# Who inspired you to play 7-stringers??



## s_k_mullins (Sep 5, 2008)

Ok I don't know if this thread has ever been done (probably has).. But lets talk about who inspired us to pick up 7-strings.

And as always...




I would have to say my biggest influences for gettin my 7 were Dino Cazares (the fuckin man!)...



 



...Also, I gotta say Stephen Carpenter from the Deftones is a big influence on my playing...









...And all the early stuff from Korn was a big influence.. Head and Munky kicked ass on those 1st few albums.


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## mnemonic (Sep 5, 2008)

i remember i used to listen to korn back in the day before i played guitar. i had no idea they used sevens or tuned down or anything until after i started playing sevens 

anyway, my influences to pick up a seven were a combination of loomis and bulb


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## EDG3CRUSHER (Sep 5, 2008)

Definitely Dino. Then, I began listening to Meshuggah, Bulb/Periphery, and Dino got himself an 8, so I followed suit.


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## Esp Griffyn (Sep 5, 2008)

This man inspired me, I'd be very surprised if he hasnt had a hand in a good portion of members here taking up 7s...


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## Groff (Sep 5, 2008)

Before I picked up guitar, and really go into music, I had no idea when people were down tunin, or playing sevens. Then I got a Guitar One magazine with a Korn tab in it and it was on a 7 string. That was my first exposure to them. I wanted one for a while, but then gave up wanting one. Then I heard Petrucci playing one, and Vai also... But it wasn't enough to give me GAS. Then I heard Loomis and I was sold!


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## darbdavys (Sep 5, 2008)

Korn. later, i started listening opeth (offtopiced ) and nevermore and was friggin enchanted with loomis' sound. that's what got me into the world of sevens


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## Bleak (Sep 5, 2008)

Petrucci started it all for me


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## CAPTAIN SARG (Sep 5, 2008)

no one really inspired me i just decided to play a seven string one day at guitar center and loved it then i got into bands that use seven strings


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## Papa Shank (Sep 5, 2008)

Petrucci with A Change of Seasons, later Fredrik Thordendal and Meshuggah.


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## sworth9411 (Sep 5, 2008)

I first saw Meshuggah on Tour with Candiria back in 1998 (I think I was 13) and was totally blown away&#8230;I had never seen guitars with 7 strings at that point (or very little I think I was stealing my brothers fender and playing through a metal zone and a peavey bass amp at that point) I just couldn&#8217;t believe it but I was too far away and too entranced to really notice anything about the gear.

So a few months later I remember seeing Fear Factory with some local bands and seeing Dino&#8217;s Lighting riffs and reading the word Ibanez on the headstock. I was mesmerized by Dino&#8217;s picking patterns, and how clean his rhythm was almost like another percussionist but with the guitar&#8230;I remember saving up all summer for the Black Ibanez RG7620 in the local store and paying for it in Cash (still have it).

After that point It seemed like every local band in the area got their hands on a seven of some kind but at that point NuMetal was dying and they were kind of looked down upon it&#8217;s a shame a lot of my friends got rid of some killer guitars that I would kill for today, I myself got rid of a UV77BK ***kicks self in ass*** because my friends called me a dick because it was what Korn used&#8230;.stupid.

I am slowly but surely now moving on to the 8 but haven&#8217;t made the plunge yet&#8230;.Thanks again to Dino and Meshuggah (they continue to innovate the genre even today which is so exciting).

Sorry about the essay and no pics but you dudes know who they are, and if you don&#8217;t then why the hell are you on this forum?


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## awesomeaustin (Sep 5, 2008)

Buz and Ken, Unearth showed me the light!! then the guys from Scar Symmetry, and Meshuggah came along


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## supertruper1988 (Sep 5, 2008)

John Petrucci with A Change of Seasons.


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## Jaaaaamie (Sep 5, 2008)

No-one. I've always been into low tunings since I first picked up the guitar. Then hearing Crowbar made me take my 6 string down down down. Then I tuned it just a tad lower.

However, I missed all the high notes from regular tunings, but whenever I was in regular tunings I missed all the low notes. Ta da!


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## Triple-J (Sep 5, 2008)

I know Im gonna get ripped for this but............................Coal Chamber!
People like Vai put me off 7s and made me think it was a instrument for shredder types in leather pants I dug Korn but learning their material just doesnt work if all you have is yrself and no fx to play with and I was far to slow to be playing Fear Factory tunes but when I heard Coal Chamber it was perfect for the standard of my playing at the time and a great intro to 7s/downtuning cause it was midpaced and simplistic.

So I bought a 7 to play their songs BUT it was a Jackson 7!..............the quality of this piece of crap put me off 7s so badly I took it back to the store and swapped it for a Baritone guitar. I then played baritones exclusively for 6 years and never even thought about 7s again until last year I got a major hankering to stretch out and play leads and improve my playing so I switched back to 7s again.





And before anyone asks........yeah I have ALL Coal Chambers albums and I can blast through a pretty good cover of "Loco" too!


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## InCasinoOut (Sep 5, 2008)

Bulb and Periphery mostly, but SikTh too even though they play sixes.


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## Brendan G (Sep 5, 2008)

I just wanted to expand, and moving onto a 5 string bass (essentially the same as 7 string guitar right...right? ) seemed like the most logical way to do that.


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## Daemoniac (Sep 5, 2008)

I wasnt inspired by a 7 string playing band lol... It was actually 16 Volt... Still my fav band, they only tune to drop D im pretty sure, but the processing of their guitar and the sound was just massive, so i became obsessed with downtuning and weird tunings. 

When i went to get my 1st guitar it was to be an RG7321, but the store didnt have one in stock, so, like a dick, i went for a Schecter Damien 6... (not even close lol). Started tuning it down after a month, and before i sold it it ended up at drop B. Got my 1st seven about 6 months ago, tuned it to drop A, but am now searching for a better tuning. Im practicing on the 6 i have, i think G# D# G# D# A# D# 

Still on the search for the most ridiculously heavy sound i can possibly have.


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## Rick (Sep 5, 2008)

Dino.


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## atimoc (Sep 5, 2008)

My main initial reason for getting a seven was that I was in a rut inspiration-wise and wanted to try something new to find fresh ideas on how to approach writing and playing (yes, always buy new gear when creativity eludes you ). I don't know if I can really name one specific source of inspiration, but I guess one of the first 7-string songs that really impressed me was Dream Theater's The Mirror. That's beauty of simplicity right there, in the opening riff.


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## st2012 (Sep 5, 2008)

Lots of guys inspired me but Loomis, Broderick and Cooley are my big 3.


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## voiceguitar (Sep 5, 2008)

Christopher Bradley - Beneath the Massacre


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## StevieHimself (Sep 5, 2008)

Sorry no pics but here's who inspired me to play 7s:

1. Steve Vai (he got the ball rolling back in 1990)
2. Korn (I'm not going to lie to anyone about this!)
3. Trey Azagthoth of Morbid Angel
4. Chris Broderick!!!!
5. Jeff Loomis!!!!
6. Rusty Cooley
7. Buz McGrath/Ken Susi of Unearth
8. Bucky Pizzarelli gave me a couple of spot "lessons" and that was really cool 
9. There's a local guy named Rich Nazario who does some very neat things with his 7-string (he is a teacher at SG Music in Waldwick.)
10. Meshuggah!!!


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## wannabguitarist (Sep 5, 2008)

Unearth:





and John Petrucci:





Started listening to both bands at about the same time. Reading the seven string legion thread on UG also inspired me a bit


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## st2012 (Sep 5, 2008)

StevieHimself said:


> Sorry no pics but here's who inspired me to play 7s:
> 
> 1. Steve Vai (he got the ball rolling back in 1990)
> 2. Korn (I'm not going to lie to anyone about this!)
> ...



Bucky and John Pizzarelli both kick ass.


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## Luan (Sep 5, 2008)

When I was a kid I used to listen to korn, so I wanted a 7 as a first guitar, and it didn't happened, I tried a schecter that was beautiful but sounded like shit, it was an avenger.
And then I discovered steve vai, then petrucci, then all the jazz players, and how they use it, and then the need of an low string.
So I saved and got my 1527


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## stuh84 (Sep 5, 2008)

Petrucci definitely, thanks to him I wanted a 7 string within about 9 months of starting to play (and got one after 14 months, still my main 7). However, I didn't use it all the time for a while, took until getting more into Meshuggah, Nevermore and Nocturnal Rites.

However, the main thing that happened was, I started writing stuff on the 7, and realising this is how I needed it to be, low, but with the extended range at the top end, so even though Evergrey were influencing my playing the most, I was in a sense influencing myself to do it. Now Evergrey have gone and copied me by using the 7 string more  

But yeah, initially Petrucci, then a mixture of the usual candidates, but more influencing myself to do it. Now I don't own an electric 6


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## metalmike550 (Sep 5, 2008)

i never realy wanted one untill i got into lower tunings. then i found the one i have now (ax7221) at a pawn shop for 160 bucks so i haggled with them and walked out with it at 140.00. im looking for a 7 string rg with trem now. of course i listen to fear factory alot so i guess that could be part of the reason.....


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## Anthony (Sep 5, 2008)

I always wanted one, ever since I started.


But Chris Broderick inspires me the most out of all the 7 slingers out there.


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## MerlinTKD (Sep 5, 2008)

I didn't mean to! It was an accident!! 


Seriously, I was in this band (I'm really a drummer ) and the guitarist liked my old Gibson V better than what she had... which was fine, but I didn't have a guitar at home any more, and was really wanting to be writing songs.

(okay, I have a beautiful nylon-stringed Spanish guitar, but it's hard to write metal on that! )

So I'm looking here, looking there... went to the local repair shop and there's this 7-string guitar!!  I knew Korn used them, but that was literally the extent of my knowledge! I picked it up, played it... and had to have it! 

I've always been a fan of down- and drop-tuned metal (I like nu- and alt-metal, bite me ) and this fit the bill, covered all the bases, as it were. Since then I've been influenced by the same 7-stringers as everyone else (more in terms of rhythm, tone, and songwriting than leads): Korn, the guys from Flaw and 3rd Strike, Ben from RA; more recently getting into Dino, Buz and Ken, and most recently really loving Loomis; and lots of guys from around here, particularly Bulb, Mattayus, KirkPetrucci, Tiger/Iechine, Chimp Spanner... the list goes on!

I'm equally influenced by 6-stringers as well, guys like John Connolly and Clint Lowery, Jerry Cantrell, Chris Cornell, Wayne Static, Max Cavalera, John Thomas Griffith (Cowboy Mouth), Paul Masvidal, KK & Glenn... this list goes on too!


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## sepherus (Sep 6, 2008)

Not exactly the songs that did so, but the artists. 

Also At The Gates 
, 
and Soilwork 
 
as I loves the low B they both use.I never liked tuning a 6 to B though, I always though "that is what a 7 is for." though I did it on and off for a few years. Then Meshuggah and I became good friends.


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## Zepp88 (Sep 6, 2008)

Jaaaaamie said:


> No-one. I've always been into low tunings since I first picked up the guitar. Then hearing Crowbar made me take my 6 string down down down. Then I tuned it just a tad lower.
> 
> However, I missed all the high notes from regular tunings, but whenever I was in regular tunings I missed all the low notes. Ta da!



This is similiar to my reasons, I would always be reaching for a lower note, and didn't want to downtune my sixes, because then I'd lose high notes, etc. and at the time I wasn't keen on downtuning anyway, I just wanted more notes.

Then I heard Nevermore, found out about Loomis and his seven string, and was like "oh, you can play more than Korn on a seven string, I need one of those!"


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## Heeboja (Sep 6, 2008)

I really have 3 big influences: 
Steve Vai , Jeff Loomis and John Petrucci. First seven that I tried to play was Stephen Carpenters Signature model but he's not an influence for me. 

Steve Vai is the god of guitarists and Jeff and John are demigods.


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## thefadedline (Sep 6, 2008)

Jeff Loomis, Buz & Ken from Unearth, Chris Broderick, All Shall Perish, Morbid Angel, Emperor, the list goes on...


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## CaptainD00M (Sep 6, 2008)

He started it when i got 'The Audence is Listning' tab of a freind and the whole Gargally grinding legato run bit suddenly made more sense. I Stopped wanting pretty quickly though till this guy came along:






I liked his power metal/neo-classicaly ish (very ish) style... that said i got over him pretty quicly (weddily weddily phase)... give credit where its due and all that, his teaching however is exelent IMO.

These guys made me realise that you dont have to play TEH BR00TAL METULZ:











And this guy keeps me going because hes doing something INTRESTING with a 7 string and isnt Balls to the wall the whole time:





NO discussion about the last one please, last time i intiated that the thread on it got locked.

Meshuggah gets a mention, but it was more so i could jam them with my mates hahah.

To be honest, and i understand that Korn was a big influence here to a lot of people, but they were a big obstacle with me. You know what its like when you hear something that puts you off and you nevcer get over it... kinda like most people an jazz hahaha. Because of them i couldnt see potential in a 7th string... l learnt the error of my ways 

Peace
CD


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## HorseCalledWar (Sep 6, 2008)

Devin Townsend was definitely the first to expose me to seven strings, but Chris Broderick also has a big influence.


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## bulletbass man (Sep 6, 2008)

Nevermore and Petrucci. Vai also played a part but not nearly as much as the other two.


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## damigu (Sep 6, 2008)

i was inspired to step up to 7 strings by the lack of low notes on a standard tuned 6 string, and the lack of high notes on a down tuned 6 string. that extra string is the solution i've been wanting for years (i just finally got a 7 a couple months ago).


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## Infused1 (Sep 6, 2008)

I saw Steve Vai and Korn playing them and thought, I could fix my tuning issues on my 6 strings with them. I always had to tune up and down for different songs and got tired of it, and the 7 string was the perfect answer. Cant go back to 6 strings now, they just dont feel right anymore. So Id say Stave Vai Korn and Fear Factory.



Jaaaaamie said:


> No-one. I've always been into low tunings since I first picked up the guitar. Then hearing Crowbar made me take my 6 string down down down. Then I tuned it just a tad lower.
> 
> However, I missed all the high notes from regular tunings, but whenever I was in regular tunings I missed all the low notes. Ta da!



Exactly! But I wouldnt have known about the guitars if I hadnt watched those people playing them.


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## Zoltta (Sep 6, 2008)

The day Fear Factory's Obsolete was released, i was hooked on 7 strings


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## sdgiffin (Sep 6, 2008)

Morbid Angel






Where the Slime Live!


Among others...


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## Durero (Sep 6, 2008)

atimoc said:


> My main initial reason for getting a seven was that I was in a rut inspiration-wise and wanted to try something new to find fresh ideas on how to approach writing and playing (yes, always buy new gear when creativity eludes you ).


That was exactly my reason 

In early 1990 I was feeling in a bit of a rut so I decided I needed a new guitar. I was about to buy a nice new Ibanez 540S when the sales clerk mentioned that Ibanez was going to release Steve Vai's 7-string commercially. I put the 540 down and put a deposit on a UV7 PW right away. Had to wait about 9 months for it to arrive and the distributor told me I had the first one in his area (western Canada). I knew I'd always wonder what new possibilities I'd be missing out on if I didn't have that extra string. So it was the availability of the instrument itself that was the inspiration, but thanks to Steve Vai for causing Ibanez to make them in the first place.


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## PostOrganic (Sep 7, 2008)

Definitely John Petrucci.. A few years ago I was look at getting a higher end guitar and at the time I was really into Dream Theater and figured I'd get a 7 string since some of the 7 string songs Dream Theater has done were my favorites. So I tried out a 6 string EBMM and was like hell yeah, so I ordered a 7 without ever playing one in my life.  At the time I didn't even think twice because there was no chance in my mind that I wouldn't like the neck. It worked out well as I am now 100% hooked on 7 strings haha. Then from there I got into bands like Nevermore and Emperor which confirmed the awesomeness of 7 strings.


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## PeteLaramee (Sep 7, 2008)

Vai and then Petrucci got me interested, but when I saw Tony MacAlpine with Derek Sherinian live I bought a 7 string the next day. 



​


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## Rhoadkiller (Sep 7, 2008)

BEHEMOTH





Morbid angel


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## heavy7-665 (Sep 7, 2008)

korn and the deftones.


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## HammerAndSickle (Sep 7, 2008)

Definitely just that one video. Nothing special _at all_ about that riff or most of his soloing over it. But the simplicity was what moved me. I adore pedal-tone licks, and a low B just allows me to use the pedal tone while still having all six strings to use for the improvisation. And honestly, I probably havent' grown much beyond that stage XD


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## st2012 (Sep 7, 2008)

I've always loved that Vai video as well, I remember watching it way back


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## FYP666 (Sep 7, 2008)

Well, firstly i saw Korn playing em', i weren't really into em', but i thought it sounded pretty cool. Few years after i started listening to real music, i saw this DT music vid from the 90's, where Petrucci plays this old Ibanez UV, black w/ green hardware. And i fell in love. After that i somehow bought a Metal Hammer magazine, that had an interview with Corey and Matt from Trivium, and there was a link to Roadrunner Records, that introduced me to FF and Dino's ULTRA-GAS-TASTIC-REVERSE-HEADSTOCK-IBANEZ' axes and some earlier Chimaira, when they used those ESP MH models. So that's basicly about me


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## jymellis (Sep 7, 2008)

who sparked my interest in the early 90s was vai. who made me actually buy one was mushroomhead.





jym


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## Axel (Sep 7, 2008)

Carcass and Cynic. I wanted to be able to play their songs without changing guitars.


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## Shawn (Sep 8, 2008)

Trey Azagthoth. He was the first guy that i've ever seen playing one when I saw Morbid Angel back in 1994.


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## Stealthdjentstic (Sep 8, 2008)

Im not going to lie, korn did 

That and the convenience.


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## Emperoff (Sep 8, 2008)

I fell in love with 7 strings since the first time I saw one in a Korn vid. I just loved the way it looked with the wider neck and all that shiny strings on there 

Said that, I never really felt the need of buying one until I listened to "A Change Of Seasons". Unearth is the true responsible of me buying one, with no doubt. Then Loomis showed me the way a 7 should be used


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## Leuchty (Sep 9, 2008)

Yeah, gotta agree with most, Korn and Fear Factory. Mainly Fear Factory. Dinos riffs were just amazingly huge and powerful especially on the Obsolete album. Although, it was Christian Olde Wolbers that made me buy one. When I saw FF live and saw Christian's weapon, I had to get one.


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## Sebastian (Sep 9, 2008)

CYBERSYN said:


> Dinos riffs were just amazingly huge and powerful especially on the Obsolete album. Although, it was Christian Olde Wolbers that made me buy one. When I saw FF live and saw Christian's weapon, I had to get one.



I know this from somewhere


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## Distortion (Sep 9, 2008)

Trey of Morbid Angel, hands down! 

The man's got mad groove and skills, he's freakin' possessed when he plays!
I really recommend you go out and see them play, he's really somethin' else


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## charles22880 (Sep 10, 2008)

George Emannuel 3rd
Odin and Lucifer(im not lying)
Ihsahn
brian may
Jon from dissection
Demonaz from immortal

not necessarly all 7 string players but they influenced me to push boundries

Cant forget Tom G Warrior


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## winterlover (Sep 10, 2008)

besides the convenience and how badass it looks:





http://www.picoodle.com/view.php?img=/8/7/5/f_EmperorIhsam_7f57964.jpg&srv=img39









http://img02.picoodle.com/img/img02/8/5/7/f_MorbidAngelm_2b97ae8.jpg
http://www.picoodle.com/view.php?img=/7/1/21/f_morbidangi_d65am_9a6b66e.jpg&srv=img02

"Arise! Our Ancient Gollum! Defeat these enemies!"
Azagthoth and Ihsahn/Samoth for sure


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## Scali (Sep 10, 2008)

I never really listened to 7-string artists in particular. Ofcourse Passion and Warfare is in my collection, as is Slip Of The Tongue, but I never really gave the 7-string aspect much thought.
But last year I had terrible luck with my guitars and at some point found myself without any whammy-equipped guitars. I had only my Les Paul that was in decent shape, and I was looking for a backup guitar, preferably something with a whammy.

I've been watching the Ibanez S series for years. I love the ZR tremolo on them, and I like the sound of mahogany anyway, and the sleek look is nice aswell.
Since this guitar was supposed to be a temporary replacement, I figured I'd try the 7-string version. That way there would at least be some reason to keep it and possibly keep using it after my regular 6-string whammy guitars would be playable again.

I was sold the moment I picked up the S7320, because the tone was HUGE. And it was really easy to adapt from 6 to 7 strings with the neck on that one.
I've only started listening to some 7-string music at that point, trying to get some ideas of how the extra string can be used.


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## 7 Dying Trees (Sep 10, 2008)

Trey Azagtoth. "God of Emptiness" made me want a 7 string guitar, that and domination. Seeing them live on the domination tour got me obsessed as well, i finally got one in 2000, 2001? Had to be a UV7BK as well 



Shawn said:


> Trey Azagthoth. He was the first guy that i've ever seen playing one when I saw Morbid Angel back in 1994.


+1



sdgiffin said:


> Morbid Angel
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Just need to quote to get more trey pictures in this thread


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## CrushTheUnivers (Sep 10, 2008)

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Massimiliano Pagliuso:











Hevy Devy:










Chris Broderick (Obv):




[/FONT]


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## Sang-Drax (Sep 10, 2008)

My bassist. He has a 5-string and I've always wondered how kickass would it sound if I had a 7-string. Soilwork's low notes always gave me the shivers, too.

