# Who inspired you to play seven?



## PlanetJeff (Nov 2, 2007)

I just wanted to know what artist's influence you play step out the norm and play the seven string guitar, for me it started out with Korn, then Fear Factory and some Nevermore. I just want to get that super low crunch and I want to play melodic too. What about you? and what's your preffered tuning on the seven string? I play in ADGCFAD


----------



## eleven59 (Nov 2, 2007)

Well, when I first heard of 7-strings, it was 1999, and it was in an Ibanez ad in GuitarOne magazine, and I thought it was a really cool idea. I liked the idea of having something no one else had, and being different, and all the different ideas that could come from that. 

Then I heard Korn, Orgy, and Limp bizkit and was sold. But mainly, I wanted to combine those low sounds with other music I liked, and the ideas I was already having.

2-3 years later, I had one


----------



## Xtremevillan (Nov 2, 2007)

Broderick/Loomis


----------



## Nats (Nov 2, 2007)

my old guitarist. i played bass at the time. i switched to a 5 string so i could play in the band and when we split, i decided i wanted to buy a guitar to jam on and i bought a 7 string


----------



## savageshredder (Nov 2, 2007)

Id have to say korn,meshuggah,unearth...later on I found out about real wizards like rusty, jeff etc...


----------



## Metal Ken (Nov 2, 2007)

I always just thought it'd be cool to have an extra string. i saw some 7 strings after i first started playing guitar and thought they looked cool... But it took me almost 3 years to get one.


----------



## omentremor (Nov 2, 2007)

I decided I needed the extra range for what I was writing, and what sold me to the 7 seven properly was Dino.


----------



## kherman (Nov 2, 2007)

John Petrucci.


----------



## playstopause (Nov 2, 2007)

Vai.


----------



## ShawnFjellstad (Nov 2, 2007)

Petrucci, Vai, Broderick, every gothenburg melo-death band ever.

[action=ShawnF] knows that a many of the gothenburg melo-death bands actually just used sixes tuned to b, but he liked the idea of playing their material without having to sacrifice the higher range. [/action]


----------



## Zepp88 (Nov 2, 2007)

It was Jeff Loomis who pushed me over the edge. At the time I wanted some more lower range, but detuning and losing the higher registers didn't really appeal to me. I'd be playing the low E string and try to go to a lower note, and....IT WASN'T THERE  

So, yeah, now I play sevens.


----------



## Xtremevillan (Nov 2, 2007)

ShawnFjellstad said:


> Petrucci, Vai, Broderick, every gothenburg melo-death band ever.
> 
> [action=ShawnF] knows that a many of the gothenburg melo-death bands actually just used sixes tuned to b, but he liked the idea of playing their material without having to sacrifice the higher range. [/action]



I missed that action= for a second there.


----------



## Krunch (Nov 2, 2007)

I was introduced around '98, in college. Initially I thought it was really cool and I wanted one, then I listened to a bunch of nu-metal era music and decided it was stupid (big mistake). A year or two later I got into Dream Theater and Petrucci made me get one.


----------



## progmetaldan (Nov 2, 2007)

For me it was definately John Petrucci, and then Vai, Broderick etc.


----------



## Pirelli (Nov 2, 2007)

Petrucci mainly. This forum reinforced the need.


----------



## kmanick (Nov 2, 2007)

Someone I work with put the "Enemies of Reality" cd into the cd player in my 
computer at work 2 summers ago and I completely lost it.

Hearing Loomis and Van Williams do their thing with a singer that actually 
sings, I knew I had just found my new favorite metal band.
that was the first time I had heard 7's not being used in
a "Nu-Metal:wall of sound" kind of way. The riffage just blew me away 
and the shred leads on top sealed the deal. I bought my first 
7 about a month later.

finding this forum has led me to all of the others .
Now my 7 is my favorite guitar and I play it 90% of the time I'm playing
and I can't wait to get my next one.


----------



## Plaschkes (Nov 2, 2007)

Petrucci/Loomis made me consider one, and after thinking about and realizing that I only have to gain from this, and basically nothing to lose, I went for it, and haven't looked back since.


----------



## eelblack2 (Nov 2, 2007)

Vai in '90 had me jonesing to get one.


----------



## garcia3441 (Nov 2, 2007)

Tony MacAlpine


----------



## Atomic_gerbil (Nov 2, 2007)

Loomis. I was on youtube one day, looking up instructional columns from guitar world, and saw Jeff, and figured I'd check it out. It was about a 30 second video of the intro to "Ambivalent". I was hooked.

Edit: I'm either playing in Bb or GCGCFAD


----------



## Wolfv11 (Nov 2, 2007)

Vai, then later on Korn and Petrucci, and the final kick in the arse to get one was listening to Satriani's "Searching" and "Mind Storm"

I play in standard (BEADGBE) ive tried Bb and even A, but it just never sounds good for me, dont know why, it sounds good when other guys do it, B is just right for me. I have since found it to be the perfect instrument for expressing myself, although i still play 6's.


----------



## FoxZero (Nov 2, 2007)

Haha I've wanted a baritone six since I started playing electric years ago since most of the guys I listened to played in drop B or A with 6s. A few years ago I heard Bulb on soundclick and was like, this is what a seven can do? I was amazed and instantly wanted one. I soon started listening to Thordendal, Loomis, and Dino. I just got one a few months ago, I would have got one sooner but I wanted a BC Rich and the day I got the cash to buy a Platinum Pro Warlock 7 it was discontinued, still one of the lamest days of my life, I think we've all been there...

Edit: I still love B Standard. I don't like A too much (I don't give a shit for any Korn after the amazing Life is Peachy album), but once I got a baritone seven I'll be tuning to A flat


----------



## The Dark Wolf (Nov 3, 2007)

For me, no one, specifically. I was downtuning back in the mid 90's, and never had an opportunity to get a 7. 

But when I finally did, in early 2001, I jumped on it. But I was tuning down to C, B, and A long before.


----------



## deathmask666 (Nov 3, 2007)

Well I had decided not buy any seven strings because of the Korn craze...And then i saw an add for 2 Esp seven-strings for $300 so i bought them. And played them for about 4 years and then later on started a band but i went back to 6 stringz just because finding 7 stringers around my area was a bit difficult. But 6 months ago my band switched to 7 strings anyways.

Edit: We play in AEADGBE


----------



## FortePenance (Nov 3, 2007)

I just thought 7-strings were cool before cuz Korn played them haha. Now I'm hankering for a 7 for just a huge myriad of reasons.


----------



## progmetaldan (Nov 3, 2007)

Actually, Tony MacAlpines work with Planet X also got me really into 7 strings as well, how could I forget about him...


----------



## swedenuck (Nov 3, 2007)

For me it was my bass player way back when. He had a Schecter 5 string so I started tuning down to b to meet his b for some serious heaviness. I found my guitars weren't taking too kindly to the tuning so I traded the v I had for my H-207.


----------



## Shawn (Nov 3, 2007)

Trey from Morbid initially when I saw Morbid Angel live in 1994, he had a UV7PWH and since then, it has remained to be my favorite 7-string. Also, Korn's earlier stuff too.


----------



## Desecrated (Nov 3, 2007)

I found out about mesuggah, went on there forum, found out about sevenstrings and then got me one. 
Then I found out about this place.


----------



## Labrie (Nov 3, 2007)

2077xl. The very first time I laid eyes on it I thought it was the sexiest thing in the world and I just needed to have one. I bought a cheap ax7221 to hold over my cravings and then like a year later I found my precious for sale and grabbed it and never looked back. Even today though I still don't listen to a lot of music thats made on seven strings, just detuned six strings which is kind of disappointing...


----------



## Karl Hungus (Nov 3, 2007)

It might sound a little odd, but nobody inspired me. None of the guys I'm mainly influenced by (Friedman, Schuldiner, Akerfeldt) play 7's, but just the idea of extended range fascinated me, so I decided to get one.


----------



## Wiz (Nov 3, 2007)

Heh I actually don't really remember.. I think I was really pissed off about having to de-tune differently for pretty much every song I was playing and then go back to standard, and the seven would have solved the problem for at least a subset of the songs.

Then I had a few months when I'd listen to Aghora for a few hours a day and there was no way back


----------



## dtrax (Nov 3, 2007)

Vai, Dino, Meshuggah

*although I don't currently own a 7... (all in due time)


----------



## BigM555 (Nov 3, 2007)

eelblack2 said:


> Vai in '90 had me jonesing to get one.





Then Petrucci sealed the deal with images & words.


----------



## djpharoah (Nov 3, 2007)

My boys Head and Munky from Korn.


----------



## skinhead (Nov 3, 2007)

I was playing some stuff and i thought "Shit, with a 7 string i can solo and play some twisted heavy rythms". Actually the words in spanish were different


----------



## Drew (Nov 3, 2007)

skinhead, I just saw "Drew I <3 you" scroll by in your signature. What the fuck? 

For me, well, Vai certainly intrigued me with "Passion and Warfare," and I got interested in lower registers while transcribing a Strangers With Candy (now the band formerly known as Lifer, not sure what they go by these days) song, tuning my Strat's E down to the pitch of the song (which turned out to be B), retuning to match, and playing an open E (now B) through my clean channel and hearing the biggest sounding chord of my life. 

But really, it was mostly the symmetry of the guitar - on some level it always kind of bugged me that the guitar didn't have a middle string. When I first saw a seven, I sort of thought "Oh..." I liked the greater range, and I liked the symmetrical layout of strings on the neck, so I sold a 520 I owned for my first 7620, and immediately found about 48 other reasons why sevens rule.


----------



## Volsung (Nov 3, 2007)

The number one influence on me to get a seven was Dino Cazares. Not only was it his playing style, but his custom 7s cought my attention like no other. I (along with alot a folks here) want one of his guitars BAD. 

Another contrabution to the 7 string influence was Stephen Carpenter. Like Dino, his guitars really appealed to me. And after watching him jam on his 7s on the video from there 'Deftones' LP, I knew I needed one. 

Other minor influences were:
Christian Olde Wolbers (again...it was the guitar that appealed to me)
the guys from Scar Symmetry
Head & Munky (it was the gee-tars once again)


----------



## Aghorasilat (Nov 3, 2007)

Wiz said:


> Heh I actually don't really remember.. I think I was really pissed off about having to de-tune differently for pretty much every song I was playing and then go back to standard, and the seven would have solved the problem for at least a subset of the songs.
> 
> Then I had a few months when I'd listen to Aghora for a few hours a day and there was no way back





Thanks   


for me it was Derek Taylor & Vai

That got me hooked. I have been using them since I was 17 - 18
I dont actually own a 6 stringer now.
Sold mine to get a 7.


----------



## exafro (Nov 3, 2007)

I always wanted a seven, but never really needed one until my bassist purchased a six string and I wanted to have the instruments match up on the low strings. The day after he got his new bass, I bought my seven and I've never been happier. My sixes have been neglected ever since.


----------



## Ishan (Nov 3, 2007)

For me it was the first Korn album WAY BACK (no one ever heard of them at the time) then nu-metal came along and I was sick of it (always been a death metal guy) but still wanted a damn 7 string then I got into Vai and Meshuggah and was sold for good. I still don't own one but I think I'll be going from 6 to 8


----------



## El Caco (Nov 3, 2007)

Like most young kids, when I was at school I thought it would be cool to play guitar, but it was Vai on passion and warfare that first got me serious about wanting to play, I had no idea he played a seven, I never looked at how many strings the guitar had.

As keen as I was back then it never happened.

My mates all played guitar and every now and then I would ask them to show me something, some of them played in drop D occasionally, mate I loved the low sound but I wanted lower, my mates thought I was crazy back then when I suggested that it would be cool if the guitar had an extra string so you could go lower and still have normal tuning on the other six. I still had no idea there were seven string guitars.

This year I decided that I would finally buy a guitar and learn, a whole 15 years later. I stumbled upon this place when I was researching what guitar to buy and then did further reading at wikipedia. Wow, I thought when I realised that the guitar sound that I loved in certain bands was actually played on 7 string guitars.

So it was actually you guys that played the biggest part in me getting into 7 string. You could say that I would have realised soon enough and got one anyway but sevenstring.org saved me a lot of fucking around and money.


----------



## wretchedspawn (Nov 3, 2007)

I think Cannibal Corpse originally inspired me to play sevens.


----------



## 8string (Nov 3, 2007)

I grew up listening to meshuggah, megadeth and metalica. fredrik and morten are the main reason I play 7's 


savageshredder said:


> Id have to say korn,meshuggah,unearth...later on I found out about real wizards like rusty, jeff etc...


 
Like Fredrik Thordendal isn't a real wizard? Munky and Head are not wizards although they can sound cool from time to time.


----------



## ZeroSignal (Nov 3, 2007)

Brad Delson from Linkin Park oddly enough...


----------



## Rindgecore (Nov 3, 2007)

I gotta say that Cannibal Corpse & Morbid Angel were the first bands that made me realize you can apply 7 stringers to brutal death metal applications.

But what made me go 7 is that my last band was tuned to B with our 6 strings, so I decided to do the jump and go 7.


----------



## Scarve (Nov 3, 2007)

I always knew that Korn used 7's... But, indeed, Meshuggah really did the trick for me!

I've been a user of 7's since fuckin' Futur Breed Machine


----------



## st2012 (Nov 3, 2007)

Vai and Rusty Cooley.


----------



## Rick (Nov 3, 2007)

Originally, it was Korn and Limp Bizkit but once I heard Fear Factory, that was pretty much it, I knew I was gonna play 7s. 

I tune to ADGCFAD as well.


----------



## savageshredder (Nov 3, 2007)

I just meant that I liked the 7 string sound from korn , unearth, meshuggah,, but these were just average in comparison to real 7 string wizards....I dont think head and munky are wizards, they have cool ideas for writing music, but I guess all that shit is outdated now.....Ive always liked shred...It started with hearing tallica solos,, I thought wow,,, I wanna be able to shred like that...for me its all about shred en solo,, nothing makes me feel more satisfied


----------



## SnowfaLL (Nov 3, 2007)

I guess ill post since I dont think many people have said the dude who pushed me over the edge, and he deserves more credit..

I always liked korn way before I played guitar, and my dad said I should start, and I told him I would wanna geta 7 string, and he just laughed at me.. 

anyways, few years later i started playing 6 string, not really listening to korn anymore, but anyways stumbled across 7 strings again and thought it was cool but never really thought i would care enough to play 7s, until I started getting more into Tony MacAlpine, his sound was just so great with his 7s, thats what pushed me over the edge to try it. and I only keep a 6 now because I dont wanna confuse my teachers/classmates/students. but spare time is 100% 7 string


----------



## supertruper1988 (Nov 3, 2007)

Petrucci for me with the "A Change of Seasons" EP. I Love that song


----------



## tie my rope (Nov 4, 2007)

broderick, loomis, dino carzaes, my brother.


----------



## ChrisPcritter (Nov 4, 2007)

Vai was at a shop doing autographs. I was a guitar snob at the time. I'd been convinced by a few good players it had to be USA made, preferably with a maple top and not say carvin on it. 

I told my friend that worked at the store that if they had a 7 I would buy it just to have one that Vai signed. He said they just got one in that day, it wasn't even in the computer. So 20 minutes later he brought out a black 7620 and that was that. 

I sold my les paul' (custom and classic) 3 out of 4 of my USA strats, and an Ernie Ball EVH. My favorite guitars now are my K7, S7420 with lopro edge7 and S7320 I got from Donnie and in 6ers my RG520 and Jem7DBK both with Breeds and lastly my recently acquired RGT3120TV. Doug Doppler has been very inspiring and helpful as well, I got the S7420 he used in the photo's and for rhythm on Nu Instrumetal......


----------



## yevetz (Nov 4, 2007)

My first teacher Vladymir Molotkov (The leggend of USSR Jazz) unfortunately he's died 1.5 year ago


----------



## loktide (Nov 4, 2007)

Dead Heart In A Dead World made me get my first 7-string


----------



## Alex-D33 (Nov 4, 2007)

Mister Vai & Petrucci


----------



## Loserchief (Nov 4, 2007)

Actually the reason for me playing seven is ebay. I was looking at some guitars on the bay since i had some money to spend and there was a Jackson DR-7. Well my experimental mind gave me the last push and so i bought it and fell in love with the extra string.


----------



## Toshiro (Nov 4, 2007)

The first time? Trey Azagthoth and Eric Rutan.

This time? Scar Symmetry and Nocturnal Rites.


----------



## amonb (Nov 4, 2007)

Not a person, just the physics of it, a "normal" guitar plus even more!


----------



## Jeff (Nov 4, 2007)

Petrucci and Vai. I remember in high school ('93) I got the Passion and Warfare book, and looked through it, and noticed I needed a 7 for The Audience is Listening. I was like "WTF is a 7 string? OOh I want one!" 

I didn't get one for ages though, because in those days it was just the Uni, which was too expensive.


----------



## DaveCarter (Nov 4, 2007)

Vai, and also I found a Rusty Cooley video on the internet and that was the first time I'd seen/heard a 7-string. The lows....the highs.....now theyre all mine! MINE!!!!


----------



## budda (Nov 4, 2007)

i was talked out of a 7 when i was looking for a new guitar, 4 years after i started playing. i still dont have one 

guys who inspire me to get a 7, and get better at guitar overall:
unearth
nevermore
periphery/bulb
division

i dont listen to a lot of 7 string bands, i really like the thought of being able to go lower and still having the 6 strings i'm used to. there's been days where i've been playing my LP or my Tokai, and i actually went for a low B that wasnt there..


----------



## matt7 (Nov 4, 2007)

I can't believe no one's mentioned Dave Weiner! He's the guy who pushed me over the edge to get a 7. And ofcourse the song 'The glass prison'


----------



## Sebastian (Nov 4, 2007)

Christian Olde Wolbers


----------



## stuh84 (Nov 4, 2007)

Initially Petrucci got me started with it, its guys like Loomis, Thorendal/Hargstrom, Tom Englund (not on all songs but anyway) and Nils Norberg who kept me interested though


----------



## Codyyy (Nov 4, 2007)

You guys


----------



## Jongpil Yun (Nov 5, 2007)

Rusty Cooley, pretty much. Saw his 8 string and my first thought was, "I need more strings."

My first desire was to tune up, but it didn't work all that well (I like loose treble strings) so I settled initially for C# standard, then C, then B. I started liking my rhythms progressively lower and lower.


----------



## Asdef (Nov 5, 2007)

Cannibal Corpse
Meshuggah
Soilwork
Textures


----------



## Emperoff (Nov 5, 2007)

The guys from Unearth, and The album "A Change Of Seasons" from DT


----------



## audibleE (Nov 5, 2007)

I got my first 7 string 2 years ago. After playing for about 15 years, I decided, let's give this thing a try. Plus my friend turned me onto Nevermore/Loomis, and I was inspired!!! Now I have 2 bands. One using 6strings and one band with the 7's.

Love the crap out of the 7 string.

Audiblethread - 6 string modern rock.
Urinebath - 7 string metal

Influencial bands:
Meshuggah
Nevermore
Textures
KORN ------- BAAAAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!! Just kidding!!!!!! BHHAHAHAHAH!!! KORN!!!!!! Oh man I just pissed my pants.


----------



## simsklok (Nov 10, 2007)

kotex (from here), after constantly shitting on my 6 string range, unearth and meshuggah


----------



## ibznorange (Nov 10, 2007)

got a 5 string, and switched between guitar 6 and bass 5 often
went for a period of about 8 months not playing guitar, had a song in my head, and tried to reach for that b string on a 6 string guitar, said fuck, and yeah. there i was


----------



## Apophis (Nov 10, 2007)

There weren't personal inspitations for me. I searched always something new. I was a classical player in the past and once I found 7 string russian acoustic guitar. After that I never let the seven string go away.


----------



## ibznorange (Nov 10, 2007)

exactly, there wasnt an artist per set, it just sort of opened things up


----------



## jjjsssxxx (Nov 10, 2007)

Morbid fuckin' Angel


----------



## The Hiryuu (Nov 10, 2007)

Might've been Trey Azagthoth, even though I hated Morbid Angel when I first heard 'em. I had already wanted 7-strings by the time I heard Nevermore, so I don't think it was Loomis. Petrucci?

Yeah, I think it was Petrucci.


----------



## MF_Kitten (Nov 10, 2007)

i always wanted one, but dropped the whole concept after playing 6 strings for a while... then, i heard meshuggah, and was like "hmm..." 

so i have one now, and have yet to go back... although i have a 6 string, but it´s fretless, so it don´t count! 

and i do have plans to revive my neckless telecaster with maple body...


----------



## NiCkMiLnE (Nov 10, 2007)

chris broderick and john petrucci


----------



## zimbloth (Nov 10, 2007)

I don't remember exactly, but back when I started playing (before I got introduced to most of the bands I'm into now) I was heavily influenced by Fear Factory and stuff like that. I think it had more to do with the fact that most bands I was into at the time tuned to B or lower though, weather they used 7s or not. I pretty much started tuning down the day I picked up a guitar, I just never liked standard tuning.


----------



## HaGGuS (Nov 11, 2007)

korn and fear factory..
when i 1st heard that .. i was floored..
it just sounded so fuggen good ..


----------



## mnemonic (Nov 11, 2007)

jeff loomis of nevermore probably.

when i started listening to nevermore, i really started liking those lower notes, before i never really liked going lower than D on my 6 (but i also had a shitty amp at the time that couldn't really handle anything lower than D without sounding loose and undefined) 

bulb's stuff also definitely made me want a seven more, haha


----------



## 7 Strings of Hate (Nov 11, 2007)

zimbloth said:


> I don't remember exactly, but back when I started playing (before I got introduced to most of the bands I'm into now) I was heavily influenced by Fear Factory and stuff like that. I think it had more to do with the fact that most bands I was into at the time tuned to B or lower though, weather they used 7s or not. I pretty much started tuning down the day I picked up a guitar, I just never liked standard tuning.


----------



## shredder777 (Nov 11, 2007)

Tony Macalpine and Meshuggah


----------



## AngelVivaldi (Nov 11, 2007)

boredom worked wonders...


----------



## Lucky Seven (Nov 11, 2007)

Probably my main one is Dave Weiner, seeing him live was amazing, The others would be Uli Jon Roth (I want a sky guitar so bad!), and John Petrucci.


----------



## Childofshred19k (Nov 11, 2007)

Rusty Cooley


----------



## distressed_romeo (Nov 11, 2007)

AngelVivaldi said:


> boredom worked wonders...



      


I'll bet the reasons for most major advances in music boil down to that!


----------



## AngelVivaldi (Nov 11, 2007)

distressed_romeo said:


> I'll bet the reasons for most major advances in music boil down to that!




Oh yea.. the boredom worked musical wonders for me lol


----------



## Stephen (Nov 11, 2007)

Well at first i used to tune my 6 strings down to B standard but when i did that i was unhappy due to the range which i lost so that was one of the reasons. But guitarists at the time were John Petrucci, Rusty Cooley and Jeff Loomis


----------



## asmegin_slayer (Nov 11, 2007)

Trey Azagthoth and Jack Owens. Those two had a major influence in getting a 7-string. Mainly the UV7BK


----------



## EverDream (Nov 11, 2007)

The Silent Force album by Within Temptation. (Also the inspiration for tuning down to A)


----------



## guitarplayerone (Nov 11, 2007)

ive wanted one ever since I first started playing, since I listened to a lot of Limp Bizkit, Korn and Orgy around then ( I was 10). 
I was told to learn how to play a six-string first by my parents. (they probably hated the low b)
But when I recently got one, it was Petrucci, Vai, Cooley, and maybe a small amount of Dino that really got me into it.


