side, the 8th string is not going to sound thin by itself.


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## Exchanger (Apr 18, 2019)

KnightBrolaire said:


> ehh 8 string power chords and extended chord voicings are definitely viable, but you have to deliberately choose a pickup and rig eq setting that emphasizes low end clarity over pure br00tz if you want a decent sound.


Not saying it can't be done, but not really worth the trouble of dialing a tone and chosing pickups just for that. And I think there's more value in knowing your instrument's sounds, knowing what each register can do, and working things out through good arrangement (splitting the parts over different bass/guitar/keys parts).


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## cardinal (Apr 18, 2019)

The timbre of that lowest string is just different than the low B, which IMHO is different than the low E. 

It’s an oversimplification, but I tend to think of it as the top 6 strings are for RAWK, the low B is for BRUTZ, and the low F# is either djenty-groove stuff or moody/atmospheric stuff. 

Heavy power cords to me can work on the low F#, but it won’t be as tight and mean as the other strings. I think after you spend some time with it, you’ll start to have fun with it.


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## GunpointMetal (Apr 18, 2019)

IME there's usually a frequency build-up in the lows/low mids somewhere between 200-500Hz that gets "in between" the 8th and 7th strings for chording. A longer scale and thinner strings helps, but most of my 8 and 9 string guitar presets in the Helix have an EQ before anything else with a dip somewhere in that range depending on the guitar and the amp model I'm using.


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## cardinal (Apr 18, 2019)

The other thing to keep in mind with 8-string guitars is what the bassist could be doing. The bassist can use a low F# to play the root notes (and wow is that a “different” sounding note on the bass), or the bassist can essentially tune up and play the root notes on his existing low E string. The latter packs a lot of punch and snap into the song, filling out a bit of what the 8-string guitar is struggling with.


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## Señor Voorhees (Apr 18, 2019)

Power chords sound mushy down low. You can do them, but they're not defined and that's just the nature of low tunings. The same way a bass sounds bad doing power chords (it's only a whole step lower than an 8,) chords just start to sound mushy down low. (unless you use decently large intervals, like an octave.)

Speaking of octaves, playing them with distortion on an 8 is crazy heavy sounding. I tend to favor octaves and single note stuff when it comes to distortion and anything really lower than A.


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## trem licking (Apr 18, 2019)

really? i think 8th string power chords sound amazing and brutal. the 8th string gives me that brutal sound that i hear 7 strings get on record... no issues here with it. i have an agile 930 and schecter 8 string... i have MASSIVE strings on the agile and very very light strings on the schecter and both sound super awesome playing low power chords (now, playing power chords off of the 9th string is definitely another story). only thing I can contribute is dont use too much gain (dial in as much as you need to get a good palm mute with 6th and 7th string power chords and it will translate well to the 8th), use a tight amp or boost a looser amp and obviously watch the bass dials a bit more to compensate. you should definitely be able to get a nice power chord sound on the low string


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## Webmaestro (Apr 19, 2019)

Thanks everyone. SS.org always delivers \m/

I kinda figured this was just an inherent characteristic, but wanted to make sure I wasn't crazy.


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## gutspill713 (Apr 20, 2019)

Hi, Thought i would put my two cents in. I use an axe fx 2 and use multiple 10 band EQ's in the chain. one pre amp, one after amp and one after effects for final tweek. Its a bit overkill but i find that i can get a pretty good tone regardless of the amount of gain. Some might disagree with me but i find if you are tuning to F# for those power chords a .80 is my threshold of getting a decent tone out of the string (while still sounding guitar-ish).
I use a 85 currently for my drop E but it takes alot of tone within the hands to manage the characteristics of it at 27 inch scale length, as you will get a different tone out of a string that big and tight on such a short scale length. (i mostly do finger style these days).
As previously stated it can be a mess sometimes as your dealing with a few hurdles with intonation being kinda strange on the f# depending on what gauge you are dealing with.


my findings
125 htz are a must on the tweak. (high gain will need less imo) Where cleans a bit more depending on speaker and cab.
500 htz i lower a bit, in the past this would be cranked but i have found that when 500 is lowered and 1khtz is raised it sounds pretty good with trying to get clarity on the 8.
raise 2k
Raise 4k quite a bit
everything above is mostly going to be your personal set up. I find that it is a bit of a sacrifice to play an 8 sometimes when going for certain tones.

