7,6,5,4? What is the real number of strings a guitar should have?
 

for me it should be 6 strings on lead guitars and 4 strings on bass guitars. I think the guys in KORN look really stupid with their 7 strings and i just think having just one string difference does not give the bass guitar a different instrument status.

But i dont care what i think what do you think?

What about 12 string guitars? Or 6 string basses? Or the many, many, strings of a harp? Number of strings on an instrument is pretty irrelevant. What really counts is how you play the instrument.

Musicianship is the only thing that matters. If a person can play a one string guitar as well as a six-stringer, then that is all that matters.

I love the sound of an acoustic 12 string playing classical... nothing else like it in the world.

(and I love my little 6-string nylon)

There are standard string sets, but non standard actually used to be a LOT more common, especially if you go back to the rennaissance period.

Since lutes were hand made and there were no 'standards' you never knew from lute to lute how many strings it would have. That would drive me crazy, personally, but that was how it was.

I agree with 6 on a guitar and 4 on a bass. However, the sound of a 12 string acoustic is nothing to be contended with.

let's not forget the two-string bass of the late Mark Sandman of Morphine. or tom petersson of ceap trick playing 12-string bass. :D

Being a big fan of the whole dropped D sound, I do like the meaty, fat sound that the low B produces. Didn't Steve Vai attempt to come up with his own mode (lydian, dorian, etc.) specifically for 'his' JEM 7 string series of guitars?

Re: 7,6,5,4? What is the real number of strings a guitar should have?
 

if the bass has a fifth string,you get another octave outta it.and....if tuned differently,that fifth string can add a whole new dimension to the sound of the bass.

i wish my bass had another string on it.

I prefer 6 strings since the horizontal and vertical possibilities are endless.Also good point flyman with the 5 string bass.It really opens up lots of quartal harmony possibilities

the great thing about music is there is no right or wrong, no real judgement. but all my axes have 6 strings, my bases 4. and i have a mandolin with 8 !

I love my 5 string bass. It just gives you so much more to explore.

4 or 5 on a bass and 6 or 12 on a guitar.

7 string guitars are AMAZING... with my band I get to use my friend's 7-string on some songs, and I LOVE it... unfortunately I don't have my own.

7 on a guitar is the best, but 6 is the most natural... same with 5 and 4 on a bass, respetively.

I think Vai called it Super Locrian...I could be wrong though.


As for string count, it really doesn't matter. Just play that thing.

6 strings are my favorite on a guitar, 12 strings dont count in my mind , its like a mandolin the pairs are tuned in sync so it has a better tremolo sound and allows a whole different picking method. That said I love a five string Bass especially a Fender Fretlless, options are endless. If you want to play around without buying new guitars plunk down 200 bucks on a Korg Pandora special effects box you can drop octave and several hundered other special sounds awsome toy.

And Michael Hedges played the bizarre, yet beautiful "Harp Guitar" from the 1920's, I think. It had 9 strings???

Yeah, Vai was the inventor of the 7 string, and his mode was Super Locrian. I don't care how many strings an instrument has; a ggood musician will be able to recreate any sound they choose with whatever is on hand. 12 string acoustics being the exception, simply because of thier whole octave deal. I have 6 guitars, one of which is a Schecter Scorpion (I'm looking at getting the bass to go with it) that has dual graphite truss rods in the neck and is designed and set up to be tuned to B. If you wan tlow, meaty sounds, look no further. Why buy a seven string, then>> Because that way you have the upper range as well. That being said, I love my schecter.

I don't remember who it was, but I once saw a guy on TV playing a 12 string electric with one melody on the downstroke, and another melody one the up. They were simple, but very interesting to hear.

I usually prefer to play on a 6 string but think of it this way, more strings more opprotunities

On guitar, 6 strings is plenty. On bass, well, I play a 5-string, and I love that low B, but when you add a 6th string, the neck gets a little too wide for my taste. But it's all in how you use them. If you got an 8-string bass and can use all 8 of them effectively, more power to ya!

Thats hilarious, "from lute to lute" :D :p :D

how about the SynthAxe Drumitar? as played by Future Man, "drummer" with Bela Fleck & The Fleck-Tones. it is a digital guitar with drum samples, used to "play" the drums. how many strings should your drums have? :D

not a one.....

sticks are for the drums not strings.....

I have a 4-string bass, but I really really want a 5-string.

There have been so many times when I'll be transcribing some music, and I'll run into a spot where I actually need that low B string. Instead, I end up having to move things up an octave, and it doesn't sound the way I want it to. Very sad.

6

I am not good enough of a player to handle anything more... yet.

I have both 6 and 7 string guitars. I love em both and it doesnt really matter how many strings really...just the player. I really like the feel of the neck on my 7-string. Just my opinion but i dont really think it matters...its just prefrence

Does standard tuning apply to 7-strings? would it be EADGBEA?