In the early ’90s, seven-strings were the domain of shredders like Steve Vai. A few years later, when grunge put shred guitar in mothballs, a few virtuoso players kept the seven-string flag flying, such as Dream Theater's John Petrucci and Morbid Angel's Trey Azagthoth. When seven-string guitar prices bottomed out on the used market, the low rumble of Korn returned the instrument to the spotlight, and soon a parade of nu metal bands adopted the seven for their low-tuned riffage. Eventually many of those players returned to six strings, often in baritone or at least tuned down to C# or C. Some die-hards have remained devoted to the seven-string, and Gibson's seven-string Explorer and Flying V models represent a return to the seven-string world after seven-string Les Paul and Flying V models a decade ago.
Generally, the technique for seven-string guitar is much the same as for six-string guitar, but it can take a few days for muscle memory to adjust to the additional string and the extra fretboard width that goes with it. Many players find that the easiest way to adjust is to spend a few days exploring the lowest two strings by chugging out on low power chord riffs in the standard seven string tuning, B E A D G B E. This helps orient the fingers and ears towards the expanded range of the seven-string. Below is a simple power chord riff (with a few well-placed palm-muted open note chugs) to introduce the lower register.
When one goes to play an open chord on the seven-string for the first time, the natural inclination is to place the fingers on the fretboard one string too low, since most players find their bearings relative to the low E string. If you play a standard E major chord shape one string down on a seven string, it can sound pretty cataclysmic. However, playing an E major chord while including the low B string as an inversion adds a lot of muscle to this chord. The B string also comes in handy for adding additional heft to an open D chord. Whereas previously the lowest root note available on a standard-tuned six-string guitar is the open note on the D string, on a seven-string you can hit that D a full octave below that for a powerful, ringing country chord or, by omitting the F# note on the high E string, a brash extended D5 power chord.
Barre chords may seem like a particular challenge given the extra fretboard width of a seven string, but if you start around the fifth or seventh frets your hand will quickly adjust to the expanded spread. The example here is an F#maj7sus4.
Most players use the seven-string primarily to play in lower keys than those available on standard tuned six strings, but the low B can also be employed to simply extend the range of otherwise six-string-focused scales. Because seven-string guitars have two B strings (and two E strings), any notes that occur on the B string of a six-string scale can be directly applied to the low B string too. The minor pentatonic scale sounds extra-mean when you drop down below the root note such as in the key of A, when you can go all the way down to E without stepping outside of the regular pentatonic box.
In other keys, you can go even further down. This same idea can be applied to other common scale patterns and it's a very handy way of easily remembering the notes on the low B string: any note that you already know on the 'regular' B string, you also instinctively know on the low B.
But what if a low B is still not enough? There are no rules about how to tune your seven-string. One fun tuning is G C G C G C B E. Another is a variant on the Drop D philosophy: A E A D G B E. Another trick can be performed in regular 7-string tuning. I call this the 'bulldozer chord,' and it also works on six-string guitars. Play a regular root/fifth power chord starting on the E string - say, a G5 chord starting at the 5th fret. Instead of doubling the root note on the fifth fret of the D string as many players might, try doubling the fifth instead, an octave below, on the third fret of the low B string. This gives you an extra-thick low end which, when played against a G note on a bass, creates a crushing, super-low-sounding chord.
Thanks to Gallin’s Musician’s Pro Shop in Fitzroy, Melbourne, for providing their Gibson Explorer seven string to appear in the above shots.
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