Id like to add... I recently switched to an semi-open back cab. Not sure what kind of music you are playing or what setup you have but with the 8 sounding muffled and muddy i think this could help open your sound if your using something else.

When i first got my 8 string i was using a 7 string carvin with BKP-jugg's and those pickups are very true, clear, and thin. Coming to the 8 string i tried and tried to get it to sound how i wanted as i was into the djent stuff and just could not get into my mahogany agile with Emg's in it. i ended up putting the instrument away and didn't play it much for a very long time.
Fast foreword to today and it is my main guitar. It opened up a lot of avenues for my creativity and i use the characteristics of the 8th string in ways i could not have on my seven. i guess the moral of the story is just spend some time with the instrument and keep working at the sound and how it is played.
Good luck!


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## eggy in a bready (Apr 20, 2019)

there's lots of things i would try first before i go spend money on new pups. dial back the gain and the bass. boost the high mids. use a compressor.


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## Chris Bowsman (Apr 20, 2019)

Mess with the height of the pickups, too. That makes a huge difference.


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## ExileMetal (Apr 20, 2019)

I'll mirror what some others have said because I have an 852 with Abasi pickups -

Power chords don't sound good on the 8th string. I don't think the pickup or amp selection matters for this over general clarity etc. After playing for a year or so and working it into my music, I think I've mostly used octaves. You're constantly battling clarity vs punch, and its harder to get a nice compromise with the extra string. 

I think BKPs have better clarity for the most part, but for me they start sounding thin if your songs have a wide dynamic range (at least the Painkiller set.). Fishmans helped with that, but I needed to lower my gain a lot for it to not be all fizz.


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## cardinal (Apr 20, 2019)

I ran through more pickups for 8 strings than I usually do. It’s tricky to get something clear but not thin. 

The Fluence Modern Alnico seems to be the best balance for me. Both at the bridge and the neck position. Just wish it was available in a passive size.


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## kisielk (Apr 20, 2019)

The reason power chords don't sound good on those really low tunings doesn't have much to do with pickups or particular but more to do with the frequencies being played. Whenever you play a chord you get the fundamental notes, a bunch of harmonics, and a bunch of resulting beat frequencies. When you are playing notes so low the beat frequencies also give you some additional low frequency content that really muddies things up. It's not limited to guitar, try playing a 5th on the lowest keys of a piano, or even a low tuned synthesizer with some relatively pure waveforms, it will sound bad. Now throw on a bunch of amp distortion on top of that and you're just amplifying all of that...


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## chopeth (Apr 21, 2019)

maybe multiscale help fix these problems


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## bracky (Apr 21, 2019)

It's not a problem. It's just how it is.


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## Winspear (Apr 21, 2019)

kisielk said:


> The reason power chords don't sound good on those really low tunings doesn't have much to do with pickups or particular but more to do with the frequencies being played. Whenever you play a chord you get the fundamental notes, a bunch of harmonics, and a bunch of resulting beat frequencies. When you are playing notes so low the beat frequencies also give you some additional low frequency content that really muddies things up. It's not limited to guitar, try playing a 5th on the lowest keys of a piano, or even a low tuned synthesizer with some relatively pure waveforms, it will sound bad. Now throw on a bunch of amp distortion on top of that and you're just amplifying all of that...





bracky said:


> It's not a problem. It's just how it is.



Yup prettymuch. A longer scale+thinner strings would improve it. The most important things are absolutely perfect intonation of all 3 notes and no pitch fluctuation from loose strings. However, even in such a perfect setting, it's a very different sound and certainly less useful as explained above


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## Winspear (Apr 21, 2019)

On a slightly related note, when playing 3rds - not powerchords - you can improve minor thirds (53 type shape) by bending the 3 on the 2nd string 15 cents. You can improve major thirds (54 shape) by bending the root 15 cents. If you use distorted thirds in your playing much, this will improve their clarity significantly especially in low tunings. If you bend it slowly you will hear the distortion lock into tune. These cents numbers assume starting from perfect intonation.


