Walking the Talk - 8 String Content

[triface]

In general, the longer scale gives a clearer tone. So does the thickness of the string, EQ settings, amount of distortion, picking technique, etc... all contribute towards clarity.

But you can imagine that a standard, typical blues player wouldn't be inclined towards long scale lengths ya? Takes the guitar sound further away from the traditional sounds of blues.

So you win some, lose some.

That's true. I'll see what happens when I do get to test an LTD and Schecter.

Yup I think the one my friend own is the Omen 8. About $400-$500 i believe.

Anyway, I believe we're all talking about the Omen 8. I emailed Davis a few months ago, and I was quoted $525 for a brand new one. It also has a bolt-on neck.

I'm leaning more towards a Schecter now, but I haven't seen an Omen 8 on the marketplace before, and buying it new is almost double my budget.

 

[grin.guitar]

Was at Davis recently and they had 2 new LTD 8-stringers at their basement shop. You might want to try them out alongside the Omen 8 if they still have that.

 

[ShredCow]

Post pics when you get it!!!!!

 

[triface]

Was at Davis recently and they had 2 new LTD 8-stringers at their basement shop. You might want to try them out alongside the Omen 8 if they still have that.

Cool. I'll make sure to check those out!

Post pics when you get it!!!!!

I'm honestly still at the researching stage lol. For all we know I might not be able to take an 8-string. Or I change my mind at the last minute.

We're a group of fickle people.

 

[triface]

I just went down to Davis to try out the LTD H338, which was the only 8-string guitar I could find throughout the whole of Peninsula. I have no idea why I didn't call to check first before going down.

The F# is apparently at a gauge lesser than .70, and I didn't find it that flabby. It'd probably be fine if I slapped a larger string like a .70 or .74 on there.

The neck was quite comfortable, and it didn't really feel as foreign as I thought it would; it feels just like a guitar with 2 extra strings. I was expecting poor playability, so I'm fairly surprised here.

I'm actually leaning towards an LTD at the moment. The 2 models I am eying at are the H208 and Omen 8. I believe the H208 and H338 are extremely similar except the choice of pickups, finish and bindings, so I think judging the 208 based on the 338 should be fairly accurate, though not exact. I'm more about the playability at the moment, so I'm not too worried with the stock pickups. I've been playing through the stock pickup on a beginner guitar for quite some time, using a boutique distortion pedal to cover it up. It's not ideal, but I've managed to dial in a pretty good-sounding distorted tone.

It's quite unfortunate I didn't have a chance to try the Omen 8, or even an 8-string with a 26.5" scale length. I imagine the extra inch doesn't affect playability much, so it all boils down to whether the Omen 8 has a better build than the LTD. Opinions on this seem to differ, so if for some reason I end up going brand new, I'll make sure to try the Omen 8 while I'm at it. Second-hand...I'll probably have to hope for the best.

 

[triface]

Hey again everyone. It's been a few months since my last post and I still haven't bought an 8-string. I was told Davis was all out except for the active version which was about $700, so I decided to hold off for a little bit. I've been thinking about this and I'm slightly leaning towards a 7-string at the moment.

Regardless, I noticed that the Ibanez RG8 is in the same price range on the international markets, but for some reason it's selling in the range of thousands at Swee Lee. Any idea why that is? It's a pity because I quite like the 27" and the cutaway.

 

[grin.guitar]

The one they have at Swee Lee is the higher end RG2228 .

 

[triface]

OH haha. Makes much more sense now. I thought Ibanez was practicing some insane shipping thing which jacked the price all the way up by the time it reached Singapore.

 

[triface]

Sorry for the double post, but since we're on the topic of the RG8, does anyone know which shops have it in stock? Davis and Swee Lee seem to be the only shops that even bother with ERGs.

 

[ShredCow]

Those 2 shops probably have the most comprehensive collection of ERGs.

Your alternative would be to purchase an RG8 online.

There is an 8 string RG shaped POT custom in G77 but... well... It's not really... well... yeah...

 

[zesn]

You don't like the Pot customs or just this copy?

Have not tried Pot. PUN NOT INTENDED

 

[ShredCow]

Come to think of it ... actually, that was a 7 string POT, not an 8 string. I think.

I am not a fan of POT in general.

 

[triface]

Now that my training has finished, I'm back to GASsing again...

I think it was good that I waited for a bit. I'm now more flexible with my budget for some reason. I don't think I'll be going with the LTD 8 strings due to their short scale length, or the Omen 8 because of what appears to be uneven voicing in their stock pickups.

I'm now looking at the RG8 from Swee Lee or a Damien Elite 8 for the active pickups, although I may have to bring it in from overseas if Davis or Swee Lee doesn't sell them, which would be less than desirable.