Then Lacuna Coil and Pain of Salvation started to use sevens, and the seed of GAS was definitely planted. 

When my female singer left the band, I had to transpose some songs so that I could sing them, and, because of that, I finally bought myself a seven  (yeah, I wasn't into tuning my six-string to low A either). 

Oddly enough, few of my favorite bands use sevens at all.


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## Heavy Ed (Sep 10, 2008)

Carcass inspired me to tune my 6ers to B. 
Then i saw Trey with Morbid Angel  and I've been playing 7s ever since.


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## 2jzonecup (Sep 10, 2008)

When I was a kid i always liked the KoRn and Fear Factory sound. Soon to follow bands like limp bizkit and orgy and countless outher Nu' Metal bands were using sevens so i thought it was just going to end up as a fad. And yeah the popularity died down a bit. I played six string guitars until recently. So i'd say the newer breed of seven stringers such as Unearth, Through the Eyes of the Dead, and especially AFTER THE BURIAL and VEIL OF MAYA have influanced me to start playing sevens pretty much exclusively.


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## revclay (Sep 11, 2008)

The first guy that really made me take notice to the 7 string was John Petrucci. I was a fan of Dream Theater at the time and the concept of having a seventh string intrigued me. Fast forward a few years, and I had become a fan of guys like Jeff Loomis, Buzz and Ken in Unearth, Trey Azagthoth and Scott Hull. So, I decided to go to Drum City Guitar Land and try my hand at a 7. I fell in love instantly and the rest is history. But really, the player that had the largest influence on my first 7 string purchase was definitely Jeff Loomis.


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## Sweetmiracle512 (Sep 11, 2008)

I would say John Petrucci and meshuggah. I always like low heavy riffage (even when it will take me years to play it.)


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## awesomeaustin (Sep 11, 2008)

I totally forgot Devin Townsend, he's one my all-time favorite musicians


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## ibznorange (Sep 11, 2008)

I got into tool, and that low b on prison sex (BADGBe) and some other song off lateralus (cant think of which) (BEDGBe) just hooked me, but i hated retuning cause all my guitars had floyds at the time. the sevenlust was born


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## Diogene303 (Sep 12, 2008)

I think i would have to say the following got me intrested in playing seven string 

Steve Vai ( Passion and Warefare album ) , John Petrucci ( the Awake album plus a video i saw of there's back in the 90's ) and a video i saw of Trey Azagthoth with a green universe ibby (can never remember the song but he was in a woodland area in the video playing it), also shamed to admit this but korn ( for just using sevens not the technical skills with them ). Then after that seeing Dino in 1997 , Messugah and alot of other guys in not just metal bands but some jazz bands also.


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## Munky7Head (Sep 12, 2008)

Plain and simple:


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## militant_x (Sep 14, 2008)

Santiago Dobles of Aghora

Petrucci


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## 7STRINGWARRIOR (Sep 14, 2008)

dream theater-the mirror
and the "lie" music video with the green dot thanks to mr vai


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## abyss258 (Sep 15, 2008)

Back when my friend and I started playing, he bought a 7-string. I was like "WHAT!!?" and was converted. Simple as that.


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## setsuna7 (Apr 10, 2009)

s_k_mullins said:


> Ok I don't know if this thread has ever been done (probably has).. But lets talk about who inspired us to pick up 7-strings.
> 
> And as always...
> 
> ...


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## Scar Symmetry (Apr 10, 2009)

Munky7Head said:


> Plain and simple:



^^^ this


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## mattofvengeance (Apr 10, 2009)

The first time I ever noticed them was when I saw Morbid Angel's God of Emptiness video on Beavis and Butthead. Then, they started becoming popular because of Korn, and I played one at a Mars Music when I was much much younger. I didn't really get into it because I didn't understand the extended range aspect, and instead viewed the lowest string as the lowest, rather than an "extra string". I was playing metallica riffs on that low B and was like this doesn't sound cool at all. Then, several years later, I joined the band I'm in now, and they were playing 7 string guitars and a 6 string bass. So, I borrowed one from the other guitar player and have been hooked ever since.


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## jimmyshred (Apr 10, 2009)

Im into low tunings and on a 6 drop G just wasnt sounding good, 
Then I got into bands like Nevermore, Meshuggah, Morbid Angel and then found that it was for me. 
I just got my first 7 two days ago and it is amazing. 

To sum up, my main influence was having the super low tunings but still having the high notes.


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## ADAMAKAGORE (Apr 10, 2009)

Before I bought my 7'string I was going to buy the Alexi'200 model from ESP..After talking to myself I realized that I was going to use it to play on lower tunes anyway.
Since I made a compromise to myself of buying a guitar and learning scales and techniques to start making my own stuff and to be able to improvise, I thought that it would be good either to buy a baritone (kinda hard to get for lefties) or try a 7 string to see how it went.
Two weeks before buying my lefty 7, I bought Jeff Loomis album...I was completely convinced about the 7 strings...
So I can say he had a big influence in me choosing a 7.


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## MF_Kitten (Apr 10, 2009)

Korn inspired me originally, but then i dropped the idea, because i didn't see any reason to choose 7 strings over down-tuned 6. then i dropped low tunings all over, and settled for drop D. then i was happy for a long time, until i started noticing how fun it was to tune a little lower... and a little lower... and then finally, when i heard meshuggah, started thinking about sevens again, and then Bulb just freakin' sold me on it, because i saw how 7 strings could be utilized, and paired with meshuggah's 8 string stuff, i was convinced that a baritone 7 string was THE way to go.

i'm awaiting my shermanized schecter now, i think it'll be arrived when i come home. i hope so, anyways 

and now i'm craving an 8 string, because it's a whole 7 string, which is awesome, but then i can drop tune it to a low E, and have that insane amount of range and oppurtunity. so now i want a 30"+ scale 8 string as well as a bari 7.

so yeah, i'd love to have a couple more sevens in different tunings and stuff too, but at the moment i'm sticking to one of each kind


----------



## ilyti (Apr 10, 2009)

supertruper1988 said:


> John Petrucci with A Change of Seasons.


 Same. And ironically, a friend I used to have who turned out to be a creep.


----------



## kmanick (Apr 10, 2009)

st2012 said:


>


 
these Two guys are pretty much what got me into 7's.
Now I'm heavily into Petrucci.
Add Vai and Tony Mac to the list as well. but primarily hearing "Enemies of Reality" for the first time made me get off my ass and try a 7. 
Then when I heard "The Glass Prison I was done for.
Once I did I've never looked back.


----------



## cvinos (Apr 10, 2009)

I have known about 7-stringers for quite some time, I think since the late 90ies. But I started as a bassist, became a drummer, to eventually learn the guitar and the classical guitar, so it took me some time to develop a serious need for one.

I am inspired by music. I do not have a seven yet, but I ordered one. And I might get an 8, too. I am inspired by composers actually, like Franz Liszt, James Dillon, Henry Cowell. I am also inspired by Meshuggah.


----------



## nightmare197 (Apr 10, 2009)

It all started for me when I found out Korn was using them. I thought it was the coolest thing I'd ever seen. My guitar teacher at the time then showed me the world of Vai. From that point on, I was hooked. I still get excited when I find out a band I'm into is using 7's. Especially Ibanez ones.


----------



## Harry (Apr 10, 2009)

A strange one perhaps, but it was partly driven by 6 stringers who tuned down, like bands that play in Eb, D or C#, where I couldn't play their stuff in E standard on a 6 string, but now that I have a 7 string, I can play that stuff now, so that was definitely one inspiration to take up 7 string playing.


----------



## Isan (Apr 10, 2009)

1 word Buz


----------



## kmanick (Apr 10, 2009)

Isan said:


> 1 word Buz




love that guitar . ........... oh and why the hell don't we hear Buzz shredding his ass off on the cds??????
when it's pretty obvious that he can.


----------



## MetalJordan (Apr 10, 2009)

My friend Taylor inspired me to play 7 strings. He bought one after talking to Anomalous's guitar player then bought one. After seeing how nice his was i decided to get one.


----------



## Æxitosus (Apr 10, 2009)

when I first heard they made 7 string guitars, i was like "i have to have one of them"
when i bought the guitar i still did not know of any bands who used them. my favorite bands then were nickleback, all american rejects and green day. 
now, lets say I've "woken up"
I play an ESP ltd SC-608B 8 string now, so i got somewhere in 2 years


----------



## Benjo230 (Apr 10, 2009)

I don't even have a seven string XD

But i think it's safe to say, the main reason i've been GASsing for one for a long time, is John Petrucci


----------



## S-O (Apr 10, 2009)

A handful of dudes.

Steve Vai, I woshipped him mwhen I was starting out, still do.

Rusty Cooley, I found him bad ass, and still love his work.

Jeff Loomis, so I could learn Nevermore riffs XD

Derek Taylor, an unsung hero from Shrapnel, I love his playing, too bad he doesn't play anymore. I have three CDs of his and all his instructional material.

I lvoe a lot of other bands that use 7's, but they are not really why I play them, but do influence how I play them sometimes.


----------



## thinkpad20 (Apr 10, 2009)

Most of the bands I listen to actually use 6 string guitars. So I guess what made me want one was just realizing that there were guitars out there with more strings, and I wanted to play them! 

Now I'm awaiting my first 8 string


----------



## AvantGuardian (Apr 10, 2009)

Defintely Jeff Loomis, specifically on This Godless Endeavor. I had been thinking about getting one before, but once I heard that album I NEEDED to be playing those riffs.


----------



## Mazzakazza (Apr 10, 2009)

KoRn, Dream Theater and Meshuggah. Probably pretty typical answers around here!


----------



## auxioluck (Apr 10, 2009)

A Change of Seasons and The Test That Stumped Them All.


----------



## raifo (Apr 10, 2009)

Korn, Fear Factory, Meshuggah, Wes Borland, (thats about it : /) have inspired me to go for it.
cant wait till i get my seven!


----------



## Warpspasm (May 22, 2009)

Other than wanting to go to 7, cause I just wanted to. Rocky George's shredding, not that used them often, but he did.
"You Can't Bring Me Down!"


----------



## possumkiller (May 22, 2009)

ihsahn


----------



## Konfyouzd (May 22, 2009)

when i got my first 7 string in highschool it was korn. then i decided i didn't need 7 strings. so i switched back to 6 strings for a long time. and then i decided i wanted more range and decided it was time to go back to the 7. so initially korn and then i just wanted more strings.


----------



## liamh (May 22, 2009)

Vai petrucci and heavy devy


----------



## Cyco Nino (May 22, 2009)

Dino Cazares, Munky and Head.


----------



## Sacha (May 22, 2009)

Azagtoth, Petrucci, Vai


----------



## Severance (May 22, 2009)

I'd have to say the beartrucci







with this song right here


----------



## Bunkman (May 23, 2009)

I remember watch a morbid angel video in the mid 90's Where the slime live and i was playing guitar at the time and noticed the low sound and then notice the seventh tuner the the ibanez then i wanted one.


----------



## canuck brian (May 23, 2009)

I heard this album and bought an RG7620. That was pretty much the last nail in the coffin.


----------



## zakattak192 (May 23, 2009)

For me it was Petrucci, Loomis and Trivium


----------



## shoot2thrill (May 23, 2009)

Deftones and Korn


----------



## ProgFanDave (Oct 25, 2009)

Petrucci introduced me to the idea of 7 string guitars, then I heard Mark Jansen from Epica playing a 7 string (well, it was a B standard 6 string, but he plays 7 strings live), then I heard Loomis playing the 7 string guitar. I think what pushed me to go for a 7 string was my desire to play A Change of Seasons, my need to learn every single Epica song, and of course my friend's endless preaching as to how 7 strings are crap.


----------



## misingonestring (Oct 25, 2009)

I'm a fan of Vai so he's what's getting me into sevens and I never thought I'd say but Korn is a small influence on me and I don't even like them...

Now I just need to buy a seven string.


----------



## flo (Oct 25, 2009)

the first rock band that I've really (been forced to) listen to was Limp Bizkit when I was fourteen. They actually made me want to play guitar, and I found out years later that they used sevens tuned to low B, then came Linkin Park.
But when I was 20, I started listening to Dream Theater and my live was changed, I had to get a seven when I first listened to "This dying soul".


----------



## ncbrock (Oct 25, 2009)

I heard keith merrows stuff and i was sold on a 7 stirng.

I like loomis as a guitar player, but i cant stand the singer in nevermore.


----------



## omgmjgg (Oct 25, 2009)

danza


----------



## Antimatter (Nov 1, 2009)

Fredrik from Meshuggah, and Petrucci.
Maybe the guys from Korn a little.


----------



## lp_dude_2 (Nov 1, 2009)

defnetally Buz McGrath and Ken Susi of Unearth. they were the first band that i was into that really played 7 strings and they just made them sound so beast i had to get one lol


----------



## Joelan (Nov 2, 2009)

I guess I would say Loomis and Broderick, but I really wanted to try seven simply because I wanted to try something different, and to extend my playing.


----------



## asphyx123 (Nov 2, 2009)

I really liked Petrucci's stuff as well as Per Nilsson from Scar Symmetry but I think the thing that actually made me really keen on trying one was the 2008 NAMM youtube vid that shows Jeff Loomis shredding along for like what - 15-20 minutes pulling off one insane solo and riff after the other.

By the way if you like loomis check out the the youtube video that was recorded at the 2009 gotheburg guitar clinic (I think it is split in like 7 parts).


----------



## raydn1 (Nov 3, 2009)

My buddy Jeff(J7) formerly of the band Kicking K8. We toured together in the summer of 07 and he played 7 string schecters as opposed to my 6 stringers. He was the only person other than korn and the deftones that I had seen playing sevens. He tuned them to dropC with double C's on top. It had a cool sound that sounded unique to my ears. long story short the tour ended and he forgot one of his guitars in our trailer and when I called to tell him, he gave it to me. So my first 7 was a free 7. A schecter Omen 7 that I had customized. So you can say I had Inspiration given to me.


----------



## audibleE (Nov 3, 2009)

I'd say Loomis, Broderick, Vai, Meshuggah, Unearth and I could care less about Korn.


----------



## Pauly (Nov 3, 2009)

It was a few songs/albums specifically when I was a teenager. It wasn't so much the riffs themselves and a 'need to play a seven to play dat!' thing but the actual sound of their 7 strings themselves. Low, nasty e.t.c.

Fear Factory -Obsolete (Shock esp. the slide he adds to the main riff at the end of the song, Edgecrusher)

Korn - Follow the Leader, my first Korn album (Dead Bodies Everywhere, the outro of Reclaim my Place, middle bit of Seed, super slow bit of Earache my Eye).

Meshuggah- New Millenium Cyanide Christ, I knew they used 7 strings from their Guitar World column but the (hilarious) vid was the first time I'd experienced the 'Shug.

Saw the video for Where the Slime Live on Youtube. Loved it.

Limp Bizkit - Significant Other, I actually thought the 4 string stuff was a 7 because of how it sounded (and seeing Wes playing 7's), trickery!

Dream Theater - Lie video. At the time this was the only DT video I could find on the webz (this was pre-Youtube).


----------



## Redman 2007 (Nov 4, 2009)

when I was 15 I was into Korn and I wanted that sound. By the time I was 16 I I got more into Dream Theater and Meshuggah and that was the end of my Korn obsession.


----------



## EldersFall (Nov 4, 2009)

The Almighty TREY AZAGTHOTH........... From Morbid angel.


----------



## ToneLabeouf (Nov 6, 2009)

Here's the one and only reason I've been playing a 7-string guitar for the majority of my guitar playing life:


----------



## ockis23 (May 9, 2010)

Mike Mushok from Staind for the low tunings, and Wes Borland from Limp Bizkit showed me how awesome 7 strings looked. In terms of playing a 7 it would have to be korn and now Keith Merrow.


----------



## Kid_Amnesiac (May 10, 2010)

Meshuggah of course... But when I bought my first 7-string, I wanted to play The Glass Prison (Dream Theater). When I finally got my 7-string, I realized this song was too hard for me, specially the solo on the begining. So my 7-string was useless for me , until I discover Meshuggah and Deftones, their sounds blow me away, Chaosphere is one of the best album I ever heard.

You should listen to the last album of Hacride, a french metal band. I think they use 7-string on this one. Textures is also an awesome band from Netherlands.


----------



## pink freud (May 10, 2010)

If I had to pick, I'd say Devin Townsend.

Except I play ADADGAD or GCGCFGC instead of GCGCGCE.


----------



## Elijah (May 10, 2010)

Yep

Definitely Loomis


----------



## Issor (May 10, 2010)

for me, it's actually Keith.

I wanted a 7 string when I started listening to Meshuggah, but Keith really is the one who inspired me to make the switch and to really PLAY a 7 string.


----------



## TreWatson (May 10, 2010)

trivium. and outworld


----------



## guitareben (May 10, 2010)

I first got interested in 7's just because i was looking for new things to do on a guitar. More strings = fun. Then i kinda forgot about them, or lost interest or summit, but then after seeing quite a few guys play them (broderick, Loomis, and just generally many guys) my interest came back and i started wanting them again . Then i got into a certain guy called Steve vai, read an interview where he said that at one point he used 7's for almost everything, and i thought, screw this i gotta get one (i was worried play 6 string stuff on it could be made harder, and it probs is a bit, but who cares). I still haven't got one yet hahaha but whatever my next guitar is it is going to have 7 strings 

Edit: Animals as leaders also help lots to (they use 7's AND 8's ^^). I want an 8 to but that will have to wait


----------



## Daken1134 (May 10, 2010)

i was raised in a really industrial setting so mushroomhead was prolly the first band i heard that had 7's so they got me in the mood. also when i was like 13 i went to a concert and saw trapt, alright pop rock band but the guitarist who no one even knew existed was in the back of the stage and he had a 7 and soem of the big chords he would play were getting me into it. once i actually started playing then of coarse vai, petrucci, "searching" by satch, john pizzarelli is a HUGE idol of mine, of coarse meshuggah, dave wise (not a guitarist but to learn some of his compositions i needed to get lower) and probably the ONE person who completely sent me over the edge and got me to go buy my first 7 was wes borland, no matter what that guy is a badass. Then tosin got me to go for 8.... also the final fantasy opening theme got me on 8 so i can play all 4 ocataves of the arps.


----------



## Poho (May 10, 2010)

Petrucci definitely got me interested in trying them, but not enough to buy one. I won't lie, but Periphery's debut is what finally sold me on buying one, not only to learn all of their songs, but they inspired me to start writing.

I used to just use drone tuning like Sikth, but i have suddenly had an insatiable craving to get that seventh string on there. Shopping around for one right now.


----------



## Richie666 (May 10, 2010)

I was going to buy a 6 string Schecter and realized the model was available in 7 string form (ATX), so by all logic, meaning I could play everything a 6 string is capable of with added range, it seemed the best idea. Plus i wanted to learn some Nevermore songs


----------



## Demiurge (May 10, 2010)

Nevermore's "Dead Heart in a Dead World" came out and MusicYo.com started liquidating their stock of Kramer 7's. Picked up a Striker 7 for $179 with a hardshell case.


----------



## Daken1134 (May 10, 2010)

i havent seen anyone else mention Borland.... that kinda floors me.


----------



## leonardo7 (May 10, 2010)

I know, when I bought my first 7 string the only bands using them that I knew of were Korn and Limp Bizkit which was in the 90's. 7 strings have become way huge in the last 6 years especially.


----------



## BrailleDecibel (May 11, 2010)

Probably hearing all the old KoRn and Limp Bizkit albums back in the day, and then hearing "Obsolete" from Fear Factory shortly after that. I didn't manage to get a 7 until 2002, since I was barely learning guitar at the time I got those albums, but I've been playing em ever since.


----------



## Hammy (May 11, 2010)

'nuff said. All the NGD's, video's and other talk on here about sevenstring guitars makes it almost impossible not to go out and buy one..


----------



## Aurochs34 (May 11, 2010)

[Edit: ^^^ Hell yeah THIS ^^^

These are my men for sure! ...probably in order too. 

1. Justin Broadrick





2.John Petrucci





3. Dino


----------



## Lon (May 11, 2010)

that guy




even though i don't have a 7 string yet  its the next thing in my gaslist


----------



## signalgrey (May 11, 2010)

Aurochs34 said:


> [Edit: ^^^ Hell yeah THIS ^^^
> 
> 
> 1. Justin Broadrick



oh totally. so fuckin epic. I really enjoyed Jesu live too.


----------



## Aurochs34 (May 11, 2010)

signalgrey said:


> oh totally. so fuckin epic. I really enjoyed Jesu live too.


OH FUCK I AM JEALOUS!!! How recently? I wanted to kill myself when I missed a show out here not too long back...fucker just snuck up and played this tiny show like 10 blocks from my place. LOVE Jesu. Actually basically anything JKB touches is borderline, if not completely, fucking genius.

I know more of you owe some homage to the man!

BOW!


----------



## AhsanU (May 11, 2010)

When Petrucci picked up a 7 stringer, I was inspired. But it wasn't until Trivium's Shogun album that I truly felt inspired and actually went and purchased one.

I had always felt that 7 string guitars/songs were untastefully done because of the low B string abuse. After hearing Shogun, I felt inspired to write some mean ass licks involving the low B but not having the entire song revolve around it.


