Talk:Seven-string guitar

Notable users
Please only add very notable users in this article, i just deleted a bunch of guitarists that didnt even have an article or simple redirected to the band that they are playing in. Consider adding players to the mainlist instead, and lets keep the say ten to fifteen most notable in this article....Roger Workman (talk) 16:56, 8 July 2009 (UTC)

List of Artists
Does anyone think it would be a good idea to start a list of artists who use seven-string guitars? 200.79.192.24 22:45, 23 December 2005 (UTC)

I think that a list of artists who play Seven-string guitars would be a good idea. --Pajaeslick 21:40, 24 June 2007 (UTC)

Does anyone mind if I sort the list by genre? --Kneelie (talk • contribs) 07:19, 2 January 2013 (UTC)

I sorted the list by genre and alphabetized. Subdivided metal bands to make it easier to find personal interests. Quickly confirmed 7 string use. There are 3 artists that are flagged "disambiguation needed" that I could not resolve now at the bottom of the list. --Kneelie (talk • contribs) 06:02, 7 October 2013 (UTC)

There is already the article List of extended-range guitar players. —  Tha† emo over †here (talk)  20:11, 20 March 2018 (UTC)

Related move
See Talk:Twelve string guitar, which proposes that other articles conform to the naming convention already adopted by this one. However if this move is rejected, it could be seen as a precedent for moving this article. Andrewa (talk) 15:40, 20 August 2008 (UTC)

Contradiction
Quote: ''At the time, Vai was heavily into numerology, and in particular was drawn to the number 7. 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.''

Someone please fix, thanks. Maikel (talk) 13:29, 24 October 2008 (UTC)

Just an observation
Theres a bit about Dino Cazares in here that claims he's legendary, amongst other things. It seems somewhat badly written also, and being an IP user I figured i'd just make note, rather then edit myself. 58.96.96.199 (talk) 12:06, 31 March 2009 (UTC)

Five Finger Death Punch
Although Five Finger Death Punch tune to B standard, they do not use 7 string guitars as this article states. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 85.210.142.20 (talk) 18:06, 10 February 2011 (UTC)
 * This is correct (and no longer in the article). Five Finger Death Punch used to use 6-string baritone guitars, but he's since moved to using standard-scale guitars with thicker strings to compensate for the loss in tension.

—  Tha† emo over †here (talk)  20:15, 20 March 2018 (UTC)

Massive reworking of the solid body section
I've removed a large amount of fancruft from the solid body section. The bulk of it was unsubstantiated claims that Alex Gregory invented the solid body 7 string, my own research indicates merely that two patents were issued in 1991 for specific design configurations of a solid body 7 string and not for the general concept. There was a 1987 agreement with Fender and Gregory from which 2 (possibly 3) prototypes were made, but it never proceeded any further. I've noted this in the text.

I've also removed the dubious allegation that Vai was motivated by numerology. Manning (talk) 02:08, 17 February 2011 (UTC)

Credit where credit is due:
I recently rewrote the history of the solidbody guitar, and was able to provide reliable sources that trace the (possibly) first solidybody seven-string to Lenny Breau in the early 80's. I'd like to thank the members of the web forum Sevenstring.org for their assistance in finding these references. Manning (talk) 04:13, 20 February 2011 (UTC)

Alembic's 1977 solidbody sevenstring
I've got evidence that Alembic may have built a solidbody seven-string in 1977. Here is the text of an email I received from Susan Wickersham, Alembic's co-founder and president:

Dear Manning, Thank you for your inquiry.

Yes we made a 7 string guitar in 1977. It was custom made for Carol Kaye.

Unfortunately we weren't as good at taking photos as making instruments.

Here is a link to a photo of that guitar. http://www3.alembic.com/img/hist_7string.jpg

Some Specs on it:

switch-bridge-both-neck-standby
 * Alembic Series I Guitar
 * Long scale 25.5 "
 * Fan Peghead with Vermilion front and Back veneers
 * Neck thru construction Maple 7 piece laminate of 4 maple and 3 purpleheart neck laminates
 * Ebony 24 fret 2 octave fingerboard Abalone Alembic Ovals
 * Top and Back of Eastern Flame Maple
 * Mahogany core
 * Alembic solid brass handmade bridge, nut, tailpiece, brass backplates
 * Two large single coil Alembic Series I pieckups with center hum-cancelling pickup.
 * Alembic Series I electronics, 2 volume, two Low pass Alembic Tone/Filters, 2 'Q' Switches, Pickup selector
 * 5 pin stereo out or mono jack.
 * Sterling silver handcut Alembic Logo

If you have any questions please email me.