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## MerlinTKD (Apr 21, 2019)

Not debating the physics (which would be stupid ) but on my Septor 828 in drop E (with an .80) power chords sound great above the 5th fret or so; below that, there's a level of out-of-tuneness/distortion that I actually enjoy, but it's definitely not clear like a 7 string in B or A. It's actually pretty similar to when I had my 7 in drop G. 

Which made me remember Deftones... aren't there some songs on Diamond Eyes where Stef plays power chords with the 8th string?


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## Winspear (Apr 21, 2019)

Think so yeah! It's definitely a sound that can be useful, but someone picking up an 8 string and expecting to powerchord everything as usual (if that's what they usually do) could be in for a surprise indeed


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## c7spheres (Apr 21, 2019)

kisielk said:


> The reason power chords don't sound good on those really low tunings doesn't have much to do with pickups or particular but more to do with the frequencies being played. Whenever you play a chord you get the fundamental notes, a bunch of harmonics, and a bunch of resulting beat frequencies. When you are playing notes so low the beat frequencies also give you some additional low frequency content that really muddies things up. It's not limited to guitar, try playing a 5th on the lowest keys of a piano, or even a low tuned synthesizer with some relatively pure waveforms, it will sound bad. Now throw on a bunch of amp distortion on top of that and you're just amplifying all of that...



Yep, This is exactly it. I would add that as an experiment to prove this you can tune your perfect 5th absolutely perfectly with a tuner to the 1/2 cent, (remember your open vs fretted chords will probably be a bit out of tune so tune the chord your going to actually play) for those low 2 strings, and then pick very lightly and slowly and it will suddenly sound very fat and clear and perfect, but pick hard and it will sound crappier the harder you play, slam the pickup into the body and it will sound a little better because it's not picking up everything. Better pickups only give the illusion of actually sounding better. It's the pickups lack of picking up the offending freq's that make you think it sounds better, but they are still there just in a different mixture. This is why certain pickups may sound better on different notes/chords because of that pickups res freq or freq emphasis etc. Remember the lower notes are physically slower resonating too so playing them fast makes it so the note doesn't fully develope also. This doesn't mean you can't find a combination of settings or gear etc that you don't like though. Just some thoughts.


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## teamSKDM (Apr 21, 2019)

ive had an rga8 and rg2228 and found that 27" scale is too short for f# and lower, and really barely keeps g standard for my 27" 7 strings clear enough. then after playing a jackson multiscale at guitar center with 28" the issues i was having with the timbre and tonality of the thicker strings seemed absent and while power chords on my 27" guitars sounds flubby on the 28" it was clear enough for power chords to ring through clearly on the lower register. right now im about to add an ormsby 8 with 28.2" on the low side to the collection to replace the others. alot of 8 string sets also come with a 64 for the low 7th b string and i find thats too fat and using a 54/52 on the lowest for the b and like 42 on the e with a .74 at the thickest for the 8th string will help the lower notes resonate better together without fighting one another over bass frequencies during power chords. for what its worth i plan on stringing the 25.5-28.2 ormsby with 11-13-17-24-32-42-52-74 with the 11 being my preference for the e string on 25.5. to get appropriate tension on my 27" however i have to use DR 11-80 which is all far too bassy and tubby at that thickness with still not as much tension the 28" had on the low notes destroying the possibilty of power chords.


TLDR : its not that the f# is too low to play power chords on , its that the 27" scale is too short to support f# power chords and using thicker strings to compensate only worsens the tone at this register. i wouldnt use anything less than 28" and nothing thicker than .74f#/.52b/.42e if planning on being a dedicated recording 8 string player with power chords as a priority.


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## Lindmann (Apr 22, 2019)

Winspear said:


> Yup prettymuch. A longer scale+thinner strings would improve it. The most important things are absolutely perfect intonation of all 3 notes and no pitch fluctuation from loose strings. However, even in such a perfect setting, it's a very different sound and certainly less useful as explained above


I'll second this.

My recipe for good-sounding low power chords is:
- Long scale length (I'm talking about 30" here, not 26,5" or so)
- thin strings (plus getting used to playing with low tension) 
- perfect setup
- tubescreamer in front of the amp and in order to make up for this, dial in a good amount of bass at the amp.


