
The seven-string guitar adds one additional string to the more common
six-string guitar, commonly used to extend the bass range (usually a low B) or also to extend the treble range.
The additional string is added in one of two different ways: by increasing the width of the fingerboard such that the additional string may be fretted by the left hand; or, by leaving the fingerboard unchanged and adding a "floating" bass string. In the latter case, the extra bass string lies next to the existing bass strings, but free of the fingerboard in similar fashion as the
archlute
The archlute (, , ) is a European plucked string instrument developed around 1600 as a compromise between the very large theorbo, the size and re-entrant tuning of which made for difficulties in the performance of solo music, and the Renaissan ...
and
theorbo
The theorbo is a plucked string instrument of the lute family, with an extended neck that houses the second pegbox. Like a lute, a theorbo has a curved-back sound box with a flat top, typically with one or three sound holes decorated with rose ...
. Such unfrettable bass strings were historically known as diapasons or bourdons.
Some types of seven-string guitars are specific to certain cultures such as the
Russian
Russian(s) may refer to:
*Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*A citizen of Russia
*Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages
*''The Russians'', a b ...
,
Mexican, and Brazilian guitars.
History
The history of the seven-string guitar stretches back more than 230 years. During the
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...
period (), the European guitar generally had four
courses, each strung with two
gut strings, and the pair of strings within each course tuned in
unison
Unison (stylised as UNISON) is a Great Britain, British trade union. Along with Unite the Union, Unite, Unison is one of the two largest trade unions in the United Kingdom, with over 1.2 million members who work predominantly in public servic ...
. By the mid-
Baroque
The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...
period (), it more commonly had five courses (still double-strung) and used a variety of tunings, some of them
re-entrant. By the early 18th century, six double-strung courses had become common.
Up to this point, most stringed instruments were strung with gut strings. At around 1800, quality metal-wire strings became widely available. These new strings were more durable, remained in tune longer and, most importantly, produced a louder sound than the traditional gut strings. As use of metal strings became more widely adopted, their greater volume output impelled luthiers to experiment more with single-strung courses on their instruments and, in a relatively short time, the modern practice of using six single strings became first common, and then standard.
The changing number of courses in these early guitars may also illustrate an ongoing desire on behalf of players to increase the range of the instrument, a development similar to that gone through by the lute in earlier days. It is likely that all of these factors contributed to the development of the seven-string guitar, which has been around ever since. The seven-string guitar never became as widely accepted in Europe as the six-string instrument, but a number of composers did produce a significant body of work for the seven string. French guitarist
Napoleon Coste
Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
(1805–1883) composed works with a seven-string guitar specifically in mind. The Italian guitarist Mario Maccaferri (1899–1993) was a celebrated advocate of bass strings (diapasons or bourdons) and also composed for the instrument.
By contrast, in Russia the seven-string guitar became widely popular, and entire schools of playing were developed around its use. Despite some brief setbacks in the mid-20th century, during which six-string instruments rose in prominence, the seven-string Russian guitar has remained popular in Russia to this day.
In the New World, a or —with fourteen strings, strung in seven double courses—has been known in Mexico since at least 1776 (Antonio Vargas). These instruments may still be found in use in Mexico, although the modern six-string instrument has become far more common. Seven-string instruments retain current popularity in parts of South America, notably Brazil, where they became an important instrument in the ''
choro
''Choro'' (, "cry" or "lament"), also popularly called ''chorinho'' ("little cry" or "little lament"), is an instrumental Brazilian popular music genre which originated in 19th century Rio de Janeiro. Despite its name, the music often has a fa ...
''
smusic of the 19th century, which is currently experiencing a revival.
Acoustic designs
Russian
The Russian guitar or gypsy guitar is a seven-string acoustic guitar tuned to the
open G tuning (DGBDGBD), which arrived or was developed early in the 19th century in
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
, possibly as a development of the
cittern
The cittern or cithren ( Fr. ''cistre'', It. ''cetra'', Ger. ''Cister,'' Sp. ''cistro, cedra, cítola'') is a stringed instrument dating from the Renaissance. Modern scholars debate its exact history, but it is generally accepted that it is d ...
