r/ExtendedRangeGuitars

Got my new Ibanez SRC6MS set up in all-fifths tuning - E B Gb Db Ab Eb. Goes from an 84 bass string up to a 9 Daddario XS. It gives me standard bass range and one semitone shy of 24 fret guitar range. If I need to drop to D, I can do that with my Valeton GP150. 28.5-30" multiscale gives good tension and sustain across the board.

I've previously messed with GDAEBF# and FCGDAE, but in those tunings the lowest string often ends up being a "vestigial organ," which is why the latest iteration of my 5ths tuning experiment is going down to E.

The Bartolini pickups make great bass tones, and fantastic lead tones. I was nervous that bass pickups weren't going to handle high frequencies well but they do just fine.

Love this thing!! Weighs only 3 kg. Neck feels awesome, not quite a Wizard neck but very slim.

The pins holding the nut in place were already snapped when I unboxed.
The pickup isn’t secured on one side either.

Also, the nut was installed upside down as far as I can make out. Never had a headless so only basing this on the orientation of the nut in the promo pics on the manufacturers site.

But 3 little pins to take the tension of 9 strings?
Maybe it’s a quality issue with the screws.

Hey everyone!

I'm the designer behind "Pearson Instruments". I'm thinking of creating a baritone variant of this new model to put into production, and was wanting to get feedback from people in this specific niche to see if this type of design is something you all would like to see as a baritone.

Let me know what scale you think would be best, and if you think this would be a valuable addition to the general baritone headless market. I have branched out to multi-scale, so want to make this new model as diverse as possible within the lineup.

Hey y'all. I know this is going to be a very subjective question/opinion. But I have my legator and Boden 7 and want to optimally setup for b standard/drop a and a#standard /drop g# on these. I really struggle with string gauges, tension and setup. It's a pain in the ass to constantly buy strings, see what works etc. I guess just looking for recommendations on what strings to use for each tuning, if I should use the legator with longer scale (27 vs 26.25 on the strandberg) for drop g# etc. if anyone has any similar guitar or setups would love to hear your experiences. Thanks so much and I know at the end it's what I ideally feel comfortable playing.

Hey! So my RGIF8 has EMG 909x in them from factory. I would love to put some Fishman Abasis in there, but they are only made in 8 string sizes. Would that work?

I'm assuming they decided to put the 9 string variant in there for a reason, so an 8 string pickup might not be able to cover all strings properly?

I contacted my local guitar mechanic but he didnt event want to look into it. I guess he isnt very used to extended range guitars.

Edit: The RGIF8 is an 8 string multiscale: 25.5 - 27.2
https://ibanez.fandom.com/wiki/RGIF8

I’m tossing around the idea of getting an 8 string but I’ve never had an extended range guitar before so I’m pretty green. While looking around for something cheaper, I came across this one that is actually local to me.

Do you think this may be a good deal? Comes with a hard shell case, I don’t have a lot of details in the listing, but I believe it’s all stock?

Got this Arrow in a trade! Balances pretty nicely when standing up with it! Getting rid of the Fishmans ASAP & getting some Seymour Duncans in it!

Hey everyone,

I’m putting together a 2 Elixir string sets for my 9-string and I’m torn between 4 different gauge layouts. I’m currently have 2 Elixir sets 9-42 and 40-95 (ditching .040) for whole step down standard tuning (B0 standard)
But a want to go even lower 🙃

The Guitar: Legator N9F (28.5" - 30" multiscale)

The Constants:
Strings 1-6: Always going to be a standard 9-42 set tuned to D Standard (D4, A3, F3, C3, G2, D2)

String 9: Always going to be a bass .105 tuned to A0 (at the 30" scale length)

The Strings: I’m strictly using Elixir Nanoweb packs (combining a guitar pack with a bass pack) because they are easy for me to buy locally and last forever

The Dilemma (Strings 7 and 8):
I've attached a screenshot of 4 different variations I calculated for the 7th and 8th strings, which changes both the gauges and the tuning of the 8th string (either D1 or E1)

Here are the 4 options I'm debating:
Option 1 (Top Left): 9-52 (7 string) string pack with .052 for A1 and 50-105 bass set with .070 for E1 and .105 for A0 (ditching .050 and .085)

Option 2 (Top Right): 9-42 (6 string) string pack and 50-105 bass set with .050 for A1 .070 for E1 and .105 for A0 (ditching .085)

Option 3 (Bottom Left): 9-52 (7 string) string pack with .052 for A1 and either 45-105 or 50-105 bass set with .085 for D1 and .105 for A0 (ditching 0.45 or .050 and .065 or .070)

Option 4 (Bottom Right): 9-42 (6 string) string pack and 50-105 bass set with .050 for A1 .085 for D1 and .105 for A0 (ditching .070)

(Note: it’s ok with me when bass ball ends stick out of the a little)

Questions:

1. Looking at the tension profiles, which of these 4 options makes the most sense as a bridge between the .042 (6th string) and the .105 (9th string)?

2. Tuning-wise, for those playing in Drop A0 on a 9-string, do you prefer your 8th string to be a D1 or an E1 for riffing?

3. In Options 2 and 4, the .050 for the 7th string would be a bass string rather than a guitar string. Will the different core-to-wrap ratio on a bass .050 kill the attack/clank compared to a guitar .052 or feel that much different?

Any advice is hugely appreciated!

This one took a whopping 29 weeks, but it finally arrived. By far the priciest of my 4 Kiesel builds. The master grade crotch flamed maple top is what drove the build time up and price up, as well as the custom paint. The top is great and you really have to get it under a lot of light in order to really see it properly.

The PME fretboard has plenty of figuring, but in hindsight I would've gone with master grade for that too.

First headless, multiscale or 8 string I've owned. It's only 5.8 lbs and feels very comfortable.

Specs:

1 piece roasted swamp ash body with scooped edges

Master grade crotch flamed maple top

Custom moss green/emerald green (I think), aqua burst

Roasted maple thinner profile neck

Pale moon ebony board

SS jumbo frets

Thorium bridge and Empyrian neck pickups

I setup these 2 on Kiesel's Guitar builder.

I like both for different reasons but can't choose between them.

Help me decide.

After a lot longer than it should have taken me, I finally got everything wired up and reassembled for my headless 9 string IYV.

Loosely inspired by Stef Carpenter's Kiesel 8 string in white. Stef Carpenter Fishman 9 string pickups (cost as much as the guitar, lol), semi-gloss white paint (automotive base coat with hardener in it for a very specific texture I wanted)

As it's maiden voyage I plan to record a cover of "The Spell Of Mathematics". It sounds absolutely massive. I could not be happier.

I've been using the NYXL0980 on my 8 string for quite a while. But they are a bit pricey and during the search for something cheaper I found the Ernie Ball 2624 which are much cheaper.

I'm aware that the gauges are different but despite that is there a big noticable difference (when playing high gain)? And which of them are lasting longer?

First ever kit build. Headless 8-string from Combine Guitars. Learned a lot along the way but I'd gladly do another one of these. Quality of the instrument is pretty solid. If I did it all over again, I'd consider investing in some better hardware (coil splitting pickups or maybe a better bridge) before finishing the body, but overall I'm pretty happy with the how it plays with no real mods. Used black-dyed grain filler and then sanded back to make the grain pop. Water-based dyes for the burst effect. Finished with nitrocellulose. Neck is just treated with Tru-Oil.