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## cardinal (Apr 22, 2019)

Ok I figured I’d throw this here. Some mindless low F# string riffing with power cords 



26.5” scale, .068 lowest string, PAF8s, Marshall Superlead booster with an OD808.


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## TheShreddinHand (Apr 22, 2019)

Appreciate this thread as I've been contemplating jumping into the 8 string game myself finally. Some good insight in this thread!


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## KnightBrolaire (Apr 22, 2019)

27" scale is fine, >28" scale is fine as well. most amps work fine with 8 strings imo. I mean I've used my 8 strings with a spider 3 amp before and they sounded just fine. 
Use as thick of strings as you need to get the tuning you want. If you're happy with most of your setup and you know that string clarity is the issue, then grab some LaBellas/D'addarios. Those are the clearest strings I've found by far. Kalium's really big winds (>.90) are much warmer/muddier than comparable Labellas ime.
I've had success down to D1 on the 8th string but most pickups/guitars are useless below that point with either a 27 or 28" scale (you need a stupidly thick string to make it viable and it still sounds like farts even on longer scales like 30" ime).
Seeing as I'm probably the only guy on this forum that's put like 15+ pickups through the same 8 string, I'll say that pickups>>>>>>>>speakers>>>>amps>>>>>>>Strings
By all means, start with the easy stuff like pickup height/amp eq/changing strings, but never forget that pickups are basically forced eqs. It doesn't matter if you run a razor clear amp if the pickups sound like R2D2 on Ketamine, you're gonna have a miserable time trying to get them to sound good.


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## LeviathanKiller (Apr 22, 2019)

KnightBrolaire said:


> R2D2 on Ketamine





But yeah, D'Addario and LaBella strings are where it's at for easy-to-find sets. Really balanced tension wise and that's why I promote them like crazy whenever asked.


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## ixlramp (Apr 22, 2019)

As stated, possibly just an inherent result of low pitch chords.
The consonance of a chord is directly determined by it's pitch (as well as the intervals used), the lower the pitch the lower the consonance.

In the standard '12 Tone Equal Temperament' system we use, the 12TET fifth of 7.00 semitones is very close to the perfect-harmony 'Just Intonation' fifth of 7.02 semitones. 2 cents is smaller than the unavoidable natural pitch variation of strings, so this is not a case of 12TET being significantly out of tune.


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## jephjacques (Apr 22, 2019)

All you folks who swear 27" isn't long enough or you need a .94 for f# are crazy, all my 8s are 27" with .74s and I can get nice clear power chords all the way down to drop E. It's all in how you pick.

Part of the problem is also that 808s just sound like ass. Also, turn down the bass and gain! 8 strings can be super picky, don't be afraid to get wild with your amp settings if it gets you the sound you're after.


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## Dayn (Apr 22, 2019)

jephjacques said:


> All you folks who swear 27" isn't long enough or you need a .94 for f# are crazy, all my 8s are 27" with .74s and I can get nice clear power chords all the way down to drop E. It's all in how you pick.
> 
> Part of the problem is also that 808s just sound like ass. Also, turn down the bass and gain! 8 strings can be super picky, don't be afraid to get wild with your amp settings if it gets you the sound you're after.


I second this (though I use .090 for E at 27"). I don't have 808s anymore which certainly helped, but otherwise I have a tubescreamer with no drive, and amp is at 2/10 gain. Bass/mids/highs are at 4/5/6. It feels counter-intuitive but it's very clear.


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## vick1000 (Apr 23, 2019)

Intonate your guitar. Turn down the gain/ distortion. EQ/ mid boost before the amp.


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## Masoo2 (Apr 23, 2019)

jephjacques said:


> All you folks who swear 27" isn't long enough or you need a .94 for f# are crazy, all my 8s are 27" with .74s and I can get nice clear power chords all the way down to drop E. It's all in how you pick.
> 
> Part of the problem is also that 808s just sound like ass. Also, turn down the bass and gain! 8 strings can be super picky, don't be afraid to get wild with your amp settings if it gets you the sound you're after.