, the
kobza
The kobza (), also called bandura () is a Ukrainian folk music instrument of the lute family (Hornbostel-Sachs classification number 321.321-5+6), a relative of the Central European mandora. The term ''kobza'' however, has also been applied to ...
and the
torban
The torban (, also ''teorban'' or ''Ukrainian theorbo'') is a Ukrainian musical instrument that combines the features of the Baroque lute with those of the psaltery. The Тorban differs from the more common European bass lute known as the theo ...
. It is known in Russia as the semistrunnaya gitara () or affectionately as the semistrunka ().
Its invention was popularized by
Andrei Sychra, who also wrote a method for the guitar, as well as over one thousand compositions, seventy-five of which were republished in the 1840s by
Stellovsky, and then again in the 1880s by
Gutheil. Some of these were published again in the
Soviet Union
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
in 1926. Andrei Sychra in his notation, marks with a number between 1 and 4 where to fret the 7th string with the thumb. Another way that Andrei Sychra took advantage of this guitar's innovation was through natural harmonics. Because of the three strings tuned to D, harmonics could be played in synchronization.
Early instruments used gut, and later silk strings; rarely wire. In the 20th century these instruments commonly used nylon strings, like western classical guitars, though by the last third of the century both nylon-strung "classical" and metal-strung "gypsy" versions of the instrument were both plentiful. Whatever material was used for stringing, the Russian guitar is traditionally played without a pick, using fingers for either strumming or picking. The origins of the 7 string most likely came from the English "guittar" popular in the late 18th century. The added string created an extra dimension for bass notes as well as opening up chord possibilities. The seventh string is also likely to have been influenced by the
harp
The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orchestras or ...
as it is meant to played
arpeggiated. It also happens that the open D tuning was a perfect fourth lower than the six string tuning. The open D string tuning of this guitar was convenient for many Russian folk songs and dances that were typically within the major key. Along with the added interval possibilities came new techniques not previously seen with 6th string guitars.
The Russian version of the seven-string guitar has been used by professionals, because of its great flexibility and its sound, but has also been popular with amateurs for accompaniment (especially
Russian bards) due to the relative simplicity of some basic chords and the ease of playing
alternating bass lines. While greatly popular in Russia and Ukraine, this type of guitar has only recently been generating some interest outside of its traditional homeland.
Image:RussianSevenStringTuning.jpg, Tuning of the Russian guitar
Image:FSmajorRussianGuitar.jpg, An F major chord
Image:BminorchordRussianGuitar.jpg, A B minor chord
The earliest music published for a seven-string guitar was in St. Petersburg, Russia, on 15 December 1798. The school was owned by
Ignác František Held (1766,
Třebechovice pod Orebem
Třebechovice pod Orebem () is a town in Hradec Králové District in the Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 5,900 inhabitants. Třebechovice pod Orebem is best known for the Museum of Nativity Scenes.
Administrative divi ...
,
Bohemia
Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...
– 1816,
Brest-Litovsk
Brest, formerly Brest-Litovsk and Brest-on-the-Bug, is a city in south-western Belarus at the border with Poland opposite the Polish town of Terespol, where the Bug and Mukhavets rivers meet, making it a border town. It serves as the admini ...
,
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
).
