Editing Seven-string guitar (section)

===Solid body electric guitars===
[[File:Seven-string guitar ibanez rg7321bk.jpg|thumb|120px|Seven-string electric guitar ''Ibanez RG7321BK'']]
In the early thirties the [[National String Instrument Corporation]] offered seven-string versions of their solid-body lap-steel guitars.

A [[solid body]] seven-string electric guitar was conceived by guitarist [[Lenny Breau]] and built by luthier Kirk Sand,<ref name="lennybreau"/> debuting at the 1983 [[NAMM Show]], featuring a high A-string (rather than the low A-string of Eps).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.premierguitar.com/Magazine/Issue/2010/Sep/Builder_Profile_Kirk_Sand_Guitars.aspx?Page=2 |title=Builder Profile: Kirk Sand Guitars |first=Gayla |last=Drake |date=17 August 2010 |website=Premier Guitar |access-date=20 April 2018}}</ref> In 1987, [[Fender Musical Instruments Corporation|Fender]] signed an agreement with Alex Gregory to produce a [[Stratocaster]]-style guitar that featured a high A-string. A small number of prototypes were made. However the unit was never put into production. He has made numerous false claims in regards to the 7 string guitar and is not considered a reliable source of information, even regarding his own 7 string signature series which was produced in limited numbers by Fender. He frequently embellishes the events that took place in all facets of its production. <ref>{{Cite book |last=Duchossoir |first=A.R. |title=The Fender Stratocaster |edition=Revised |location=Milwaukee |publisher=Hal Leonard Corporation |year=1995 |page=34 |isbn=978-0-79354-735-7}}</ref>

The first mass-produced seven-string was the [[Ibanez]] UV7, a signature model for [[Steve Vai]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Bienstock|first=Richard|title=Steve Vai Discusses Designing Ibanez Universe Seven-String|url=https://www.guitarworld.com/news/steve-vai-discusses-designing-ibanez-universe-seven-string|website=Guitar World|date=26 November 2018|access-date=2 February 2024}}</ref> It was also used by [[John Petrucci]], [[Reb Beach]], and [[Korn]] guitarists [[Brian Welch]] and [[James Shaffer]], amongst others.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Sullivan |first=L. |year=1990 |title=What's hot in guitars |magazine=Guitar School |location=New York City |page=15}}</ref> Vai was drawn to the idea for much of the same reasons seven-string classical and jazz players were—the extended range the additional string offered. After initial experimentation with a high A, a low B was added as the high A proved to be too prone to breaking. (Kirk Sand and Lenny Breau solved the breaking high A string problem by shortening the [[Scale length (string instruments)|scale length]] to 22.75", Vai's Ibanez is 25.5".) Vai began touring with [[Whitesnake]] with a seven-string prototype, and then used the guitars for his 1990 release ''[[Passion and Warfare]]''.

The seven-string guitar became prominent when the band [[Korn]] featured Ibanez Universe guitars on their 1994 [[Korn (album)|debut album]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Stoner|first=Brandon|title=A Brief History of Ibanez Guitars|url=https://guitar.com/features/history-of-ibanez/|website=Guitar.com|date=5 December 2022|access-date=2 February 2024}}</ref> During the 1990s, manufacturers of 7-strings included [[Fender Musical Instruments Corporation|Fender]]'s subsidiary [[Squier]] and [[Gibson Guitar Corporation|Gibson]]'s subsidiary [[Epiphone]].

In this time many guitarists were introduced to the extended range offered by a seven-string guitar. This was somewhat offset by a growing stigma that a seven-string guitar was a "[[nu metal]]" instrument, fit only for heavy riffing. This was ironic as Korn guitarists [[James Shaffer|Munky]] and [[Brian Phillip Welch|Head]] remember being told in their early days that the seven-string guitar could not be used for riffing, as it was a guitar for technical guitar players.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKsGpl6lgbk  |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/oKsGpl6lgbk |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|title=Munky & Head on Ibanez 7th Heaven |author=kornfan02 |date=7 January 2007 |website=YouTube |access-date=20 April 2018}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

In the 1990s, several other heavy metal guitarists began using seven-string instruments (notably [[John Petrucci]], [[Trey Azagthoth]], and [[Erik Rutan]]), seeing the possibility for detuned riffing while preserving the full upper range of the guitar for solos. However, the seven-string guitar failed to really catch on at this phase in its development, and the Universe model was discontinued briefly in 1995. Historically, [[Matt Bellamy]] from [[Muse (band)|Muse]] had used a custom red Manson seven-string to play just one song, "Citizen Erased", with a AADDGBE tuning (the song was originally recorded on a detuned six-string). However, he later started using new Manson custom seven-strings to play new songs "Supremacy", "Survival" and "Liquid State" on Muse's 2012 ''[[The 2nd Law]]'' album tour. [[Dino Cazares]] uses custom seven-string Ibanez guitars; [[Christian Olde Wolbers]] has his own signature [[Jackson Guitars|Jackson]] seven-string guitar, [[Jeff Loomis]] has a signature model made by [[Schecter Guitar Research|Schecter]] and [[Stephen Carpenter]] has several of his own models released by [[ESP Guitars|ESP]].