----------



## Rorschach (Nov 12, 2007)

For me, I blame Meshuggah first and foremost. Nevermore, Fear Factory secondly.


----------



## Matt08642 (Nov 12, 2007)

Steve Vai and Jeff Loomis.


----------



## Randy (Nov 12, 2007)

Probably my guitar player, Matt.


----------



## JJ Rodriguez (Nov 12, 2007)

Satan *sips wine*



Actually no one really influenced me to go 7. I heard that Cannibal Corpse and Morbid Angel used them, but I got my first 7 after playing for about 6 months. My reasoning was "So, I can learn Carcass and other down tuned songs, and then try to learn other songs made for a 6 string in standard tuning? Sign me up!". It just made logical sense


----------



## Leon (Nov 12, 2007)

no one.

when i bought my first guitar, an Ibanez RG570, i gave my dad's guitar to my brother, which was an LP copy. now, with a trem, i couldn't drop D to play Tool anymore, so i was in the market for a fixed bridge guitar.

being a Jemsiter at the time, i scoped and scoped, and found some guy selling a fixed bridge RG, but it had 7 strings. i thought, "hmm, for $250 i can't go wrong!" a couple weeks later i had my RG7621, and instantly fell in love


----------



## ohio_eric (Nov 12, 2007)

Sadly it wasn't until I found this place that the bug bit. 

I blame you all.


----------



## heffergm (Nov 12, 2007)

Vai... The Riddle. Droooolll.......


----------



## jufob (Nov 12, 2007)

Samash catalog...saw a black SG styled DeArmond under $200. Seemed like a good idea to stimulate some creativity and finding out it frustrates alot of 6-string players and I kind of like that.


----------



## Nyogtha (Nov 22, 2007)

Trey Azagthoth from Morbid Angel, i heard Domination, alot of it was recorded on 7 Strings, i thought the low end sounded so evil, then i got Chaos Sphere from Meshuggah and had to get one. Now Meshuggah are the same reason im getting into extended range instruments, wanting me to up the ante up getting a 9 string.


----------



## zimbloth (Nov 22, 2007)

Just a lot of bands I was into at the time I started playing guitar tuned to B or lower. I don't know if it any was one band, more just a general attraction to deep heavy tones. That said, I was heavily into FF then so that couldn't have hurt.


----------



## Maniacal (Nov 22, 2007)

I was on ebay one day. I was in impulse buying mode. 
So I brought an Ibanez 7 string. 
When it came I liked it so much that I immediately wanted an 8 string. So i brought one of those too. 
Since playing 7/8 string guitars I dont like 6's much anymore. Necks are too thin and they are too limiting for the stuff I play. 
I only use a 6 for teaching. 

Jon


----------



## angryman (Nov 22, 2007)

For me it was a mixture of John Petrucci, Morbid Angel & Fear Factory.
I put it off for a long time cos I thought it was just a gimmic but when I finally gave in & tried a 7 it felt so natural to me there was no going back.


----------



## poisonelvis (Nov 22, 2007)

back in 97,i saw at a open mike nite,local jazz guitar player,this guy was like 70 years old,and had a seven,so i watched this guy shred for bout' an hour or so,and when he took a break,i asked him about the guitar old ass jazz model,he showed me so stuff,and i asked(not really knowing about korn and other bands)how it sounded distorted,and he showed me it was brutal heavy,so i got one.the rest is history,thanks micky!!


----------



## Azyiu (Nov 22, 2007)

Vai got me interested in the early 90's, but I decided to finally get one when I heard what John Petrucci did on *Awake*


----------



## CatPancakes (Nov 22, 2007)

Justin from Through The Eyes Of The Dead, you can only imagine how happy i was when i got to meet him and he signed my 7


----------



## auxioluck (Nov 22, 2007)

kherman said:


> John Petrucci.



 Same here. After "A Change of Seasons", I had to get one.


----------



## Munky7Head (Nov 22, 2007)

Munky and Head.
Wes Borland.

easy.

I wish Nu Metal was big again.
The seven string scene is dying out.
Although, I do say bands like Through the Eyes of the Dead, Beneath the Massacre, and Unearth are keeping it alive.

but yeah, got off topic. haha

Munky/Head and Borland.


----------



## canuck brian (Nov 22, 2007)

Saw Meshuggah - pre-ordered a RG7620 when the were first being released after moving my large deposit on a UV. 

Now I just prefer to have the low string for rhythms and occasionally extending a scale.


----------



## Euthanasia (Nov 22, 2007)

Meshuggah


----------



## cow 7 sig (Nov 23, 2007)

Euthanasia said:


> Meshuggah



and........DINO for me


----------



## techjsteele (Nov 23, 2007)

Dino Cazares!


----------



## eoe (Nov 23, 2007)

auxioluck said:


> After "A Change of Seasons", I had to get one.



Me too.

Dream Theater gave me a lot of "holy shit! guitars can do that?!" moments when I first got in to them. ACOS was full of them.

Ah, to be young and naive.


----------



## distressed_romeo (Nov 23, 2007)

No-one really...I just tried one out of curiosity and it kinda clicked with me. Having said that, I was a big Vai and Azagthoth fan before that, so they probably subconciously influenced me...

As for tunings...Bb standard, C standard with a high F, and Drop C# with a low G# are my faves on the seven, although I liked DADGAD with a low A as well. As most regulars know, I go through waaaay too many tunings.


----------



## epoirier (Nov 26, 2007)

Electric Wizard


----------



## telecaster90 (Nov 26, 2007)

I'd deffinently have to say Petrucci, but looking through music catelogs at the sevenstrings as a blossoming guitar player and thinking, "man, those things are so badass!" probably helped too


----------



## Dooky (Nov 26, 2007)

Steve Vai.
Shame he doesnt really play 7strings live much (or ever) anymore.


----------



## sakeido (Nov 26, 2007)

I wanted to play a Korn song and couldn't because my Squire could definitely not handle being tuned down to B. So I bought a 7 string after playing guitar for maybe five or six months


----------



## heffergm (Nov 27, 2007)

heffergm said:


> Vai... The Riddle. Droooolll.......



And here's my sad rendition... I couldn't resist.


----------



## awesomeaustin (Nov 27, 2007)

dino, buz, and the dudes from scar symmetry


----------



## FoxZero (Nov 27, 2007)

Dooky said:


> Steve Vai.
> Shame he doesnt really play 7strings live much (or ever) anymore.



That's sad, yeah I always see pics of him with a six. Probably just for endorsment deals or somethin, I have a hard time goin back to my 6 nowadays, I try to play drop D stuff in B standard instead.

About a month after I got my electric six years I wanted a baritone so I could tune to B. Needless to say when I first started researching the 7 it was beyond perfect.

I could I have known one string could make such a difference. I have a totally different approuch now for the past couple of months since I got mine. I've been gasin for years but I'm glad I waited because I love the one I settled with and It's thanks to this place I found it!


----------



## yellowv (Nov 28, 2007)

Definately Vai.


----------



## B Lopez (Nov 28, 2007)

Petrucci's "Jaws of Life" got me interested, but Loomis was the final nail.



FoxZero said:


>



That means you'll sell me the warlock


----------



## heffergm (Nov 28, 2007)

lord lemons said:


> Pretty awesome! Much better than sad! You accent your notes really well IMO. I'd just work on the vibrato and the right hand tapping.



Yeah, noted. I've only been playing 6 months after a 10 year hiatus, so things are a bit rusty.


----------



## wlminter (Nov 28, 2007)

Rusty - effin - Cooley. Once I saw him, and learned that he only played 7s, I almost immediately forsook 6 stings... that is, If a 6 wasn't my only guitar...


----------



## nitelightboy (Nov 28, 2007)

I saw an F-207 at Mars (big music chain that went out of business) and had to play it. I'd been playing for a few years and the only 7 string stuff I knew about was Korn. And of course I wasn't a fan. So I pulled it off the wall, jammed a bit, and gave it a new home on my guitar stand. I got tired of playing 7 strings, so I sold it off and went back to 6's. Now I'd kill to get that guitar back.


----------



## Adamh1331 (Nov 28, 2007)

It would have to be Korn for me.

I absolutely loved the sound they was gettin out of one so i had to have one and haven't went back since.


----------



## Groff (Nov 28, 2007)

well, Korn was the first time I had actually heard of a 7 string guitar, but it never thrilled me that much. Then I started hearing about Petrucci, Vai, which got my attention. But it wasn't until I heard Nevermore that I really WANTED a 7-string, and wanted one badly!


----------



## FoxZero (Nov 28, 2007)

B Lopez said:


> That means you'll sell me the warlock



You'd have to sell me that Bich then, but I see we're both quite happy with our axes so I don't see either transaction being completed anytime soon.  

Seriously though you have such an eye on my Warlock I'm getting a bit nervous.


----------



## Redman 2007 (Dec 5, 2007)

I hate to admit it, I wanted one because of the low sound Korn could get with it, tuning down to A. Although I don't listen to them anymore. I like the fact they play their bar-chords with three notes. I found Steve Vai's Passion and Warfare in my room. Thats when I was 14 or 15 That was another reason to get a 7-string. After that I really got into Fear Factory. And then Meshuggah bumped it up a level, by adding a note. And making a four note bar-chord. In 2000 what really compelled me to get a 7-string was Dream Theater and Nevermore.


----------



## Xaios (Dec 6, 2007)

I first thought about it of course when Korn and Limp Bizkit where getting big. But it wasn't until a couple years ago when Nevermore - This Godless Endeavor came out that I really started thinking about it as a serious possibility. It was the first time I really heard a 7 string be fully utilized. Nobody plays it like Loomis, not even Petrucci (and believe me, I LOVE Petrucci, my father knows quite well that ultimately Petrucci is my ultimate favorite player, but he doesn't use the string like Loomis).


----------



## John_Strychnine (Dec 6, 2007)

A change of Seasons by Dream Theater
Sane by Meshuggah

bought a 7420 originally for like £180 brand new from music123 when they got discontinued.
Sold it a month later coz it was Pink  
I REALLY wish i hadn't sold it.

  HAHAHA this smiley is amazing!


----------



## Despised_0515 (Dec 6, 2007)




----------



## 7 Dying Trees (Dec 6, 2007)

Trey Azagtoth. Morbid Angel's God of Emptiness.

I really wanted to get one when i was 18, but they'd discontinued them at that point, and ebay but was a twinkle in some programmers eye. I remember pouring over the ibanez catalogues (yes, before 't internet). UV7BK. Had to be the one.


----------



## Ojinomoto (Dec 8, 2007)

I was a bass player....(holy shit I just said "was!") Anyway, I was a 5er who used the B string a lot, and playing a guitar that didn't have one was stupid. So a 7er was the most logical choice. Wasn't trying to be special or "different" or whatever.

Mesh' just happen to come at the perfect time and put a staple in my choice.


----------



## Ryan (Dec 8, 2007)

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


----------



## Addie5150 (Dec 9, 2007)

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 (Dec 9, 2007)

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 (Dec 9, 2007)

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 (Dec 9, 2007)

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 (Dec 9, 2007)

ghoti said:


> 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 (Dec 9, 2007)

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 (Dec 10, 2007)

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 (Dec 10, 2007)

Nevermore


----------



## Reece Fullwood (Dec 21, 2007)

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!


----------



## 14strings (Dec 21, 2007)

John petrucci and trey azogoth. Met them both saw treys and John held mine (was going to get him to sign it but HE talked me out of it!!! DOH!!!)


----------



## arnoroth661 (Dec 22, 2007)

John Petrucci.


----------



## Dr. Von Goosewing (Dec 22, 2007)

I guess it was Fear Factory that first made me aware of seven strings, this was around the same time I was starting to downtune sixes but I still sometimes like to play in E, so I figured why not just get a guitar that covers all bases? Then I heard Emperor's last album, once i found out that was done with 7's I was sold!


----------



## wannabguitarist (Dec 22, 2007)

Joe Satriani, Unearth, and Dream Theater

I remember trying to learn a part of "Mind Storm" then I figured out it was a seven and was like "that's fucking awesome" . Then someone I worked with introduced me to Unearth and for the longest time i thought they played dropped tuned sixes until I looked up some youtube videos and that got me thinking about the advantages of seven strings  (not having to drop tune, extra range, etc). Then I went out and bought a bunch of Dream Theater CD's and decided I had to have a seven 

(I love the variety of smilies)


----------



## ZXIIIT (Dec 22, 2007)

KoRn


----------



## Andretti (Dec 22, 2007)

The only person who inspired me to even look at Ibanez was my guitar teacher Rusty Cooley, now I bought his guitar and have been shredding it ever since for years.


----------



## headtochrist (Dec 23, 2007)

trey azogoth, meshuggah and Steph C


----------



## Uber Mega (Dec 23, 2007)

John Petrucci, Meshuggah and Paul "chimp spanner" Ortiz


----------



## Jerich (Dec 24, 2007)

Meastro alex gregory." the first original 7 string player"....and Gorefest!!!!!!


----------



## bulb (Dec 24, 2007)

john petrucci


----------



## TonyFlyingSquirrel (Dec 24, 2007)

When they first came out with the Universe, upon the release of Whitesnake's record with Vai and Passion & Warfare, I thought, "man, I'm still working on 6" but then the band I joined Gateway whom eventually became Prodigal Son in 1994, we were downtuning to DGCFAD on 1/2 the set. I was listening to Awake by Dream Theater quite a bit during that era, so later on I wanted to have the option of exploring more range on one instrument, so I got my first 7 on 2000, an ESP/LTD F207.


----------



## Aled Smith (Dec 26, 2007)

Chris Broderick also John Petrucci also i kind of influenced myself, i really wanted to be different so i went out and swapped my Dean Razorback for an ibanez rg1527


----------



## RGmaster (Dec 26, 2007)

Korn, Meshuggah, and Vai...tuning-ADGCFAD or BEADGBE depends on what i feel like using that particular day.


----------



## Drew (Dec 27, 2007)

Vince.  






Nah, actually, most of it was just I dug the symmetry of a "middle" string. also, I'd been transcribing a Strangers With Candy tune in B, tuned my strat down, and thought it sounded massive.


----------



## newamerikangospel (Dec 27, 2007)

Haha, mine was kinda like drews.

Its hard to play a metal song above G (on a standard tuned guitar) and not have it sound like whitesnake, but I love open string pedal riffs. The first month of playing guitar I had a cool little pedal riff on the D string, but I hate dropD (or the equivilent) and it didn't sound as cool on any other string. So a month into guitar I realized that I wanted something more expansive, but didn't know what a seven string was 

The first bands that I knew of that were using seven strings were the standard numetal affair, adema/korn/orgy (I think), but I didn't want that sound so I never bothered with one. The first song that made me realize that 7s could be used for more than gut rumble was the mirror by dream theater. It was actually "puppies on acid" excerpt that they used for live shows. Woot! for petrucci!


----------



## Nick (Dec 27, 2007)

Meshuggah


----------



## metalmonster (Jan 6, 2008)

meshuggah first korn and deftones too

when i tried a 7 string (ibanez RG1527) for the first time at my local music store i knew the 7 string would be my weapon of mass destruction . didn't had the bucks and continued to play some 6 string ibanez i love too (japanese RG470 w/ SH8 invader pup) tuned down to B . but now i want more ... 

so i'm about making my own custom 7 string by a luthier friend , 28" , baritone , tuned down to F# ... face-scorching guitar i think ... and moreover it would be able to have a nice clean sound ... uh i'm so exited ... he told me it was possible to build this guitar ...

the last thing i would lack in the future is some marshall rack (JMP-1 , or ADA MP-1 and 9100 , used , i think ) and some marshall 4x12 w/ greenbacks (also used , bass cone greenback would be perfect , but they are rare so standard greenback should be nice also) to give some smooth edge to my tone ... and i think i would have my perfect rig ... looks a lot like stephen carpenter's rig , but , hey , i like the same things that this guy : meshuggah , 7 strings and that british crunch marshall amps are famous for . what i lack now is some bucks for the amp lol


----------



## ukfswmart (Jan 6, 2008)

For me, it was seeing an Ibanez ad in Total Guitar with Head and Munky wielding their custom RG7s. The looked pretty awesome, and once I heard Blind, and then more Korn, I just had to have one. I remember wanting an F-207 badly, but in the end I went with an RG420

Tuned to G# standard


----------



## Miek (Jan 6, 2008)

The Misha and Kroahnbpozx


----------



## Universe74 (Jan 7, 2008)

Definitely Vai...played a white Universe back in 1991 and started saving right then and there. Didn't get one till 1999.


----------



## furyinternal (Jan 7, 2008)

My close-minded lead guitarist. He thought they were too "nu-metal" (whatever that means). Probably a reference to the band KoRn, whom he absolutely hated. Seemed kinda dumb to base a judgment on something like that though, but at the time he was unwilling to bend and I didn't feel the need to push the issue.

Needless to say, I didn't acquire one right away, but I could never shake the idea of having one and eventually decided that 7 was the direction I wanted to head in. So, yah....

Dino C. and Jeff Loomis were the primary reason I got into them though. After I picked one up, I began to realize just how many people out there had them. Guess I finally found a reason to take the blinders off. When that happened, I felt just ignorant as the guy who insisted I don't get one. 

Do we have a "jackass" icon?


----------



## xXcondemnedXx (Jan 7, 2008)

the second guitar i ever saw in my life

EVER

was the rg7321 which i have now


----------



## jwthompson21 (Jan 25, 2008)

DINO, DINO, DINO! Obsolete was the first FF album I spun thanks to my friend Zephania (wherever he may be). At that time, I was 18, with two Jacksons and no sense whatsoever. I had a mental breakdown over tryin to tune to B and still have an intonated Guitar! I finally cracked and sold both of em, bought a $40 Squier, and modified the bridge to be able to intonate (somewhat). 
It was '05 when I finally got a credit card, so I went straight to Sam Ash and Got the AX7221. I had never successfully written ANY music until I had a 7 stringer in my hands!


----------



## soldierkahn (Jan 25, 2008)

Well, back in the day around 98 or 99, i never really listened to any bands who played 7s, until I ran into a band called "Flaw", and they changed my life forever. It wouldnt be until 2006 that i finally took the plunge to buy one. By then my influences were basically Trapt, Flaw, KoRn, but the main reason i picked up the 7 was Flaw. 

I know i know, most you folks dont dig NuMetal, but hey, their my favs not yours, hahaha.

Lance from Flaw was my main reason i wanted to get a 1077XL, and when i got it, my hands found their best friend.


----------



## Ror3h (Jan 25, 2008)

Meshuggah.


----------



## ire_works (Jan 25, 2008)

cannbal corpse's album KILL teaching me people and crazy enough to tune down to Ab standard.

watching Rusty Cooley on those Guitars Suck videos pick-raping my ears.

but mostly it was my lust for that "Thud Thud , Whiddly Whiddly , Thud Thud , Whiddly Wah!" sound to come out of my amp.Hearing bands like The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza , Arsonists Get All The Girls , and Beneath The Massacre use sweeping in riffs made me want to add more technical playing into the brutality of my playing.


...



..and of course , more thud thud.


----------



## Martin_777 (Jan 27, 2008)

Steve Vai, Jeff Loomis, Dino Cazares, the guys from Meshuggah & Nocturnal Rites







and of course John Petrucci.


----------



## itsallinmyh3ad (Jan 27, 2008)

KoRn


----------



## Ravelle17 (Jan 27, 2008)

John Petrucci, then Fredrik Thordenthal and Marten Hagstrom of (who else?) Meshuggah.


----------



## Baum (Jan 27, 2008)

Petrucci (Awake) and Loomis (Dead Heart) made me crave a 7-string. And that while I was still not having a clue about using just 6 strings to their full potential.


----------



## hellion (Feb 1, 2008)

MeshuggaH

I want another 7 SO bad.


----------



## Svartmetall (Feb 1, 2008)

I had an 8-string electric made in 1990 by a local luthier in Wales, with intentions of playing Scriabin's piano music or something very like it on guitar. That never quite materialised, not least because the high A string kept breaking; I was stringing it B-A, like a 6-string with an extra string each side, but whatever gauge I used for the A never lasted more than about 2 days, it drove me crazy. I was getting into death metal at the time, though, especially Obituary and Carcass and other detuned bands; so the low B appealed to me. So I got the guy who made me the 8 to make me a 7-string, very much based on the Washburn MG series - I had an MG-74 at the time - and never looked back. From about 1992 onwards I've played 7-string more than 6-string ...I guess Steve Vai and Trey Azagthoth (Morbid Angel) were the first people who inspired me to learn other players' 7-string parts, 'Passion And Warfare' and 'Covenant' being the first albums where I remember transcribing 7-string guitar stuff.


----------



## Blind Faith (Feb 2, 2008)

John Petrucci, and now still John but with addition of Jeff Loomis, Chris Broderick, Fredrik Thordendal, Steve Vai and Devin Townsend


----------



## sepherus (Feb 2, 2008)

i read through a good portion of the answers here and i didnt see any refference to the 2 bands that got me into 7s. Lord Belial (swedish black metal with lots of death influence) and Emperor (well at least the Prometheus album) i was hearing standard range chords and leads, and then hearing these really low heavy rhythms and was just like "Wtf?! he was just playing a 24th fret high E now they are tuned down to Bolt Thrower and At The Gates range!" and a small search on the interweb led me to seeing that they were using those "silly nu metal guitars" and made me realize there are other possibilities with them. i got a cheap one for a while and got rid of it quick, then i started listening to alot of Meshuggah and Novembre (if you like Opeth, this is a more melodic italian version, with 7s) and that refueled it.still with out one, but im making a down payment on a Sherman weds.

when i had one i tuned standard, Bb, and A.


----------



## Lakeflower (Feb 2, 2008)

ss.org


----------



## Rich5150 (Feb 2, 2008)

Vai was the start for me then it just trickled down the line from there anyone that plays a 7 no matter the type of music


----------



## Obscura (Feb 3, 2008)

Morbid Angel and Mithras.

Meshuggah, Deftones and Negativa keep me interested. Luc Lemay has a crazy S7 in the Negativa videos.


----------



## hunter75 (Feb 6, 2008)

For me it was first hearing Linchpin by Fear factory and hearing Here to Stay by Korn, at that point I needed to go down to A, as soon as I saw SYL in total guitar with open C and a low G that was it and I wnated the seven right there


----------



## Forresterc (Feb 6, 2008)

Went to guitar center one day, picked up a seven, played the low b, and i said i want one. That simple


----------



## olicbr (Feb 6, 2008)

Petrucci & Rusty Cooley...


----------



## Rick (Feb 6, 2008)

Forresterc said:


> Went to guitar center one day, picked up a seven, played the low b, and i said i want one. That simple



Doesn't get much simpler than that.


----------



## Seedawakener (Feb 6, 2008)

I think its kinda interesting that the one extra string brings a lot of people together like on this forum.   We're many people playing sevens and probably a big part of all 7-stringers hangs out here!


----------



## kristallin (Feb 6, 2008)

For me it was Orgy. I loved their use of the 7-string in a "non-shredding environment", but was never really sold on it until we started writing songs where I had to go down to C#, and I decided I couldn't be arsed to detune/retune/dedicate a guitar for low tunings, so I picked up my 7321, and couldn't be happier (well, once the pickups are replaced... new tuners on the way.... remove the tone knob...)