Standard tuning for the Russian guitar is: D2 G2 B2 D3 G3 B3 D4
with a very common "classical" variant being C2 G2 B2 D3 G3 B3 D4
Other tunings include:
* G-C-E-G-C-E-G ("Big guitar") (
Open C)
* F-B-D-F-B-D-F (1/3rd guitar) (
Open Bb)
* E-A-B-D-G-B-D
* E-G-B-D-G-B-D
* D-G-C-D-G-B-D
* B-F-B-E-A-D-F
* A-E-A-D-G-B-E
* A-D-G-C-F-A-D
Brazilian
The Brazilian seven-string guitar () is an acoustic guitar used primarily in
choro
''Choro'' (, "cry" or "lament"), also popularly called ''chorinho'' ("little cry" or "little lament"), is an instrumental Brazilian popular music genre which originated in 19th century Rio de Janeiro. Despite its name, the music often has a fa ...
and
samba
Samba () is a broad term for many of the rhythms that compose the better known Brazilian music genres that originated in the Afro-Brazilians, Afro Brazilian communities of Bahia in the late 19th century and early 20th century, It is a name or ...
. It was introduced to Brazil in the late 19th century as a steel string guitar. The style of "baixaria" counterpoint and accompaniment technique was developed throughout the 20th century, especially by
Dino 7 Cordas and
Raphael Rabello. In the early 1980s, guitarist
Luiz Otavio Braga had a nylon string version made, and this has become the norm for most contemporary solo musicians such as
Yamandu Costa.
The Brazilian seven-string guitar is typically tuned like a classical guitar, but with an additional C below the low E as follows: C2 E2 A2 D3 G3 B3 E4; although some musicians tune the C down to a B resulting in: B1 E2 A2 D3 G3 B3 E4.
Classical
Seven-string guitarists are utilized in playing traditional and contemporary "classical" repertoire. These instruments are essentially nylon-strung classical guitars with one extra (usually) bass string, and the tuning is most commonly: B1 E2 A2 D3 G3 B3 E4. Aficionados of the instrument have produced many new arrangements, traditionally six-string classical guitar pieces, and the seventh string may be retuned—to C or D, for example—to accommodate these arrangements. The use of this instrument in the classical world, along with other extended range instruments having 8, 9, 10, 11, or more strings, has become common enough that several noted string manufacturers now produce and mark string sets specifically for seven-string classical guitars (La Bella; Pyramid; d'Aquisto; etc.). For example,
Napoleon Coste
Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
arranged one of
Franz Schubert
Franz Peter Schubert (; ; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. Despite his short life, Schubert left behind a List of compositions ...
's pieces for guitar and vocal accompaniment, despite guitars being typically for solo performance at the time.
Mexican ()
There is a guitar of seven pairs of strings, totaling 14 strings, known as aka 14 String Guitar. The instrument is still played in Mexico and the USA by popular bands, most notably
Korn
Korn (stylized as KoЯn) is an American nu metal band from Bakersfield, California, originally formed in 1993 by James Shaffer, James "Munky" Shaffer, Reginald Arvizu, Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu and David Silveria, who were members of the band ...
.
Electric designs
Semi-hollow and hollow body electric guitars
In the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, the jazz guitarist
George Van Eps had a seven-string guitar built for him by
Epiphone Guitars in the late 1930s and a signature
Gretsch
Gretsch is an American company that manufactures and markets musical instruments. The company was founded in 1883 in Brooklyn, New York by Friedrich Gretsch, a 27-year-old German immigrant, shortly after his arrival to the United States. Fri ...
seven-string in the late 60s and early 70s. The Van Eps signature guitar may be the first regular-production seven-string electric guitar. Van Eps tuned his 7th string to A.
Several others began using seven-string guitars after Van Eps, including
Bucky Pizzarelli
John Paul "Bucky" Pizzarelli (January 9, 1926 – April 1, 2020) was an American jazz guitarist.
He worked for NBC as a staffman from 1964, including for Dick Cavett (1971) and ABC with Bobby Rosengarden in (1952). Musicians he collaborate ...
,
Howard Alden
Howard Vincent Alden (born October 17, 1958) is an American jazz guitarist born in Newport Beach, California. Alden has recorded many albums for Concord Records, including four with seven-string guitar innovator George Van Eps.
Early life
Ho ...