Kind Regards, Susan Wickersham, President, Alembic Inc

Needless to say, this probably doesn't qualify as a WP:reliable source. However I thought it was worth mentioning.

Manning (talk) 04:08, 22 February 2011 (UTC)


 * Update - I emailed Carole Kaye in the hope of getting more information, but she said she had nothing to do with this instrument. So back to square one on that front. Manning (talk) 09:44, 22 February 2011 (UTC)

Uncivil attack on editor
Not only are we seeing a series of revertions here by Lost Josephine Minor, but also a particular uncivil attack on another editor, described as "lying vermin". (I placed a warning (UW-npa3) on Lost Josephine Minor which he removed together with an earlier warning of similar nature. -- Klein  zach  05:28, 14 March 2011 (UTC)


 * I just wandered back in and saw that LJM had reinstated all of the "Alex Gregory - recognised as the sole true inventor by the US Patent Office" guff. I tried to clean it up, but eventually I gave up and pasted in the article text for that section as it stood back in early March. Manning (talk) 07:41, 6 July 2011 (UTC)

Uli Jon Roth
I was really surprised to see no mention of Uli Jon Roth in this article. He was an early user of the 7-string (the Sky guitar), and continues to use it in his compositions. Also, Nevermore make extensive use of the 7-string.Intothatdarkness (talk) 17:06, 14 June 2011 (UTC)


 * I went hunting for valid refs to support this a few months back but came up empty. If you find some, let me know. Manning (talk) 07:42, 6 July 2011 (UTC)

OR tag removed
Someone applied an OR tag back in Feb 2012, but did not provide any explanation. As a general comment: "drive-by" tagging is not generally approved of. If someone has specific OR issues with this article then by all means re-apply the tag, but be courteous enough to explain what the apparent issue is. Manning (talk) 02:44, 5 June 2012 (UTC)

Complete Rewrite
This article is phrased as though it came straight out of some guitar forum. Many claims are unsubstantiated, and the tone of writing is inconsistent, poor and not up to encyclopaedia standard. Gulivar (talk) —Preceding undated comment added 00:55, 23 June 2012 (UTC)

Removed the springtime guitar photo and reference. This was a vanity addition to the article. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 50.203.153.154 (talk) 16:28, 8 May 2014 (UTC)

Lists! Arrgh!!

 * The list of "notable players" is, as with most of these articles, WAY too long. The article is about the instrument, and not about the players.  Such a lengthy list is unnecessary, since it begins with a link to a more comprehensive list.


 * The list is way too heavy on metal guitarists. Fourteen subcategories of metal?  Seriously?  If one is going to subcategorize to this extent, it is easily possible to come up with 14 subcategories for jazz, rock, or classical as well.  That level of detail doesn't belong here; I've deleted the metal subcategories.


 * As someone else has noted, only notable players should be in the list. "Notable" does NOT mean "anyone famous who may have ever touched a seven-string guitar, once".  It means someone who either:  1) uses/used a seven-string exclusively, or as their primary instrument; or 2) someone who made a major, noteworthy playing contrubution to the history of the seven-string instrument.
 * Pat Metheney, for example, does not belong on this list. He's used seven-string on occasion, but it's not his main axe, and he hasn't done anything particularly historical with his uses of the seven-string.  I daresay the same could be said for at least half, if not three-quarters of the listed metal players.


 * Finally, to have any use at all, the players' names in these lists need to be organized. They could be listed chronologically or, alphabetically (which makes more sense to me), otherwise nobody is going to be able to find who they're looking for, especially in such overly long lists.  I've alphabetized the jazz and classical players; somebody needs to do this with the other categories.  And while you're at it, how about trimming at least half the names from every category, and 75% of them from the metal group?