----------



## Mattayus (Feb 6, 2008)

well i've written an entire article on why i 'converted' on my website if you can be bothered to read it.

basically, i played 6s in drop-b, played a 7 for the first time after playin gutiar for nearly 10 years and thought "why didn't i do this sooner?".

it was only then that i started gettin influenced by 7 stringers and what they do with it. i'd always listened to dream theater, FF, then i discovered Unearth and mushuggah etc. end of story.


----------



## streathervsgodzilla (Feb 8, 2008)

i'd wanted one for a while to have a play around with to see how it sounded, got one from ebay for quite cheap and feels alot more comfortable to play than 6s, the neck fits my hand better if that makes sense


----------



## Shreddy Krueger (Feb 8, 2008)

I remember seeing Vai with the Multicolor Swirl UV during that whole "Whitesnake thing" and remember thinking they were an interesting idea..
That and to this day the 7 string that still gives me a full on robot chubby is the UV7bk w/ the green dot/pickups, which I believe he was also doing alot of magazine covers with back then.

 

But as far as someone's actual PLAYING it was Dream Theater's AWAKE CD that sealed the deal. It didn't hurt that in the video for Lie he was playing you guessed it, the UV7bk...

By the time I actually got my hands on one at a Guitar Center I was absolutely fucking hooked.
 

So mostly Petrucci with an assist from Vai...

BTW does Vai even play 7 strings anymore?


----------



## nikki-k (Feb 9, 2008)

Hi!
Read articles in the guitar mags when Vai and Ibanez made the Universe. Heard Vai on Passion and Warfare, and thought it was cool, but did not have enough GAS to really go out of my way to grab one. Plus, I prefer ebony for the fretboard, maple next (some days that gets reversed tho). Next year the UVGR came out, and I was like, "Hmmm...maple board..." But I did not like it enough to have to have one. And the next I caved and grabbed a UV GR used, and about a month later, I found this cool CD by a band called "Crimeny" (cd is "Peat"). When I heard Derek Taylor play, that was it. But, it was more for the style than actually using 7-strings still.

"Awake" and "Change of Seasons" were great, but I had already been bit by the time they came out. Funny thing is, when I bought that UVGR, I did not want to learn Vai songs or Whitesnake stuff or any of the very slim pickings of 7-string songs. It was more of seeing what it had to offer that the 6 did not. I was playing one day, clean setting on my amp, and found this cool progression that could only be played with the 7 string...and THAT is what has kept 7's in my heart.


----------



## Sindwulf (Feb 9, 2008)

I can't really put my finger where I started to get into seven string guitars. I suppose mostly by fascination at first. However, practical means, I would always try to detune to bands I would be currently listening to. My first guitar is an older RG350dx with a tremelo so messing with tuning was a pain in the ass! I thought how nice it would be to be able to play everything cause the range is there and I could still play to standard guitar riffs, songs, etc.

This at the same time I wasn't started to hate on nu-metal (for no reason, I've gotten over it now ) So I was looking up and down for muscians who used sevens in a tasteful and un-nu-metal fashion. Interesting enough, our very own TheReal7, (Kroeker) had very impressive material on his seven. I've been hooked! 

I was in a Daddy's music store in Boston and saw a custom LTD M-207 or 4-7. I can't remember which one, but it had that standard strat body that we all see. I almost got it but i hesitated but it was good thing that i didn't because when I moved back home in Maryland, I found a RG7620 in a local pawnshop for only 200 bucks!!! The fools didn't know what they had! woo.


----------



## K3V1N SHR3DZ (Mar 16, 2008)

i wanted one off and on since '95.
then i heard "the glass prison" and i was like "WOW! YOU CAN PLAY MUSIC ON IT TOO!" so i decided to learn arch enemy-type stuff on a 7. then i heard Carcass and At the Gates and I was hooked. i knew what to do.

i play in Bb because anything lower would be uncivilized.  also because of Loomis, Helloween, Jag Panzer, Michael Angelo, and Yngwie.


i have yet to hear ANYONE (even ME) go lower than A and not sound like buttsex with a chainsaw.
just an opinon


----------



## EvolDerek (Mar 16, 2008)

for me it was Meshuggah, after reading an article about Stephen Carpenter hailing them and their 7's I got into them.....never had the dough to get a 7 till now, i love it, im not sure if I ever want to play a 6 again ......especially since I am craving a sherman 8 string!!!


----------



## -K4G- (Mar 16, 2008)

Buz Mcgrath.
After seeing the Giles vid.

Bought one. And gave away my 6. Sevens feel so comfy in my hands. 

And sevenstrings.org.


----------



## jackson_metal_head (Mar 16, 2008)

Azagthoth, Hagstrom, Thordendal


----------



## Hawksmoor (Mar 16, 2008)

Vai, Munky ( yeeees), Loomis...

After hearing The Heart Collector, I knew I needed one


----------



## WillingWell (Mar 16, 2008)

Not to burst your bubble, but The Heart Collector is played on a 6.

Petrucci made me get my first seven but I got rid of it. Then I got into bands like Nevermore and Unearth that played them and I was like "Oh mah gawd, I need a seven" and got another one. Now I'm looking to buy my second.


----------



## OwlsHaveEyes (Mar 16, 2008)

My friend Pat St. John. He used a sevenstring back when he was in this band called Facehole...and I really liked how they played...That was back when I was like 15 and I have been determined to get one ever since. Once I get one I am hoping to start jamming with him..For bands though I would definately say Korn and Nevermore.


----------



## Hawksmoor (Mar 16, 2008)

WillingWell said:


> Not to burst your bubble, but The Heart Collector is played on a 6.
> 
> Petrucci made me get my first seven but I got rid of it. Then I got into bands like Nevermore and Unearth that played them and I was like "Oh mah gawd, I need a seven" and got another one. Now I'm looking to buy my second.



Really? Oh well, it was played on a seven according to a then mate... At least it made me consider playing 7's you know


----------



## theshred201 (Mar 16, 2008)

Rusty Cooley. All I need to say.


----------



## Boinz (Mar 16, 2008)

john petrucci


----------



## Gilbucci (Mar 17, 2008)

About 7-8 months after I started playing, I discovered Chris Broderick, Rusty Cooley, and Trooch and I knew I HAD to have one.


----------



## Celiak (Mar 17, 2008)

I accidently ordered a C7 instead of a C1. What a wonderfull mistake that was.


----------



## ilyti (Mar 17, 2008)

Korn and Limp Bizkit!!






Okay not really. I don't think any particular player influenced me to pick it up. It was more so the fact that I wanted to beef up my chord playing and I found the 7th string perfect for that. I also wanted to do the low-ass chuggin' without having to downtune. I like keeping my guitars in standard.
That, and the big neck looks freakin' cool.


----------



## thedonutman (Mar 17, 2008)

Celiak said:


> I accidently ordered a C7 instead of a C1. What a wonderfull mistake that was.



That must have been really strange when the box arrived.

"wtf? This guitar has an extra string?!?!?"


----------



## Celiak (Mar 18, 2008)

thedonutman said:


> That must have been really strange when the box arrived.
> 
> "wtf? This guitar has an extra string?!?!?"



It was, I hadn't even given seven strings a thought at the time. So I thought I was going to have to RMA it but I figured I could give it a play first to see what they were like as long as I had it. It rocked, so yeah.

Best mistake I've ever made.


----------



## progmetaldan (Mar 18, 2008)

I don't have a 7 yet, but the artists who made me notice them and start looking would include John Petrucci, Stephen Forte, Rusty Cooley, Tony MacAlpine, Steve Vai, I'm sure many others along the way also...


----------



## kigorri (Mar 18, 2008)

Steve vai & sepultura.

I used to listed to steve vai around when P&W was released and dream about how sepultura would sound on a 7.

It was never to be, and I digressed into music production, producing Drum & Bass, Hip Hop etc until (recently) I remembered that I could play guitar. After getting my fingers back on track, I picked up where I left off, grabbed a 7 string or two and its all .

Its all bout the versatility and the sound of being able to go LOW


----------



## JerkyChid (Mar 18, 2008)

Dave Felton, Gravy of Mushroomhead. His reasoning, not his playing just made/makes a lot of sense to me. I sat in my room and looked at my two six strings tuned a half step down and drop C (though I like B a bit better) and thought "I love being low but I really like standard.. and I don't wanna switch guitars when I wanna do either... I need a 7 string.."


----------



## FredGrass (May 3, 2008)

For me, it was mostly the availability of additional low frequencies and the single-position greater range. I first became aware of 7-strings online dream shopping when I was a kid, a couple years before the first time I picked up a guitar (Sidenote: that lasted like two weeks and six years later I actually started playing.), so the idea of an extra string to deal with wasn't much of a concern. I already had to learn to use six of them, what was one more? Oddly enough though I've played more on a six than I have on a seven by quite a long shot.


Shit, sorry guys. I forgot I had done a search so I bumped this dead thread. My bad. Now how do I delete posts... ?


----------



## cyril v (May 3, 2008)

I had to get one for two reasons, first off, the other guitarist in my band had one (jealous of that low-B).... secondly, I always wanted another Ibanez after I sold my first guitar (RG550), and it got passed around through tons of bands and when I finally got a chance to get it again, the neck had snapped on it. **

So... Ibanez + 7 = RG7620.


----------



## loktide (May 3, 2008)

Nevermore, Dream Theater, Vai


but Meshuggah turned it into my main instrument


----------



## mnemonic (May 3, 2008)

jeff fucking loomis


----------



## CrushingAnvil (May 3, 2008)

PlanetJeff said:


> I just wanted to know what artist's influence you play step out the norm and play the seven string guitar, for me it started out with Korn, then Fear Factory and some Nevermore. I just want to get that super low crunch and I want to play melodic too. What about you? and what's your preffered tuning on the seven string? I play in ADGCFAD



Hey dudes, For me; Inspiration wise it was in 2005 when I saw a now friend of mines band on our country's Metal TV show 'steel mill'. It was the Band 'Dawn Of Azazel' and the song is Called 'Immortal Dominance'. The video came on, The Lead singer and bass player who is also a good friend of mine, stood with a stance like a warrior, he has a shaved head, a large dark tattoo on his chest and a huge arm sleeve tattoo, He Spits to the side and smiles with an evil grinn before launching into his musical assault. the [then] two guitar players Joseph and Tony on each sides with wide stances, their guitars chugging and their gas mask covered heads bobbing. at this time I wasn't into death/blackened metal that much. but as soon as Rigel opened his mouth I Knew I'd love this band, the music, the philosophy, the lyrics. but the whole essence of my Dawn Of Azazel passion is My good friend Joe; He plays an RG7620 in magenta crush with dimarzio's and also has various other 6 string ibanez guitars aswell as a Gibson(or)Epiphone 7 string V. okay I've said alot. but search 'Dawn Of Azazel' on youtube and watch the 'TV3 News' video - It shows the Immortal Dominance video!


----------



## kristallin (May 3, 2008)

JerkyChid said:


> Dave Felton, Gravy of Mushroomhead. His reasoning, not his playing just made/makes a lot of sense to me. I sat in my room and looked at my two six strings tuned a half step down and drop C (though I like B a bit better) and thought "I love being low but I really like standard.. and I don't wanna switch guitars when I wanna do either... I need a 7 string.."



 That's a huge part of my reasoning for sevens, too. Plus, the thicker B string makes the lower chords sound a lot more massive than a puny down-tuned E-string!


----------



## Drage (May 3, 2008)

Broderick, Petrucci, Loomis.


----------



## shupe13 (May 3, 2008)

The look of the 7 inspired me to play one. I had been tuning down for a while. It wasn't until I bought one that I really started to research its players.


----------



## coupe89 (May 3, 2008)

I still love the song Blind and listen to Korn. Korn was a big part of my life in high school.


----------



## idspispopd (May 3, 2008)

Vai + petrucci


----------



## turmoil (May 3, 2008)

no one in particular really. i just got a really good deal on a 7 string and said why not, i didn't own one and i enjoyed the idea of adding on a new string.


----------



## Coobanez (May 4, 2008)

I first heard about it from korn, but they didn't inspire me to play what I play. It was Loomis in GW magazine playing the sweeps from the Psalm of Lydia that made me realize that's the guitar I wanna play. And then Unearth inspired me to bring in the hardcore edge.


----------



## Mattayus (May 4, 2008)

Well, i've been playing for 10 years nearly, but only got my first seven early last year. The reason it took me so long was because, i dunno, pride i guess you could call it. Stupid pride, a bit pathetic really, but i just had stupid immature thoughts like "if you can't do it on 6..." and that kind'a crap.
My favourite guitarists don't play 7s. Infact, i'm not inspired by any 7 players at all really. Perhaps I am now that i'm an avid abuser of 7s, but nobody inspired me to get a 7, if you know what i mean, it was just a natural progression and totally my own decision.
I'd say though if i had to say some players it's Petrucci (was always a DT fan regardless of the amount of strings), the boys from Unearth, Meshuggah, and Dino. But as i said these have only become inspirations since being into/using 7s


----------



## Wound (May 5, 2008)

I got my first 7 in 99. I loved downtuning guitars. I used a Gibson Les Paul tuned to Drop A with a .065 bass string at the bottom. worked fine for me. Never really considered a 7 since i'm not much of a shredder. But I took it to get repaired for some reason...don remember why. The guy there told me I should get a 7 string if i'm goin to continue tuning like this, cause the Les Paul couldn't take it. So a few months later I did, the AX7221, still have it with an EMG 707 and FAAS in it. But for inspiration, it would have to be Dino, his riffage was the key that eventually made me get 7 string guitars.


----------



## Ibanezplayer552 (May 5, 2008)

the man who was famous with a seven string after vai...james"munky"shaffer ;]


----------



## toolsound (May 5, 2008)

Bulb.


----------



## Xk6m6m5X (May 5, 2008)

i seen head and munky from korn play them and i got the idea that i like standard and drop d but had no way to play them both in 1 song so i bought a 7 tuned the B downt to A and had the normal 6 in standard so i could have both standard and drop tuned stuff in 1 song


----------



## SnowfaLL (May 5, 2008)

yah I was a big korn fan as a kid and my dad always tried to get me to play guitar, but at the time I wasnt interested.. but I did say "Can I get a 7 string then?" and he gave me the headshake.. cause hes a 80s metal guy, being kinda dissapointed of me wanting to play "numetal".. lol.. Now like 7 years later, Im playing 7s as my main =] Its nice to know my first actual thought of playing guitar in my life, was actually wanting a 7 string though.


----------



## Esp Griffyn (May 5, 2008)

It was Steve Vai for me, not because I wanted to copy his music, which I must admit I do love, but because the way he used his 7 made so much more sense to me than the traditional nu metal way of simply using it for low chunga chunga.


----------



## riklite (May 6, 2008)

I started playing guitar in the late 90's when Nu-Metal was alive and well. I was a huge fan of Dimebag Darrell even though he played a 6, but the stuff he did with a guitar made me think I could never play it. I really started liking Korn and was like, wow I think I can play this stuff! I'm also a fan of Wes Borland. I wanted to get a 7 when I started but a friend of mine talked me out of it and said I should start with a 6. I got a 6 string Ibanez RG and I always wished it was a 7. I just got my first 7 string a few weeks ago. I'm also a big fan of Stephen Carpenter of Deftones which is why I went for the ESP/LTD SC 607B. I absolutely love it. I've never wanted to play guitar as much as I do now. I don't think I'll ever go back to a 6 as a primary electric.


----------



## TimSE (May 6, 2008)

This vid



Classic


----------



## Whitebear (May 6, 2008)

The first time i heard about it was from Fear Factory some years ago but my primary inspiration was Meshuggah.


----------



## Baphomet_Reich (May 6, 2008)

Unearth did, hands down. The tuning I keep mine is all strings 1 step down.


----------



## DevourTheDamned (May 7, 2008)

Jeff Fucking Loomis did it for me.

The This Godless Endeavour video on youtube, where the camera pans across the fans and then that huge first heavy power chord comes inm that just gave me fucking chills.
Thats also probably the biggest part of my decision to pursue music as a lifestyle and career.

Im happy now 

7 strings forever guys!


----------



## TheShreddinHand (May 8, 2008)

John Petrucci and Steve Vai were my first influences. Then when I heard Nevermore's Dead Heart In A Dead World, I was sold!!


----------



## sixty (Jan 26, 2009)

Nobody influenced me to play the 7. It just happened lol. Riffs in my head would fall or contain notes lower than E so it seemed natural to get a guitar that can use those extras when needed (Also so I could be able to cover just about any of my favorite bands without switching guitars or tunings often). Tuning I keep completely normal BEADGBE with A=440hz. Though recently I've droped to Bb for a song in the works. It doesn't get used though it makes the fingering pattern easier for the scale I'm using.


----------



## EliNoPants (Jan 26, 2009)

long long ago, i was all about Korn and Fear Factory, then i kinda wandered off, got into bass, and now i'm coming back and thinking that i really don't wanna fuck around with having to retune, restring, and get setups all the goddamn time, or have like 5 guitars sitting around for every different tuning i could want, i want one thing that does everything...turns out that just adding one string kinda does that and doesn't take away anything else either


----------



## Stealthdjentstic (Jan 26, 2009)

Korn 

But then i got into better stuff like nevermore, meshuggah, etc.


----------



## Dusty201087 (Jan 26, 2009)

Honestly it wasn't anyone who inspired me, I was just sick of having to down tune to play my stuff then tune back up to play in my schools Jazz band, so I figured a 7-8 string would be optimal for me cause I won't have to down tune


----------



## Thin_Ice_77 (Jan 26, 2009)

My brother.


----------



## MetalJordan (Jan 26, 2009)

well i had never really heard of bands playing 7 strings (even though i listened to bands who played 7's) i never really knew that a lot of bands play 7's. my friends taylor is actually the one who first got me into 7 strings when he bought an rg7321. after that i fell in love them and bought my douglas


----------



## poopyalligator (Jan 26, 2009)

I dont know if there is really any artist in particular that made me switch over to a seven string. I think it was mostly just playing one at a store, and i really liked the sound of a couple of my songs in a lower tone. I never really liked korn or limp bizkit or anything so they never influenced me when they were popular. Although I remember the first time that I ever heard and recognized the awesomeness of one was on the song acid rain by liquid tension experiment (john petrucci),


----------



## reptillion (Jan 26, 2009)

I wanted to down tune to D, and lower for doom stuff, but i wanted E for maiden, metallica and megadeth. So I started thinking about it. Then i started questioning if I actually needed to go down to B/A. Until I heard nile. Now im dead set on one

So myself and Nile


----------



## Dethfield (Jan 26, 2009)

No real artist inspired me to get into 7 strings. I just thought the idea was great. I bought a cheap BC Rich P7 mockingbird early on, and went to guitar lessons with that guitar, so the 7th string has never really bothered me. I kind moved on, didnt play the mockingbird, and went back to 6 strings for a long while.

Then one day i was looking into getting a new ibanez RG. I wanted a high end one though, something that i would last me and play great. I stumbled onto the Universe series,a and was sold. I thought "if it can do everything a 6 string can and more, well why the hell not?". As soon as i layed my hands on it, i was an instant bond. I had planned to change the pickups, but i was quite satisfied with the blazes already that i didnt want to ruin a good thing.

The more i play 7s, the more i am convinced this was the right instrument for me. The extra range is just so helpful. Alot of times you can get away without downtuning, all you need to is just adapt!

7 string rock!


----------



## I_infect (Jan 26, 2009)

Heavy Ed, he stopped over my house with his black and green universe, which must have cost about $1500 at the time or something. I started tuning my 6'ers to B after that, and then I got an RG7421 and RG7420. No particular artist inspired me; it was more of a hands on "wow".


----------



## caughtinamosh (Jan 26, 2009)

No specific artist for me either, with the possible exception of John Petrucci. The concept that you could go that low and still remain a level of clarity just spoke volumes to me - it's the ultimate br00talz. I don't use it in the most musical way, but metal has more to it than musicality, and the sheer rumble you can squeeze out of a seven string is incredible.


----------



## Skullet (Jan 26, 2009)

Loomis,Broderick and Meshuggah


----------



## I_infect (Jan 26, 2009)

Yeah, 'Awake' opened my eyes a bit wider to 7 strings as well... not so much the leads but riffage, 'The Mirror' etc. I knew then(7 strings) it was here to stay. I thought Vai was great of course, but honestly who the hell thinks they are gonna play like him enough to buy a guitar like his? Especially when at the time, he was the only guy playing one.


----------



## sworth9411 (Jan 26, 2009)

All the local bands used them, and we jumped on the bandwagon&#8230;..we were playing 6&#8217;s in A and it was a natural step&#8230; and Vai.....


----------



## slay (Jan 26, 2009)

i had my 6 string for years and it was sort of stuck in standard tuning (me not being able to downtune with a floyd due to my ADD)

so i had some cash saved up and wanted something to get alot of range from and voila i got a 7 string.


----------



## the_arod (Jan 26, 2009)

pretty unusual I think: Epica's Mark Jansen
after that the Scar Symmetry guys


----------



## Koshchei (Jan 26, 2009)

Nobody, really. I ran out of range on my 6 and needed an extra string. Little did I realize that I would make it my main guitar so quickly after it arrived.


----------



## Edhyena (Jan 27, 2009)

steve vai initually.... then carcass sealed the deal. they used 6's and tuned to B


----------



## arktan (Jan 27, 2009)

I got my hands on a russian guitar (Russian guitar - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia). Well, that was the first guitar i ever touched and i thought that it's normal to have 7 strings. Later i found out that all the chord-books only covered 6 strings 
Years later i bought an electric and detuned it to D-standard because it was a compromise. After a few months i said "Fuck this shit" and ordered a 7. I was younger back then and had almost no money. The RG7321 hit my budget hard but it was worth it. Definately 
I detuned it to A standard (because i had the sixer already in D), later on i returned to B-standard for my seven.


----------



## Sang-Drax (Jan 27, 2009)

At first, I just happened to like low notes from bands such as Soilwork and In Flames - even though they play downtuned 6'ers. However, I didn't want to lose access to high notes, and I always thought that 7's were quite classy at that, even the acoustic ones. 

The ultimate inspiration came from Lacuna Coil and Pain of Salvation, however.


----------



## loktide (Jan 27, 2009)

Nevermore's DHIADW and Dream Theater's Awake


----------



## metalheadpunk (Jan 27, 2009)

The other guitar player in my band is who convinced me to buy a seven. years ago i liked a ton of bands who played seven string guitars, though i knew nothing about gear back then.


----------



## PlagueX1 (Jan 27, 2009)

Probably Nevermore is what most influenced me to play seven. I just wanted that super low crunch without losing as much of the high end.


----------



## darbdavys (Jan 27, 2009)

Loomis (Nevermore)


----------



## LI3G3KILL3R (Jan 27, 2009)

Korn's first and second album, Fear Factory, and Vai were the initial influences for purchasing a seven. Once I found out about the George van Eps my interest in the instrument spiked even more because of the discovered potential versatility of the instrument.

I love guitars with lots of strings.


----------



## Luuk (Jan 27, 2009)

Meshuggah..


----------



## Survival101 (Jan 27, 2009)

Not really anyone in particular. I just wanted a deeper sound for neo-classical and death metal stuff. I was actually originally going to get a baritone but I couldn't find any that I like, plus I wanted the full range a 7 string has. 
That being said, hearing God of Emptiness and Where the Slime Live by Morbid Angel somewhat influenced my decision, hah.


----------



## shredthelight91 (Jan 27, 2009)

unearth


----------



## Scali (Jan 27, 2009)

For me it was when I met this guy by the name of Narshadda on another forum (www.guitarbt.com).
We had these regular jam rounds and monthly competition, and this guy was really good. He was also a 7-string player. I guess he made me decide that a 7-string guitar might be something for me aswell. He also gave me some tips when I just started on my 7-string.


