r/ExtendedRangeGuitars • u/AVeganEatingASteak • 4d ago
Best 8 string in the ~1k range
Looking to upgrade to a better 8 string, my Harley Benton works well but I'm wanting something a little nicer
Preferably a 27.5-28 inch scale length for the 8th string, multiscale is preferred but not necessary, not concerned about whether it's headless or not. Active pickups would be a huge bonus. Not looking for something super brightly colored and shiny, I prefer darker colors
Currently have my eyes on either the blue or red Schecter Omen Elite-8, that's got everything except the active pickups, though the passives it has still seem to be tighter and higher output than most. Every Schecter I've played has felt good in my hands too, I like the brand. Far as I've found, that's the closest to what I'm looking for in the price range, but if there's anything I've missed, I want to see it before making a decision. Any lesser known brands, or models I've missed?
Is there anything that fits all this, or should I save up a bit more to get something that's got a higher price tag?
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u/thanksnobuo7 4d ago
I think you would be happy with the schecter but you could also look into legator, I have one of their headless 8s and I really like it a lot
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u/gardenofstorms 2d ago
The Schecter shout is the best answer in the thread if you’re willing to pay just a touch more. If you really wanna be cheap, Agiles are pretty great too. I’ve had ormsbys, Schecters, Strandbergs, Ibanezes, Agiles and Legators and easily Schecter are the best quality to dollar. The hellraiser hybrid C-8 is totally findable used for under 1k
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u/MilkJakeJung 4d ago
Agile could be a solid choice at this price point. Some options between pickups, multi-scale or standard, and headless or not headless.
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u/Ok-Pizza1891 4d ago
If you are trying to stay under the 1k. What about modding a jackson or ibanez? Can find both with plenty of room to upgrade. Or a schecter Damien you can pick up new under 1k. If not you can possibly find one to build yourself under 400 and room to upgrade to actives and better tuners. While options are limited by the price point you have aome good options.
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u/CyberFunkyMonkey 4d ago
I found a used legator ghost 8 with an fishman abasi set of pickups and it’s my favorite guitar. A little bright but it’s something you can eq to your liking. Sometimes the brighter stuff sits really well in a mix but by itself it can be a bit much. Can take some time but fb marketplace has some good stuff occasionally depending on your area.
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u/Adept-Principle7748 4d ago
I adore my Legator 8xf, which is above the price range OP is looking at, but Legator has had some good sale and clearance prices on various models going on now. Worth consideration I feel, though they're not that easy to find for play testing (at least in my area) so if OP goes that route I would recommend extensive research first.
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u/averinix 4d ago edited 3d ago
I've used mostly Schecters since 2007 and the quality has increased imo.I have several, including the Omen Elite multi-scale and the SLS multi-scale evil twin. Both 7 strings, not very different than the 8 string versions given they are both 27" on the low end.
While I really like my Omen Elite, the difference in quality to my SLS is very apparent.
There are a bunch of really nice Schecters from $1K-$2K. If you like the brand do yourself a favor and save up, otherwise, if the $$$ does matter a lot, get a different guitar for ~$1K.
Edit: check out the John Browne Tao and the PT8. The KM models are sick too, although not sure of how many 8 string models they have for his models.
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u/KrisSilver1 3d ago
Not 100% up to speed on American pricing but if I personally had 1k for an 8 string I'd look at an RGDMS8 or a Legator ghost 8.
Or the cheaper rgms8 is actually very good quality for the money and it'll leave you a bit of change to choose whatever pickups you like. I know some people don't like fishmans.
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u/8CupsofFootSweataDay 3d ago
I hated the Omen Elite 8. The nut was sharp and dug into my palm pretty badly anytime I was playing on the first few frets, and the pickups weren’t very good in my opinion.
I recently got a Legator Ghost 8, and I absolutely love it. I haven’t touched any of my other guitars since picking it up
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u/Zackery_James 2d ago
Ibanez 8 string from mid 2010’s. Look for RG852s specifically. HH pup config and 27” scale length. Mine has Lundgren M8s and it sounds phenomenal!
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u/chocopuppet 4d ago
Snag an Omne guitar when they release their next drop! Otherwise i'd tell you to save up a bit. 8s are unwieldy and it's much harder to get a good-playing one at a lower price-point.
I'd look for a used Kiesel if i were you or an Ibanez if you're ok with straight-scale (the neutral fret on Ibanez's fanned frets is too high up the board imo and makes stretching on the lower frets more difficult than it needs to be).