8 String, Finally! Pickups/strings Right Options

[Todd Simpson]

After being pretty unhappy with the sound of the EMG 808 in my Dean Rusty Cooley 8 String, I decided to learn everything I could about pickups options for 8 string guitars. It took several months and after all of it I kept coming back to one pickup.


THE EMG 57-8
*These are the pickups you see being used quite often in 8 string Strandberg guitars for a very good reason. Quite simply, they are one of the most organic, open, natural, high headroom, alnico tone, pickups ever created and they also have the typical EMG aggression on top. I"m not a big EMG fanboy as you guys know. I was skeptical even after buying this pickup. I just installed it in the bridge today and HOLY CRAP!!!! I"M AN EMG FAN AGAIN!!!!

IT's the way they "feel". They have a very PAF quality. I can hear each pick attack, just like with my Ibanez V2 pups from japan. Each strike is very clean and audible. My previous emg 808 tended to sound compressed and un naturual. Just didn't like it. But these are amazing. I see why so many folks are stuffing these in to guitars that cost $4,000 instead of going for Bareknuckles.

In short, if you have an EMG equipped guitar, 6/7/ or 8 string, I'd say get one of these for your BRIDGE position asap!!
Link to info @ EMG
http://www.emgpickups.com/guitar/7-and-8-a...ctive/57-8.html

Here is Allan Marcus on EMG tv with his strandberg loaded with 57-8 in the bridge.


Here is SARAH LONGFIELDs Strandberg 8 String (custom paint of course) rocking the 57-8 in the bridge.



P.S. STRINGS!!!!

I"ve been experimenting with 8 string sets for months and have yet to find one that I'm sold on. I like the LABELLA but they are a bit loose and buzzy sometimes. Today I tried a set that I think may have finally solved it.

HEAVY CORE GUITAR STRINGS by DUNLOP


These are purpose built for low tunings. I've put them on the low four string positions and WOW. No buzz!! Sooo tight!!!! Just amazing. However, I"m not digging them on the high strings so I used half a set of SLINK .08 for the top 4 strings. BINGO!!!!!! Leads and bends are a btreeze and djenting is tight and brutal!!! It's the .08 to HEAVY CORE combo set!!

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This post has been edited by Todd Simpson: Oct 13 2014, 10:24 PM

[Ben Higgins]

When are we gonna get a video of this sexy beast ????

I wanna see it being shredded by T-Sim !

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[Todd Simpson]

In the works!!!i I'm gonna use it in the Video we are going to make for our SHOUT cover song!


Also, I LOVE my new "HYBRID STRING" set sooooo much that I"m going to put it on my STRICTLY 7 8 STRING!


TOP FOUR HEAVY STRINGS (Special 10 gauge heavy core)


BOTTOM LIGHT STRINGS ("EXTRA SLINKY .08!)


Nothing like this exists so you have to build them yourself. But WOW!!!!!! You can bend with ease, and you get tight djenting. IT's amazing!!!

When are we gonna get a video of this sexy beast ????

I wanna see it being shredded by T-Sim !

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This post has been edited by Todd Simpson: Oct 14 2014, 08:14 PM

[Ben Higgins]

Nothing like this exists so you have to build them yourself. But WOW!!!!!! You can bend with ease, and you get tight djenting. IT's amazing!!!

Yeah, sounds ideal. I don't know why 7 or 8 string packs aren't offered with the thought that they will be used by people who want the low end chug and tightness but who still want to rip it up with leads.

A lot of the ERG players are more rhythm orientated or either use heavier gauges on their top strings but it's not necessarily the best for singing bends and such.. these guys are technically excellent but they're not exactly bending like Gilmour.. so I think that should be catered too as well.

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[Todd Simpson]

You can buy "HYBRID" Packs now with heavy low and thinner highs but I have yet to find the "HEAVY CORE" (which I"ve just only found and tried in the last week so I'm brand new to it) with anything as light as .08 on the bottom four!! Can't find any hybrid packs with .08 actually But WOW does it make a difference!!!


You NAILED It on the DJENT boys. Most are not very "expressive" players. (OF COURSE A FEW ARE AND EXCEPTIONALLY SO) but by and large, what I hear mostly is LOTS AND LOTS of djenting with nary a "David Gilmour" bend in sight.

The longer scale length of the ERG guitars makes them have more string tension "typically" and they just come off as being less expressive instruments imho.