,
Ron Escheté, Chance Russell, and
John Pizzarelli
John Paul Pizzarelli Jr. (born April 6, 1960) is an American jazz guitarist and vocalist. He has recorded over twenty solo albums and has appeared on more than forty albums by other recording artists, including Paul McCartney, James Taylor, Ros ...
, son of Bucky Pizzarelli.
Lenny Breau also used seven string instruments, but whereas the other players all used instruments with an added bass string, Breau had at least one instrument in which the seventh string was an added ''treble'' string, tuned to the 'A' above the high 'E' string (A4). At the time he began using the high A string, no commercially manufactured string could withstand being tuned that high, so Breau substituted a piece of
monofilament fishing line of appropriate gauge. A year later, advances in materials science allowed the La Bella company to begin manufacturing a custom string for Breau's high A.
Seven-string
semi-acoustic archtop guitar
An archtop guitar is a hollow acoustic guitar, acoustic or semi-acoustic guitar, semi-acoustic guitar with a full body and a distinctive arched top, whose sound is particularly popular with jazz guitar, jazz, blues, and rockabilly players.
Typic ...
s were used by jazz-guitarist
Ralph Patt
Ralph Oliver Patt (5 December 1929 – 6 October 2010) was an American jazz guitarist who introduced major-thirds tuning. Patt's tuning simplified the learning of the fretboard and guitar chord, chords by beginners and improvisation by advanced ...
after he began exploring
major-thirds tuning
Among guitar tunings#Alternative, alternative tunings for guitar, a major-thirds tuning is a regular tunings, regular tuning in which each interval (music), interval between successive open string (music), open strings is a major third ("M3" in m ...
in 1964.
Patt's tuning is a
regular tuning
Among guitar tunings#Alternative, alternative guitar tunings, guitar-tunings, regular tunings have equal interval (music), musical intervals between the paired note (music), notes of their successive open string (music), open strings.
...
, in the sense that all of the
intervals between its successive
open strings are
major third
In music theory, a third is a Interval (music), musical interval encompassing three staff positions (see Interval (music)#Number, Interval number for more details), and the major third () is a third spanning four Semitone, half steps or two ...
s; in contrast, the
standard guitar-tuning has one major-third amid four
fourths.
[ and ] Major-thirds tuning has a smaller scope than standard guitar-tuning,
and so Patt started using seven-string guitars, which enabled major-thirds tuning to have the E-e' range of the standard tuning. He first experimented with a wide-neck Mango guitar from the 1920s, which he modified to have seven strings in 1963.
In 1967 he purchased a seven-string by José Rubio.
The first seven-string electric guitars were built in the "hollowbody" or "semi-hollow" archtop styles, where the guitar has a central resonating chamber, or a central block with resonant chambers on the sides. This gave the guitar the dark woodiness, breath, and richness that is associated with traditional "jazz" tone, but also made prone to feedback at high volumes, making it problematic for rock guitar playing.
Solid body electric guitars

In the early thirties the
National String Instrument Corporation
The National String Instrument Corporation was an American guitar company first formed to manufacture banjos and then the original resonator guitars. National also produced resonator ukuleles and resonator mandolins. The company merged with ...
offered seven-string versions of their solid-body lap-steel guitars.
A
solid body seven-string electric guitar was conceived by guitarist
Lenny Breau and built by luthier Kirk Sand,
debuting at the 1983
NAMM Show
The NAMM Show is an annual trade show in the United States organized by the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM), which describes it as "the industry’s largest stage, uniting the global music, sound and entertainment technology commun ...
, featuring a high A-string (rather than the low A-string of Eps). In 1987,
Fender signed an agreement with Alex Gregory to produce a
Stratocaster
The Fender Stratocaster, colloquially known as the Strat, is a model of double- cutaway electric guitar designed between 1952 and 1954 by Leo Fender, Bill Carson, George Fullerton, and Freddie Tavares. The Fender Musical Instruments Corporati ...