----------



## ballstix (May 11, 2010)

Loomis, Meshuggah, Devy, Bulb, Keith, SS.org, Sneap forum


----------



## simonXsludge (May 11, 2010)

i wanted a 7-string after listening to meshuggah's _chaosphere_ in 2000, fear factory was another huge influence at this point.

had a cheapo cort 7-stringer i played in B standard until 2003 and dropped A until 2005, switched back to 6-stringers until 2010 and now i'm back!


----------



## SjPedro (May 11, 2010)

Like most people here I have to say John Petrucci but Steve Vai also was a big influence too. 

But John Petrucci was the biggest influence. I even bought the same pickups he uses for Christ sake


----------



## Shenaniganizer (May 11, 2010)

To be quite honest..


This guy:










And this guy:


----------



## Sin-Jin Smyth (May 11, 2010)

Who inspired me to pick up guitars in general?
Metallica
Who inspired me to play 7?
KoRn


----------



## apexiwildchild (May 11, 2010)

Wes Borland and Keith Merrow for me


----------



## MSalonen (May 11, 2010)

Okay, n00b question.

...Who's Keith Merrow?


----------



## blister7321 (May 11, 2010)

trivium nevermore mushroomhead korn


----------



## GeoMantic (May 11, 2010)

Limp Bizkit and Korn put me off of sevenstrings until I heard of these guys.

Dave Weiner
Unearth
Jeff Loomis/Rusty Cooley
Keith Merrow
Chris Broderick


----------



## signalgrey (May 11, 2010)

Aurochs34 said:


> OH FUCK I AM JEALOUS!!! How recently? I wanted to kill myself when I missed a show out here not too long back...fucker just snuck up and played this tiny show like 10 blocks from my place. LOVE Jesu. Actually basically anything JKB touches is borderline, if not completely, fucking genius.
> 
> I know more of you owe some homage to the man!
> 
> BOW!



twas a year or two ago. He played with Torche. It was in support of Lifeline. He played quite a long set actually. This is how cool JKB is....he invited the crowd to come to brooklyn to hang out at a party he was DJing. He seemed like such a super nice and humble dude. I cant wait to hear the next actual album he puts out.


----------



## HaloHat (May 13, 2010)

Jeff Loomis
John Petrucci
George Van Eps < dude is crazy.
Greg Rapaport < awesome. Listen/DL for free at his website "11th Portal" and "The Brawler", add headphones = blow you away.
www.gregrapaport.com 
Muhammed Suicmez

This list could get very long haha...


----------



## DIOBOLIC5150 (May 13, 2010)

MSalonen said:


> Okay, n00b question.
> 
> ...Who's Keith Merrow?



Your neighbor


----------



## MSalonen (May 13, 2010)

DIOBOLIC5150 said:


> Your neighbor



I just checked out some of your music and I love it! I find it absolutely amazing. I will definitely be checking out the albums ASAP.

It's also great to see a musician like you so close up in the NW, it seems almost every musician I find around here is either into indie music or technical and/or brutal death metal.


----------



## ittoa666 (May 13, 2010)




----------



## Soilent_Goat (May 13, 2010)

Chris Broderick

Fredrick Thorendal


----------



## Hoj0 (May 13, 2010)

ittoa666 said:


>



Wow,
his
face
looks
so
chubby
there
and
yes,
my
keyboard
is
broken
so
no
space
key
lol


----------



## iondestroyer1527 (May 13, 2010)

can't lie...it was koRn. i was obsessed with them when i was a young teenager couldn't afford an ibanez so i bought my c-7. i l8r started liking much heavier music and now play death metal but i think they pretty much started it all.


----------



## TheGuitarNinja (May 13, 2010)

I bought my first 7 as an impulse buy at a pawn shop. As soon as I got home I tuned it to Bb and the first song I played was either New Millennium Cyanide Christ, or Born. So there we go. Meshuggah and Nevermore.


----------



## GoreNotCore (May 13, 2010)

I knew korn had 7 strings since i was a little kid, but i never cared.

1: Jeff Loomis. when i was like 13 he was the shit for me.

2:Rusty Cooley. he used to do guitar clinics all over the place and i met him a few times

i would say steve vai but what the hell does he use the universe for? his songs are never that low.


----------



## MetalBuddah (May 13, 2010)

It all started when I listened to KoRn back in middle school...had no clue they used 7 strings since I didn't play guitar till after middle school. I always digged their sound. Then as I started playing 6 string I just wanted to go lower and lower with my tuning so it was a natural thing. But that was influence mainly by people like:
Loomis:





Cooley:




Keith Merrow:




John Petrucci:


----------



## a_hub10 (May 13, 2010)

i might catch a lot of shit for this but i really became aware of seven strings after i started listening to bands like Whitechapel, Suicide Silence, and Impending Doom. After i saw Oceano's old guitarist playing a C-7 ATX at a show i knew i had to have it.


----------



## Konfyouzd (May 13, 2010)

GoreNotCore said:


> i would say steve vai but what the hell does he use the universe for? his songs are never that low.


 
you have 24 notes on your low b just like any other string...


----------



## pero (May 13, 2010)

Well actually this forum inspired me to play a seven  . I didn`think much about sevenstring guitars. One day I was talking with my friend about guitars, and he said that there`s a great site dedicated to sevenstring guitars. I gave it a look and.............. got addicted 



this forum rocks


----------



## Konfyouzd (May 13, 2010)

pero said:


> Well actually this forum inspired me to play a seven  . I didn`think much about sevenstring guitars. One day I was talking with my friend about guitars, and he said that there`s a great site dedicated to sevenstring guitars. I gave it a look and.............. got addicted
> 
> 
> 
> this forum rocks


----------



## TheWreck (May 13, 2010)

Korn, Cannibal Corpse and Meshuggah


----------



## Konfyouzd (May 13, 2010)

I had no idea Cannibal Corpse used 7s...


----------



## TheWreck (May 13, 2010)

On "Gallery of Suicide" and "Bloodthirst" they imo totaly shredded their guitars!


----------



## MF_Kitten (May 13, 2010)

Korn, Bulb/Periphery, and Meshuggah. mostly the two second ones, particularly Bulb. Korn just put it's existence and low tuned sound in my head.


----------



## Choop (May 13, 2010)

Steve Vai as actually the first artist that got me interested in 7 strings surprisingly, the concept of the 7 string guitar was just really awesome to me. Later I discovered other artists that used 7's, namely Loomis and Petrucci...now I'm trapped forever! D:


----------



## -One- (May 13, 2010)

Well, I'd been listening to Korn, Deftones, and Vai for ages, and then I discovered Dream Theater, which really piqued my interest in a 7-string, but it wasn't until seeing Suicide Silence and Megadeth live (back when Chris still used his seven at least once a night) that really got me wanting one.


----------



## ddtonfire (May 13, 2010)

I was first introduced to seven strings with Dream Theater/John Petrucci. I thought it would be cool to have one. Then I heard Misha Mansoor's music, and I realized that I needed one.


----------



## ephrion (May 13, 2010)

Mercenary, Epica, Scar Symmetry, Nevermore...

So many bands with a style I love play 7s. Why don't I?


----------



## matty2fatty (May 13, 2010)

Triviums 'Down From the Sky'


----------



## walleye (May 14, 2010)

GoreNotCore said:


> i would say steve vai but what the hell does he use the universe for? his songs are never that low.



more often than not its just the rhythm tracks that use all 7 strings on his earlier records. thats why for more or less his entire repetoire HIS lead part can be played on 6 strings, which he clearly prefers


----------



## Andromalia (May 14, 2010)

Wanted to be able to play Melodeath and AC/DC on the same guitar.


----------



## Kapee (May 14, 2010)

Kuisma Aalto from finnish metal band Mokoma





Antti Hyyrynen and Pekka Olkkonen.


These are my biggest influences for 7-string and my whole guitar playing!


----------



## MSalonen (May 14, 2010)

Kapee said:


> Antti Hyyrynen and Pekka Olkkonen.
> 
> These are my biggest influences for 7-string and my whole guitar playing!



Stam1na 

Perkele!


----------



## Konfyouzd (May 14, 2010)

walleye said:


> more often than not its just the rhythm tracks that use all 7 strings on his earlier records. thats why for more or less his entire repetoire HIS lead part can be played on 6 strings, which he clearly prefers


 
that's what dave weiner is for, no?


----------



## walleye (May 14, 2010)

Konfyouzd said:


> that's what dave weiner is for, no?



hah exactly
leaving vai to play his jems in peace


----------



## Deanxpv (May 14, 2010)

For me, I had been wanting a 7 string for a while but kind of gave up on the idea. Then I kept listening to All Shall Perish and their stuff with Chris Storey. Which led me to Rusty Cooley. And I started listening to Megadeth before any other metal so obviously Broderick. Ben Orum of ASP as well. The guys from After The Burial but they mainly play 8's now. So My list would be:
Chris Storey
Chris Broderick
Rusty Cooley
Muhammed Suicmez
Ben Orum
Jeff Loomis
Chuck Shuldiner
And....
Nergal (guy from Behemoth)


----------



## Valserp (May 15, 2010)

Actually, I believe it was this forum. I initially only visited the "Standard guitars" section, but then you 7-string bastards finally got under my skin. Argh!


----------



## Murmel (May 15, 2010)

Matt Heafy from Trivium. When I saw his asian face, together with a Rising Sun guitar and awesome vocals. I couldn't resist.
Still saving up for one, my birthday is in less than a month and it's my turn to get the expensive gifts now 

And no, I'm absolutely not getting his signature. Not only do I hate Dean, but playing a signature makes you look like a complete fanboy.It does look gorgeous though, part from the hideous headstock.


----------



## LLink2411 (Jun 4, 2010)

My favorite band is Dark Tranquillity and I listen to quite a bit of Melodic Death Metal, so I like having the low B.

Also, I like using the high-E string.


A 7-string was the answer.


----------



## chucknorrishred (Jun 4, 2010)

winterlover said:


> besides the convenience and how badass it looks:
> 
> http://www.picoodle.com/view.php?img=/9/9/18/f_ihsahn2m_07d4c6b.jpg&srv=img35
> 
> ...


 

always wanted to practice scales with a 7, but def cannibal corpse live 2001 dvd and morbid angels gateway album

but mainly wanting to scale rape on a 7, now its an 8 but I'll wait for an awesome 8


----------



## gearhead (Jun 4, 2010)

John Petrucci was my first influence due to Dream Theater's Awake album.


----------



## m4rK (Jun 4, 2010)

Elijah Blue from Deadsy even tho he usually just plays a six strung like a seven. I've been doing the same for years but had to step it up this year!


----------



## billybobjoedon (Jun 17, 2010)

Korn and Fear Factory are probably the two bands who introduced me to seven strings, but that was early on in my guitar playing, before I really knew the advantage of sevens. Then when I was 14 I started taking lessons from Rusty Cooley, and discovered Meshuggah around the same time, and he/they certainly opened my eyes further, as did other bands and players (Vai, Petrucci, All Shall Perish, etc.). A few months later I decided I had to have one and I've been hooked ever since. When I pick up a six it just feels so bare and limiting:/ and not to mention tiny haha


----------



## failshredder (Jun 17, 2010)

Asshole, you took lessons with Rusty Cooley?

I wish I lived down there. I've considered spending a couple of weeks down there just for that.

Yeah, Rusty Cooley was what got me into 7s. And keeps doing it.


----------



## LamaSabachthani (Jun 17, 2010)

Esp Griffyn said:


> This man inspired me, I'd be very surprised if he hasnt had a hand in a good portion of members here taking up 7s...



That swirl guitar is probably one of my all time favorites, ever. I would very probably heavily consider cold-blooded murder to get my hands on one...

And passion and warfare? Easily one of the greatest instrumental albums ever made, IMHO. Absolutely brilliant.


----------



## LamaSabachthani (Jun 17, 2010)

sepherus said:


>




Haha...I have never before seen that video, hilarious though. I'm glad they can have a bit of a laugh and aren't 100% serious constantly... Good men!


----------



## LamaSabachthani (Jun 17, 2010)

CaptainD00M said:


> And this guy keeps me going because hes doing something INTRESTING with a 7 string and isnt Balls to the wall the whole time:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I'm curious... haha who is he? I can't say I recognize the face...


----------



## detoxed (Jun 18, 2010)

Cazares was my main inspiration for playing a 7. Seeing Fear factory live made me want a 7 even more (not to mention an 8). Finally got my rg7321 recently. There was a local band called Pain After Death that opened for Fear factory that night that also used ibby 7s that got me even more interested.

I've also liked listening to Vai, Petrucci, Nevermore, etc etc...


----------



## ZeroS1gnol (Jun 18, 2010)

I was introduced to the 7 by Vai's passion and warfare (ofcourse). a few years later, being just a kid by the age of 13 at the time, Korn really got me into 7's. At age 17 I got my first 7 (10 years ago). Now I've outgrown the whole juvenile Korn thing, but Im glad my 7 facilitates my every need in metal.


----------



## zero_end (Jun 18, 2010)

<<-- Petrucci for sure! and more recently Jeff Loomis 

Cheers.


----------



## munky27 (Aug 25, 2010)

personally I just wanted to be able to play really low while having a standard tuned guitar. but my main influences after i picked it up where definitely bands like whitechapel, suicide silence and of course korn. I've just always loved going low and having my brains smashed out by something heavy, especially stuff that grooves like keith merrow and korn.


----------



## Chris Bowsman (Aug 25, 2010)

Dream Theater planted the seed. I was in WalMart, and saw the video for "Lie" playing in the music section. I've been smitten with the black & green Universe since. A few years later, Korn sealed the deal.


----------



## bloodnsoup (Aug 25, 2010)

Jeff Loomisss


----------



## Rapture (Aug 25, 2010)

If I would mention anyone but Trey Azagthoth, I would be lying..


----------



## Rashputin (Aug 25, 2010)




----------



## BMU (Aug 25, 2010)

No artist really got me into 7s, 'twas the awesomness of the Universe instrument itself. Love at first glance.


----------



## Sean Mack (Aug 25, 2010)

jeff loomis


----------



## garza (Aug 25, 2010)

Korn was my gateway band with the 7's. It changed everything and made me get my first guitar. That was well over 12 years ago hah.


----------



## Frey (Aug 25, 2010)

For me is was definitely Matt and Corey of Trivium. Trivium had already been my long time favorite band but right after listening to Kirisute Gomen I new I needed to play sevens and now I'll never go back...


----------



## sportlov (Aug 25, 2010)

I played piano before I picked up guitar, unfortunately the range a seven string guitar still feels kind of restricting. I might have to look into a high A-string or several more frets on the next guitar I buy.


----------



## EcoliUVA (Aug 25, 2010)

st2012 said:


> Lots of guys inspired me but Loomis, Broderick and Cooley are my big 3.


 
+1!


----------



## nojyeloot (Aug 25, 2010)




----------



## chucknorrishred (Aug 25, 2010)

theory............


----------



## alfred (Oct 27, 2010)

Dino Cazares !!


----------



## SirMyghin (Oct 27, 2010)

No one inspired me to play 7's, I don't think any of the bands I listen to even play them. I just want the added range, and I hate drop tunings (and love floyds coincidentally). So I want a 7 so I can transpose stuff to standard tuning without going out the bottom.


----------



## Laxdude67 (Oct 27, 2010)

no one actually lol. i love metal/hardcore and my material is catchy, melodic, and groove oriented so I love that in drop A i have that nice low end, AND i have standard tuning right below it! it just made sense!


----------



## followjohndoe (Oct 27, 2010)

Meshuggah.


----------



## PyramidSmasher (Oct 27, 2010)

wannabguitarist said:


> Unearth:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Same exact thing as me.


----------



## Miijk (Oct 27, 2010)

I would say Dino Cazares! Then later on Stephen Carpenter and Munky and Head! 

Now I almost can't play any guitar with less strings


----------



## Hemi-Powered Drone (Oct 27, 2010)

No one for me. My first instrument was a sax, and I ended up going from that to learning music theory. After that, it was pretty much just a thought that having a bigger range makes a little bit more sense. Why limit yourself.


----------



## kris_jammage (Oct 27, 2010)

I always saw myself playing a seven string when i felt it was time to progress from a six string, which would basically be anytime i saw fit to buy one lol!

But it was defo Devin Townsend that started me on seriously looking into seven strings. Also some of my favourite guitarists use seven strings or have used them at least, Stephen Carpenter, the Meshuggah lads, Dino, Trey Azagthoth, Nergal among many others!


----------



## jorkael228 (Aug 13, 2011)

John Petruci & Trey Azagthoth. also Trivium.


----------



## 27duuude (Aug 13, 2011)

My giant ass arms and hands forced me to get a seven. 6's are just too small for me and tend to look like little toy guitars when I pick one up. I also like the ability to go as low as I needed while still being able to play in standard.


----------



## rjnix_0329 (Aug 13, 2011)

Devin Townsend and Ihsahn's solo stuff was definitely the catalyst that got me into down tuned 7 string music, but it wasn't until I heard Icarus Lives! for the first time that I knew I had to get my hands on one.


----------



## theicon2125 (Aug 13, 2011)

for me the biggest were Korn (before Head left) and Trivium, but Whitechapel was one of the ones that showed me what 7s could truly be used for


----------



## JPMike (Aug 13, 2011)

For 7's mostly, John Petrucci (Awake album) and Steve Vai. 

8's, Meshuggah.

I would watch Lie music video a thousand times a day when I was 14, just because JP looked so cool with that green dot Universe!!


----------



## BatuK (Aug 13, 2011)

I sorta started late in the metal scene, first album I bought was Deep Purple a while back, then bought Shogun last September, and was liek 


OMGHEAFYISSOAWESUMCUZHEPLAYS7STRING. Oh and then I started listening to Periphery, Meshuggah, etc


----------



## SettleMoore (Aug 13, 2011)

Jeff loomis made me want to play pretty much, and I don't listen to that many 7 string bands, just thought it would be fun, and it is.


----------



## exordium (Aug 13, 2011)

kris_jammage said:


> I always saw myself playing a seven string when i felt it was time to progress from a six string, which would basically be anytime i saw fit to buy one lol!
> 
> But it was defo Devin Townsend that started me on seriously looking into seven strings. Also some of my favourite guitarists use seven strings or have used them at least, Stephen Carpenter, the Meshuggah lads, Dino, Trey Azagthoth, Nergal among many others!



Is that a cockstock I spy? I didn't know he used to play ESPs. 

Sick looking guitar!


----------



## Shrooms (Aug 13, 2011)

Buz, Gravy, Rocky Sobon.


----------



## AwakenNoMore (Aug 13, 2011)

The minute I started playing I started down-tuning. It was pretty much inevitable. Mushroomhead, Meshuggah, and Korn where some of the first bands I was introduced to, so that probably had something to do with it. I've always just felt E-standard was kinda boring.


----------



## myampslouder (Aug 15, 2011)

I never even knew seven strings existed until I saw Korn playing them in the Freak On a Leash Video. I didn't really want one until I heard Obsolete but still wouldn't buy one because I didn't have a clue what I would do with it since nobody I knew had one. What finally made me buy one was my drummer/roommate nagging me saying "it's missing a string" everytime I looked at a 6 string, So I finally got one to shut him up and I've been hooked ever since. Even went as far as buying a second so my guitarist at the time could use one so we could start writing using seven strings


----------



## Alimination (Aug 15, 2011)

..Ron Jarzombek..


----------



## Zomboir (Aug 15, 2011)

Misha Mansoor and Trey Azagthoth. Only just about to get my hands on my first seven string, but being into heavy music; the possibilities that the extra string opens up for me are exciting.


----------



## skeels (Aug 16, 2011)

Steve brought back the 7 to the market in 90, but lots of people tuned down before that. Nobody influenced by Tony Iommi? And on the jazzy side, anybody heard of George van Eps? 
I know - I'm a dinosaur ....


----------



## ppinkham (Aug 16, 2011)

My grandpa turned me onto George Van Eps, and though I wasn't into jazz, I liked the sound of his 7-string. It was around '85 or '86, and I hadn't been playing guitar very long, but I was looking for something different. Of course, 7-strings weren't readily available to me at the time, so I stuck with the 6-string.

When Vai started playing a 7-string, and Ibanez started to sell one, I was excited to finally get my hands on one. However, money was tight for a while, so I kept putting off buying one. Plus, I was kind of over the whole strat-style guitar at the time.

Eventually, circumstances in my life had me putting music on hold, and I didn't touch a guitar for about 14 years. When Peavey announced the Devin Townsend PXD 7-string V, my interest came back. Especially when I saw this:


----------



## Rapture (Aug 16, 2011)

AZAGTHOTH all the way!


----------



## PasIvre (Aug 16, 2011)

This forum and devin townsend, mostly. I was already downtuning and stuff, though, and wanted a bit more range.


----------



## nkri (Aug 16, 2011)

John Petrucci, Steve Vai and Joe Satriani initially turned me on to 7s. When I saw Dream Theater live for the first time last summer, I couldn't resist any longer and bought one.


----------



## JCD (Aug 16, 2011)

I first saw Steve Vai use it but what really got me was John Petrucci. I also dug how KoRn and Wes Borland (don't poke fun haha) used it and then Dino from Fear Factory.


----------



## Lagtastic (Aug 17, 2011)

Rusty Cooley


----------



## MistaSnowman (Aug 17, 2011)

Even though he's more known to play 8-string guitars, Tosin Abasi inspired me to play 7's. Initially, I wanted to play an 8-string but since I was just starting, I felt that a 7 would be better for me.


----------



## CRaul87 (Aug 17, 2011)

Seeing Keith Merrow play Pillars of Creation did it for me....


----------



## unclejemima218 (Aug 17, 2011)

Buz McGrath!