 

[triface]

Just got my RG8

Haven't had the time to test it plugged in yet, but the action seems fine out of the box. The pickups weren't as unevenly balanced as the ones on the Omen-8 (tapping on the high and low notes gave roughly the same volume) from my testing at the store. I'll see how it goes as time goes on, and I might just set it up to my liking. The F# from the box is not cool. It's a .065, so it's really flubby even at F#. Until I get some thicker strings, I've got a really big seven-string.

 

[Khai HeadrusH]

Talking abt RG8, here's my lefty RG8 with D'activator8s, custom pickguard, killswitch, 11-48s, .62 n .84 for the 7th n 8th strings respectively...

 

[triface]

Love that pickguard! Gives it a very different look without actually changing the guitar.

Did you have to widen the tuning peg hole to fit the .84? Where did you get your strings from?

 

[Khai HeadrusH]

Love that pickguard! Gives it a very different look without actually changing the guitar.

Did you have to widen the tuning peg hole to fit the .84? Where did you get your strings from?

- - - Updated - - -

Love that pickguard! Gives it a very different look without actually changing the guitar.

Did you have to widen the tuning peg hole to fit the .84? Where did you get your strings from?

Thks, bro. Love the pickguard too. Strings are from Labella. The ends are tapered so it can easily slot into the tuning peg hole, no mod needed. However, i still need to file the groove to WIDEN it to accomodate the thicker 8th string. Do b careful not to DEEPEN the groove instead.

 

[triface]

Thanks for the heads up! I just checked and Labella has 3 distributors in Singapore. Did you, by any chance, get your strings locally, or did you have them shipped in from overseas?

Anything I should be wary of other than the nut and the tuning pegs when I'm increasing my gauge? The extra tension may require some adjustments to the truss rod, no? I'm considering going from 0.65 to either 0.74 or 0.80.

I find my E, B and F# strings buzzing a little. The buzz on the E and B strings sound more like new wound strings, which I find a little hard to believe because these strings have been on the guitar since the guitar was manufactured. I'll wait a few days and see how it goes.

 

[Khai HeadrusH]

Thanks for the heads up! I just checked and Labella has 3 distributors in Singapore. Did you, by any chance, get your strings locally, or did you have them shipped in from overseas?

Anything I should be wary of other than the nut and the tuning pegs when I'm increasing my gauge? The extra tension may require some adjustments to the truss rod, no? I'm considering going from 0.65 to either 0.74 or 0.80.

I find my E, B and F# strings buzzing a little. The buzz on the E and B strings sound more like new wound strings, which I find a little hard to believe because these strings have been on the guitar since the guitar was manufactured. I'll wait a few days and see how it goes.

I ordered online direct from Labella. Btw, which are the local distributors? Been dealing with Lorenza/Richard for nearly 2 years now n they did asked me back in Nov 13 for local ctts for dealership duties ( I duly recommended Swee Lee and Guitar Workshop.. ).
The extra tension, imo, does require minor truss rods adjustment. I adjusted mine as well and its been awesome.
Rgdg the buzz, u may wanna adjust the truss rods first. Mine was buzzing too straight out from the box. Truss adjustmt did the trick.
.80 on F# shld be fine. But im on EBEADGBE tuning, sure was flabby when I experimented with .80.
.84 may still not be enuf, imo. I alrdy recently bought .90 from Labella but hafnt got the time to change it yet.
Hope the info helps. Good luck n happy playing!

 

[triface]

I ordered online direct from Labella. Btw, which are the local distributors? Been dealing with Lorenza/Richard for nearly 2 years now n they did asked me back in Nov 13 for local ctts for dealership duties ( I duly recommended Swee Lee and Guitar Workshop.. ).
The extra tension, imo, does require minor truss rods adjustment. I adjusted mine as well and its been awesome.
Rgdg the buzz, u may wanna adjust the truss rods first. Mine was buzzing too straight out from the box. Truss adjustmt did the trick.
.80 on F# shld be fine. But im on EBEADGBE tuning, sure was flabby when I experimented with .80.
.84 may still not be enuf, imo. I alrdy recently bought .90 from Labella but hafnt got the time to change it yet.
Hope the info helps. Good luck n happy playing!

According to http://www.labella.com/dealers/?dealer_country=Singapore, Guitar Gallery, Davis and Robert Piano are Labella's Singapore distributors. I'll check with Davis and see if we can work out anything soon.

Thanks for the information! I thought about playing in drop E as well, but now I'm not so sure. It kind of feels like I'm locking myself into Labella if I don't want to drill holes or widen my nut excessively.