-style guitar that featured a high A-string. A small number of prototypes were made. However the unit was never put into production. He has made numerous false claims in regards to the 7 string guitar and is not considered a reliable source of information, even regarding his own 7 string signature series which was produced in limited numbers by Fender. He frequently embellishes the events that took place in all facets of its production.
The first mass-produced seven-string was the
Ibanez
is a Japanese guitar brand owned by Hoshino Gakki. Based in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Aichi, Japan, Hoshino Gakki was one of the first Japanese musical instrument companies to gain a significant foothold in import guitar sales in the United Stat ...
UV7, a signature model for
Steve Vai
Steven Siro Vai ( ; born June 6, 1960) is an American guitarist, songwriter, and producer. A three-time Grammy Award winner and fifteen-time nominee, Vai started his music career in 1978 at the age of eighteen as a Transcription (music), transc ...
. It was also used by
John Petrucci
John Peter Petrucci (born July 12, 1967) is an American guitarist, best known as a founding member of the progressive metal band Dream Theater. He produced or co-produced (often with Mike Portnoy before Portnoy's absence from the band 2010-2023 ...
,
Reb Beach
Richard Earl "Reb" Beach Jr. (born August 31, 1963) is an American rock guitarist. He is a member of the bands Winger and Whitesnake.
Career
After graduating from Fox Chapel Area High School and attending Berklee College of Music in the ea ...
, and
Korn
Korn (stylized as KoЯn) is an American nu metal band from Bakersfield, California, originally formed in 1993 by James Shaffer, James "Munky" Shaffer, Reginald Arvizu, Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu and David Silveria, who were members of the band ...
guitarists
Brian Welch
Brian Philip Welch (born June 19, 1970), also known by his stage name Head, is an American musician. He is a guitarist and founding member of the nu metal band Korn and his solo project Love and Death, where he also provides vocals. Along wit ...
and
James Shaffer
James Christian Shaffer (born June 6, 1970), also known by his stage name "Munky", is an American musician best known as a co-founder and guitarist of the nu metal band Korn. He was ranked at No. 26 of Guitar World's 100 Greatest Heavy Metal G ...
, amongst others. 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. After initial experimentation with a high A, a low B was added as the high A proved to be too prone to breaking. (Kirk Sand and Lenny Breau solved the breaking high A string problem by shortening the
scale length to 22.75", Vai's Ibanez is 25.5".) Vai began touring with
Whitesnake
Whitesnake are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1978. The group were originally put together as the backing band for singer David Coverdale, who had recently left Deep Purple. Though the band quickly developed into their ow ...
with a seven-string prototype, and then used the guitars for his 1990 release ''
Passion and Warfare
''Passion and Warfare'' is the second studio album by guitarist Steve Vai, released on May 22, 1990, through Relativity and Epic Records. It has been certified Gold by the RIAA.
Background
''Passion and Warfare'' was inspired by dreams that Va ...
''.
The seven-string guitar became prominent when the band
Korn
Korn (stylized as KoЯn) is an American nu metal band from Bakersfield, California, originally formed in 1993 by James Shaffer, James "Munky" Shaffer, Reginald Arvizu, Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu and David Silveria, who were members of the band ...
featured Ibanez Universe guitars on their 1994
debut album. During the 1990s, manufacturers of 7-strings included
Fender's subsidiary
Squier
Squier is an American brand of electric guitars owned by Fender. The former manufacturing company, established as "V. C. Squier Company" was founded in 1890 by Victor Carroll Squier in Battle Creek, Michigan, producing strings for violins, ban ...
and
Gibson's subsidiary
Epiphone
Epiphone () is an American musical instrument brand that traces its roots to a musical instrument manufacturing business founded in 1873 by Anastasios Stathopoulos in İzmir, Ottoman Empire, and moved to New York City in 1908. After taking over ...
.
In this time many guitarists were introduced to the extended range offered by a seven-string guitar. This was somewhat offset by a growing stigma that a seven-string guitar was a "
nu metal
Nu metal (sometimes stylized as nü-metal, with a metal umlaut) is a subgenre of that combines elements of heavy metal music with elements of other music genres such as hip hop music, hip hop, funk, industrial music, industrial, and grunge. Nu ...
