Editing Eight-string guitar

{{Short description|Type of guitar with 8 strings}}
[[File:Agile Intrepid Dual Charcoal.jpg|thumb|Agile Intrepid]]
[[File:Fretless-8string-guitar.JPG|thumb|Homemade fretless guitar based on Jackson Rhoads]]
[[File:Eight String Acoustic Guitar by Patrick Hawley.jpg|thumb|right|Eight-string multi-scale acoustic guitar by luthier Patrick Hawley of Ottawa, Ontario]]

An '''eight-string guitar''' is a [[guitar]] with eight strings, or one more than the [[Russian guitar]]'s seven. Eight-string guitars are less common than six- and seven-string guitars, but they are used by a few [[Classical guitarists|classical]], [[jazz]], and [[Heavy metal music|metal]] guitarists. The eight-string guitar allows a wider tonal range, or non-standard tunings (such as [[major-thirds tuning]]), or both.

Various non-standard guitars were made in the 19th century, including eight-string guitars played by Italians [[Giulio Regondi]] and [[Luigi Legnani]].<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uG7mipQ84bMC&pg=PA205 |page=205 |title=The Guitar in America: Victorian Era to Jazz Age |last=Noonan |first=Jeffrey |publisher=University Press of Mississippi |year=2008 |isbn=1934110183 |series=American Made Music}}</ref>

Eight-string electric guitars gained popularity among metal bands, largely inspired by Swedish [[progressive metal]] band [[Meshuggah]] (formed in 1987). Contemporary use outside of metal has picked up in the last decade, and owes much to [[Animals as Leaders]] and their stylistic eclecticism.

==Designs==

===Semi-acoustic guitar (hollow-body guitar)===
{{See also|Semi-acoustic guitar|Archtop guitar}}

Seeking a [[guitar tuning]] that would facilitate jazz [[improvisation]], [[Ralph&nbsp;Patt]] invented [[major-thirds tuning]] in 1963.<ref name="Griewank1" >{{harvtxt|Griewank|2010|p=1}}</ref><ref name="Kirkeby">{{cite web|first=Ole|last=Kirkeby|date=1 March 2012|title=Major&nbsp;thirds tuning|url=http://v3p0.m3guitar.com/|publisher=m3guitar.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150411064851/http://v3p0.m3guitar.com/|archive-date=11 April 2015|id=cited by {{harvtxt|Sethares|2011}} and {{harv|Griewank|2010|p=1}}}}</ref><ref name="Patt">{{cite web|url=http://www.ralphpatt.com/Tune.html|first=Ralph|last=Patt|publisher=ralphpatt.com|work=Ralph&nbsp;Patt's jazz web page|title=The major&nbsp;3rd tuning|date=14 April 2008|access-date=10 June 2012|id=cited by {{harvtxt|Sethares|2011}} and {{harvtxt|Griewank|2010|p=1}}}}</ref> Patt's tuning is a [[regular tunings|regular tuning]], in the sense that all of the [[interval (music)|interval]]s between its successive [[open string (music)|open string]]s are [[major third]]s; in contrast, [[standard guitar tuning]] has one major-third amid four [[perfect fourth|fourth]]s.<ref name="Sethares2001">{{harvtxt|Sethares|2001}}</ref>

[[Seven-string guitar]]s are needed for major-thirds tuning to have the E-e' range of the standard tuning.<ref name="Sethares2001"/><ref name="Peterson37">{{cite journal|title=Tuning in thirds: A new approach to playing leads to a new kind of guitar |first=Jonathon |last=Peterson |location=Tacoma WA|url=http://www.luth.org/backissues/al69-72/al72.htm |journal=American Lutherie: The Quarterly Journal of the Guild of American Luthiers |publisher=The Guild of American Luthiers |issn=1041-7176 |volume=72 |date=Winter 2002 |access-date=9 October 2012 |pages=36–43 ] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111021185726/http://www.luth.org/backissues/al69-72/al72.htm |archive-date=21 October 2011 }}{{rp|37}}</ref> Having an eight-string instrument allowed Patt's guitar to have G{{music|sharp}} ([[enharmonic equivalency|equivalently]] A{{music|flat}}) as its [[open note]].<ref name="Peterson37"/> Patt purchased six-string [[archtop guitar|archtop]] [[semi-acoustic guitar|hollow-body guitar]]s that were then modified by luthiers to have wider necks, wider pickups, and eight strings. Patt's Gibson ES-150 was modified by Vincent "Jimmy" DiSerio c. 1965.<ref name="Patt"/><ref name="Peterson37"/> Luthier [[Saul Koll]] modified a sequence of guitars: a 1938 Gibson Cromwell, a Sears Silvertone, a c. 1922 Mango archtop, a 1951 Gibson L-50, and a 1932 Epiphone Broadway; for Koll's modifications, custom pick-ups accommodated Patt's wide necks and high G{{music|sharp}} ([[enharmonic equivalency|equivalently]] A{{music|flat}});<ref name="Peterson37"/> custom pick-ups were manufactured by [[Seymour&nbsp;Duncan]]<ref name="Peterson37"/> and by Bill&nbsp;Lawrence.<ref name="Patt"/> Roy Connors, former member of the 1960s folk singing group, [[The Highwaymen (folk band)|The Highwaymen]], reconfigured a Martin O-28 six-string guitar to an eight-string of his own design and received a U.S. Patent on it (#3269247).