----------



## Phrygian (Aug 18, 2011)

Jeff Loomis! dead heart in a dead world - nuff said


----------



## BrianUV777BK (Aug 19, 2011)

Some guy named Steve got me to thinking about using a 7 string. But more for heavy stuff than shreddy stuff. Around 97ish.


----------



## cronux (Aug 19, 2011)

broke the neck of of my 6 string... since we were down in drop a, a friend was selling a COW7. my band said that i should go 4 it. i did...

never looked back


----------



## thatguy87 (Aug 19, 2011)

Chris Storey.


----------



## Ulvhedin (Aug 20, 2011)

I'm pretty sure it was Nevermore that got me into the mojo


----------



## ibanezRG1527 (Aug 21, 2011)

first!!!!! good ole fashioned Head and Munky






second!!!!! just to be more metal >


----------



## AlexQ1993 (Aug 22, 2011)

Buz Mcgrath. Unearth was the first 7 string band I listened to and then i saw a Steve Vai clip where he was demonstrating his 7 and that sealed the deal


----------



## Valennic (Aug 23, 2011)

John Petrucci, Jeff Loomis, Frederik Thordendal to name the top three. It was Mr. Petrucci that set it in motion with A Change of Seasons. Loomis sealed the deal


----------



## Dan_Vacant (Aug 23, 2011)

I don't own a 7 string yet but I still want one badly
Slipknot cause they sometimes use drop A
Tosin Abasi no explanation thera haha
and actually tuning down to b I liked the low sound


----------



## xenofife (Aug 24, 2011)

buzz mcgrath jeremy from rooks


----------



## Somnium (Aug 24, 2011)

Man, my memory is pretty shitty but I think it was the dude from Beneath the Massacre and/or Trey Azagthoth.


----------



## Entombthemachin (Aug 24, 2011)

It kinda was a natural progression for me, started down tuning, then played a 7 in Guitar Center and bought it.

but probably...
Misha Mansoor
Chris Storey
Rusty Cooley
Jeff Loomis


----------



## Beowulf Von Thrashmeister (Aug 25, 2011)

The guitarists who inspired me to play seven string guitar are ...

Steve Vai (That tone he had on the `Passion And Warfare`album)

Trey Azagthoth (`Where The Slime Live`)

John Petrucci (That riff in `Puppies On Acid` that eventually became `The Mirror`on the `Awake` album)

Just love the concept of expanding the pallete of sounds a guitar can create, and I am very tempted to try an 8 string soon !!!.


----------



## ibanice (Aug 25, 2011)

Wes Borland





definitley John Petrucci!!!

And my self. My eyes opened for the possibillities in a seven string, and BOOM! i got a Ibanez RG7321....

And Liquid Tension Experiment with Acid Rain. That's what made me get a seven-sting.


----------



## Altaïr (Aug 26, 2011)

I can say although I would listen to korn I had no clue they were using 7 strings. Once I got into playing music it became more of unearth and korn that made me want one, mainly because I couldn't learn their songs without one. Then I discovered down tuning and blah blah blah the list then switches to petruccie, Messhuga, korn, periphery, trivium, born of Osiris, and so much more but it I got a shitty 7 string but I felt better because I had one. But I sold it now I'm on to getting my Agile =D


----------



## Born4metal85 (Aug 26, 2011)

Shane Gibson...


----------



## munizfire (Aug 26, 2011)

a mix of loomis and curiosity


----------



## SeanSan (Aug 28, 2011)

Jeff Loomis. had to snag a 7 when i heard Final Product


----------



## yingmin (Aug 28, 2011)

I listened to 7-string bands like Nevermore, Meshuggah and Dream Theater, but what actually prompted me to get a 7 of my own was my friend Anthony in VMOD.

vmod


----------



## AeternusEternus (Aug 28, 2011)

^ hi and thank you :3

korn and fear factory here. no shame in my game.


----------



## warlock7strEMG (Aug 29, 2011)

For me it was Dino who first got me wanting a 7. I loved Korn and their tone but always thought it was super muddy for my personal tastes, tho it worked wonderfully for their sound. But it was Dino and his tone that showed me 7 strings don't have to be muddy and are good for not only sludgey stuff but also for precise percussive playing; he was also the reason I went with the EMG 707, which I still use to this day!!! Back then it was the only pickup that gave the 7 string tuning the clarity I like and is still hard to beat in my opinion. 

Another band who got me wanting play a 7, was a quasi-death metal band called Embodyment. They had one good album called Embrace the Eternal(everything else after that sucked), after seeing them live in 1998 and purchasing that album shortly thereafter I absolutely had to have a 7 string!! I would say that not only were they the main determining factor in me getting a 7 string, they are also still to this day one of my biggest musical influences on both my guitar playing and drumming. BTW, to all those reading this that have never heard that album, check it out now!!!!!! That album was way ahead of it's time!!!


----------



## syndrone (Sep 2, 2011)

I played baritone 6 strings but hated soloing on them.
so i got a 7 string..
but now, i am struggling and want a 7 string baritone


----------



## Jamie (Oct 2, 2011)

Soungarden was my big influence for picking up 7 (specifically 4th of july). I know they don't do 7's. 
I was mostly inspired to pick up 7 because i was tired of retuning my 6's. 
All Shall perish and AAL Led me to 8str.


----------



## TimmaethBoy (Oct 2, 2011)

The man, the legend, Mr. Jeff Loomis.


----------



## Dayn (Oct 2, 2011)

Meshuggah.

I heard they used eight-string guitars a while back, and first got Nothing. I got into that, got their earlier releases, and was getting into Steve Vai and Dream Theater. I wanted an RG7321 and was saving up for one. I couldn't wait.

And then Ibanez released the RG2228. Needless to say, I saved up for that instead and I _still_ don't have a seven-string.


----------



## Dan Halen (Oct 2, 2011)

Both Scar Symmetry (first)
and Periphery (second)
anything after that is just from hearing them.


----------



## KAMI (Oct 2, 2011)

misha mansoor







tosin abasi (even though he plays an 8 string?)


----------



## DTay47 (Oct 2, 2011)

Definately has to be John Petrucci for me. It was the first "real" metal band I listened to, and I just loved Dream Theater. Seeing them next week in Toronto!


----------



## linchpin (Oct 2, 2011)

I can't say it was a person but it was pretty much Nu Metal due to the downtuning... i just wanted to play along to the songs i liked.. found out they were mostly using 7 strings so thus began my quest for a 7.


----------



## jordanscotisdead (Oct 2, 2011)

Petrucci, Misha, Tosin, and Chris Letchford influenced me to buy my first 7.


----------



## MobiusR (Oct 2, 2011)

Dream Theater,Nevermore,Trivium's Shogun


----------



## orakle (Oct 2, 2011)

Jeff Loomis
John Petrucci

bands like Whitechapel, Born of Osiris, All Shall Perish


----------



## thatguy5557123 (Oct 2, 2011)

Batman


----------



## Zsharp (Oct 2, 2011)

Bucky Pizzarelli!! Started playing 7's before most of these guys pictured were even born


----------



## Furtive Glance (Oct 2, 2011)

Petrucci!


----------



## aWoodenShip (Oct 3, 2011)

Even though I'd wanted to play a 7 for a while, watching these guys really pushed me to buy one.


----------



## TheSilentWater (Oct 3, 2011)

Trivium and Dream Theater. 'Nuff said.


----------



## Sir Applesauce (Oct 3, 2011)

Periphery, Meshuggah, Petrucci, Behemoth, Sikth ( I know they play 6, but it's the same kind of sound) , Impending Doom, Suicide Silence (Don't hate)


----------



## shaggydogJV (Oct 4, 2011)

My biggest reason for wanting a 7 was Triviums "and sadness will sear". There was just something about the opening riff that struck a chord with me and what I was playing at the time. After that, it was Nevermore that convinced me to sell my 6 and buy a 7.


----------



## orakle (Oct 4, 2011)

Sir Applesauce said:


> Suicide Silence (Don't hate)


 
YOU ONLY LIVE ONCE \m/


oh and I forgot mentioning Behemoth in my influences, big big fan of them


----------



## guitareben (Oct 4, 2011)

Tosin Abasi. He did stuff other than chugg... but he also makes me want an 8 now >:/


----------



## mikemueller2112 (Oct 4, 2011)

Honestly, it wasn't until recently when I started playing guitar again, and playing metal, seeing a lot of these new bands (Animals as Leaders, Periphery, etc.) using 7+ stringers, and seeing how cool it was. I always listened to Dream Theater, Steve Vai when I was playing somewhat seriously through high school, but never had any desire to get a 7 string. I'm so glad I did, because it is seriously so amazing to have, and it doesn't have to be strictly for metal. Best transition ever.


----------



## Ardez (Oct 8, 2011)

Devin Townsend and Scar Symmetry


----------



## Micky Fish (Oct 8, 2011)

I originally got inspired by Chris and Mark from suicide silence. But since then have moved on to people like Misha and the guys from Meshuggah and Fellsilent.

On a side note, am I the only person that thinks Carpenter is one of the most over rated guitar players of all time?


----------



## s4tch (Oct 8, 2011)

...and I could not find any decent images of Eddie Head with a guitar (and nobody would recognize him anyway  ), so here's a vid featuring his mind-blowing guitar work:



So underrated...


----------



## Die Super (Oct 8, 2011)

Mesh/Bulb!


----------



## christheasian (Oct 8, 2011)

That John Petrucci guy. I remember I bought a really crappy Cort viva 7 at a local shop in southern Utah just to go home and learn the glass prison.


----------



## rythmic_pulses (Oct 8, 2011)

Well my story is a little funny, when I was about a year in to guitar playing I was still having lessons and the shop had Ibanez catalogs and I used to pick them up just to look at the guitars, then I came across a picture with these two swedes pulling really fucking weird faces with two 7 string LACS Ibanez's and under the picture it said Fredrik Thordendal and Marten Hagstrom of Meshuggah, so I went out and bought Destroy Erase Improve as it was the cheapest CD of theirs there was, got home and dusted of my CD player, turned it on and inserted the disc and my life has changed ever since


----------



## Ancestor (Oct 11, 2011)

some guy had one at a mab clinic. it looked really cool. couldn't stop thinking about it. bought a universe. didn't like it. bad tone. sold it. 

bought the a7 many years later and it was great.


----------



## ItWillDo (Oct 11, 2011)

Vai, Chris Garza, Stef Carpenter and most of all Jason Richardson. He opened up a whole new world for me with The Discovery.


----------



## Santuzzo (Oct 11, 2011)

For me it was Petrucci, Vai, Loomis and Broderick!


----------



## CompactHand (Oct 18, 2011)

John Petrucci

I Bought my RG1527 just to be able to play Dream Theater songs


----------



## havocvulture10 (Oct 22, 2011)

Definitely Ihsahn Of Emperor, and Trey Azagthoth of Morbid Angel


----------



## Miek (Oct 22, 2011)

I got back into sevens after listening to textures religiously for a year or so.


----------



## Podium (Oct 22, 2011)

Chris Broderick, Steve Vai, Korn, but my main one, Jeff Loomis!
without a doubt my favorite 7 stringer on this planet!


----------



## Riger (Oct 22, 2011)

Korn


----------



## Insightibanez (Oct 22, 2011)

Riger said:


> Korn


 
I second that, the first album won me over.

Along with Fear Factory/ Demanufacture.


----------



## hereticemir (Oct 22, 2011)

Jeff Loomis as for just to pick up and play guitar it was Marty Friedman and Jason Becker


----------



## animalwithin (Oct 22, 2011)

I first discovered the 7-string when I stumbled upon Jeff Loomis. As I researched more I found out that Steve Vai uses them quite often and that most of his album Passion and Warfare was composed on his Universe. Vai is one of my biggest influences to play guitar all around, after I found out that he plays a 7, I was hooked.


----------



## ThePhilosopher (Oct 22, 2011)

Korn's First 3 albums, Dino with Obsolete, Stef. I've always dreamt of playing like JP or Vai, but I'm a terrible lead player.


----------



## pitbulltodd (Oct 22, 2011)

keith merrow. i've been playing for 25 years and i never evened desired a 7 string until i saw one his youtube videos 4 months ago.


----------



## Deathbringer769 (Oct 22, 2011)

Oddly enough, I wasn't influenced by any 7 string players when I got my first 7. Back in the day I was tuning my 6 string down to B standard to play along with Devildriver and Amon Amarth, underground death metal, stuff like that. Mainly seeing other guys tune their 6s down made me want that lower sound. After awhile of this, I began to miss the high end of my guitar basically being chopped off from tuning so low. So I began to look at 7 strings to actually play HIGHER again 

I didn't knowingly listen to any 7 string players until I after I got my 7


----------



## RTB668 (Dec 9, 2011)

I've enjoyed 7 stringers for a while but never felt like I needed to get one myself... until I got into Scale the Summit. So I picked up an Agile Septor 727 from a guy on craigslist. Don't even know if it's a Standard, Pro or what. It's "ok" but I'll definitely be looking for something better once I can justify the expenditure.


----------



## junnnu (Dec 10, 2011)

It was this song, it made to go for SC-607


----------



## drmosh (Dec 10, 2011)

Rocky George! ST


----------



## Bouillestfu (Dec 10, 2011)

I remember listening to Stam1na and ging WTF IS THIS GUITAR?! Not really an inspiration but heck that's when I got the idea running. I was tuning low for Eluveitie and wanted to keep that low range along with standard E tuning and the seven string guitar was the perfect choice. Since I've gotten into more 7 string oriented bands and my BIG Influences in terms of 7 string guitar are Chris Broderick and Chris Letchford (Scale the Summit).


----------



## HighPotency (Dec 11, 2011)

Mr. Petrucci.


----------



## berserker213 (Dec 11, 2011)

I decided I really wanted to get a 7 after I stumbled across Keith Merrow's videos on Youtube. I'd had a couple of 7s before, but never kept either of them for longer than a month, but for some reason Keith, Periphery, Jeff Loomis, etc. really peaked my interest in them. Then I fell in love with the way Bb standard sounded on my sixer but I couldn't stand how floppy the strings were.


----------



## robbown89 (Dec 15, 2011)

Korn
Trey Azagathoth 
Steph Carpenter
Whitechapel

I know it's not 7 as well but, Slipknot, Mastodon too (the wierd half assed drop A tuning stuff)
I just need more low end is all...
Boom!


----------



## the britt shredder (Dec 15, 2011)

Whitechapel
Periphery, Misha Mansoor mainly
Pettrucci
Trivium
and of course Chris Broderick cause he is just awesome


----------



## thedarkoceans (Dec 15, 2011)

well....

Meshuggah
Ion Dissonance
Jonathan Nido in all his projects ( The Ocean,Coilguns,Switchback)
The Acacia Strain
Converge
Mastodon
War From A Harlots Mouth


----------



## Erazoender (Dec 16, 2011)

But mainly these guys: 
















10 points if you get the last guy! ;P


----------



## RuffeDK (Dec 16, 2011)

Uneath (Buz McGrath & Ken SUSHI)

Vira (Alex David & Victor Ray Salomonsen)

By far genre I play, but doesn't make any diffenrence in 7-stringers are f*cking badass !!!


----------



## GMCUV7 (Dec 16, 2011)

Trey Azagthoth, the song Heaving Earth and his UV7 Black and Green Dot


----------



## Buddha92 (Dec 16, 2011)

Periphery (misha)
Korn ( blind music video mostly)
DEFTONES( muh man Stephen Carpenter)
and Chelsea Grin


----------



## JaxoBuzzo (Dec 16, 2011)

I just thought they were comfortable...


----------



## AxeHappy (Dec 17, 2011)

A combination of Vai, Petrucci and Dragonforce.


----------



## Dunloper (Dec 17, 2011)

For sevens I'd say TTEOTD's Malice and BTM's Dystopia. And as for making me wish I could play eight's would be of coarse Charlie Hunter and Tosin Abasi.


----------



## cap-tan (Dec 17, 2011)

Stephen Carpenter


----------



## PyramidSmasher (Dec 17, 2011)

No one really, which is probs why I dont have any 7s now. I knew Petrucci and Unearth used them though so maybe them.


----------



## Addison90 (May 12, 2012)




----------



## Tyler (May 12, 2012)

Jason Richardson for sure


----------



## Dawn of the Shred (May 12, 2012)

mushroomhead


----------



## JasonT (May 12, 2012)

Petrucci
Ra


----------



## USMarine75 (May 12, 2012)

This night on Headbanger's Ball... first time I saw a 7-string:


----------



## otisct20 (May 12, 2012)

My biggest reason for wanting one was Chelsea Grin and Impending Doom. They are so fucking heavy that I just had to get a seven.


----------



## spawnofthesith (May 12, 2012)

Like many others I'm sure, Meshuggah


----------



## SkapocalypseNow (May 12, 2012)

No real inspiration exactly, it was mostly me being handed a 7, and liking it. A lot. And I play primarily in a weird tuning that's really complimented by the extra string, so that just added more want for one.


----------



## kerska (May 12, 2012)

Good ol' Korn. The first song I heard by them was Good God off of Life Is Peachy and the lows just sounded so brutal in that song. At the time I had a shitty Harmony 6 string from a JCPenny catalog lol....so bad. But the summer of 1998 I saved up and bought an Ibanzed RG7420. That guitar was the shit and I promptly learned the first 3 Korn albums...well what I could play without the effects at least.

After Korn it was old school Chimaira and the Pass Out Of Existance album around 2002. That's when I got into syncopation and playing chuggy like that. Then not shortly after I heard Future Breed Machine by Meshuggah for the first time and had absolutley no idea what the hell they we're doing with timing and what not and it was around that time that Nothing came out and the 8 string thing blew my effing mind. I still don't really dig playing an 8 too much, but I remember hearing that low string on Stengah for the first time and it melted my face off.


----------



## Joeseffel (May 12, 2012)

I was always into 7 stringers like Broderick/Loomis and I loved Trivium's Shogun but the guy that really pushed me over the edge into wanting one for definite was Andy James, the man's a monster player and manages to sound musical all at once, huge influence on me.


----------



## metale (May 12, 2012)

For me it was most likely the 3rd chord from the chorus of Korn's Counting On Me. No joke.


----------



## Rain (May 12, 2012)

The amazing danish metal band, Mercenary


----------



## Chi (May 12, 2012)

Simple. No technical players, but they damn sure know how to groove. One of the biggest influences on me.


----------



## MrPepperoniNipples (May 12, 2012)

The one and only


----------



## L1ght (May 12, 2012)

Angel Vivaldi for me. For sure.


----------



## asilayamazing (May 12, 2012)

Born of Osiris-Discovery album.
All Shall Perish
Within The Ruins(it sounds like they use em)


----------



## JosephAOI (May 12, 2012)

Deez gaiz





















Mostly Lee and Jason though.


----------



## JStraitiff (May 12, 2012)

100% reason i bought a 7 was to play dream theater tunes. My friend and i decided that it was imperative for me to get a 7 and him to get a 5 string bass. I might also mention we havent actually covered any 7 string DT songs ever lol. I wanted to play panic attack but everyone said it was too hard so i was like "okay whatever".


----------



## Aevolve (May 13, 2012)

A combination of this guy:




This guy:





And my friend selling his RG7321 to me for $60.


----------



## Jason_Clement (May 13, 2012)

John Petrucci.


----------



## noUser01 (May 13, 2012)

Same guy who inspired everyone else, Chad Kroeger from Nickelback.











But seriously, mostly the djentlemen from Periphery. That's about it really.


----------



## oneblackened (May 13, 2012)

Periphery, TesseracT, Dream Theater, Jeff Loomis.


----------



## iRaiseTheDead (May 13, 2012)

Alex Wade \m/


----------



## XBetrayedX (May 13, 2012)

John Petrucci, Steve Vai and my personal instructor.


----------



## iRaiseTheDead (May 13, 2012)

You know what... it might have been Chris Storey xD


----------



## HeHasTheJazzHands (May 13, 2012)

This video. It's also the video that introduced me to Dino, and eventually Fear Factory. 

Oh, and as silly as it sounds, Brad Delson of Linkin Park. When I saw him use those RG7620's in some early live Linkin Park videos, I immediately thought "Do want."


----------



## skoatdestroy (May 13, 2012)

this guy 





and this guy




but mainly this guy


----------



## cosmitron (May 13, 2012)

Nobody but the guitars themselves. ^^'


----------



## dooredge (May 13, 2012)

I was inspired to move to 7's after hearing the how vastly different a 7 sounds than a 6 from a tone perspective. It's something that drew me in and grabbed ahold of my ear drum and wouldn't let go.

After moving to 7's, I actually went back to 6's for awhile. Late last year I had another "moment" and said time to get back to the 7. I dumped all but 2 of my 6's. I now have 3 7's and 1 8 string. I'm not going back this time! 

Bands like *Vildhjarta* have really captured my imagination as of late.


----------



## TheShreddinHand (May 13, 2012)

I kind of discovered JP, Vai, and Rob Johnson all around the same time in 96 and got Meshuggah's D.E.I. around then too. But I finally got pushed over the edge and bought one after getting Dead Heart in a Dead World, but I'd mainly cite JP.

Eric


----------



## Djdnxgdj3983jrjd8udb3bcns (May 13, 2012)

I was looking at buying my first decent guitar and found a pretty decent deal on a seven. I thought "Why not? It'll give me access to more tunings without too much dicking about"


----------



## simulclass83 (May 13, 2012)

I think it was Chris Letchford/STS. They really kind of made me realize it wasn't just CHUGGA CHUGGA.