" instrument, fit only for heavy riffing. This was ironic as Korn guitarists
Munky and
Head
A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple ani ...
remember being told in their early days that the seven-string guitar could not be used for riffing, as it was a guitar for technical guitar players.
In the 1990s, several other heavy metal guitarists began using seven-string instruments (notably
John Petrucci
John Peter Petrucci (born July 12, 1967) is an American guitarist, best known as a founding member of the progressive metal band Dream Theater. He produced or co-produced (often with Mike Portnoy before Portnoy's absence from the band 2010-2023 ...
,
Trey Azagthoth
Morbid Angel is an American death metal band based in Tampa, Florida, formed in 1983 by guitarist, primary composer and sole remaining original member Trey Azagthoth, vocalist and bassist Dallas Ward, and drummer Mike Browning. Widely considere ...
, and
Erik Rutan), seeing the possibility for detuned riffing while preserving the full upper range of the guitar for solos. However, the seven-string guitar failed to really catch on at this phase in its development, and the Universe model was discontinued briefly in 1995. Historically,
Matt Bellamy
Matthew James Bellamy (born 9 June 1978) is an English singer, songwriter and producer. He is the lead vocalist, guitarist, pianist, and lyricist for the English rock band Muse. He is recognised for his eccentric stage persona, wide tenor vocal ...
from
Muse
In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, the Muses (, ) were the Artistic inspiration, inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the poetry, lyric p ...
had used a custom red Manson seven-string to play just one song, "Citizen Erased", with a AADDGBE tuning (the song was originally recorded on a detuned six-string). However, he later started using new Manson custom seven-strings to play new songs "Supremacy", "Survival" and "Liquid State" on Muse's 2012 ''
The 2nd Law
''The 2nd Law'' is the sixth studio album by the English rock band Muse, first released on 28 September 2012 through Warner Bros. Records and the band's own Helium-3 imprint. Recording took place in studios between London and Los Angeles Cou ...
'' album tour.
Dino Cazares
Dino Cazares (born September 2, 1966) is an American musician, best known as the guitarist and one of the co-founders of industrial metal band Fear Factory. He is also a co-founder of Divine Heresy, Asesino, and Brujeria (band), Brujeria. Cazar ...
uses custom seven-string Ibanez guitars;
Christian Olde Wolbers has his own signature
Jackson
Jackson may refer to:
Places Australia
* Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region
* Jackson North, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region
* Jackson South, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region
* Jackson oil field in Durham, ...
seven-string guitar,
Jeff Loomis
Jeff Loomis (born September 14, 1971) is an American musician, best known for his role as lead guitarist in the progressive metal band Nevermore during its existence from 1991 to 2011, as well as brief tenures in its precursor, Sanctuary (band) ...
has a signature model made by
Schecter and
Stephen Carpenter has several of his own models released by
ESP.
Hybrid designs
In the early 2000s,
Roger McGuinn
James Roger McGuinn (; born James Joseph McGuinn III; July 13, 1942) is an American musician, best known for being the frontman and leader of the Byrds. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991 as a member of the band. As a so ...
(renowned for his skills on the
twelve-string guitar
A twelve-string guitar (or 12-string guitar) is a steel-string guitar with 12 string (music), strings in six Course (music), courses, which produces a thicker, more ringing tone than a standard six-string guitar. Typically, the strings of the lo ...
and for his long association with
The Byrds
The Byrds () were an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) being the so ...
) worked with
C. F. Martin & Company to develop a seven-string
folk guitar. McGuinn's guitar (currently being marketed by Martin) is tuned the same as a standard folk guitar with steel strings, but the third (G) string is augmented with a high octave string. Many of McGuinn's notable guitar solos utilize the G string of the twelve-string guitar to perform the main melody, and therefore the Martin seven-string guitar was designed to achieve this extended range playing without the need for doubling all six of the guitar's strings.