===Solid-body===
Solid-body eight string guitars are also used by many bands today. The construction of a solid-body eight-string guitar is comparable to that of seven- and six-string variants. The standard tuning (from low to high) is F{{music|#}}, B, E, A, D, G, B, E.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.guitarcasa.com/2014/02/17/8-string-guitar-tuning/|title=8 String Guitar Tuning - All You Need To Know!|website=GuitarCasa.com|access-date=19 April 2021}}</ref> Many prefer to tune the F{{music|#}} to a low E (E1), the same note as the lowest string on a four-string [[electric bass]] in standard tuning, and providing the guitar with a fuller sound by having three different E strings.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-10-08|title=List Of Most Common 8 String Guitar Tunings - Guitar Lessons|url=https://pickuptheguitar.com/list-of-most-common-8-string-guitar-tunings/|access-date=2021-02-03|website=Pickuptheguitar.com|language=en-us}}</ref> This tuning is equivalent to tuning a six-string guitar to [[Drop D tuning]].

Like the seven-string, the first mass-produced eight-string guitar was made by [[Ibanez]] guitars in Japan; the [[RG2228]]. {{fact|date=July 2018}}

===Scale length===
The main design issue faced with an eight-string guitar is tuning stability with the lower strings. This is due to the neck being constructed too short, bridge problems such as improper intonation, uneven spacing for floating bridges, or the use of wrong string gauges. Other problems associated with tuning stability rely on the proper setup of the guitar.

Extended range eight string guitars sometimes will have a [[multi-scale fingerboard|multi-scale]] design where the bass strings will be longer than the treble strings (fanned fret design). This helps with proper [[Intonation (music)#Fretted instrument intonation|intonation]] of the lower strings, improves string tension balance across the strings, improves [[Guitar harmonic#Overtones|harmonic overtones]], [[overtone series]], and improves [[inharmonicity]]. (See also [[Piano acoustics#Inharmonicity and piano size|inharmonicity in pianos]]). The bass strings on an 8 string typically require the saddle to be pulled back a bit more than the other strings to properly set the intonation. Some bridge designs accommodate this by offsetting back the 7th and 8th strings or providing a bit extra room for adjustment. Longer scale lengths require less offset for proper intonation. {{fact|date=May 2017}}

==Notable players==
===Classical===
[[Paul Galbraith]] began using an eight-string guitar in 1994 when, in collaboration with luthier [[David Rubio]], they designed the [[Brahms guitar]]. Galbraith generally tunes AEADGBEA.
[[Egberto Gismonti]] (born 1947) is a Brazilian guitarist and pianist who favors the 8-string classical guitar. [[:it:Livio Gianola|Livio Gianola]] (Premana, 1964) is an Italian guitarist. It is considered by the specialized critic "The Master of the Eight String Guitar".

===Jazz===
Hungarian born Australian Jazz guitarist [[Laszlo Sirsom]] plays 8-string jazz guitar made by Phil Carson Crickmore He's tuning as a normal guitar on the middle plus High A and lower B. [[Charlie Hunter]] plays an eight-string guitar made by Ralph Novak of Novax Guitars. Five of the strings are tuned to the standard guitar's upper five (A, D, G, B, E), while three of the strings are tuned to the standard [[bass guitar]]'s three lowest (E, A, D). The bass and treble sections have separate pickups and are sent to separate amplifiers. Hunter also has a ten-string guitar based on the same principle—a combination of standard six-string guitar and standard four-string bass.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nVmfrospvLYC&pg=PA180 |page=180 |title=Masters of Jazz Guitar: The Story of the Players and Their Music |last=Alexander |first=Charles |publisher=Hal Leonard Corporation |year=2003 |isbn=0879307285}}</ref>