----------



## Ralyks (May 13, 2012)

Korn and Dino Cazeras made me aware of their existence. Then I discovered John Petrucci, Jeff Loomis, and Chris Broderick all around late 90's/early 00's (Metropolis Pt. 2, Dreaming Neon Black, and Thane to the Throne specifically the albums that got me into them), and kinda sealed the deal on me wanting a 7.


----------



## Djentleguy (May 13, 2012)

Meshuggah, Korn, Nevermore, Chris Broderick, Cannibal Corpse, Dino Cazeras, Whitechapel, Dream Theater. All of those pretty much made me want to experiment with 7 strings\extended range guitars.


----------



## BrianUV777BK (May 14, 2012)

This dude named Steve.


----------



## Mprinsje (May 14, 2012)

textures. still the best band to use them IMO


----------



## Andrew11 (May 14, 2012)

Buz from Unearth, Whitechapel and Suicide Silence.


----------



## jon66 (May 14, 2012)

If i had to pick a single guitarist, I guess itd be John Petrucci. "A Change of Seasons" changed the way I thought about ERGs. No longer did I just view them as a means to CHUGGAH lower, but create something more musical with added range. For me, it was moreso the fact that I like going against the norm, and wanted something different to help inspire new writing. The thoughts of having full upper range for leads while having 5-7 semitones lower than standard E for chording/riffing seemed like a very intriguing concept. 

Funny side story: as I was tinkering with the 7321 in the store that I later bought that day, the sales guy brought me over a 2228 and said "here try this out". At the time my thought was "wow this thing is overkill...ill never need or want an 8 string, its just too much..." And 3-4 short years later, guess who's GASing ridiculously hard for an 8...


----------



## Ari_VD (May 15, 2012)

my biggest influence is -of course- John Petrucci 1st I heard Dream Theater's The Glass Prison, that song was brutal -and still brutal till now - then I go back to Awake album n so on..
I also Listened to Steve Vai, Dino Cazares, Trivium's Matt Heafy, n then I found that Joe Satriani also played a 7 strings..


----------



## GSingleton (May 15, 2012)

At the time....it was bulb....but after buying one...def everyone but him lol


----------



## Blackheim (May 15, 2012)

Steve Vai was a great influence definitely, but Emperor's "Prometheus: The Discipline of Fire and Demise" was a great revelation to me... He used his 7 string so melodically imho instead of that breakdownish sound so often used with tuned down guitars...


----------



## xxvicarious (May 15, 2012)

DEVIN TOWNSEND. He does it all. Shreds like a mad man, he's a great composer, has some insane vocal skills... After hearing SYL's "Alien" album, I ran out and bought a Schecter Revenger
just so I could jam along to Skeksis. That album has the 'biggest sound' I've still ever heard from
any band on the face of the earth \m/


----------



## MAJ Meadows SF (May 15, 2012)

Blackheim said:


> Steve Vai was a great influence definitely, but Emperor's "Prometheus: The Discipline of Fire and Demise" was a great revelation to me... He used his 7 string so melodically imho instead of that breakdownish sound so often used with tuned down guitars...


 
Great minds think alike! I first got into guitar _period_ after playing classical Suzuki method violin for 9 years, and a little piano, and being bored with it (teens, no appreciation for classics). I discovered Satriani, Vai, John Petrucci, and everyone related all in one shot, got into 6's, but didn't have big enough hands for a 7 at the time. I also waded through popular metal acts, and Kirk Hammet and Tom Morello (early RATM) were a big influence outside of the virtuoso camp. Living in central Florida I had the fortune to meet Chuck Schuldiner and Trey Azagthoth, and a few other "legends". I liked Death tremendously and learned a lot about atonal sounds and hybrid theory.

I always gravitated towards the classics, or neo-classical sounding music. Eventually, with the help of my encounters, I got back into extreme metal and between tech death and black metal I was at home. I listen to it all, but I love huge epic melodies. Opeth was huge to me at this time and I can easily say they are still my favorite band overall. It bridged a few styles while not sitting into one particular, and I was inspired to reach further into doom, gothic, and black metal. Enter *Emperor*. When I heard "Prometheus: The Discipline of Fire and Demise", it was a life changing listen. I was blown away by the epic size of the record, the sound, the brutal yet melodic leads and solos, and how utterly chaotic it was as well. Listening to that record from start to finish while driving on snowy back roads and highways through Ohio, at night, was a landmark moment for me, as great as when I first listened to a Satriani record. As humans we learn to associate music with a place in time, and the setting for that Emperor record is emblazened into my mind forever. I quickly bought a cheap Kramer 7 from Musicyo.com, slapped an Emperor sticker on it (the only guitar I ever put a sticker on), and learned as much of this record as I could. Eventually I would get more and more into heavier music, play in some local bands, meet more musicians, and gain influence from all circles. But I dropped the 7 after a while, and only until the recent boom of seven string and ERG users of late have I gotten back into them. It's serisous now, as I have a BRJ and Daemoness customs on order. 

This website is also a huge help, and a curse ! Yeah I'm long winded but thus is when deployments get boring .


----------



## TheBloodstained (May 16, 2012)

Back when I first showed interest in 7 strings I heard a lot of Mnemic and KoRn. I think that Mnemic where the main reason I bought my first 7 string.







Both Mircea and Rune (Mnemic) played Caparison Dellinger 7's back then, and I still have GAS for one of those. They switched to Jackson in the "Sons Of The System" era, and now, with the new lineup, they've used some nice Ibanez 7's.


----------



## Chris O (May 18, 2012)

I met Brian from KoRn about a year ago in an airport. I have always thought KoRn was alright, but hadn't listened to them in a while. Anyway, after meeting Brian, I thought I'd give 7s another shot (failed back @ 1999 or so), and have had some fun. I had started with an Ibanez RGD, but quickly snagged a couple K7s, and then my awesome wife bought me a biker black Apex 7. I let the K7s go (STUPID!!!), but still have the Apex, and have an RGD2120 coming next week for 6-string low tunings. 

Really digging KoRn up to where Brian left, and his "Love & Death" stuff isn't half bad either. Inspiring player with an interesting life story.


----------



## Valennic (May 18, 2012)

TheBloodstained said:


> Back when I first showed interest in 7 strings I heard a lot of Mnemic and KoRn. I think that Mnemic where the main reason I bought my first 7 string.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Robert Downey Jr is a guitarist?


----------



## kn1feparty (May 18, 2012)

Heavy Ed said:


> Carcass inspired me to tune my 6ers to B.
> Then i saw Trey with Morbid Angel  and I've been playing 7s ever since.



Dino got me doing that back in the day . Love Carcass, though. Heartwork is still probably one of my favorite metal records.


----------



## Cremated (May 19, 2012)

A local band called Flaw got me into sevens back in like 02. Then it was Unearth, Scott Hull, Emperor, etc. I ended up getting my first seven in 03 or 04. Once I got one, I never looked back. Not really into many of the bands that initially got me into sevens though.


----------



## maximummetal288 (May 19, 2012)

I ended up playing 7's on my own. When I first started learning guitar my younger brother and I would mess with wacky tunings in Guitar Pro. Iced Earth tuned to Eb, so I figured let's try that and when St. Anger came out (and being a 14 year old boy at the time) I wanted to learn the songs so I started to mess with Drop C. Then on guitar pro I started messing with 7 strings and something about the low B plus the ability to still play the high E just really inspired me, I thought it was really cool! My brother and I wrote a bunch of 7 string songs and in order to play them I bought myself an RG7321 for my 15th birthday.


----------



## xshreditupx (May 19, 2012)

for me it was fear factory. there was something about the simplicity and heaviness they provided in a way that changed the game. they were the first band i realllyyyyy noticed playing sevens. i feel like they are the forgotten 7 string OGs


----------



## xshreditupx (May 19, 2012)

hahah after this post i went to itunes and re bought demanufacture and obsolete


----------



## seraphim (May 21, 2012)

oddly enough this guy was my first 7 string inspiration. don't hate. i wanted my audience to look like his!


----------



## Ocara-Jacob (May 21, 2012)

Misha. Dur hur. Also Kevin Sherwood.


----------



## wilch (May 21, 2012)

Have always been a huge fan of Steve Vai, and John Petrucci for the past 20+ years. 

BUT, the reason why I recently put an order in for my first 7 string is *Keith Merrow and Ola Englund*.

Found them on youtube and was blown away.


----------



## Buddha92 (May 22, 2012)

2words. Stephen.Carpenter.

Deftones fanboii for life


----------



## Gilbertsgotbrootz (May 22, 2012)

Ola Englund because I was watching engl amp demos and then bulb from watching engl amps demos .... So technically engl lead to me ola and misha ...... and fred brum as well


----------



## keithhagel (May 27, 2012)

Stephen Carpenter from the Deftones and the dudes from Unearth were the first people I really listened to that used 7's.


----------



## Nicki (May 27, 2012)

For me, it was mainly Cooley and Petrucci. My old guitar teacher, who I've remained friends with, was also a driving force behind my want of a 7.


----------



## danger5oh (May 27, 2012)

Carpenter.


----------



## Ultraussie (May 27, 2012)

Of course I was deeply interested in 7's and 8's as soon as I heard bands like Messhugah, Dream Theater, Nevermore, Divine Heresy/Fear Factory and of course Trivium! (Shogun)

But the reason I actually brought one was simply because I wanted extra scale length for tuning lowwwww, and the extra string would be a bonus (in this case, I saw it as an extra high E, not the low B/A I was getting myself lol).


----------



## Seanthesheep (May 28, 2012)

Triviums album Shogun, amd Scale the Summits album The Collective. 

Even with that I struggling to get and stay in 7. It just feels wierd playing in a standard tuning (outside of 7s, I only play in Drop Db) and both those albums are in B standard. Ill wirk on learning the songs but actually getting inspiration to write on a 7 is tougher


----------



## GXPO (May 29, 2012)

Fred the Shred, Misha and every guy here who put a video of them playing one. I was also intoxicated by the HUGE sound Whitechapel got. I swear they must have like 6 tracks of those big open notes.


----------



## sverrejk (May 29, 2012)

Misha and the rest of periphery alongisde keith merrow and ola englund!


----------



## ImN0tTelling (May 29, 2012)

Meshuggah.


----------



## clopstyle (May 30, 2012)

Saw Korn open a show for Biohazard and House of Pain back in 94'. I remember thinking "what is this asshole doing with the kilt and bagpipe?". The band I was in at the time decided to try and tune like them, but somehow ended up with tuning to drop G#. Played that tuning on a 6 string until ESP came out with the H-207 in 99' I think? Damn I miss that guitar!


----------



## Heliumbunny (May 31, 2012)

KoRn. I absolutely love the way they have their guitars work together with the really low and really high notes.


----------



## Timelessness (Jun 2, 2012)

Santiago Dobles, Aghora.


----------



## tank (Jun 2, 2012)

dino cazares, jeff loomis, john petrucci, chris broderick,steve smith


----------



## The Hiryuu (Jun 4, 2012)

Trey Azagthoth, Jeff Loomis, and John Petrucci were probably my biggest reasons for caving in and finally getting a 7...Steve Vai's what made me aware of their existence in the first place though.


----------



## ThrashnBash (Jun 5, 2012)

John Petrucci, Rusty Cooley, Scar Symmetry, and Mercenary.


----------



## Jason_Clement (Jun 6, 2012)

Daniel Gildenlow, Pain of Salvation.


----------



## cthroatgtr (Jun 19, 2012)

Steve Vai...bought the original Universe 7 string when they first came out...couldn't get pickups back then. Argued with Dimarzio to no avail. SD was willing to make a custom pickup for $250 but back then couldn't afford it. Wish I still had that one! I want to call DiMarzio back and tell them I told you so. I hated the original Blaze PU and still do.


----------



## WiseSplinter (Jun 21, 2012)

blotted science (ron jarzombek)


----------



## Mega-Mads (Jun 21, 2012)




----------



## supercolio (Jun 22, 2012)

This guy:​




Oh you don't know him? That's allright. He's so awesome that few know him.​


----------



## myrtorp (Jun 22, 2012)

I started to get interested in 7 strings at the same time i was listening to alot of Scar Symmetry. When I learned that they used 7's I JUST HAD TO GET ONE!


----------



## bob123 (Jun 22, 2012)

Satriani!


----------



## decypher (Jun 22, 2012)

supercolio said:


> This guy:​
> 
> 
> 
> ...


----------



## Sirppi (Jun 23, 2012)

supercolio said:


> This guy:​
> 
> 
> 
> ...


----------



## SammyKillChambers (Jun 24, 2012)

Well for a start, music wise, it'd be Periphery.

But as a matter of fact, it was my friend Tom who influenced/forced me to pick up my first one!


----------



## Rayaus (Jun 24, 2012)

Jeff Loomis and Per Nilsonn (Scar Symmetry) were my two biggest inspirations to pick up a 7 stringer.


----------



## LolloBlaskhyrt (Jun 25, 2012)

Jeff Loomis






Giulio Moschini - Hour Of Penance





Christian Muenzner - Obscura


----------



## Danukenator (Jun 25, 2012)

Amon Amarth. I loved their stuff as well as a slew of other bands that tuned to B standard. The idea of not having to retune to play standard songs or have two guitars was amazing.


----------



## bouVIP (Jun 25, 2012)

Kazuto from High and Mighty Color. Remember seeing him playing a Universe 777 in a music video and then later a purple 7 string. Always wanted one since


----------



## RevelGTR (Jun 25, 2012)

Stephen Carpenter, Brian Welch, Steve Vai.


----------



## Purelojik (Jun 25, 2012)

Korn, Stephen Carpenter, Bulb


----------



## pushpull7 (Jun 25, 2012)

Ooops, wrong thread


----------



## jephjacques (Jun 26, 2012)

Justin Broadrick.


----------



## metalocalypse93 (Jul 11, 2012)

Im probably going to get killed on here but... 

The reason I picked up a 7 was Suicide Silence and Whitechapel.

I got tired of always de-tuning my 6ers to drop A, then tune them back up to drop D (with 13-62 strings mind you. The guitar didn't last too long after that)

My first exposure, however, were the usual suspects, being Korn and Fear Factory.


----------



## animalwithin (Jul 11, 2012)

Mr. Jeff Loomis did more than anybody. I'm not really a metal person either but his stuff isn't too hardcore. I also love Steve Vai and his work with his Universe on the Passion and Warfare album made me really want a 7-string.


----------



## TAP_Mike (Jul 11, 2012)

Tosin Abasi and Misha Mansoor were the two main inspirations to pick up my first 7-string.


----------



## Robby the Robot (Jul 11, 2012)

It started about three years ago with Trivium and the Shogun album, then Korn, then Dino, then I joined this site. My obsession seems to keep getting worse.


----------



## Eclipse (Jul 11, 2012)

Definitely Blub. Blub all the way. 
Oh and John Papoochi. 
And Whitechápèl.


----------



## craigny (Jul 11, 2012)

Loomis.


----------



## ncfiala (Jul 11, 2012)

Loomis, Cooley, and Jarzombek mostly


----------



## King Loudness (Jul 12, 2012)

I was probably mostly inspired by Nils Norberg (ex Nocturnal Rites). I got into Nils and thus the band back in 2007 or so when I was about 13. I found a clip posted on HC which was a Japanese clip of him soloing and I was awe-struck at the technicality and precision. Anyway, though it's not a great use of the seventh string, it still made me want to get one and eventually that became a reality. From there I got into stuff like Vai's seven string work, Dream Theater/Liquid Tension Experiment and some other misc prog/shreddy stuff using the seven.



W.


----------



## Decline Of Society (Jul 12, 2012)

Well I won't lie. The first person I noticed playing a 7 string was Wes Borland, way back in the mid 90's. The coolest guitarist stuck in the most unliked band. Along with Korn at the same time. 






I played 6 strings and basses for a long time, then in around 2002, I went strait to 8 strings because of this wacky swede:






I've only recently got myself a 7 string. Mainly because I wanted something with a tremolo and because I had more spare money than common sense. Again the mighty Thordendal influenced me and I got myself a 7 string RG. 

I've been aware of many other guitarists use 7's, but found 90% of them boring. Too conventional, just translating what they did on 6 to 7. I like Wes and Fredrik because they did something "out of the box" with the guitars.


----------



## MikeH (Jul 12, 2012)




----------



## Wrecklyss (Jul 12, 2012)

I actually got into 7s more for the guitars than who was playing them. Back between '99-'02, Dean and Schecter had such cool 7 strings it was impossible to ignore them. Also, got tired of re-tuning my guitar all the time, so switching to 7 strings took away a lot of the headache.


----------



## great_kthulu (Jul 12, 2012)

Korn actually turned me off of sevens for the longest time. I thought it was BS that guitarists should have an extra string, and basically just pound away at it with no lead work. Why not just get a baritone? (I know Korn uses some odd cording and melodies, but still, seven strings? And no solos?) Anyway, Jeff Loomis was the one that made me start looking at sevens differently, but it was seeing last chance to reason live that made me decide to buy one. The irony being I ended up with an Apex, hehehe.


----------



## Eric (Jul 12, 2012)

I remember the day I bought my first seven string. I was downloading a bunch of tabs and I downloaded the tabs for Zombie Autopilot. Looked at the tabs, down at the guitar, back up at the tabs and realized: "what... the... fuck..!?" So I went down to Guitar Center and bought a 7321, came home, and played it until the little screw holding up the saddle for the low B string literally carved a hole into the bottom of my right hand.


----------



## devolutionary (Jul 12, 2012)

Dino.


----------



## tuneinrecords (Jul 12, 2012)

Steve Vai and Korn. Pretty typical I suppose but that's how it went down. I possibly could have gotten a Jem in 1992 but the sales guy at Sam Ash was too lazy to get a ladder and pull it down from the top row. I was young at the time and didn't push the matter. I ended up with a Les Paul Standard that day which I traded in 2000 for a Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier that I still use to this day so it all worked out in the end. 

Once Korn's first album came out, I saw them tour that album and many afterwards. They re-sparked my interest in the 7's and I got a royal blue RG7620 in 97 or 98. After that an LTD H207 followed by an H307 and the rest is history.


----------



## DarkRain93 (Jul 17, 2012)

First KoRn then Lacuna Coil


----------



## onlymeipse (Jul 20, 2012)

Issor said:


> for me, it's actually Keith.
> 
> I wanted a 7 string when I started listening to Meshuggah, but Keith really is the one who inspired me to make the switch and to really PLAY a 7 string.



Couldn't have said it any better. Petrucci and Loomis did their big part, too. 
Anyway I've ordered few days ago my first seven and I can't wait to get it


----------



## a curry (Jul 20, 2012)

MikeH said:


>


 
yep this is also my reason for making the switch, which then made the other guitarist in my band switch too.


----------



## Discoqueen (Aug 10, 2012)

Pain of Salvation anyone?


----------



## rythmic_pulses (Aug 10, 2012)

These guys got me into 7 strings mainly, I never really liked KoRn all that much so I went with Meshuggah instead, my story behind getting into them is actually a funny thing for me, I bought an Ibby catalogue when I was about 14, flicked through the RG pages and this picture was at the top of the page, I was taken aback by it really, what I saw was something similar to this:





And I thought to myself "Holy shit! I need to know what these guys sound like!!!" so I went to HMV the next day, the only albums left were Chaosphere, Destroy Erase Improve and Nothing (Unremastered), bought all three and took them home to study through, my musical life hasn't been the same since...


EDIT: I FOUND THE CATALOGUE PIC!






BUT! Not only did Meshuggah pull the trigger for me, Deftones helped me think of obscure ways of utilising all of the strings using large and obscure sounding chords, so Steph I salute you!






These days I still cannot play fast leads, my playing style has a huge use of hammer on's and tapping plus syncopation and a love of strange sounding chords, I thank both Meshuggah and Deftones for enlightening me to the weird world, of 7 string guitars.

Peace.


----------



## Konfyouzd (Aug 10, 2012)

^ Epic 3 albums


----------



## XeoFLCL (Aug 10, 2012)

Wow, how did I never end up posting in this thread 

Anyways, like everyone else, my first interest started with them with Korn, but what convinced me to actually pull the trigger was Stephen Carpenter. His way of playing 7s and actually integrating all 7 strings into his writing, even if he's not the most impressive player out there, really influences me. Needless to say, from there on out, I got really into Fear Factory and started to understand why they are what they are, and then moved on to to things like Nevermore and Unearth, though to this day I'm still terrible at shred leads  Being a kinetic learner really makes some things difficult when you only work with a few family-level musicians, and neither of us (the guitarists) really care too much for shred outside of Devin's silly amazing random fits of it, but leads however are a very different story


----------



## Dawn of the Shred (Aug 26, 2012)

Korn and Wes borland is what got me started. Me and my best friend got ibby sevens and i never look back.


----------



## kessel (Aug 26, 2012)

I was inspired to play 7-String by my 6-String Ibanez RG and my Eclipse 

I started a metal project with a friend of mine, and everytime I wrote new songs I used my ESP, which was already tuned down to drop-B. My Ibanez came later, and as it is one with an Edge Zero tremolo which I also use for some other projects, I didn't wanted to tune it down, but at the same time I wanted to use it also in this metal project.

Then I decided to buy strings for a 7-String guitar and tune my ESP down to drop-A, as it were a 7-String just without the high E string to make them compatible. Then I noticed that everytime I wrote songs or adapted the old ones I missed the high E string on my ESP and the low A on the Ibanez, and said to myself I must get a 7 String to be happy with this project, there´s no other way...