In 2010
Inox Guitarshas created a mix of the Brazilian
Viola caipira
The viola ( , () ) is a string instrument of the violin family, and is usually bowed when played. Violas are slightly larger than violins, and have a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of the ...
and the Russian
semistrunka (семиструнка). This instrument has 2 bass strings (as the 6th and 7th strings of the semistrunka) and five treble courses (as the Viola caipira) and it is used in open tuning (GDGDGBD) as
slide guitar
Tuning

The 7-string guitar of today is frequently tuned with a lower B on the added seventh string (B1–E2–A2–D3–G3–B3–E4). Modern metal bands such as
Trivium
The trivium is the lower division of the seven liberal arts and comprises grammar, logic, and rhetoric.
The trivium is implicit in ("On the Marriage of Philology and Mercury") by Martianus Capella, but the term was not used until the Carolin ...
(on ''
The Crusade'' and ''
Shogun
, officially , was the title of the military aristocracy, rulers of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor of Japan, Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, exc ...
''),
Dream Theater
Dream Theater is an American progressive metal band formed in 1985 in Boston, Massachusetts. The band comprises John Petrucci (guitar), John Myung (bass), Mike Portnoy (drums), James LaBrie (vocals) and Jordan Rudess (keyboards).
Dream Theat ...
and
Haken commonly use this tuning.
Many jazz
[ ] musicians tune in
dropped A tuning (A1–E2–A2–D3–G3–B3–E4) for improved bass lines and easier power chords. Choro players usually tune the seventh string up a half-step, to C: C2-E2-A2-D3-G3-B3-E4. The common Russian guitar tunings given above are still in widespread use. And players who prefer an added ''treble'' string (instead of an added bass string) usually tune: E2–A2–D3–G3–B3–E4–A4.
Uses
Seven-string guitars are used in a variety of musical styles including classical, jazz, rock, progressive rock, and heavy metal. The seven-string works well in a band setting, as its lowest note, B1 lines up well with the B0 commonly used for the lowest note of a 5+ string bass. Both the guitar and bass could drop tune as well using a lowest note of A1 and A0 respectively (with the bass this extends the range to the lowest note on a standard piano).
The guitar is main contributor to giving the nu metal band
Korn
Korn (stylized as KoЯn) is an American nu metal band from Bakersfield, California, originally formed in 1993 by James Shaffer, James "Munky" Shaffer, Reginald Arvizu, Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu and David Silveria, who were members of the band ...
its “signature sound”.
There's also the 14-string guitar, which can be thought of as either a
12-string guitar
A twelve-string guitar (or 12-string guitar) is a steel-string guitar with 12 strings in six courses, which produces a thicker, more ringing tone than a standard six-string guitar. Typically, the strings of the lower four courses are tuned in ...
w/ a Low B octave course added to it, or as a seven-string guitar with seven pairs of strings giving it a really nice shimmer.
See also
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Russian guitar
Russian(s) may refer to:
*Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*A citizen of Russia
*Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages
*''The Russians'', a b ...
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Eight-string guitar
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Nine-string guitar
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Ten-string guitar
There are many varieties of ten-string guitar, including:
* Both electric and acoustic guitars.
* Instruments used principally for classical, folk and popular music.
* Both coursed and uncoursed instruments.
Uncoursed ten-stringed guitars
...
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Extended-range bass
An extended-range bass is an electric bass guitar with a wider frequency range than a standard-tuned four-string bass guitar.
Terminology
One way that a bass can be considered ''extended-range'' is to use a mechanical detuner, a special machi ...
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Harp guitar
The harp guitar is a guitar-based stringed instrument generally defined as a "guitar, in any of its accepted forms, with any number of additional unstopped strings that can accommodate individual plucking." The word "harp" is used in reference to ...
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Chapman stick
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List of artists who use seven-string guitars
Notes
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Seven-String Guitar
Acoustic guitars
Electric guitars