NAMM 2009: Schecter 8-string

This just landed in my inbox… now THAT’S the stuff. Want!!!

The new Schecter Hellraiser C-8 has 8 strings (the lowest is tuned down to F#, but I figure that if you’re going to go that low anyway, you might as well tune it down to E so you can play octave-down power chords, Drop-D-style.
By the way, check out that ad copy: “A custom designed Hip-Shot bridge that DOES intonate…” Who could they be taking a dig at there? The only other production 8 strings I know of are the
Ibanez RG2228
, which has the genius FXEdge bridge, and the ESP/LTD Stephen Carpenter models. Hmmm…


3 Responses to NAMM 2009: Schecter 8-string

  • Jon says:

    I’d love to try an 8 string, I didn’t have much joy last time I tried a 7 mind you!

  • Peter says:

    The first time I tried a 7-string I sucked, and I was really disappointed. But I didn’t give up: every time I saw one in a music store I’d try it and by the time I decided to buy one it wasn’t too much of an adjustment. But then I played it exclusively for 3 months, and when I went back to my 6-string it felt like a broom handle. That sensation went away eventually though and now I’m comfortable swapping from one to the other at gigs.

    The moral of the story: Buy seven-strings.

  • Rich says:

    I tried an 8-string for a bit at NAMM; I think it was this one. It was very cool, but not something I’d want to play on a regular basis. The neck was so huge, it barely feels like a guitar in your hands.

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A95QpJWCEAA6AUk-2.jpg-large Hi! I'm Peter Hodgson. I write for Gibson.com, Australian Guitar, Australian Musician, Mixdown Magazine (including my instructional column, 'Unleash Your Inner Rock God,' which has been running since 2007), BluntBeat (including their weekly hard rock/metal column Crunch) and The Brag. And I'm Assistant Social Coordinator with Seymour Duncan. I've been playing guitar since I was 8 years old, and I've been writing for magazines since I was 18. I've also worked as a guitar teacher (up to 50 students a week), a setup tech, a newspaper editor, and I've also dabbled in radio a little bit. I live in Melbourne, Australia, and my hobbies include drinking way too much coffee, and eating way too much Mexican food. You can check out my guitar playing at Bandcamp or on YouTube, and feel free to email me at iheartguitarblog@gmail.com