This finally bridges the gap for me The pickups are FREAKING BRILLIANT they respond like PASSIVE pups, they don't sound compressed, they have bite but not FIZZ they have bass but not overly dark, very balanced which is not something I"ve found true of EMG pickups overall to the point where I just sold off all my guitars with EMGS a while back.

Now I'm back!! Love this pickup. Recording/vid to follow!

SLINKY sets come in HYBRID 8 packs, but they are using .09 sets for the light strings and I've found that .08 sets on the high four strings seems to balance out much better. The neck is a pinch longer on nearly all 8 strings to reducing the string size on the light strings keeps them "bendy"

Yeah, sounds ideal. I don't know why 7 or 8 string packs aren't offered with the thought that they will be used by people who want the low end chug and tightness but who still want to rip it up with leads.

A lot of the ERG players are more rhythm orientated or either use heavier gauges on their top strings but it's not necessarily the best for singing bends and such.. these guys are technically excellent but they're not exactly bending like Gilmour.. so I think that should be catered too as well.

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This post has been edited by Todd Simpson: Oct 16 2014, 07:11 AM

[Ben Higgins]

SLINKY sets come in HYBRID 8 packs, but they are using .09 sets for the light strings and I've found that .08 sets on the high four strings seems to balance out much better. The neck is a pinch longer on nearly all 8 strings to reducing the string size on the light strings keeps them "bendy"

9's would do it for me so if I ever make the progression up to an 8 one day they're the babies I'll be looking at

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[Storm Linnebjerg]

You can buy "HYBRID" Packs now with heavy low and thinner highs but I have yet to find the "HEAVY CORE" (which I"ve just only found and tried in the last week so I'm brand new to it) with anything as light as .08 on the bottom four!! Can't find any hybrid packs with .08 actually But WOW does it make a difference!!!


You NAILED It on the DJENT boys. Most are not very "expressive" players. (OF COURSE A FEW ARE AND EXCEPTIONALLY SO) but by and large, what I hear mostly is LOTS AND LOTS of djenting with nary a "David Gilmour" bend in sight.

The longer scale length of the ERG guitars makes them have more string tension "typically" and they just come off as being less expressive instruments imho.

This finally bridges the gap for me The pickups are FREAKING BRILLIANT they respond like PASSIVE pups, they don't sound compressed, they have bite but not FIZZ they have bass but not overly dark, very balanced which is not something I"ve found true of EMG pickups overall to the point where I just sold off all my guitars with EMGS a while back.

Now I'm back!! Love this pickup. Recording/vid to follow!

SLINKY sets come in HYBRID 8 packs, but they are using .09 sets for the light strings and I've found that .08 sets on the high four strings seems to balance out much better. The neck is a pinch longer on nearly all 8 strings to reducing the string size on the light strings keeps them "bendy"

That's the set I'm going to order next time I need new strings. I generally use the Rotosound 10-74, but they don't balance out tension very well. I've been told the EB 2624 set does that much better. Also the 74 gauge for drop E still isn't tight enough for me. Hopefully an 80 will be.

Only bad thing...they're not out in Denmark yet.

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[Todd Simpson]

Let me know what you think of them You may end up having to build your own "Hybrid" set to get exactly the bits you need. That's what I ended up doing.

The 8th string on the HEAVY CORE set is only a 70 but it somehow manages to feel like an 80!!! Very tight, no slippage, no buzz, no flopping. Something to do with how they create the core and keep it thick then wrap it. Grab a set of heavy core if you can They are worth it.

Also, I have been using a set of LABELLA CRAZY 8 strings which are very well balanced. But it seems I'll be happy with the A string from one set and the E from another for various reasons. IT wasn't until I used the HEAVY CORE for the low 4 and .08 extra slinky for the high strings that I was able to build a set just out of two packs.

The 8 string guitar is it's own beast to be sure. It's tougher finding the right strings for one than it ever was for my 7 string. For my 7 string, the .09 super slinky set just works great. For the 8, it's been a real struggle.

That's the set I'm going to order next time I need new strings. I generally use the Rotosound 10-74, but they don't balance out tension very well. I've been told the EB 2624 set does that much better. Also the 74 gauge for drop E still isn't tight enough for me. Hopefully an 80 will be.

Only bad thing...they're not out in Denmark yet.

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