This and the tones of videos I saw and forums I read searching for the right one were my inspiration. So, I just can say there's no famous people who inspired me directly to get a 7 string but just my guitars and you people, thank you


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## wrongnote85 (Aug 26, 2012)

this guy


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## Shamash (Aug 27, 2012)

Horror Illogium of Portal is the one inspiring my 7-string GAS at the moment.
Other than that, probably Behemoth and Morbid Angel.


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## Vicious7 (Aug 27, 2012)

Rusty Cooley's Live Clinic inspired me, I'd started out with blues and caught a listen to Yngwie Malmsteen and from there I happened to randomly download Cooley's War of the Angel's song, from there I did research and bought his Clinic dvd.

Seeing him play the way he did on a 7 made me believe I could do the same thing, what it did, instead is when I got a 7, it forced me to actually practice better so I could get to that level....still climbing though.


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## frogunrua (Aug 27, 2012)

Well I will just start out with saying, I got into playing with low tunings way before adding strings was ever a thought in my head. Within the Ruins are probably the biggest culprits but weren't the first drop tuned band I was listening to.
Anywho some bands that got me wanting more strings are: All Shall Perish, After the Burial, Animals as Leaders, RUSTY COOLEY, Jeff Loomis, and Chris Broderick. Oh I forgot to mention John Butler haha. Seriously though he may have just took one string off his 12 string but he inspired me like no other to finger pick.


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## zzz5150 (Aug 27, 2012)

tosin abasi inspired me to play 7 strings weird but i played an 8 at GC and i hated it but i play a 7 and loved it


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## Given To Fly (Aug 27, 2012)

For me it was Steve Vai and John Petrucci. I wanted to learn a bunch of their songs but I was missing a string!


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## cult (Aug 27, 2012)

Steph Carpenter, the guys in Korn, Wes Borland... later on I started paying more attention to it due to bands like Meshuggah and because I thought some Tool'ish stuff would sound great on 7s.


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## RevelGTR (Aug 27, 2012)

Stephen Carpenter, John Petrucci, Brian Welch


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## tm20 (Aug 28, 2012)

my grandmother 

no seriously, this is how it happened. i visited my grandmother at the start of this year and upon seeing her, one of the few things she wanted to discuss with me was her buying me a present. she said since she hadn't got me anything in years, and knowing i play guitar, sh wanted to get me a new guitar. i declined as i already had 2 guitars but she insisted continuously....so i caved in. since i already had 2 6 string guitars, i decided my 3rd one would be a 7 string. so i went to the guitar store but they only had 1 or 2 models. I asked if they had any 7 string RGDs and they said they could get 1 in from the warehouse in 20 minutes. I waited and it finally arrived, unaware that it was a prestige RGD2127z  i bought it and haven't stopped loving it ever since. and that's how i got into 7 strings. thanks grandma!


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## 27InchScale (Aug 28, 2012)

Originally korn, but wes borland showed me that there was a wide world of opportunity for this instrument.


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## Fierce_Swe (Aug 29, 2012)

Steve Vai and John Petrucci! But I have heard a lot of other intersting players lately so I become curious and bought one myself!


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## Nag (Sep 6, 2012)

who inspired me ?








none of my favourite bands use more than 6 strings, and so far what I wrote myself is 6-string music too... but on this forum I've seen so many people do so much different stuff on their guitars that I ended up getting a 7 too.

Usually I like to stay tuned standard on my sixes cause I consider myself a lead guitarist and I like to have my scale shapes that I learnt NOT fucked up by a dropped sixth string (cause yes I use my last string when I solo, lol). But I also like to use dropped tunings cause they allow me to play more groovy rhythms and riffing around and stuff. So I grabbed a 7, I will tune it do drop A and have both worlds in the same guitar .


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## Athor (Sep 6, 2012)

I started with playing 5 string bass in July 2006 after listening to Coming Undone by KoRn too much.. Started playing guitar in January 2007 using mostly 6 strings even tho i usually listened to stuff like KoRn, Deftones, Fear Factory and so on. Then the day came when i tried out my first 7 string. 

It was a customized Jackson COW 7 with EMG neck pickup and Kahler trem. Totally AWESOME axe btw. To bad i couldnt afford it, probably a one of a kind guitar.

So it was decided. I needed a 7 string, but i couldnt afford it.. Took a few years but last year i got my first. A LTD MH417, got it dirt cheap actually. Paid 2500,- NOK (around 450$) they usually go for 600+

But to answer the question: KoRn, FF, Deftones.. KoRn stuff crawls out of the woodwork in my room... I friggin love KoRn..


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## Valnob (Sep 6, 2012)

Who inspired me ?

These guys : 

Baptiste Vigier (on the left) - Betraying the Martyrs (french band)






Jason Richardson - Chelsea Grin






Matt Heafy - Trivium






They are great players !

(I put pics of them with some 7s )


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## SDSM (Sep 7, 2012)

s_k_mullins said:


> Ok I don't know if this thread has ever been done (probably has).. But lets talk about who inspired us to pick up 7-strings.
> 
> And as always...
> 
> ...



I completely agree...They all influenced me with my decision to go seven...So much that I got a SC-607B!


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## kunalbatra (Sep 7, 2012)

It was this guy, really. I got into Nevermore around 2003 when Enemies of Reality came out and i'm a fan ever since. I was still playing most of the Nevermore stuff on a 6 string (too poor to buy a 7 stringer at that time) when Zero Order Phase came out in 2008 and all hell broke loose. I went out and bought my first seven within a month. Thanks Jeff, you truly are an inspiration.


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## Amonihil (Sep 7, 2012)

I blame this guy,




and this band,




for introducing me to the sweet tuning of A#.
At first I just tuned down my 6 string but that way I lost the high notes for playing solos and chords in 6 string songs.
I realized that with a 7 string I could do both.


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## gogolXmogol (Sep 7, 2012)

The first was Wes Borland from the Family Values 98 show:

limp bizkit - counterfeit live!! great climax - YouTube

And then of course Korn

KoRn - Blind Live Family Values Tour 1998 - YouTube

That was a hella of a show I gotta tell you! Watch it if you didn't see it yet


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## Athor (Sep 7, 2012)

gogolXmogol said:


> The first was Wes Borland from the Family Values 98 show:
> 
> limp bizkit - counterfeit live!! great climax - YouTube
> 
> ...


Wes Borland.. I love that guy!


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## gogolXmogol (Sep 7, 2012)

Athor said:


> Wes Borland.. I love that guy!



Absolutely! He is amazing!!! Hi inspired me to start playing guitar in the first place. 
A little off: check out his amazing improvisation:


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## Athor (Sep 7, 2012)

gogolXmogol said:


> Absolutely! He is amazing!!! Hi inspired me to start playing guitar in the first place.
> A little off: check out his amazing improvisation:



Absolutely love it! I love the way he uses clean sounds and effects. Its almost hypnotizing!


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## primitiverebelworld (Sep 7, 2012)

kunalbatra said:


> It was this guy, really. I got into Nevermore around 2003 when Enemies of Reality came out and i'm a fan ever since. I was still playing most of the Nevermore stuff on a 6 string (too poor to buy a 7 stringer at that time) when Zero Order Phase came out in 2008 and all hell broke loose. I went out and bought my first seven within a month. Thanks Jeff, you truly are an inspiration.



Im with you dude! EoR made my jam drop to the f..n floor and made me buy my first and only sevenstring- Apex 2(customized for now ) . Loomis and Broderick should have stayed together, cooperate and form the greatest metalband on earth!  Just watching "The Year of the Voyager" again here 

Though my own style has moved towards other not so diminished stuff from the beginning.


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## sear (Sep 7, 2012)

Come to think of it, nobody really got me into being interested in seven-string guitars. Truth be told I have been playing downtuned stuff a long time already, but downtuning any lower than D or C on a six-string guitar is pretty awkward. I played using 56s and heavier strings a bit for B tunings, but even on a 25.5 scale the thick strings are just cumbersome... they make it very hard to do lead work and tend to tire my hands out. Playing on a seven-string both sounds better (guitar is built for it) and avoids playability issues that come with very heavy strings.

Funny thing is that I listen mostly to old-school death metal, lots of Dismember, Entombed, Edge of Sanity, etc. and very few of those bands use seven-strings. The current djent and metalcore love affair in the guitar community actually tends to annoy me immensely, and to be totally honest I actually had a few initial reservations about going for seven-strings just because of that association alone... I really did not want to play a "Meshuggah" or "KoRn guitar."


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## Paranoid Android (Sep 8, 2012)

Vai and Petrucci but most of all, Loomis.


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## themightyjaymoe (Sep 9, 2012)

Jeff Loomis and Chris Broderick.


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## djyngwie (Sep 9, 2012)

Even though I'd been listening to a lot of 7-string artists, I never really felt the need to get a 7 myself. So the reason why I got a 7 was actually because I played in an Evanescence cover band at the time and I really needed it to play certain songs. So oddly enough, Ben Moody is to blame.


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## theleem (Sep 9, 2012)

Gotta say it was Trey Azagthoth and Meshuggah for me. After that I read some interviews with the Meshuggah guys and Tosin, who really inspired me to pick up a 7 and an 8


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## trickae (Sep 9, 2012)

Dan swano from edge of sanity


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## Kiwimetal101 (Sep 9, 2012)

Probably JP and listening to low tuned stuff like slipknot at the start, then periphery and meshuggah.. But Chris Letchford made me go out and buy a seven.. Dunno why but STS clicks with me LOVE EM!


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## Xibuque (Sep 9, 2012)

Dino "The next (Batman) Penguin" Cazares!


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## michael777 (Sep 9, 2012)

Well, when I first picked up the 7 it was Korn. I went and got an rg 7620 around the time they came out. Then Vai and Morbid Angel's Domination album. It was at this time I went out and bought my first Universe. I then moved into more and more players who played 7 string.


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## Tsunami 3000 (Sep 13, 2012)

I Dont own one yet, but Definitely listening to Animals as leaders meshuggah, loomis, Vai, all really made me want to play one, and After the burial made me feel comfortable knowing shredding is still possible on 8's and Last Chance to Reason, hell attempting to cover their music is worth buying a 7 string!


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## TerminalFunction (Sep 16, 2012)

Definitely John Petrucci back in 98 for me. Saved up money to buy an Ibanez RG7620 which I still have.


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## jarnozz (Sep 16, 2012)

Jeff Loomis, Chris Letchford, Travis Levrier, Tosin Abasi. + The fact that I love the low a# sound and the possibility to have more range!


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## trickae (Sep 17, 2012)

i'd have to say John Petrucci as well. Metropolis part II was so ground breaking for me.


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## chopeth (Sep 17, 2012)

Petrucci & Ihsahn


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## mambes (Sep 17, 2012)

Munky & Head (KoRn), Wes Borland (Limp Bizkit), Joe Satriani (when i see he playing "Searching" at G3 concert)


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## FireInside (Sep 17, 2012)

Korn got me wanting one and Fear Factory made me actually buy one. Way back in 2000...


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## slenderman (Nov 15, 2012)

Korn was an absolute favorite growing up, but I knew nothing about the down tuned shit. Then I got really into Lip Bizkit and Deftones, so that too. But I really had no intentions of buying a 7 up until about two years ago when I joined my band (that plays 7's) and I was kind of forced. I will never look back


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## protest (Nov 15, 2012)

My nephew who is 14. He just got one a couple months ago, and now he's better than me. I cannot allow this until he's at least 18, so I'm getting back into playing after a 6 year break, and going to pickup my first 7 sting sometime soon.


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## Alpenglow (Nov 15, 2012)

Honestly I would have to say Periphery and Scale the Summit were the two main reasons for me originally wanting a 7 string, besides of course wanting the extended range. I'd say my 7 stringer was one of the best purchases I've ever made.


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## RagtimeDandy (Nov 15, 2012)

None other than Misha Mansoor!


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## AxeHappy (Nov 15, 2012)

Well, a lot of players got me started thinking about (largely Vai) but the band that finally pushed me over the edge was DragonForce. 

They're the band that finally got me out of the fucking stupid, "7-strings are for chugging mindlessly," mindset. 

Then I started looking more into 7-strings. And I found a lot of my favourite players have used/use 7 (or more...Yay! DragonForce...again) and I got my head sorted out. 

Then...I found this site and everything fucking changed for ever! Yay!


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## Time (Nov 16, 2012)

Per Nilsson and his insane solos with Scar Symmetry


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## Toxic Dover (Nov 17, 2012)

The guys from Meshuggah originally sparked an interest in them for me, but I would have to say Misha Mansoor is the one who really inspired me to finally pull the trigger on one.


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## Rick (Nov 17, 2012)

FireInside said:


> Korn got me wanting one and Fear Factory made me actually buy one. Way back in 2000...



This is me exactly.


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## wassabiyojimbo (Nov 17, 2012)

Keith Merrow, Scar symmetry/Per Nillson, Buz and Mutiny Within were all major influences in me taking the plunge


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## Compton (Nov 17, 2012)

Meshuggah/John Petrucci, and Tosin Abasi back when he was in Reflux, although i remember him playing a steve vai jem mainly. psure he had a uv777bk


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## JSanta (Nov 17, 2012)

Definitely John Petrucci. The opening to A Change of Seasons completely grabbed me.


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## timbucktu123 (Nov 17, 2012)

trivium-there my favorite band of all time and the second i heard they used them on shogun and the crusade i had to have one

whitechapel, keith merrow and periphery helped to


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## daniel_95 (Nov 18, 2012)

Korn (like thousands of others)

Although Rob Stanley (solo artist, guitar wizard) was the guy who inspired me to play a seven. To this day I still struggle to play any of his songs XD

Rob Stanley | Facebook


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## cyb (Nov 18, 2012)

dino and stef


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## orange1 (Nov 18, 2012)

Deftones Stef. Still like his simple yet powerful playin!


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## Brill (Nov 18, 2012)

My good old friend clive jevones!


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## Itchyman (Nov 18, 2012)

Korn


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## piggins411 (Nov 18, 2012)

While I don't have one yet, the players who make me want one are Petrucci and Chris Letchford. More so Letchford than Petrucci


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## Jonathan20022 (Nov 19, 2012)

That was my first encounter with a 7 and it was very interesting, the notion of owning a 7 string was absurd to me until I began listening to Periphery, Scale the Summit, and Nevermore/Jeff Loomis.

Although they don't play 7's, At The Gates and playing B Standard was probably the first thing I tried covering the second I got my first 7 (Ibanez K-7). It was incredibly fun, finally being able to cover my favorite Death Metal tunes.

I always enjoyed tuning lower, but I never felt like it was something useful until I played around with it extensively. It's a wonderful addition to a player's arsenal if you're going to use it tastefully of course. I also enjoy the fact that you can reach for the low E higher up in the neck to play an E chord with a number of different extensions not normally possible on a 6. 

Dream Theater's Panic Attack played a huge part in my first venture into 7's, I'm sure many say the same thing but it really got me into the idea of a 7.

I really had nothing special attract me to it, but now it's something I adore having in my arsenal of guitars.


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## Nile (Nov 19, 2012)

Jeff Loomis and Keith Merrow. Then later on Trivium.


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## iRaiseTheDead (Nov 19, 2012)

All Shall Perish and Whitechapel


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## Kharem (Nov 19, 2012)

Definitely Northlane, I had considered it a few times but I wasn't (and still not really) such a big solo player, I had been able to achieve most the songs I listen to on my 6 tuned down to A since the highest string wasn't really that relevant for me but I as soon as they released Discoveries I wanted a 7 or baritone 6, they just seemed to combine such melodically amazing sections combined with the crushing G# tone.


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## DaveMindframe (Nov 19, 2012)

Keith Merrow, Jeff Loomis, John Petrucci


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## Aris_T (Nov 20, 2012)

John Petrucci was the first one that got me interested in 7s, with his work on Awake and ACOS. Then it was the Meshuggah guys (who really made it BIG!!!) and Dino.


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## Minoin (Nov 20, 2012)

John Petrucci for sure


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## javiereu (Nov 20, 2012)

No one, bought mine just for curiosity.


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## Abaddon9112 (Nov 20, 2012)

I first heard about sevenstrings while reading Rock Guitar for Dummies when I was first starting out. It said Korn played them and even though I wasn't a huge Korn fan I knew immediately that I wanted one for that low ass tone. 

By the time I finally got one I was into Meshuggah, Morbid Angel, Behemoth etc. so I guess you could say that's what really inspired me.


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## AhsanU (Nov 20, 2012)

timbucktu123 said:


> trivium-there my favorite band of all time and the second i heard they used them on shogun and the crusade i had to have one
> 
> whitechapel, keith merrow and periphery helped to



Same here brother! I was definitely a fan before Shogun but as soon as I heard Kirisute Gomen, I just HAD to have a 7 string guitar.

But obviously other influences came and hit me harder as time passed. My major inspiration was Jeff Loomis and Nevermore in general. Those insane low B riffs he's written in his solo project and in Nevermore never cease to amaze me.


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## wankerness (Nov 20, 2012)

Dream Theater - Awake, period. Didn't really give a sheit about playing Korn riffs and the other dream theater albums out at that time had very little 7 string on them (I got one when Metropolis 2 was their newest).


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## banenis (Nov 20, 2012)

Petrucci, Vai, and then I knew it was time to take the plunge when I heard Keith Merrow.


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## HeaDdY (Nov 20, 2012)

Definitely KORN , back in late 90's, when I've first started down-tunnings in DROP D on a six stringer and then even a few more steps down, and then finally got an K7 ...


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## TristanTTN (Nov 20, 2012)

Petrucci, Abasi, and Bulb.


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## Alex_IBZ (Nov 21, 2012)

Wes Borland. His was the first 7 I have ever seen and I remember that jaw-dropping moment quite vividly. Inspiration to actually play that thing was provided by Mr Petrucci and that short sequence in the Ibanez 7 string video. Those days...


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## GrotesqueCarcass (Nov 27, 2012)

Who inspired me? it's a bit complicated, at first i wasn't into 7 strings at all, until i started listening to Carcass, old Cryptopsy and Spawn Of Possession, and even Morbid Angel's Domination, then i was like "Holy shit! i gotta learn these tunes, ASAP!" and then i found out that they all tuned to B, and i thought "Mmm theres gotta be a way for me to play those songs, without losing my E standard tuning", then i found out that with a 7 string you have the low B string for those bands, and you have the E standard that i always use for stuff like Megadeth, so i'm much more inclined to 7 strings now and i'm hoping i get an Ibanez for christmas


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## Jzbass25 (Nov 27, 2012)

Steve Vai mainly, with a little help from Dave Weiner and Rob Balducci. I got into petrucci and tosin a little after I bought my 7


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## Moltar (Nov 27, 2012)

Morbid Angel (Trey Azagthoth, Erik Rutan)


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## The Somberlain (Nov 27, 2012)

I do not yet have a seven string, but first an foremost Scott Hull then Ihsahn make me want to get one.


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## Artifacts in Motion (Nov 29, 2012)

I have to say Tosin Abasi. His use of the low-end range was something very new to my ears. I think I was more influenced by his style than his usage of the extended range, but the two go hand and hand when your videos use 7s and 8s.


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## skarz (Nov 30, 2012)

Lenny Breau, and recently Charlie Hunter. (I'm more into jazz)


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## Underworld (Nov 30, 2012)

Petrucci did it for me. When I first listened to the Awake album 10 years ago, I knew I had to get one. And I did. And I never looked back!


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## Alexis (Dec 1, 2012)

Rusty Cooley


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## ScarSymmetry (Dec 2, 2012)

Per Nilsson
Jeff Loomis


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## bytortheraindog (Jan 8, 2013)

I played sixes down tuned for the longest time but when I heard Keith Merrow I knew I had to have a seven string.


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## Basti (Jan 8, 2013)

Seven string guitars inspired me. They're pretty cool.


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## leechmasterargentina (Jan 8, 2013)

Like many of us, Korn was the first band I saw using 7-strings and digged the sound, although I thought that because of the width of the neck these guitars were meant to be played slow. I stuck to sixers until a couple of months I finally decided to get a 7, mostly because other Metal bands such as Fear Factory, Ankla, etc also use 7-string and music is not slow at all heheh.


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## Draceius (Jan 8, 2013)

Chris Broderick, Jeff loomis and John Petrucci, when the idea was posed to me that I could play a lower range whilst keeping my higher register, and all those 6 string sweeps I love (because 6 string sweeping in drop tuning is so annoying) I jumped, went down to my local store, and began the journey of not only playing extended range but extending my music capabilities and knowledge


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## possumkiller (Jan 8, 2013)

Again I will say Ihsahn, Prometheus.


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## yuureikun (Jan 8, 2013)

Korn was my inspiration to get my first 7 string back in like 1998. But Petrucci was my inspiration to keep playing a 7 string even after the "nu metal" 7 string craze died down and 7 strings became less popular.


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## sniperfreak223 (Jan 9, 2013)

Honestly, I just took up the seven string because I got a little bored with a six-string, and because I was experimenting with some new ideas at the time that required the extra note range...the same reason I took the plunge and bought my 8-string last year. and now my band is on hiatus, so I have more time to experiment with new ideas without their constant judgement. I would have started on a seven, but at that time it was a big "Nu-metal" cliche, everyone had one just to chug away on the low B, but that was never my style, and I went with a six because, as Dime said of sevens, "use 'em all or lose one!", so I played sixes for a few years then took the plunge into a seven when I finally decided I could use it to its full potential.