----------



## badger71 (Jan 28, 2009)

I had been batting the idea around for a few years. I knew Vai had used them....lately I got the Loomis solo cd....and my interest resurfaced. It was just something I wanted to try. I've been playing 6 stringers for over 20 yrs and recently felt like my playing was getting stale. Then, the opportunity to interview Steve Vai came up....went to his house and we interviewed him in the "Harmony Hut" (his home studio) and saw a few 7 string guitars on the wall. I did a little research, followed a few ebay auctions and CL listings, and eventually found a 7620 locally.


----------



## jymellis (Jan 28, 2009)

initially steve vai in the early 90s. to actually buy one was mushroomhead


----------



## twiztedchild (Jan 28, 2009)

to play one was Korn  also why I bought it  but then I started finding other bands that played 7 strings,


----------



## code_red (Jan 28, 2009)

A band I was in, in high school the guitarist had an Ibanez Rg7420. I had just bought my 5 string bass. I thought the things you could do were amazing. I moved on from that band after high school and started jamming with another band with my 5 string. The guitarist (my now boyfriend) had never tried a seven. I mentioned how awesome I thought they were and he picked up a Washburn seven (which sucked) later he got an Ibanez. That was about 6-7 years ago and he's still hooked. Now I own a seven. He owns 2 and wants more and possibly and 8 someday.


----------



## Zahs (Jan 28, 2009)

Matt Bellamy made me think towards sevens, i still need to get one, but nothing out there takes my fancy. Still waiting for some company to build my perfect seven, other than that i'm saving for a custom.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno (Jan 28, 2009)

Steve Vai. 

Once I heard "The Audience is Listening" I wanted one.


----------



## IconW (Jan 28, 2009)

Meshuggah and Bulb...I really hadn't any need for seven but I bought one. I generally suck at guitar playing, but it didn't keep me getting more guitar stuff and different guitars...so I just bought one. Then I bought second. And now I can't stop. 
Nowadays I really can't recall why I would buy 6-stringers anymore..I wouldn't play them 'cause I don't have any time for them. 7 just feels a lot more better...


----------



## renzoip (Jan 28, 2009)

Petrucci. DT's awake really made me want to pick up a 7!


----------



## auxioluck (Jan 28, 2009)

A Change of Seasons by Dream Theater.


----------



## mizfi7 (Jan 28, 2009)

Life is Peachy by Korn. Got my first 7 string when I was 13 and IM 20 now.


----------



## Totem_37 (Jan 28, 2009)

My old coworker/guitar teacher, the lead guitarist/vocalist in the band Brane


----------



## Stengah_2012 (Jan 28, 2009)

Frederik Thordendal


----------



## uo13x (Jan 28, 2009)

korn...man, i feel old when i think about it :/


----------



## Konfyouzd (Feb 3, 2009)

i'll admit... i bought a 7 string initially around the time korn's 1st album came out... then i sold it... haven't had one or almost 10 years now (went thru a shred phase and didn't wanna just chug on the B like an asshole)... now i've recently gotten back into them after hearin' what loomis and broderick can do with one...


----------



## hufschmid (Feb 3, 2009)

I would say Steve Vai, then Dino Cazares....

But then I met Jona Nido from Switchback / The Ocean and this guy is just amazing on the 7 string... 

So he became my inspiration 

www.myspace.com/theoceancollective


----------



## Mb_ (Feb 3, 2009)

Well I haven't bought a 7 yet, but probably this week I have ordered one!

I really really like Mats Haugen from Circus Maximus. Great Progmetal-band. He and John Petrucci is the reason why I want to play 7 string now!


----------



## naavanka_ (Feb 3, 2009)

The guys from Meshuggah but the the last push came from Mokoma&#180;s kuoleman laulukunnaat album, the guitars just sound soooo good in that so i had to have one.


----------



## paintkilz (Feb 3, 2009)

when i was in middle school like 12 years ago i was into Korn...always wanted a 7...never got one until about 7months ago though..


now its more like bands like Aeon, Beneath The Massacre, Whitechapel, Loomis/Broderick..


----------



## GorillaSalsa (Feb 3, 2009)

auxioluck said:


> A Change of Seasons by Dream Theater.



This. Damn you, Low-B-In-The-Beginning. I'm hooked now.


----------



## junnnu (Feb 3, 2009)

Well. In spring 2006 my friend introduced a band called Stam1na to me. And suprise they use 7-string guitars.

earlyer i did considered tuning from e to b, but still wanted to play from standard tuning.
needles to say 7 was a perfect answer for me, and so i traden my rr3+cash to sc607
rest is history. The sc607 was last nail to our band and it finally got started.

I play in standard tuning headghe.


----------



## jufob (Feb 3, 2009)

Inspired by boredom or A.D.D, so long ago, can't really recall accurately.


----------



## wildchild (Feb 3, 2009)

I changed to 7 because of Slipknot as I was fed up of tuning so low so I decided to try a seven string

Its weird as I never got into 7 string bands till later


----------



## bulletbass man (Feb 3, 2009)

Drew said:


> skinhead, I just saw "Drew I <3 you" scroll by in your signature. What the fuck?
> 
> For me, well, Vai certainly intrigued me with "Passion and Warfare," and I got interested in lower registers while transcribing a Strangers With Candy (now the band formerly known as Lifer, not sure what they go by these days) song, tuning my Strat's E down to the pitch of the song (which turned out to be B), retuning to match, and playing an open E (now B) through my clean channel and hearing the biggest sounding chord of my life.
> 
> But really, it was mostly the symmetry of the guitar - on some level it always kind of bugged me that the guitar didn't have a middle string. When I first saw a seven, I sort of thought "Oh..." I liked the greater range, and I liked the symmetrical layout of strings on the neck, so I sold a 520 I owned for my first 7620, and immediately found about 48 other reasons why sevens rule.


 


Drew said:


> Vince.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 

I was paging thru this for some odd reason and I relized Drew answered this thread twice.


----------



## robotsatemygma (Feb 4, 2009)

Long story. 

Korn and being heavy inspired me to buy a Squier 7 string in high school, which I traded in for a Double Fat strat like a week later. 

Then I got into Fear Factory, and the whole death metal scene and started tuning my 6 down to A. Which just sucked ass and didn't last too long. 4 years later I eventually got into the jazzier side of things and Dillinger Escape Plan, bought some LTD's and kept in standard E. I was introduced to Charlie Hunter by a show on BET Jazz. I was just astonished by his technique and tone and he greatly influenced me into playing my guitar (tuned to E) in a different way I was used too.

Realizing I finally hit a brick wall with advancing on a 6 string (the way I want to play), I succumbed and bought a 7 string to realize my goal. 

At the moment (since I've only had a 7 string for 4 days now), I've been tuning to AEADGBE, as the drop A makes it easier to accent my chord work for all this 7 string jazz I've been researching, and it makes great for the brOOtALZzz. Also I can play the Self Titled Deftones album this way too (with adjustments).


----------



## bhuba135 (Feb 4, 2009)

i started becoming interested in 7s because of The Glass Prison by Dream Theater. Bought two sevens within two years after, carvin 727 and fernandes revolver pro 7. Nothing is better then that open low b power chord

Then after Dream Theater, i found Nevermore, Unearth, and new Sonata Arctica, and i was sold forever!...


...Until i got a Caparison Horus HGS


----------



## leipzig175 (Feb 4, 2009)

To get more range for a special typr of minor chord that I have no idea what it's called. It helps with the music I'm writing.
Also so I wouldn't have always detune my Warlock. 8 gauge strings(which I also have on the 7) get really floppy.....

I play in standard tuning since I bring it to my guitar lessons, and it's hard to tune down with a Floyd Rose.


----------



## DamienAzrael (Feb 17, 2009)

First it was KoRn....But then I stopped using them for a long time...In April of 2008 my (now former) band was on tour with Mushroomhead, and after hanging out with and watching Gravy every night he got me interested in them again...So I've been using them on everything lately.


----------



## Hypothermia (Feb 17, 2009)

I'd have to say Unearth & SikTh.

Meshuggah aswell, they've given me massive GAS f&#246;r an 8stringer


----------



## mattofvengeance (Feb 17, 2009)

There weren't any bands that inspired me to do it. I just happened to join a band that used them. Once I got my own, I absolutely fell in love with them. I haven't used anything but the 7 ever since.


----------



## Shinto (Feb 17, 2009)

ShawnFjellstad said:


> Petrucci, Vai, Broderick, every gothenburg melo-death band ever.
> 
> * ShawnF knows that a many of the gothenburg melo-death bands actually just used sixes tuned to b, but he liked the idea of playing their material without having to sacrifice the higher range.


----------



## NickB11 (Feb 17, 2009)

Jeff Loomis, Steve Vai, John Petrucci, Chris Broderick


----------



## Gain_Junkie93 (Feb 18, 2009)

jeff loomis and dino cazares


----------



## Arminius (Feb 18, 2009)

loomis and azagthoth


----------



## PirateMetalTroy (Feb 18, 2009)

The intro riff to "The mirror"

Petrucci never fails


----------



## TheAceOfSpades1 (Feb 18, 2009)

Jeff Loomis whilst listening to the "Enemies of Reality" album. (and soon after all of Nevermore's other albums + various other 7-stringers)


----------



## toolsound (Feb 18, 2009)

Bulb. Acle and Jeff Loomis also, but mainly Bulb to be honest.


----------



## Bygde (Feb 19, 2009)

It all started with Fear Factory (back in the Cazares-days), but I also got inspired by Dream Theater.


----------



## Hoj0 (Feb 19, 2009)

Devin Townsend and Chris Broderick mainly.

The reason I got a seven for was really to be able to play Nile, LoG, Gojira, Symphony X, SYL etc on the same guitar, with the same set of strings


----------



## s_k_mullins (Feb 19, 2009)

Originally became interested in 7's when i was younger and listening to a lot of Korn, Fear Factory, and Orgy.. And then Deftones and Meshuggah.. And eventually started getting into the shredders and discovered the 7-string wizards, like John Petrucci, Rusty Cooley, Jeff Loomis, and Chris Broderick.. and Unearth fuckin rule!!


----------



## danenachtrieb (Feb 19, 2009)

everyones gonna hate me for saying this but suicide silence and carnifex, drop A


----------



## Dopey Trout (Feb 19, 2009)

got interested in the thought by Fear Factory, then discovered Dream Theater and realised what could be done with them. My want for one kinda laid dormant for a while, until the new Trivium record. Say what you want but they are a solid band. So now I'm looking into building my own


----------



## zackkynapalm (Mar 22, 2009)

Korn/Limp Bizkit gave me the idea.

BULB made me go out and purchase it!


----------



## flyingllama (Mar 22, 2009)

No band did it for me. A long time ago I was at a GC and they had a used Ibanez AX 7. Didn't notice it at first, then I looked at it again and I noticed the neck was wider and it had another tuner I was like "what the hell is this?" My hand wasn't fully used to neck shapes then so when i grabbed it I was overwhelmed by the width of the neck "how do you play something like this?!" From that memory alone I've been interested in them. For the range, for having 2 guitars in one and the look of not being another herded guitar player.


----------



## Jem7RB (Mar 22, 2009)

Originally, it was Vai playing a UV in a local store (dammit for never buying it) i quit 7 strings and a Player called Clive Murrey's tune came up on iTunes and got me really wanting one again.

And now, probably Dino, Broderick, and as asskissy as it sounds, 7DyingTrees new stuff, gief demo tracks plz James


----------



## Spondus (Mar 22, 2009)

the glass prison by DT and Dead Heart in a Dead World by nevermore.
I tune to standard but more recently i've been desperate for an 8 string so i've had one of my RGs tuned to EEADGBE. I bought my first 7 at the age of 16 after having been playing guitar for about a year and a half, I was tuning to C standard but missed the upper range so decided to go for a 7


----------



## lefty robb (Mar 22, 2009)

Way way back in the day I would have to say Vernon Reid was one of the first guys that really made my jaw drop, like a lot of old school guitarists seeing Jimi Hendrix for the first time, it was his performance in 1989 on SNL that really got me.


----------



## snuif09 (Mar 22, 2009)

Fear Factory for sure i loved dino's first stuff (concrete,soul of a new machine and demanufacture) obsolete had great songs but the riffing wasnt that cool i think christian olde wolbers influenced me the most mostly because of his fast playing style wich i just love.

i still know when i listened to slave labor when i was a kid(which i still am)
and i was just amazed by the speed and heavyness of the song so i tuned down my guitar to b wich sucked then i realized he uzed 7 stringers so i got my seven string about 4 years later  thats a month ago lol.


----------



## Filip S (Mar 23, 2009)

petrucci > chuck norris


----------



## powergroover (Mar 23, 2009)

chest rockwell !!!!
+ some chugga chugga artist out there


----------



## Scar Symmetry (Mar 23, 2009)

Munky + Head


----------



## ShadyDavey (Mar 23, 2009)

Uli Jon Roth. I know there were earlier guitarists incorporating 7 strings but he was the first one that really caught my imagination with his feel, compositions and originallity. After that time I've heard a few players that impressed me and might become onfluences but none had that same impact.


----------



## Caparijackson (Mar 28, 2009)

It was the guys from an Italian band Novembre, saw videos of them playing 7 strings. Just really liked their music and the tones they get out of their 7 strings. 
Just recently decided to get a 7 string guitar, probably gonna take some time getting used to it and playing live using a 7 string, hope all goes well.

Cheers


----------



## Adil-2552 (Apr 12, 2009)

Hmm, I'd say that the instrument itself inspired me
On the other hand, guitarists like John Petrucci and bands like Unearth precipitated the purchase of my first seven
One thing I love about owning a seven is when I hand it to someone just starting out, or some self righteous poser that can't play...I neglect to mention it's a seven, and wait for the confused look that shortly follows after they try to play an E chord
That "wtf" expression on their face is priceless

Hehe


----------



## cadremetal117 (Apr 13, 2009)

Whitechapel and Suicide Silence, I Love the 7 string brutallity from these bands. They inspired me not only to play 7, but to play Deathcore. I use ADADGBE, and GCGCFAD tuning on my sevens, love it!


----------



## CynicEidolon (Apr 13, 2009)

Mike Mushok.


----------



## txguitarslinger (Apr 13, 2009)

My first taste of 7 was with Vai during the "Passion and Warfare" days. And only recently had I toyed with the idea to go low. Found a great trade deal and now I have one. I love the ability to have a standard tuning as well as the drop d 7 string, or the option to go lower tuning with all strings. I always hated having to detune my 6th for a few songs. And now I find myself intrigued with an 8 string.....The journey continues....


----------



## chips400 (Apr 13, 2009)

simple, Rusty Cooley


----------



## signalgrey (May 2, 2009)

Justin k Broadrick (Godflesh and Jesu)

low tunings in general

the Cure (ok not metal BUT he did use a baritone long before alo oft before metal went lower than drop Db)
cave-in
isis
pelican


actually i went baritone THEN 7 string bari. gotta get the high end in there somewhere.


----------



## Fikealox (May 3, 2009)

Loomis, Cooley, and Satch, for me. Plus, I'm wanting to lower and heavier these days, too, so I figured I may as well go all out


----------



## rareform707 (May 4, 2009)

after the burial. 
i actually never decided i really wanted one until i played one for the first time. first time playing in drop A through a mesa boogie dual rec really sucked me in! 
but i probably wouldnt have cared to go guitar store hopping just to try one if it hadnt been for them. 

meshuggah really got me into 8's, but i didnt decide i wanted one till after the burial got them, ha!


----------



## schecter007 (May 4, 2009)

Whitechapel and All Shall Perish made me buy my first 7, went to the guitar shop n the guitar bang right infront of my face, Schecter 007 elite on sale. sold.


----------



## Scar Symmetry (May 4, 2009)

Korn got me into 7s, but these guys inspire me today:

Steve Vai
Per Nilsson
Jeff Loomis
John Petrucci
Muhammed Suicmez


----------



## Voodoo Turkey (May 4, 2009)

Stephan Forte was the main 7 stringer that inspired me for sure.

Other 7 stringers that continue to inspire me include:

John Petrucci
Wolfgang Kerrinis
Nils Norberg
Jeff Loomis
Steve Vai (obviously!)


----------



## conorreich (May 4, 2009)

i dont think i was ever inspired but i loved unearth and meshuggah but not enough to buy a 7. then i started getting tired of play a 6 and i kept tuning lower and lower till i was in drop A. and thennn i got tired of not having a high e string so i started to tune in standard again. 

get it? haha

a seven just makes sense to me and i love love love playing them!


----------



## rareform707 (May 5, 2009)

schecter007 said:


> Whitechapel and All Shall Perish made me buy my first 7, went to the guitar shop n the guitar bang right infront of my face, Schecter 007 elite on sale. sold.



my first and current 7 too


----------



## Æxitosus (May 5, 2009)

I actually didn't know of any bands that played 7s (well that I knew played 7s) until after I started playing a 7. So I guess I inspired myself...?


----------



## Raymeous (May 6, 2009)

Availability, a Chapman Stick, and John Williams (guy that did the Star Wars score, laugh all you want!)



Availability - I was always into film scores since seeing Star Wars (when it was new ) and I felt that the extra range would help me orchestrate my music more effectively. Basically because it was there. 

Chapman Stick - A friend of mine had two Chapman Sticks and let me borrow one for a week. I loved the ability to (i.e. attempt to) play bass lines and melodies at the same time. The 7 seemed like it would allow me to take this process to an instrument I was more familiar with. 

John Williams - I'm was an only child that started off on violin. I grew up listening to film scores and John Williams is responsible for the majority of the most memorable ones: Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Jurasic Park, Jaws, in short anything done by Lucas or Spielberg, not to mention the Olympic Fanfare theme! I love how he uses every instrument to its fullest and how dynamic and melodic his themes are. The 7 string lets me divide up the parts when I'm writing and pull off some stuff I couldn't do otherwise.

The shop by my house at the time got two Universe guitars from NAMM, a white one and the black one with green pickups. So I bought the white one and the other guitarist I was playing with at the time picked up the black one. So I had mine about a month after production models became available.


----------



## omgmjgg (May 6, 2009)

the guys from tony danza tapdance extravaganza got me into 7's and then i was introduced to meshuggah.


----------



## jpmisery (May 8, 2009)

well for me it was Korn as well.....then the Deftones,Nevermore,John Petrucci,Chris Broderick,Jeff Loomis,Steve Vai,Dave Weiner,Dino Cazares,Rusty Cooley and Meshuggah who along with Cazares also got into the 8 string.


----------



## 7stringabuser (May 18, 2009)

Straight up Whitechapel...And I play in Drop-A...i wish I could have the quickness of powerchord progression that I get in drop-A and also still have the versatility of A-Standard...that and the fact the music stores where I live are shit and have crappy 7-String sets


----------



## possumkiller (May 18, 2009)

ihsahn. i was a huge emperor fan (still am) and when prometheus came out and i saw the vid for empty i had to pause it a few times on the headstock and count the tuners and i was like wtf?? so i immediately put my bank account into the hole for a then in 2002 NOS RG7620BK F99 and that was that. too bad i had to pawn it so i could get married. luckily my wife let me get another one from the same year in mint condition back in 04. then i got the stupid idea that i would paint it and shit and never finished it so i sold it. now im in the market for a 7 again lol.


----------



## raifo (May 18, 2009)

Head and Munky, Shane gibson has really inspired me, vai, wes borland, stephen carpenter, rusty cooley, john petrucci, Meshuggah, Dino and Christian, Stam1na, and all those six string players that tune to B and A slipknot, coal chamber, stuff like that


----------



## Tristoner7 (May 18, 2009)

Dino Cazares.


----------



## Deaths Madrigal (May 19, 2009)

I was 15 years old and i was a Korn fanatic. Brian 'Head' Welch was pretty much my idol at that point in my life, so needless to say, a 7 string guitar was a must for me. Fast forward 9 years in my life and i have yet to pick up a 6er again.


----------



## Whitestrat (May 19, 2009)

I never really stuck to 7 strings. I just liked the extended range idea. Never really caught on to the Korn phase. I couldn't even tell when Vai was on the 7 and when he was on the 6. JP was obvious, because "A Change Of Seasons" was one of my fav tracks at that time.

But I never wanted to learn to play a 7 as a metal guitar. I always wanted to learn to use it as an instrument like how this guy plays his 8 string: 

But I ended up still playing Rock/Metal... Whahahaha...


----------



## DarkKnight369 (May 19, 2009)

I was a huge Korn fan in high school. So they got me to buy my first 7 which was an Ibanez. That is gone now though. I also liked Limp Bizkit, Flaw, and and other Nu MEtally bands back then. Got into Fear factory back then. 

Influences today that reignited my love for the 7 and such would be Steph of the Deftones, Unearth, Loomis, Dino, etc...


----------



## 7deadlysins666 (May 19, 2009)

Jeff Loomis, and Rusty Cooley were the reason I got a 7 string.... Devin Townsend helped quite a bit too . After I got my shitty Washburn 7....there was no turning back!


----------



## Cypher (May 19, 2009)

First time I got interested was around Meshuggah's D.E.I. album, they were interviewed about their green/black Ibanez 7's on a metal tv programme. Furthermore the almighty Loomis!!


----------



## TheSymphony (May 20, 2009)

Nobody, because I don't play 7-stringed guitars... yet.

Anyone here that uses the Ibanez Xiphos XPT707FX guitar?


----------



## Warpspasm (May 22, 2009)

Me and Rocky George!


----------



## cob (May 24, 2009)

John Petrucci. I actually bought my first seven string just to learn Scene Seven: The Dance of Eternity. But, once I had it I couldn't put it down. I discovered a new appreciation for korn and found many many many seven stringers in famous-land. Nevermore and Necrophagist made a difference. And Seven-string by satriani and some of steve vai's old stuff had it.

yep


----------



## 77Barrettcore77 (May 27, 2009)

When i first heard the passion and warfare album 7 years ago i wanted a seven string. Unearth also inspire me to play seven strings. it has just taken me 7 years to get one.


----------



## Xanithon (May 27, 2009)

Korn, Linkin Park (With You ofc), Fear Factory, Meshuggah.
Marten Hagstrom single-handedly is getting me into 8 stringers >_<
WONT BE ABLE TO AFFORD FOR LONG TIME!


----------



## scorch15 (May 27, 2009)

i was hugely inspired by my guitar teacher, (Nick Woodward of DarkestGrace) and i desided to get one and let it rip and i havent regreted it at all, i use standard B tuning


----------



## Panacea224 (May 27, 2009)

Petrucci initially, but it was Trivium's shogun album and Jeff Loomis that really got me hooked.


----------



## ConcealerofFate (May 27, 2009)

I don't have a Seven yet, but I'm planning on getting one in the next month or so, but the person that inspired me to play sevens is actually one of my good friends, Drew. 
He plays all the time and records his own stuff, which is what I strive to do.
He's also two years younger than me, and considering he's still in high school, you can see that he's farther along than I am.
So yeah, here's to my friend Drew, for giving me the inspiration to play 7's.


----------



## Stringjam (May 29, 2009)

TaronKeim said:


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




I agree on Matte - - unique player is an understatement. 


I think the first actual moment I knew I wanted to pick up a 7, however, was after hearing the amp demos that Bob Savage did for Bogner several years ago.


----------



## JaxoBuzzo (Jun 2, 2009)

devin townsend really got me hooked....and then..Jeff loomis.