===Metal===
The eight-string guitar is used by modern [[heavy metal music|heavy metal]] guitarists such as [[Fredrik Thordendal]] and [[Mårten Hagström]] of [[Meshuggah]], [[Dino Cazares]] of [[Fear Factory]], [[Stephen Carpenter]] of [[Deftones]], Greg Burgess of [[Allegaeon]], Simon Girard and Kevin Chartré of [[Beyond Creation]], Justin Lowe and Trent Hafdahl of [[After the Burial]], Josh Travis of [[Emmure]] (ex-[[The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza]] and ex-[[Glass Cloud]]), Per Nilsson of [[Scar Symmetry]] and Meshuggah as a touring member and others. The instrument is particularly associated with the “[[djent]]” sound popularized by Meshuggah, [[Vildhjarta]], and [[Periphery (band)|Periphery]], among others.

[[Tosin Abasi]] and Javier Reyes of [[Animals as Leaders]] primarily use a drop-E tuning (where the lowest string matches the E1 on a standard-tuned bass guitar) and incorporate "thumping," an adaptation of different bass guitar techniques — the term blankets all sorts of possible note groupings, but primary influences include a style á la funk bassist [[Larry Graham]] and [[Victor Wooten]]'s double thumping technique — as well as harp-like arpeggios extending across the full range of the instrument.

[[Ihsahn]] of the [[black metal]] band [[Emperor (Norwegian band)|Emperor]] began playing [[seven-string guitar]] in 1999 and first played eight-string guitar on his 2010 album ''[[After (Ihsahn album)|After]]''.

[[Rusty Cooley]] tunes his eight-string guitar like a standard six-string expanded in both directions. This tuning offers both deeper bass tones than a conventional guitar and extended range in the higher register for lead melodies.

Guitarist [[Justin Broadrick]] of the English industrial metal band [[Godflesh]] introduced his eight-string playing on the 2014 Godflesh EP ''[[Decline & Fall (EP)|Decline & Fall]]''.

Guitarists Lucas Mann and Joel Omans from the [[technical deathcore]] band [[Rings of Saturn (band)|Rings of Saturn]] also use eight-string guitars, with Mann primarily making use of a nine-string guitar for the band's 2019 album [[Gidim (album)|Gidim]]. Miles Dimitri Baker, one of their former members, also used one.

Chris Andrews of the [[death metal]] band [[Devourment]] uses eight-string guitars, starting with the album ''Obscene Majesty''.

[[John Petrucci]] of [[progressive metal]] band [[Dream Theater]] plays an eight-string guitar on the song "Awaken the Master", from Dream Theater's 2021 album ''[[A View from the Top of the World]]''.

==See also==
*[[Brahms guitar]]
*[[Roy Smeck]], popular player of the octachorda from the 1920s onwards
*[[Ten-string guitar]]
*[[Nine-string guitar]]
*[[Seven-string guitar]]
*[[Extended-range bass]]
*[[Harp guitar]]
*[[Eight-string bass guitar]]
*[[Chapman stick]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

===Works cited===
* {{citation |last=Griewank |first=Andreas |title=Tuning guitars and reading music in major thirds |year=2010 |url=https://opus4.kobv.de/opus4-matheon/frontdoor/index/index/docId/675 |id={{URN|nbn|de:0296-matheon-6755}} MSC-Classification 97M80 Arts. Music. Language. Architecture |series=Matheon preprints |volume=695 |publisher=DFG research center "MATHEON, Mathematics for key technologies" Berlin |location=Berlin, Germany}}
* {{cite book |first=Bill |last=Sethares |authorlink=William Sethares |year=2001 |chapter=Regular tunings |title=Alternate tuning guide |pages=52–67 |url=http://sethares.engr.wisc.edu/alternatetunings/regulartunings.pdf |format=pdf |publisher=University of Wisconsin; Department of Electrical Engineering |location=Madison, Wisconsin |accessdate=19 May 2012}} [http://sethares.engr.wisc.edu/alternatetunings/alltunings.pdf 2009 PDF version of ''Alternate tuning guide'', including a revised chapter on regular tunings]
*{{cite web |first=William A. |last=Sethares |authorlink=William Sethares |title=Alternate tuning guide |year=2011 |url=http://sethares.engr.wisc.edu/alternatetunings/alternatetunings.html |publisher=University of Wisconsin; Department of Electrical Engineering |location=Madison, Wisconsin |accessdate=19 May 2012}}

{{Guitars}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eight-String Guitar}}
[[Category:Acoustic guitars]]
[[Category:Electric guitars]]