My approach as well

Thin string gauge + adequate scale length (read: not 25.5) + hard yet precise picking + low bass + proper gain setting = great 8 string power chords

Currently using an 80 on my 28 inch fanned fret but I've used as thin as 74 down to D on a 27 inch with great results as well. The 80 is okay at Eb and D but I wouldn't tune it above F, 70-74 is best for that imo if not thinner. I'll probably move to a 72 or 70 around my next string change


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## teamSKDM (Apr 23, 2019)

Some of us were simply giving the optimal results not exactly what gets you by. Ive played all those tunings with all those guages with the same scale (and probably same guitars) and frankly the results were uninspiring. Then moving to 28+" it began to sound as lively as my other 6's and 7's. If you wouldve asked me before hand if a .74 on 27" for the 8th string was good enough id say say absolutely but now with my experience I definitely cannot see the benefit of hindering the tonality of an 8 string guitar by simply settling for 27" other than it being the industry standard baritone scale.


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## J_Mac (May 3, 2019)

Power chords sound fine on my Ibanez M80M. Might be the 29.4” scale.


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## Chronophobia (May 3, 2019)

The first bit of this Means End song show how an 8th-string power chord can sound in a full band context. I think it's a whole octave below the low E on a 6-string guitar (they tune something like EADGBE a full octave down).

Edit: it starts at about 0:13 seconds in.


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## LeviathanKiller (May 3, 2019)

LeviathanKiller said:


> wuuuut. That was the opposite of my experience. I got rid of the Tosins because of the brightness in comparison to the Moderns.
> 
> I'm so glad you made this thread @Webmaestro. I bought my first 8-string last year and have had the same experience but haven't worded it that clearly in posts I made seeking advice. I was hoping it wasn't just a "this is how 8-strings are" kind of thing. I ordered a Guitarmory ceramic Atlas set for mine. Hopefully that does the trick. Dialing out some of the bass and lower frequencies really does help too and I can get pretty close to 7-string clarity using the last 3 on my 8-string right now even.



I got my ceramic Atlas set in and installed them...complete perfection. I was having that issue with the low string being disjointed from everything else but this set has fixed it. Thanks to Agile's weird distance between pickup screw-holes, I had to use the Cepheus base plates instead of just dropping the set in. In the process of doing so, I discovered the keeper bars in the Cepheus set only sit next to like 5 of the poles and they're the high strings. I wonder if that's why the lower ones sounded so disjointed from the rest.


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## MerlinTKD (May 3, 2019)

LeviathanKiller said:


> I got my ceramic Atlas set in and installed them...complete perfection. I was having that issue with the low string being disjointed from everything else but this set has fixed it. Thanks to Agile's weird distance between pickup screw-holes, I had to use the Cepheus base plates instead of just dropping the set in. In the process of doing so, I discovered the keeper bars in the Cepheus set only sit next to like 5 of the poles and they're the high strings. I wonder if that's why the lower ones sounded so disjointed from the rest.



This is all new info to me, and I own an Agile 8... what's this now?


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## LeviathanKiller (May 3, 2019)

MerlinTKD said:


> This is all new info to me, and I own an Agile 8... what's this now?


I have no clue honestly. When I removed the base plate you could clearly see the keeper bars and they are only long enough to go up beside 5 of the poles. They put them against the first 5 and it ends halfway on the 6th. So half of the 6th and then the entire 7th and 8th poles do not have anything beside them (other than the magnet which does run all the way across.

EDIT: I just rechecked actually and they may just be plastic shims. Still weird that they wouldn't go across the entire pickup though.


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## lewis (May 4, 2019)

I mean i used to use Drop E on an 8 string and had no issues with clarity on low strings and chords. Think i used an 80 on bottom at 27 inch scale. (The ernie ball set)

I had a twangy almost single coil style tone (just not as extreme). I dialed out alot of bass and went with quite a fair big of treble

HACKTIVIST used to use Drop E on 8s and Timfy their old guitarist, never had issue with chords and EMGs



Granted these are 81s not 808s.


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## noise in my mind (May 29, 2019)

I never had a problem with my rg2228 and power chords. It's a you problem. You need to learn how to dial in proper tone and/or set up your guitar properly etc.


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## Konfyouzd (May 29, 2019)

+1 to adjusting amp settings.

Less bass and fiddling w my gain settings did a lot when I played an 8.