----------



## psywaltz (Jun 2, 2009)

i decided to switch to the seven, when i heard dream theaters "awake" album.


----------



## friday11 (Jun 2, 2009)

I decided to play 7 strings because of Unearth...but I found out, that there are much more then those guys!!!


----------



## Bloodshed09 (Jun 2, 2009)

Loomis!!


----------



## Mty1Mezz (Jun 2, 2009)

Buz McGrath


----------



## Scar Symmetry (Jun 2, 2009)

I'm revising my previous answer.

it was simply Korn. ever since I heard Korn at 10 I wanted a K7 and now my bro has one so I just play that.

my first guitar, a Les Paul copy, was always tuned to drop A, and my second guitar was a baritone... I didn't actually buy a 7 string until 2007 which was a 7321 which I hated... now I've got a 7621 but I don't like that either. might look into ESP or Schecter as I need a new one


----------



## Awake77 (Jun 2, 2009)

psywaltz said:


> i decided to switch to the seven, when i heard dream theaters "awake" album.



Same here, bought my RG7620 back in 1998 and never looked back. I haven't owned a 6 string electric since.

Although, that 27 fret Xiphos has me thinking a 6'er might be nice


----------



## MatthewK (Jun 2, 2009)

No one at all. I got my first seven just because it was in the shop and I dug it. The fact that it had seven strings was pretty much irrelevant to me then.


----------



## G9Music (Jun 3, 2009)

Jeff Loomis.


----------



## Rabsa (Jun 3, 2009)

In the beginning the biggest inspiration comes from some Finnish bands Mokoma & Stam1na. 


Now a days the biggest inspirers are maybe Munky from KoRn, John Petrucci from Dream Theater, Steve Vai, Jeff Loomis from Nevermore, Kaoru from Dir en grey (yep, only one song with sevens, I know) and at last, but not the least Miya from Mucc.


----------



## Anthony (Jun 3, 2009)

Watching Jason Richardson's youtube videos today made me switch back to 7's.


----------



## Racer_J (Jun 3, 2009)

G9Music said:


> Jeff Loomis.


 

+1


----------



## xclozedx (Jun 4, 2009)

Korn, Deftones, Nevermore


----------



## Jefonyx (Jun 4, 2009)

Stephan Forte of Adagio


----------



## Musza (Jun 4, 2009)

Jeff Loomis!


----------



## brainchild (Jun 4, 2009)

*tony danza* was the pushing edge for me after watching Laynes Hand Job clip.

but some formidable mentions of course would be:

ion dissonance
TTEOTD
fellsilent
meshuggah.....isnt it really a given?
spawn of possession
all shall perish
after the burial
despised icon.....???? i think one of the guitarist is a 7, the other a 6


----------



## JoryGriffin (Jun 5, 2009)

I'd have to say Petrucci alone is responsible for me buying one. It was only after that I started listening to bands like Nevermore etc.

I normally play Standard tuning or half a step down.

(I'm boring like that)


----------



## polydeathsphere (Jun 5, 2009)

brainchild said:


> *tony danza* was the pushing edge for me after watching Laynes Hand Job clip.



such an awesome vid.


----------



## ConcealerofFate (Jun 8, 2009)

I like how I gave this heartfelt explanation about one of my great friends and everyone else is just like "Yeah, Jeff Loomis, he has all the skills."


----------



## masher (Jun 8, 2009)

for me its petrucci and trivium


----------



## Cuda (Jun 8, 2009)

I use to dig Korn, I loved Fear Factory. Machine Head? Not sure if they just drop B or use a 7. 

Got out of music for a while. Finally picked bass up again, learned a lot of Nintendo music. Started listening to the Mad Capsule Markets. I hate changing tunings from standard to drop D to drop B, I had to get a 5 string bass and a 7 string guitar to play all the stuff I like.


----------



## EdgeC (Jun 9, 2009)

It started with Korn back in the Self-Titled album days. I loved the crunch and riffage. But at that stage it was a low B sting on a standard 6 string as I couldn't afford a 7 and there weren't too many around.

I moved on to Fear Factory but the detuned 6 was ok casue Dino wasn't bustin out to many solos.

But after seeing Unearth tour with KSE and Lamb of God back in 2006 I had to buy one. Then I started looking for other 7 string playing bands and got into Nevermore, Dream Theater, All Shall Perish etc.

So I would Say Buzz and Ken forced my hand, but the Korn boys and Dino started it off.


----------



## rossevans (Jun 24, 2009)

Chris Storey. 

Picked up the price of existence and was stunned.

Google'd all shall perish, found chris storey...bought a 7 string!


----------



## sandwichamwin (Jun 24, 2009)

Korn was the initial inspiration i guess (how i first heard of 7 string guitars anyway). However that was long before I even played guitar.

However it was probably John Petrucci who really made me want to buy one and then after hearing of the band "Nevermore"... the deal was done! 

It's painful being a guitar teacher and having to use 6 strings all day because the kids are too retarded to understand the concept of a 7 string.


----------



## BrainArt (Jun 25, 2009)

Korn, Vai, Satch, Petrucci, and Fear Factory. In fact the way I play my 7 is a mixture of all of the aforementioned influences.


----------



## Empryrean (Jun 25, 2009)

rossevans said:


> Chris Storey.


----------



## fuzzboy (Jun 25, 2009)

Jani Liimatainen. I haven't read through the thread, but I'm probably alone on that one.

Also, to a certain extent, Petrucci. But that was because of LTE2.


----------



## synrgy (Jun 25, 2009)

My interest was initially sparked during the Korn wave, but I was a broke ass teenager living in bum-fuck nowhere, and access to 7s even for demo let alone purchase was basically zero.

I only got to try one twice -- another local kid bought a 7620 in 97/98-ish. At the time, it just felt wrong. My playing style just wasn't ready for it yet.

Fast forward more than a decade, and my whole approach to the instrument has changed. I didn't have any specific influence to think about a 7 string again as far as bands go (I hardly listen to anything but whatever of my own music I'm working on these days, and only a TINY fraction of what I do listen to outside of that is rock/metal or even guitar related) but I knew that my evolved approach might be able to make great use of an extra string. I went to some local shops and tried some various models to see how they felt and whether or not my hands would jive with them at this stage of my life. Much to my pleasant surprise, they felt great. That was that. After a month on a 7, 6 string guitars already felt bizarre to me. Kinda like playing one of those 3/4 size guitars built for kids. Maybe I just have long fingers or big hands or something, I dunno...


----------



## KholdStare (Jun 25, 2009)

fuzzboy said:


> Also, to a certain extent, Petrucci. But that was because of LTE2.



Exactly...

about 4 years ago, I was constantly listening to Metallica, thinking Kirk Hammet was
a god and everyone should bow before him, and then a friend asked me to download
a certain "Liquid Tension Experiment" CD for him since he didn't have internet...
As I was downloading, "Acid Rain" finished first so I decided to hear what this was...
Oh.... My... ****ING GOD!!! I thought, it just blew my mind 
Never again would the world be the same...


Disclaimer: I do not endorse pirating, and since then have bought said CD


----------



## demontamer (Jun 25, 2009)

Well...It's simple.
I've hated Korn too much when I was younger,and I was swearing that I'd never taked a 7 stringed guitar in my hands.
Then one day I was studying "Incarnated Solvent Abuse" and "Heartwork" from Carcass(Yeah guys,when the "Heartwork" album was released it was 1993 and Bill Steer and Micheal Ammott were already using 7 stringed instruments!)with guitar pro,and I founded that it was played with a 7!!!

So,I was about to threw it all away,then I've listened to Jeff Loomis.

He definitely turn me on 7 stringed guitars.

So Loomis,Steer and Ammott,Vai and Chris Broderick.And I got also in Meshuggah...

That's It!!!

P.S: I still hate Korn.I found their use of the 7 string soooo focused on making the maximum amount of useless noise...forgive me guys,but I really can't stand it...


----------



## slapnutz (Sep 14, 2009)

Korn made me aware of it.

However it was Steve Vai's - Passion and Warfare and Dream Theaters - Awake albums that made me want to get one.

Also, I like the High E for soloing but also enjoy the detuned chug of lower tunings like Sepultura and Fear Factory.... and basically the 7 allowed me to do both without switching guitars. (this was probably the main reason)


----------



## Fzau (Sep 14, 2009)

Broderick and Petrucci gave me a tease, but I never really though of getting a seven myself until I got into Unearth and Nevermore! Jeff's Zero Order Phase record did it for me actually!
I never knew Korn played 7s, but that's just because I can't stand them


----------



## tubarao guitars (Sep 14, 2009)

Steve Vai back in 1991.
Petrucci back in 1995.
KoRn back in 1996.
and so on...


----------



## ThorSilhouette (Sep 14, 2009)

loomis


----------



## XeoFLCL (Sep 14, 2009)

I won't lie, the first guys to expose me to seven string lust were Korn of course. I always liked them when I was younger and after a year of playing bass, I picked up guitar after buying a Jackson DKMG w/ EMGs (had an Ibanez GAX70 before that but never played it, the Dinky really got me started). As much as I loved that guitar, I wanted to get that low A heavy tone, and threw my DKMG up on craigslist in attempt to sell it to save up for a 7 string. That's when some guy tossed me an offer for the DKMG, a Washburn WG587 in mint and a Hamer Californian w/ a maple fretboard in mint condition aswell. I took it on the spot, as I only paid 300 for the DKMG anyways due to it being a floor model, and both of those guitars ran around 500 or so at the time.

After that, I became exposed to people like Loomis, Rusty Cooley, Dino Cazares, Devin Townsend, and sort of dropped Korn for those styles of playing. Now I'm an absolute shred head that can't play a six string (that's not in an open tuning at least) anymore due to lack of range and is obsessed with melodic death metal, though I do still enjoy my Korn every now and then


----------



## NecroFetus (Sep 15, 2009)

Broderick/Loomis/Petrucci


----------



## Valserp (Sep 15, 2009)

The need for more range without downtuning my guitar...


----------



## -mouse- (Sep 15, 2009)

probably Korn... My dad has an Epi 7-string that I loved playing on alot... I sort of lost interest after a while and then when I heard Deftones playing Hexagram I was so dead set on getting one it made my stomach churn


----------



## Desi (Sep 15, 2009)

Shane Mcmahon...


Seriously. How could you not want to play a 7 after watching that?


----------



## Triple7 (Sep 15, 2009)

I would have to say Korn as well, that was the first band/musician I had ever seen play one and I was instantly in love.



demontamer said:


> Well...It's simple.
> I've hated Korn too much when I was younger,and I was swearing that I'd never taked a 7 stringed guitar in my hands.
> Then one day I was studying "Incarnated Solvent Abuse" and "Heartwork" from Carcass(Yeah guys,when the "Heartwork" album was released it was 1993 and Bill Steer and Micheal Ammott were already using 7 stringed instruments!)with guitar pro,and I founded that it was played with a 7!!!
> 
> ...



I am pretty sure Ammott and Steer were using 6-strings, but they were tuned to B which from what they said no one else was really doing at the time.


----------



## Hollowman (Sep 15, 2009)

no one, got bored with playing my six.lol


----------



## richcastle66 (Sep 15, 2009)

Trivium, Whitechapel, and Suicide Silence


----------



## Empryrean (Sep 15, 2009)

Chris Storey.


----------



## GuitarJay82 (Sep 15, 2009)

I was allways messing around with drop tuning down to C and such. Buying a seven string just seemed like the next natural progression to me. I was not really influenced by what any one artist was doing. Its fun to break away from the norm and experiment in new areas and extended range guitars are a great way to do that.


----------



## terminus (Sep 15, 2009)

I only ever played in standard or baritone tuning so I figured fuck it, why don't I just have one guitar that can do both of those things?


----------



## Dimebag313 (Oct 14, 2009)

Damn where do I start... Meshuggah and Korn definately first caught my attention back in the 90s (probly just cuz im a 90s baby) but growing up I always heard their deep sound and when I started playing guitar I noticed there was a huge difference in sounds and I started experimenting with drop tunings in the early 2000s 2001 when I was 10 and 11 so then I started googleing 7 string bands later in the years when all the Hardcore was coming out and all the Deathcore i started noticing Fear Factory, and Divine Heresy, Suicide Silence, Emmure, The Acacie Strain and way too many other bands I cant remember right off (it was too much pot ago when I was listening) that had such a low rip ur face off kind of sound and I was hooked I knew I had to get in that tuning or figure out what they were playing. Sure enough in 2006 I got my first guitar that could handle the tuning, the Dean ML Far Beyond Driven Dimebag tribute guitar...by far the best guitar I have ever owned in my entire life I still have it to this day and will take it to the grave with me no doubt. And the rest is history...started getting more 6 strings to handle the low tunings and three 7 strings later the only 6 string i still have is the Dean ML F.B.D.


----------



## Shrediban3z (Oct 14, 2009)

I have wanted a seven string since i heard of Korn like alot of you. But most recently i wanted to learn to play some unearth and try to write some seven string music of my own.


----------



## oremus91 (Oct 14, 2009)

KoRn actually turned me off to 7 strings at first, but Broderick and Loomis got me back into it. I love the idea of playing seriously heavy riffs and melodic leads at once and my high string could be a 9 still.


----------



## Konfusius (Oct 14, 2009)

........... ................... ...................... ...................... Satan.


----------



## JohnIce (Oct 14, 2009)

^Classic!


----------



## daveycrockett (Oct 14, 2009)

Galius inspired me he come over and jammed out when we first met and the seven just sounded so fresh, so he let me borrow one and here i am bought a couple since and now he as you know is using 8's now


----------



## DC23 (Oct 14, 2009)

Dream Theater opened my eyes to sevenstrings. But, I got to the point where I was just listening to more are more Trivium, Unearth, Scar Symmetry and fun stuff like that, so I thought I'd give it a try!


----------



## Customisbetter (Oct 14, 2009)

7 strings always made more musical sense to me. 

with 6 strings in standard tuning, there is a gap between the highest string on the bass, and the lowest on the guitar. with the low B in there, you fill that gap.

so in a perfect world, all basses would go B E A D G
and all guitars would continue... B E A D G b e

thus creating world peace and lack of hunger.


----------



## omgmjgg (Oct 14, 2009)

Layne and brad from danza


----------



## Baco (Oct 15, 2009)

Peter Tägtgren (Hypocrisy), that would be around 97-98 or something...


----------



## bryceberginski2 (Oct 15, 2009)

Me personally it was just the desire to experiment, not really anyone influenced my decision. My favorite tuning though would have to be Drop A (AEADGBE)


----------



## Crazy_Guitar (Oct 15, 2009)

The first 7-strng I saw was an Ibanez RG7620BK, in the hands of Demon Dagger's Vítor Carvalho. Only later did I find out that Mr. Vai and Mr. Petrucci both used them.

So, my influences were, in this order, Vítor Carvalho, John Petrucci and Steve Vai.


----------



## Fzau (Oct 15, 2009)

Another one to add to my list, because they highly influence the way I approach the guitar now: FellSilent
Am I the only one who thinks they're absolutely amazing? Cuz DAMN!


----------



## xmetalhead69 (Oct 15, 2009)

I'm probably like the 500th person to say this, but when I heard Train of Thought I was hooked. Also when I saw Vai playing them.


----------



## fretninjadave (Oct 15, 2009)

This dude.I posted these guys before but like i said The solo will slay all.I recorded my 1st cd demo with him And I got a 7string in like 2 months and sold all of my 6ers to get a better amp.His name in Hector Camerena the bands name is 5393


----------



## JordiBN (Oct 15, 2009)

Definitely Textures.

www.texturesband.com


----------



## Slide (Oct 16, 2009)

The first influence was years ago from a danish player Torben Enevoldsen. I first heard him playing on the tribute album for Jason Becker. I got interested and got his solo album and also his bands album Section A labelled "The Seventh Sign". His tone was a real inspiration.


----------



## havocvulture10 (Oct 17, 2009)

Emperor's final album, Prometheus: The Discipline Of Fire and Demise, influenced me to pick up a seven, i stay in BEADGBE


----------



## 8Fingers (Oct 17, 2009)

not who but what.
When I was 16(80's), I was going to school with a MONO walkman when I heard a distorted guitar solo from a brazilian pop rock music.
It blowed up my mind,how beautiful that sound was.


----------



## Scapegoat (Oct 31, 2009)

I was inspired by the original 7 String Electric Guitarist: *Maestro Alex Gregory*. Loved his album, Paganini's Last Stand. When I heard he invented the 7 string guitar to be able to mimic the violin - well, I just thought that was cool as hell!


----------



## blackenedblood1 (Nov 4, 2009)

john petrucci, bulb, korn, meshuggah, etc...



xmetalhead69 said:


> I'm probably like the 500th person to say this, but when I heard Train of Thought I was hooked.



+1, it's definetely not the best DT album, but when i first heard that low chunk, it blew out my brains


----------



## Sentient66 (Nov 4, 2009)

Jeff Loomis and Steve Vai. But mostly Loomis.


----------



## xxdeliverance (Nov 4, 2009)

Nevermore!


----------



## Seventary (Nov 5, 2009)

The almighty Steve Vai. After I heard the Passion and Warfare album. Standard tuning is enough for me.


----------



## Spectral (Nov 8, 2009)

Matt Heafy from Trivium.


----------



## TheAmazingBlob (Nov 8, 2009)

Mostly Petrucci, plenty of Loomis and Broderick, and a tiny bit of Trivium.


----------



## failshredder (Nov 8, 2009)

Rusty Cooley. I don't really aspire to super-shredderdom any more, but he was definitely the one that made me want a 7.


----------



## vhmetalx (Nov 16, 2009)

For me it was when i found out deathcore bands used 7 strings like whitechapel and SS and whatnot...
Then i found out about All Shall Perish and more importantly "Awaken the Dreamers" After i heard that i was determined to get a 7 string.
Took me a couple years but i got one!
I usually write in drop a but am learning some ASP at the moment in their tuning. 
Hoping to incorperate some Chis Storey shred stylings into a drop a extravaganza!


----------



## AeonBlue (Nov 18, 2009)

I was really drawn towards the 7 string upon hearing Dream Theater's Awake album. I like the low end aggressiveness. 

Got my first and only 7 string year 2002 6 years after I heard the Awake album. An Ibanez Prestige XLRB.


----------



## DragonChild (Nov 27, 2009)

for me it was kaoru when he and die used the seven string and baritone combo on kisou i thought it was the grittiest lowest sound i heard at the time


----------



## ToneLabeouf (Nov 27, 2009)

Jeff Loomis inspired me to play 7's. I tune my guitar down half a step.


----------



## Necrophagist777 (Nov 27, 2009)

John Petrucci, Jeff Loomis, Scale the Summit, Meshuggah.


----------



## Gitte (Nov 27, 2009)

wes borland


----------



## espman (Nov 28, 2009)

Rusty Cooley, Jeff Loomis, Chris Broderick


----------



## DeathMetalDean (Nov 28, 2009)

Leftyguitarjoe xD I'm sure he's about these forums somewhere. But yeahhhh I seen his schecter omen 7 and was like OMG GIMME!  then I found out about some awesome guitarists / bands which used 7 strings. Then I was reborn xD!


----------



## Joelan (Nov 28, 2009)

Initially Trivium, but after picking up a 7 at a music store I was left uninspired for some crazy reason and didn't think any further of it.

A while down the track I began to get into Nevermore and similar bands using ERGs and decided to just buy one, and that was the best decision I've ever made 

In the end it was probably moreso just me wanting to try something different, and it is fun telling people that their guitar doesn't have enough strings.


----------



## DeathMetalDean (Nov 28, 2009)

I love saying that to people too xD!!!! or they're not man enough to have 7 strings lmfao xD


----------



## Dusty201087 (Nov 29, 2009)

No one really inspired me to pick up a seven. I knew what they were but I had the normal "why do you need those extra notes?!?!?!" attitude (Sorry guys, I used to be on UG a lot... So I just had got that ). So one day I was in Sam Ash and I was bored, so I picked up the brand new LTD 408 8 string, and I was pretty much hooked from there  About a month later I got my hands on a seven and that really seemed to "fit", so here I am. About to get a custom BRJ 7 string and couldn't be happier 

Sometimes I kind of wonder if I should have ordered an 8 string instead of a seven though, I mean why not have the added range? But I think because of the scale that's required to keep those bottom strings tight and how that's going to effect the timbre and feel of the treble strings (I do a lot of bends too, so bending the high E a step and a half up at 30" scale would be a bitch!) I'd want a fanned fret... Which I think is going to be a pretty big leap for me. Right now, I'm pretty content with this seven


----------



## SnowfaLL (Nov 29, 2009)

I personally feel 7s is the perfect compromise of enough notes/range and comfortability. For me, an 8 string would be too uncomfortable, where when I started playing 7 strings, It just felt natural from the start.

Its like I am learning with Bass now; I bought a 6 string and it didnt click at all with me, granted there were many other specs that I didnt gel with (35", 17mm spacing) but I know that 5 strings is perfect for me. I may try a 6 again in the future with 34" and 19mm, if I can find one, but I think 5 bass and 7 guitar are my "perfect medium".


----------



## Joelan (Nov 29, 2009)

I find sevens to feel more natural than sixers, possibly because I spent 5 years playing classical guitar first, and became accustomed to the wider neck before moving on to the thinner 6 string electrics. Now playing sixers feels like I'm fretting a noodle


----------



## cob (Dec 20, 2009)

Petrucci from the dance of eternity. Not intricate work but a song I wanted to learn. Also, amon amarth because I hate detuning to B to play it.

I developed my 7 technique through satch's strange beautiful music album(mindstorm) and a lot of loomis technique. Unearth is cool but not really influential on my 7 string playing. I like to take bodom, metallica, and other 6 string riffers and use that technique on the 7 so in that sense, any guitarist i listen to really is an influence.

Almost always standard tuning or a half step down. Sometimes drop A. I avoid open tunings or tuning the whole guitar more than a whole step down.



Customisbetter said:


> so in a perfect world, all basses would go B E A D G
> and all guitars would continue... B E A D G b e
> 
> thus creating world peace and lack of hunger.




Sound Reasoing


----------



## thyrteen13 (Jul 23, 2010)

lance Arny & Jay Daunt of FLAW


----------



## Emperoff (Jul 23, 2010)

NickCormier said:


> I personally feel 7s is the perfect compromise of enough notes/range and comfortability. For me, an 8 string would be too uncomfortable, where when I started playing 7 strings, It just felt natural from the start.
> 
> Its like I am learning with Bass now; I bought a 6 string and it didnt click at all with me, granted there were many other specs that I didnt gel with (35", 17mm spacing) but I know that 5 strings is perfect for me. I may try a 6 again in the future with 34" and 19mm, if I can find one, but I think 5 bass and 7 guitar are my "perfect medium".



This


----------



## Necromechanical (Jul 23, 2010)

Mainly Suicide Silence, Whitechapel, Carnifex, and other bands like that. However, once I finally purchased my first 7 (RG7321) I got into bands that use 7 & 8s more efficiently like Scale the Summit, Periphery, and Animals As Leaders.


----------



## sevenstringgod (Jul 23, 2010)

Unearth!


----------



## gearhead (Jul 23, 2010)

John Petrucci. I caught the 7 string bug from Dream Theater's Awake album.


----------



## Guamskyy (Jul 23, 2010)

Trivium and All Shall Perish. Also because with my tunings I wanted to go lower so I figured I can get super low with a seven and not have to get thick ass strings!


