8 String Guitar guide
How to Set Up and Use 8 String Guitar
A well-set-up 8-string guitar plays very differently from a factory-fresh one. Here is how to set the action, intonation and pickup height, and how to handle the muting extended range demands.
Setting up an 8-string guitar involves the same fundamentals as any electric guitar, but the extended range adds specific considerations — particularly around string gauge, intonation on the lowest strings, and muting. This guide takes you through the initial setup process and then covers the playing basics every new extended-range player needs to get right first.
How to Set Up Your 8-String Guitar
- Check and adjust the truss rod — the neck should have a very slight forward bow (relief) toward the strings. Sight down the neck from the headstock. If it bows backward (back-bow), the truss rod needs loosening; if it is completely flat or excessively bowed forward, it may need tightening. A quarter turn at a time. Allow 15 minutes between adjustments for the neck to settle. On most instruments, the relief should be around 0.3–0.5 mm at the seventh fret when strings are fretted at first and last frets simultaneously.
- Set the action at the bridge — action height is the distance from the bottom of the string to the top of the fret. Low action means easier fretting but more chance of fret buzz; high action means cleaner sound under picking but more effort. For the high strings, 2–2.5 mm at the twelfth fret is a reasonable starting point. For the lowest strings, 2.5–3 mm is typical, as these strings vibrate with wider amplitude. Adjust each saddle height individually using a 1.5 mm or 2 mm hex key.
- Set intonation — fret each string at the twelfth fret and compare the fretted note to the twelfth fret harmonic. If the fretted note is sharp, the saddle needs to move away from the nut. If flat, move it toward the nut. The lowest strings on an eight-string often require more saddle travel than the upper strings — make sure your bridge has enough range. Multiscale bridges are pre-set for correct saddle length, but intonation still requires individual adjustment.
- Set string height at the nut — the nut slots should allow the strings to sit just above the first fret when played open. Too high and the first few frets are hard to fret in tune; too low and open strings buzz against the first fret. This is the adjustment that most often requires a luthier if the nut slots need filing — it is easy to take too much material off. If you are not confident, leave this step for a professional.
- Check pickup height — pickups that are too close to the strings create magnetic pull on the strings, affecting sustain and intonation. Too far away and the signal is weak. As a starting point, lower the pickup until the strings can vibrate freely, then raise it until the output sounds balanced. The bass side of the pickup generally sits lower than the treble side. Check the manufacturer's recommended starting distances.
- Tune to pitch and stretch the strings — if you have fitted new strings, stretch each one by pulling upward gently at the midpoint several times, then retune. Repeat until tuning is stable. New strings go out of tune rapidly until they have settled. The lowest strings on an extended-range instrument take particularly long to stabilise.
Muting: The Critical Technique
An 8-string guitar rings more sympathetically than a six-string. Every unused string is a potential noise source during playing. Right-hand palm muting — keeping the side of the picking hand in contact with the lower strings near the bridge — controls most of this, but the upper strings (the high B and E) require additional attention from the left hand. Many players develop a technique in which the underside of a fretting finger lightly touches the adjacent strings to dampen them. This takes deliberate practice to build as a habit.
Tuning for Metal and Djent
Standard tuning is F♯–B–E–A–D–G–B–E. Many metal players drop the lowest string further — to E — producing E–B–E–A–D–G–B–E. Dropping the lowest string to E makes power chords playable across the bottom three strings with a single-finger barre, the same shape used in standard drop-D on a six-string. The low E also matches the lowest note on a standard four-string bass, opening up bass-register unison and harmonic possibilities.
Amplification
The lowest strings on an extended-range guitar produce fundamentals well below the frequency range that most guitar amplifiers handle cleanly. A standard guitar amp will start to compress and mud out below around 80 Hz; the low F♯ string produces a fundamental around 46 Hz, well below that. High-gain players typically address this through EQ — cutting below 80–100 Hz rather than boosting bass — and through tight, fast amp responses that preserve note definition. Impulse response (IR) loaders and direct-recording approaches handle this more consistently than a live amp in many home-recording contexts.
The Bottom Line
A well-set-up 8-string guitar is significantly more enjoyable to play than one that has been left in factory condition. Most of these adjustments can be made at home with a hex key set and a tuner. For advice on choosing your instrument, our buyer's guide covers every decision. For a full technical introduction, see our overview. For beginners, our beginner's guide covers the transition from six-string.
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