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## Gmork (Jun 2, 2019)

I use anywhere from an 80 to a 90 on my 8th string (ibanez 27.5" scale i believe) and it sounds incredible. I typically use quite a bit of bass too. Not excessive amounts but maybe a bit more than most (no bassist in my band to compete in the lows) 



teamSKDM said:


> Some of us were simply giving the optimal results not exactly what gets you by. Ive played all those tunings with all those guages with the same scale (and probably same guitars) and frankly the results were uninspiring. Then moving to 28+" it began to sound as lively as my other 6's and 7's. If you wouldve asked me before hand if a .74 on 27" for the 8th string was good enough id say say absolutely but now with my experience I definitely cannot see the benefit of hindering the tonality of an 8 string guitar by simply settling for 27" other than it being the industry standard baritone scale.


So my soon to be aquired 29" should sound pretty beastly on the 8th and 7th eh!?


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## BananaDemocracy (Jun 3, 2019)

Ill briefly chime in my two cents on my iPad...
I got an M80M and I think it’s the exception to all other 8 strings because since I traded my 6 for another 8 with a Floyd and it has the second longes scale (28”) but I can’t play it comfy or get the sound like M80M

With that said, I am really bummed I gave away a great 6 for what I thought was a great 8 and now backsies so I’m stuck ...it’s really a good guitar but without the m8p and the extra 1.5” scale it isn’t as clear or power chord work

However I’m starting to think- is the 8 string and (first position in genral) imply, or at least suggest, were to play one note passaGes there?

I’m starting to think differently after reading this and then applying it to these examples...I’d imagine 8 strings 25.5-27” are really goin to be problematic 

Thanks for posting, I think I’ll just sell this C8 or trade down


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## trem licking (Jun 3, 2019)

BananaDemocracy said:


> Ill briefly chime in my two cents on my iPad...
> I got an M80M and I think it’s the exception to all other 8 strings because since I traded my 6 for another 8 with a Floyd and it has the second longes scale (28”) but I can’t play it comfy or get the sound like M80M
> 
> With that said, I am really bummed I gave away a great 6 for what I thought was a great 8 and now backsies so I’m stuck ...it’s really a good guitar but without the m8p and the extra 1.5” scale it isn’t as clear or power chord work
> ...



so you have a hellraiser C8 floyd rose? im surprised you're having issues with the sound... playability is obviously a preference thing but the sound should be clear for sure, i have that guitar and it sounds clear and massive playing power chords on the lowest strings. try some lighter strings, i have a .68-.007 gauge progressive tension set on mine and it sounds awesome and plays quite easily. also makes using the floyd a bit easier too than what came stock on it (WAY too heavy of strings stock). i wouldnt think you would need to go above .74 to get a tight string if that's what you prefer


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## BananaDemocracy (Jun 4, 2019)

trem licking said:


> so you have a hellraiser C8 floyd rose? im surprised you're having issues with the sound... playability is obviously a preference thing but the sound should be clear for sure, i have that guitar and it sounds clear and massive playing power chords on the lowest strings. try some lighter strings, i have a .68-.007 gauge progressive tension set on mine and it sounds awesome and plays quite easily. also makes using the floyd a bit easier too than what came stock on it (WAY too heavy of strings stock). i wouldnt think you would need to go above .74 to get a tight string if that's what you prefer


Exactly! As I said, it’s a great guitar. Actually I am surprised NO ONE besides you has heard of it or mentions it because I thought I found a treasure when the dude wanted to trade , I didn’t think there are any other brands or models that have an OFR. And this OFR is aBeast! It’s very stable, very strong, and it feels a lot more substantial , perhaps because it’s a massive guitar. Again, the oNly 8 string bigger is the exception , the M8M.... maybe that’s part of my problem along what others mentioned about my naïveté and lack of experience , but the meshuggah 8 string really has affected my perception and feel of ERGs* 

I have restrung it , which was very hard for me, and I put an 8-74 set to try to approximate your advice. It definitely clarified it from stock strings. It’s not bad,at all...however, it’s just like I’ll put the C8 down and grab my M80M and all of a sudden all the gains I made and all the Progress I mad on the tone just flies out the window. It feels futile, and I honestly am hung up On it, if that makes sense. Actually, to be totally honesty, there a steady and growing dissatisfaction with my experience every time I plug in now. It’s getting tO the point where the C8 is now sitting in the closet on a time out( I know that sounds silly, but it is s bit frustrating to be “stuck” with an instrument....literally the last thing you want from your tool when working !