----------



## jl-austin (Jul 23, 2010)

LOL, 

I have always liked Korn, and now Head, and also the Dino years at Fear Factory, However, I did not buy a 7 string until last year. Believe it or not, it was Maxofmetal that inspired me to get a 7 string. Not because I had heard any of his music, but because of all the 7 string talk.


----------



## gui94 (Jul 23, 2010)

I love to create, period. It's the same when it comes to a music instrument. I thought to myself "I need more options... I need to go further.. I need.. ANOTHER STRING!". And that was it. However, I'm still saving money for my first one, but I already imagine myself playing


----------



## highlordmugfug (Jul 23, 2010)

The first heavier music I ever listened to was Korn, and that was a big influence on my wanting a seven string. Meshuggah was another big big reason I went the ERG route.


----------



## soggybomb (Jul 23, 2010)

Petrucci for me. DT was a revelatory experience when I first heard them.


----------



## Underworld (Jul 23, 2010)

psywaltz said:


> i decided to switch to the seven, when i heard dream theaters "awake" album.


 

EXACT same thing for me!


----------



## ROAR (Jul 23, 2010)

Misha, Tosin, Heafy, Loomis, and of course Petrucci.


----------



## haffner1 (Jul 24, 2010)

gui94 said:


> I love to create, period. It's the same when it comes to a music instrument. I thought to myself "I need more options... I need to go further.. I need.. ANOTHER STRING!".



This... except I bought one back in 2001, and I didn't get seriously into it until a few years ago, and I was listening to a lot of Nevermore and some old Vai stuff.


----------



## Mummified (Jul 24, 2010)

Emmure


----------



## Ragnar (Jul 24, 2010)

Broderick, Loomis, Thordendal, although the main reason was more versatility tone-vise (even making my own 8 is on the plan in the future)..
and btw gothenburg melo-death ftw


----------



## Rapture (Jul 24, 2010)

Trey Azagthoth. Period.


----------



## rebell82 (Jul 24, 2010)

Natural evolution for me. I´ve been putting thicker & thicker strings on my 6´s, and gotten lower & lower in tuning over the years... By accident i tried a friends ibanez 7 and liked the feel of the wider neck.


----------



## CloudAC (Jul 24, 2010)

John Petrucci and Matt Heafy for me. Shogun is a brilliant piece of work and JP is an unstoppable force. DT are amazing.


----------



## bklixuz (Jul 24, 2010)

I always thought 7strngs are just for people who play like korn that never touches the high strings unless their making it sound like a keyboard and did not have any interest on them until I saw chris broderick on blood on the water and jeff loomis on year of the voyager dvd. so I bought a 7 and loving it every day! 6 strings feels like toys now.


----------



## Dirtdog (Jul 24, 2010)

Vai was the first guy I had heard that used a sevenstring and caught my attention. Then it was DT's Awake album that sealed the deal. But it was another ten years before I could find a lefty that was good. Thanks Carvin.


----------



## Rooster (Jul 24, 2010)

Steve Vai! I played a Universe at a shop in Concord, CA in '91 and fell in love. I ordered my Universe in 1992. Still play it, in fact.


----------



## StagD (Jul 24, 2010)

John Petrucci, Steve Vai, a bit of Korn and this guy on YouTube
YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.


----------



## hiflyer (Jul 24, 2010)

bklixuz said:


> I always thought 7strngs are just for people who play like korn that never touches the high strings unless their making it sound like a keyboard and did not have any interest on them until I saw chris broderick on blood on the water and jeff loomis on year of the voyager dvd. so I bought a 7 and loving it every day! 6 strings feels like toys now.


 I never really liked Megadeath until I saw The Blood on the water concert. I was super impressed with Broderick and the tasteful way he
plays the 7. Then I picked up a copy of Guitar World magazine with
a Jeff Loomis instructional DVD inside. Not a big Korn fan, to put it mildly.


----------



## Baco (Jul 24, 2010)

Rapture said:


> Trey Azagthoth. Period.



He was indeed pretty convincing, yes


----------



## Poho (Jul 24, 2010)

Petrucci almost sold me, but i didn't want a 7 string just so that i could learn DT songs. But Sikth inspired me to use G# drone tuning, and it was Periphery that opened my mind up to actually writing stuff on the 7 and transferring my drone stuff to the 7 as well.


----------



## i_love_tazzus (Jul 24, 2010)

Intitially, it was John Petrucci, Trey Azagthoth, and Steve Vai. 

I later realized that my dad had a bunch of CD's and records with some great jazz musicians using 7's, like Bucky and John Pizzarelli, and George Van Eps. If it weren't for Van Eps, we might not even have this web site... maybe. Epiphone built him a 7 string guitar in 1931. I've even heard a few classical guitarists use 7's but I can't remember any names right now.

Lately, my favorite 7 string artist has to be Marc A. Pullen. I found his music after finding out that he created the music for the open source FPS Sauerbraten. You can download all of his music at last.fm for free. It's probably the best free music I've found in a long time.


----------



## Quax (Jul 24, 2010)

Tosin Abasi, Bulb, Fredrik Thordendal, Devin Townsend*
*


----------



## guitar4tw (Jul 24, 2010)

Scar Symmetry was the band that initially opened my eyes to it. I had downtuned my 6 strings (b standard) to play along with soilwork stuff, but after becomming a scar symmetry fan I got a 7. Now I own 3!


----------



## ibbyfreak13 (Jul 25, 2010)

definately korn and then so many other numetal bands, which i still listen to, i dont care.hahaha more recently there are so damn many great players and bands using 7's, its just amazing to me that there isnt now a bigger market for 7's and strings for them. one day we will have our rightful share muahahaha


----------



## followjohndoe (Jul 25, 2010)

Meshuggah and Jesu.  I equally liked the enormous, intense rhythms of Meshuggah and the droning sound waves of Jesu. And only now, years after picking up a seven, am I starting to realize the incredible potential the low B (or A, in my case) affords you in terms of music theory and learning scales, chords, etc.


----------



## m4rK (Jul 25, 2010)

followjohndoe said:


> Meshuggah and Jesu.  I equally liked the enormous, intense rhythms of Meshuggah and the droning sound waves of Jesu. And only now, years after picking up a seven, am I starting to realize the incredible potential the low B (or A, in my case) affords you in terms of music theory and learning scales, chords, etc.


 
Yes Jesu is incredible!
My main influence on 7s is for sure Deadsy and Head from korn. I strung my old 6 up like a 7 when korns first cd came out and it still sits there that way today. Now I have two 7s and couldnt imagine spending money on a six again, almost like I'd be getting ripped off..


----------



## Antimatter (Jul 25, 2010)

I didn't even know Korn played seven strings for a while.
The first artists who got me into extended range were meshuggah and dream theater


----------



## Fantomas (Jul 25, 2010)

This





that really got me hot for a 7, but I had just been given a brand spanking new RG570 so I was content for a few years.

Also, Rocky George played a UV7PWH in a Suicidal Tendencies videoclip, that helped a lot 






I only actually bought one in 2002 or so when I joined a deatmetal band of which the other guitar player had a 7.


----------



## CrownofWorms (Jul 26, 2010)

no one really. i saw a cheap 100$ washburn 7. i thought wow a seven string i could afford. though i knew chris broderick used 7's(speculating that nevermore uses 7's). when i bought the guitar i discovered meshuggah, dream theater, morbid angel, and cannibal corpse. now i know many bands that use 7's.


----------



## SerratedSkies (Jul 26, 2010)

I bought my first 7 strictly because I wanted massive range. I grew up a Meshuggah fan, so I thought why not. 

The thing that convinced me to invest money into a good 7 was Necrophagist. I was using an RG7321, and I saw Muhammed walk on stage with a white RG1527. Purchased it the next day!


----------



## Mordacain (Jul 26, 2010)

Petrucci for me as well.

I mainly wanted one after playing one at my brother-in-law's over my recent vacation. It was so easy to adapt to and I've always hating having to downtune and lose my upper register and string tension. I haven't had much time to experiment, but currently I'm setup BEADGBE with 10-66. The kid I bought it from had it setup like this but downtuned to A.


----------



## xxxyyy (Jul 27, 2010)

Jeff Loomis, definitely.
Not that I'm playing one right now... still looking for the perfect 7... which will be a BRJ Jeckyll 727, BTW. This Xmas, a nice trip to California and I'm done with this madness, FOREVER.


*
*


----------



## Gila_Crisis (Jul 27, 2010)

Davide Tiso from avant-garde metal band Ephel Duath and myself, since in the last times I need to achieve a wider sonical range from my guitar (on the 6 string I'm tuned one step down, DGCFAD or DropC, so the step to B it's not that far away from what I'm used to) and the more I think how I can transpose the 6 string songs on the 7, the more I enjoy the choice to switch to 7.

btw, without Davide's music, maybe today I'll had taken another musical path!


----------



## Darth Nihilus (Jul 31, 2010)

Dino Cazares


----------



## diatron5 (Jul 31, 2010)

my friend had one and I was like "damn I want to go that low" so I bought one.


----------



## SkullCrusher (Aug 30, 2010)

I just followed the simple principal- Get low, Get laid


----------



## sound-byte (Aug 30, 2010)

^ lol, nice
I was (and still am) into bands that tuned to B/A like Nile, CC, others, so I tuned my 6 down. I wanted the high e though, saw my first seven (Suicide Silence) and got one a couple months later for my birthday


----------



## aleXander (Aug 30, 2010)

I've always loved Loomis, Vai, and Petrucci. 
But when I met Corey Beaulieu from Trivium on the All Hope Is Gone tour is when I was convinced to get a seven.
After seeing his 7 string V that dean made him I had to have one.
Seeing how that was never put into production I had Ran Guitars make me one =D


----------



## shredfreak (Aug 30, 2010)

Nobody i can think of tbh. 

I got into 7's because i didn't like the longer scale on bariton's, hence a 7string made more sense. Plus the guitar i got for a first seven is an absolute gem so i'd be an idiot not to have gotten it


----------



## aleXander (Aug 30, 2010)

shredfreak said:


> Nobody i can think of tbh.
> 
> I got into 7's because i didn't like the longer scale on bariton's, hence a 7string made more sense. Plus the guitar i got for a first seven is an absolute gem so i'd be an idiot not to have gotten it


 what guitar would that be?


----------



## C2Aye (Aug 30, 2010)

John Petrucci, the massive man-beast that he is


----------



## Double A (Aug 30, 2010)

For me it was Loomis. Although I had never considered playing a seven until I heard his solo album (which blew the doors off me) and watched his "master class" video. The video clinched it.

Broderick is in there too. First time I saw him was on Nevermore's last dvd and he was flawless.


----------



## SplinteredSoul (Aug 31, 2010)

Fantomas said:


> This
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 
Exactly what this guy said, it was Passion and Warfare for me too, since I was a kid.

Chris Broderick helped me hone my skills, so I have to list my Guitar Teacher too!


----------



## 7stringsofdoom (Sep 1, 2010)

I was first inspired by Trivium, but after I had listened to Nevermore, I discovered the true potential of a 7 string


----------



## Joey Hohgrefe (Sep 1, 2010)

Fredrik Thondindoll Of Meshuggah back in 1998 with there Chaosphere album! Tore my shit up! had to have one after that!


----------



## SplinteredSoul (Sep 2, 2010)

Joey Hohgrefe said:


> Fredrik Thondindoll Of Meshuggah back in 1998 with there Chaosphere album! Tore my shit up! had to have one after that!



lol Fredrik inspired me to move on to 8's


----------



## danny taylor (Sep 2, 2010)

Well I'm not much of a lead guitarist, Dino Cazarez was my biggest influence. Along with Korn's EARLY darker stuff


----------



## Meinrad (Sep 5, 2010)

Fear Factory.

FF is also what got me in (more like integrated) to heavy metal, into making my own music... and into the first band I was with. I was 12 years old at the time, and I had sneaked out of the house and went to this abandoned fenced-in volleyball practicing place in the middle of nowhere to practice singing/growling, and I didn't realize I was in the rehearsal space of my friend's band... so I was there doing a vocal cover of Edgecrusher and my friend and his band members showed up, and he yelled "Hey, that guy's covering Fear Factory! That's AWESOME! Hey, you want to be in our band?"
...and that's why I was even interested in making music.


----------



## zombietime (Sep 6, 2010)

Though I don't have a 7 yet and am currently shopping for one... my main influence is Trey from Morbid Angel. Lots of great 7 sting players out there but Trey is my all time favorite.


----------



## ALLEGAEON (Sep 6, 2010)

Presidents of the united states in america.


----------



## welsh_7stinger (Sep 6, 2010)

bands like suicide silence started me off wanting a 7 string but then i found out bwt rusty cooley nd jeff loomis nd broderick. then i found a dean vandetta 1.7 on gak for £199 but then i found my one a cheapy harley benton on thorman for less than £140


----------



## JP Universe (Sep 6, 2010)

The 7 string Ibanez video was what ispired me to play guitar in the first place. Definately had to be JP in the vid that made me want to play..... This then led me to discover Dream Theater


----------



## Jbryant95 (Sep 6, 2010)

Petrucci and Vai. They were like the only guitarists I knew of that played 7's until I got mine.


----------



## XxImGuitardedxX (Dec 3, 2010)

I just always wanted to get me a seven string, I was just nervous of buying one because i didnt know if I would like it or not. But I just bought my first one, and I F**CKING LOVE IT. To anwser the question it would have to be Korn, Deftones, and a little Unearth.


----------



## Van (Dec 3, 2010)

first i was put off by them, but then I discovered Outworld.
Rusty Cooley and Jeff Loomis were the main ones that got me into seven strings


----------



## SirMyghin (Dec 3, 2010)

No one, I want a 7 so I don't have to play in drop tunings to play music. Same reason I got a 5 string bass. I cannot be bothered to "drop D's" or tune below standard. A 7 provides me with the additional range I need. The guitarists I listen to only use 7s occasionally (Vai, Satch, Petrucci).


----------



## Hendog (Dec 3, 2010)

Petrucci.

I couldn't figure out how he was tuning his guitar so low on Train of Thought and then I found out it was a 7. From then on, I was hooked!


----------



## JamesM (Dec 4, 2010)

Jeff Loomis. Keith Merrow. Nergal (even before he started recording with them). The quest for more br00tz. Nile's tuning and not wanting to put 12s or 13s on my six. Tom Waits saying, "Well, why the fuck not?"

Mainly Merrow and Tom Waits ones though.


----------



## PrestonStrings (Dec 4, 2010)

Mr.Tosin Abasi! Not necessarily for the heaviness or the low end of it, just the ability to put more color to chords and the spank you could get from hybrid picking. And the tuning possibilities are super creative for me, not how low of tuning i could get but which tuning could I get the most out of.(CDEADGBe) A not so creative one but I dig it. haha I love seven string guitars, my favorite Intrument.


----------



## Matt_D_ (Dec 4, 2010)

devin townsend got me interested in 7's (and open tunings). but before I could fulfil my gaseous destiny, I drifted away into electronic music land.

recently, I seem to have swung back into the realm of stringed instruments, and was planning on grabbing a PRS CE24, but seeing periphery alongside the dillinger escape plan earlier this year has cemented my fixation on getting a 7.
(and finally learning how to play fast). 

It is a natural progression though. I've had most of my guitars in open C for a number of years now.

and seriously, go see the DEP live, those guys are fucking insane. (and go see devvy too, he puts the fun back into metal  ).


----------



## JacobShredder (Dec 4, 2010)

Keith Merrow, Per Nilsson, Jeff Loomis and the WhiteChapel boys.

Mainly Keith and WC boys for the rhythm parts, and Per for...everything, same with Jeff. All of em are amazing guitarists.


----------



## Thaeon (Dec 4, 2010)

I'd always been fascinated with it... The first I heard about it was from Korn. I was a drummer at the time, so it wasn't THAT big of a deal. After picking up the guitar and getting into Vai, I made the connection to the Universes I'd seen Korn using. Still didn't really find one to be interesting enough to pick up. It wasn't until a couple years ago that I made one of my best friends. Watching him and his band play really got me excited about it. Took me a couple years to be able to afford one though.


----------



## myampslouder (Dec 4, 2010)

I used to play tons of Fear Factory on a down tuned 6 string so I guess Dino was my biggest inspiration. Also i was in the market to buy a new guitar and everytime I i tried out a 6 string or started looking into another 6 string my old drummer/room mate would always butt in and say it's missing a string . So really kinda got into playing sevens to shut him up lol.


----------



## Kel668 (Dec 4, 2010)

My love of low tunings as far as "B" goes is firmly rooted in my adoration for Carcass and early Fear Factory.

I was initially drawn to the 7-string thanks to Vai when Passion & Warfare was released and you couldn't pick up a guitar-rag without seeing a Universe plastered all over everywhere. But I couldn't afford one (still can't, really. But that's ok, after years of trial and error, I've come to realize Ibanez necks just aren't my thing.). It wouldn't be until 96 or 97, when Schecter was releasing affordable 7's, that I finally got my 1st 7-string (an A-7. Crap, I miss that fiddle...)

As far as those who've kept me interested in playing a 7: Trey Azagthoth, Vai (still), Loomis, Devin Townsend. I dig Behemoth's 7-string work too (To the point where I actually bought a Nergal sig.). Pretty typical list, sure. But *shrug* good to know I'm not alone.


----------



## NeoTheMaggot (Dec 4, 2010)

When i was 13 or 14 i saw Unearth come through town with Slipknot(favorite band at the time, of course a 13/14 year oild who's favorite band is slipknot) anyway I was sating on the side of the stage in which BUzz was mainly on. I thought it was so cool that a guy so small was just wailing on this huge looking guitar and the sound coming from it was freakin heavy! So after that i started to do research and find out more things. Also not long after i saw Through the eyes of the dead for the first time and they were also using 7s and i thought they were amazing so about a month later i went out and bought 7 string.


----------



## Richie666 (Dec 4, 2010)

Jeff Loomis, but I really just saw that the model of guitar i was looking at (schecter ATX) came in 7 and I thought why not? It has all the capabilities of a 6 string but with added range.


----------



## alexalbr (Dec 4, 2010)

Samuel Arkan from Virus IV, was the first time that i pay attention to a seven string tone, then i start to search and find Nevermore and Fear Factory and many other bands..i could say that Samuel Arkan, Jeff Loomis and Dino are the most influences that i have...


----------



## Ntbillie (Dec 6, 2010)

Stephen Carpenter and Munky


----------



## UltimaWeapon (Dec 6, 2010)

Mr. Rusty Cley and Vai... and of course the modern metal, 3-5 years back i was really sceptic and i didnt liked that idea of a 7 string XD but when i realized that most of the music im listened i couldnt reach with my 6string.


----------



## masterdebradwic (Dec 6, 2010)

UltimaWeapon said:


> Mr. Rusty Cley and Vai... and of course the modern metal, 3-5 years back i was really sceptic and i didnt liked that idea of a 7 string XD but when i realized that most of the music im listened i couldnt reach with my 6string.


 
Funny enough it's the same for me with Rusty and Vai. I was always a young snob and against 7 strings lol because where I was playing with my band it was a bunch of people with 7 strings that only played them for the low b or a. Then a while back I was watching the Jemini distortion pedal demo and what vai did with the 7 string with the voicings and shit got me thinking. Thank god I'm not a snob anymore lol. I didn't realize you could do so much more with a 7 string. So for me it was vai that got me into it and then Rusty Cooley solidified the idea in my head. As of right now I don't think I'll play anything but 7 string guitars. I've been playing guitar almost 20 years now and only for the past 2 years or so I've been playing 7 strings and I just can't put mine down. So for me it's Vai and Cooley.


----------



## UltimaWeapon (Dec 6, 2010)

masterdebradwic said:


> Funny enough it's the same for me with Rusty and Vai. I was always a young snob and against 7 strings lol because where I was playing with my band it was a bunch of people with 7 strings that only played them for the low b or a. Then a while back I was watching the Jemini distortion pedal demo and what vai did with the 7 string with the voicings and shit got me thinking. Thank god I'm not a snob anymore lol. I didn't realize you could do so much more with a 7 string. So for me it was vai that got me into it and then Rusty Cooley solidified the idea in my head. As of right now I don't think I'll play anything but 7 string guitars. I've been playing guitar almost 20 years now and only for the past 2 years or so I've been playing 7 strings and I just can't put mine down. So for me it's Vai and Cooley.


+1  i never liked that F****** B string. My friend always played on a 6 string tuned down to A or B dont know, but back then i was so dumb  I always wondered why people tune down a 6 string XD... I never went lower than droped C on my 6 string but the 7 changed everything... I dont mind if im in Droped G# or anything like that now... i also fell in love with the 8strings lately... but the story was the same  sceptic and later again accepted the fact of the 8s


----------



## nojyeloot (Dec 6, 2010)




----------



## masterdebradwic (Dec 6, 2010)

UltimaWeapon said:


> +1  i never liked that F****** B string. My friend always played on a 6 string tuned down to A or B dont know, but back then i was so dumb  I always wondered why people tune down a 6 string XD... I never went lower than droped C on my 6 string but the 7 changed everything... I dont mind if im in Droped G# or anything like that now... i also fell in love with the 8strings lately... but the story was the same  sceptic and later again accepted the fact of the 8s


 
I'll probably go down the 8 string route as well one day! Drop tunings are awesome!


----------



## WingBlastR (Dec 6, 2010)

Mushroomhead back in 2003, watched a video of em playing Ibanez 7s and i got hooked, but only got 1 1 and a half year ago ending up in a store. i tried it, it blew my mind and my GF bought it for me as a gift the minute after! , after that artist like Scar Symmetry,Keith Merrow,Visions Of Atlantis and the like came in and made me confirm that 7s are the best for me! Recently got into 8s(again Scar Symmetry,Keith Merrow,Meshuggah,Shelter Exposure etc) got me into those! And i wanted to experiment 8 string in a symphonic metal theme . Playing usually in Drop A on 7s and Standard on 8s.


----------



## squid-boy (Dec 6, 2010)

Howard Alden.


----------



## Arterial (Dec 6, 2010)

Jeff Loomis! \m/


----------



## Necromechanical (Dec 6, 2010)

Chris Garza and Cory Arford


----------



## johnythehero (Dec 6, 2010)

He doesn't technically play a 7 but I really liked mick thompson a few years back and played in drop A all the time saw that a 7 String is alot easier to tune to drop A with so I got one haha MUCH diffrent story nowadays XD.


----------



## quaned (Dec 8, 2010)

I think it was John Petrucci, and a bit of Matt Heafy/Metalcore stuff xD.


----------



## Insanity (Dec 8, 2010)

Cant say anyone inspired me to pick one up. It just seemed kinda natural. Used to play five string bass.


----------



## Overtone (Dec 8, 2010)

Not feeling very inspired at all, actually...


----------



## 7string_dreamin (Dec 8, 2010)

my brother


----------



## No2EMGs4Me (Dec 8, 2010)

unearth - strings conscience made me go out and buy a 7 string. Earth Crisis, Fear Factory, Korn, RATM, Sepultura, Limp Bizkit etc made me want to buy a guitar but it wasn't til I heard that album that I went out and bought a 7.


----------



## MrGignac (Dec 8, 2010)

has anyone mentioned hypocricy yet? they where pretty much the first 7s in a band i had heard (sans vai of course) but the newer bands like nevermore def pushed me to buy one


----------



## Insanity (Dec 8, 2010)

MrGignac said:


> has anyone mentioned hypocricy yet? they where pretty much the first 7s in a band i had heard (sans vai of course) but the newer bands like nevermore def pushed me to buy one



Didnt peter have like a tenstring? 
A seven plus some doubles?


----------



## Wierdoom (Dec 8, 2010)

Probably Devin Townsend and Dino Cazares.


