“You get this huge spread that’s not possible on a six-string...”

THE EIGHT-STRING GUITAR OPENS UP A WHOLE NEW WORLD OF POSSIBILITIES. TWO OF ITS LEADING EXPONENTS – MÅRTEN HAGSTRÖM OF MESHUGGAH AND TOSIN ABASI FROM ANIMALS AS LEADERS – REVEAL ALL

In 2020 the art of eight-string guitar is in rude health. This was once an incredibly obscure instrument, with roots going as far back as 19th century classical music. But since 2007, when Ibanez launched the RG2228, the first mass-produced eight-string, its popularity has grown and grown. You can easily find an eight-string in most first-hand guitar shops. This popularity is mainly thanks to metal bands who called for lower and thicker tunings to take their imaginations to the extreme - foremost among them Meshuggah, math-metal pioneers from Sweden, and Animals As Leaders, masters of instrumental tech-metal from Washington D.C. In both bands’ new albums, the extended range of the eight-string is explored by two guitarists: Mårten Hagström and Fredrik Thordendal on Meshuggah’s Immutable; Tosin Abasi and Javier Reyes on Animals As Leaders’ Parrhesia. In conversation with TG, Mårten and Tosin reveal the secrets to mastering this instrument – and what it gives them in terms of creativity...

What have you both learned about getting more mileage out of an eight-string?

Tosin: That’s an important question, because a lot of people might be looking at their guitars from a six-string perspective. Ultimately, the six-string can be the core of how you understand an eight-string, especially if you retain standard tuning. We often tune our eight-strings to drop E, so you can still perceive it as a six-string in standard

tuning. All scales and shapes repeat per octave, so it’s good to acknowledge the repetition within the fingerboard. Imagine if you’re playing an A power chord on the fifth fret on your sixth string – with our tuning, if you barre all the way down, you have another fifth interval and a low octave. It’s like drop D, because those three strings give you a functional chord. That helps retain orientation. You can use lower notes in the same positions, while also finding higher notes to create more width and distance.

Mårten: We didn’t have an engineering masterplan or any idea how to go about using eight-strings. With Meshuggah, it’s always been about finding unique sounds. So we learned how to play eight-strings as we were learning how to compose with them. Our technique is something we manufactured as we went along. The best advice I can give is find how the extended range can benefit your style. That’s what worked for us. It affected how we attack the strings and how we write riffs. It was all about new atmospheres and avenues that weren’t available on a six-string. Start thinking about what the extended range can actually enhance. To be honest, we would have loved to continue using baritones and seven-strings. We didn’t