An eight-string guitar is a guitar with eight strings, or one more than the Russian guitar's seven. Eight-string guitars are less common than six- and seven-string guitars, but they are used by a few classical, jazz, and metal guitarists. The eight-string guitar allows a wider tonal range, or non-standard tunings (such as major-thirds tuning), or both.
Various non-standard guitars were made in the 19th century, including eight-string guitars played by Italians Giulio Regondi and Luigi Legnani.[1]
Eight-string electric guitars gained popularity among metal bands, largely inspired by Swedish progressive metal band Meshuggah (formed in 1987). Contemporary use outside of metal has picked up in the last decade, and owes much to Animals as Leaders and their stylistic eclecticism.
- ^ Noonan, Jeffrey (2008). The Guitar in America: Victorian Era to Jazz Age. American Made Music. University Press of Mississippi. p. 205. ISBN 1934110183.