----------



## Asrial (Dec 8, 2010)

Munky made me like them
Vai made me love them
Petrucci made me crave for a sevenstring
My wallet allowed me to get one
That Dino-sample on youtube playing his 8'er made me settle at 7.


----------



## Kr1zalid (Dec 9, 2010)

Korn for me... Then Portal's guitarists...


----------



## german7 (Dec 9, 2010)

a band call EPICA


----------



## SjPedro (Dec 9, 2010)

idspispopd said:


> Vai + petrucci



^
|
This!


----------



## zurdo (Dec 10, 2010)

Trey Azagthoth and Erik Rutan from Morbid Angel (Domination album 1995)


----------



## mortality (Dec 10, 2010)

Muhammed Suicmez - The lead guitarist for Necrophagist.


----------



## lookralphsbak (Dec 10, 2010)

No one, I actually never planned on buying or ever playing a 7 string. The guitarist in my band Fin'amor got me into playing guitar back in 2003 or 2004. He and I had different taste in music, he loved the nu-metal bands that used 7 strings (deftones/korn/etc) while I listened to Metallica, thrash, and alternative rock. He took the 7 string route and I stayed with 6 strings. He and I did end up loving the same music with symphonic/melodic black metal. Anyway I played 6 strings exclusively until last year when I joined Fin'amor. I still prefer 6 string guitars and use them in my thrash metal band Salvation Army Destoyers. If I ever left my band or got kicked out I would most likely sell my 7 strings haha and put the money toward a custom 6 string.
It's funny because I'm not even a fan of playing low tunings. I don't think I've tuned my 6 string guitar lower than Eb or Drop Db more than twice. My 6 strings stay at Eb. My 7 string is in D standard. I don't mind the low tuning but I wouldn't do it outside of my band.


----------



## fluid1993 (Dec 10, 2010)

Petrucci himself


----------



## nawrp11 (Dec 11, 2010)

PERIPHERY!!!!!!!!!!!


----------



## PhillCantu93 (Dec 11, 2010)

In order...

Loomis, Broderick, Azagthoth, Cooley, Petrucci, Smyth, Vai, Nilsson (from Scar Symmetry), Jarzombek, Cazares, Bulb, Suicmez, Raatikainen, Muenzner, Karlsson (ex-Spawn of Possession), and then some...


----------



## Soulthief (Dec 12, 2010)

For me, it was korn and fear factory. After that came all the other well know guitar playes that are already mentioned by other


----------



## Stresspill (Dec 12, 2010)

Discovered KoRn around 2002 and Deftones when they released the self titled (first one to feature 7's) in 2003. Now I have a K7, K5, and 2 Stef Carpenter models!


----------



## ZackP3750 (Dec 13, 2010)

Back in the day, I wanted to have a 7 string only so I could play Staind songs (hahaha, I know, right?), as they were my bread and butter in high school. I never got one during those years and my 7 string want faded away, but within the past 2 years I've been longing again. If I had to pinpoint "who" inspired me, I'd put major emphasis on Tosin Abasi and Bulb. Those 2 have completely changed my interpretation of what a 7 string is meant for, and have morphed my playing all around. I used to think it was all about chugging, but now I focus more on Jazz and progressive stuff. 


oh yeah, and John Petrucci. Can't forget John Petrucci


----------



## sgswimmer (Dec 13, 2010)

petrucci fo sho.


----------



## SJT2 (Dec 13, 2010)

Carcass: Heartwork. That album made me see there was a lot more that can be done on a 7 string than what was being done. Vai used 7 strings back in the day but if you look up tab to any of his old songs he barely used the low B string. Also old At The Gates. Not many other bands were doing things like this in the early 90's.


----------



## ayambakar (Dec 15, 2010)

Petrucci, definitely. Glass Prison intro never gets old.

Tosin Abasi & Bulb, for the mix of jazz chords and shred - showing that 7-strings are not only for chugging or mindless shredding.

Jeff Loomis, neo-classical technicality.

the need to play low-tuning songs, like All That Remains or Freak Kitchen.

those people are actually the reason why I joined this site. I can't wait to be 18 and be able to drive around to music stores, trying out all kinds of 7-strings.
I really plan to get one.


----------



## pantera95 (Dec 16, 2010)

Buz


----------



## DLG (Dec 16, 2010)

SJT2 said:


> Carcass: Heartwork. That album made me see there was a lot more that can be done on a 7 string than what was being done. Vai used 7 strings back in the day but if you look up tab to any of his old songs he barely used the low B string. Also old At The Gates. Not many other bands were doing things like this in the early 90's.



Both Carcass and At the Gates technically had down-tuned six strings 

first time I heard/saw seven strings and fell in love - Morbid Angel - Covenant and Dream Theater - Awake.


----------



## PyramidSmasher (Dec 16, 2010)

Hmm... I had just seen them in stores and magazines so I asked my teacher and he said "Theyre for playing music like Avenged Sevenfold without having to drop tune."

Boy was he off  John Petrucci created the interest for me, I always wanted one, but recently when EVERYONE started playing them is when the urgency to have one was created.


----------



## WFD (Dec 16, 2010)

FLeshwrought, Aeon, Capharnaum, Morbid Angel and ANgelcorpse.


----------



## MED (Jan 4, 2011)

My teacher definitely was "the straw that broke the camel's back" for me to switch over to seven strings. His band Zero Hour particularly their new album Dark Deceiver. I was kinda locked into the idea that sevens were mostly nu-metal guitarist territory, with a minority of shredders.


----------



## Treeunit212 (Jan 4, 2011)

The thing that really sold me on it was seeing And Hell Followed With live when my band played with them in Detroit. I ended up buying his exact same guitar.


----------



## Chris Kult (Jan 4, 2011)

Jeff Loomis on Nevermore- Dead Heart in a Dead World.


----------



## timbaline (Jan 5, 2011)

Chris Broderick- He was my teacher and taught me using his 7's all the time, and I thought they were awesome. When I first heard Vai though, I really knew I wanted a 7.

So, I guess it's a mix of Chris Broderick and Steve Vai.


----------



## Chris Kult (Jan 5, 2011)

timbaline said:


> Chris Broderick- He was my teacher and taught me using his 7's all the time, and I thought they were awesome. When I first heard Vai though, I really knew I wanted a 7.
> 
> So, I guess it's a mix of Chris Broderick and Steve Vai.


 Chris Broderick as a teacher!!!! Lucky mother!


----------



## exordium (Jan 5, 2011)

timbaline said:


> Chris Broderick- He was my teacher and taught me using his 7's all the time, and I thought they were awesome. When I first heard Vai though, I really knew I wanted a 7.
> 
> So, I guess it's a mix of Chris Broderick and Steve Vai.



Whoa!


----------



## devolutionary (Jan 5, 2011)

KoRn gave me the idea, Fear Factory gave it relevance, and then my physical size and desire to play in the first 5 frets did the rest.


----------



## heilarkyguitar (Jan 5, 2011)

shit i'm 31 i heard korn way back when then fear factory that was really got me been playing the same 7 for like or around 10 yrs , ltd h-307 w/ 707 emg , really want a lead 7 now and a nice 8 . need more $$$$$$$$$$$$ http://www.youtube.com/user/Heilarky?feature=mhum#p/a/u/1/jZL5rWGJFjE


----------



## Path (Jan 5, 2011)

Bulb


----------



## uni777 (Jan 5, 2011)

heilarkyguitar said:


> shit i'm 31 i heard korn way back when then fear factory that was really got me been playing the same 7 for like or around 10 yrs , ltd h-307 w/ 707 emg , really want a lead 7 now and a nice 8 . need more $$$$$$$$$$$$ YouTube - Heilarky's Channel


 Haha, then i beat you with 8 more years. 
I play them since 93. When i saw a local band use a green dot in 92 i realized the possibilities for deathmetal. It took me a while to find one i could afford. Wanted the UV7 PWH (due to the passion and warfare booklet poster) but ended up with a green dot. Since then i played mainly 7 string.

The way Trey used the 7 string on Covenant definetly left its mark after i heard it.


----------



## RaceCar (Jan 5, 2011)

Petrucciiiiiiiiii


----------



## AntaresX9 (Jan 6, 2011)

For me definitelly Jeff Loomis. And when I saw him shred at his guitar clinic in my hometown I knew that a 7 string was coming my way


----------



## beefshoes (Jan 6, 2011)

Meshuggah, Petrucci, Scale The Summit.
Bb Standard and Drop Ab


----------



## dantejayg85 (Jan 6, 2011)

prob korn for me I was a typical angry teenager in jr high/highschool when them and limp bizkit etc were getting really popular and i had never heard a guitar sound so mean before i just love that menacing sound that only low tuned guitars can produce


----------



## Thesius (Jan 6, 2011)

I don't own a seven stig yet, but planning to get one soon..

Tyr made me want to switch.


----------



## DiezelMonster (Jan 7, 2011)

Trey, and Covenant! got my first PWH because of that record!


----------



## Virtual Scott (Jan 7, 2011)

Petrucci and some of the "nu metal" bands definitely were the catalyst for my introduction to the tried and true 7-string. 

I've been playing an Ibanez since 2001 or so and it's actually the only guitar I play and own. Like most folks, it took a little time to transition from the requisite 6-string to the 7, but there is and was no turning back. Now I play nothing else (then again, I have nothing else, so... )

The music I write is keyboard-heavy, so I find the 7-string makes a nice contrast to that and really fills out the bottom end - a real fat sounding style. Playing "ambient progressive metal" really dictates that I have a well-rounded soundscape and the 7-string with the synths provide a nice ambience.


----------



## Blood Ghost (Jan 7, 2011)

When I was playing six strings exclusively, I used dropped C. I was inspired by Hevy Devy to use open C major, but it was a bit odd for me so I kept using the dropped formula. With dropped C, I had a sound that was in between a six and a seven. Then I got into artists using eight string guitars, like Meshuggah, Ihsahn, ATB, and Dino with Divine Heresy, and I wanted that same sound. So by using a seven string guitar with the same tuning I've used for years, with the addition of a low G, I have a sound that's in between a seven and eight.


----------



## Opion (Jan 7, 2011)

Back 3/4 years ago or so and the guitarist in my old band that I replaced had a Schecter 7 string Hellraiser - I'd found it interesting as it pretty much allowed me to play in B without getting thicker gauges, tuning down, etc. I remember being able to play "Valhall Awaits Me" by Amon Amarth in standard 7 tuning and going, wow that's cool! I still bust that riff out whenever I'm in standard on my 7321  haha.

I never gained interest in it though until I had a listen to Nevermore, and figured hmm, okay. You can do some cool stuff with these. It still wasn't enough - I was a 6 stringer still. I remember being at the sam-ash in Clearwater FL and some dude walks past with an LTD stephen carpenter 8 and my head just followed him, forgot what I was playing and went, "What the hell is that thing?!" "8 string! " It looked so absurd I honestly didn't know what to think.

Fast forward to mid '09 and I was still posting on the ESP forums - they would casually mention this forum and this guy Bulb who's getting famous on these boards, and some people saying how awesome this website was and the metalli-fans owning 1934509853 trucksters and ouija's berating it. Once I found this website had so much more cooler people with way better taste in music and guitars, I was hooked.

Then, I heard Icarus Lives and The Walk. The rest is history.


----------



## heilarkyguitar (Jan 7, 2011)

uni777 said:


> Haha, then i beat you with 8 more years.
> I play them since 93. When i saw a local band use a green dot in 92 i realized the possibilities for deathmetal. It took me a while to find one i could afford. Wanted the UV7 PWH (due to the passion and warfare booklet poster) but ended up with a green dot. Since then i played mainly 7 string.
> 
> The way Trey used the 7 string on Covenant definetly left its mark after i heard it.


 lol in 92 i had a yellow peavy tracer lol


----------



## davidb1986 (Jan 10, 2011)

I have to say it was Steve Vai who influenced me to play a 7 string. I like Korn and their sound but Steve Vai was the one who really made me want a 7 string.


----------



## CaptainAwesome94 (Jan 10, 2011)

Periphery!


----------



## Van Heezey (Jan 10, 2011)

I don't even own a 7 yet, and I'm not sure I ever will. I Keep buying 6's just because I have some urge to make heavy music in E Standard. Idk, I'd just like to prove the snobs around where I live that you don't have to downtune to be heavy. But I've been GASing for a 7 so I can tune to C Standard with a low G


----------



## The Reverend (Jan 12, 2011)

A guy who posts here, actually, inspired me to make the leap. He goes by Sora01. I saw some of his youtube videos, and GAS kicked the shit out of me for a seven-string.


----------



## JunkMan13013 (Jan 12, 2011)

Id proberly say the guitarist that inspired me most were, 

Dino Cazares
Christen Olde Wolbers
Steve vai
KoRn
And my guitar teacher called rob who had a universe and a 7321 with blaze's in, sick guitarist, sick guitars


----------



## Whitestrat (Jan 12, 2011)

Steve Vai, but I honestly cannot recall what he did that made me want to pick one up.


----------



## slapnutz (Jan 12, 2011)

Because I could not afford two guitars. (at that time)

Low end for heavey sound and also able to keep the high E for the wankery. Simple really.


----------



## possumkiller (Jan 12, 2011)

I was inspired by the greatest man who ever lived, who just happens to be my best friend and saviour, Jesus Christ. Six strings just werent enough for me so I sing to my Lord with seven strings of praise! 





































































Nah, Im just joshin you guys. I already said Ihsahn some pages back


----------



## vitor gracie (Jan 12, 2011)

James (Munky) Shaffer of Korn. (He was just James back then) I met him before a show they where doing and talked gear with him. I hadn't seen them perform yet. He was using 7s (obviously) and I was tuning 6 strings that low. We liked a lot of the same music. This was way before they where signed. 
(Once upon a time many years ago, Korn used to be a phenomenal "indie-local" band that put on fantastic shows)
He talked about why the 7s where better for certain things, and after I saw them live I knew I needed to graduate to a 7 at some point. 

The last time I saw Korn, they had just gotten signed (again, MANY years ago) and had Deftones of all people opening up for them at a show. Seeing them with a more polished sound, better gear, and overall tighter-less crusty sound-it impressed the crap out of me and I saw a huge potential for 7s and what they could become for progressive thinking guitarists.

I bought one 2 years ago after having to do a fly date and bring along 3 guitars (all tuned differently) to a gig in NY. I thought to myself, I just need to take the plunge and do it.

I'm having one built to my specs now and will post pics when we get something to look at. I must say, I have really taken to using much more interesting chord voicings since growing comfortable with the instrument. I have always loved the dropped tuned thing, but there is such a deep pool of color in the chord options with a 7. I am still surprised that it's primarily (and unfortunately) still considered a "metal" instrument and marketed as such. There are more and more jazz/prog guys embracing the instruments and using them in music. I long for the day that a good pop-rock band "de-metalizes" them and we get more options by guitar builders.


----------



## vitor gracie (Jan 12, 2011)

CaptainAwesome94 said:


> Periphery!



...btw, thats my favorite 7-string band. Fantastic song writing and production. Definitely a step into the future along with Tosin/AAL of course. But everyone here knows that.


----------



## kamikaze28 (Jan 12, 2011)

Korn, ashamedly, and Fear Factory


----------



## miked (Jan 14, 2011)

Loomis ,cooley,petrucci,vai,broderickamwanted a seven forever but bands lkie korn and fear factory killed it for me.but now that shit is dead and so glad I got one.


----------



## stevo1 (Jan 15, 2011)

I began playing in 2004, and I got madly into Slipknot, and would tune to drop b. Then in 2008, I heard "to all that are dead" by whitechapel, and went lower to drop a, which was when I started playing mainly death metal. The I saw they used 7s and I was sold. So Alex Wade, Ben Savage, and Zachary Householder made get one. Then Dino, and the dudes from bloodbath(even though the play 6s in drop a, it still counts!) joined after.


----------



## ArtDecade (Jan 15, 2011)

'lil Stevie Vai.


----------



## Manticore (Jan 15, 2011)

nobody,
I just figured it would be cool to have another string and to have a different range 
but I'm 50 yo and don't listen to any one anymore haven't in 20 yrs
not that I have anything against the new people out there. I bet some of them are fantastic.
I just don't have the time or the money to invest in other peoples gigs
barley enough time for mine.


----------



## Kamikaze7 (Jan 15, 2011)

When I started getting heavy into the guitar, it was bands like Pro-Pain, Morbid Angel, Korn, Steve Vai, Petrucci/Dream Theater that got me into getting a 7-string. I was using 6's tuned down to B anyway, and thought the 7-string was the best thing ever. 

After getting my first 7 - an Ibanez RG7621 - I started getting into such bands like Fear Factory/Brujeria, Carcass, Nile, Meshuggah, Cannibal Corpse, Crowbar, Deftones and Pig Destroyer got me really big into a lot of stuff that was really low-tuned and evil as fuck sounding. I've been all about stuff that's heavier and more violent sounding ever since.

Now with such bands as AAL, Scar Symmetry, Between the Buried And Me, Suffocation, The Contortionist, Through The Eyes Of The Dead, Permillisecond, Keith Merrow, Within The Ruins, Whitechapel, Winds Of Plague, Jeff Loomis, Faceless, Daath, Confession, Burnt By The Sun, Arsis and lots more that I'm finding out about (thanks to the members of THIS forum ...) I'm ever expanding my influences and inspirations at a drastic rate. 

Granted, I know that not all of the bands listed above play 7's, but it's still the low tunings that sound so evil that turn me into such a metal junkie. I've always loved the sound of a heavily distorted guitar that sounds like a flesh-eating zombie waiting to rip you apart. "A tone so heavy, make you wanna smack your momma... Hey Mama - SMACK!!!"


----------



## SwampAshSpecial (Jan 15, 2011)

well, it was a mixture of three artists for me. The first and definitely most influential was Periphery - I'm a huuge fan of Misha's guitar playing, but I found that although he seems to primarily use a 6 string, the majority of Periphery's guitar riffs require 7s, and seeing as I don't have the luxury of two other guitarists playing 7 strings while I happily shred away on my 6, I decided I needed one 

The others were Steph Carpenter of Deftones, and Fredrik Thordendal of Meshuggah.


----------



## TomParenteau (Jan 15, 2011)

Van Heezey said:


> I don't even own a 7 yet, and I'm not sure I ever will. I Keep buying 6's just because I have some urge to make heavy music in E Standard. Idk, I'd just like to prove the snobs around where I live that you don't have to downtune to be heavy. But I've been GASing for a 7 so I can tune to C Standard with a low G


 
Vai was the one for me. "Is he tuning down like all the kids these days?" Nope. He was playing a 7. 

A seven-string in standard tuning is NOT downtuning. Gotta love it!


----------



## doofman16arr (Jan 18, 2011)

there are enough twelve year olds trying to be heavy with a six string in my area, thats good enough reason for me to get a seven.

AEADGBE, ha.

I suppose I could say Emmure...


----------



## filipe200x (Jan 18, 2011)

The thing that mostly got me into seven's was the fact that i thought it was badass to play an instrument with more strings. Also i liked the fact i would have a regular guitar with expanded bass-frequencies. That was pretty much it.


----------



## ShreddingDragon (Jan 18, 2011)

Petrucci! In particular, A Change of Seasons.


----------



## seeyouauntie (Jan 26, 2011)

i have alays liekd music so that what made me pick it up but the one who made me want a 7 was wes borland when he use to play 7s and also stephen carpenter from deftones


----------



## BuriedAlive (Jan 27, 2011)

Just hearing random bands and looking them up and seeing they played 7s. I think it was just the over all heavy low end break neck tone of the 7th string. I was always a fan of that.


----------



## Lives Once Abstract (Jan 27, 2011)

Tosin abasi, definately got me started on extended range guitars. The very first time i heard animals as leaders, i was instantly in love with his music. I really liked the stuff he played, but i wasn't so sure that i wanted an 8. so i got a seven. i first had an ibanez RG7321 and thought sounded good till i got my hands on some schecters, loved them. got told to check out more ibanez's and i did, and i still prefer schecter any day. My band actually only has one 7 string guitarist (me) and the other plays a 6 or an 8 depending on what songs, but i mostly play the 8 when we play those songs.

My band plays in three different tunings: 
1) 7-A E A D F# B e, 6-A E A D F# B. (basicly drop a with a higher top e string)
2) 7- A D A D G B e, 6- D A D G B e, (basicly drop d with a lower bottum B string)
3) 8-E B E A D G B e, 7- B E A D G B e (8=animals as leaders tuning, 7 is standard)


----------



## aleXander (Jan 27, 2011)

The guy at guitar center influenced me...
He said he would beat me up if I didnt buy the ibanez 7 he was holding..

l


----------



## skyeDCCCXX (Jan 27, 2011)

Periphery, but was really amazed after seeing Jeff Loomis play live. It was unbelievable.


----------



## Vicissitude27 (Jan 27, 2011)

T O K U G A W A forced me against my will. 

But in all seriousness he has been a big inspiration on my playing. Once he got an RG7620, I was jealous so I had to have one. 

Then he got a blackmachine.........


----------



## gulli05 (Jan 29, 2011)

Rusty Cooley is probably my biggest influence for buying my first 7-string now (This is like 1 and a half to 2 years ago).  Although I did consider 7-strings when I started listening to Epica but then I saw Rusty Cooley's doing his ridiculously clean techniques and all this sort of stuff, that's when I first started wanting a 7-string.
Then I saw videos with Jeff Loomis, John Petrucci, Stephan Forté and his band Adagio.

Now I just can't wait for my 7-string to arrive!!


----------



## p0ke (Jan 29, 2011)

My story is kinda lame: I was looking for something new to play, I had just learned pretty much every Metallica song etc. I was interested in learning, and was just randomly browsing mysongbook.com (a guitar pro tablature site, don't know if it exists anymore), and there I came across a tune called The Glass Prison (By Dream Theater obviously). Downloaded the tab and listened to it, my initial thoughts were something like "wtf, you can't do that with a guitar " Then I checked the tunings and noticed it had seven strings... I thought it was silly at the time, "why would you need an additional string?". Either way, next time I went to band practice, and started jamming on some new riff ideas, the new ideas just kept going below D (we were playing in D-standard at the time). So I bought baritone strings and put my older guitar in A-standard tuning, and that's what I played for a couple of years along with D-standard. I wasn't very good at playing leads, so I didn't really need the high string, but at some point my compositions became such that I had to change guitars in the middle of a song to be able to play it all  That's when I figured it was my destiny to play a 7-string. In the summer of 2006, I finally managed to save up and buy myself an RG1527  And hell no, there's no going back now, the thing fit my hand like a glove straight away.

So yeah, I'd say my main influence was Petrucci. I only realized that nu-metal bands use sevens later on, I guess I never listened to that stuff that much. Petrucci has actually become a bigger influence to me lately, as I have started listening to more of his work. Other influences might include Nevermore, Evergrey ... Aeon ? Probably some others I just can't think of right now.


----------



## Daggorath (Jan 29, 2011)

No single player, just makes sense seeing as you you can play 6 string stuff on a 7 but not vice versa. Increase the possibilities can only be a good thing.

I'm a fan of alot of 7 string players however. Meshuggah were probably the main ones.


----------



## BoTpBeAtMh (Jan 29, 2011)

I always wanted one after hearing Meshuggah, Periphery, Textures, etc. but Sol Niger Within really did it for me.


