8 string players, i need your input!

[Keven]

Hey guys. i'm in the market for an 8 string now, i plan to tune it plain ol F sharp B E A D G B E, no radical tunings , the Fsharp is low enough,

i have two choices available to me. Schecter 8 strings with a  26.5 scale. and Agiles with a 30'' scale.

i already have a schecter 7 string and i'm used to the chunky neck and love it. as far as playability, i'm not worried. the scale worries me though, i'm afraid a 26.5 scale will make the low Fsharp too wonky and that it won't intonate so well, so the agile seems like a good option because of the extended scale, but as i said, i don't plan to detune much, so will the longer scale be that useful? i recall reading that longer scales means tighter low end and brighter overall sound.

thanks for any guidelines! i know lots of you play agiles or 7-8 strings, so this is the place to ask. also, what string gauge would you use? on my 7 i use 10-52 with a low .68. i figure on a 30'' scale i'd have to drop to 09-46 with a 65 and a 74-80.

(edited somewhat because i think my morning confusion messed up my wording, sorry!)

[Alex]

In all honesty, why go with 8 strings then? It won't make playing more comfortable than a 7-string and if you don't even use the ultra-low eighth string I kind of fail to see the point in doing so.

[Keven]

i think you missed my point :P i do plan to use the low F sharp and the B and all strings in compositions, but i won't tune it down to drop E or stuff like that. so will the regular 26.5 scale hold up well with standard 8 string tuning or do i need longer?

[JDC]

I think you'd get a much better answer posting on the sevenstring.org forum

I've only played an 8 string 27" ibanez once but personally I'd go for the agile, but you could also custom order some newtone strings with thicker cores for the schecter

for gauges I believe the strings get tighter the longer the neck, meshuggah tune their 8s down a half step with 9-46 sets with a 52 and a 70 on a 30.5" neck

[Oli]

You need to take into account of the mass of the string- a thicker string will have a greater surface area under your finger, so you're more likely to push/bend the string to a different pitch... at those low frequencies, intonation becomes a real problem, as each note is only a few Hertz from the next, compared to those higher up the fretboard.

[Keven]

so, the longer the scale, the better it is, since you can get away with using smaller strings so the intonation is better and the overall tone is ''brighter'' and more guitar like?

are agiles really well built? i can get used to any guitar after a while, but i haven't been able to try one to note the acoustic quality...

[Johnny Mac]

Have you tried a Baritone or isn't it the same effect?

[gwEm]

are agiles really well built?

yes!

[Keven]

good! and yes, a baritone 7 string would do the same trick, except i like to have one axe that can handle all tunings. and i just like the idea of 8 strings too. it's a gimmick i know, but i gotta have one. i'm sure someone can relate to my GAS :D