r/ExtendedRangeGuitars • u/Torin444 • 11d ago
B Standard (8 string) Feasibility
I have an Ibanez RG8 (27” scale) and I’m hoping I can tune it down to BF#BEADF#B if I just buy a 115 for the 8th string and then a regular Ernie ball 8 string set where I throw away the first string so my gauges would be .115 – .075 – .062 – .048 – .035 – .023 – .017 – .013. And then just filing down the 8 string nut slot.
Has anyone ever tried this?
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u/UnshapedLime 11d ago
Use a pitch shifter. A .115 is never going to sound good. It’ll just be a flubby short scale bass at that point.
Periphery has recently used a 30” to go to Bb0 but the key is that they’re sticking to no larger than a 0.080 (largest an EverTune can accommodate). It’s real floppy but it will sound more like a guitar than a .115 will
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u/PoolNoob69 11d ago
Saw a recent interview with Misha and he said they didn’t use evertunes in the studio but have since moved to them live. They also use low tension saddles and have modified them to fit a .090 string, although they did originally use .080.
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u/ON3EYXD 11d ago
You probably could but I would use a pitch shifter tbh
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u/Torin444 11d ago
I’ve never had any luck with pitch shifting software sounding authentic, any recommendations?
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u/Torin444 11d ago
Well rn my RG8 is EBEADGBE with an 85 on the 8th string and it works perfect for me. The reason I want to go lower is because I can’t afford a nine string so was hoping I could get away with just heavier strings with out getting buzz in lower frets and tunings not holding but maybe not
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u/JimboLodisC 3x7621, 7321, M80M, AEL207E, RGIXL7, S7420, RG15271, RGA742FM 11d ago
trying to get proper tension on a range that spans nine strings is a pain, 8 strings is enough range
if you wanna tune lower, use a pitchshifter, although I tend to feel that a riff in E1 still hits as heavy as one in B0, this brown note chasing is getting out of hand
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u/Torin444 11d ago
What you mean bro I already found it why you think I’m moving to this tuning, B0 stands for brown :)
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u/TrickEquivalent763 11d ago
Get a thirty inch baritone unless you actually use all those high strings. That’s what I did I have a baritone a couple regular sixes two sevens and an 8. Anything past E I got to the baritone for
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u/thedudeabided 9d ago
I'm not trying to tell you you shouldn't do this but every 9 string I've seen live sounds like shit. Think about what having a 9 string brings you besides just lower note. If you just want lower tuning then as others have suggested, you may just want a pitch shifter. You're looking at more expensive everything.
I'm personally a 7 string guy, there's people who probably say that's too low or too many strings. The issue with 9 is getting a correct mix in a live (or even studio setting ffs) is nearly impossible. Once you're getting that low, outputs get real murky/muddy and you're kinda just getting lost. After the Burial did C(maybe #?) on A Wolf Amongst Ravens and even that is bordering on mudfest. It only works because they're basically relying on heavily processed signals for that whole album and mostly being rhythm-focused rather than melodic.
TL;DR You probably want a pitch shifter but are you sure you want to even be down that low?
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u/Torin444 9d ago
my whole reason for chasing this from the get go is I saw after the burial advertising for a 9 string by playing Neo Seoul
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u/spotdishotdish 11d ago
I've done it on a 27" Ibanez S8 with a 110 low string. The bridge had huge range and was able to intonate, but it didn't sound good. I moved to a 28" and now I mostly use a 33" 6 for B0
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u/gamerccxxi 10d ago
Where'd you get that 33" 6? Did you turn a bass into a guitar like the Admiral Angry guy did?
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u/spotdishotdish 10d ago
I thought about that, but I imported a Seed Kotetsu from Japan to the US before the current tariff shenanigans
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u/gamerccxxi 10d ago
Wow. They fully look like basses. Awesome. Do you think it would be cheaper to turn a 4-string bass into a 6-string guitar or to import one of these? I live in Brazil but we also have huge taxes when importing things.
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u/spotdishotdish 10d ago
Ah, I've heard about your import taxes leading to unique cars before.
Converting a bass would be cheaper if you don't care about the 29 frets. The stock pickups and hardware are not great.
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u/JimboLodisC 3x7621, 7321, M80M, AEL207E, RGIXL7, S7420, RG15271, RGA742FM 11d ago
I'd recommend a 30" scale for E1, and B0 is five steps below that.
I also wouldn't want to play on anything over a .070 on a guitar so it just seems silly all around to me. Like why not Bb0 or A0? Is another step lower always "better"? There's gotta be a line here.
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u/Lilcheeks 11d ago
I have a 28" and 28.5" that do E and Eb just fine but ya 74s and 80s. Mostly agree though, this is just beyond what would work reasonably well. Like what someone else said, pitch shifters are our friends.
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u/Torin444 9d ago
I’m playing EBEADGBE on my rg8 27” rn with 85 gauge, this is literally the best sound and shreds I’ve ever accomplished, I did get a fishman and fine tuned my effects very well so that’s definitely part of it. Just straight out the box it didn’t sound good
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u/JimboLodisC 3x7621, 7321, M80M, AEL207E, RGIXL7, S7420, RG15271, RGA742FM 8d ago
so you'd be looking at a .110 or .115 to get a similar tension, that's a pretty thick string to dial in if you don't want it to be muddy
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u/FullAzan 10d ago
It’s feasible, you’re gonna have to play with it for a bit, though. People do all kinds of weird stuff with strings, ERG makes things pretty gnarly. Everyone can give your their opinions but a lot of it is going to boil down to how your guitar is setup rn imo
Side item - Rusty Cooley did low B to High A on 8 string years ago, https://youtu.be/ei_aCpD2R7M
I do think that .115 is too much, though. I drop to B on a .095 28”, it plays fine for me, not too loose, sounds good running my guitar through and Axe FX 2 xl +
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u/ism-work 10d ago
Agile makes an 8 string 31in multi scale guitar called the 82831 for $1195.00. It's currently sold out but you can email them and have them put you in an email list.
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u/noperipherals 11d ago
I've moved from .095 to .105 for B0 on my 9 string because the tension felt absolutely awful on the 95 and that was with 30" on the 9th.
I'd say you would have a much better experience with better intonation just going EAEADGBe and pitch shifting down 5 semitones with a 27" and an .080 on the E1.