----------



## Herrick (Feb 1, 2011)

Herrick absofuckinglutely detests tuning down guitars. This laziness kept me from learning songs I loved that were tuned down. I'm also a big fucking fan of Zero Hour. These are the reasons why I now have a 7-String


----------



## g3333t (Feb 2, 2011)

misha mansoor, tosin abasi


----------



## Chris C (Feb 2, 2011)

...Call of Duty.


----------



## Count_Dissident (Feb 2, 2011)

Steve Vai


----------



## Dru_WaXaW (Feb 2, 2011)

Devin Townsend, Meshuggah, Kenny from Type O Negative, Textures, and my own need to get more chug on the new WaXaW stuff.


----------



## Scookers (Feb 2, 2011)

Trey Azagthoth had something to do with it. I believe Cannibal Corpse was using them around that time too. I wanted to have the downtuned guitar without downtuning. I remember it was a huge fad when I picked mine up. I bought a 7 string Rogue on a whim from musicians friend and I have been hooked ever since. I think that was in 97 or 98? That was my main axe all of the way through college. The flavor of the week was Korn and Limp Bizkit and shit like that. I despised nu-metal. I was more into thrash and death metal. And that sound Trey had on Covenant and Domination was insane!


----------



## SenorDingDong (Feb 7, 2011)

Jeff Loomis... I heard nevermore and thought "its heavy, but not mindless brutality like drop tuning players..." i traded in my jackson rr3 for a Washburn WG-587


----------



## SchecterC7TechyMetal (Feb 7, 2011)

Matt Heafy, Tosin Abasi and the dudes from After the Burial. Yeah, I know you guys are gonna get pissed at me for listing a guy from Trivium, but I don't care.


----------



## Moltar (Feb 7, 2011)

Morbid Angel!


----------



## TheBloodstained (Feb 8, 2011)

I discovered the existence of 7 string guitars through Wes Borland (was really into Limp Bizkit long time ago), then I discovered KoRn which I really liked. I played music from both bands on heavily drop tuned 6 stringers and everything was great.

I guess the artist/musician/band who made me buy my first 7 string was the danish metal act Mnemic. Buying their debut album was literally an eyeopener for me, it's one of my top 3 all time favorite album (Periphery takes 1.), and I just knew that I needed to buy a 7 string and play music like them! 

Mircea (one of the guitarists from Mnemic) is one of my big idols! ^^






and I guess this is the track that really caught my attention
Mnemic - Liquid

and not so long ago I did my own cover of that very track which inspired me so much! xD
Rasmus Yde - Liquid (Mnemic cover)


----------



## SW Davion (Feb 8, 2011)

Korn Fear Factory


----------



## thatguy87 (Feb 8, 2011)

Chris. Fucking. Storey. 

and now i take lessons from him.

still no 7 right now tho... I'm not advanced enough D: can't even get those sweeps workin for me yet.... all in due time :'/


----------



## Gasgiant (Feb 10, 2011)

At first maybe Steve Vai but more importantly the allmighty Meshuggah. Both more or less first ones to do their own things with 7- and 8-stringers.


----------



## HR7 (Feb 11, 2011)

loomis............ yep i'd have to say him


----------



## TJV (Feb 17, 2011)

I have to say it was Korn. Nowadays I think they have lost their touch of doing music.


----------



## hobofromhell (Feb 17, 2011)

Tosin Abasi is what made me want a 7 string. I want an 8 string guitar too but I can't afford one. I got my 7 string from trading in a KH 602 signature series to Guitar Center and I got my Ibanez RG7321 as a straight up trade.


----------



## xMaNgOxKusHx (Feb 17, 2011)

When Necrophagist came onstage with 7-string guitars at summer slaughter in 2008, I immediately ordered one.


----------



## sonofabias (Feb 17, 2011)

I heard a recording called the Seven String Guitar of George Van Eps which was around our house, when I was about six and wanted a seven sooo bad even though I had no idea what to do with it LOL ! I also had a copy of George Van Eps guitar method , which just turned up at our house . I never knew how it got there to this day.


----------



## tspaleny7 (Feb 27, 2011)

Misha Mansoor aka bulb. The Periphery album is a masterpiece, and when I found out that they played 7s, I had to get one for that brutal G#


----------



## coldm51 (Feb 28, 2011)

Meshuggah/Broderick


----------



## jrg828 (Feb 28, 2011)

chris garza from suicide silence. the stephen carpenter 7 he had made me jizz. and i was rly into deftones at the time, i was like whoa, didnt know those existed. bought a used rg7321 like 6 months later, best choice ever...


----------



## aslsmm (Feb 28, 2011)

el duche haha. 


no seriously it was matt. my first guitar teacher.


----------



## Jontain (Feb 28, 2011)

No single person or band for me, more jsut a strong love of guitars and browsing ss.org gave me gas to try one. Ended up with a 7321 and even though its not my nicest playing guitar over my 6's its still my goto guitar.


----------



## CryptopsyAndWhatnot (Mar 6, 2011)

Korn, Deftones, At The Gates(B standard on a but yeah) Fear Factory, Whitechapel, etc. Finally got a schecter damien 7 last week after wanting one for, oh I don't know...........3 years


----------



## simulclass83 (Mar 6, 2011)

Mostly Cloudkicker and Scale the Summit, but also Chris Broderick.


----------



## Coffee Elf (Mar 6, 2011)

Steve Vai.

Way back, Guitar for the Practicing Musician had a transcription of I Would Love To. They tabbed it for a six string with the sixth string tuned to B. 

Nobuo Uematsu is partially responsible too. I was trying to learn the Crystal Theme a couple of years back and while it's possible to play on a six, the fingering is easier on a seven.


----------



## Bones43x (Mar 6, 2011)

John Petrucci for sure. Korn and Limp Bizkit turned me off of 7-strings for a LONG time. Then I found Dream Theater, and I had to have one.


----------



## fredw138 (Mar 8, 2011)

Bones43x said:


> Korn and Limp Bizkit turned me off of 7-strings for a LONG time.



Same here.

I'd say for me, I recently discovered in the past year that Trey Azagthoth from Morbid Angel uses a 7 (I always thought they just downtuned). I already liked Loomis/Nevermore, so when I found out that John Petrucci, Azagthoth and Ihsahn used them too, I was sold.


----------



## Kroker (Mar 8, 2011)

Ion Dissonance, Tony Danza, and my buddy that sold me his Rg for $150.00. Tweaked it out, threw an EMG-808 in that bitch, and now it's become my main axe. Looking into getting either an 'S' series next ,or an Agile custom from Rondo Music.


----------



## xGUITARZEROx (Mar 8, 2011)

honestly, Buz McGrath and Keith Merrow were my biggest influences because of their different metal styles.


----------



## Talmaci (Mar 8, 2011)

Pat O'brien from Cannibal Corpse )


----------



## Vhyken (Mar 9, 2011)

Mr. John Petrucci..


----------



## Blind Theory (Mar 9, 2011)

All Shall Perish--More specifically, Chris Storey
After the Burial--Justin Lowe and Trent Hafdahl


----------



## Bryancap7 (Mar 17, 2011)

it wasnt a who, more of a what, i had major GAS for an ibanez universe and had to have it, so i bought one finally and that led me to the world of 7 stringers!


----------



## illimmigrant (Mar 17, 2011)

I started playing guitar when I was in high school... back then it was Korn who made me want to pick up a seven string. Since I didn't have one, I would tune my old Ibanez RG120 down to A, lolz. I didn't play a whole lot during college, but then, some time back in 2006 I stumbled upon Misha's Soundclick account. Pure 7-string win.


----------



## Facebones (Apr 3, 2011)

The fact that I kept needing to go lower than my E string would allow on my six string...


----------



## metalman_ltd (Apr 3, 2011)

For me it was korn, coal chamber, and nevermore.


----------



## guitarzombie (Apr 4, 2011)

Wes Borland and Dino Cazares


----------



## Guitarman700 (Apr 4, 2011)

For me, it was jack Owen's playing in Cannibal Corpse, specifically the Vile Album, that got me interested in 7's. Vile was the first death metal album I ever bought, cause' I thought the cover art was cool. Popped it in my stereo. Blew my fucking mind.


----------



## Nile (Apr 4, 2011)

Keith Merrow at first blew my godamn brains out, then Jeff Loomis came along with a swift kick in the nuts
Never knew that Jack Owen or Pat O' Brien (said he never really liked them) had 7's so now im going to add them too
and Trey Azagthoth too, HUGE fucking sound


----------



## Guitarman700 (Apr 4, 2011)

Ihsahn's 7 string work on Prometheus was incredibly inspiring too.


----------



## Jii-Ro (Apr 4, 2011)

Must have been the Finnish band called Stam1na.


----------



## MarkoZed (Apr 5, 2011)

Keith Merrow, Pertucci, Loomis, TesseracT, Bulb, Periphery, Haunted Shores, etc.
I play in standard (BEADGBE), but plan to drop it...


----------



## Vostre Roy (Apr 5, 2011)

Nergal from Behemoth, several friends who own a seven strings.

I'll have the cash in about a month, can't wait to buy my first seven strings!


----------



## rythmic_pulses (Apr 5, 2011)

Fredrik Thordendal and Marten Hagstrom from Meshuggah, not because of the way they used them but they way they described them in the songwriting process, "opening up new doors and possibilities" as Hagstrom once said.


----------



## Ntbillie (Apr 5, 2011)

Jeff Loomis and Stephen Carpenter were mainly the ones who inspired Me to go out and buy a Seven. But later on obviously Meshuggah,Korn and Wes Borland kinda influenced my playing style and approach to a seven string.


----------



## mikomiko (Apr 5, 2011)

korn/vai/petrucci


----------



## Alcmiller (Apr 5, 2011)

Actually it was Dave Weiner- a guy who play(s/ed) with vai. I'd never seen one until I saw his and for some reason the concept just enchanted me.


----------



## darkraneman (Apr 5, 2011)

KoRn... Pathetic I know. But now I'm into better stuff. Tosin Abasi, wee bit 'o Loomis, other metal bands.


----------



## Defi (Apr 6, 2011)

Bones43x said:


> Korn and Limp Bizkit turned me off of 7-strings for a LONG time.


Same, and that power is still in control. HOWEVER, I have always loved Emperor's Prometheus album but assumed it was downtuned and never bothered to learn it. Lo an behold I found out it was a 7 string endeavor. Now I can't shake the desire to get one, and it will probably not disappear until I try it out.

Ihsahn's After is pretty damn good too, but I can't for the life of me see going beyond 7 strings.


----------



## izdashit (Apr 6, 2011)

It was Nevermore and Morbid Angel that tempted me to get a 7 back in 2005, but I said "naaah, I wouldn't play the low B that much anyway (yes I was a noob)". Then I got into Meshuggah, tempted again and once I was considering again "naaaah my band's tuned to D anyway". 

Fast forward a few years later. Muhammed started using them and I said "fuk it Im gonna buy one nao!!!". That was the last straw lol. 

Now my band uses 7's strictly haha.


----------



## Rob_Ec (Apr 7, 2011)

for me it was Fredrik Thordendal mainly and fell silent/monuments/Tesseract for the most part they use the seven and 8 lol as it should be used in a better approach to writing music.I dont really see the point of shredding on them like a six string **cough**not gunna name any lol but in a way of it being used better for song writting than for just all these idiot 6 string scales with 2-4 added notes lol thats retarded but it is what it is! thats what made me do the *switch* lol


----------



## ittoa666 (Apr 7, 2011)

Trey Azagthoth and Unearth.


----------



## nothingleft09 (Apr 7, 2011)

Steve Vai in the 90's, then Jeff Loomis, and now a whole bunch of people. lol


----------



## Abhimanyu (Apr 7, 2011)

Per Nilsson, Jeff Loomis, Chris Broderick & Buz McGrath!


----------



## nostealbucket (Apr 7, 2011)

Petrucci, Tosin Abasi, After the Burial, DJENTDJENTDJENTDJENT...., and a random band called Tangaroa.


----------



## fps (Apr 7, 2011)

Oooo tricky. Dream Theater's Awake album and The Glass Prison, Steven Carpenter's tones, Fredrik Thordendal and the Meshuggah boys, Jeff Loomis and Nevermore, Cannibal Corpse. 

Haven't actually used it in a fully functioning metal project so far, just got my hard rock thing going, but all that is changing in the next month as we start a Death Metal project


----------



## Shanster695 (Apr 8, 2011)

First time I even heard of a seven-string was the Steve Vai 7-string demo video that I'm sure everybody has seen.

I went through life saying "ahh there's no such thing as a left-handed seven string..." then one day...BOOM

Schecter C7FR


----------



## Nyarlath (Apr 8, 2011)

Ihsahn, Hupogrammos Disciples, Sol Faur, Azagthoth. Seven strings have always been cool with me but, only recently have I decided to try and get one.


----------



## Musza (May 1, 2011)

Definitely it was Jeff Loomis in 2008, but now Stephen Carpenter from Deftones is my main inspiration.


----------



## JosephAOI (May 1, 2011)

For me, it started out with wanting to play Korn songs a year or two ago. I'd always been interested in them (7's) since then. I got into BOO around that time as well so I've been listening to them for the past two years and just recently, hearing 'The Discovery' and seeing the Studio Updates made me desperately want one (And an EBMM JP too ). Periphery, Meshuggah, and Scale The Summit also really made me want one as well.


----------



## Black_Sheep (May 1, 2011)

John Petrucci (Dream Theater), Chris Broderick, Devin Townsend, Jeff Loomis (Nevermore), Mark Jansen (Epica). 

But mostly JP. I love the 7-string songs on their album "Awake". And the more i listend to that album, the more i wanted to buy a 7-string..


----------



## Diggy (May 1, 2011)

Korn(lol), Meshuggah, Deftones, Vai.. Tool had some stuff in B.. I was really digging the lower tunings that were coming to the frontline of hard rock/metal at the time. 7's have the high E that you'll miss with a 6 tuned low, so it was a perfect fit.


----------



## mudmonster (May 1, 2011)

Trey Azagthoth (Morbid Angel) way back when "Covenant" came out.


----------



## Ralyks (May 1, 2011)

Dino Cazeras was probably the first person I saw with a 7 string. The after discovering Nevermore around 'Dead Heart...', that basically did it for me.


----------



## Metallica35 (May 1, 2011)

Unearth all the way. I love how they got that great low tone for riffing, but still maintained their high registers for soloing. Buzz is the fucking man, and after listening to The Oncoming Storm, I bought my first 7. I later got into All Shall Perish and some other deathcore like Suicide Silence and Whitechapel (who also use 7s). And if anyone cares about 8s here, After The Burial made me go buy an 8. They do the same thing as Unearth in the sense that they love to solo, but also love to play some sludgy low riffs and they use the 8th string in F for those super heavy breakdowns. Versatility is the name of the game.

As for tuning, I usually play in AEADGBE because I like being able to bar my low power chords. Lately I have been learning some All Shall Perish, so I've been playing that same Drop-A tuning, but everything tuned a full step UP (kinda different). A lot of people have been skeptical when they jam with me and I pull out my RG1527 because they have never played any extended range, but I find that most people get into it pretty quick. A few of my friends even bought their first 7s because of me! I am a 7 stringer all the way!


----------



## ibanezRG1527 (May 1, 2011)

head and munky haha which isn uncommon. what IS though is that i still like korn. im just able to come to turms with the fact that everything after the untouchables album sucked. and most of untouchables sucked as well haha


----------



## rekab (May 1, 2011)

Wes Borland, Korn, Fear Factory, Orgy, Meegs Rascon (I tuned my 6 down like meegs to learn coal chamber, then stepped up to 7s shortly after)


----------



## Jet9 (May 1, 2011)

Petrucci and Vai


----------



## Levi79 (May 2, 2011)

I always loved the idea of having more possibilities with the extra strings. And the first time I tuned my 6 down to Drop G# I knew I needed a 7.

As for insiprations...
After The Burial (even though they use 8's)
All Shall Perish
Animals as Leaders (even though they use 8's)
The Contortionist (Even though they use 6's in Drop G#)
Dream Theater
Meshuggah
Periphery
Scale The Summit
*Structures*
Suicide Silence
Tesseract
Whitechapel
etc. etc.


----------



## Rule Of 7 (May 2, 2011)

I have always wanted to play on a 7 since Korn and alike, But never got one. i have always tuned down on a 6 with heavy gauge strings.
I have onlyy just got a 7 in the last month. and im loving it.
So far ive been writing in A.E.A.D.G.B.E, AND G.C.G.C.F.A.D


----------



## ArtForm-KyleGruenig (May 2, 2011)

BULB duh? haha honestly tho, fear factory was probably the 1st time i wanted one. the song archetype in particuliar


----------



## Taz (May 2, 2011)

Panzerballet was the eventual nudge i needed to buy a seven string guitar.
They're a bunch of musically prolific musicians mixing funk, jazz, metal, and a heck of a LOT of time signatures in their compositions and homages.


----------



## Norstorm (May 2, 2011)

John Petrucci from Dream Theater, and actually Head and Munky from Korn played a big roll for that back in the days..


----------



## Shabadoo (May 2, 2011)

Jeff Loomis is without a doubt my biggest inspiration for getting into 7 strings. Though, Tyr also gave me some inspiration as well.


----------



## MetalMyke (May 2, 2011)

My influences were Thy Art is Murder, Whitechapel, Jeff Loomis's solo album, and Brain Drill (I think they play sevens?). I tune in Drop G.


----------



## pstol (May 3, 2011)

Bulb.


----------



## ShadowFactoryX (May 3, 2011)

Dino, and Hevy Devy in primary


----------



## Jakke (May 3, 2011)

Jeff Loomis, Jack Owen, Vai and Ihsahn did it for me


----------



## thedonal (May 3, 2011)

Petrucci for me. The Glass Prison in particular. I might never quite attain the skill to play the arps at full speed, but that earthy, crunching rhythm part just did it for me! As I am also a major swinger to the 7 string. 

Vai too, but less so than JP.

It's just taken me a few years to get there!


----------



## xRiCoRex (May 3, 2011)

Keith Merrow, After the Burial, Periphery, Kapral 18 (youtube user)


----------



## xRiCoRex (May 3, 2011)

Anthony said:


> Karen Grygorian is the man.



Winds towards sezam is just amazing.


----------



## MistaSnowman (May 4, 2011)

Although he plays mostly 8-strings...Tosin Abasi inspired me to try out the 7 string.


----------



## aleXander (May 4, 2011)

Fruit of the Loomis inspired me most!!

but also love John Petrucci and Vai


----------



## Zorkuus (May 4, 2011)

Korn

Although I haven't listened them much at all in years, they were the first on the 7 string scene that I ever saw and heard (apart from Steve Vai but I didn't care for his music at the time). When I first saw Munky and Head holding a Universe in some promo photo, and then listening to their first two records, I knew I had to get one. I didn't, they were too expensive, but sometime later I used half of my student loan on an RG7620 and ever since 6 stringers have been a secondary instrument for me. Fast forward 11-12 years and I am currently saving up for a Universe.


----------



## UltraParanoia (May 5, 2011)

I have no problem using 6 strings with a longer scale, Dino is the main reason I play 7 for sure


----------



## McHeathen (May 5, 2011)

gotta say jeff loomis, ihsahn's latest solo album, and them dudes in periphery did it for me. i'm not a "djenter", not by a longshot (EMG'S FTW HAHA) but the idea of using a 7 string guitar to further elaborate on a composition or extend the range of a riff rather than using it to bludgeon people with the low string appealed to me.


----------



## SenorDingDong (May 6, 2011)

Revising my old answer, Haji's Kitchen in general got me into 7 strings, or at least opened the gate in my mind, Loomis just helped seal the deal.


----------



## wayward (May 6, 2011)

Loomis
Cooley
Broderick
Vai
Petrucci

Those are mainly the reason I picked up a 7.
I've only had it for 3 months, and I'm already addicted and want 4 or 5 more.
I'm tuned for G.D.G.C.F.A.d, may need some heavier strings

Now my influences i'm listening to are purely

WhiteChapel
Meshuggah
Animals as Leaders
Outworld
Nevermore
Dream Theatre


----------



## Xifter (May 6, 2011)

Keith Merrow is who ultimately made me come to grips that I needed a 7.

However, as a kid I listened to Wes Borland and Korn which also lead to my taste and love for the low stuff.

I was also a frequent visitor to bulbs myspace page that I ran across while browsing youtube. This was way way back when...


----------



## klami (May 6, 2011)

Pain of Salvation, Dream Theater, Mercenary and Korn basically.
I keep my seven rockin' in drop-A


----------



## Static (May 6, 2011)

jeff looms. hes a huge inspiration.


----------



## Bouillestfu (May 6, 2011)

Chris Mafaking Broderick!

Oh and Wes Borland!!!!


----------



## Erick Kroenen (May 6, 2011)

i wanted to explore so my first 7 was jeff's sig...
now i play an agile elite only coz is thinner .....

jeff loomis, Micheal romeo, Chris broderick, and stephan forte

and bands that play with 6 but dropped tunningss...

killswitch engage, archenemy (my favorite)


----------



## Deviliumrei (May 9, 2011)

Liquid tension experiment's song Acid Rain and Petrucci in general.


----------



## musicaldeath (May 9, 2011)

Initially it would be Petrucci and Loomis, mostly due to watching the live dvd version of Dance of Eternity. More recently, Acle Kahney as I love everything that guy has been and is a part of.


----------



## ghostred7 (May 9, 2011)

For me it's not necessarily about who as why...but if I were to label a "who" I'd say my 1st baritone (sub drop-d) songs were on DT's Awake album (specifically Lie & Caught in a Web). I didn't get inspiration until I hit the rut and decided to start attempting to re-invent myself. Then, it was & is Jeff Loomis and still Petrucci (to a lesser degree).


----------



## Wyldefan916 (May 30, 2011)

For me it was reading up on Megadeth's Chris Broderick. I love Megadeth, but I had no idea they had gotten a new guitarist until I watched The Big 4 DVD and saw him. I then watched some video's of him on YouTube playing a 7 and I was blown away. Also from watching him I landed on Jeff Loomis, and I must say I was blown away even more. These 2 guys are the reason I decided to start playing 7's.


----------



## duke_nukem (May 30, 2011)

andy james


----------



## Xalton (May 30, 2011)

Oh man so many inspirations to pick up a seven. I was mostly inspired by Tosin Abasi to pick it up. I started ambiance playing six but after watching Tosin I immediately needed to see what I could do with seven strings. Also I was heavily inspired by bands like the Contortionist (melodic deathcore I think it's called.) I wanted to get into the djent scene as well, not very good at it but practice makes perfect. But yeah to this day I'm still writing ambiance and piecing things together.


----------



## Ninetyfour (May 30, 2011)

Tosin Abasi, Misha Mansoor and Paul Ortiz. 

It was just that extended range in certain tracks such as 'Point To Point' that I found mind blowing.


----------



## Ricky_Gallows (May 30, 2011)

to be honest, korn. after hearing follow the leader.


but the band that made me go "DAMN I WANT TO PLAY SEVENS!"
is through the eyes of the dead. bloodlust was/is awesome.


----------



## Blasphemer (May 30, 2011)

Petrucci, Tosin Abasi, and Chris Letchford


----------



## NoktemAeternus (Jun 1, 2011)

even though they dont use 7 string guitars, i bought one to play carcass songs. such heavy riffs


----------



## ShadowFactoryX (Jun 2, 2011)

Devin Townsend primarily.

and of course

DINO!!!
more recently its tosin of course
and whoever i find thats using 7's or 8's and thats inspiring
lots of random peoples


----------



## dkannen (Jun 2, 2011)

Bulb, Nolly, and the dudes from TesseracT. I love that shit


----------