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## StephanDivisions (Jan 9, 2013)

For a while I hated the idea of a seven string. I would only play 6 strings for a long time. But I joined a band where the other guitarist was using a seven, so I got myself a seven as well. I also like Whitechapel.


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## protest (Jan 10, 2013)

sniperfreak223 said:


> Honestly, I just took up the seven string because I got a little bored with a six-string, and because I was experimenting with some new ideas at the time that required the extra note range...the same reason I took the plunge and bought my 8-string last year. and now my band is on hiatus, so I have more time to experiment with new ideas without their constant judgement. I would have started on a seven, but at that time it was a big "Nu-metal" cliche, everyone had one just to chug away on the low B, but that was never my style, and I went with a six because, *as Dime said of sevens, "use 'em all or lose one!"*, so I played sixes for a few years then took the plunge into a seven when I finally decided I could use it to its full potential.



I felt the same way. I think Mick Thomson said a long time ago that the only guys that should be allowed to play 7's were Petrucci and Vai lol. That was because of the other "Nu metal" bands that pretty much just used the 7 to chug on the low string. It's different now, but at the time it was true. 

Same thing with 8 and 9 string guitars now. Tosin knows how to use them, but I'm not sure most of the people buying them do. I'm sure there's also bands out there with their 9 string chugging away on the first 5 frets of the low string just like the nu metal bands were with their 7's 15 years ago (crap I'm getting old). It's pointless. 

To me you should be able to use all 6 strings decently before you move on to 7, and 8. You don't have to be awesome or anything, but at least put your time in there, or try to use the 7/8 to its potential instead of just chugging away.


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## Whitechapelx (Jan 12, 2013)

Definitely Whitechapel, they really got me into the heavier side of metal at the time and they always played 7s. I still rock drop A every once in a while haha


----------



## SP1N3SPL1TT3R (Jan 12, 2013)

Wow, I didnt realize how many people were influenced, by that nü-metal crap. My 2 biggest influences are Trey Azagthoth and Jack Owen.


----------



## LRHTMetalhead (Jan 13, 2013)

Loomis, Christian Muenzner, Petrucci and Chris Storey.


----------



## Heroin (Jan 13, 2013)

Growing up around 12 my friend showed me korn for the first time. I knew they used 7 string guitars but didn't really think of them much because I was only starting to play guitar. Years later as my musical tastes evolve (and as my tunings get lower ) I found out about whitechapel, periphery, chelsea grin and maybe a couple other bands. I realized they all use 7 string guitars, and then my curiosity went from one thing to another and then before you know it I found out about sso. It's all history from there.


----------



## MrPepperoniNipples (Jan 13, 2013)

Basic math


----------



## UV7BK4LIFE (Jan 13, 2013)

No one did. It was 1994 and I did not even know who Steve Vai was then.

I played Metallica songs on a classical guitar with 5 strings (broken tuner) I bought an Ibanez Universe because the neck was about the same width and I didn't care if my first electric guitar would have 1 or 2 more strings than that shitty five string classical guitar  

And the Greendot Universe was on sale half price because no one wanted it.


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## Heroin (Jan 13, 2013)

UV7BK4LIFE said:


> And the Greendot Universe was on sale half price because no one wanted it.



It`s funny how times have changed.


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## JustinG60 (Jan 13, 2013)

A friend of mine has like an total heterosexual man crush on Jeff Loomis, so when we decided to start jamming he insisted on 7's ...as a fan of Unearth it took little persuasion. Quickly found myself being awestruck by Chris Broderick. Probably why I decided to buy a Jackson


----------



## Chuck (Jan 13, 2013)

Misha Mansoor, Tosin Abasi, Trent Hafdahl + Justin Lowe, Robby Baca + Cameron Maynard, Fredrik Thordenal + Marten Hagstrom


----------



## Black_Sheep (Jan 13, 2013)

Seriously, this guy: 

I haven't played my 7 in a few weeks now. Just been practising some John Petrucci stuff on my 6, but when I heard about this guy... 

Really cool playing.


----------



## AntaresX9 (Jan 13, 2013)

Decided to go seven after a Jeff Loomis clinic in a local guitar shop.


----------



## J7string (Jan 13, 2013)

Jeff Loomis was my big kicker into 7 strings. Then I learned JP used them... and so on.


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## NorCal_Val (Jan 14, 2013)

FNG here, so I figured I'd chime in on this.
Couldn't afford a Universe when Vai's "P&W" first came out.
Always wanted one, but the $$$ was just too much.
Some years later I finally picked up a UV7 "all black" model,
when they weren't as popular, for a good price.
Korn's 1st album had just come out, but I'd already been listening
to Fear Factory, Strapping Young Lad, Haji's Kitchen, and Crimeney,
so I was interested in the sound of de-tuned guitars.
It wasn't the music that interested me as much as the sound they
were getting from de-tuning; really grind-y and rich distortion.
My old Universe "lives" de-tuned a whole step. It just sounds "right"
in that tuning. There's something about those pickups and all that wood 
in the neck that resonate(literally and figuratively) really well tuned down.


----------



## UV7BK4LIFE (Jan 14, 2013)

Heroin said:


> It`s funny how times have changed.


 
Yeah, it's as if a whole bunch of 20 year old metal guitarists bought them on sale just because they liked them in 1994. Then 5 years later these people record albums with their bands, and BOOM! The market is ready. 

I think it was 1994 when Ibanez discontinued the Universe, and a few years later picked up production again because the 2nd hand market was booming. I remember a Korn interview where they said they had to hunt down used UV's to bring on tour and it was nearly impossible because their fans were also after those UV's. 

I have so many memories about the first gigs with my UV. Like a drunk guy at a gig in a bar counting the strings, twice, then call his drunk friends over to ask if they're seeing the same. 

Or handing it over to a completely oblivious guitarist and have him play a bit. Most would make a whole bunch of mistakes, not knowing what hit them, frowning, then give it back saying "uhm, well, I don't know, the neck feels very different". And still not seeing it!!!


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## HUGH JAYNUS (Jan 15, 2013)

i wanted one years ago during korn's good albums. tried one and got so confused. and last summer i found Red Seas Fire. fell in love and finally got one. thanks to this video


and i absolutely LOVE sevens now! it brings a whole new level of creativity out of me.


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## Sepultorture (Jan 15, 2013)

it's funny, i'd never tried a 7 string before i bought my first one, no one inspired me to pick it up, i just did, felt natural, bought it, bought a better one, went back to 6, missed the 7, haven't gone back since. 6's feel like toothpicks to me now

didn't get the same feeling with an 8, and still don't


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## eventuate (Jan 15, 2013)

Definitely Loomis, Vai, and Petrucci. Not exactly unique but oh well.

The Loomis/metal influence on my seven string playing isn't quite that strong anymore, and as a whole my guitar playing is more melodically based now...but I'm certainly not afraid to bust out shredding either!


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## carvincrazy (Jan 16, 2013)

When I heard that low B growl in the song "And Sadness Will Sear" off The Crusade all I could think was, "Damn! I need to get me whatever guitar is makin that noise!"


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## ErkerAsylum (Jan 16, 2013)

For me it was my guitar teacher Zack Uidl who got me into seven strings. I was listening to Nevermore, and other 7 string stuff. But the day i saw and heard a seven string for the first time in person (during a lesson), I knew i wanted to get one. I was researching them for a few months and testing them out whenever possible. I ended up with my Ibanez s series 7 string because of the thin comfortable neck. Overall the low end and the extended feeling of having more options than normal.

the Broderick and Loomis duel solo video on youtube helped win me over as well. 
Nevermore: Chris Broderick & Jeff Loomis Guitar Solo Duel - YouTube


----------



## HUGH JAYNUS (Jan 16, 2013)

I forgot to mention one of the biggest influences. 



Trivium's Shogun album was amazing.


----------



## bozothedeathmachine (Jan 16, 2013)

Initially, Petrucci.
I liked Korn in their day and love just about everything about Wes Borland (except maybe the band he was in), but I wouldn't say they inspired me.
Contemporary inspirations are Misha and the rest of the Periphery guys, Tosin, the Tesseract guys, etc.


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## Basti (Jan 16, 2013)

Now that I think about it, it was this song(...s)


----------



## Oxygen42 (Jan 16, 2013)

METAL_WIZARD said:


> I forgot to mention one of the biggest influences.
> Trivium's Shogun album was amazing.



Agreed. Trivium gets a lot of hate due to their place as a "gateway" Metal band, but that album kicked ass. I wanted a seven string as soon as I heard the main riff to Shogun.


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## AkiraSpectrum (Jan 16, 2013)

I don't own any 7's (I own a baritone 6) even though I have been wanting one for almost 10 years, but I was inspired to play in the lower register by 7 players. My inspirations in my early teens were John Lecompt (Ex-Evanescence, current: We are the Fallen & Machine) as well as both guitar players in Lacuna Coil.


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## donray1527 (Jan 16, 2013)

UNEARTH. I was hooked on the brutal sound of that low B5 chord the second I heard it.


----------



## Belleal (Jan 16, 2013)

IDK--I was a sophomore in HS around '89 or so & a friend of mine shoved a bass at me with a few simple directions. On and on--


----------



## Spooky_tom (Jan 17, 2013)

Given To Fly said:


> For me it was Steve Vai and John Petrucci. I wanted to learn a bunch of their songs but I was missing a string!


 
+1


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## DaemonRage (Jan 17, 2013)

I think the first time I was introduced to the 7 string was Petrucci in the "Lie" video. I was like... WTF? Pause the screen, count... WOW! Now that's heavy. Then Korn came out and I was totally diggin' their sound. But I was against 7s for myself for a very, very long time. I was in the mindset that I would just tune down a-la Machine F'n Head Drop B. I listen to bands like Nevermore and Unearth nowadays but was against 7s.... But then one day last year, I tried an Ibanez RGA7 in the music shop just for sh!ts and giggles. It felt so right, sound cool and sonic possibilities! I had to have one! Now I've got an Ibanez RG827z Premium that I absolutely love... now if I could only figure out which Dimarzios to install...


----------



## Blackbog3 (Jan 19, 2013)

Scott Hull. I had listened to other bands with 7s, but listening to Pig Destroyer's Prowler in the Yard album prompted me to buy my first 7. 

Such a good album.


_Posted from Sevenstring.org App for Android_


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## UrchineSLICE (Jan 20, 2013)

The very first video with 7 string that I remember seeing(that wasn't Korn) was Fear Factorys video for Cyberwaste, which I thought was awesome. I still really like the 2 albums Fear Factory did without Dino, even if the new Fear Factory hates them.



Than around the same time, I saw the Unearth video for Zombie Autopilot, which was cool, and I loved the song, but was unaware of how much better they were going to be when they released their next 3 records.



But what made me go "Dammit, I have to get a 7 string!" was Trivium. Shogun is a masterpiece, but it was actually The Crusade that got me really itching for a7 string. The Crusade gets a bad rep for the lack of screaming and just bad "harsh" vocals in general, but it still has some great songs on it. Becoming the Dragon, Contempt Breeds Contamination and of course the epic title instrumental are all awesome 7 string songs.


----------



## tippydog666 (Jan 20, 2013)

Whitechapel!! Nevermore, Cannibal Corps, I Declare War!!


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## straightshreddd (Jan 20, 2013)

Whitechapel and Beneath the Massacre got me interested in them years ago, but what made me buy one was just playing one and the idea of having the extra range.


----------



## AD_Millennium (Jan 20, 2013)

believe it or not, I was actually interested in 7-string guitars because of Orgy.
being a fan of synth driven music, I loved the way the low tuned guitars accompanied the textures they overlayed (not realizing a lot of that was actually guitar synth, too)
then I discovered Fear Factory and it felt like it was a no-brainer for me.


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## drewlarussa (Jan 22, 2013)

Steve vai, chris broderick, whitechapel. Just the thought of being able to play drop a stuff but retain a standard 6 string tuning on one guitar fancied my bridges


_Posted from Sevenstring.org App for Android_


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## JLocrian (Jan 23, 2013)

Steve Vai got me interested in 7s, and then Jeff Loomis sealed the deal


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## trent6308 (Jan 23, 2013)

Munky and Head. Even remember buying a bass string for my crappy strat when I was 15 so I could replicate the low A they used..... It sounded like poo.


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## dino_cooley (Jan 23, 2013)

dino cazares... 
because he is fat... and I'm fat too.


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## Bran7 (Jan 24, 2013)

The first time I ever heard a 7-string being played was by Steve Vai, but he didnt inspire me to pick one up it was Mark and Chris from Suicide Silence. . .Hearing how massively heavy their guitar tone was what did it for me. . .my first 7 was a Squier Stagemaster 7 string in metallic black with a floyd. . .and I absolutely love that guitar. I still have it, and is currently in the process of being custom painted by a good friend of mine in Dyersburg, TN who owns a motorcycle shop (Cycle Werkz) Excited to see the end result and will post pics soon hopefully.


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## 6o66er (Jan 24, 2013)

Korn and Fear Factory...back in like, 93 or 94 I think. Lol

I didn't actually get one of my own for a while after I first heard them...but it was 'love at first listen' for me.


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## bargil101 (Jan 26, 2013)

I first heard 7 strings existed when I heard about Periphery about a year ago. Instantly loved them and went to the next gig they were playing, which was with dream theatre. I didn't know who Petrucci was at the time but now I worship him. Then I started to listen to more of this and was introduced to monuments, tesseract, jeff loomis, Keith Merrow and Ola. They all were playing 7s and I finally saved up enough to get my first one.


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## Suitable (Jan 26, 2013)

When Slipknots first album came out was what made me love these brutal guitars... I just had to have one... now I want more... 1 is just not enough!


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## pitchshifter13 (Sep 16, 2013)

First I started with 6 strings in 1998. In 2002 I bought my first Ibanez RG-7420 BP. It was inspired by KoRn and watching their Rock am Ring 2000 live show in the MTV Live over and over again. 

Then I realized Fear Factory was using the same standard A tuning on the Obsolete record as KoRn does. So, I started to play FF songs, and really liked the style.

I was really happy when saw Stef from the Deftones using sevens on the self-titled album, but hated, that he used standard G# tuning, and drop F# later... I could transponate some songs into A, but it wasn't really cool. 

So, I go to work as doctor in 2011, and bought Ibanez RG 7321 for standard G# (without Floyd Rose I could easy tune down to drop F#, or use it for the Bizkit songs with standard C# or tune this string down to get a drop B  ) and an ESP LTD SC-208 8 string tuned standard F# for Deftones Diamond eyes record and for Fear Factory 8 string song on Mechanize and Industrialist. Tuned down the 8 string to drop E, I can play the Koi No Yokan record now. 

Now I bought an Ibanez RGD 7320Z. It was cheap because a painting failure, but I want to make it repainted by an artist, I want a Fear Factory Demanufacture logo guitar, quite the same, as Dino has (he uses RGA with Demanu logo, but who cares). 

Next dream is to make a copy of Ibanez Giger RGHRG1 (laser engraved), but on a seven string (maybe with the old RG-7420).


----------



## Kullerbytta (Sep 16, 2013)

MUCC and Unearth  
Mostly MUCC.

Edit: Holy shit, how could I forget Morbid Angel?! Morbid Angel was the main reason


----------



## chopshop777 (Sep 16, 2013)

Steve Vai


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## ramses (Sep 16, 2013)

Steve Vai ... who else would?


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## Bisky (Sep 16, 2013)

Korn back in the day. But i did not keep the 7 long. This time around I honestly got inspired by Keith Merrow. Agile should cut that dude a big check, I'm sure Im not the only one who picked up a 727 after watching Keith.


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## Taylord (Sep 16, 2013)

My parents went a garage sale and found a frankenstein 7420 for 100 bucks and brought it home. I had no choice.


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## UltraParanoia (Sep 17, 2013)

Dino would be the biggest for sure. I've been listening to FF for about 17-18 years, so even before I started playing Dino has been planting 7 string seeds in my mind!






Petrucci. Especially when I 1st heard Six Degrees, The Glass Prison was so heavy! Then onto Train of Thought with This Dying Soul etc etc





Buz McGrath. Being a teenager when Metalcore was on the rise in 2001, that new stuff was everywhere. But Unearth really stuck out for me & they still do! Buz is a great player & they write killer Metal





Of course I was listening to Korn, even before Dino started using them. Although I love their stuff, not sure they made me want to get a 7. 

Alex Wade more recently can be added to the list.


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## Semi-pro (Sep 17, 2013)

Funnily I was curious about the 7-string for a long time but was always concerned of being labeled as a "nu-metal" guy  Then I saw some footage of Morbid Angel with Erik Rutan, Cannibal Corpse, Meshuggah and some Brodequin (!!!) bootleg. All that looked so awesome that I had to get one! And here I am 10+ years later, using sevens, not really caring much for Brodequin and unable to be a Rutan fanboi cos he's back to sixers...


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## shadowvault (Sep 17, 2013)

NEVERMORE


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## Eviga (Sep 17, 2013)

my mom! she doesn't had a clue about guitars but bought me a RG7321 on a peddlers market for birthday


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## zechah (Sep 17, 2013)

Keith Merrow , Jeff Loomis , Ola Englund !


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## Cloudy (Sep 17, 2013)

My buddy on Steam a number of years ago peaked my interest when I was younger telling me that it'd be cool cus I could play like nevermore/trivium and what not.

No regrets.

Thank you kaEfbAml.


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## FredRipper (Sep 17, 2013)

The reason Im getting a 7 soon is because I basically wanna keep the standard tuning I know so well, but also have the ability to play downtuned music as well. So the 7 string lends itself excellently for that. 

The 7 string artists that impress the hell outta me are:
Jeff Loomis,old Korn, old fear factory, Unearth.


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## hfam (Sep 18, 2013)

dino_cooley said:


> dino cazares...
> because he is fat... and I'm fat too.



LULZ!! You win all the innernetz for the day! 

Seriously (aside from agreeing with the fat part above), it's as many have already said, the idea of seamlessly moving in a downtuned direction while maintaining standard tuning was pretty appealing.

I actually bought my first 7 in a pawn shop for $150 (LTD F-207). Replaced the pups with SD Invaders and I still use that axe in the studio.


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## Skygoneblue (Sep 18, 2013)

This guy, this brilliant guy:


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## jimwratt (Sep 18, 2013)

Tony Macalpine, Bulb, and to some extent Tosin (which may see me going to an 8 string at some point). I should have made to leap a long time ago but despite the fact that I do shred, I was always kind of in denial about it. I make no apologies now. If you want to hear blues stuff, get a time machine.


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## s2k9k (Oct 3, 2013)

KoRn. Especially when Life is Peachy came out. That changed everything for me. I was 17 at the time.


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## MetalHeadMat (Oct 4, 2013)

My main influences for getting my first 7 string were Trey Azagthoth and Erik Rutan, mainly the Domination album from Morbid Angel, however their later albums also swayed me in that direction:









And to a lesser degree, John Petrucci on the Awake album:


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## Zalbu (Oct 4, 2013)

Misha and Chris Broderick, shame that Chris only uses his sevens live AFAIK.


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## donray1527 (Oct 6, 2013)

Buz McGrath and ken susi started it for me. And I got into periphery around the time I picked up my first seven too


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## JPMike (Oct 6, 2013)

John Petrucci, like 10 years ago.


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## FollowTheSigns (Oct 6, 2013)

I started listening to a lot of bands like BoO, CG, Whitechapel, etc. and when I went to go learn their songs I couldn't, after a while that happened too much so I had to get a 7!


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## Basti (Oct 6, 2013)

My guitar. Truth.


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## Splenetic (Oct 6, 2013)

Really... I just wanted a new guitar... Local shop had a cheap Dillion 7 string for sale, and I bought it...it was like 150 bucks... My main goal at the time was to play death metal.... An extra low B string never hurt anyone so i just went for it.


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## UltraParanoia (Oct 7, 2013)

Basti said:


> Now that I think about it, it was this song(...s)




Low but definitely on 6 strings, I can why it would make you want to go low though!



> Im not saying I wouldnt play a seven-string. Its just that Ive never needed one. Most dudes who play seven-strings dont sound any different than someone playing a six-string thats tuned down. - Dimebag Darrell: Guitarworld, 1999


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## lukeshallperish (Oct 7, 2013)

Ben and Chris from ASP


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## DarkNe0 (Oct 7, 2013)




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## Kharon (Oct 7, 2013)

Korn and Limp Bizkit!!


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## 7soundz (Oct 8, 2013)

Well I always played a 6 string but I finally got my RG7420 today thanks to Steve Vai and John Petrucci.


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## MetalBuddah (Oct 8, 2013)

FollowTheSigns said:


> I started listening to a lot of bands like BoO, CG, Whitechapel, etc. and when I went to go learn their songs I couldn't, after a while that happened too much so I had to get a 7!



There are actually a lot of BoO songs in drop C lol


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## Jlang (Oct 8, 2013)

lukeshallperish said:


> Ben and Chris from ASP



....ing thank you... Finally. 

The Price of Existence and The oncoming storm were the two ALBUMS that had me needing a seven.


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## BusinessMan (Oct 8, 2013)

Whitechapel. They were using 7's and just had to get one for myself. Dino was also a reading I picked up a 7 instead of continually down tuning


----------



## Fringe (Oct 9, 2013)

Well for me it was Vai, Petrucci and well finally my former bandmate..he had one and I loved it so much I just had to get one, too...never looked back since then


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## Nahkaparoni (Oct 9, 2013)

Biggest inspiration when I first got into sevens was definitely Steve Vai. Then came John Petrucci, Meshuggah, Jeff Loomis and more recently Per Nilsson. The guy's a total beast both as a songwriter and a lead guitarist.