Anyway, I should just be quiet, mind my business, and go play my guitar instead because I dare fear sound spoiled lol and I don’t want to disrupt any one else 

Again, the C8 as an instrument is great, beautiful wood and binding, and I got a pup upgrade included (!), and it’s a gorgeous example of a schecter. I think the Floyd is underrated, and it’s the best schecter Floyd I’ve tried, because I really abuse the he’ll of the whammy, and I believe ^ you did also say the tuning on yours is stable.....just have a little issue with my own ability perhaps ,in the end, it’s really just me(?)....I probably just suck and d not mean to play aERG lol


*(at this point, I need to clarify I’m talking about 8 strings only ....I truly feel 9 or more strings is just silly to even try to navigate with a standard straight fretboard , and I’m not into the fan fret, call me a boring vanilla old schooler but I think some luthiers have gone too far to get into their 13 year old parents pockets With “ERG marketing” like I only can see teenager wanting a 9 or 10 string, there was a crazy Halo 10 string that Was a real joke....IMHO obviously 6 is standard, 7 is perfect, 8 is really cool and interesting, and let’s say anything more is novelty...I don’t want to “limit it” but when I say ERG, I mean 7 but more or less 8 strings, just to be clear so I’m. It stepping on anyone’s toes, I don’t mean to offend so you can see my position . Enjoy whatever you like! )


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## Carl Kolchak (Jun 4, 2019)

@Webmaestro You should look into that new Mud Killer pedal.


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## BananaDemocracy (Jun 5, 2019)

Yes, I did a little adjustment to truss+ action....it’s just the M80M. It is the perfect ERG, from the pickup, to the neck, the scale, to the bridge, and I mean the resonance and sustain is the longest I’ve ever seen on any guitar...it rings and rings and rings, and it clear....

If anyone loves /plays ERG, the M80M is so essential to try, I cant imagine you would not be satisfied 

Does anyone here have the $6000 version of the M80M? I’d like to hear your impressions


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## jephjacques (Jun 5, 2019)

had one, it was pretty good


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## cardinal (Jun 6, 2019)

I am becoming a huge fanboi of the Fortin 33. I've had one a few days and after adjusting to it, it really sounds great to me into a Marshall. Power cords on the 8th string come through nice and clear. It's quite bright and thin but somehow still chugs. Has a very mean/angry sound but is sweet/warm on the top end.

I've been going nuts trying to find an amp and pickups that would do what I wanted and the 33 seems to have solved my problems. I can still use my beloved Marshalls and passive pickups but just boost with the 33 instead of an SD1 or 808.


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## MerlinTKD (Jun 8, 2019)

cardinal said:


> I am becoming a huge fanboi of the Fortin 33. I've had one a few days and after adjusting to it, it really sounds great to me into a Marshall. Power cords on the 8th string come through nice and clear. It's quite bright and thin but somehow still chugs. Has a very mean/angry sound but is sweet/warm on the top end.
> 
> I've been going nuts trying to find an amp and pickups that would do what I wanted and the 33 seems to have solved my problems. I can still use my beloved Marshalls and passive pickups but just boost with the 33 instead of an SD1 or 808.



Slightly off topic: is the 33 out of production? And how does the Grind compare?


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## cardinal (Jun 8, 2019)

MerlinTKD said:


> Slightly off topic: is the 33 out of production? And how does the Grind compare?



Never tried the Grind. There seem to be a few versions; and apparently at least one of them is essentially identical to the 33.

I don't know what's up with Fortin, but it seems like the 33 is in production, they just sell out quickly, so you have to watch for them to come in stock and pull the trigger.

For what it's worth, I ended up with two 33s. One says v2.17c and the board even says "Grind/33" on it. So for at least a time it seems they used the same board (but maybe component values differed?). The other say v2.19a and sounds identical to me, but the board is slightly different and it has neither 33 nor Grind written on it. Neither appears to use smd components.


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