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## Rotatous (Oct 9, 2013)

For me I don't really think there was one particular player who inspired me to play a 7-string, I think it was more of just falling in love with the sound of lower tunings in doom metal, etc. yet disliking the shortened range of tuning a 6-string down. 

Plus seeing all of the 7-strings you guys have been posting over the years didn't help


----------



## Ed_Ibanez_Shred (Oct 10, 2013)

Probably Animals as Leaders, Tesseract, Fellsilent, Vai, Vildhjarta... all that kind of stuff really


----------



## The Dystopian GBM (May 8, 2014)

Back when I was younger I wanted nothing more than to be just like Munky from Korn..

Always dreamed of having a K7 & playing "Freak on a Leash" like a pro.

Alas never happened & so recently deceided I wanted to play a 7 due to finding out that is the main guitar Deftones Stephen Carpenter uses & so thats my main reason now (although still looking tio learn "Freak on a Leash")


----------



## FILTHnFEAR (May 10, 2014)

Korn. I was 15 when their first album came out.


----------



## Dylana (May 10, 2014)

To be honest I played 7 string because I wanted to be low and go high at the same time. I also loved Steve Vai's Passion and Warfare and Korn and Chelsea Grin and Suicide Silence.


----------



## Michael (May 10, 2014)

Stephen Carpenter
Jeff Loomis
Steve Vai
Trey Azagroth 
Korn


----------



## SeventhSlinger (May 11, 2014)

Loomis and JP.


----------



## Science_Penguin (May 11, 2014)

Korn introduced me to the concept, Dream Theater, Sonata Arctica, and Within Temptation fueled the interest...

...but in the end what made me put money down for a 7 String was the work of Arjen Lucassen:


----------



## WhoThenNow7 (May 11, 2014)

KORN!


----------



## UnattendedGolfcart (May 11, 2014)

In order of inspiration
















It all comes down to these guys. Jeff Loomis and Nevermore was my main inspiration to get a 7 string. Keith Merrow and Periphery greatly helped my decision and made me get more into the modern metal playing style. Other guitarists, like Chris Letchford and Robby Baca, helped me love 7 strings even more, but my main inspiration to play 7 string was from the three dudes above.


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## Forror (May 11, 2014)

This guy. Aaron friggin' Marshall. I had heard plenty of other guys with 7s: Trooch, Periphery, Scale the Summit, Korn, etc. but none of them really pushed me to get one. The moment I heard In Time by Intervals I thought "Okay. I'm getting one the moment I have enough coin."


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## curtisleviathan (May 11, 2014)

Unearth and Trivium's album Shogun really introduced me to the 7 string as I was listening to them during the time I started really getting into guitar. I had always liked Korn before but never even noticed how many strings they had.


----------



## Andless (May 11, 2014)

No-one. I just woke up one morning and decided I had to play 7:s. I had always felt 6 string electrics were lacking _something_.


----------



## shikamaru (May 12, 2014)

A Change of Seasons blew my mind. CAFO blew my mind. I&#8217;m playing 7 string guitars thanks to John Petrucci, now I want to play 8 string thanks to Tosin


----------



## OmegaSlayer (May 12, 2014)

Steve Vai, even if I'm not a big fan of his musical work, he inspires me more on a simple human level.


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## MBMoreno (May 12, 2014)

John Petrucci got me curious. Jeff Loomis and Nevermore got me on the verge of getting one. Then I tried a friend's Ibanez S of some sort for 10 minutes or so and the idea almost faded away. But playing six strings lacked something. 
Then along came Periphery, Fred Brum, Ola, Keith Merrow, and the recent trend of ERG. And when a friend of mine started committing to being a luthier, I "committed" to the idea again and went through with it.

Now I can't play 6 strings having seen the world outside


----------



## wat (May 13, 2014)

First Korn, then Dream Theater


----------



## Promit (May 13, 2014)

Honestly - Jeph Jacques from QC. He did the comic about Marten getting an 8 string, then mentioned SSO, then I wound up here. This was sorta simultaneous with finding Ola Englund's videos, so I guess the two of them together did it. Of course I looked into more guys before actually buying, but that was really the trigger.


----------



## Erick Kroenen (May 13, 2014)

i found about 7 string guitars because of mushroomhead, but i got a 7 because of Loomis and Korn


----------



## BrailleDecibel (May 13, 2014)

Munky, Head, Wes Borland, and Dino Cazares got me into 7's at an early age, and I never looked back!


----------



## RustInPeace (May 13, 2014)

Keith Merrow. I hope he see's this post and likes it so I can reach fanboyism level 9000.


----------



## Svava (May 13, 2014)

Djon P3trucc1


----------



## TheStig1214 (May 13, 2014)

Technically I bought a 7 to play "Panic Attack" by Dream Theater, so John Petrucci first. Almost immediately after, though, I went through a Chelsea Grin phase. Now I'm inspired by Chris Letchford, Petrucci again, Devin Townsend and Meshuggah to an extent.


----------



## mrdm53 (May 13, 2014)

1st time i watch Ola Englund's Amp Demo on youtube, i was totally hooked with 7 string! now i rarely GASing for 6 string, unless some model which is awesome (currently saving for RickHanes Shredguy)


----------



## metalocalypse93 (May 14, 2014)

The usual suspects (korn & fear factory) were my first exposure, but it wasnt until cannibal corpse released kill that it intrigued me. Suicide Suicide Silence and Carnifex came along and I was tuning 6 strings down to Drop A alot. Naturally, my first 7 was the answer. As far as the range of a 7, I never heard it played beautifully until I found Loomis.


----------



## 7stg (May 14, 2014)

Trey and their album covenant is how I found out there was such a thing as 7 strings. I had recently started playing, and a six string could not cover the range I was after. At one point I was down to G#1 on a 6 but then I lost the high strings . I saw Trey playing a 7 and looked into it. It was exactly what I was after.


----------



## Neko (May 14, 2014)

Mr. John Petrucci
by this DVD


----------



## FantasyMetal (May 14, 2014)

Hate to say Korn was probably the first that got me to buy a 7-string, but Petrucci is who got me to stick with it and keep coming back to it.


----------



## PBGas (May 17, 2014)

I first saw Vai with one when he was with Whitesnake on tour and I just looked at it and loved the concept! Noticed Korn was using them some time later and then of course petrucci. Glad they have kept in season! I love my JP12 7!


----------



## possumkiller (May 17, 2014)

Ihsahn Prometheus


----------



## ESPImperium (May 18, 2014)

This order:

KoRn
Christian Ole Walbers
John Petrucci
Joe Satriani
Jeff Loomis


----------



## TraE (May 19, 2014)

Honestly, I wasn't sure what I was going to do in terms of guitars (was deciding on a 7 or a baritone 6), but hearing Jeff Loomis' solo work really convinced me to go ahead and get a 7. It probably would've boiled down to that anyways since there isn't much selection when it comes to finding a 6 string baritone. The world of extended range guitars is becoming much more prominent in society, and hoorah for that!


----------



## TheDraeg (May 21, 2014)

Loomis and Allegaeon

..now add Unearth


----------



## HurrDurr (May 21, 2014)

1- Andy Mikhail (from his Oceano days)
2- COW
3- Friends in local bands


----------



## AKan (May 21, 2014)

Keith Merrow and Misha Mansoor...

That stuff just sounded so cool, and I didn't know how to go about learning it on a 6.


----------



## tacotiklah (May 21, 2014)

Jeff Loomis
Pat O'Brien
Steve Vai


----------



## meteor685 (May 21, 2014)

John petrucci though i didnt know he used a 7 string when i got mine, i just found a 7 string at a garage sale and thought it looked cool, and it was a really really cheap RG7321 so i got it hahaha


----------



## Fear (May 21, 2014)

I'm getting old: Korn, Meshuggah and Fear Factory back when I was in 8th grade. That caused me to get my first RG7

More recently, bands who got me back into 7s and extended range guitars: Textures, Scale the Summit, Devin Townsend, Thy Art is Murder, Behemoth, Modern Day Babylon, Tesseract, Skyharbor, Monuments, Intervals and Uneven Structure.


----------



## Webmaestro (May 21, 2014)

Keith Merrow


----------



## discarded (May 24, 2014)

Dino Cazares and Trey Azagthoth got me into playing Sevens


----------



## Loicle (May 24, 2014)

Ola Englund and Fred Brum , i saw them last year In Belgium for a Special event , and 2 month later i had my first seven


----------



## bythepainiseetheothers (May 24, 2014)

Ihsahn and Fear Factory


----------



## s4tch (May 24, 2014)




----------



## IanCBoss (Jul 11, 2014)

Considering that I'm very young in terms of being into metal, (I'm just shy of 18, and have been into heavy music for around 3 years) most of you older dudes will laugh at me for this but the band, or album rather, that got me wanting to play a seven string/in drop A was The Flood Reissue by Of Mice & Men. I had never really heard something so throaty so i blocked my Floyd off, bought some heavier strings and into the land of drop A I went.

Years after that I heard the riff in Icarus Lives! by Periphery and I fell in love. From there I got into Prog Metal and I needed a Seven.

Of Mice & Men and Misha Mansoor, final answer.


----------



## ToS (Jul 11, 2014)

CJLsky said:


> Munky, Head, Wes Borland, and Dino Cazares got me into 7's at an early age, and I never looked back!



^that

I got infected when I heard KoRns Clown for the first time. I immediately knew that this is the way to go  I´ve never owned a single 6-string since then...


----------



## SonicBlur (Jul 11, 2014)

I HATED 7 strings for what seemed like forever because of Korn...but when I started watching guys like Keith Merrow, Ola Englund, Jeff Loomis...I was like...AH-HA!! Now I have a Schecter KM-7 and I'm on the hunt for a Ibanez RG927QM!


----------



## Steinmetzify (Jul 12, 2014)

Fear Factory, Meshuggah, and honestly, this place. I heard so many sick clips when I first joined here I couldn't believe it. I've now owned 4 different 7s, currently own 1 and have another on the way. Plus a baritone!

Hooked on the heavy.


----------



## cow 7 sig (Jul 14, 2014)

Vai started it all off for me,but Dino really got me into them


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## crg123 (Jul 14, 2014)

Vai and Loomis. Actually Vai was the one who inspired me to pick up guitar in general! Funny story: It was the ending scene to Ralph Macchio's Crossroads movie that did the trick haha.






For those of you youngsters: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xa0b14_crossroads-battle_music
1:55 (Bad Horsie) still gives me chills


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## vertices (Jul 14, 2014)

Northlane, Periphery and Volumes


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## flaherz09 (Jul 19, 2014)

Tosin Abasi
Jeff Loomis 
Buz McGrath
Ken Susi


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## General_Jaja (Jul 19, 2014)

George Bokos of Rotting Christ


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## max3000 (Jul 19, 2014)

Honestly? Keith Merrow! Back when he was playing Agiles and made his first album I fell in love with the tone.


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## AdamRogo (Jul 19, 2014)

JP on Awake!


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## Andrenighthound (Jul 19, 2014)

my girlfriend's accordion she mostly plays in c#minor, c major, and in d along with E and Am plus bass players always use a 5 string so it was logical. Plus I like to mimic bass lines and slap on guitar.


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## 7prestige (Jul 30, 2014)

Dream Theater - Steve Vai - Nevermore/Loomis - Meshuggah


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## KevinBalouch (Aug 1, 2014)

DT - John Petrucci, (early) Anathema - the Cavanaghs, Periphery - Misha and AAL Tosin Abasi (even though he plays mostly 8's).


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## JW Shreds (Aug 1, 2014)

Unearth, Nevermore, and The Crusade/Shogun-era Trivium!


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## vash1053 (Aug 2, 2014)

Korn. Still do. Not sorry about it!


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## jco5055 (Aug 3, 2014)

For me it was Dream Theater and Nevermore, and the fact that I really couldn't play a lot of their songs (especially Nevermore, since so many of their classics are 7 string stuff) so I got one. I also liked that 7 strings are still relatively rare, especially if you're not just writing metal.


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## Cowboyfromhell (Aug 3, 2014)

Jeff loomis and John Petrucci . Then i discovered Keith Merrow and the guys from Periphery....... new realms of pleasure unlocked


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## thatguyfromthatoneband (Aug 3, 2014)

Pat Obrien for me. For while I was kind of against 7's as I just assumed that was for the core djent crowd and that death metal bands had no use for them. But when I saw people like Pat and Karl Sanders starting to use them it made me realize what they could do.


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## piggins411 (Aug 3, 2014)

Chris Letchford


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## twizza (Aug 3, 2014)

First time I heard Dire Straits - Money for Nothing as a wee lad. Took a tennis racket to talent show at 8 years of rebellious age and just shredded like nobody was watching.
Then Metallica - One happened, and the shite got real.


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## Deception (Aug 3, 2014)

I'd say TesseracT for me.


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## Hollowway (Aug 3, 2014)

The knowledge that such a thing existed.


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## Desolate1 (Aug 3, 2014)




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## Church2224 (Aug 3, 2014)

My excuse to get another guitar.


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## Firesource (Aug 4, 2014)

You probably don't know him, but it was this guy:






I saw the video for Lie a long time ago, but it wasn't until I got some really good friends that liked Dream Theater a lot more than i did (did, I love them now), my seven string GAS took off.

One and a half year later I finally bought a Jackson DKA7 as my first seven string last month. Probably because I saw Dream Theater earlier this year. Especially "The Enemy Inside" and "the Mirror" were magical.


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## wilsontarpey (Aug 4, 2014)

Keith merrow, i found him on seymore dun cans pickup selected. It was a video of him playing 'Pillars of creation" with different pups. i watched that video soooo many times.


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## chickenxnuggetz91 (Aug 5, 2014)

I had to think about this for a minute.....influences change with the seasons. Long answer, no pictures.

I would have to say the first band was Unearth. Ken Susi and Buz McGrath really were the two main dudes. Where I was at the time was between traditional metal and hardcore music and the III: In the Eyes of Fire was so thrashy, yet had the metalcore sound of the time. That record along with The Oncoming Storm for sure was my first exposure to what could be done with 7's and what made me join this forum.

Parkway Drive...yes, I know they don't play 7's. I discovered them right after Unearth and they both play mostly in B minor type of stuff. They sounded similar to me at the time, so I assumed they played 7's in B standard like Unearth. I was new to metalcore back in the mid 2000's. So they made me want to get into 7's.

Next, I would have to say the guys from Suicide Silence. To me at the time their tone was so sludgy and nasty...and it was compared to what I was listening to at the time. Very low and monstrous for what I knew at the time. I later discovered more sludgy/grindish type of music thanks to them mentioning it in an interview about people calling their music deathcore back right before it's peak. Sound familiar? Much like the djent debate now. They also mentioned Meshuggah......like the djent debate.

As time moved on and I discovered that Petrucci sometimes played 7's...I fell in love with his tone and his playing style....I still hope to get my hands on a stealth black JP7 one of these days.

Then....Misha Mansoor....yes, that guy. I had just enrolled in community college in 2010 and had time to peruse this forum during breaks between classes. Then I ran across his name and found him on youtube and a couple of other sites as Bulb. Listened to some of his stuff and was very impressed until I found Periphery....Letter experiment was it for me....though he may have played it on a 6 at the time, it was low enough to be played on a 7. Discovering his stuff was the nail in the coffin.....extended range guitars were the way to go....

Of course, there is so much out there now and it only gets better in my opinion....along with the bad, but sometimes there is good in bad music.

I mainly play 6's still, but only because I haven't had the chance to own ERG I am completely satisfied with....they feel comfortable to me and I feel at home playing them. Sorry for the life story, I just found this awesome thread as a chance to practice writing before I head back to the University in a couple of weeks....Cheers!


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## Aescyr (Aug 5, 2014)

Peter Tägtgren. That UV7BK will forever be cool to me.


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## break (Aug 5, 2014)

My initial interest was definitely due to Dino Cazares... but at the time, I only really saw it as a 'chug chug' tool... and never really explored it (musically)

The new wave of prog (TesseracT, Monuments, Periphery etc.) hooked me into what a big tone range can do, and made me pull the trigger on finally buying one.


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## Maddreg (Aug 5, 2014)

No one inspired me, I just liked the guitar - H&S Dark Heaven. Fall in love with it when I first saw it on E-bay back in 2007


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## skinnyjimmy (Aug 5, 2014)

has to be tosin and misha for me..


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## thatguyfromthatoneband (Aug 5, 2014)

This guy > your guy


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## TKOA-Dex (Aug 6, 2014)

John Petrucci originally. However, Misha Mansoor, Munky and Head, and Stephen Carpenter got me to buy one again. Now it's swiftly become my main guitar.


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## Stijnson (Aug 6, 2014)

Besides all the usual suspects, I'm going to have to say it was all of you guys here on ss.org who made me want to get a 7!


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## rjg3000 (Aug 6, 2014)

It's a mix between Misha and John Petrucci. They both have such a different approach in comparison to each other and it made me realize that 7's aren't just for chugga chugga.


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## oremus91 (Aug 9, 2014)

A lot of repeats on this thread but here goes..

I admired the sound and versatility of being able to play low tuned songs and regular standard tuned stuff at the same time but it wasn't until I got into Scale the Summit that I really wanted to buy one for myself.


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## metalgary (Aug 11, 2014)

just like many of you.. for me its Dino.. Hearing Obsolete when it came out was it for me... my first 7 string was mh207 ESP LTD. Gun metal Grey.. and I installed a 707 in bridge a year or two after


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## Tzar27 (Aug 12, 2014)

I guess I'd have to say Bulb, but I can't discredit my subconscious. Sit around, and let me tell you all a little story...

Well, a few years back, I was a naive young guitarist who believed he knew everything about everything; really, I knew nothing about anything. I laughed in the face of Schecter, Dean, Jackson, and most of all, Ibanez filth. Anything that had more than 6 strings, non-EMG pickups, and a bolt-on neck was utter trash to me; and God help the thing if it was a super strat. Then one fateful day, I visited a Guitar Center, and immediately sat down to play what I thought was one of the most wretched things to ever disgrace my presence; a Schecter Omen-7. A bolt-on, 7-stringed super strat; it's only redeeming value to young me was its EMGs. I played it, and utterly hated it... But I was intrigued. Some strange curiosity built up inside me. It hid in a dark corner of my mind for years until one day, a little band called Periphery appeared on my YouTube feed. I listened, and foul rubbish pierced my eardrums. "Metalcore filth!" I sneered, "You're all imbeciles!" But suddenly, the curiosity hidden deep in my soul began to peak out again. So I kept listening. I was confused, lost, excited... entranced. Perhaps this isn't so bad. Maybe I didn't hate 7 strings. Maybe there is some merit in bolt-on super strats, in passive pickups and... Dare I say it... _Ibanez guitars_.

Fast forward a bit, I'm about to buy an Ibanez Prestige RGD2127FX, and I'm going to my second Periphery show in September  So yeah, go Bulb. I sure did learn not to follow trends after that, though. _Sneaks off to djent_


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## Tesla (Aug 12, 2014)

Devin Townsend, Dino Cazeras, Christian Olde Wolbers.


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## skydizzle (Aug 14, 2014)

Petrucci, Misha Mansoor, head and monkey


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## Andless (Aug 14, 2014)

Am I alone in waking up one morning and just feeling the urge? Not having any 7-string idol?

(Sure reading on SSO contributed some )


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## Alex6534 (Aug 14, 2014)

Jeff Loomi and first time I heard Acid Words.


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## isispelican (Aug 14, 2014)

Periphery, Korn


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## Taylord (Aug 14, 2014)

My parents bought me a really modded 7420 at a garage sale 4 years ago. Didn't know what to do with it. Browne is my favorite 7 stringer now.


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## MrEzzyE (Aug 23, 2014)

The obvious ones: Vai & Petrucci


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## aqa (Aug 23, 2014)

Ihsahn

Loomis in Nevermore, I don't like his solo stuff


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## guitarxtc (Aug 24, 2014)

Petrucci


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## kf7strng (Sep 16, 2014)

It was Korn for me. My friends sister bought Life is peachy and I heard Good God, and that was it for me. Wanted one ever since then. I liked Wes Borland as well, but he actually had his 6th AND 7th strings tuned to C# most of the time. But korn....say what you want abut them... but that tone has stuck with me for years.

I got my first 7 string in high school. it was a musicians friend special ESP LTD MF-207 ( it was an F body with the skull inlays) Second was an RG7620 (this was the model Korn used touring quite a bit, other than their UV's)I told myself in 98 that I would own one.. and i FINALLY had one!! That was in 2010. Last Year, I bought a brand new RG7420. It is pretty cool. Tuning stability is better than the 7620 (probably had damaged knife edges). I upgraded the bridge pickup to a blaze neck.. and now i think I am in love. haha

ANYWAY... Long story short... KORN!!! (Supposdly even Steve Vai was blown away by what he heard them do with them)


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## CaptainD00M (Sep 17, 2014)

For me it wasn't once person, I always had this thing where I would just reach for or hear lower notes that were not on the neck of a standard or dropped tune guitar.

I think when I got into Nile I really wanted one to do drop A, so I guess you could say it was Nile. Funnily enough I don't really play drop A at all now.

I think what sealed the deal for me was Dave Weiner 





because he didn't just do chuggy metal stuff. I Was like 'Wow, you _can_ do other stuff on a seven?' I mean, objectively I knew you could but until you hear it you're always a little skeptical.


That said this riff:


Was a pretty powerful contender


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